Moroccan Beef Skillet

AIP Moroccan Beef Skillet

A hearty meal starring ground beef, greens and winter squash. Slightly sweet, seriously savory. Comes together in a snap and the oven does most of the work, and if you’re anything like me I look for reasons to turn on the oven in the colder months. I pulled this recipe together “chopped” style, out of ingredients we had on hand from the market. Its completely AIP friendly using my golden spice blend (linked below) and is a fantastic way to use ground beef to make a nutrient dense in season meal that is likely to become a regular in your rotation.

Moroccan Beef Skillet

2 Tbsp Lard or other oil

4-6 cloves finely chopped garlic

1 diced onion (sm/med)

2 tsp Golden Spice Blend or Ras El Hanout (for non-AIP)

1 1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt

1 lb ground beef

1 cup broth or stock

3-4 cups Butternut, German Sweet Potato Squash, Banana Squash or other hard fleshed winter squash

1 bunch Chard or Kale, medium chopped

In a large oven proof skillet with lid, heat the lard, add the garlic and the spice blend. Once garlic has started to brown add the onion and salt, cook until golden. Add the ground beef, crumbling it as it browns. Deglaze pan with broth. Add Squash and Chard, distribute evenly throughout, cover and place in 450F oven until squash is fork tender (about 20-25 minutes).

Drizzle with 1/4 cup Pomegranate molasses and fresh Pomegranate arils if it suits your fancy. Garnish generously, don’t be shy! Can’t find Pomegranate molasses? Make your own, pour one bottle of Pomegranate juice into a wide bottomed pan and let simmer over low heat until it has reduced and is thick and syrupy, usually a little over 50% reductuion. Transfer to a clean jar with a tight fitting lid. Stores at least a year in the back of the fridge and is an amazing complement to savory spiced meals of all sorts,

Lemon Parsley Garnish

1 Lemon, Zested and Juiced

1/2 bunch Parsley, finely chopped

1 med shallot, finely chopped or two cloves garlic microplaned

1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt

1/4 cup good Olive Oil (* edited to include substitution of Garlic Toum because #toumislife)

Combine all ingredients in small bowl. You may have leftovers here, but they keep for a week and are sure to brighten any rich savory dish. If you’re anything like me and tend to eat herbs like salad you probably won’t have much left. Pomegranate isn’t necessary at all for a delicious dish, but it takes the dish to a whole new level of delicious and packs a nutritious punch.

A note on prepping the chard or other leafy greens—it is helpful to remove the bulk of the leaf from the stem, then to chop the stem and strips of the leaves for a more uniform chop. In dishes where you want to barely cook the greens you can add the tender stem pieces to the saute before the greens since they take longer to become tender. Biggest thing to keep in mind is nobody likes to feel like livestock when they’re eating greens, make sure they are small enough to be eaten in one bite.

Remove leaves from stem before chopping for a more uniform chop