Beef Tagine with Fresh Apricots

I was originally planning to make the apple and prune version of this tagine. But then I got to the grocery store and they had local nectarines on sale. And I momentarily forgot that the apricot version wanted apricots and not nectarines. So I got a bunch of nectarines and didn't get the prunes and figured I'd just make that version. Then I got home and realized my mistake. But I already had the nectarines, so I figured I'd just go for it anyway. Nectarines and apricots are basically the same fruit, right?

Beef Tagine with Fresh ApricotsNectarines

Slightly adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• scant 1/8 tsp. saffron threads, crushed
• 3/4 c. hot water¹, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 shallot, grated or finely minced
• 1kg beef short ribs (braising ribs), cut into individual ribs
• 500g stewing beef, cut into 4-5cm chunks
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 4-5 fresh nectarines², quartered and pitted
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

1. Set your tagine on a heat diffuser and melt the butter and oil over medium-low heat. (I tried out an induction cooker for this and set it to 600W.)
2. Pour 2 Tbsp. of the hot water over the crushed saffron.
3. Add the salt, pepper, ginger, and 1/4 tsp. of the cinnamon to the saffron water. Let stand for 1-2 minutes.
4. Pour the spice water into the tagine along with the shallot and mix well.
5. Once the spices have warmed through, begin adding the beef. Try to make sure each piece gets coated in the buttery spices.
6. Add the remaining water along with the cilantro, cover, and simmer for 2.5 hours. Check on it every half hour or so to turn the meat, remove any bones that have come loose, and make sure it's neither boiling over nor boiling dry.
7. After 2.5 hours the meat should be very tender and falling off the bone. At the point, add the onion, cover, and simmer for another 30 minutes.
8. Stir in the honey and remaining 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon.
9. Cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.
10. If possible, transfer the meat to a serving dish leaving the sauce in the tagine. Add the apricots/nectarines to the sauce and continue simmering until just heated through. Then pour the sauce and nectarines over the beef. Otherwise, just place the nectarines on top of the beef in the tagine, cover, and simmer for another 10-20 minutes until heated through.
11. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

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Variations

Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Apples

This version can also be made with beef if desired. Or the above version can be made with lamb. Mix and match as you see fit.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• scant 1/8 tsp. saffron threads, crushed
• 2 3/4 c. hot water, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 shallot, grated or finely minced
• 1.5kg bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into 4-5cm chunks
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 450g pitted prunes
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 4 Tbsp. honey, divided
• 4 tart apples (eg. Granny Smith)
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

1. Start as above with 2 Tbsp. each of butter and oil in a tagine over medium-low heat.
2. Proceed through the next four steps as directed above.
3. Once the meat is in the tagine, pour 2 c. of the remaining hot water over the prunes and set them aside to soak.
4. Pour the remaining water over the meat and add the cilantro.
5. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, checking on it every 30 minutes or so to turn and remove loose bones as above.
6. After 2 hours, add the onions, then cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
7. Drain the prunes and add them to the tagine along with 3 Tbsp. of the honey and 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon.
8. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, quarter and core the apples (leaving the skin on).
10. Melt the remaining Tbsp. of butter with the honey and a pinch of cinnamon.
11. Add the apples, cut-side-down, and sauté until soft and glazed (~3 minutes).
12. Transfer the meat to a serving dish, pour the sauce over, then decorate with apples. Or, alternatively, place the apples on top of the meat and serve directly out of the tagine.
13. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for adding hot water to "almost cover the meat". For me, this was the 2 Tbsp. used in the spice water mixture + 1 c. But I found the resulting tagine very soupy. Maybe that is as it should be. But I think I would prefer a less soupy result next time so I've reduced the water quantity somewhat here. ^Back
2The original recipe called for 900g of fresh apricots, "pitted and cored". I weighed out 900g of nectarines. This worked out to be 7 nectarines for me. I managed to fit four of them into the tagine before it was in imminent danger of overflowing. So I've written up this recipe to reflec that. If you want a fruitier final product (and have a larger tagine than I do), you may decide that you want to use more nectarines/apricots than this. ^Back