In our house we eat most of our meals at home. I love to cook so this is not an issue for me, and I can cook most restaurant foods better myself so it seems like a waste of money to go out for pancakes, pasta, steaks and hamburgers. We generally reserve our nights out for special highend restaurants and hard to prepare exotic foods. However, since my daughter was born, nights out to fancy restaurants have become few and far between. So, I've been attempting to up my game, investing in more exotic spices and equipment and making some of this special food at home and of course increasing my knowledge to pass on to my students.
I was looking for a tagine for Moroccan food. I saw one at a import store for $19.99 (thought in the back of my mind might be too cheap) but was in a hurry and didn't want to wait for something to be shipped to me so I quickly purchased. I found an easy recipe from the Cooking Channel website by Jamie Oliver. I had all the ingredients (mostly) so here we go.
Beef Tagine
TOTAL TIME:5 hr 35 minPrep:25 minInactive Prep:2 hr 0 minCook:3 hr 10 minYIELD:4 to 6LEVEL:Intermediate
Ingredients
For the spice rub
1 level tablespoon ras el hanout spice mix*
1 level tablespoon ground cumin
1 level tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 level tablespoon ground ginger
1 level tablespoon sweet paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/3 pounds/600 g stewing beef
Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
A small bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro), leaves picked and stalks reserved
1 (14-ounce/400 g) tin (can) chickpeas, drained
1 (14-ounce/400 g) tin (can) chopped tomatoes
3 1/2 cups/800 ml vegetable stock, preferably organic
1 small squash (approximately 1 3/4 pounds/800 g), deseeded and cut into
2-inch/5 cm chunks
3 1/2 ounces/100 g prunes, stoned and roughly torn
2 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted
Serving suggestion: Lightly seasoned couscous
Directions
To make the spice rub:
Mix the ras el hanout, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, salt, and black pepper together in a small bowl.
Put the beef into a large bowl, massage it with the spice rub, then cover with plastic wrap or clingfilm and put into the refrigerator for a couple of hours-ideally overnight. That way the spices really penetrate and flavour the meat.
When you're ready to cook, heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine or casserole-type pan and fry the meat over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the chopped onion and coriander (cilantro) stalks and fry for another 5 minutes. Tip in the chickpeas and tomatoes, then pour in 1 3/4 cups/400 ml stock and stir. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on the pan or cover with foil and reduce to a simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
At this point add your squash, the prunes and the rest of the stock. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on the pan and continue cooking for another 1 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks too dry.
Once the time is up, take the lid off and check the consistency. If it seems a bit too runny, simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more with the lid off. The beef should be really tender and flaking apart now, so have a taste and season with a pinch or 2 of salt. Scatter the coriander (cilantro) leaves over the tagine along with the toasted almonds, then take it straight to the table with a big bowl of lightly seasoned couscous and dive in.
Notes
Cook's Note: Ras el hanout (Arabic for 'top of the shop') is a blend of the best spices a vendor has in his shop. The mixture varies depending on who is selling it, but can be a combination of anywhere from 10 to 100 spices. It usually includes nutmeg, cinnamon, mace, aniseed, turmeric, cayenne, peppercorns, dried galangal, ginger, cloves, cardamom, chile, allspice, and orris root.
So last night I put my new tagine on the stove top as directed to start cooking the beef and this is what happens within minutes. Cracking and buckling...
I'm very annoyed but glad I hadn't spent too much money. I knew that I could probably make this in my dutch oven as well and so that's what I did. Even though the instructions with the tagine said it was stove and oven safe. This is definitely a decorative serving dish only.
After an hour in my dutch on the stove, I popped it in the oven to roast for the last 1 1/2 hrs until most of the liquid was gone.
Ingredients
For the spice rub
1 level tablespoon ras el hanout spice mix*
1 level tablespoon ground cumin
1 level tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 level tablespoon ground ginger
1 level tablespoon sweet paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/3 pounds/600 g stewing beef
Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
A small bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro), leaves picked and stalks reserved
1 (14-ounce/400 g) tin (can) chickpeas, drained
1 (14-ounce/400 g) tin (can) chopped tomatoes
3 1/2 cups/800 ml vegetable stock, preferably organic
1 small squash (approximately 1 3/4 pounds/800 g), deseeded and cut into
2-inch/5 cm chunks
3 1/2 ounces/100 g prunes, stoned and roughly torn
2 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted
Serving suggestion: Lightly seasoned couscous
Directions
To make the spice rub:
Mix the ras el hanout, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, salt, and black pepper together in a small bowl.
Put the beef into a large bowl, massage it with the spice rub, then cover with plastic wrap or clingfilm and put into the refrigerator for a couple of hours-ideally overnight. That way the spices really penetrate and flavour the meat.
When you're ready to cook, heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine or casserole-type pan and fry the meat over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the chopped onion and coriander (cilantro) stalks and fry for another 5 minutes. Tip in the chickpeas and tomatoes, then pour in 1 3/4 cups/400 ml stock and stir. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on the pan or cover with foil and reduce to a simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
At this point add your squash, the prunes and the rest of the stock. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on the pan and continue cooking for another 1 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks too dry.
Once the time is up, take the lid off and check the consistency. If it seems a bit too runny, simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more with the lid off. The beef should be really tender and flaking apart now, so have a taste and season with a pinch or 2 of salt. Scatter the coriander (cilantro) leaves over the tagine along with the toasted almonds, then take it straight to the table with a big bowl of lightly seasoned couscous and dive in.
Notes
Cook's Note: Ras el hanout (Arabic for 'top of the shop') is a blend of the best spices a vendor has in his shop. The mixture varies depending on who is selling it, but can be a combination of anywhere from 10 to 100 spices. It usually includes nutmeg, cinnamon, mace, aniseed, turmeric, cayenne, peppercorns, dried galangal, ginger, cloves, cardamom, chile, allspice, and orris root.
So last night I put my new tagine on the stove top as directed to start cooking the beef and this is what happens within minutes. Cracking and buckling...
I'm very annoyed but glad I hadn't spent too much money. I knew that I could probably make this in my dutch oven as well and so that's what I did. Even though the instructions with the tagine said it was stove and oven safe. This is definitely a decorative serving dish only.
After an hour in my dutch on the stove, I popped it in the oven to roast for the last 1 1/2 hrs until most of the liquid was gone.
Now I didn't have any Ras el hanout (which I will fix at my next visit to the spice shop) but I noticed that the ingredients were similar to a curry blend so I went with a couple of teaspoons of my my good homemade curry powder.
I wanted the couscous to be scented so I added some fresh lemon zest, a couple of very thin lemon slices and a dash of cinnamon. This Moroccan couscous I used was really nutty and fluffy. It's very fine grain so it cooks up in seconds really. So, with a couple of adjustments this recipe came out quite nice for a first effort. Spicy, perfumey and a little sweet from the prunes. The meat fell apart just right even though I really only cooked it for 2 1/2 hrs. My husband had two helpings. That is a good enough review for me.
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