A slowly simmered, deep, silky, and fragrant Tunisian classic, where mloukhia powder becomes an almost black, dark green sauce. Melt-in-your-mouth meat and olive oil on the surface are the signs of a successful mloukhia.
Ingredients
- 100 g mloukhia powder
- 200 ml olive oil
- 1.5 l hot water
- 800 g stewing beef, cut into large chunks
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp Tunisian tabel
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp harissa
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- 1 piece traditional bread or baguette
Method
- In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, mix the mloukhia powder with the olive oil off the heat, then heat gently while stirring until you obtain a smooth, glossy, and lump-free paste.
- Gradually pour in the hot water while whisking or stirring constantly, until the sauce becomes fluid and homogeneous, with an even dark green color.
- Let simmer over low heat, uncovered, until the surface begins to turn glossy and the raw vegetal smell noticeably mellows.
- Meanwhile, crush the garlic with the salt, pepper, tabel, and paprika, then coat the beef chunks with this fragrant paste until they are well covered.
- Add the seasoned meat to the Dutch oven along with the tomato paste, harissa, and bay leaf, then mix gently so as not to break the chunks.
- Cook at a very gentle simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally at the bottom to prevent the sauce from sticking; the mloukhia is on the right track when it becomes very dark and satiny.
- Continue cooking until the oil clearly rises to the surface and the meat easily falls apart under the pressure of a spoon.
- Remove the bay leaf, taste, and adjust the seasoning; the sauce should be deep, slightly spicy, without pronounced bitterness, with a coating texture.
- Serve very hot in shallow bowls, with bread for generous dipping.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 874.4 kcal
- Protein
- 48.3 g
- Carbohydrate
- 32.05 g
- Fat
- 63.02 g
- Fibre
- 10.43 g
- Calcium
- 12.48 mg
- Iron
- 0.79 mg
- Magnesium
- 11.14 mg
