Can I salvage this 'gone wrong' dish?

[EmGee]

Made a lamb tagine. Misread the ingredients and used 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper and ground pepper instead of teaspoons. I thought it smelled strong while I was cooking. It tastes powerfully hot. Basically inedible I think for most palates. However, can I salvage it (I used good meat which was expensive) by making the same dish again without the spices and mixing? Or two lots more without the cayenne pepper and then mixing them all together? It is supposed to be for a lunch for 8 people but I was doing a trial run first (thank goodness!!).

you could try adding cream or yoghurt to calm some of the heat

Or yes, make some more without the spice and mix (a tablespoon is three times the size as a teaspoon)

good luck!

I've heard that, if you cook a whole, peeled potato in the dish and then take it out at the end, it will absorb some of the heat.

I've heard that too about the potato. I was going to suggest adding yoghurt.

I wouldn't add yoghurt to a tagine, it wouldn't really work. I'd probably just pick out the meat and start over...

I second pick out the meat and start again.

I would split it into 4, freeze 3 and then make the dish again and put the remaining portion in, and then make the same dish another 3 times over the next 3 weeks and add one of the portions each time.

The potato thing is a myth, sorry. Increasing the volume by cooking more without any cayenne and mixing it in will work, though.

Sugar can help counteract the spicyness of a dish

I'd make the dish again in a quantity enough for eight when you trial portion is added.

Don't add any spices to your second portion. When second portion is cooked start to add in half of the over spiced portion, perhaps do this part in a saucepan, tasting as you go, with luck you should be able to add all of the over spiced portion.
Cream, yoghurt, or coconut milk will all help calm it down, though change the nature of the dish, you could also serve a yoghurt and cucumber side dish with it.
Don't call it a tagine, call it EmGee's Berber Special.

But the meat actually tastes ok funnily enough - it's the sauce that would blow your hair off! I think I will cook it again twice over minus the spices and mix it all together and hope for the best.

Or do as Funky suggests.

Good idea to have a nice cooling yogurt dip/dish beside the pot!!!