Moroccan Beef Tagine with Figs + Almonds
When it’s cold and dreary outside there is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of something wholesome, sweet, and a little spicy. My Moroccan Beef Tagine with Figs and Almonds is healthy, beautifully textured, and miraculously delicious when you are suffering from the end-of-summer blues. Cumin and turmeric keeps things grounded, and the addition of ginger, leek, and garlic make the grey clouds disappear and sky open up.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 x sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small chunks
300 g chuck beef steak, cubed
1 small leek, washed and sliced
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
200 g tinned tomatoes, inc. juice
1 cup water
½ bunch fresh coriander
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp harissa paste
¼ cup almonds, roughly chopped
¼ cup dried organic figs, sliced
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups water
¼ tsp ground turmeric
2 cardamom pods, cracked
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the beef and brown all over – it is best to do this in batches – if the pan is overcrowded the meat won’t brown. Remove the beef from the pan.
Add the sliced leeks to the pan with a little more oil – if needed – cook until soft, then stir in ginger and garlic. Stir in the spices and lemon zest. Add in the tomatoes and juice along with the water, harissa paste and finely chopped stalks and roots of the coriander – reserving the leaves for later. Return the beef to the pan along with the sweet potato, give the stew a gentle stir and cover with lid. Reduce heat and leave to simmer for 45-60 minutes, until the meat is really tender – adding more water during cooking if needed.
With about 15 minutes of cooking to go, add the chopped figs to the pot.
For the quinoa, place all the ingredients into a saucepan, bring to the boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the water has absorbed.
When ready to serve, remove the stew from the heat and stir in coriander leaves and a squeeze of lemon juice. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve on a bed of the cardamom quinoa. Sprinkle with almonds, zest and serve.
Serves 2
This takes me back to my Moroccan host mum’s kitchen — she made a proper tagine only on special occasions, and oh what a treat it was! Beef/almond/fig is delicious, and so is lamb/apricot/almond. I also love your idea of switching out couscous for the more powerpacked quinoa!
Thanks for the lovely comment, Valerie. Always means a lot when something I post brings back memories for those who look at it. The decision to swap the couscous was two-fold. 1: A challenge to create a dish that was wintery and ‘paleo-friendly’; and 2: I am a big big fan of the nutty little “grain”.
This recipe comes at a perfect time – it’s gray and dreary and rainy here in Brooklyn. Just looking at the pictures of this tagine warms me up.
Your tagine picture is the best picture I have seen all week. Simply lovely. I have been wanting to make a tagine lately. Great post.
Thank you, ChefConnie. I am beaming.
This sounds soooo good and fresh figs are abundant right now.
That looks simply wonderful. I adore Moroccan tagine cooking – it’s more often than not incredible.
Beautiful top photo. And the dish sounds wonderful.
Stunning Kate! And beautiful photos. This gets the Paleo ‘tick’. As you know, we’re not one for grains so we’ll leave the quinoa to the side but in saying so, it’s a very good side choice over rice or cous cous for the wonderful protein properties it has. Love your work. x
Thanks for the feedback, Tash. I thought I was onto a winner with the quinoa! Unfortunately not. A sweet potato mash, cauliflower+kale mash could be a paleo-friendly alternative? Or sometimes what I like to do – when I have poached eggs and not in the mood for toast but still want something to sit my egg on top of to mop up the lovely yolk – is cut a cauliflower lengthways into a big thick slab, drizzle with a little olive oil and sherry vinegar and bake in the oven or grill on a griddle pan until tender.. this could work with the beef tagine – and look pretty to boot!
I think the cauliflower and kale mash would be brilliant! And what a great idea for the cauli ‘slab’ under the poached eggs or even for this tagine – definitely fits into the Paleo way of eating!
It looks beautiful and sounds yummy. I might make a variant of this at some time.
What a lovely dish for two.This is my first visit to your site, so I took some time to browse through your earlier posts. I’m so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I’ll definitely be returning. I hope you have a great weekend. Blessings…Mary
This looks amazing. I am definitely going to try this. I am drooling over my computer. So good.
Looks delicious. Photos are just great ¡¡
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