Lamb Shoulder

In Morocco, the word tagine refers to any of the country's slowly simmered meat, chicken, fish or vegetable stews that often have both savory and sweet flavors. It also refers to the earthenware dish with a conical lid in which the stew is cooked and served. Couscous or bread is a typical accompaniment.

Salmoriglio is a strong, pungent lemon-herb sauce, originally from Calabria and Sicily. Serve the lamb with the chopped Greek salad to start and some grilled bread for soaking up the sauce.

Order the lamb from your butcher, and buy the pomegranate juice at a Middle Eastern market or at a natural foods store. Begin preparing this richly flavored main course one day ahead.

The olives used in this traditional recipe are fresh, black, uncured, ripe olives, but wrinkled, salt- cured black olives will do just as well. If you do have ripe black olives from an olive tree in your backyard, drop a handful in rapidly boiling water for about 20 minutes, then drain and use in the reicpe. This is often served with soft polenta.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Khoresht Gheimeh This Persian stew recipe is adapted from the one that chef Homa Khakpour serves at Shiraz Kabab Cafe and Food Market. It's a terrific main course, which she pairs with chelo (steamed rice with melted butter). Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Tomato gratin and a watercress salad would be happy partners for these succulent chops.

Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr This recipe, which accompanied our 1954 article on Tunisia, called for what were then two very exotic ingredients. One, the granular pasta called couscous, is now commonplace in supermarkets across America. The other, dried rose petals, is available by mail order.

Navain d'Agneau Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

There must be as many versions of this—Ireland's national dish—as there are cooks. One thing all recipes should say is that the stew is to be cooked slowly until the lamb is meltingly tender. This stew is the ideal dish to return to after a day in the open air, as it can be made ahead and reheated while cook and guests enjoy the hot punch.

This fragrant stew is great over couscous.

"When my ancestors left Spain and settled on the Greek island of Rhodes five hundred years ago," writes Rebecca Levy of Los Angeles, California, "they brought with them their Sephardic culture. Likewise, when I fled Greece during World War II and eventually relocated to Los Angeles, I brought with me the traditions of my home. Many of my recipes are centuries old, and since each one is connected to a story, I always try to tell a little anecdote about the food so that the history will not be lost." Serve the stew over rice to soak up the juices.

(Epaule d'Agneau Braisée au Thym, Sauté de Carottes et Fenouil) Have a butcher cut the lamb shoulder-blade chops about two inches thick for this dish.

This dish is said to have first been prepared in the imperial kitchens for Sultan Murad IV in the early 1600s.

Agnello di Latte Arrosto I always had mixed emotions about this dish as a little girl. Traditionally, it was served at the first meal after Lent, a joyous occasion to which everyone looked forward, including me. Still, there was an element of personal sadness: My pet was being eaten. At Busoler I spent long hours playing in the fields with lambs and young goats, and always found sentiment struggling with appetite at Easter. When the appearance of the first peas of the season coincided with Easter, they'd be shelled and added to the dish at the last moment.

The lamb in this recipe is blanched to make a light-colored stew. Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr