A Seasonal Slow Sunday Supper: Aromatic Beef and Quince Tagine with Pomegranate
A Seasonal Slow Sunday Supper:
Aromatic Beef and Quince Tagine with Pomegranate
Pomegranate
The season continues to move on with misty mornings and crisp frosty evenings, stars bright and the sky filled with fireworks, as Bonfire Night approaches on the 5th November. Meals are now taken by roaring fires and casseroles, daubes, stews, soups and hot pots are proving popular choices with the family. The greengrocer’s shop display is filled with tangerines, apples, pears, quince, root vegetables, onions, field mushrooms and exotic pomegranates, whilst inside propping up the door, are a line of pumpkins. It’s a season brimming with wonderful produce and I love this time of year. So, when I received a box of food from Knorr and Forman and Field the other day, I was delighted to see that it was filled with some fabulous seasonal produce: beef brisket (one of my favourite cuts of meat), pearl onions, celery, thyme and parsley, beautiful wild mushrooms, leeks and celery, port, red wine and some Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pots, I knew that there would be a tasty family meal on the table at the weekend.
Boeuf Bourguignon with Wild Mushrooms Box from Knorr
I have just been asked to be part of the Knorr Seasonal Box Campaign for bloggers; basically, I will receive a box of seasonal ingredients throughout the year, and my challenge is to make a recipe with the ingredients provided – either one of my own creations, or a specially selected recipe from Marco Pierre White for Knorr. My first box arrived with all the ingredients to make a Boeuf Bourguignon with Wild Mushrooms. Now I LOVE Boeuf Bourguignon, it’s an all time French classic and a dish that is perfect for this time of year, but, I also fancied making a recipe of my own with the ingredients that arrived, and as soon as I saw the wonderful piece of beef brisket, I knew what I wanted to make, a fragrant and aromatic tagine, Beef and Quince Tagine with Pomegranate, as I had some pomegranates in the pantry, and some quince to use up from my tree in the garden.
Boeuf Bourguignon with Wild Mushrooms Box from Knorr
My quince tree has been a STAR this year, I have had kilos and kilos of golden perfumed fruit, and I still have a bowl left to use. I LOVE quince in preserves, but, this exotic fruit is an absolute DIVA in savoury stews and casseroles, as well as curries, and tagines too. So, the scene was set for a Moroccan Sunday Lunch, with thanks to Knorr. I decided to make this tagine in my slow cooker, as I had lots of other things to make and bake; however, I have included instructions for conventional cooking in the recipe. The Knorr stock was amazingly beefy and almost like home-made stock, with a rich smell and flavour – perfect as a base for my aromatic casserole…..
Aromatic Beef and Quince Tagine with Pomegranate
I served this with fluffy couscous, as well as some flat breads and harissa on the side; the tagine was beautifully fragrant with ras-el-hanout and the quince, and, the beef was meltingly tender. The bottle of wine that was in my box proved to be a perfect accompaniment for the meal, and I will have the port for a wee digestif later, with some cheese! As for the wild mushrooms, they are on the menu for tea time tonight, as I am going tomake an omelette with them, and some of my hen’s free-range eggs, perfect! For those of you hankering after a good Boeuf Bourguignon, DO take a look at the excellent video on the Knorr site, where Marco Pierre White presents a Masterclass on how to make a perfect Boeuf Bourguignon.….it’s well worth a look, and the recipe is also shown there too.
Video: Marco Pierre White presents a Masterclass on how to make a perfect Boeuf Bourguignon
The next time I am in the mood for a Boeuf Bourguignon, this is the recipe I am going to make, and I will report back here! In the meantime, if you would like to WIN a Boeuf Bourguignon Beef Box from Knorr and Forman and Field, I have a GIVEAWAY running at the moment, where you can enter to win one: Giveaway: Win a Forman and Field Boeuf Bourguignon in a Box with Knorr, GOOD LUCK!
Aromatic Beef and Quince Tagine with Pomegranate
With thanks to Knorr and Forman and Field, as well as Jen and Neil for sending me this lovely box, and I look forward to cooking with Knorr in the future. Time to go now, but DO call back later, as I have a bonfire recipe to share, as well as an unusual meal plan for next week.…..have a RELAXED SLOW SUNDAY, Karen
A Seasonal Slow Sunday Supper: Aromatic Beef and Quince Tagine with Pomegranate
Aromatic Beef and Quince Tagine with Pomegranate
Print recipe
| Serves | 6 |
| Prep time | 45 minutes |
| Cook time | 8 hours |
| Total time | 8 hours, 45 minutes |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish |
| Misc | Gourmet, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Casual Party, Christmas, Formal Party, Halloween |
| Region | Moroccan |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 4 quinces, peeled and cut into quarters or thick slices
- 200g pearl onions, peeled
- 1 stick celery, trimmed, cleaned and cut into dice
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 800g beef brisket (cut into large chunks)
- Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pot
- 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 x 800g tin of chickpeas
- 2 teaspoons ras-el-hanout spice mixture
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons fruit chutney
- parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- seeds from 1 pomegranate
Note
An aromatic beef and quince tagine with chickpeas and pomegranate - this tagine is seasoned with aromatic ras-el-hanout and cumin; serve with fluffy couscous and flat breads. This could also be called an Elizabethan Stew, minus the tomatoes and chickpeas - quince (and other fruits) as well as aromatic spices were often used in savoury dishes during the era. This tagine would make an excellent meal for New Year's Eve or Bonfire Night, as well as for other winter festivals.
Directions
| Step 1 | Heat the oil in a large heavy based frying pan and add the quince slices and caramelise them for about 4 to 5 minutes, add some more oil if needed then add the onions, celery and garlic, cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes; drain the fruit and vegetables, and put them all into a slow cooker (or a cast iron casserole dish if cooking conventionally. Also at this stage pre-heat oven to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2). |
| Step 2 | Add more oil to the pan and add the beef, sealing the meat on all sides until it is dark golden brown. Do it in batches in a very hot heavy-bottomed pan with a little oil added for each batch, then transfer each batch to a colander to drain off any excess fat. Put the beef in to the slow cooker or the cast iron casserole dish once it is all cooked and drained. |
| Step 3 | Dissolve one Knorr Beef Stock Pot into 500ml of water, or slightly less if cooking in a slow cooker, I used 250mls of water. Add the stock to the meat and vegetables, and then add the tinned tomatoes and chick peas; stir well and then add the spices, chutney and parsley. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. |
| Step 4 | Cook the beef tagine on high for 4 hours before turning it down to low and cooking for a further 4 hours - or cook on auto for 6 to 8 hours, if your slow cooker has this facility. For conventional cooking - pop the tagine in to a pre-heated oven and cook for approximately three and three-quarter hours, or until meat is tender. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. |
| Step 5 | Serve immediately with couscous and with the pomegranate seeds sprinkled over the top of the tagine. Serve harissa and flat breads on the side. |
A Seasonal Slow Sunday Supper: Aromatic Beef and Quince Tagine with Pomegranate
Disclaimer: I was sent a box of ingredients from Forman and Field and Knorr and was asked to make a recipe to post here; all opinions are my own and I was not paid for this post. With thanks to Knorr and Forman and Field, as well as Jen and Neil, for sending me these ingredients.
Pomegranate
As my recipe had pomegranates in it, I am submitting this to the One Ingredient challenge hosted by Laura and Nazima.
Camilla @Fabfood4all says
What a great idea and those quinces look so succulent I can virtually taste them; I imagine they are a great contrast to the strong flavour of the beef. I hadn’t realised we could add our own ingredients so will go off piste myself next time!
Karen says
Yes we can create our own recipe or use the one that comes in the box Camilla! XX Karen
Laura@howtocookgoodfood says
What a beautiful box of goodies you received. Funnily enough I made a beef & chickpea tagine myself last week when we had friends over. It was delicious and had similar ingredients to yours. Good to see we share the same taste in food and adding the pomegranates is inspired. I love the crunch of the seeds and the sweet/sour taste which would cut through the richness of the dish perfectly.
Thanks of entering One Ingredient with this dish!
Karen says
Thanks Laura, the pomegranate seeds add a fresh crunch and are perfect with the rich earthy tagine – we all loved this!
We often post the same recipes, great minds think alike! 🙂
Karen
mycookinghut says
Such comfort food, I love!
Karen says
Thanks so much! 🙂 Karen
Ren Behan says
A lovely recipe Karen, fruity AND saucy!!! I made a wonderful lamb tagine this week with squash, apricot and chickpeas and so I can just imagine how good this beef brisket stew tastes in your French kitchen. My box arrives this week, looking forward to tasting all of the fine seasonal ingredients on offer. X
Karen says
Thanks Ren, I just realised that I should add this to your simple and in season event too……silly moi! The box was a lovely surprise and the meat and all of the other ingredients are top notch as always when they come from Forman and Field.
Your tagine sounds delicious, I am a BIG fan of tagines on all shapes and forms!
Karen
Dominic says
how wonderful!… i love all those delicious sweet and savoury flavours together, so aromatic and so romantically middle-eastern… I adore brisket too, my favourite cut of beef, so packed with fall apart flavour! x
Karen says
Thanks Dom, this was really a delectable autumnal meal and I was very pleased with the quince and spice combo, and as you said, the brisket was so tender as well as having enough flavour to carry the spices. Karen
Andrea Mynard says
Loving your quince recipes Karen, they add such a great flavour to sweet and savoury dishes. Very envious of your productive quince tree too – did you plant it and if so, how many years was it until you had a good crop? I am thinking wistfully of my quince tree that has produced one fruit so far! Andrea
Karen says
Thanks Andrea! I am a lucky keeper of the old quince tree that was in or garden when we bought our house ten years ago…..it is about 50 to 60 years old we guesstimate, and I have only ever had a bad year once, about three years ago! Don’t give up on your quince tree, they do start to produce quite quickly once settled in, unless it is very old and needs a good prune. Karen
Kerry Jones says
Hi Karen, very interesting recipe – I have rarely heard Quince mentioned outside of the “Owl and The Pussycat” and last time I looked I didn’t have a runcible spoon in my cutlery draw either :o(
Can you buy quince anywhere and what would be a suitable substitute please?
Karen says
Thanks Kerry! 🙂 It would be difficult to substitute quince in this recipe, but they are much easier to buy now at farmer’s markets, small green grocers, as well as some supermarkets. I would use apples in their place, and maybe add some quince syrup, which can be purchased on-line or at top end supermarkets. Karen
Kerry Jones says
OK Great, many thanks for the reply. I will keep an eye out for them.
Maya Russell says
I like the sweetness added by the fruits to this recipe. Hmm.