Ingredients

Scale

Tagine:

Pinch saffron
2 Tbsp (15 mL) vegetable or olive oil
1 ¼ lbs (600 g) Beef Blade or Inside Round Roast, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm cubes)
2 cups (250 g) peeled & diced onions (2 medium)
1 ½ cups (250 g) peeled and diced carrot (2–3 medium)
2 tsp (6 g) sweet paprika
2 tsp (6 g) ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp (4.5 g) ground cumin
1 tsp (3 g) ground ginger
1 tsp (3 g) ground cinnamon
1 tin (540 mL) diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups (375 mL) beef stock
½ cup (75 g) raisins
4–6 pitted Medjool dates, chopped
salt & pepper
¼ cup (25 g) lightly toasted sliced almonds
¼ cup (60 mL) fresh coriander leaves
minted lemon couscous (recipe follows)
lemon wedges, for serving

Minted Lemon Couscous

1 ½ cups (375 mL) whole wheat couscous
zest of 1 lemon
2 ¼ cups (560 mL) boiling water
3 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh mint, cut in thin strips across the width of the leaves (chiffonade)
salt & pepper

Instructions

To make tangine:

Drop the saffron threads into a glass with a few tablespoons of hot water and set aside.
Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (with a lid) over high heat and add the oil. Add the beef, enough to cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer without crowding (sear in batches, if it all doesn’t fit) and brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. Remove to a plate and reduce the heat to medium.
Add the onion and carrot and sauté until the onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, turmeric, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon and sauté one minute, to warm up the spices. Add the diced tomato, stock and saffron water and bring to a simmer. Add back the beef, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 90 minutes to 2 hours, until the beef yields easily when pierced with a fork. During the last 15 minutes, ad the raisins and dates. Season to taste.
Serve the tagine topped with sliced almonds and coriander leaves, over minted lemon couscous and lemon on the side.

To make Minted Lemon Couscous:

Place the couscous in a large, heatproof bowl and grate the lemon zest over it. Pour the boiling water over the couscous, stir and cover the bowl with plastic wrap until it cools to room temperature.
Use a fork to fluff up the couscous, re-warming if needed, to serve (microwave is easiest). Toss the couscous with the green ions and mint and season to taste right before serving.

Notes

* The principle behind cooking this stew in the dish with its cone-shaped lid is to keep the moisture and flavours within it. As the stew simmers, the steam rises up and the cone coaxes the moisture to the top peak, where in condenses and drips back down into the stew, retaining moisture and flavor.

* Inside round is a lean cut, but because it is not as tender as “upper cuts”, it does suit braising. The key to a tender result is time. Don’t shortchange yourself on the cooking time. That said, the smaller you dice the beef, the quicker it will reach that juicy fork-tender stage.

* The raisins and dates are added towards the end of cooking. If added at the beginning, they would cook away, disappearing into the liquid and their flavor would be lost.

* Of course, you can switch up the dried fruits to other sweet options such as prunes or apricots, or they can be replaced with a diced apple if dried fruits are preferred.

* This dish can also be prepared in a slow cooker. Simply place all of the ingredients (except the dried fruits & almonds) in a slow cooker, cover and set on medium to cook 5 hours and then hold warm.