We’ve had some really cold, wet, wintry weather here recently. Now don’t get me wrong I love winter, it is in fact my favourite season but sometimes I just need to inject a little warmth; and what better way to do it than by taking a little culinary travel expedition.
Having spent a very lazy afternoon reading through one of my recent cookbook purchases, Made in Morocco: A Journey of Exotic Tastes and Places
The only prerequisite was that the meal was vegetarian, part of my mission to convince my parents that excellent meals do not have to be meat based. I’m by no means herbivore anymore (I was a vegetarian for around 4 years during my school-time), the carnivore within me just won’t permit it.
The next stage of course was to raid my vegetable box, fridge and cupboards to see what delights were available to me. Luckily there were several viable options and I didn’t have to venture out of my warm kitchen to battle against the elements and go shopping, aah relief.
I decided upon Chickpea Tagine with Feta, which I served with couscous.
I was going to serve this with flat breads such as pitta which would be more authentic, but, my Nigella Lawson All Purpose Pot from her Living Kitchen collection was staring at me from atop the range, just shouting to be used, to allow its full purpose to be reached; how could I say no?
The resulting dish was subtly flavoured, yet somehow managed to engage all food senses and was a resounding success.
I have a dreadful habit of creating dishes and not remembering what I put in them, a bit of this a dash of that type cookery – all very well until you want to recreate the dish; but, luckily this time I had a notepad and pen to scribble into as I went along.
The Recipe:
Serves 4
For the Tagine:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp saffron
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ras el hannout
1 cinnamon stick
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
1 cups boiling water
1 tin chickpeas
1 tin tomatoes
2 roasted red peppers, sliced.
50g apricots, diced
3 tbsp barberries
3 tbsp toasted slivered almonds
1 tbsp toasted pistachios
250g feta cheese
For the Couscous:
2 cups couscous
1/4 cup olive oil or argan oil.
2 cups boiling water
25g unsalted butter, cut into small dice.
1. Place the couscous in a large bowl and pour in the oil, rub the couscous through your hands to ensure the grains are all coated then pour in the boiling water. Cover the dish with clingfilm and put aside. (If you don’t have a couscousiere leave this step out and follow the packet structions when the tagine is cooked).
2. Heat the oil in the base of a couscousiere or large pan. Add the onions and cook for around 10 minutes over a medium heat until soft and golden.
3. Add the spices and cook til fragrant, then add the tinned tomatoes and cup of boiling water.
4. Bring to the boil, then allow to simmer gently for around 1 hour or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. At this point the sauce can be removed from the heat and left until later if you wish.
5. Add the chickpeas, peppers, fruit and seasoning, allow to simmer for another hour. Half an hour into this time, place the couscous in the top layer of the couscousiere and dot with the unsalted butter and allow to steam.
6. Remove the top layer of the couscousiere, add the herbs and nuts to the tagine, stir in.
7. Serve with the feta cheese crumbled over and couscous on the side.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
We simply really like your green blog and want to help people find it.
{ 1 trackback }