Fragrant Moroccan Beef, Date, Honey and Raisin Tagine - Crock Pot

Not too long ago, I tasted a dish made by the husband of one of my co-workers.  It’s Moroccan (as is her husband), but neither she nor her husband had a real name for it, and also didn’t necessarily have a set recipe.  All I know is that it was awesome.  One day, I was on supercook.com looking for recipes to use up ingredients that we had in the cabinet (specifically, dates) and I was pleased to find that this seemed similar to my friend’s husband’s dish.  It doesn’t taste exactly the same as theirs, but it was awesome nonetheless.

The original recipe can be found here.  What follows below is my exact version based on what I had (and didn’t have) on hand – for example, I used raisins instead of prunes, and quinoa instead of couscous.  I realized afterwards that I also had dried cherries in the cabinet – and I bet if I threw them in the pot, too, it would have been great.  I also see no reason why the olive oil is needed in this recipe, as long as you are using a non-stick skillet, but I used the oil anyways.  But being how many servings the recipe makes, omitting the oil wouldn’t reduce the calories or fat in each serving by much at all (only 12 calories and about 1g fat).  Here is the recipe, which makes 10 good-size servings....

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lbs beef brisket, trimmed of fat & cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb onions, peeled & quartered
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped finely
• 1 lb carrots, peeled & cut into chunks
• 1 can of Hunt’s No Salt Added Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes, drained
• 8 ounces dates, pitted and torn in half
• 6 ounces seedless raisins
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup Swanson (100% Fat Free) 50% Less Sodium Beef Broth
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Salt (1 teaspoon) & pepper
• 2 ounces toasted sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Par-boil the carrots in boiling water for about 3 -5 minutes.
2. Preheat a large crock pot to High.
3. Heat up half of the olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the onion quarters over a fairly high heat until charred & colored well. Tip them into the crock pot.
4. Add the chopped garlic & par-boiled carrots to the onions in the crock pot.
5. To the beef stock, add the honey & all the dried spices (not the salt & pepper). Pour the beef stock mixture into the crock pot & mix well.
6. Add the cinnamon stick.
7. Add the tomatoes, dates & raisins to the crock pot - mix well.
8. Heat up the remaining olive oil and brown the beef cubes in the frying pan in batches to sear & seal them. As you finish browning them, add the beef to the crock pot.
9. When you have finished browning all the beef, give the whole mixture a good stir & season with salt & pepper.
10. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally, until the carrots and beef reach your desired level of doneness.
11. Remove the cinnamon stick.
12. Serve over cooked quinoa & sprinkle some toasted flaked almonds over the top. It also works well with rice too.

THE DATA:

For one serving with a ½ cup of cooked quinoa, we have:

• 545 calories
• 36 g protein
• 67 g carbs
• 17 g fat
• 8 g fiber
• 393 mg sodium

It's delicious, hearty, and satisfying....and your house will smell fantastic all day.  :)