Beef & Squash Tagine

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!