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Tas-kabab, a khorak, not khoresh, is a beef stew with Persian seasoning. Part of the dish’s name, kabab, has nothing to do with grilled kabab. The simple and traditional way of cooking tas-kabab is by stacking the cut meat and vegetables in a deep pot (or a slow cooker), adding the seasoning and letting it cook slowly until meat is tender and all flavors melded. However, to add a little decadence, in this recipe, a fusion and flavors a notch higher, this cumbersome, but worthwhile effort of cooking of the same ingredients really does it!
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Taskabab, Beef Stew Persian Style
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
INGREDIENTS
For the meat
• 900g beef stew meat (chuck cross rib roast) cut in 5cm cubes
• 1 small onion, cut in 3cm cubes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 large bay-leaf
• 2 cups water
For the Vegetables
• 2 medium sweet onions (350g), peeled, cut in 1.5cm thick rings
• 2 large red potatoes or use low-starch [1] potatoes (350g), peeled, cut in wedges and bevel angled
• 4 Japanese eggplants (350g), peeled, sliced in 2.5cm and sprinkled with salt
• 2 large Fuji apples (550g), peeled, cut in wedges and cut in bite size
• 2 large carrots (350g), peeled, cut circular 1cm thick
• 350g green beans, cut in 5cm
• 4 ~6 Roma tomatoes (350g), best if blanched/skinned, cut in half and de-seeded
• 12 pieces dried, pitted prunes
• 20 pieces dried, pitted apricots
For the seasoning
• ½ cup verjuice
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp red hot pepper paste
• smidgen ground saffron, dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water
• 1 cup thick chicken broth
• 2 ~ 3 Tbsp caramelized onion
• salt
DIRECTIONS
◊ To cook the meat: Add oil to a medium-sized pot and place it on high-heat. As soon as oil is hot, add cut onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add meat and sear all sides. Add water, bay-leaf, garlic and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 1.5~2 hours, or until meat is just cooked. There should be ½ cup of liquid left when it is cooked (add hot water as needed not to scorch).
◊ In a deep, non-stick fry-pan (to avoid splatter), on medium-high heat, add 1 Tbsp oil, pad dry the eggplants and brown on both sides. Put them on a plate. Discard the oil and rinse the pot.
◊ In the same fry-pan, add 1 Tbsp oil and heat on medium heat. Brown only one side of the onion and place in one layer in an ovenproof big, deep dish. Without rinsing the pan, add oil if needed, sear the potatoes until little browned, and place them around the onion rings (see the ingredients photo). Without rinsing the pan, add oil if needed, sear the apple pieces until little browned, and also put them on the plate.
◊ Bring water to a boil in medium-sized saucepan. Add ½ tsp salt, add carrot and green bean pieces and boil for 90 seconds. Drain and shock with cold water (this is to bring out the vivid colors of the vegetables).
◊ Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 175°C/350°F.
◊ Over the onions, layer prepared ingredients in this order: cooked meat and broth, apples, apricots, prunes, carrots, green beans, eggplants and tomatoes.
◊ In a medium bowl, add all ingredients for the seasoning including 1/8 tsp salt, mix well and pour over the vegetables. Cover the ovenproof dish tightly with foil and bake for 2 hours.
◊ Serve family style in the ovenproof dish, or in individual bowls with at all pieces of the ingredients.
~ ! نوش جان • Noushe jan! ~
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[1] Potato starch content varies, which affects the texture in cooking:
♦ High-starch potatoes, such as russets, have a light, mealy texture. Once boiled, they are ideal for mashing.
♦ Medium-starch potatoes, such as Finnish yellow and Yukon gold, contain more moisture so they don’t fall apart quite as easily as high-starch potatoes.
♦ Low-starch potatoes, such as round red, round white, and new potatoes, are often called waxy potatoes. They hold their shape better than other potatoes when boiled, making them perfect for potato salads or tossing with seasoned butter as a side dish.
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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This new site looks great, Fae. The stew sounds fabulous and looks absolutely delicious.
Thank you, Sweet Nancy! I was away for a while, sorry for a delay in responding. This stew is really fabulous for every taste/palate.
Your blog is looking wonderful, sorry to have been so MIA!
Cheers Choc Chip Uru
As for this recipe, my dad absolutely adores beef stew so I think I will give it a shot with mum
Hi Uru, Thank you very much for your visit and a kind comment.
Darling Uru, didn’t you transition your blog to self-hosting? I remember you did something to your blog.
Your Dad would love this version of the beef stew, I guarantee.
Wow. Congratulations on your new site. It all looks wonderful and a wonderful recipe to welcome us with too. I have subscribed I hope, so I don’t miss any more posts.
So good to see you, my dear Maria! <3 About self-hosting… I’m at my wits end to take the blog beyond this. In a month or so, I’ll know if I’m capable on my own or drowning. At this point, I don’t know if I should
… or 😀 )))
This is a good old comforting beef stew with a little works. This recipe is good for 6 and there are 2 of us. Since it freezes very well, (took the potatoes out) and froze the rest in 2 other portions for lazy days.
I love recipes from other countries and cultures. It’s not only the different interestingly new taste, it is also about a different way of cooking. This fascinates me. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Hello and Welcome dear Cecilia. I’m glad you like my recipes. Comments like this give me more incentive to post quality, versatile recipes.
Oh looks divine Fae! I hope I am following you. I tried to sign up but it says I am following! Looks wonderful over here my dear! Congrats & best wishes~
Oh, I sure hope so too. It’s been 2 weeks now working on the new blog and only to get it work like the previous site. Still some functions missing.
May the force be with me. 😀 )))
What a delicious dish, Fae! And congrats on the new site. It looks great!
Thank you, Francesca! The melding of vegetables and fruits make a very delightful flavor.
AHH THERE you are Fae, you’re looking mighty good in your brand new dress (I mean look) :)). It looks like your efforts to transfer have worked out beautifully. Loving the Persian stew, love your carrots :).
Good to see you, dear Loretta! So far so good, and I am at my wits end from this point on.
Absolutely gorgeous looking dish. Yummy!
Hello Dee Marie, Thank you very much. It really is very delightfully flavorful.
Is everything ok with your blog? I found the news of the new recipe on FB! I guess you ‘ve worked very hard to have it ready in a so short time! Your stew looks very yummy. I’m not eating so much meat lately, but your recipe full of flavours and vegetables could be a good exception! Thanks a lot Fae, have a great week!
Thank you, dear Margherita, For me, it has not been hard work as it is stressful. 😉 I think I did everything my wits could figured out, but there is so much I cannot, and I am wondering how to do the rest. Lots of reading and I have no clue.
Everything looks wonderful on your new site Fae, especially this beautiful slow-cooked beef stew! Really lovely!
Thank you, Margot. The whole moving of the venue is testing my patience. 😉
This looks so delicious! Congrats on the beautiful new site! Keep up the wonderful work!
Oh, thank you, dear Amanda. It is still very daunting but I will overcome. 😀 ))) I’m glad you could leave a comment for me. 😉
Fae your new site is gorgeous as is this recipe. Have to admit this is one I have never tasted nor heard of.. It is really a beautiful dish,
Thank you, Suzanne. This is a very versatile slow cooking stew. Meat, onion, potato, carrot and tomato are basic of this dish, but as for the fruits (and dry fruits) you can be creative with seasonal availability, i.e. quince, peach, oranges, etc.
Fae, this post showed up in my reader as usual, so that’s great! The recipe looks mouthwatering, and the presentation is gorgeous as always
Thank you, Sweet Vera, for you info and the lovely comment. I am relieved.
Your post appears on my WP reader, Fae! Complete with the photo, etc. So everything looks good! Mine, however, doesn’t have any photo and I have yet to transfer my followers, since I didn’t pay for guided transfer. Oh, well, I’m ok with snail pace
Thank you for letting me know that you saw this post on your ‘Reader’. What a relief.
As for transferring the followers, it was/is not included in the migration service. However, the Jetpack plugin was placed for me by Bluehost, but I had to transfer the followers myself by clicking a bunch of buttons and configurations. It is a free plugin that also covers some other functionality (it is available through WordPress.org support). I need quite a few more plugins to make the site par to what I had at WordPress.com. (Isn’t it upsetting?)
Please be aware before you transfer your followers… you don’t get a duplicate list of followers on both sites, but literally they are transferred from one site to the other. Your followers will only be able to see the posts published by the site at which they are located. In your case where you have 2 live blogs, the only solution is, for your followers to subscribe separately to each site.
That’s good to know! Thanks for letting me know! I had some time today to play around with plugins and stuff and was finally able to verify my Pinterest. But still can’t find a Pinterest board widget that works! Instagram and Facebook were pretty straight forward, I wonder why Pinterest is not. A year from now maybe I’ll get everything straightened out, lol!
Angie, Your new blog, Fiesta Friday looks beautiful, just as your other blog The Novice Gardener is, each in its own different ways.
Fae, this recipe looks great and so does your new site! I will email you soon to ask you how everything went! Hope the process went smoothly for you!
Thank you, Nancy. Please write me toward the end of the month (I am traveling mid April). Right now, I’m at my wits end with all kinds of plugins needed to be installed, just to bring the functionality up to the standard functions I had at WordPress.com. And, I don’t know where to begin.
… or 😀 )))
I don’t know if I should
I’ll share everything I learn, with you and everyone so you experience less anxiety.
Congratulations on the new site, Fae. The stew looks delicious, I love the mixture of vegetables and dried fruit. Lovely, full of flavors, and yet quite simple. That’s my kind of recipe!
Yes, Darya, they really to meld well together. My kind of recipe too.
Congratulations on the new site. This stew looks delicious. I still have some of my own version of verjus and interested to see how you use it in this dish.
Thank you, Hilda. I have a friend who has grape vines and makes her own verjus. To give a subtle tangy flavor to stews, verjus is perfect.
What a lovely dish Fae – every thing looks perfect. The stew, the pictures all make this recipe so appealing
Thank you for your lovely comment, dear Judi.
Hello Fae, love this new recipe, so colorful and flavorful (eggplants, prunes and apricots…) sounds perfect for me. Have a great weekend 😉
Thank you, Linda. You have a great weekend too!
The recipe looks very familiar, Ms. Fae. It’s like the Filipino Estofado.
My Darling Ren! <3 Does this mean, my post was in your ‘Reader’? This is my first post from this new self-hosting site, and I was not sure if my post will hot the ‘Reader’. I’m glad that we connected. If you have not seen it on the ‘Reader’ and just visiting me, please sign-up for email notification or ‘Like’ me on Facebook.
I just checked Filipino Estofado. Indeed it looks the same. How do you season the stew?
Hey Fae! I was just thinking about you today and hoping that I hadn’t lost your blog, and now here you are! Yeah!
This is such a flavourful recipe you have given us! I can just imagine the fragrances wafting through my kitchen! 😀
Hi Julianna! This is my first recipe post on the new site and you are the first to leave a comment! Thank you, Yeah!
You guessed it right. The fragrance of the dish is amazing. And of course, the flavor is all natural subtle sweet and sour.
Did you see this post in your Reader? If you did, I’m glad. If not, and you are willing, please sign up for e-mail notifications on this site. Thanks,