Tagines

I'm in love again--this time with my new cookbook Tagine: Spicy Stews from Morocco, by Ghillie Basan. Dad noticed it in a cooking store in Tubac, and I've become very involved with it.

First I made a chicken and dried apricot tagine, quite delicious. Next I made one with lamb, prunes, apricots, and honey (top picture). With that meal I made sides from the cookbook, including an orange olive salad and a sort of Moroccan pico de gallo. And Moroccan bread.

Now I am turning to the vegetable tagines, and we loved this one made with carrots and chickpeas. It was very quick and flavorful.

Spicy Carrot and Chickpea Tagine with Turmeric and Cilantro

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Heat the oil in a tagine or heavy casserole and saute onion and garlic until soft.

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Salt

3-4 medium carrots, sliced on the diagonal

Add spices and carrots. Add water to barely cover. Cover and cook 10 or 15 minutes, until carrots are just tender.

1 one-pound can chickpeas, drained

Add chickpeas and simmer for 10 minutes until flavors are blended and liquid is somewhat reduced.

Cilantro, chopped

Lemon wedges

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with lemon wedges.

Appetizers

We had a progressive dinner with Mary Ellen and friends last night. Appetizers and wine were at our place, then we progressed over to her house for the main course.

My repertoire was limited to foods I had on hand--I did NOT want to go to the store on Valentine's Day while people were scrambling for flowers and chocolate at the last minute. I ended up with marinated carrots; empanadas with a filling of spinach, currants, pine nuts, and a little goat cheese to bind; and a frittata with green chiles.

I boiled the carrots in salted water until barely tender, then marinated them for a few hours in olive oil, wine vinegar, fresh thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper. They were a nice change from richer things, and colorful as well.

Elaine made a fabulous lamb-meatball-and-spaghetti dish with Middle Eastern seasonings. She was on a TV cooking show and won a prize for it. Maybe she'll share the recipe here!

Foods from Elsewhere

I hope I never lose my curiousity about what people eat in other parts of the world. Tonight I tried the most unlikely-sounding combination from the Claudia Roden book: meatballs, spinach, and garbanzos (our variation included buffalo meatballs and swiss chard), browned and simmered together for half an hour, with fried garlic and coriander added at the end. It tasted wonderful.

With it I served a salad of grated carrots from the garden, and a plate of sliced tomatoes with olives, feta, green onions, and basil. Here is the salad recipe.

Indian Carrot Salad

2 cups grated carrots

1/4 teaspoon salt

Toss carrots with salt.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

Heat oil in a small skillet, toss in mustard seeds, and remove from heat as soon as seeds begin to pop. Pour over carrots.

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Add lemon juice and toss. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Oh by the way, I bought a small electric skillet for cooking outside and have made several things out there next to the toaster oven, saving the house from cooking heat. It works pretty well.

Pot Luck Vegetables

Eva, here are a couple of vegetable recipes that can be served at room temperature. I would be ecstatic to find dishes like these at a pot luck lunch. (Disclosure: this is Swiss chard in the picture, not spinach).

Carrots with Lemon Mustard Dressing

1 pound carrots, peeled and julienned

Cook the carrots in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.

2 lemons, juiced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons coarse mustard

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Mix lemon juice, sugar, and mustards; whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss with carrots.

Fancy Spinach and Artichokes

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts (drain and reserve liquid)

2 large bunches spinach, cleaned, lightly cooked, and well drained (or 2 packages frozen, ditto)

Spray a Pyrex pie plate or shallow casserole with cooking spray. Arrange artichoke hearts in bottom and spread spinach on top.

2 eggs

4 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces sour cream
Reserved artichoke liquid, or milk
1 teaspoon dill weed
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix egg, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, dill weed, salt, and pepper. Add a little milk if necessary to make mixture spreadable. Spread over spinach in casserole.

Parmesan cheese to cover

Top with Parmesan. Cover and bake at 350º for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 more minutes.