The taste of Marrakech: to bring a bit of these flavours home, here’s a prestigious dish often prepared during festive seasons like Ramadan. The recipe comes from Mehdiya Kerairia’s book Habibi, which presents 80 treasures from North African cuisine. Here, the recipe uses beef, but while the “hlou†(“sweetâ€) tajine is inspired by Algeria, this recipe is also commonly made with lamb in Marrakech.
Find more information about Marrakech, click here.
Ingredients
- 500g beef (shank or shoulder)
- 100g dried prunes
- 100g dried apricots
- 50g blanched almonds
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 50g large golden raisins
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp orange blossom water
- 3 tbsp sugar
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of pepper
Instructions
- Peel and slice the onion. Peel and chop the garlic.
- In a pot, heat the butter and olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic. Add the beef, cut into pieces, and brown over high heat for a few minutes. Add ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper, and mix. Add a glass of water, cover, and cook on low heat for 45 minutes, until the meat is very tender. Add more water during cooking if the sauce reduces too much.
- In a separate pan, combine the apricots, raisins, star anise, cinnamon stick, vanilla pod, honey, orange blossom water, and sugar. Add a ladle of cooking juice and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. Add the stewed dried fruits and juice to the pot with the meat, then continue cooking on low heat for another 5 minutes.
- Arrange the meat and dried fruits on a plate, drizzle with a little juice, and sprinkle with toasted blanched almonds. a
