Coucous Salad

Another native recipe from Morocco. Couscous is a staple dish in most North African countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Couscous can be eaten alone or with meat or stew atop of it.
Although traditional couscous has a quite extensive preparation time, quick cook couscous is now available all over the world.
Ingredients:
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 10 ounce box plain couscous
1/2 cup raisins
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large carrot, peeled, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup thinly sliced green beans
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Bring chicken broth, 1 Tbsp oil, ginger, 1 tsp salt, tumeric, cinnamon, and cumin to a boil in large saucepan. Stir in couscous and remove from heat. Scatter raisins over, cover and let stand about 10 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cucumber, red pepper, carrot, green beans, and lemon peel. Whisk remaining 1 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt, and lemon juice in small bowl. Add couscous, toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chicken Tajine with Spring Vegetables

Tajine is a special dish named for the pot used to cook it. When you hear of a dish that is a Tajine, you should automatically think of cuisine from the Northern African countries of Morocco, Algeria & Tunisia. My fiancee is originally from Morocco, so I have been learning how to cook tajines. Although, I do not have any genuine Tajine pots, I have been able to make similar Tajine recipes with my American pots and pans. Plus my fiancee says they are just as good as when his mom used to cook for him! :)
Tajines usually consist of meat and or vegetables with a thick, seasoned sauce. Most tajines are served with bread to sop up the sauce. No part of the tajines are discarded.

Ingredients:
Makes 8 servings
1 lemon, halved
6 medium artichokes, stems trimmed to 1/2"
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lb. onions, chopped
8 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
8 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
8 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
8 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
4 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs
4 cups chicken broth
3 fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed
5 large carrots, peeled, cut 1 inch length

Fill bowl with water, squeeze in lemon juice. Break off enough outer leaves of the artichokes to expose pale green leaves. Trim dark green areas off stem and base. Quarter artichoke lengthwise. Separate out choke, drop into lemon water. Heat 1/4 cup oil in skillet. Add onions and saute 5 minutes. Add next 7 ingredients and 6 Tbsp each of parsley, dill and mint. Saute for additional 3 minutes.
Move ingredients from skillet to large pot. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in skillet. Add 1/3 of chicken and saute 3 minutes per side. Transfer to pot with onion mixture. Repeat with remaining chicken. Add broth to skillet and bring to a boil. Transfer to pot and add fennel and carrots. Drain artichokes and add to pot.
Bring tajine to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer 15 minutes. Transfer chicken and vegetables to large bowl. Boil sauce 10 minutes. Return chicken and vegetables to sauce. Rewarm tajine. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp each parsley, dill, and mint.
Serve with bread!

Moroccan Salad

This is another recipe that I learned from my boyfriend. In the US when you think salad the first thing that comes to mind is lettuce. Well that is not the case in Morocco. My boyfriend explained to me that Moroccan salad is less about the lettuce and more about the other vegetables you add to it. This is an easy recipe that can have a lot of vegetables or as little as 4 vegetables. It is very healthy for you because there is no salad dressing which usually adds the most calories, but instead uses olive oil which is very good for you. There are many variations to this salad because you can add pretty much any vegetable you want. Enjoy making this salad and using the different additional ingredients!

Ingredients (Used for salad in the picture above):
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 cucumber
1 large carrot
1 large tomatoe
1 pepper (sweet or regular)
1 cup lettuce
salt & pepper to taste

Peel cucumber and carrot and chop into small pieces. Dice tomatoe. Clean and de-seed the pepper. Chop into small pieces. Chop lettuce to desire size pieces. Using a large salad bowl, add olive oil and all the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix completely making sure all the vegetables are covered with olive oil. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Additional ingredients include:
olives- green or black
potatotes
onion
cheese
hard boiled eggs

Chicken and Olive Tajine

Makes: 4 servings
Marinate: 1 hour
Cook: 40 minutes Bake: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (As an alternative to using the whole chicken you can use drumsticks and thighs. Follow the same instructions.)
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
A pinch of saffron
1 teaspoon of cumin
2 medium sized onions
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
1 cup whole green olives
water


Peel the onions and grate them.


Marinating Steps:
To make the marinating sauce, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, spices and cilantro all together. Add 1 tablespoon of water. Coat the chicken with the sauce. Cover the chicken and let it marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Cooking Steps:
Saute onions in a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes until onions change color .
Add the chicken and rotate it couple of times in the onions. Add water until it covers half of the chicken. Cover the pan and the let the chicken cook for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over and let the other side cook for another 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the stove and bake the chicken at 400 F degrees for 45 minutes. Turn it once half way through so both sides of the chicken are roasted.
Add the olives to the sauce. Do not cover the pan and let the sauce cook on low heat until it thickens.
Serving:
Serve the chicken with the sauce and olives.


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Harira

My boyfriend is from Morocco in northern Africa. During the Muslim holiday of Ramadan Harira a Moroccan soup is eaten regularly. Since he has moved to the United States he has not had Harira for a couple of years. After looking up the recipe online, I was able to easily make this delicious soup for him to enjoy.

Makes: 6-8 bowls
Cook: 50 minutes

Ingredients:
2 onions
3 tomatoes
1 cup of chopped parsley
1 cup of chopped cilantro
½ cup of lentils
½ cup of chickpeas
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 ½ teaspoon of ginger powder
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon saffron
2 vegetable bouillons
2 tbsp of corn starch
4 tablespoons of olive oil
6 cups of water
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg (optional)
1 cup of meat cubes lamb or beef (optional)

Steps:
Put the lentils and chickpeas in a bowl of water for 1 hour to soften them up. If you are using dried chickpeas instead of canned ones, you should put them in the water the night before.
Finely chop the onions. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into dices. In a food processor or blender, blend the tomatoes with half of the cilantro and half of the parsley. In your cooking pan, drizzle the olive oil. Add the onions and after few minutes add the rest of the cilantro and parsley. Once the onions acquire a lighter color after few minutes of cooking, add the tomato blend. If you are cooking your soup with meat, add the meat cubes to the onion, tomato mixture and let them cook for 15 minutes. Add all the spices (ginger powder, pepper, salt and saffron) and thoroughly mix the ingredients. Add the water and the vegetable bouillon cubes. Add the lentils and chickpeas. Cover the pan and let the soup cook for 30 minutes. Stir from time to time. After 30 minutes, dissolve the corn starch in a little bit of water and add it to the soup. Add tomato paste and butter.Let the soup boil for another 10 minutes. At the end, add the egg and stir. Serve with bread.

Enjoy this wonderful Moroccan dish!