Clean Moroccan Beef & Root Veggies

Got the new issue of Clean Eating and it is chock full of soothing comfort food - my fav!!  The first thing I had to try was the Moroccan Beef.  I thought it was pretty good and it really made the house smell lovely.

There are also recipes for Thai Vegetarian Chili and Chicken Tetrazzini that I want to take a stab at this week (hopefully).  One thing I can't get the hang of is making dinner when work is busy.  This week we resorted to pizza one night, Whole Foods buffet another, and most unfortunately, one night when it was just me, a 1/2 bag of cheese curls.  Ugh.

So, here's to better eating from here on out!!  In case you want to give the beef a whirl, the recipe is below.

olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
2 navel oranges
1 1/2 lb. stew meat
1/2 medium onion (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 3/4 chicken stock
1 small turnip (peeled & chopped)
3 parsnips (peeled & chopped)
2 carrots (peeled and chopped)
12 prunes
3/4 cup whole wheat couscous
3 scallions (thinly sliced), for garnish

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove peel of one orange with a veggie peeler (removing as much pith as possible), set aside.  Juice one orange, set aside.

Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Brown meat in batches and set aside.

Drain any fat from pan and heat more olive oil.  Add onion and cook until tender.  Add cumin, coriander, cinnamon & cayenne.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add 1 3/4 cups of the stock, reserved orange peel and juice.  Bring to a simmer and then add beef and any juices back into pot.  When simmering begins again, cover and place in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Remove pot from oven and add remaining 1 cup of stock, turnip, parsnips and carrots.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven again and add plums.  Return to oven and cook for another 25 minutes.

About 15 minutes before beef is done, bring 1 cup water to boil.  Add couscous, remove from heat, cover and set aside for 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork and divide among bowls.  Top with beef and veggies and garnish with scallions and zest of remaining orange.

Yum!!
Here's my attempt at taking better and more appetizing food photos.  :)

Approximate nutritional info as per Clean Eating:
Calories: 492
Fat 13g
Sat Fat 3g
Carbs 64g
Fiber 10g
Sugars 19g
Protein 34g
Sodium 422mg
Cholesterol 50mg

Week O' Ina - Part III: My First Shot at Soup!

Well folks, 'tis the last recipe in my week long tribute to Ina Garten.  This woman is really something.  I mean she got me to make a homemade soup!!  A lentil vegetable soup no less, vegetables!  No easy task.  For the record, compared to the price of a cup of soup from Panera, homemade soup is expensive.  When I went to Whole Foods to get ingredients for this and the tuna rolls, I walked out with two shopping bags and nearly $100 less in my wallet.  But, this did make a boat load of soup and I used the best quality ingredients I could find.

1 pound French green lentils

4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large onions)
4 cups chopped leeks, white part only (2 leeks)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups medium-diced celery (8 stalks) - I omitted the celery because it's just gross
3 cups medium-diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)
3 quarts chicken stock
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons red wine
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery (if you are using it) and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes.

Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Check the seasonings. Add the red wine and serve hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan, or with a simple slice of corn bread.

Or a giant grilled tuna roll.  :)

I really enjoyed the flavor of the broth in this soup.  My only complaint, and something quite fixable for next time, is that she did this with a very rough chop on the veggies.  For people like me (and my kids) who have a hard time with veggies to begin with, I don't know why I thought huge chunks would go over well.  Next time I will dice them much finer.  Oh yeah, and when it came to the kids, I told them the lentils were pasta.  They dove in.

And that is the last of Ina for this week, but I'm sure I'll be posting many more of her recipes in the future.  When I want something homey, flavorful and impressive, her cookbooks are what I turn to.

Where do you turn for a great recipe?