Moroccan Style Chicken and Garbanzo Stew

I came up with this recipe by changing my Harira soup recipe. See the Harira soup recipe here.

Moroccan Style Chicken and Garbanzo Stew

(6 servings)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 ½ pound chicken cut in big pieces

sea salt, ground black pepper

½ tablespoon grated fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

1/8 to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1 ½ cup chopped tomato (or 1 can unsalted diced tomatoes)

½ cup warm water

1/4 teaspoon saffron soaked in warm water

1 15 oz can drained canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Juice of ½ fresh lime

Directions

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Soak saffron in warm water. Heat oil in a large stock pot oven over high heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook one more minute. Move onion and garlic mix to one side of the pan and add chicken. Cook 2 to 3 minutes each side or until slightly browned. Add ginger, turmeric, cayenne (if using) and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in chopped tomato and saffron with water, cook 1 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in chickpeas, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro, parsley and lime juice; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

Salmon and Spinach Gorgonzola Pasta

This is just a combination of old recipes, it takes 30 minutes to put these two together: tea-smoked salmon and spinach gorgonzola whole wheat pasta. The tea-smoked salmon can be found here and the gorgonzola pasta, here. These recipes never fail!

Chicken Tagine

This is a recipe I found years ago in a magazine. I made it so many times and every time I made it I would change something. The flavors in this dish are wonderful, it’s fragrant and extremely aromatic. I am serving it with whole wheat couscous and broccoli.

Chicken Tagine

4 servings

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts halves (about 2 lb), skinned

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

¾ cup water

¾ cup pitted whole kalamata olives

2 cinnamon sticks

2 cloves (optional)

½ teaspoons fresh ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoons grated lime rind

¼ cup lime juice

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

Directions:

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large non stick pan over high heat. Add chicken, cook 3 minutes each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan. Add onion and garlic to pan, cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chicken, water, olives, cinnamon, clove and ginger. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes. Turn chicken over, cook, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Add lime rind, lime juice, cilantro, and parsley to pan; cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Almond Walnut Coffee Ring

As part of the 12 Days of Sharing sponsored by Share our Strength and hosted by “In Jennie’s Kitchen” blog, I am making this Almond Walnut Coffee Ring recipe and sending it to their shared cookie jar. Although I am a novice baker I thought I should participate as I am a volunteer at the Operation Frontline Colorado.

By sharing our favorite cookie/baked goods recipes we can all help raise awareness about childhood hunger: $25 can feed a child three healthy meals a day for a month!

Almond Walnut Coffee Ring

1 coffee ring

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package active dry yeast (or 2 and 1/4 teaspoons)

1/4 cup warm water (105 F. to 115 F.)

½ cup warm milk (105 F. to 115 F.)

¼ cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg yolk

1 egg

3 -3 1/2 cups flour

Filling:

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup almond meal

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup butter melted

½ cup coconut flakes (optional)

Icing:

¾ cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon butter, softened

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

Put warm milk and water in a small bowl, add yeast and let stand until it starts bubbling (about 5 minutes). Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 2 cups of sifted flour with butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon. Gradually add the milk mixture into flour mix and beat at medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract. Add egg and egg yolk, one at a time and 1 cup of flour to make a dough. Turn dough out onto a work surface sprinkled with 1/2 cup flour. Knead 2 to 3 minutes, adding just enough flour to prevent dough from being sticky.

Put dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Combine filling ingredients in a bowl. On a floured surface, roll out dough to make a 16 X 10 inch rectangle. Spread with filling evenly, leaving a ½ inch margin on all edges. Starting at wide end, roll up jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam to seal.

Place seam side down in a well-greased baking sheet joining ends to form a circle. Cut outside edge at 1 inch intervals, two thirds of way through. Gently turn each slice on its side to overlap. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled (40 to 50 minutes).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and transfer to cooling rack.

In a small bowl combine sugar, butter, and lime juice. Gradually blend in water until icing is smooth. Drizzle on the cake.

"Second Try" Cookies

Se

I am going to miss a cookie baking session at my friend Brenda’s this weekend. Since I have already bought the ingredients, I decided to try to make them. The first time I baked cookies was at Brenda’s house last year. I made Bailey’s cookies. They turned out uh, ok…

Today I am making the Cooking Light's “Viennese Almond Crescents”, see the recipe here and “Crisp Sugar Cookies”, see the recipe here. I got really "adventurous" and made some icing for the Crisp Sugar Cookies: 2 cups powdered sugar, 1.5 tablespoon softened butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt, 3 to 4 tablespoons water.

I think they turned out ok given that this is the second time I am baking cookies in my life. I like the experience, it’s fun. I packed them to give as a Christmas gift.

I am re-editing this post to be part of the 12 Days of Sharing sponsored by Share our Strength hosted by “In Jennie’s Kitchen” blog. 

By sharing our favorite cookie/baked goods recipes we can all help raise awareness about childhood hunger: $25 can feed a child three healthy meals a day for a month!

Empanadas (Argentina) and Paches (Guatemala)

I also made a very simple version of empanadas using the left over ground beef from last night. I bought the dough at the Mexican store: fill, wrap and bake them! Read more about Argentine food here.

A friend from Guatemala brought us some “paches” that they made for Thanksgiving. Paches are a kind of Guatemalan tamale, made with potatoes instead of corn. They are wrapped in platano leaves and they are spicy, well seasoned and delicious! The chicken leg that she wrapped on it is absolutely wonderful, its flavors are so good they cannot be described. See more about Guatemalan cuisine here.

Keema-Pulao

My friend Camilla always talks about Keema, she says it’s one of her favorite dishes. I have this grass fed ground beef and I am in an Indian cooking mode, so why not make Keema? Camilla, I hope this is like the Keema you make. Of course Tanya (our common Indian friend) needs to give her blessing, but she is in India right now. 

I served it with a good shredded carrot and cabbage salad.

Keema-Pulao

(Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Kheema-Pulao/Detail.aspx)

8 servings

Ingredients

3 cups basmati rice

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 large onions, minced

1 tablespoon garlic paste

1 tablespoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 pound ground beef

salt to taste

1/2 cup frozen green peas (optional)

4 green chile peppers, halved lengthwise

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

1 cinnamon stick

1 black cardamom pod

2 bay leaves

4 whole cloves

5 cups boiling water

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Place the basmati rice in a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 30 minutes. Drain.

Heat the oil in a large pan with a heavy bottom; fry the onion, garlic paste and, ginger paste in the hot oil until the onions are caramelized and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir the turmeric, garam masala, and cumin into the mixture; allow to cook together for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook until the oil separates, about 10 minutes. Crumble the ground beef into the tomato mixture; season with salt and cook until the beef is no longer pink, about 15 minutes. Mix the frozen peas and the green chile peppers into the beef.

Heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the cinnamon stick, cardamom pod, bay leaves, and cloves in the ghee until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice to the spice mixture; cook until the rice smells nutty, 1 to 2 minutes more. Spread the rice with the spices over the beef mixture, but do not stir. Gently pour the water over the rice and season with salt; bring the mixture to a boil for 2 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking until the rice is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat completely and allow to sit covered another 20 minutes. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

Pasta with Kielbasa and Brussels Sprouts

Monday is the day Des goes to Fado’ and I have dinner by myself. I usually eat leftovers.

Since I had some pasta left from Saturday and a beautiful stem of Brussels sprouts, which Des said he was not too fond of, I decided to use them up. I just fried a little bit of Kielbasa, cut really tiny, added blanched Brussels sprouts and the pasta. Voila.

Fish with Coconut Milk and Avocado Lime Salsa

This is a variation of a very popular Brazilian dish called “Moqueca”. My friend Patricia’s dad who is from Recife, Northeast Brazil, makes the moqueca “come il faut” (the proper way), with dende oil, real coconut and a clay pot.

Since palm oil is required in the preparation of moqueca and it’s not easy to obtain the authentic “dende oil” in the US, I created a variation of the dish. It’s basically the moqueca recipe with no dende oil. To make it up for the lack of the oil, serve it with an avocado-lime salsa.

 Fish with Coconut Milk and Avocado Lime Salsa

6 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb white fish such as halibut or orange roughy

½ lime juice, sea salt, pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly chopped

½ large tomato, peeled, seeded, chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

¾ red pepper, julienned, skinned, if possible

1 cup coconut milk

4 tablespoon water

8 oz medium shrimp

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Salsa:

1 cup avocado, chopped in ¼ inch cubes

1 to 1 ½ lime juice

2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

sea salt to taste

Directions: 

Season fish and shrimp with lime juice, salt and pepper. Fry onion in 1 tablespoon of oil in medium high heat until onion translucent, about 5 minutes. Add chopped tomato, tomato paste and bell pepper, cook in medium low heat about 10 minutes, until thick. Add 1 cup coconut milk and water and bring to a boil. Add the fish, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 to 10 min, covered, until the fish is almost done. While the fish is cooking, prepare the salsa: : mix all salsa ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Add shrimp, and half of the cilantro, cover, cook about 5 min or until the shrimp is cooked. Adjust the salt. Add remaining cilantro. Remove from heat and serve with salsa and rice. And optionally, pepper sauce.

Fettucine with Wine and Spinach

We liked the tea-smoked salmon so much that we decided to make it again. Des didn’t believe how easy it was to make this fish, so today he witnessed the cooking! If you missed the last post, check the recipe here.

To go with the salmon I thought I would use some spinach from the CSA, yummmm. It’s been ages we haven’t had pasta… yummmmm… I mixed spinach and whole wheat pastas for a color effect.

Fettucine with Wine and Spinach

4 servings

Ingredients:

12 oz  uncooked fettuccine

2  tablespoons  butter

2  garlic cloves, minced

3/4  cup  wine

1  cup  grated Parmesan cheese

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch of spinach, steamed and drained

Basil leaves, julienned (optional)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package instructions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add wine and spinach and cook until heated through. Don’t overcook. Add the Parmesan cheese, stirring until smooth. Add basil, salt, and pepper. Stir in pasta and combine, tossing until heated. If mixture is too dry, add the reserved pasta water. Serve immediately.

Thanksgiving (Feijoada)

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Brazil, so we, Brazilians, are not very sure what to do on this day. Those who live in the US usually get invited to American friend’s houses as “orphans”. This year I decided to celebrate Thanksgiving the Brazilian way, so I make “Feijoada”, a Brazilian party dish. We’ve also got some turkey, of course. Since Thanksgiving is a date to celebrate the families and friendships I decided to share a few of the party pictures! 

A popular myth states that the Brazilian feijoada was a "luxury" dish of African slaves on Brazilian colonial farms, as it was prepared with relatively cheap ingredients (beans, rice, collard greens, farofa) and leftovers from salted pork and meat production. Over time, it first became a popular dish among lower classes, and finally the "national dish" of Brazil, offered even by the finest restaurants. (Wikipedia)

The traditional feijoada is made with many different parts of the pork, salted, fresh or smoked, such as feet, tail, hock, ears, tongue, ribs, butt, bacon etc. Since most people don’t eat these exotic meats (my family loves them all), I make it with the basic “carne seca” (Brazilian salted cured beef) and sausage. Some ham hock or pig feet is necessary to yield some collagen. I remove the visible pieces from the stew before serving.

Feijoada needs to be accompanied by caipirinha, a drink made with cachaca (sugar cane alcohol), lime, sugar and lots of ice. And a nap or a walk in the park.

Feijoada (Brazilian Black Bean and Pork Stew)

10 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs dried black beans

1 pound carne seca

3 pounds sausage (Portuguese or Calabrese-type if available)

2 ham hocks (smoked or salted if possible)

2 bay leaves

Directions

24 to 36 hours before, soak the carne seca in water to cover, keep in the fridge and change the water once or twice. Soak the beans overnight.

The next morning, prick the sausages with a fork, place them in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sausages for 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the water. Add the boiled sausages to a skillet and lightly brown all sides. Discard any fat.

Place the drained beans in a large stock pot with the bay leaves, carne seca, cooked sausage, and other meats (if using) and cover with cold water by 5 inches. Bring the beans to a boil in high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low heat and simmer, uncovered, for about to 2 to 3 hours or until beans are cooked. Stir from time to time so the beans don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. This step can be done with a pressure cooker.

Mash some beans against the pan sides with the side of a wooden spoon, lower the heat to very low and simmer for 1 or 2 more hours until thick and creamy.

Remove the big pieces of meat from the pot, cut them to bite size pieces and return to the pot. Remove the bay leaves. Check the salt. You should not need to add salt.

Serve the feijoada with white long grain rice, farofa, citrus sauce, sliced or whole peeled oranges and collard greens.

Oranges

Ingredients

5 oranges

Directions

Peel the oranges including the white skin, cut into ½” slices and arrange them on a serving dish.

Farofa

Ingredients

4 oz bacon, cut in ½” pieces

2 cups manioc flour

Salt

Directions

Fry the bacon in a skillet until golden brown and all the fat is released. Lower the heat to medium, add manioc flour and stir until lightly toasted. Add salt to taste. Use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to 1 cup of manioc flour for a vegetarian version.

Collard Greens

Ingredients

1 lb collard greens, washed and dried

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

Fold the collard green leaves in half lengthwise and cut away the stems. Pile 6 leaves and roll tightly like a cigar. Cutting across the leaves, make very thin strips. Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add collard greens, sprinkle with salt and cook over medium-high heat tossing until just wilted.

Citrus Sauce

This is not part of the traditional feijoada recipe. But it’s a tradition in my family’s feijoada. It lightens the whole dish and freshens up the palate.

Ingredients

2 cups orange juice

1/3 cup lime juice

1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

1 small bunch of green onions, finely chopped

½ onion, finely chopped

Fresh red pepper, chopped (optional)

Directions

Add all ingredients to a bowl. Stir. I usually make ½ of the recipe with pepper and ½ with no pepper.

Cabbage And Potato Curry (Aloo Vepudu)

Trend… shifting from Japanese to Indian cuisine… I was hoping to make Aloo Gobi (potato and cauliflower curry) tonight but I thought I should use the produce from my CSA box. I found a great recipe for Aloo Vepudu, which is potato and cabbage curry, in the Curry in Kadai blog. Check the recipe here.

The change I made to the recipe was that I used 1 tablespoon of ghee instead of 3-4 tbsp of oil, bay leaves instead of curry leaves and cayenne in place of green chilies.

Tandoori Chicken

The Tandoori Masala composition can vary a lot. The first time I made it, I started with a basic recipe I found online. Then I adjusted the formula to my taste in subsequent meals. Some recipes call for fenugreek or mace. Some ask for cloves. Some ask for powdered herbs, some for seeds. Some recipes ask for powdered ginger and garlic, some for fresh. In my opinion, it’s better to make a fresh mix each time and not store it, as the fragrance can fade over time. I also prefer to use fresh ginger and garlic. But it all depends on the time you have and ingredient availability. The end result is always delicious.

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lb chicken pieces of your choice with skin and visible fat removed

1/2 Tandoori Masala recipe

1 cup yogurt (preferably regular)

1 tablespoon oil

1 lime or lemon juice

Sea salt to taste

½ teaspoon chili or cayenne pepper powder

Tandoori Masala Ingredients:

2 tablespoons cumin seeds or 1 ½ tablespoons cumin powder

2 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds or 2 tablespoons coriander powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp garlic powder or 3 fresh garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ginger powder or 1 tablespoon grated ginger

½ to 1 tsp red chili or cayenne pepper powder

¼ tsp clove powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp orange or red food coloring (optional)

Directions:

To make the tandoori masala, if using seeds, dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds in a pan on a low flame, till they begin to release their aroma. Remove from fire and cool. Grind seeds in a grinder. Add all ingredients and mix well.

Make slits in the chicken pieces with a knife. Mix lime, salt and chili pepper in a small bowl. Rub the lime mixture into the chicken slits. Combine yogurt and tandoori masala in a bowl. Mix well. Add the yogurt mix to a large plastic bag or a glass bowl. Add the chicken to the mix and toss well, making sure all the pieces are well coated. Drizzle the oil and toss. Marinate in the fridge for 6 to 24 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Spray oil in the chicken pieces and quickly sear both sides of the chicken. Reduce heat and cover the grill. Cook until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Or you can cook the chicken in the oven: preheat broiler. Cover a baking pan with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. Lay chicken on greased foil and spray with more cooking spray. Broil until it starts browning and turn. Brown the other side. Lower temperature to 350 F. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or done.

Top with onion slices while grilling.

Garnish cilantro and lemon wedges.