Moroccan Beef Stew
This Moroccan beef stew is easy, slow-cooked, and full of warm spices, sweet harissa, and preserved lemon for deep flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef chuck, cut into large chunks
- 700 g to 1 kg pumpkin, cut into large chunks
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions, roughly chopped (about 300 g)
- Salt, to taste
- 2 tbsp sweet harissa (or spicy, if preferred)
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp baharat or ras el hanout
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp date syrup or 1 chopped dates
- 2 thin slices preserved lemon
- 3 cups water or stock (plus more as needed)
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon (optional, if not already in your baharat or ras el hanout)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the beef chunks in batches until well browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pot, add the chopped onions with a pinch of salt. Sauté for 5–7 minutes, until softened and lightly golden.If the browned bits on the bottom start to get too dark, pour in a small splash of water and scrape them up before continuing — then go right back to frying.
- Stir in the harissa, paprika, baharat or ras el hanout, cumin, cardamom pods, bay leaf, date syrup (or chopped dates), preserved lemon, and cinnamon if using. Cook for about 1 minute, just until fragrant.
- Add the seared beef back to the pot. Pour in water or stock and stir to combine.
- Add in the pumpkin chunks in between the beef.
- Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook in three stages:30 minutes at 180°CReduce to 150°C and cook for another 30 minutesLower to 120°C and continue cooking for 3–4 hours, or until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick and rich
- If the stew looks dry during baking, add a splash of water or stock as needed.
- Serve hot with bread, rice, or couscous.
69kcal