We have been rather under the weather for a couple of weeks lately, with horrible colds that we can't seem to shake off and that, combined with the grim winter weather, has had us feeling the need for comfort food even more than usual.
We haven't been up to doing much shopping either so, apart from a dash to the supermarket for some fresh milk and veg, we have been eating up what's in the freezer. The other day I came across a small piece of stewing beef, called paleron in France, so decided to make another tagine...........we had enjoyed the lamb one so much!
This cookbook is the one I brought to France by mistake, not our favourite but has some nice recipes. In it I spotted one for beef tagine with prunes which looked easy to do and not too taxing for my cold-fuddled brain. I adapted the recipe and cooked it along similar lines to the lamb tagine but this time we had it with fresh carrots, broccoli and small potatoes. We were desperate for fresh veg! Just what the doctor ordered!
I can remember clearly the very first time I had prunes cooked with meat. It was in London in 1972 and I had only ever had prunes with custard or rice pudding before! They go really well with beef and the lovely spices.
Ingredients
1 tblsp olive oil
1 large knob butter
2 small red onions, finely chopped
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ ground black pepper
a few strands of saffron
150g stewing beef, trimmed and cubed
¾ of a tin (about 300g) of chopped tomatoes
1 tblsp honey
125g pitted prunes or just a few, as you like
2 tblsp flaked almonds (optional)
Method
Heat the oil and butter in the tagine, add the chopped onions and fry until softened.
Stir in the spices then the meat. Stir well until the meat is well coated in the spice mixture.
Add the tomatoes and enough water to almost cover the meat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, put the lid on and simmer for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Add the prunes, stir well, season to taste and cook for another 30 minutes.
If using the almonds, melt a little more butter and oil in a small frying pan, stir in the almonds, cook until they begin to turn golden brown and add to the tagine just before serving.
Serve with couscous (or veg and potatoes, or pasta)
Serves 2.
A friend used to serve a beef casserole that contained prunes with natural yoghurt on the side, it always seemed quite healthy and tasted delicious. We need rib sticking food at present it’s grey and miserable in Yorkshire.
ReplyDeletewww.mylifeinflipflops.blogspot.com
This definitely qualified as a "winter warmer" kind of dish!
DeleteAnother fine recipe for slow cooking in these winter months. I wish I could remember the first time I had prunes with meat. I'm sure it was later than your experience and, I think, it was with rabbit.
ReplyDeleteIt was actually my first ex-mother-in-law that served it, which is why I remember the date so well. She was a bit of a battle axe and was trying to either impress or befuddle her new country bumpkin daughter-in-law with fancy food!
Delete