Moroccan Beef with Lemon Couscous

A quick weeknight meal that packs a lot of flavor into a simple recipe. Moroccan Beef is a delicious, savory and hearty dish that will make your home smell wonderful with the exotic scents of cumin, cinnamon, and coriander. Not to mention, couscous takes absolutely no time to prepare. Talk about a perfect side dish.

So did I tell you my husband went hunting on the farm last week and got himself a Muley buck? I was super excited for him! Yay Dusty! Way to provide food for the family!

The buck was pretty interesting in the fact that it still had its velvet on its antlers and they were still pliable and mostly cartilaginous, instead of hardened like usual antlers this time of year. Listen to me! I'v been living up here on the Hi-Line for too long. I'm interested in and talking about deer antlers! HELP!

But do you know what this means for me? More deer meat. I still have a freezer full from last year. I'm pretty sure I have 25 pounds of ground venison that Dusty processed himself last fall in his cousins basement in a box in the bottom of our freezer. Thank goodness Dusty and I agreed upon getting specialty cuts of this years deer from the butcher. We ordered spicy sausage, pepperoni sticks, jalapeno bratwursts, etc. I don't think I could take another 50 pounds of ground venison. I can only come up with so many recipes to hide the gaminess of deer!

One way I like to hide my ground venison is in heavily spiced seasoned recipes. Sloppy Joes, tacos, casseroles, chili....anything! And this is another recipe to help me use up my venison. 9 out 10 times I make this recipe with beef, which is why I'm calling it Moroccan Beef and not Moroccan Venison. I only use the venison when I forget to buy beef, but it works both ways.

This recipe is very versatile, allowing for different types of ground meat to be used. I've made it with venison (like I said before), beef, ground turkey, elk, bison and you could go the traditional route with lamb. Whatever you decide to use for your protein of choice, you will love this savory and sweet recipe!

Moroccan Beef with Lemon Couscous
Servings: 4

• 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 large Red Onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup shredded Carrots
• 3/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2 cups Chicken Broth, fat free and reduced sodium
• 1/4 cup Raisins
• 3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1 (15 ounce) can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh Cilantro
• 2 cups dried Couscous, prepared according to packaging
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add the ground beef to the pan. Stir to crumble the beef and cook until no longer pink. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Drain the fat from the pan.

Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add the onion and carrots to the pan, sautéing for approximately 4 minutes, until softened. Add the spices (cumin, cinnamon, coriander and cayenne) and continue to sauté for 30 seconds longer while stirring constantly. 

Return the ground beef back to the pan along with the chicken broth, raisins, lemon zest, tomato paste and chickpeas. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer (medium-low) for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.

Meanwhile, prepare the couscous according to package directions. After fluffing the couscous with a fork, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the couscous and gently stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the beef has thickened, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the fresh cilantro and juice of the other half of lemon. Adjust seasonings of salt and pepper as needed. Serve with couscous. Enjoy!