Couscous
recipe
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup couscous
4 teaspoon extra-virgin olive Oil
3/4 teaspoon Salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
2 table spoons pine nuts, plus more for garnish
Red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the couscous, 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, and ½ teaspoon of the salt and stir. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Fluff the couscous with a fork, transfer it to a large bowl, and toss it with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the remaining ¼ teaspoon sea salt, the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, and pine nuts.
Transfer the mixture to a serving platter and garnish with additional pine nuts, parsley, and red pepper flakes, if desired.
Lamb Tagine
recipe
Instructions
Brown lamb – Cut the lamb into large 3.5cm / 1.5″ cubes so they don’t become fall-apart tender too quickly. Cooking long and slow = more flavour in the sauce and it needs the time to reduce and thicken!
Toss the lamb in salt and pepper, brown in three batches (don’t crowd the pot else the lamb will stew instead of brown) then remove into a bowl.
Use a large oven-proof pot with a lid, so it can go from the stove to oven. My dutch oven pictured is 24cm / 9.5″ wide.
Sauté aromatics – Cook the garlic and onion first, then the tomato paste, ginger, cinnamon and spices. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly, to cook out the raw flavour of the tomato paste and toast the spices which brings out the flavour
Braising liquid and lamb – Add the chicken stock, water and lamb, then bring it to a simmer.
First cook 45 minutes – Put the lid on and transfer to a 180°F/350°F (160°C fan-forced) oven for 45 minutes.
Add apricots then stir them in. We add them in partway through else they get too soft.
Cook another 1 hour – Put the lid on then return the tagine to the oven for a further 1 hour, or until the lamb pieces are fork tender.
Thick and full of flavour – Here’s what the lamb tagine looks like after 1 hour 45 minutes of slow cooking. The sauce has reduced down to a thick consistency, rich with spicing and a beautiful depth of flavour you can only achieve from slow cooking.
Serve over couscous. I just use plain couscous for this tagine because it’s got so much flavour in it, rather than one with fruit and nuts in it.
Pastilla
recipe
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the chicken and fry it skin-side down, until crisped up and brown. Turn the thighs over and cook for a couple more minutes, then remove them from the pan. Add the butter to the pan and when it has melted, add the onions and fry them gently until soft. Add the garlic and spices and fry for a couple more minutes.
Put the chicken back in the pan and pour in the stock or 500ml of water. Season, then cover the pan and simmer for about half an hour or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken and set it aside. When it is cool enough to handle, finely chop the meat – it’s up to you whether you keep the skin or not. Put the liquid back over the heat and reduce it by half.
Add the eggs to the cooking liquid and continue to cook over a low heat until you have a mixture that resembles loose scrambled eggs. Add the ground nuts and stir, then add the dates, orange blossom water, zest and finally, the chicken. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. To assemble the pie, you need a large ovenproof dish about 28cm in diameter.
Take a sheet of filo pastry and brush it with melted butter. Drape it over the dish, making sure it is gently pushed into the corners without any tearing. Repeat with another sheet of filo, this time placing it at a right angle to the first. Repeat with a further 2 sheets of filo, this time placing them on the diagonal.
Spread the filling over the pastry. Fold over the overhanging pieces of filo in reverse order – they should just about cover the filling. Take the remaining 2 pieces of filo and cut them to fit the dish. Brush them with butter, then cover the pie, tucking under any corners. Bake the pie in the oven for about 30 minutes until the pastry is a crisp, golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before dusting it with the icing sugar and cinnamon.