A good friend of mine went to Morocco a few years ago
and brought back a recipe using a tagine, a two-part cooking vessel
that has a large circular bowl shaped bottom and a conical top. The top
is designed to create moisture to keep foods from drying out when being
slow cooked. The original recipe that my friend Sara McGhie gave me was for chicken. You can check out that recipe here. But, I've created a new beef recipe using some of the same spices, but with a few additional touches of my own.
According to
Sara, beef isn't very common in Morocco, but the spice combination will
give you a pretty authentic Moroccan flavor. Plus, if you'd like to
experiment, you can try this recipe with lamb or goat. A key ingredient
is preserved lemon and I've provided a bit of information about where
to find it following the recipe. If you don't want to invest in a
Tagine, you can make this recipe with a large pot or Dutch oven. Just
be sure to keep the temperature low and add additional water if the
mixture dries out during the cooking process.
Beef Tagine
serves 6-8
This recipe is for a larger tagine, about 13" in diameter or larger. If you're using a smaler size, consider cutting the recipe in half.
serves 6-8
This recipe is for a larger tagine, about 13" in diameter or larger. If you're using a smaler size, consider cutting the recipe in half.
Ingredients
3 tbl Olive Oil
2 lb Beef Round, cut into 2" chunks
4 cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed
1 cu Fresh Cilantro, loosely packed, roughly chopped
1 tsp Chili Powder
1tsp Paprika
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Tumeric
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1 lg Onion, thinly sliced
1 Red Pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1Yellow Pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 lg Sweet Potatoes, peeled, quartered and sliced into chunks
2 cu Beef Stock
1 cu Water
1 can Chopped Tomatoes, 14oz size
1 cu Golden Raisins
1 cu Cooked Garbanzo Beans (chick peas), rinsed and drained
2 Preserved Lemons*
2 lb Beef Round, cut into 2" chunks
4 cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed
1 cu Fresh Cilantro, loosely packed, roughly chopped
1 tsp Chili Powder
1tsp Paprika
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Tumeric
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1 lg Onion, thinly sliced
1 Red Pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1Yellow Pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 lg Sweet Potatoes, peeled, quartered and sliced into chunks
2 cu Beef Stock
1 cu Water
1 can Chopped Tomatoes, 14oz size
1 cu Golden Raisins
1 cu Cooked Garbanzo Beans (chick peas), rinsed and drained
2 Preserved Lemons*
Cooking Equipment
1 Tagine, a two part cooking vessel, often ceramic, with a wide circular bowl shaped base for cooking a tall conical top
1 Tagine, a two part cooking vessel, often ceramic, with a wide circular bowl shaped base for cooking a tall conical top
Method
Place garlic,
3/4 cup of the cilantro, chili powder, paprika, cumin, turmeric,
cinnamon, salt and paper on a cutting board and finely chop everything
together. Place the mixture in a sealable bag and add beef. Shake the
bag to coat the beef with the mixture. Meanwhile, pour olive oil into
the bottom of the tagine and heat over medium high heat until oil is
hot. Place beef into the hot oil and sear it for about 5 minutes per
side. Pour any extra spice mixture from the bag over the beef after
you've turned it once.
Remove the
beef from the tagine and set it aside. Add the onions, green peppers
and red pepper and sauté for about minutes, stirring occasionally.
Place the
beef over the onions and peppers. Arrange the sweet potatoes over the
beef and top with the chopped tomatoes. Pour the beef stock over the
mixture and add enough water to cover the beef (the potatoes may be
partially above the water). Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce the
heat to low. Place the top on the tagine and cook for 1 hour.
Peel the
lemon and separate the skin from the flesh. Discard the flesh chop
half. Slice the othe half in narrow strips. After an hour, add the
garbanzo beans, golden raisins, the chopped preserved lemon and half of
the stops of preserved lemon. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. Add
the remaining preserved lemon and 1/4 cup of Cilantro and serve over
couscous.
*Preserved
lemon is available online, at specialty stores like Sur la Table or
ethnic markets like the Middle Eastern Bakery & Grocery at Clark and
Foster in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood.
Basic Couscous
makes about 3 1/2 cups
makes about 3 1/2 cups
Ingredients
2 1/2 cu Water
1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cu Couscous
1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cu Couscous
Method
Bring water
and salt to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in couscous. Cover and
let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff up the couscous and serve.
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