FRAGRANT MOROCCAN BEEF, DATE, HONEY AND PRUNE TAGINE - CROCK POT

Steps:

• Par-boil the carrots in boiling water for about 3 -5 minutes.
• Preheat the electric Tagine or crock pot to High.
• Heat up half of the olive oil in a large frying pan and quickly brown the onion quarters over a fairly high heat until charred & coloured well. Tip them into the crock pot.
• Add the chopped garlic & par-boiled carrots to the onions in the crock pot.
• Make up 1/2 pint of stock with a beef stock cube. Add the honey to the the stock & ALL the dried spices. Tip the honey & spiced stock into the crock pot & mix well. Add the cinnamon stick.
• Add the tinned tomatoes, dates & prunes to the crock pot - mix well.
• Heat up the remaining olive oil and brown the beef cubes in small batches to sear & seal them. As you finish browning them, add the beef to the crock pot.
• When you have finished browning all the beef, give the whole mixture a good stir & season with salt & pepper.
• Cook on high for between 6 & 10 hours depending on your crock pot's wattage & settings.
• Serve the beef tagine with fluffy couscous and garnish with the chopped fresh coriander & toasted flaked almonds. It also works well with rice too.
• P.S. Watch out for the cinnamon stick! We sometimes award the lucky winner of the cinnamon stick with an extra glass of wine!
• P.P.S. You can use dates & prunes which have not been pitted, they do tend to hold their shape better too, just warn your guests that they must look out for the stones!