Jamie Oliver’s Middle Eastern Beef Tagine

When the spirit is willing but the finances are weak, food and recipes can stand in for travel to foreign lands.

The middle east has long been on my bucket list, but it isn’t in the cards in the near future, so I will have to cook my way through chef Jamie Oliver’s new cookbook, “Jamie Oliver’s Food Escapes” (Oct. 2013; Hyperion; $35) to satisfy my wanderlust.

In it, he curates the “big hitters” from the countries he has visited, as well as his own creations that come from cues and influences around him.

So I can fill up on Spain with the Best Chorizo and Tomato Salad in the World, slightly sweet Olive Oil Biscuits (Tortas de Aceite) and brilliantly magenta Tinto de Verano Sorbet (cheap red wine and lemon flavors).

From Italy he brings us Risotto Bianco and three suggested variations (“master the mother recipe, then use your common sense, feel the power and create your own take on it,”) a properly rustic Venetian Fish Stew and of course, Best Tiramisu to serve 12 (or 4 at my household 😈 ).

He teases Swedish Meatballs, a Swedish Chicken Caesar Salad, Arctic Char in parchment paper parcels and Sexy Swedish Buns out of his trip to Sweden. For the record, those buns sport cardamom and blueberries.

I got moored in the section on Morocco, with Grilled Sardines, hand-held street fare like Ratatouille-Style Briouats, Kefta (Lovely Meatballs) and oh the tagines – Chicken, Olive and Preserved Lemon, and then Beef. I could not avert my eyes from the M’Hanncha with Date Sauce – a coiled snake-like pastry with fluffy almond filling, the bowls of olives in the markets, the one-pot Lamb Tangia cooked in the city’s communal oven…

He stops in Greece and France, too, but my bookmarks are all in Morocco. The smells seem to emanate from the pages, the sights – the book is photo-heavy, with local ingredients, finished dishes and a plethora of amazing travel pictures – invite dreaming. This is a book to savor, both for its power to drive your imagination, and to stimulate your appetites.

Our Sunday Supper cooks, this week under the guiding hand of Amanda from MarocMama,  are taking a virtual trip to the Middle East today. To the potluck table I bring Oliver’s Moroccan Beef Tagine.

Let’s make it, shall we? And dream.

Mezze {Appetizers}

• Muhammara – Supper for a Steal
• Homemade Labneh Cheese – The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Jerusalem’s Burnt Eggplant with Garlic, Lemon & Pomegranate Seeds – Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Sun Dried Tomato Hummus – Family Foodie

Salata {Salads and Sides}

• Fried Cauliflower w/ Sesame Parsley Sauce (Qarnabeet Mekleh Bil Taratoor) – girlichef
• Burnt Eggplant and Chickpea Soup – The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Couscous, Lentil and Chickpea Salad – Citronlimette
• Persian Jeweled Rice – Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Lebanese Rice – Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Main

• Quinoa Falafel– Jane’s Adventure in Dinner
• Jamie Oliver’s Beef Tagine – Shockingly Delicious
• Chicken Biryani – Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Crockpot Curry Chicken – The Foodie Army Wife
• Quinoa Falafel with Fresh Herbs – Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Shakshuka – kimchi MOM
• Beef Tagine Over Couscous – Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Grilled Red Snapper with Cilantro and Onion Stuffing or حمراء مشوية مع حشوة – Food Lust People Love
• Falafel with Israeli Salad – Webicurean
• Chicken Shawarma – The Texan New Yorker
• Spaghetti Squash Pastitsio with Greek Yogurt Bechamel – Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Kushari – Curious Cuisiniere
• Israeli BBQ Chicken – From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• Quick Persian Rice with Spiced Beef – MarocMama

Halwa {Desserts}

• Ghraybeh Cookies – Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Fried Honey Citrus Cakes – Neighborfood
• Easy Baklava Cake – NinjaBaking.com
• Ghraybeh – That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Sesame Tahini Cookies – Magnolia Days
• Basbousa (Semolina Cake) – Mess Makes Food

Join us around the family table for #SundaySupper 

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Tagged as: #SundaySupper, almonds, chickpeas, cilantro, cinnamon, cookbook, cumin, diced tomatoes, ginger, moroccan food, olive oil, onion, paprika, ras el hanout, squash, stew, stewing beef, tagine, vegetable broth