Beef short rib tagine with honey-glazed butternut squash (7.889 on a scale of 10)

Bon Apetít Cookbook, pg. 287

This recipe is VERY rich and I really didn’t know what to expect, but it sounded too interested to pass up and turned out very well in the end. It is heavy on the sweet side and we didn’t eat it with any sides because I really could not fathom in my head how this would turn out. Maybe some couscous next time.

• 5T olive oil
• 1lb onions, chopped
• 16 3-4 in. meaty beef short ribs , fat at membrane trimmed (I used 8 boneless)
• 3 T all-purpose flour
• 4C low-salt chicken broth
• 1 1/2C dry red wine
• 1C prune juice
• 1T tomato paste
• 1/2 t grnd. cumin
• 1/2 t grnd. allspice
• 1/2 t grnd. ginger
• 1/2 t grnd. cinnamon
• 2 oz. pitted dates, diced
• 2 oz. dried pears, diced
• 1 T honey

Squash

• 1/4C olive oil
• 2 med. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 1/4 C honey
• Fresh parsley sprigs

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Heat 3T oil in heavy large oven-proof pot over med-high heat. Add onions and sauté until brown, about 20 min. Using slotted spoon, transfer onions to large bowl. Sprinkle short ribs w/ s&p. Add 1 T oil to same pot. Add 8 short ribs and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer ribs to bowl with onions Add remaining 1 T oil to pot. Add remaining 8 ribs and brown on all sides, about 10 min. Transfer ribs to same bowl.
2. Whisk flour into drippings in pot. Whisk in 2 C broth. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Mix in remaining 2 C broth, wine, prune juice, tomato paste, and spices. Return ribs to pot, arranging close together on sides in single layer if possible. Add dates and pears, then onions and accumulated juices.
3. Bring to a boil. Cover pot and transfer to oven; bake until ribs are tender, about 1 hour and 45 min.
4. Using tongs, tranfer ribs to large bowl. Strain cooking liquid into medium bowl, pressing on solids in strainer to release as much liquid as possible. Tilt bowl and spoon off fat from surface. Return liquid to pot. Add 1 T honey; boil until sauce is reduced to 3 C an thick enough to coat spoon, about 12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return ribs to pot, spooning sauce over to coat. (Short ribs can be made 2 days ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold; then cover and keep chilled)
5. FOR SQUASH: Heat oil in h eavy large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add squash; cover and cook until squash is just tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 12 min. Add 1/4 C honey; toss until squahs is glazed, season to taste w/ s&p.

The recipe makes the house smell sooooooo good and I like that idea of coming home after school or work to the house smelling wonderful. I saw that on TV somewhere. I omitted the dates and pears because I saw them as an unnecessary expenditure and I’m not a huge fruit person. I also have little experience making butternut squash, so that took me a bit longer to cook. In fact, the whole thing took a lot longer to make than I imagined. Anyway, I thought the honeyed butternut squash tasted just like sweet potatoes. I didn’t tell Brendan though, because he’s convinced he doesn’t like sweet potatoes, but he really liked the honeyed-squash. And, fyi, prune juice and soda water together taste nothing like Dr. Pepper!!

Lee – I didn’t get to take a picture because I was hurrying like mofo as this was the night of the State of the Union and I wanted to watch it.