Quick and Impressive: Moroccan Beef
Question: Hey Jeanie, do you have a great dish for company? I've got some friends coming over and would like to serve them a home-cooked meal, but I've also got to work all day.
Answer: This meal has pulled it out of the bag for us a number of times. We've even served it for Christmas. It's a variant of a North African dish called "Moroccan Beef."
Most of the meats I've encountered from North Africa are cooked long and slow. They are not cooked in what we would recognize as a slow-cooker, however. The following recipe is my slow-cooker adaptation of a most tasty dish. I've tried it with a number of roasts and steak cuts, including tenderized round steak. Seems you just can't miss on this one.
1. If your meat is not already in pieces as stew meat would be, then cut your meat into serving-sized pieces.
2. For each pound of beef peel and grate one large onion. The onion not only adds flavor, but also thickens the broth because it is grated so finely.
3. Place the grated onion in a bowl with
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon saffron threads
4. Mix the seasonings and onion thoroughly.
5. Toss the onion mixture with the meat in the slow cooker.
6. Add one cinnamon stick.
7. Dot the top of the mixture with butter, about three tablespoons.
8. Pour in about 2 cups of water and cover with one bunch of cilantro, spread over the top.
9. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on how much meat you have in the pot. Six hours is adequate for a pound.
10. For each additional pound duplicate the amount of seasonings listed here. You don't want to skimp. The succulence of this dish has been a winner with everyone to whom we have fed it.
11. In the last hour of cooking add some dried prunes to the pot, about 6 prunes per pound of meat. This may sound strange if you grew up on pizza, but the end result is splendidly flavorful.
12. When ready to serve, lift off the cilantro and discard. Place the pieces of meat on your favorite serving platter and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
13. A nice menu to accompany this meat is a large green salad with vinaigrette dressing and steaming hot quinoa. Check out my tips on selecting salad greens, handling greens, and making your salad dressing. You will also absorb more minerals from the quinoa if you soak it in advance (read the technique here).
What we have here is company fare with little work on the part of the cook. Enjoy and rake in the compliments!
