Beef Tagine with Autumn Vegetables

When you serve a beef rib roast to two adults, one of them banded, you end up with a lot of extra roast. We purposely undercook the roast, slice our servings off the less-rare ends, and use the juicy red inner portion for other meals, like this Beef Tagine. A tagine is a Moroccan style stew of beef, vegetables, and spices. The first time I made this, I had my doubts about the cinnamon, but I assure you, it works wonderfully with the rich beef and sweet autumn vegetables. Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. You can cut up the veggies in advance and store them in a zip-lock bag in the fridge until you're ready to start stewing. And you can cut up the beef, shake it up with the spices in a zip-lock bag, and pop that into the fridge a few hours in advance too.

2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 pound of rare leftover roast beef (or uncooked beef shoulder roast), cut in 1" cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
1 can (14.5 ounces) chopped tomatoes
1 cup cubed (1-inch) peeled butternut squash
1 cup peeled parsnips, cut in 1" slices
1 cup peeled carrots, cut in 1" slices
1 cup peeled celery root, cut in 1" cubes (or 1 cup diced celery)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a zip lock bag. Add the beef cubes, seal the bag, and shake to coat the meat with the spices. Set aside, or store in the fridge until you're ready to cook.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned beef and the onion. Stir and cook for 4-5 minutes or until browned. Add the garlic, stir and and cook 1 minute. Stir in the broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes. Add the squash, parsnips, carrots and celery root. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve.

This is good served with couscous or bulgur, or with crusty French bread to dunk in the cooking juices.

8 servings (1 cup each)