Khoresht-e tajin-y (Tagine)
Tagine is a stew named for the conical dish in which it is cooked. Typically consisting of lamb (though, as in this recipe, beef can be used as well), dried stone fruit or preserved lemon are almost always present, and it is usually served over couscous. As with many dishes originating out of the Levant and central Asia, it is difficult to pin down with any certainty the culture which developed tagine; traditionally, it is attributed to Moroccan cuisine, though it bears a remarkable similarity to the Persian خورشت (khoresht), and the blog The Shine of Dreams offers a compelling case for tagine’s Iranian origins (in fact, the author has an outstanding post covering the history of the dish in question at: http://shrineodreams.wordpress.com/tag/tajine/) Part of the cultural aspect of my language training involved a cooking day and a day out to a Persian restaurant in San Jose, where I had the opportunity to try خورشت سبزی, a traditional Persian stew, and شیرین پلو, or “sweet rice,” the combination of the two yielding a meal quite reminiscent of tagine.
I chose tagine because it is now autumn, a season typically dominated by warm, hearty stews. I’m also interested in its (allegedly) Persian heritage, as I am trained in Persian language and culture. Jamie Oliver has a recipe, which I modified as I cooked, resulting in the following adaptation.
Adapted from http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-tagine:
Ingredients
About 1.5 pounds stewing beef (I used chuckeye), cut into bite-size chunks
olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 small bunch cilantro
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 quart beef stock
half of a butternut squash, cubed
two handfuls dried apricots
For marinade:
salt
black pepper
1 Tbs curry powder (original calls for ras el hanout, which may be difficult to obtain locally)
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 Tbs ground ginger
1 Tbs paprika
Method:
Cooking Notes:
I chose tagine because it is now autumn, a season typically dominated by warm, hearty stews. I’m also interested in its (allegedly) Persian heritage, as I am trained in Persian language and culture. Jamie Oliver has a recipe, which I modified as I cooked, resulting in the following adaptation.
Adapted from http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-tagine:
Ingredients
About 1.5 pounds stewing beef (I used chuckeye), cut into bite-size chunks
olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 small bunch cilantro
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 quart beef stock
half of a butternut squash, cubed
two handfuls dried apricots
For marinade:
salt
black pepper
1 Tbs curry powder (original calls for ras el hanout, which may be difficult to obtain locally)
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 Tbs ground ginger
1 Tbs paprika
Method:
- In a bowl large enough to hold the beef, mix the marinade ingredients, and then add beef.
- Let sit for at least a few hours; I let mine sit overnight and most of the next day.
- Heat up a heavy bottomed dutch oven on the stove, add what Jamie calls a “good glug” of olive oil, and fry the beef for five minutes.
- Add the onions and cilantro stalks, and fry for five more minutes.
- Add half the beef stock and all of the canned tomato, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer; let simmer, covered, for about an hour and a half.
- Add the squash, dried apricots, and the rest of the stock, cover again and let simmer, covered, for another hour and a half.
- Remove cover and check the stew for consistency and seasoning. If it’s runny, let it reduce before adding any salt, as the salinity will intensify as moisture is boiling off.
- Serve over couscous or steamed long grain rice.
Cooking Notes:
- Ras el hanout might be found at World Market--hey, they carry Moxie for crying out.
- My wife doesn’t like “sweet” meat--if you’re the type that finds some curries to be a little on the sweet side, you may want to go easy on or omit the cinnamon. Dried cherries (make sure there’s no sugar added; that’s how I wound up with dried apricots) will also add a good measure of tartness.
- Jamie doesn’t mention this, but when I ate at Persian restaurants in California, they would often have a small jar of powdered sumac at the table--it was delicious added to the khoresht (there’s your Romanization of خورشت, in case anybody was curious).
- I have a Lodge brand enameled cast iron dutch oven; the beef and spice mix tended to stick to and then burn to the bottom if I didn’t babysit it. You’ll want to scoop out any burnt bits if this happens, as “carbonized spice and meat” isn’t a flavor so much as it’s just awful.