Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Serves 8
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) stewing beef (neck, chuck, short ribs, shank, cheek)
- 500 g (1.1 lb) merguez sausages
- 100 g (3.5 oz, 1 packet) mloukhia powder (ground jute leaves)
- 1 heaping Tbsp dried mint
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) neutral oil (sunflower)
- 1 large onion, chopped (or 2 medium)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp harissa
- 1 dab tomato paste (optional)
- salt
In a Dutch oven or heavy pot, brown the beef in a little sunflower oil. Once it is 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 so it doesn’t stick.
Put the merguez on a plate and microwave them for 2 minutes. You can also brown them in a skillet; the point of cooking them separately is to let them release their excess (bad) fat before adding them to the mloukhia.
In the pot, add the jute leaf powder (mloukhia) and drizzle in the oil, mixing everything well with a wooden spoon. It should pull away from the sides of the pot and absorb the oil.
- Add the mint, ground coriander, dab of tomato paste and harissa. Keep stirring, add the garlic, return the beef and merguez to the pot, pour in lukewarm water (it prevents lumps) just barely to cover (it will be absorbed and the mloukhia will thicken) and cook over very, very low heat. As a guide, I set my induction cooktop to 3 (any higher and it sticks to the bottom). Stir regularly to check that it isn’t 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 silkier.
After 2½ hours of cooking, or when the meat is very tender (the tip of a knife slides out easily) and the oil has risen to the top, it’s ready. Serve piping hot with Italian-style bread or, if you like, a baguette.