Morrocan braised beef and pears

I picked up a jar of Moroccan spice mix at a shop recently. I had to go to another country to get it, but it was only an hour away - did I tell you how much I love living in Europe? 

Being in another country in an hour - how remarkable!

I was rather excited about this little jar of spices - paprika, rose petals, coriander seeds, garlic, chilli, pepper, mint, all beautiful spices. The smell alone takes me to a special place and evokes wonderful memories of a little Morrocan cafe we used to visit when we lived inner-city in Brisbane, Australia. A long time ago, before children even. Tagines, yoghurt, lamb dishes perfectly cooked with tasty fruit-based sauces. In my opinion, the Moroccans are responsible for some of the tastiest food on the planet. 

Back to the food. My first outing with the newly-acquired spice jar was the following recipe. A lovely braised beef dish with pears and Moroccan spices. Now, beef with pears might sound a bit strange, but I wanted the dish to be a little sweet and I had some rather sad looking pears in the fruit bowl that had been bashed about in my shopping trolley. They were ripe, sweet and perfectly edible, but had a few brown spots, so the children were a bit turned off. So into the cooking pot they went. Of course the pears disintegrated to make a lovely sauce, but the lovely sweet flavour permeated the beef and made from the usual tomato-based sauces that sometimes I get a bit bored with.

This is a dish for a cool Autumn weekend afternoon. You'll need at least three hours for the cooking time so that the beef is melt-in-the-mouth. And your neighbours will be jealous as you will  have some delicious aromas coming from your house.

I suggest you open a bottle of red wine  to help you pass the time - just for the pure please of it.

What you'll need

Serves four people

1kg braising beef (a cut that benefits from long, slow cooking) - chuck, blade or shin, cut into 3cm cubes

2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped

3 pears, skin and seeds removed and roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon Morrocan spice mix (or more or less as you like)

Juice and zest of half a lemon
1 tablespoon golden syrup or honey

3 - 4 cups beef stock

Handful fresh mint, finely chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

What to do

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until the onion is translucent. Add the beef to the pan. Add the beef, a cup at a time to the pan. Brown each batch on all sides before adding the next batch. Once all the beef has been added and is brown, add the spice mix. Mix well to combine with the beef.

Add two cups of the beef stock - it should just cover the beef mix - and increase the heat to bring the pot to a rapid simmer. Once this is done, reduce the heat to low, place the lid on the saucepan, and cook, checking the liquid level for about 1 hour. At the one hour mark, add the pears and more beef stock if needed to keep to liquid just level with the beef. Replace the lid and cook for a further 60 to 90 minutes, stirring regularly.

For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid and allow the liquid to evaporate and thicken the sauce. Once the meat is falling apart (you can test by removing a piece and pulling it apart with a fork), remove from the heat. Add the honey/golden syrup/ lemon juice and season to taste.

Serve while warm, sprinkling the fresh mint and lemon zest on top - and be transported to that little Moroccan restaurant back in Brisbane....