moroccan @ 44

(sorry, no witty title; i think i’m just not gifted in that respect.)

one of these days, i will actually get around to planning a real dinner party, where all of the details are planned out, but the whole shebang is still nice and relaxed. specifically, what i really want is a coffee table to put in the middle of the living room, so we can eat around it instead of on plates in our laps. i also believe in carpets (or at least a swiffer to clean our circa-1900 hardwood floors).

the menu last night:
* djej m’chermel (chicken tagine with lemon and olives)
* vegetable tagine
* vegetable couscous
* ice cream with homemade hot fudge sauce, fresh cherries, and fresh blueberries

i had intended to go to star (how is it that i end up going there every other day? i’m so spoiled…) on wednesday evening, before heading over to lmf to make cookies. instead, i fell asleep for an hour. then, i intended to go to star on the way back from lmf – i was going to leave at 10 p.m. instead, i left at 11:30 and crashed into bed. so before my head hit the pillow, i set my alarm early enough to get myself to work at 8a.m.

it’s surprising how different it feels to leave work early (at 4 p.m.). i don’t feel that i arrived at work significantly earlier (i usually arrive between 8:30 and 9, depending on when i can drag myself out of bed), but i sure felt like i got to leave really early, as if i were on holiday or something. anyway, short trip home to change, and off to star i went.

when i got back, i started my mise-en-place right away. usually i wouldn’t bother, but given the time restraints (about an hour and a half to make dinner), i needed to actually be efficient. in general, anyway, a mise-en-place is useful when cooking, not as useful when baking. at any rate, it’s usually separating eggs and measuring out spices that’s the annoying part, rather than chopping things.

once i had chopped everything for the vegetable tagine, josh arrived with allie, to help cook. with their help, dinner was ready by 7:30, on our slightly lame stove with only 3 working burners. lots of pot and pan juggling there – between the two tagines (which you can think of as stews), the vegetables for the couscous, and the couscous itself – there was a lot to do.

not so much was remarkable about the actual preparation of the food – both tagine recipes are from the new york times, and the couscous recipe is from epicurious. we put extra cooking liquid from the vegetables for the couscous in the liquid (vegetable broth instead of water) for cooking the couscous. (not only is it fun to say “couscous,” it’s such a fun grain to eat…)

in regards to the vegetable tagine, i think this is the first time that i’ve eaten fully cooked chickpeas. i had never really liked their texture before when people put them in chili and various other dishes, and last night i realized that is was because they weren’t cooked through anyway. instead of being hard, they were firm on the outside, but creamy on the inside, with a remaining bit of bite. small food revelation there.

i think the vegetable tagine went best with the couscous; i didn’t quite like it on its own. i’ll have to go back and taste it, but it just didn’t seem like it had enough depth of taste. maybe the spices weren’t quite right; it was the sort of thing where you just want to add a whole bunch of potatoes – as a whole, the stew just didn’t have enough oomph. it could have also just needed some salt. i’ll have to try it again and see (lucky for me that things with so many spices in them only get better as they age – until that threshold of impending mold, of course). oops, i just realized that i told fred the wrong spices when he asked which ones were in the chicken. since i had no idea where to get zaatar (i have a vague inkling that formaggio kitchen might have it, as they have the most exotic spice collection i’ve ever seen), i used the suggested substition – ground sesame seeds and dried thyme. unfortunately, i only had regular sesame seeds, so i pretended to grind them a bit in a bowl with a spoon for a while…anyway, the zaatar went into the vegetable tagine, not the chicken tagine.

i really liked the chicken tagine, though. the addition of the lemon zest at the end added some depth to the flavor, and in my opinion, really improved it. since i like olives, the addition of olives was also a good thing. the spice combination was also just right – gotta remember that one. the chicken had simmered for a long time, so it was almost falling off the bones.

the vegetable couscous was good as well; we used zucchini and carrots as the vegetables for it. it was a great base for the rest of the meal, in which everything really just got mixed together. we used regular raisins instead of golden, but if you make it, go for the golden – i don’t think there’s really a taste difference, but there is a psychological difference. somehow i like eating golden raisins with couscous, much more than regular raisins. hmm. they look prettier, too.

dessert was just ice cream with some toppings. when i went to star, i bought yet another carton of ice cream – vanilla – to join the grashopper pie, butterscotch blast, and chocolate. currently we have a wall of ice cream in our freezer… i made a hot fudge sauce (also from the new york times) to go with the ice cream, and it turned out quite well. it had a bit too much cocoa powder in it even though i put in less than the recipe called for, but as it cooked a bit more, got better, and was really good over the ice cream. there’s nothing healthy in that sauce, of course, but it acted just like it should have, which is just very pleasing, for some reason – it hardened as it hit the ice cream and everything.

as a whole, i enjoyed this evening more than i’ve enjoyed any of our past gatherings at 44 columbia (including our enormous parties, where all i seem to be able to do is tire myself out for the 10 hours preceding our party, so that i feel antisocial during the actual party; gotta work on that one). probably because it went so smoothly kitchenwise – we even got to clean up as we went, so there wasn’t an enormous pile of dishes at the end of the night. i think choosing a simple dessert (read: no work) was a good thing as well. guests were lmfers, plus caitlin from 4.101 and her boyfriend steve, who’s course 6 at harvard (giving him, keith, josh, AND mary lots to talk about).

and now, the recipes. this is the first time i’ve tried any recipes from the new york times (there are no readers’ reviews!), and i’m quite happy with the way things turned out.

note: all spices are always ground, unless otherwise specified (ie, “1/2t cumin seeds”). all ginger is ground ginger (the spice) if a teaspoon or tablespoon measure is mentioned. raw, fresh ginger would be something like “1” worth ginger, minced.” parsley should always be flat-leaf, rather than curly.

djej m’chermel  (chicken tagine with lemons and olives)

3-4 lbs chicken (either thighs and drumsticks, or an entire chicken, cut into 8 pieces; you can add the liver and giblets if you want)
4T butter
2 large onions, minced (because more onions never hurt)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (i omitted this due to a lack of garlic at the apt)
2t paprika
1t ginger
1/2t cumin
1/4t turmeric
4T cilantro, chopped
4T parsley, chopped
1t salt
1/2t freshly ground black pepper
1/4c extra-virgin olive oil (i would recommend using a bit less)
1 1/2c water
peel from 1 preserved lemon, pulp discarded, cut into long narrow strips (use zest of 1 lemon if you can’t get preserved lemons)
1c green olives, pitted
juice of 2 lemons

[1] in a large saucepan or dutch oven, over high heat, brown the chicken in the butter, skin side down, until the skin is golden brown. reduce the heat to medium low and add the liver + giblets (if using), onion, garlic, all spices (including salt and pepper), and olive oil.

[2] warm gradually, turning the ingredients for a few minutes, then add enough water to cover (don’t add too much more than 1 1/2c though). bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, occasionally turning the chicken in the sauce, until almost tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.

[3] add the lemon peel or zest, olives, and lemon juice and continue to cook until the chicken is very tender, about 15 minutes longer. (this recipe can be prepared in advance up to this point; allow to cool, refrigerate, and serve within a few days). taste the seasonings and adjust if necessary. serve immediately.

[serves 4, generously]

vegetable tagine

2T butter
2 onions, diced
2 fresh small chili peppers, thinly sliced (i substituted a teaspoon or two of ground chili peppers, available in any indian food store)
1T paprika
1/2t cayenne pepper
1t ground cumin
1c dried lentils
4 tomatoes, chopped
1/2c tomato puree
1 can chickpeas, drained
1c carrots, cut into a 1/2″ dice
3 small zucchini, sliced into 1/2″ disks and quartered
3/4c green peas, frozen
1/2c parsley, chopped
1T zaatar (use equal amounts ground sesame seeds and dried thyme as a substitute for this)
salt and pepper to taste

[1] in a medium or large saucepan over medium heat, warm the butter. add onions and chilies and cook until the onions begin to soften, about 10 minutes.

[2] add the dried spices and continue to saute until the onions are tender and fragrant, a few minutes longer.

[3] add lentils, tomatoes, and tomato puree, then water just to cover. simmer for about 20 minutes.

[4] add chickepeas, carrots, zucchini, and peas. simmer until tender, 15-20 minutes more. add parsley and zaatar during the last five minutes of cooking. season to taste and serve immediately.

[serves 6 to 8]

moroccan couscous

1T olive oil
3c mixed cut-up vegetables (red onions, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, etc)
1 1/2t cumin
1 1/2t coriander (i had none, so substituted with a bit of turmeric and a bit of ginger)
1c dry white wine
1/3c golden raisins
3/4c canned vegetable broth
extra cans of vegetable broth
1 5- to 7-oz box couscous

[1] heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. add vegetables, cumin, and coriander; saute until vegetables just begin to soften, about 3 minutes. add wine and raisins. boil until wine is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. add broth. partially cover skillet, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. season with salt and pepper.

[2] make couscous according to package directions, substituting vegetable broth (and leftover liquid from vegetables if there is too much liquid) for the water.

[3] mix together vegetables and couscous in a large bowl. serve immediately.

[serves 4]

hot fudge sauce

2c heavy cream
4T butter
1/2c dark brown sugar
3/8c sugar
4-6 oz bittersweet chocolate (i used chocolate chips so i wouldn’t have to chop refrigerated chocolate)
3/4c good-quality cocoa
1/2t vanilla

[1] in a medium saucepan, combine cream, butter, and sugars. bring to a simmer over medium-low heat (this takes about 10 minutes). simmer 45 seconds, then add 4 oz of chocolate and whisk to dissolve. reduce heat to the lowest setting, and add the cocoa powder, whisking to get rid of lumps.

[2] taste the sauce (it will thicken) and add more chocolate if there is too much of the cocoa taste. simmer for a minute or two longer, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. serve immediately. to reheat sauce, warm in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly (do not let boil).

[yield : 3 cups]