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Beef Tagine

I like to think of a tagine as a sort of stew with attitude. It's really all about the spices and the slow cooking, giving all the wonderful flavours time to develop. What's great is that you don't need an authentic Moroccan tagine in order to recreate this beautiful food - a saucepan will still give you great results. Having been to Marrakesh and learnt all the principles, I now feel I'll be able to rustle up an endless variety of tagines at home. Give this one a try and you'll see what I mean.

Jamie Oliver 2010, www.jamieoliver.com
Show: Jamie's Food Escapes Episode: Marrakesh
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Photo: Beef Tagine

TOTAL TIME: 5 hr 35 min
Prep: 25 min
Inactive Prep: 2 hr
Cook: 3 hr 10 min
 
YIELD: 4 to 6
LEVEL: 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
    • 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.
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      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.

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      5

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      Read all 3 reviews

      • on January 27, 2012

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        I was very impressed. I never experienced a dish with such flavor and texture, The spices were so aromatic it reminded me of a heavy perfume.
        The serving size was smaller because of the number of ingredients. It certainly brought something different to my kitchen.

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      • on January 08, 2012

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        Having been to North Africa, I knew what to expect from this recipe and having often found many of J. Oliver’s interpretations of other culture’s cuisine to be underwhelming, I was skeptical about this recipe. Happily my skepticism was misplaced. I’ve made this dish (with some variations several times and I have a few thoughts to share: Lamb makes a good alternative for beef; the provided cooking times are a bit short and you will get better results if you simmer the dish for 5-6 hours (but still only add the squash and prunes for the last 45-60 min. and if you don’t have a suitable tagine or casserole dish, you can brown the meat and assemble everything in a large skillet and then transfer everything to a crockpot for the long simmer. If you use a crockpot, you’ll only need half the stock and you can simulate the effect of a tagine by placing the crockpot lid on slightly akimbo to allow the steam to slowly dissipate.

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      • on May 29, 2011

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        This was a DELICIOUS dish. So EASY to make. Deep and rich and not a lot of fat. I cubed up boneless chuck steak. The TV show said to do the first part for 3 hours and the 2nd for another 3. The written recipe breaks it up into 1.5 hr segments. Overall the 6-7 hrs made the beef fall apart and juicy. I served it with a Quinoa pilaf. The flavors were amazing. I made my own Raz al Hanout blend based on Jamie's suggestions. Everyone raved about it after deafening silence while eating it.

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