Tagine, a tasty mirage in my oasis.

Moroccan food is exotic, aromatic and full of colour. Its amazing array of ingredients is a pleasure for all of our senses. There's no doubt about it, Moroccan cuisine is full of quality, plus,  the variety of sweets, very sweet, the combination of spices, and the mix of the sweet and sour, makes this unique gastronomy one of the best in the world. Moroccan cuisine is a mix of cultures, and one of its star dishes is the lovely Tagine. It can be made with chicken, lamb, fish or vegetables. 

 This is an excellent recipe by Claudia Roden, and from her book Arabesque. The tagine is the name of the dish the food is cooked in. The conic shape helps the steam flowing and cooking the interior of the dish giving the food its distinctive flavour. If we add the preserved lemons, one of the most essential ingredients the Moroccan cuisine, then the colour of the dish becomes amazing and the flavour explodes in your mouth. You must prepare the lemons a month in advance. 

You can find the preserved lemons in selected stores, but they are so easy to prepare that it seems to me a waste of money, for they are quite expensive to buy and so much cheap to prepare at home. For this dish you only use the skin of the lemons. If you decide to go ahead and prepare the tagine, you only need to remember to preserve the lemons four weeks before.



Preserved lemons

Ingredients:

5 or 6 big unwaxed lemons
rock salt ( quite a lot)
The juice of three lemons

Method

Wash the lemons and cut them from the stem end into quarters almost through the base. Insert one tablespoon rock salt into each lemon, close it up and place in the sterilized jar. Repeat until the jar is filled, sprinkling 1 tablespoon salt between the layers. Pack the lemons into the jar as tightly as possible. Add a bay leaf an a few peppercorns is you want. Add the lemon juice and fill with slightly cool boiled water.

Seal the jar and store in a cool dark place for 4 weeks. Shake the jar daily for the first week in order to dissolve the salt. Once it´s opened store in the fridge. Before adding to the recipe, you need to rinse the lemon with water and discard the pulp.





Chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons

Ingredients

3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 onions finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 chicken cut into pieces (I used a poussin)
salt and black pepper
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Peel of 1 large preserved lemons
12-16 green olives
300mil chicken stock or water

Method

In a tagine or a wide caserole dish, heat the oil and add the oinions, saute until they are soft then stir in the garlic, ginger and saffron.
Put in the chicken pieces season with salt and pepper and por in abut 300ml chicken stock or water. Simmer, covered. turning the pieces over a few times, and adding a little more water if it becomes too dry.

Stir in the lemon juice, the chopped coriander and parsley, the preserved lemon peel cut into strips and the olives. Cook uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced and thick. Serve the chicken with the olives and lemon strips on top of the meat. You can serve it along with an almond and pistachio couscous. And don't be surprised when the chicken melts in your mouth.

Lamb shanks with nutty couscous

Lamb is on of my favourite meats, because of its flavour and textyure.I chose shanks for this dish because I like the way it falls from the bone when it has been cooked in the oven. to serve, a lovely couscous, with nuts and aromatised with rose water, just a few drops, otherwise we can ruin the plate, beause it has a very strong flavour. This is a very simple dish, you don't need many ingrediets and the flavour is amzing.

I guess it's more than obvious that I love middle eastern food, because of its flavour and colour. Couscous is part of the daily life in middle eastern households and nuts are an ideal touch to a meal. Middle eastern gastronomy is a varied one, with wonderful ingredients ready to surprise your palate. Coscous is a healthy option as well, and I always add the nuts to it, whichever ones you had at home will do, walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, etc. And sultanas, lots of sultanas...

For the Lamb

Lamb shanks, one per person

3 bay leaves

Drizzle of white wine

Half a lemon, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced

Drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Season the meat, and place it in an oven tray along with the rest of the ingredients, and bake at 180 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes, aproximately. When a knife comes out easily from the meat, its done. Reserve.

For the couscous

150g couscous

Handful of nuts

A few drops of rose water

Handful of sultanas or dried apricots (choped)

250ml very hot chicken stock or water

Drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Place the couscous in a bol and cover it with the hot stock or water. Cover the bol with a plate and let it rest for 10-15minutes. Check if the liquid has dissolve , and separate the couscous grains with a fork if so. Let cool.

When the couscous is completely cold, add the rest of the ingredients, if you add walnuts, chop them a little. Drizzle wth the olive oil and season. Serve in a big dish with the lamb shanks on top of the couscous, and decorate with dates if you want.

Koftas in the sky with spices

A few days ago I had a craving for a turkish pizza, Lahmacun, but I didn't want any pizza dough or bread, so I updated the ingredients for the topping to my taste and made this delicious and suculent koftas, a middle eastern meatball that can be eaten hot or cold, and they are perfect for a picnic. You can serve these with some yogurt (previousy dressed with salt, peper and choped garlic)

One of the main ingredients is Ras el hanout, an extremely aromatic blend of spices from the middle east, widely used and with a distintive flavour, the blend includes cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, chilli, coriander, pepper,cloves and turmeric which gives the blend a wonderful yellow colour. Its available in moroccan deli shops, and you can also add it to couscous ad rice.

Ingredients:

250g minced lamb

1/4 finly chopped onion

1/4 finely chopped red pepper

1/4 finely chopped red chilli

1/2 garlic clove

5 or 6 sprigs of chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ras el-hanout

1/4 teaspoon ground dried coriander

1 egg, beaten

Mix all the ingredients, and put them in a sieve over a bowl to get rid of the excess liquid and let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour in fridge, for the flavours to combine.

Shape into medium balls and flatten them a little bit. Bake on a slightly oiled foil sheet, on a baking tray at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Or you can also pan fry them.