Spicy beef & chickpea stew with ras el hanout, orange & dates

Spicy beef & chickpea stew with ras el hanout, orange & dates

My beef and chickpea stew with ras el hanout, orange and dates is a spicy, fragrant slow cooked dish. The dates work well with the spices and chillies and create a hot and sweet sauce for the beef and chickpeas in this recipe. 

Ras el hanout is a North African spice mix, often used in Moroccan cuisine. There are many blends available in the shops with some recipes even having up to 100 different spices and ingredients. The version I used contained chilli, fennel, allspice, fennel, cardamon and nutmeg, to name but a few. 

An easy recipe to prepare in the morning for dinner, or even better if left until the next day. Delicious served with couscous, rice or flat breads and some thick yogurt on the side. Garnish with a few extra chopped chillies if you like. 

recipe by Ema at De Tout Coeur Limousin

serves 6-8 

ingredients:

1.5 kg stewing beef chopped (roughly 2 inch cubes) 

2 x 400g tin chickpeas drained/or 500g pre-cooked chickpeas

2 x 400g tin tomatoes

250g pitted dates chopped 

2 onions chopped 

3 cloves garlic crushed

2 long red chillies 

2 tsp ras el hanout spice mix 

3 bay leaves

1 stick cinnamon 

zest of 2 oranges

juice of 1 orange

2 tsp orange flower water 

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika 

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds 

500ml beef stock

salt and pepper 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

method:

heat the oil in a large pan and brown the beef on all sides, tip into a large lidded casserole dish. Fry the onions until starting to caramelise and brown on the edges. Add the crushed garlic, chillies, orange zest, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and all the other spices and continue to fry for a minute or 2 until fragrant. 

stir the onion and spice mix into the browned beef with the chickpeas, orange juice, chopped dates, orange flower water, tinned tomatoes and beef stock. Season with salt and pepper and cook in a covered dish on a low heat in the oven (160C/gas 3) or slow cooker for 5-7 hours, or until the beef is tender. Add a bit of water or beef stock if it is drying out during the cooking. 

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