Thoughts on Moroccan.

First and foremost, apologies for not posting in a while, I just haven't been supremely motivated to share food knowledge as I've been so busy. But right now I've realised I'm loving food a little too much and it needs to be shared. Especially for those out there who say they "can't cook". Nonsense. I promised my flatmates I'd cook for them tomorrow (well, today) cause they all leave on Friday/this weekend. And I thought I'd use all the leftovers in the fridge/freezer. Only problem is, Moroccan equals couscous. The problem with my couscous (or froufrou as a Brazillian boy I used to live with called it) is that it's always sort of... bland. But I've been racking my brains and jotting in the old Moleskine and I think I may have come up with something exciting. Thus, welcome, Moroccan Influenced Citrus Couscous with Vegetables.

(I only call it influenced because it's not moroccan. I don't know moroccan food well, and I'm half doing this recipe towards the Algerian food I eat at the fantastic Al-Casbah on Mill Road in Cambridge).

 

A note: I only came up with this recipe about 10 minutes ago, so it's still in refining stages. I'll try measure everything out for tomorrow so it's all easy to follow and stuff. 

 

Ingredients

Olive oil – a light one, or vegetable/sunflower oil

Onions – I’m giving red a go as it adds colour and sweetness

Head of Garlic – it’ll be confited so it goes all sweet and mushy

Courgette – diced in generous bite sized pieces

Carrots – in rounds, fairly thin (3mm thick is a good size)

Red peppers – again, diced

Tomatoes – a good fleshy variety, ripe as you can get it

Can of chickpeas - drained

Couscous

Vegetable stock – I used oxo or marigold swiss bullion

Lemon juice + zest

Fresh mint

Fresh Coriander

Cumin (powdered)

Coriander (powdered)

Cinammon (Powdered works better than sticks, if it’s sticks, simmer it in the stock for a bit)

Tumeric (powdered)

Paprika

Tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

(It sounds like a lot of stuff, but if you stock up on certain spices like turmeric curry powder etc you can do a wealth of recipes. I’ll post on my favourite versatile spices later)

So, first of all you want to get the garlic confited.  Chop the top of it off so the bulbs are all exposed, put a bit of butter on top (quite a large bit in fact) then wrap it up in foil tightly and shove it in a medium to high oven for 10-15 minutes. So 150-200C. Then just take it out and let it cool.

Next, some oil on. (Cause I’m cooking for more than one, I’m doing this in a wok. It’s my least scratched pan and it’s nice and big). Just cover the bottom of it and add the spices, going easy on the turmeric, or things will go sour and bitter. You want a nice easy sizzle going. 

While the spices roast through, add a bit of water to help it cook through, and a teaspoon of tomato paste. Then a base is made.

Next, turn the heat up and then add the veg. Leave the tomatoes and garlic till later. 

(I did have an idea for the carrots which involves par boiling them, then adding some orange juice and cumin seeds to finish boiling them, and draning and adding with the veg. All this does is add some interesting citrusy sweet tones to the dish. If you can’t be bothered, boil them til al dente and add in now).

Cook until the vegetables are coated nicely in the spiced until they’re coated and the onion is browning, then turn the heat right down. While this is happening, take the garlic out the papery skins and add to the pan.  Then add the couscous and mix through nicely.

Next, you want to add the juice of half the lemon, the vegetable stock (as a rule, I do equal amounts of liquid and couscous. It comes out nice and fluffy then). Season to taste, take off the heat, cover and leave for a little bit for the couscous to soak up the liquid. 

While that’s being absorbed, chop up mint and coriander, a ration of 1:3 (don’t bother being exact, it’s just leaves). Uncover and stir the couscous, adding the herbs, zest and remaining lemon juice and tomatoes. Double check the seasoning et voila. 

Okay, so this hasn’t exactly been tried, but when it has, I will amend the amounts, and any revisions that need to be made to the recipe. 

Turkey Cheese Ciabatta

Oh my god. This was the best lunch. Ever.

Basically, slice a ciabatta in half, add cheese on it, and top with sliced turkey [like, sandwich turkey which is in slices]. Then grill [about 4] till it's brown. Have with pickle. 

Not my recipe, but my god it was good. I had it with a salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. Bloody nice.

Chicken Curry. From Scratch.

It's actually ridiculously simple. I learnt it off my mother before I left for uni, and made it the other day with someone. Most satisfying meal. Ever.

Serves 3

2 Pieces Chicken [Cut into chunks. I used breast]

3 Small Potatoes, chopped into cubes

1 Onion, sliced/diced

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped/crushed

1 Cup water

¼ tsp. Tumeric

½ tsp. Chilli

1 tsp. Curry Powder

2 tsp. Coriander Powder [Or 1 tsp. Coriander powder and a bunch of fresh chopped]

1 tsp. Paprika.

1 tsp. Salt

2-3 tbsp. Vegetable Oil

 

Fairly simple. 

1.      1. Heat the oil, and add the onion and garlic and fry them till they go soft on medium heat. But before they burn.

2.      2. Then you can add the spices and salt. All at once, and mix it in. You may find that there wasn’t enough oil and the whole thing is now dry, depending on the size of the onion. If it is, add a tablespoon of oil, wait a few seconds and see what it’s like. You’re just trying to make sure it isn’t dry.

3.      3. Then add half a cup of water. Hot water. This is just to help the whole thing emulsify and to cook the spices. [If you don’t cook the spices, you can taste them grainy in the finished meal]. 

4.      4. Cook the spices on a medium heat till the oil begins to rise to the top of the mix. You can see it glisten and sit on the top. The spices and onion and everything should be all meshed together now.

5.      5. You’ve got the option [if you like your curries like that] to add a can of chopped tomatoes. I hate tomatoes in curry, so I never do that, but it makes it go further, and it’s pretty good if you’re not good with heat.

6.      6. Now add your potatoes. Add a bit of boiling water, just to help them along with cooking. Put the lid on and simmer till they’re half done.

7.      7. Final step, add your chicken chunks. Mix it in, and simmer away until it’s cooked through. I give it 15 minutes, and I cut a sizeable chunk to see if it’s done all the way through. If it isn’t, just let it go for longer. [You may need to top the water up at this point just to help it cook along].

8.      8. Once again, just cook it through until the oil rises to the top. Then it’s ready!

 

So yeah. If you opted for the powdered and fresh coriander, just sprinkle chopped fresh coriander on top once it’s done.

Quite note. Go easy on turmeric. Too much of it and things start to taste bitter.

End result. Have it with naan bread or basmati rice. Yummy.

This recipe is the base for pretty much every Bengal curry. I think you just tilt the quantities when it’s meat. But it works great for vegetables too.

Hello my amazing readers.

i.e. Josh. Possibly Bryony.

I am uploading a recipe for chicken curry tomorrow. It's rather simple.

I hope you're not living off noodles and pasta. 

Vegetable Risotto

Well, I thought I'd try my hand at a risotto the other day. A real one with the right sort of rice and such. It was new to me. It's like an ultimate comfort food. I had to spend a while trying to figure out the rice to liquid ratio. As I was only cooking for one, and there's a lack of measuring equipment here. So I came to a good conclusion. Rice to water ratio is 1:4. So 1 cup of rice, 4 of stock. Anyway. Here goes.

Vegetable Risotto (Serves 2 appetisers, or 1 very hungry person)

Ingredients

1 cup arborio rice, 4 cups vegetable stock, Half an onion sliced, 3 cloves garlic sliced, Handful each of: broccoli, courgette, beans, carrot, pepper (All diced to about the same size), 3 tbsp. oil, Knob of butter, Handful of cheese

Method

1. Heat the oil with the butter, and the onions and garlic, and fry until soft. 2. Add the vegetables [it doesn't matter if it's all at once or not], and fry them till soft. 3. Boil the water and add a stock cube [my favourite it OXO]. 4. Add the rice to the vegetables and mix until coated in oil. 5. Add the stock slowly. Let the water all be absorbed before adding more. When the rice is al dente, stop. 6. Take it off the heat and stir in your favourite cheese. A mature cheddar or parmesan work well. Et voila. You have risotto. I was really quite happy with it. A few notes. The stock. Add it half a cup at a time, and always stir it in. Don't worry if there's stock left over. Any vegetables can be used. It'll all taste great. Use a wooden spoon. The rice really does absorb a lot of liquid and expand. One cup is more than enough for one person. Enjoy!

Ginger Spice Icing

For the Chai Masala Cupcakes.

I found two ways of going about this. Either a cream cheese icing, or a buttercream. I tried out the buttercream.

Ginger Spice Buttercream Icing

6oz Butter

1/2 tsp. Ginger Powder

1/2 tsp. Garam Masala

10oz Icing sugar

Bit of hot water

1. Beat the butter till it's gone light yellow [or sunshine yellow, as I like to call it]

2. Mix the spices in with the sugar, and add that slowly to the mix butter.

3. Add the water slowly to the mix. It should go a nice smooth consistency.

For spreading onto the cakes, I put a dollop on, and spread it with the back of a bread knife [or a spatula].

Ginger Spice Cream Cheese Icing

I haven't tried this one [yet], but when I do, I shall post. You could effectively get a normal cream cheese icing recipe, and add the spices.

Spiced Chai Masala Cupcakes

Chai seems to have been quite the hit in the West. Only, chai literally means tea. So the title "Chai Tea Latte" you find some places is redundant, making it "Teatea Latte". The Chai Masala [as it kinda should be called], is pretty much a mix of "warming" spices, like cinnamon, cardamom, clove etc. That brewed with the tea releases a really nice, almost Christmassy smell. So I tried putting it into cupcakes. I got a basic cupcake recipe I've been using for who knows how long [so I can't reference it back to you, sorry], with modifications. Here goes.

Chai Masala Cupcakes. 240g Butter [margerine works fine, but use butter for best results] 400g Sugar 4 Eggs 225g Flour 1 tsp. Garam Masala 3/4 tsp. Ginger powder 1/8 tsp. Salt 3/4 tsp. Baking Powder 3/4 tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda 2 teabags 1 cup milk It sounds like a lot of sugar, but traditionally a lot WAS used to bring the taste of the spices out. As for Garam Masala, it can be found packaged in Indian grocers and the like. If you're going to make your own, heat cinnamon, cardamon [seeds], cloves, black peppercorns, allspice and star anise. Take a teaspoon of each, and heat till you can REALLY smell it. Then put it through a coffee grinder till fine. All ingredients should be at room temperature. Method. 1. Beat the butter till it's soft, then add the sugar.

  2. Beat for about 2-3 minutes until it's incorporated, and the colour has gone from the normal yellow to a pale yellow.

3. Heat the milk gently in a pan, and add the teabags. Infuse for about 5 minutes, on a low heat. Remove the teabags and allow to cool.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, whilst beating. Add a bit of flour each time you add an egg to prevent it curdling. If you're using an electric hand whisk, beat, stop, add the egg, add some flour, and beat.

5. Once it's smooth, add the powders [sifted], and mix till smooth.

6. Add the milk, making sure it's cooled down, and mix till smooth. All that's left is to spoon the mixture into cupcake cases. 2/3 of the way is more than enough. You can do less if you want the cylindrical shape to stay, and then fill the rest with icing.

I found that about 16 minutes at 190C was fine. At the 14minute mark, I put a kebab skewer [or toothpick in]. When it comes out clean, they're done.

I also find that leaving them in the tray till they're touchable helps with getting them out of the cases in the end. Otherwise half the cupcake is still on the paper.

With these, you get this gorgeous spicy aroma wafting through the house.  They go particularly well with Chai Masala [I'll upload a foolproof recipe shortly]

Frosting recipe will be up when I've perfected it. Enjoy =]