Beef & veggie tagine

Ever since my trip to Marrakech I've been wanting to share this recipe with you. It's really easy (just how I like it) and very tasty. Each time I make it it takes me back to those lovely days with my girls having fun in the sun.

You can use all kinds of veggies: peas, chickpeas, broad beans, carrots, eggplant, courgette, potatoes, paprika etc. But my tagine always includes carrots cause I love the sweetness it adds to the dish.
The original recipe used a fairly large amount of oil (a full cup) but I've cut this back to half a cup to make it a bit leaner.

Don't worry if you don't actually own a tagine, I don't either. All you need is a lidded pot, preferably with a thick bottom.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 1 large tomato 
• 300 g cubed beef or lamb
• 600 g veggies 
• 1/2 tbsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tbsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp powdered coriander seed
• 1/2 tbsp powdered ginger 
• 1/2 tbsp tomato purée 
• Pinch of black pepper
• Salt
• Olive oil (or another vegetable oil)
• Cup of water

Directions:

1. Wash veggies and cut lengthwise  in like sized pieces so it will cook evenly. 
2. Chop up onion and sauté in olive oil on medium heat. Add meat, cumin, ginger, paprika, turmeric, coriander powder & black peper and sear on all sides. 
3. Add the tomato and tomato purée and let it caramelize a bit while occasionally stirring. 
4. Pour in the water so the meat is neatly submerged. Put the lid on and cook on high heat for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 45-60 minutes. Stir occasionally and if necessary add some water to keep it from scorching. 
5. Next add salt to taste and quite literally pile the veggies on top. Start with the firmer veggies like carrots and potatoes then the others like courgette and paprika. You're basically building a little pyramid to steam cook the veggies. 
6. Add some water so the meat is sort of half submerged. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for about 20 minutes. You want to end with cooked veggies that still have a bite to them floating in a nice and thick sauce.
   
   I served it with a fresh tomato salad, harissa yoghurt, fluffy couscous and some thick bread for dipping up that lovely sauce. Yum yum!