Beef and Apple Tangine

Hello and welcome to my kitchen, today I’m making a traditional Morrocan dish with a slight English twist. I’m using beef, but the cheaper cuts shin and chuck which I think are better value and much tastier; you do have to cook them long and slow, but the result is well worth the extra time.

The dish is made in two separate stages; I’ve included lots of my pictures as usual with my recipes to give you a good idea of what we are doing. As usual my kitchen buddy Fabio is here to drink my beer and add his occasional wit.

1. Heat your frying pan.
2. Drizzle, just a little oil, use only enough to stop the meat sticking.
3. Add meat to pan and seal the meat. Turn it as soon as it colours and keep it moving.
4. Once it has coloured on each side, then add your tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

Now transfer the meat into your Tangine or stew pot and then place it into the pre heated oven gas mark 5 for 2hrs.

GM5 = 370° F or 191° C

So now you need to chop a couple of onions; I used a red one and a white one, they have slightly different flavours and add a really nice sweetness to the dish. You can chop them fine or if like me you have a buddy hanging about and drinking your beer, get him to do it.

Ingredients;

·1. 2 onions,

· 2. 3-4 lime leaves

· 3.1 teaspoon of mustard powder

· 4. 1 large dessert or tablespoon of coriander powder

· 5. 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder

· 6. 1-2 teaspoons of sea salt

· 7. 1 dessert spoon of cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar

· 8. 1 teaspoon of fish sauce or soy sauce.

· 9. ½ pint of water.

· 10 Chopped dates

· 11. Sultanas.

· 12. 2 cloves

· [Optional green cardamom seeds]

· 13.3 cloves of garlic crushed.

· 14. 4 eating apples.

Heat the same pan as before.

1. Put the onions in the pan and gently cook,
2. Once they start to go a little transparent, and then add garlic.
3. Add a drop of olive oil and fry gently for 5 mins.
4. Mix together your powder spices, turmeric; mustard; sea salt and coriander.
5. Gently toast the spices in a dry pan.
6. Add spices to onions once they start to give off an aroma.
7. Add a little water to the onions
8. Add the chopped dates and sultanas
9. Stir well

When the aroma of this hits you, you will dream of balmy nights in the Sahara Dessert sat around open campfires, your trusty camel gently nibbling your ear.

The Tangine.

It is an unusual looking pot, but its design serves a purpose. The pot originates from Morocco and North Africa although the first ones where probably influenced by the Romans when they were the bosses there. Water can be scarce and the idea is that the tall lid condenses the water and returns it to the dish rather than it being lost.

The Tunisians have a delicious dish called tanjine, which is more like the Italian frittata.

after your meat has cooked for about two hours, take it from the oven and now add your spice mix. if you add this too soon, all the flavours will boil away. Stir in very carefully making sure that it completly mixed. there may be a little dark edge to where the meat has been cooking, just clean this off with your wooden spoon and mix it in, this will add extra flavour.

Here’s the English bit

Take three or four eating apples and after coring them slice them into thin segments. Place them on top of the mix.

Now you can sit and enjoy a chat with friends or the family, because i would leave it in the oven for another 1-2 hours.

you certainly have time to do the washing up and set the table.

I think a really sharp cider will go well with this meal, or maybe a rose wine, I prefer a dark smooth room temperature beer.

This meal is bursting with flavours and has both sweet and sour aspects to it that will blow your socks off. enjoy with fresh bread or a traditional flat bread.