Beef Tagine over Couscous

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What a crazy week it has been!ย  We had a half day on Tuesday, I had meetings all day Wednesday, Halloween on Thursday, and then a behavioral reward on Friday.ย  I’m exhausted but it’s also been one of the most fun weeks.ย  My kids had a blast at our behavioral reward party and we even had an impromptu dance party!ย  (I may have been singing and dancing!)

Beef Tagine (Beef, tomatoes, and chickpeas in a flavorful sauce)

At the end of the week I realized I still hadn’t made my dish for this week’s #SundaySupper theme Middle Eastern Cuisine.ย  There’s a little placed called Ali Baba in Morgantown, WV where we like to go about once a month.ย  They have the best Mediterranean food around!

Seriously the lamb kabobs are amazing, the hummus is the best I’ve had, and the baba ganoush is out of this world!ย  I don’t have much experience making any Middle Eastern Cuisine except for hummus, so I took this opportunity to make something totally new.

I love lamb so I wanted to make lamb tagine.ย  After my crazy week I went to the market and of course there was no lamb to be found.

I spent months last year begging for ground lamb and they now stock that all the time but other lamb meat is not readily available in my area.ย  So unfortunately I had to go for my second choice which was beef.ย  In the end the beef tagine ended up being pretty awesome so I didn’t mind.

Beef Tagine from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

The flavors are sweet, savory, and a bit spicy.ย  I had mine with the chopped apricots but my husband doesn’t like fruit in his entrees so I kept them out of his.ย  We both like the spices in this dish and that it was served over couscous.ย  It was a bright and vibrant dish that I can’t wait to make again (with lamb!)

Beef Tagine over Couscous (adapted from Epicurious)
2 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 t. tumeric
2 t. paprika
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 T. ginger, peeled and chopped
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 T. flour
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped
2 c. cooked couscous
3 T. chopped cilantro

1.ย  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.ย  Season the beef with salt and pepper then add to the skillet.ย  Brown on all sides.ย  Add in the onion and saute for 5 minutes.

2.ย  Stir in the garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute.ย  Add in the tumeric, paprika, and ginger and mix well.

3.ย  Stir in the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, and flour.ย  Mix well.ย  Bring to a boil then reduced heat to medium low and cook for 40 minutes.

4.ย  Stir in the chickpeas and apricots and cook for 5 minutes.ย  Remove from heat.

5.ย  Serve over top of couscous and sprinkle with cilantro.

Beef, chickpeas, and tomatoes in a middle eastern sauce

14 Comments

  1. Sounds like a great dish. It is so hard for me to find lamb, I once went to three different stores trying to find ground lamb. But this sounds like to turned out great with beef too.

  2. What a beautiful dish, Heather! We are fortunate that lamb of all sorts is available where I live so I do tend to use it in curries and stews more than beef. I think it has more flavor. That said, any meat would be delicious cooked with the combination of spices you have here. Send me a big bowl, please!

  3. Wow, this sounds fantastic! I can’t believe I have never tried couscous! Also, I JUST bought a huge lot of chickpeas.. This came at the perfect time!

  4. You are so much fun… love the idea of an impromptu dance party! I thought teachers loved half days…. no?
    So glad you found time to make and share this fabulous recipe during #SundaySupper…. love me some couscous!

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