Moroccan Carrot Salad

Reader Kochava Amar, from Tel Aviv, emailed us the following recipe and photo; it’s her family’s favorite salad, she writes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound carrots, peeled
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red chilli flakes
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley plus a few leaves to garnish
• Freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange
• 4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Using a hand grater or food processor (fitted with a grater blade), grate the carrots and turn into a large bowl.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium heat, add the garlic and fry for two minutes, or until the garlic starts to color. Add the salt, cumin, chilli flakes and sugar; stir to blend. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
3. Stir in the remaining oil, chopped cilantro, orange juice, lemon juice, and ground cloves. Pour over the carrots and toss well.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight, Spoon into a serving bowl and garnish with some cilantro leaves.

For those who prefer it less spicy, you may skip the chilli flakes. Try it, your family will love it.

[I tried this last evening, and found it delightful. CS]

Enjoy!

Kochava Amar

This Evening’s Radio Show, Yesterday’s Superb Lunch

If you missed last evening’s very informative show: A Conversation with Menachem Lubinsky, you can hear it here.

Yesterday Alessandra Rovati (from dinnerinvenice.com), Esti Berkowitz (from primetimeparenting.com), Geilah Hocherman (author of upcoming cookbook The Kosher Revolution), Kim Amzallag (from Kosher Inspired/Mishpacha Magazine), Suzannah Raff (from koshershopaholic.com) and yours truly met at Chef Lévana Kirschenbaum‘s (from levanacooks.com) place.

We started the session with an incredible Moroccan lunch feast prepared by Lévana, of course. It consisted of:

• Cold avocado cucumber soup
• Spicy olive lemon salad
• Celery remoulade
• Moroccan tomato salad
• Hummus-Tehina with za’atar
• Lamb-stuffed artichoke bottoms
• Chicken roasted in dry spice rub
• Chicken Pastilla
• Hot and sweet parsnips
• Potato, tomato and olive tajine

For dessert she made us:

• Spicy nut truffles
• Date nut roll
• Chocolate “salami”
• Chocolate espresso bark
• Coconut cookies
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Quick halvah

After the meal we started our discussion, Suzannah Raff put it on video (she will have it up on YouTube soon!), while I taped it for this evening’s radio show. After such a rich, healthy, scrumptious meal you can bet our discussion was lively, entertaining, informative.

The topic of our discussion was Healthy and Delicious versus Delicious at any Cost. This pretaped show will air it this evening at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkRadio. Please tune us in this evening, we’ll be wait’n for ya!

CS

Chicken Tajine

This recipe is a delicious meal all by itself and it’s made in one pot, there is less cleaning and it’s an easier dinner to prepare. What could be more satisfying than the delicious aromas of healthy cooking wafting through the kitchen, especially when it’s all done with little effort? There are many versions of this dish; last eve some Moroccan friends, visiting from Israel, came over and this is the variation I made.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil.
• 1 onion, cut into small wedges
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 lb chicken cutlets
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 8 oz zucchini, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, chopped
• 3 oz portobello mushrooms, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (see CS’ Chicken Broth)
• 10 oz chickpeas
• 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/3 cup prunes, chopped
• 1/2 cup dates, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for three minutes, stir frequently.
2. Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly, for an additional 5 minutes. until all sides are seared.
3. Add the cumin and the cinnamon sticks after the first 2 1/2 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in the flour, stir constantly, for another 2 minutes.
5. Add the zucchini, the bell peeper and mushrooms. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Blend the tomato paste with the chicken broth, stir into pan, bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and add the chickpeas, apricots, prunes, and dates. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is tender.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Garnish  with chopped cilantro or parsley (I used cilantro) and serve immediately.

We paired it with with a Willm Gewurztraminer 2008. With fresh flowers and citrus on the nose, flavors of pineapple, honeydew, lychee and apple with lots of honey on the finish. This is a dry white but with a subtle hint of sweetness on the tongue, elegant rather than big and bold,  it is clean, refreshing and with just enough acidity to accentuate the sweetness of the dish. A marriage made in heaven!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy! We did.

CS

Shakshuka

When I lived in Israel, I discovered the Sephardic cuisine. Growing up in Uruguay, I had occasional eaten over by some of my Sefaradi friends but never encountered most of the delicacies I found in the Holy Land. One of this discoveries was Shakshouka, therefore I felt compelled to scour the web in search of easy recipes for it.

What is Shakshouka, you ask? Wikipedia describes it as:

Photo from: Wikipedia

Shakshouka (Arabic: شكشوكة‎; Hebrew: שקשוקה‎) (also shakshuka, shaqshuqa) is a dish from Maghreb consisting of eggs cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices (often including cumin, turmeric, and chillies), and usually served with white bread.

[..] Shakshouka is now a staple of Tunisian, Algerian, Egyptian, Moroccan, Somali, and Yemeni cuisines, and is also popular in Israel, where it was introduced by Tunisian Jews.

And here is the Wikibooks recipe for Shakshouka:

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons of frying olive oil
• One tablespoon of sweet paprika
• 6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• One large sweet red pepper diced
• One Chili pepper (red or green) diced
• 6 ripe tomatoes diced
• Ground fresh black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 6 eggs

Procedure

1. On a high flame, heat the oil for about half a minute.
2. Add the paprika and blend well.
3. Add the garlic and peppers, and turn to low flame. Cook for about ten minutes – until the peppers have slightly softened.
4. Add the tomatoes and spice it with salt and pepper and then blend it.
5. Bring it to a boil, taste it and if necessary – add spices to get the taste refined.
6. Makes six dents in the mixture. Into each dent put an egg yolk, and spread the egg whites around.
7. Continue to cook on low until the egg whites have coagulated.
8. Serve the Shakshouka with black bread and fresh parsley.

From the Spanish language blog: Absolut Marruecos, we bring you this authentic Morrocan recipe:

Photo by: Absolut Marruecos

shakshuka con huevos

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 grated onion
  
• 7 ounces water
• 36 ounces tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons rice
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 tablespoon green pepper, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 eggs

Directions

1. Sauté onion in very hot oil until just golden.
2. In a pot add the water, tomatoes, let it boil for 5 minutes.
3. In a separate pot cook the rice.
4. Add the parsley, salt, pepper and green pepper.
5. Carefully break the eggs one at a time and drop on the tomato pot.
6. Cook for about 40 minutes on medium flame.

When Mia Cooks, adds an interesting variation:

Photo by: http://when-mia-cooks.blogspot.com/

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped bell pepper
• 4 to 5 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup veg broth
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/4 cup corn
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• salt to taste
• coriander/cilantro leaves
• Vegetable oil

Actually, it’d be better if you boil the tomatoes and then peel and chop them. But I forgot….heck, ok, I was too lazy.

1. In a pan, heat a tbsp of vegetable oil.
2. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper and saute for a few minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and veg broth.
4. Add the peas and corn as well. Season with salt and chilli powder.
5. Simmer and allow to cook till the corn and peas are cooked and there’s some liquid left.
6. Break the eggs into the base.
7. Break the yolks with a spoon, cover and simmer. If you like your eggs runny, remove it well under a minute. I don’t, so i let it cook for 2 minutes till it firmed up. Add chopped cilantro and serve with bread.

Enjoy gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Somewhere in Marrakech

Just missing the story tellers, local souk and snake charmers, I walked into mystical Morocco when I entered Darna (600 Columbus Ave – North East corner of 89th; New York 10024; Telephone: 212.721.9193), right here in New York City, in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Magically transported to the heart of Fez, Rabat, Marrakech or perhaps Casablanca and Rick’s Café Américain… I expected to hear the echo of Ilsa’s voice asking Sam: “Play it, Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.'”

I arrived at Darna as they began dinner service. Carlos tastefully arranged a corner table for me while Katja navigated me through the extensive menu of surprisingly well priced fare.

I started with a Humus plate, which came with a zaatar (hyssop) pita and mixed greens.

Deliciously flavorful, it was followed by Moroccan Cigars with accompanying greens and tomato flower garnish atop a Tehina Sauce.

The meat filled cigars were crispy on the outside, tender and savory on the inside; a perfect blend of flavors.

Darna’s Stuffed Chicken was the main course, a whole roasted Cornish hen stuffed with prunes, apricots, raisins, mushrooms and almonds with a side of  Couscous (their signature dish!) topped with string beans and carrots.

The stuffed hen was tender and superb in taste; the side dish delicious! The meal was accompanied by a delightful 2007 Barkan Pinot Noir.

Darna means “our home” in Moroccan Arabic. The time went by too quickly; the homey food, the polite and friendly staff, the cozy beautifully appointed authentic Moroccan décor, the soft Moroccan music certainly made me feel like a valued guest at the home of some trusted old friends…truly a hidden precious jewel in Manhattan!

To borrow a line from the movie Casablanca, “Luis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” I’ll be back!

CS