Years ago there was an incredible site called Cooking.com that was full of the most amazing recipes. It’s long gone, but I still treasure the recipes I found there. One of my favorites is a Moroccan Beef Stew recipe with harissa sauce. My husband and I never get tired of it, but it is a lot of work, so I don’t make it very often. Well, I stumbled across another Moroccan Beef Stew recipe that also includes harissa sauce, and I was hesitant to even try it. How could it possibly be as good as the recipe I’ve been making for so long? Still, it was a bit different and sounded like it would be easier to prepare. I do like the sound of that, so I’m giving in and cheating on one of my favorite recipes. This better be good!
Moroccan Beef Stew is hearty, flavorful and perfect for a chilly night! It’s perfect slowly simmered on the stovetop, in the oven or pressure cooker.
The Ingredients
There were some similarities with my tried and true Moroccan Beef Stew recipe like some of the vegetables and spices, but there were more differences. Namely in the variety of vegetables and the addition of dried apricots. Also, the list of ingredients was a good bit shorter than my old recipe.
None of these items were difficult to find, though, and my usual grocery store had most everything I needed. The only items I couldn’t find were the dried chilis for the harissa. I had to order both the smoked chipotle peppers and the New Mexico chilis from Amazon.
The Process
Many times I will do just enough prep work in order to get started cooking and finish as I go. I changed that up for this recipe and prepped everything before I get started. That meant chopping the vegetables and chuck roast and measuring out the spices.
Once everything was ready, I dusted the beef chunks with the flour, salt, and pepper mixture and browned them in a 5-quart Dutch oven. It took me two batches to get them all, and my tongs were very helpful with turning to make sure each side was seared.
I did skip ahead a little while the beef was browning and got the harissa started. The chilis need to soak in boiling water for 20 minutes to soften, and that was simple enough to do at the same time as the beef.
With all the beef browned, it was time to add most of the vegetables, spices, and beef broth. I let that simmer for an hour and a half (the maximum time because I wasn’t in a hurry) while I finished the harissa.
Preparing it went as smoothly as the stew did. I wasn’t sure how to seed the chilis, but pulling out the stems and rinsing them under cool water did the trick. Then it was into my mini-prep with the rest of the ingredients to be turned into a spicy sauce.
Lastly, my times lined up perfectly with those listed in this recipe:
- 29 minutes to prep
- 1 hour 45 minutes to cook
- 2 hours 14 minutes total
