Moroccan Beef Stew & Cous Cous

This healthy aromatic stew will fill your house with the aromas of the Middle East while the Cous Cous and Chick peas provide a fantastic source of complex low GI carbohydrates.

Ingredients

100g Pine Nuts
400g Cous Cous
4 teaspoons of dried Coriander Leaf
3 teaspoons of Cumin
1 teaspoon of Cinamon
1.5 unwaxed Lemons
2 teaspoons of turmeric
800g lean cubed casserole Beef
1 x 400g tin chick peas drained
1  x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 brown onion sliced
1 red onion chopped
2 Chicken Stock Cubes
1 Beef Stock Cube
250g chopped dried apricots
1 cup Kalamata Olives

Directions

1. Mix the following ingredients into either a slow cooker or an oven-proof dish:

• Cubed Beef (no need to pre-brown)
• Tin Tomatoes
• Chick Peas
• 2 teaspoons of Coriander Leaf
• 2 teaspoons of Cumin
• 1 teaspoon of Cinamon
• 1 unwaxed lemon cut into quarters - this is for flavouring only so try and avoid eating it in the finished stew, alternatively you can use a preserved lemon if you can get hold of one which is more palatable
• Sliced brown onion
• Half the chopped apricots
• Kalamata Olives
• Beef Stock Cube

2. Slow cook the stew for about 8 hours in a slow cooker or until the beef begins to flake, alternatively stew on a low heat (around 160 degrees) in the over for 3-4 hours.

3.  Toast the pine nuts gently in a dry frying pan until lightly browned and set to one side

4. Around ten minutes before serving, mix the following ingredients in a saucepan:

• Cous Cous
•  Around 400ml of boiling water - the water should be around 1.5 times the volume of Cous Cous
• Remaining turmeric, coriander leaf and cumin
• Chicken Stock Cubes
• Red Onion
• Remaining apricots

5. Bring the Cous Cous mix to the boil on the stove and simmer until all the water has evaporated (around 3-4 minutes)

6. Remove the Cous Cous from the heat and cover for 5 minutes

7. Add the toasted pine nuts to the Cous Cous mix and fluff with a fork

8. Serve a bed of Cous Cous with the Stew spooned over the top.