I looked up to her as my mentor and my teacher of all worldly things.
She always had stories to tell me of her trips to Spain, Italy, and Morocco. While she would prepare the nightly special, I would be marinating and jarring the weeks batch of spiced olives. I was never able to work efficiently with her. I say this because when she has a story to tell you, you'll want to stop what you're doing so you can go along on the journey.
Her trip to Morocco got me lost in winding alley ways, colorful scarves, and henna stained hands. Spices, herbal remedies, and clay tagines simmering away. Street vendors offering grilled meats. Women cooking over wood-fired stoves-getting dinner ready for their families. Shops selling specialty lemon preserves and the use of harissa everywhere...(I learned about preserved lemons and making harissa from Felicia.)
I can only imagine the aromas she was describing. --At this point my stomach was growling. It didn't help that there was bread baking in the oven, tortilla de patatas cooling on the rack, and Felicia carefully opening pomegranates to add to the night's special. She'd go on to tell me about tagines and Moroccan cuisine and tips she'd pick up from her travels.
A tagine is not only the name of the dish, but it is the vessel Moroccan's (and other North African countries) use to slow cook stews in. The cone on top helps keep moisture in by capturing the condensation and allowing it to drip back down to the base. A helpful tip Felicia gave me, one she learned from a Moroccan housewife, is to dampen paper towels and wrap it around the bottom of the cone to give it a good seal.
Although I've never tried any of Felicia's tagine recipes, the recipe I'm sharing with you is a great one to start with. I didn't have preserved lemons or harissa on hand for this recipe. Instead, I used zest from (1) lemon and sambal (Asian chili paste) respectively.
Oh, and one more thing. You do not need a tagine to cook a tagine in. You can use any ol' pot. It is, however, quite a conversation piece when you have it on your stove simmering away.
Moroccan Beef Tagine with Carrots and Spring Peas
Serves 3
(1) pound bone-less short ribs, cubed (you can use any type of stewing meat.)
for the marinade:
teaspoon and a half of:
cumin, powdered ginger, turmeric, powdered garlic, cinnamon, sambal, sweet paprika, and olive oil
(2) garlic cloves, minced
Rub it all over the meat and marinate over night or at least 2 hours!
and the rest of the ingredients:
(1) medium white onion, roughly chopped
(2) tomatoes, medium diced with seeds
(4-5) carrots cut into thirds
(1/2) cup peas (frozen if you don't have fresh)
On medium-high heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil and sear (in batches) the marinated beef on all sides. Set aside.
Saute the onions for about 2 minutes.
Put the beef back on the heat with the onions and de-glaze the pan with about 1/2 cup of water while scraping the pan.
Lower the temperature to low, cover and let it slightly simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours.
At this point just relax, watch a movie or go to the gym.
During the last half hour add your tomatoes and carrots and simmer till the carrots are fork tender, but not mushy. Also, add salt and pepper to taste at this point. Add the peas 5-7 minutes before serving.
It's important to wait till the last minute when adding peas to any hot dish, because they turn into an ugly, shrivel-ee green color and people will think you've used canned peas instead of fresh or frozen. You don't want ugly peas!!!
I garnished mine with fresh cilantro and shaved radishes.
Tagines are traditionally served with bread or cous cous, but I try to eat gluten-free so I served it with basmati rice.
