SLOW COOKED BEEF AND PRUNES
When I was living in Manchester, working for an organisation, that supported primarily Jewish people with mental health, and learning difficulties to live independently within the community.
My energetic, warm, dynamic friend & colleague Hadassa introduced me to the idea of Beef with prunes, I was dubious how it would work, but was quickly converted to this Sephardic dish.
Hadassa used to serve this quite regularly for Shabbos lunch, It is amazingly easy to prepare, and is a wonderful alternative to a traditional chulent that fills the house with the smells of a Moroccan spice market when cooking.
This is my slightly tweaked version of her dish, to commemorate Hadassa’s 19th yartzite.
Ingredients to serve 6.
1kilo chuck steak pre-diced
1 red onion peeled and chopped
1 white onion peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic peeled and whole
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon dried cumin
½ teaspoon dried coriander
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 bay leaves
½ cup pitted olives (optional)
250 ml of beef or vegetable stock
The juice of one orange
1 glass red wine (I use Kiddush wine as it adds to the depth of flavour)
½ cup of chopped flat leaf parsley for serving
200 grams pitted prunes
1 table spoon of rice flour, placed in a plastic food bag mixed with 1 teaspoon paprika and ½ teaspoon salt.
Method
Line the slow cooker with a slow cooker bag.
Put the chuck steak into the food bag with the seasoned flour, shake it well, so all the meat is covered.
Put all the ingredients apart from the parsley into the slow cooker, making sure that the liquid covers everything.
Put on the lid and cook either 2 hours on high, then turn onto low for at least 8 hours or cook over night.
Sprinkle parsley over before serving. Serve with rice.