Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
For 8 servings
- 1kg (2.2 lbs) beef (chuck, short ribs, flat ribs, shank, cheek)
- 500g (1.1 lbs) merguez sausages
- 100g (1 packet) mloukhia (jute mallow powder)
- 1 heaping tbsp dried mint
- 150ml (⅔ cup) neutral oil (sunflower)
- 1 large chopped onion (or 2 medium)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp harissa
- Small amount of tomato paste (optional)
- salt
In a Dutch oven or large pot, brown the meat in a little sunflower oil. Once seared on all sides, remove it and discard the excess fat. Add 1 tbsp sunflower oil back to the pot and sweat the chopped onion, stirring with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking.
Place the merguez in a dish and microwave for 2 minutes. You can also pan-fry them - the goal of cooking them separately is to release the excess (bad) fat before adding them to the mloukhia.
In the pot, add the jute mallow powder (mloukhia) and drizzle in the oil while mixing well with a wooden spoon. It should come away from the sides and absorb the oil.
- Add the mint, ground coriander, tomato paste, and harissa. Continue mixing, add the garlic clove, return the meat and merguez to the pot, pour in warm water (this prevents lumps) just to cover (it will be absorbed and the mloukhia will thicken), and cook over very low heat. For reference, I set my induction cooktop to 3 (otherwise it sticks to the bottom). Stir regularly to check it’s not sticking and cook for 2-3 hours.
Here’s what it looks like right after adding the water:
And a few minutes later, you can see the water has been absorbed and the texture is already more velvety.
After 2½ hours of cooking, or when the meat is tender (knife tip comes out easily) and the oil has risen to the top, it’s ready. Serve piping hot with Italian bread or baguette.