Cooking
Nargisse Benkabbou’s hearty and fragrant beef tagine with green beans, olives and preserved lemons, that is.
Good morning. The texts are starting to come in, asking about Thanksgiving — who’s coming, how many birds, how many oysters, how many pies, what do we need? It’s exciting, a time to dream. I might fry a turkey this year, to go with the smoked one, to go with the oven-roasted one.
It’s also a reminder that Thanksgiving is a holiday that matters to people, that it counts for a lot, that it provides an anchor for the fall, perhaps for the year. You don’t need to start planning for it this weekend, making lists and assigning chores. But you should remember it’s coming and revel in that, even if it means you’ll be driving five hours to eat in an overheated dining room in a state you left after high school. Take a moment this weekend to imagine what you might do this year to make it memorable. Reach out to someone who’ll be there with you, or to someone who ought to be. Pass the excitement along.
Some may go further, and rehearse a few recipes: some Parker House rolls, say, or an ombré gratin. (I would not advise cooking a complicated brussels sprouts situation for the first time on Nov. 28.) Not me. I’m just building castles in the air for now, making some calls, sketching out a guest list in my head. The real work lies ahead, and I’m looking forward to it.
This weekend’s cooking steers in other directions. Nargisse Benkabbou gave us a solid new recipe for beef tagine with green beans and olives (above) that I’m excited to serve: a hearty Moroccan stew that’s fragrant with ground ginger, garlic and ground turmeric, and studded with olives and diced preserved lemon alongside tender beef and green beans. I’d like that with couscous, and Nargisse’s orange cake for dessert.
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Beef Tagine With Green Beans and Olives
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