Welcome to the ‘Fellow Foodie – Traveller‘ series, a collection of recipes from travellers we’ve met on the road.

The Granges are seasoned travellers having explored our wondrous country several times, so when it comes to dinner at the end of a very long drive, Moroccan Beef Casserole is ready, piping hot and on the plate as soon as the car stops, but how!?

Michele Grange said their secret to achieving this seemingly impossible feat of having a hot casserole ready – without the use of power on the drive – is her thermal cooker.

“We made this Moroccan Beef Casserole in our Thermos Outdoor Thermal Cooker before we hit the road from Daly Waters to Devils Marbles,” she said.

“The Thermal cooker is really interesting – it’s like a big thermos with a stainless steel inner,” she said.

“You prepare and cook in the pot and then pop that with its lid inside the thermos and it cooks while you drive,” she said.

“It’s like a slow cooker but without electricity,” she said.

“We had it in the back of the car, but you can sit it in the van too,” she said.

“We were able to share an incredible meal with our friends travelling with us, on a trip we’ve dreamt of sharing with them for many years.”

“We had a 500km drive so having dinner ready for us at the other end was such a relief, she said.

“The meat was extremely tender when we took it out that night at the end of a long day!”

Michele said it was the family trip ‘2011 Across the Top’ from Wollongong to Broome and back, with their three children, that inspired them to hit the road again – but this time with their friends.

“We always wanted to share the experience with friends and hence we’ve recently completed ‘Broome n Back ’22’ – BnB ’22,” she said.

“Joined by the Markhams and the Blays, we had four months on the road in our fabulous Titanium Hardcore caravan, and would do it all again in a heartbeat.”

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Moroccan Beef Casserole Recipe – Thermal Cooker / Slow Cooker

From Michele Grange
Original recipe from taste.com.au

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 750g chuck casserole steak, cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger, finely grated
• 1 cinnamon stick or quill
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 400g can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup (125ml) beef stock
• 1/3 cup (55g) currants
• 1kg sweet potato, peeled, cut into 4cm pieces
• 75g fetta, crumbled
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
• Coriander leaves, to serve
• Lime wedges, to serve
• Lebanese bread, to serve

Method

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Cook one-third of the beef, turning, for 3 mins or until browned all over. Transfer to the bowl of a slow cooker. Repeat with remaining beef.
• Add the onion, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, tumeric, tomato, stock, currants and sweet potato to the beef in the slow cooker.
• Cook on HIGH for 4 hours, or on LOW for 6 hours, or until beef is very tender.
• Spoon the beef mixture into serving bowls. Sprinkle with fetta, almonds and coriander. Serve with lime wedges and Lebanese bread.

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