Bring the flavours of Morocco to your dinner table with this Beef & Squash Tagine. Tender slow cooked beef and squash in a spiced tomato sauce full of chickpeas and apricots. Serve it over fluffy couscous and spice up your weekly dinner rotation.
I can’t say enough good things about this dish. It is delicious, hearty, rich, satisfying, and just mouthwatering delicious!
What is a Tagine
A Tagine is a stewed type dish cooked (traditionally, I might add), in a two part earthen pot. It comes from North Africa and is steeped in flavour. I first had a tagine about 7 or 8 years ago at a friend’s place for dinner and I was instantly hooked. From there, I have tired it at the wonderful La Califa restaurant locally around these parts. Amazing!
Okay, so honestly speaking, my dish doesn’t stand a scratch compared to the delights of that wonderful gem, but it is pretty good. And the really great thing about Tagines is that they can be made with fish, meat or just vegetables of any kind.
Notes About The Beef & Squash Tagine
- I used stewing beef for this recipe, but other cuts will work as well. The slow cooking will make the beef tender.
- The squash I used was small size. So, if you’re squash is bigger, you may only need to use about half of it.
- For best results, it is best to marinade the beef overnight.
Here’s Some More Wonderful Moroccan Dishes You’ll Enjoy
Well friends, that just about sums up this delicious Beef & Squash Tagine. i hope you get a chance to make it sometime. Let me know in the comments below what you think. I’d love to hear from you.
Enjoy the Tagine dear friends and happy cooking. I’ll see you all in the next day or so with a new chicken recipe.
Get the recipe!
Beef & Squash Tagine
Ingredients
- 1 lb stewing beef cut into one inch cubes
- 2 Cups chickpeas cooked
- 2 Cups whole tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 small squash cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/2 Cup dried apricots halved
- Bunch of fresh coriander roughly chopped
For the meat marinade
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Instructions
- For best results, marinade the meat for overnight to 24 hours. However, if you don’t have the time, a few hours will suit. To make the marinade, mix all the spices together and sprinkle over the meat. Give a real good stir or use your hands to make sure each piece is coated well. Then cover and refrigerate.
- At cooking time, heat the olive oil and garlic in a large stove top type casserole dish. Make sure you have brought the meat to room temperature before cooking. This makes for a more tender meat. Add the meat and cook over a high heat until browned, just a couple of minutes. Then add the chopped onion and cook for a further few minutes. Next add the can tomatoes, chickpeas and half of the stock. Cover and turn heat to low. This should cook slowly for the next 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Check occasionally and stir.
- After this cooking time has passed, add the squash, apricots and remaining stock. Give a good stir and cover again. Keeping the heat on low let it cook for a further hour to 1 1-2 hours. Towards the end of cooking be very careful in the stirring as not to mush the squash. Now what I like to do at this point is not traditional. I gently remove all the beef from the pan and take it to a large working space and gently separate it all. The beef at this point should be so tender that it almost falls apart. Return beef to pan and add a little more liquid if you notice it is too dry. Remove from heat and toss in all the fresh cilantro. Serve over a bed of couscous. Rich and delicious!
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
