cooking adventures: moroccan beef pot roast with honey glaze.

in NO WAY is this a food blog. ha. but since we've moved to lausanne i've been cooking a lot. going out to eat is not really an option. this is huge for me, and why i started to keep track of the dishes in the side column there --->

except that i quickly lost track of what i've made. so i'm going to revise the list a bit, and include my favorites and try to either write the recipes or add links. maybe some of you know a couple of my favorite places to find recipes are smitten kitchen also the 'in the kitchen with' series at designsponge. also, my dear friend shweta has her own real food blog, the vegetarian way.

this recipe came from a surprise issue of 'Lunds and Byerly's: real food' sent to me in a care package from mom. it has been sitting in a pile of travel magazines by my bed for a couple months, but picked it up on friday when i was out of ideas for things to cook.

mine was not quite this beautiful
and we ate it too quick to take a photo!

i was lured by the photo of juicy meat and the word 'moroccan', so i decided to try this pot roast thingy. i had to adapt quite a bit since i don't own a dutch oven, only a tiny covered pyrex casserole dish. also meat is super expensive and speaking of meat... i really have no idea how to ask for a specific cut of meat in french. actually, i don't really know what these things are supposed to look like either- what makes chuck roast different from brisket?!

so, i just bought some "beef" and gave it a try. i'd say it was pretty successful- the beef dried out a tiny bit during the glazing process because i didn't have a 4-6 lb chunk of meat. (i only left it in for 7-8 min) but the dish tasted great with a little spice kick and lots of flavor.

Moroccan Beef Pot Roast with Honey Glaze:
[from Lunds and Byerly's spring 2011 issue of 'Real Food']

Pot roast

3 cups chopped onions

1 Tbsp chopped garlic

½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 Tbsp sweet paprika

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp kosher salt

¼ cup cilantro stems, finely chopped (save leaves for garnish)

4 cups water

1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped

2 Tbsp lemon juice (or more to taste)

1 boneless chuck roast or brisket (about 4-6 lbs.)

2 cups cooked chickpeas (freshly cooked or canned)

4 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks

3 cups butternut squash, cut into 2-inch chunks

2 cups instant couscous

Honey glaze

¼ cup honey

3 Tbsp braising liquid, reserved

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp dried mint

Garnish

reserved cilantro leaves

1. For the pot roast: Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. In a 6-quart Dutch oven, toss onions and garlic with spices, salt, and cilantro stems until well integrated. Pour in water and stir in tomatoes and lemon juice. Lay in meat, cover, and bake 1 hour.
3. Remove lid and bake 1 hour more. Ensure there are 2 to 3 inches of liquid in pot, adding more water as needed.
4. Cover and bake 30 minutes or until meat is just becoming tender. If not tender, continue to bake, checking every 15 minutes. When it is fork-tender, remove meat to a platter or pan. Add chickpeas, carrots, and squash and place pot over a medium-hot burner. Bring to a light boil and cook until vegetables are fork-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. remove from heat and degrease the top.
5. Remove the solids and taste the liquid. If too watery, return to heat, bring to a boil, and reduce to concentrate the flavors. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Set aside or refrigerate overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 450℉.
7. For the glaze: in a small saucepan, combine honey, reserved braising liquid, lemon juice, and mint. Heat 1 to 2 minutes to form a light syrup. PLave roast in a roasting pan and brush on glaze. Place in oven and brush on more glaze every 5 minutes until the glaze has become bubbly and shiny, about 15 minutes total. Remove immediately.
8. While meat is roasting, prepare couscous as per directions
9. To serve, mound couscous in  a large, shallow serving bowl. Spoon on vegetables and plenty of braising sauce. Remove strings from meat. Slice or cut meat into chunks and place on top; scatter with cilantro. Pass additional vegetables and sauce.

Serves 8.