Beef Tagine with Quince Paste

[achookwoman]

Beef Tagine with Quince Paste
This recipe, is not so much converted from Maggie Beer's recipe, Beef Tagine with Spiced Pear Paste, but inspired by it. I made the Ras- el- hanout, and the Quince Paste, so it is quite different from the original recipe, and of course I adapted it to the Thermomix. If you wish to make this Tagine but have no Quince paste, you could substitute Apricot or another stone fruit jam. Probably 1 Tablespoon full.

1 and 1/2 kg. Blade steak, cut into 2/3 cm. cubes
1 rounded Tablespoon of Ras-el-hanout
1 large brown onion, peeled and 1/4ed.
3/4 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 threads of Saffron, (optional)
EVO and 200mls, beef stock.
24 dried apricots
18 large prunes, pitted
1/4 cup of Verjuice, or white wine
100 g. Quince Paste, cut into 1 cm. cubes
1/2 cup of roasted almonds
Parsley to garnish

In a bowl mix the cubed steak with the Ras-el-hanout and let stand for 1 hour.
Put the Apricots, Prunes and Verjuice in a bowl which will fit the varoma.
Drop the onion and garlic on to the moving blades of the TMX, speed 5, until chopped.
Add 20mls. EVO and scrape down sides, and then cook for 5 mins. at 100 speed 1.
Add beef and beef stock and Quince paste.
Cook 40 mins.,at 100, on REVERSE and soft speed.
Place Varoma on top with dish containing Apricots ,Prunes and Verjuice and stir occasionally to help the fruit absorb the liquid.
After 40 mins. test the meat for tenderness. It should NOT be falling to pieces.
(Mine usually takes 45 mins)
When cooked, add the contents of the Varoma dish and continue to cook for 1 min, 100, speed soft reverse.

This can be served immediately, left in the Thermoserver, or kept until the next day and reheated in the oven or Microwave.

Serve with almonds, parsley , rice, and green salad or cooked vegies.
If eating straight away , vegies can be cooked around the dish in the Varoma.

members' comments

JulieO - we thoroughly enjoyed it and there's plenty left for another meal.  Beautiful flavour. 
The only change I did was to cook the onion and garlic on Varoma temp for 8 mins but as you know, I prefer the onion cooked more so I ended up scraping into a non-stick frypan and finished it off there.  I then put back into the bowl and continued on from there. 
My meat took 45 mins too.  I served over rice but it would go wonderfully with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Thanks chookie.

[judydawn]

I saw a recipe the other week using quince paste and I thought of you Chookie.  Nice to see you coming up with something to use your lovely paste in - bet it tastes as good as it looks.

[cookie1]

Thanks Chookie, another way to use my quince jam/paste. Although I love to eat it on my 5 seed bread.

[Cornish Cream]

I must live under a stone sometimes as I didn't know what Verjuice was so I looked it up.It doesn't exactly leap of the shelves in the shops here but again when I go shopping,I go with a list and only go down those aisle and don't usually browse.Also read a bit about Maggie Beer who seems a very interesting cook.Are all her cookbooks good?
Wonderful looking food Chookie and another recipe to squirrel away for the winter.Would it work well with lamb?

[AmandaN]

I love Moroccan food, so I will be giving this a go!  Plus I do have some quince jam in the fridge from having made a lamb shanks dish in the slow cooker recently.

[achookwoman]

Cornish Cream,  I think it would go really well with lamb,  just watch the cooking time.  Lamb shanks would be good but they are very expensive here.

[johnro]

That looks delicious Chooky, thank you -  will be one for the 'saved' folder.  Quice paste is a favourite of mine - usually with brie or camacbert though!!!

[Thermomixer]

Good work CHookie.  I have heaps of quince paste & was thinking of a lamb & qunice dish that I think is in my Claudia Roden book

[achookwoman]

I reheated this for tea tonight and it was spicy but not too hot.   Very much to our liking.

[JulieO]

Chookie I made this last night and we thoroughly enjoyed it and there's plenty left for another meal.  Beautiful flavour. 

The only change I did was to cook the onion and garlic on V temp for 8 mins, but as you know I prefer the onion cooked more so I ended up scraping into a non-stick frypan and finsihed it off there.  I then put back into the bowl and contined on from there. 

My meat took 45 mins too.  I served over rice but it would go wonderfully with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

I'm sorry there's no photo as it was late by the time we sat down to this and I still haven't got my lights sorted yet (note to self to get that done this weekend), but mine looked just like your photo.  Thanks chookie. 

[achookwoman]

JulieO,  glad you liked it