A very dark, silky sauce of dried jute mallow envelops the beef chuck. Garlic, caraway and coriander give it a deep aroma, with bread to soak up the sauce.
Method
- If preparing both original and lighter portions, set aside the ingredients and quantities specified for the lighter portions; the remainder is for the original portions. Prepare the two versions separately whenever their cooking or seasoning differs. Quantities given for the whole preparation are divided between the separate containers, not repeated in each one. Heat 1400 g water in a kettle. Off the heat, thoroughly mix the jute mallow powder with the 90 g oil in a tall stockpot suited to the quantities (reference capacity: 3 litres), leaving no dry pockets.
- Place the pot over a low heat and stir for 2 minutes without letting the oil smoke. Remove from the heat. Add the hot water very gradually in five additions, whisking between each; stand back from any splashes. At first the sauce is thick and stringy.
- Add the bay leaf and 2 g salt. Bring to a simmer uncovered, watching the foam for 10 minutes, then cover three-quarters of the pot. Cook over a very low heat for 2 hours 30 minutes, stirring across the bottom every 30 minutes; if the sauce thickens before darkening, add 50–100 g of the reserved hot water.
- Crush the garlic and mix with the harissa, tabil, ground coriander, caraway, pepper and the 3 g salt reserved for the meat. Coat the beef in this mixture, then place in the sauce. Return to the gentlest simmer, cover three-quarters of the pot and cook for another 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours.
- Check the meat with a fork: it should fall apart easily. The sauce should have lost its initially stringy texture, turned a very dark greenish brown and show small pools of oil on the surface. If necessary, cook for another 30 minutes; do not raise the heat to speed it up.
- When the meat is tender, remove the bay leaf. If the sauce runs like soup, reduce uncovered over a low heat for 10–20 minutes, stirring often; it should coat a piece of bread. Leave to rest for 10 minutes and serve with the bread cut into pieces.
Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.
Lighter version
Reference variation for two servings.
The sauce is less smooth and glossy, and the leafy flavour of the jute mallow stands out more. The long cooking still gives it a lingering flavour, but it coats the bread less richly.
- Extra virgin olive oil : 65 g
- Bread (baguette or country loaf) : 140 g
For the lighter portions, mix their 40 g jute mallow powder with their 65 g oil off the heat. If the paste is too dry to stir, add the first portion of water before heating; continue with the same slow cooking method.
Reduce the oil and bread without replacing the jute mallow.
On your plate
Recipe
1060 kcal · protein 61 g · carbs 56 g · fat 62 g
Quantities per person
- 225 g Stewing beef, shoulder or neck, cut into 4 cm cubes
- 20 g Dried jute leaf powder (mloukhia)
- 45 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g Garlic
- 2 g Tabil (Tunisian coriander, caraway, garlic and chilli spice blend)
- 1.5 g Ground coriander
- 0.5 g Ground caraway
- 0.15 g Dried bay leaves
- 6 g Harissa
- 2.5 g Fine salt
- 0.25 g Ground black pepper
- 100 g Bread (baguette or country loaf)
- 900 g Water
Cooking tips
Allow about 6 hours of cooking, sometimes longer depending on the heat and the jute mallow. The meat goes in after the sauce's first long cooking stage so the pieces become meltingly tender. If making ahead, cool quickly in small portions, refrigerate for 2 days and reheat slowly until simmering. Do not replace the powder with okra or spinach.
Traditional Tunisian mloukhia; quantities and techniques cross-checked against Mike Benayoun, 196 Flavors (tunisie-mloukhia), with instructions written for two.
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