Beef Tagine with Spiced Pear Paste

INGREDIENTS

  • 1500g Oyster blade steak
  • 1 tbspn Ras el Hanout
  • 1 Large brown onion
  • 2-3 cloves Garlic
  • 4 threads Saffron
  • 24 Dried Apricots
  • 18 Large prunes
  • 4 Marrow bones
  • ½ cup Parsley
  • ¼ cup Roasted almonds
  • To taste Freshly ground black pepper
  • To taste Salt flakes
Print Recipe

Preheat oven to 150°C.

Mix the chunks of steak and ras-el-hanout together and leave to marinate for approximately an hour. Heat a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a heavy-based frying pan, and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the strands of saffron. When cooked remove from the pan and set aside.

Put the apricots, prunes, Verjuice, and Spiced Pear Paste into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer until the fruit plumps up. The fruit will absorb just about all of the liquid. Heat a little more Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the frying pan and fry off the meat in batches, until it’s sealed and golden on all sides, season with salt and pepper as you go.

Place the meat, onion, and marrowbones into an oven-proof casserole dish or a cast iron pot with a tight-fitting lid and put into the preheated oven. Cook slowly for approximately two hours until the meat is just softening.

Add the dried fruit mix at this stage and mix through the meat. Continue to cook for another half hour to an hour, until the meat is soft, but not falling apart.

The ‘tagine’ can be served immediately, but the flavour does improve if made a day or two before use. This also allows you to remove any excess fat that may rise to the surface overnight.

Serve with chopped parsley and roasted almonds.