Monday 24 September 2007

Cous cous

I'm a cheap-arse.
I like cous cous.
I want more recipes for fun and different cous cous.
Got any?

[edit: Nik]

You read my mind!

I had cooked this and it turned out really well, I was just too lazy to post it yet...it was sitting there waiting.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_27553,00.html

Alot of the tagine and Cous cous recipies I have seen are pretty bland on flavour, but this one is good and spicy.

Cous Cous served here is usually a liquild sauce similar to whats given here with various vegitables (eggplant, zuccini, etc and chick peas) that have had the hell boiled out of them. This is spooned over cous cous and meat of some kind cooked seperately and added (lamb, chicken, spicy Maguiez sausages, meatballs).

I have found there are 2 types of cous cous here, a sweeter variety with a warm cindamon flavour and a sharper spicy lemon variety. I prefer the lemon. Thus this recipie.

Chicken Tagine with Green Olives and Preserved Lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for frying
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 large pinch saffron
1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) free-range chicken, cut into 10 pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 preserved lemon, recipe follows
1/2 cup cracked green olives
1 cup chicken stock

Couscous with Apricots, recipe follows

In a skillet over medium heat, toast the cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, and cloves until they start to smoke. Remove from the heat and grind in a spice grinder.

In a bowl large enough to accommodate the chicken, add the oil, spice mix, garlic, ginger, cilantro, bay leaves and saffron. Mix to a paste. Add chicken, rubbing the marinade over all the pieces. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve marinade. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a tagine or large casserole over medium high heat add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Put in chicken pieces and lightly brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until just starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Rinse preserved lemon well. Scoop out flesh and discard; cut peel into strips and add to pan. Add reserved marinade, olives, and chicken stock. Cover tightly and cook over medium low heat for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove bay leaf and discard. Taste juices and adjust seasoning. Place chicken on a warm platter. Spoon juices with the preserved lemon, olives, and onions over chicken and serve accompanied by Couscous with Apricots.

Camp food roxor

You changed the title before I could even post! Cheeky monkey!

I wanted to share my little camping gem with you. It's pretty simple, and I made it up, but it was very delicious.
We seem to have this habit of eating very well while camping. It's a great habit - not like smoking, what kills you dead.
A few weekends ago we made a bridge at the new Festy site, and stayed over. I had most of a lamb leg* in the freezer, and I chucked in some random ingredients to plan something palatable later.
The vauge procedure went like this:
  • Browned the meat (and random bits of meat/fat) in dutch oven, as well as I could as some of it was on the bone.
  • Tipped in lots of harissa, and cooked it a little further.
  • Threw in a sprinkle of spices I'd prepared earlier - a jar containing paprika, cumin, corriander and salt. Tossed it about some more.
  • A tin of tomatoes, a bit of water, and let the whole thing stew.
  • Towards the end of it, some chopped carrots, sweet potato and onion.
  • I have a plastic tub I bought honey in, that had dry couscous in it - I boiled some water and made couscous the easy way.
  • Then we ate it.

It was so good, I reheated the left overs for lunch the next day. There was even some couscous left.

I guess the real reason I was so chuffed that this worked out is based around the circumstances. It was raining for most of the cooking time, the wood was wet, it was dark (though head torches are great). But it was delicious, and a great meal after a day of hauling logs.

No, that's not a euphamism for anything.


*The 'most of a lamb leg' was because I had needed some diced lamb, and the butcher guys didn't have any left. So I hacked at a leg, and froze the rest. simple, really.

Thursday 13 September 2007

Habanero sauce

I wanna make this:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bobs-Habanero-Hot-Sauce---Liquid-Fire/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS

* 12 habanero peppers, seeded and chopped
* 1 (15.5 ounce) can sliced peaches in heavy syrup
* 1/2 cup dark molasses
* 1/2 cup yellow mustard
* 1/2 cup light brown sugar
* 1 cup distilled white vinegar
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 2 tablespoons paprika
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the peppers, peaches, molasses, mustard, brown sugar, and vinegar into the container of a food processor or blender. Measure in the salt, paprika, pepper, cumin, coriander, ginger and allspice. Blend until liquefied. Pour into clean jars, and refrigerate overnight before using.