Morocco · Tagine
Moroccan Beef Tagine with Prunes and Sesame
Beef tagine with prunes — the sweet side of Moroccan cooking. The meat cooks down for nearly three hours with onion, saffron and cinnamon until the sauce has almost gone, while the prunes are candied separately in butter and sugar and spooned over at the end with toasted sesame. Natalia used osso buco, so the marrow bones cook in the sauce too.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 3 h 20 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy, but slow
Method
- Chop the onions finely, grate the garlic and chop the parsley.
- Put both oils into a wide heavy pot with the onions and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the meat, the garlic, the turmeric, ginger, saffron, salt, pepper, cinnamon and the parsley, and brown the meat on every side.
- Pour in the water — about one Moroccan tea glass — cover, and cook on a low heat for about 2½ hours. Look in once or twice: it should be barely bubbling, and if it runs dry before the meat is tender, add a splash more.
- Take the lid off and cook for another 30 minutes, until the sauce has reduced to almost nothing and clings to the meat.
- Meanwhile, put the prunes in a small pan, cover them with water and boil until all the water has gone.
- Add the butter, sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt, and cook until the prunes are glossy and well coated.
- Arrange the prunes over the meat and scatter toasted sesame seeds over the top.
Serve straight from the pot with bread — and don't leave the marrow in the bones.
Watch it made
The video for this recipe is coming soon.