RECIPES

Articles tagged as Moroccan (view all)

Moroccan Shepherd's Pie

11 March, 2014 0 comments Leave a comment

1/2 teaspoon Ras el Hanout
1/2 teaspoon Moroccan seasoning (You can skip this and just use 1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout)
1 teaspoon Urfa Biber (or other mildly spicy dried pepper)
2 carrots, quartered and sliced
4 green onions, darkest green part removed and sliced thinly
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups of cooked chicken meat (I used the leftovers from
8 leaves kale, main rib removed and cut across into 1" pieces
1/3 cup of pitted kalamata olives
1 large or two small garnet yams
2 medium yellow potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Put large saucepan of salted water onto the stove. Bring the water to a boil and add the potatoes. Boil until fork tender and mash with butter and 1/3 cup milk. Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the green onion and onion. Cook on medium heat for ~5 minutes, until transluscent. Add the garlic, ras el hanout, Moroccan seasoning, and urfa biber, along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook until the spices begin to stick to the pan and the garlic is aromatic. Add the carrots and kale and cook until the kale becomes bright green. Add the chicken and olives and cook until the mixture is warmed through. Taste and correct salt and pepper as needed.

Spoon the mixture into the casserole dish and smooth it with the back of a spoon. Spoon the mashed potatoes over the chicken mixture in tablespoons and smooth with the back of that same spoon. Cook for 35 minutes.

Serve with a light green salad with a citrus vinagrette.

Chicken with Ras el Hanout, Olives, and Lemons

10 March, 2014 0 comments Leave a comment

Here's a pop-it-in-the-oven-and-ignore-it dinner. It's flavorful and sophisticated, while being yummy and subtle. Which is to say that both the gourmets in your family and the ones with plainer palates will enjoy it.

1 4-6 pound chicken
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons ras el hanout
15 - 20 olives (I like a combination of oil-brined black and salt-brined green)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (1 large or two small)
1 lemon, zest and 1/2 the juice in one bowl, the other half of the juice in another
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove any giblets, necks, etc. from the cavity and pat the chicken dry. Salt inside and out. Mix the zest and juice with the garlic, shallots, olives, and 2 teaspoons of ras el hanout. Either place this mixture in the cavity or place half in the cavity and the other half under the skin. Rub the chicken with about half of the olive oil and sprinkle all over with the remaining tablespoon of ras el hanout. Truss, if you feel like it, place the chicken breast down in a roasting dish, and pop into the oven.

Let the chicken cook until a instant read thermometer tells you that the flesh of the thigh is 160 degrees. Remove and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve with rice or couscous and roasted vegetables.

Travel Disasters and Comfort Food

28 January, 2014 0 comments Leave a comment

We left Friday morning for Michigan for a memorial service. The weekend felt complicated and loving and surreal, as various times. When we look back at it, our return home was a comedy of errors. At the time it felt as if a train was headed for us. There was the cactus juice that squirted into my beloved's eye as he attempted to take a cutting, then the soap he washed his eye with (and with which he gave himself a bit of a chemical burn), there was the flat tire on the way to the airport in 9 degree weather, there was my missing knife that appeared (I'd searched for it for weeks, to no avail) at airport security, and there was the gastro-intestinal misery my poor boy experienced upon our return (he has a direct link from his nerves to his tummy). But we made it through the slings and arrows and were thankful for our return to warm beds and for our resilience.

Last night we wanted a comforting meal, one that would give us warmth and nutrition, vegetables and protein. Below, you'll find the meal I put together. Make it some night when you want a meal to restore you. You can use already cooked chicken if you want to speed up the process.

Ras el Hanout Chicken with Rice and Vegetables

1 medium or large onion, chopped
2-3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1/3 cup chopped carrot
1 cup julienned kale
1/2 cup peas
4 chicken thighs
2 1/2 - 3 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons ras el hanout
3/4 cups rice (I prefer basmati, but use what you like)

Heat the butter or oil in a dutch oven. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 - 15 minutes, until translucent and beginning to brown around the edges. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add carrot and kale and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the kale starts to wilt.

Sprinkle the chicken with ras el hanout. Push the vegetable mix to the edges of the pan and turn the heat up to medium high. Don't worry if the vegetables brown, but don't let them burn. Lay the chicken in the space in the middle. Brown each side. Add the rice and broth, cover the pan tightly, lower the heat, and leave it alone until the rice has absorbed all of the broth. Add the peas and re-cover until they are cooked. It won't take long. Add broth by the 1/4 cup until the rice is done if the rice isn't yet cooked.

And sorry there isn't a more glam picture, but we ate most of it before anyone let me take a picture.