Moroccan meat stew
Moroccan stews are known for their sweet element, often using some dried fruit, such as dried apricots, as in this recipe.
- 400 g beef steak
- 4 onions
- 4 carrots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup (200 g) dried apricots
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste
- 5 dl water
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 1 tablespoon (pomegranate) syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pomegranate
- ½ pot of mint
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Bring the meat to room temperature while you prepare the vegetables. Peel and chop the onions and carrots into large pieces. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Halve the apricots if desired.
- Brown the meat in a pan with oil in a few batches and transfer to another container to wait. Sauté the vegetables in the pan for a few minutes, adding more oil if necessary.
- Return the meat to the pot. Add the tomato puree and harissa, stir and cook for about a minute. Add the apricots, water and stock cube, syrup and cinnamon. Bring to the boil and place the pot, covered, in the oven for 2–2½ hours, until the meat is tender.
- First cut the “cap” off the pomegranate and then slice the fruit with a knife, cutting along the membranes, remove the seeds from the slices into a bowl. Chop the mint. Add the pomegranate seeds and mint to the pot just before serving.
Moroccan stews are known for their deeply spicy flavors, which are always softened by a sweet element, such as dried fruit.
In this recipe, dried apricots provide sweetness, which are simmered with the other ingredients in a pot until soft. To prevent the taste from becoming too sweet, four whole onions, garlic, and a spicy and slightly hot harissa paste are added to the pot. The beef steak is cut into large pieces, which are browned before simmering.
There is not much liquid in this stew and the food is stewed under a lid in the oven, so there is no risk of drying out. The finished stew is decorated with fresh pomegranate seeds and mint and served with, for example, couscous or bread.
Vicissitudes
- Brown the meat in a pot of oil in a few batches and transfer to another container to wait. Sauté the vegetables in the pot for a few minutes, adding more oil if necessary.
