Moroccan Beef Tajine With Apricot And Pear Recipes

FRAGRANT MOROCCAN BEEF, DATE, HONEY AND PRUNE TAGINE - CROCK POT

Steps:

• Par-boil the carrots in boiling water for about 3 -5 minutes.
• Preheat the electric Tagine or crock pot to High.
• Heat up half of the olive oil in a large frying pan and quickly brown the onion quarters over a fairly high heat until charred & coloured well. Tip them into the crock pot.
• Add the chopped garlic & par-boiled carrots to the onions in the crock pot.
• Make up 1/2 pint of stock with a beef stock cube. Add the honey to the the stock & ALL the dried spices. Tip the honey & spiced stock into the crock pot & mix well. Add the cinnamon stick.
• Add the tinned tomatoes, dates & prunes to the crock pot - mix well.
• Heat up the remaining olive oil and brown the beef cubes in small batches to sear & seal them. As you finish browning them, add the beef to the crock pot.
• When you have finished browning all the beef, give the whole mixture a good stir & season with salt & pepper.
• Cook on high for between 6 & 10 hours depending on your crock pot's wattage & settings.
• Serve the beef tagine with fluffy couscous and garnish with the chopped fresh coriander & toasted flaked almonds. It also works well with rice too.
• P.S. Watch out for the cinnamon stick! We sometimes award the lucky winner of the cinnamon stick with an extra glass of wine!
• P.P.S. You can use dates & prunes which have not been pitted, they do tend to hold their shape better too, just warn your guests that they must look out for the stones!

BEEF TAGINE

Steps:

• Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• Put the beef into a large bowl, massage it with the spice rub, then cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for a couple of hours, preferably overnight.
• When you're ready to cook, peel and finely chop the onion, and pick the coriander leaves, finely chopping the stalks.
• Heat a generous lug of oil in a tagine or casserole pan over a medium heat, add the meat and fry for 5 minutes to seal. Add the onion and coriander stalks and fry for a further 5 minutes.
• Drain and tip in the chickpeas, followed by the tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon, then pour in 400ml of stock and stir well. Bring to the boil, then cover and reduce to a low heat for 1½ hours.
• Meanwhile, deseed and chop the squash into 5cm chunks, then destone and roughly tear the prunes. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan until lightly golden, then tip into a bowl.
• When the time's up, add the squash, prunes and remaining stock. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on and continue cooking for another 1½ hours. Keep an eye on it, adding splashes of water, if needed.
• At this stage, remove the lid 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 to taste.
• Scatter the coriander leaves over the tagine along with the toasted almonds. Serve with a big bowl of lightly seasoned couscous and dive in.

MOROCCAN BEEF TAGINE

Steps:

• Cook the ground beef, onions and carrots in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, breaking the beef apart as it cooks, until the beef is cooked, before draining off and excess grease.
• Add the garlic, ginger, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne, and tomato paste, and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
• Add the broth, dates, apricots, raisins, olives, preserved lemon, honey, harissa and saffron, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
• Server garnished with almonds, cilantro and parsley.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE WITH CARAMELIZED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook onions until softened and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer onions into a tagine. Layer chicken pieces on top of onions.
• Combine turmeric, cumin, ground coriander, and salt in a small bowl; mix well with remaining 5 tablespoons olive oil. Spread spice mixture onto the chicken pieces. Add cinnamon pieces, bay leaves, ginger, and cilantro. Pour in 1/2 cup of water and cover tagine with a lid.
• Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a skillet over low heat while chicken is cooking. Add sliced pears and honey and cook, while stirring, until honey has caramelized.
• Remove tagine from the oven and stir in caramelized pears. Return to the oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

BEEF-SHORT RIBS TAGINE WITH HONEY-GLAZED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until brown, about 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer onions to large bowl. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon oil to same pot. Add 8 short ribs and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer ribs to bowl with onions. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot. Add remaining 8 ribs and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer ribs to same bowl
• Whisk flour into drippings in pot. Whisk in 2 cups broth. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Mix in remaining 2 cups broth, wine, prune juice, tomato paste and spices. Return ribs to pot, arranging close together on their sides in single layer if possible. Add dates and pears; add onions and any juices.
• Bring liquid to boil; cover pot. Place pot in oven and bake until ribs are tender, about;1 hour 45 minutes.
• Using tongs, transfer ribs to large bowl. Strain cooking liquid into medium bowl, pressing on contents of strainer. Freeze liquid until fat rises to top, about 30 minutes. Spoon off fat. Return liquid to pot. Add honey; boil until sauce is thick enough to coat spoon and is reduced to 3 cups, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Return ribs to pot, spooning sauce over to coat. (Short ribs can be made 2 days ahead. Refrigerate until cold; then cover and keep chilled.)
• Rewarm ribs over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Mound ribs on platter. Top with squash; garnish with parsley.

MOROCCAN BEEF TAJINE WITH APRICOT AND PEAR

Steps:

• PREPARATION: Add butter to a preheated pan and saute onion, ginger, salt, pepper, turmeric, and cinnamon sticks until glazed. Add garlic and beef, saute until beef turns brown (about 5 min) Add beef broth and bring to boil Divide the contents of the saute pan between two tajines (careful not to overfill) COOK: Cover the tajine and cook at 350F for 1 hour Remove the tajines and divide the pear slices and apricots evenly between the two tajines. Cook for another 30 minutes (until the pears are tender and the beef is cooked throughout) Remove the tajines and garnish with slivered almonds and cilantro, top with lime wedges if desired.