Fragrant Moroccan Beef, Date, Honey and Prune Tagine - Crock Pot

Name: Fragrant Moroccan Beef, Date, Honey and Prune Tagine - Crock Pot
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 53 min
Yield: 6-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 3 lbs organic beef, trimmed of fat & cubed; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 lb onion, peeled & quartered; 4 -6 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped finely; 1 lb carrot, peeled & cut into chunks; 9 ounces canned tomatoes; 4 ounces dates, pitted but kept whole; 6 ounces prunes, pitted but kept whole; 2 tablespoons honey; 1/2 pint beef stock; 1 cinnamon stick; 6 teaspoons ras el hanout spice mix (or 2 teaspoons cumin powder, 2 teaspoons coriander powder, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon turmeric); salt & pepper; 2 ounces toasted sliced almonds; 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped

Community Pick

Submitted by French Tart

"Tender chunks of beef simmered in a fragrant & fruity broth enriched with honey - a traditional Moroccan tagine at it's best! I cook mine in a traditional tagine & an electric tagine; but I realise that not everyone has one, so I have also tested this out in my crock pot; it works REALLY well and is better when cooking larger quantities. The meat becomes meltingly tender and the fruity & spicy smell transports you immediately to Morocco........on a magic carpet maybe?? Yes, I am waxing lyrical I know - but this tagine is a real winner. It's not particularly seasonal, but I do think that the colder autumn & winter months are a good time to indulge in this North African comfort dish!"

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photo by A Good Thing

Ready In:: 53mins
Ingredients:: 15
Serves:: 6-8

ingredients

3 lbs organic beef, trimmed of fat & cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb onion, peeled & quartered
4 -6 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped finely
1 lb carrot, peeled & cut into chunks
9 ounces canned tomatoes
4 ounces dates, pitted but kept whole
6 ounces prunes, pitted but kept whole
2 tablespoons honey
¹⁄₂ pint beef stock
1 cinnamon stick
6 teaspoons ras el hanout spice mix (or 2 teaspoons cumin powder, 2 teaspoons coriander powder, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon turmeric)
salt & pepper
2 ounces toasted sliced almonds
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped

directions

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!

Questions & Replies

I have a cast and enamel tagine. What oven temp and how long to I cook?

Vimy B.

Reviews

Really great dish! I used a la creuset pot instead of a crock pot and it worked great.

acdmix
This was so delicious! My husband is Moroccan and loved it! I made some Moroccan bread (Recipe #260654 )to go with it and it was phenominal. I agree the aroma from the crockpot was making us hungry near the end! We couldn't wait to dig in! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I also used a chuck roast and came out very soft. Thanks for sharing!

italiansoxgirl25
I made tried this after making French Tart's Moroccan chicken which was also excellent. These ingredients work great together. the flavor was delicious. The only complaint I have are the cooking instructions. The recipe says to cook in a crock pot on high for 6-10 hours. I do not have a crock pot so I have no idea what temperature is high. I cooked this in an oven at 275 and it was done in 2 hours. I cooked it at 400 for an additional 30 minutes to kill any bacteria. My carrots were soggy. Next time I will not boil them first.

klincko
Very good - the sweetness is controlled, which is a problem with some tagine recipes. I didn't have prunes/date, but raisins make a good substitute. I didn't use a crock pot, but doubled the beef broth & cooked on the stove for around 1 1/2 hours.

profken
Truly delicious. I was short on time, had to get out the door, so I literally threw everything in, including frozen chicken stock , and hoped for the best. I was great. THanks for sharing this, French Tart.

mksmith

see 49 more reviews

Tweaks

My son and I made this while he was visiting. I halved the recipe since DH won't try anything, "different"! I forgot the cinnamon stick and substituted goji berries for the prunes which I didn't have in the pantry. We cooked this in my son's clay tagine and wow the smells! Served it over couscous and yes I think we were transported to Morocco! Thanks.

Paka1931
Yum!!! Definite winter warmer recipe. I substituted the carrots for sweet potatoes and it worked great!

mjf7377

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

French Tart

277

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