Chicken Tagine with Green Olives & Preserved Lemon

Every week my mum comes over to my place for a day to spend time with Chloe & to help me out. To thank her for her help I cook up a big dinner for both my mum & my dad & I try to cook up dishes that they have never tried & would not try without my prodding. This week was the fancy sounding tagine which is really quite simple, I served it with couscous, another ingredient they have never tried. This recipe is from Gourmet Traveller & was a big hit, I loved it as I usually love all tagines & surprisingly my parents both loved it too, even the couscous which they thought they would hate. Next week polenta has been requested so I hope they love that just as much.

Chicken Tagine with Green Olives & Preserved Lemon

2 tablespoons Ghee
6 chicken marylands, thighs & drumsticks separated
2 large onions, coarsely grated
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon (firmly packed) saffron threads
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 black peppercorns
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
1 stick of cinnamon
2 cups chicken stock
50gm preserved lemon (about 3 pieces), flesh discarded & rind thinly sliced
150g queen green olives (about 12) pitted
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped coriander
Couscous & crusty bread to serve

Heat ghee in a tagine or heavy based casserole, add chicken pieces & cook over high heat, turning, until golden. Then add onion, garlic & spices, and cook over medium heat, stirring to coat chicken pieces for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add stock & 1 ½ cups water, turning chicken pieces once during cooking, for 40 minutes or until chicken is tender & meat almost falling off the bone.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to an oven tray & discard cinnamon. Bring sauce to a boil, and simmer for 12 minutes or until reduced by a quarter. Return chicken to pan, add preserved lemon, olives & herbs, and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until chicken is heated through, then season to taste with sea salt & freshly ground black pepper. Serve with couscous & crusty flat bread.

Fish Tagine

Michaels mid week cooking last week was this tagine from Marie Claire’s Zest. It was quite interesting, I’ve never had a potato based one before, normally I have had them served with couscous. A quick meal to knock up after work though be warned our potatoes took more like half an hour than ten minutes before soft. Also the preserved lemon as a garnish was a bit too strong for us when we got a bite so you might want to tone it down or leave it out all together.

Fish Tagine

4 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 large red onion, roughly chopped
10 saffron threads
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 large potatoes, sliced into bite size pieces (about 750g)
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 small cinnamon quill
600g tick snapper fillets, cut into 4 cm chunks
1 handful flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon

Heat the olive oil in a large deep based frying pan or casserole pot over medium heat. Add the onion, saffron & cumin and cook until the onion is soft & slightly caramelized. Add the potatoes, celery, tomatoes, cinnamon & 1 cup of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes. When the potatoes are soft, season the fish with sea salt & add them to the stew. Simmer for a further 10 minutes then season with freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with parsley & preserved lemon & serve with warm crusty bread.

Couscous with grilled summer vegetables & loadsa herbs

The salads for the bbq were a simple green salad, a capri salad with some lovely fresh buffalo mozzarella that I bought from the local deli, personally I was very excited about this as I’ve never been able to find it before to buy & have only tasted it once & it was divine, thank God for the deli at Barkly square, they have promised to keeping selling it & add abt $55.00 per kilo (from what I remember) 2 balls cost me about $12 so not cheap but well worth it I think. I also made this couscous salad from Jamie Oliver’s Return of the Naked Chef. This is a great salad, full of fresh veggies, the roasting & grilling flavours really stand out & the dressing & herbs pull it all together nicely without being overpowering

Couscous with grilled summer vegetables & loadsa herbs

250g couscous
285ml/ ½ pint cold water
3 red capsicum
1 handful asparagus, trimmed
2 or 3 small firm zucchinis, sliced
1 small bunch spring onions, trimmed & finely sliced
3 good handfuls of mixed fresh herbs (basil, coriander, mint, parsley)
2 x olive oil & lemon juice dressing
salt & freshly ground pepper
red wine vinegar

Place the couscous in a bowl with the cold water. Blacken the capsicum either over a naked flame (if you have one on your stove top) or under the grill. When blackened, place in a sandwich bag, wrap in glad wrap or cover in a bowl for 5 mins until cool. Remove the skins & seeds & roughly chop.

On a very hot griddle pan, lightly char the asparagus & zucchini on both sides then toss in the bowl with the couscous & add the capsicum, spring onions, chillies & ripped up herbs. Mix well. Add the dressing & toss well. Season to taste with salt & pepper & a dash of red wine vinegar,

Olive Oil & lemon juice dressing

2 tablespoons lemon juice
5 tablespoons olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Quince and Red Wine Duck

The other night I had planned on cooking dinner but after a hectic day/week in the new office, got a bit caught up so once again Michael was a darling & did the prep. I have made this dish several times before, its so easy & really, really yummy, great for a simple dinner alone or even impressive for guests – or so I have been told. It has a lovely sweet flavour that goes perfectly with the richness of the duck meat. I always serve with mash potato & greens on the side even though the recipe suggests couscous. The recipe comes from Marie Claire ‘Zest. Sorry the photo is not the prettiest, don’t let that put you off. I also find that a bit further cooking time is required so they aren’t completely raw & that the skin does crisp up nicely.

Quince and Red Wine Duck

12 thyme sprigs
250ml (1 cup) red wine
2 garlic cloves, sliced in half
4 duck breast fillets, skin on
3 tablespoons quince paste
1 teaspoon cumin

Preheat oven to 200c. Arrange the thyme sprigs over the base of a baking dish to form a bed for the duck. Add the wine & garlic to the dish. Rinse the duck fillets under cold water then pat dry with paper towels. With a sharp knife make several incisions through the fatty skin on each of the fillets. Rub the quince paste into the skin, sprinkle with cumin & season with salt & pepper. Sit the duck fillets on top of the thyme, skin side up. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove form oven & spread the paste over the fillets with a knife. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. For crispy skin put the cooked duck under a hot grill for 2 minutes. Allow to sit for a few minutes then slice. Serve with cooking liquid drizzled over.

Spezzatino with cheesy Polenta

Tonight for dinner I cooked up a lovely humble beef stew in keeping with my current theme of Winter slow cooking. It was an Italian dish inspired by Stefano de Pieri from Allan Campion & Michele Curtis’ Food With Friends’. I served it with some cheesy Polenta from the same book, the polenta was delicious, well worth the effort & a nice change for me from my usual mash potato or couscous. After 3 hours of cooking the meat was nice & tender & the liquid had turned into a delicious flavour filled thick goodness, very simple yet oh so good. The polenta was a great match for it & it was another great cold nights dinner, can you see the heart warming steam coming off it?

Spezzatino

Olive oil for cooking
2 carrots, diced
2 onions, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1.5kg blade steak, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled
250ml (1 cup) red wine
4 potatoes, peeled & diced
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
250ml (1 cup) tomato sugo
1 bay leaf
salt & freshly ground black pepper
250-375ml (1-1 ½ cups) beef stock

Serves 6

Heat a large heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add a generous splash of olive oil and carrots, onions & celery & cook for 5-6 minutes until soft but not coloured. Remove, add more oil if necessary & cook beef in batches. Cook until well sealed (browned), return vegetables to the saucepan along with all other ingredients & enough of the stock to cover the meat.

Bring to a gentle simmer & cook for 2 ½-3 hours over a low heat, partially covered until meat is tender. Check seasoning.

Cheesy Polenta

750ml (3 cups) water
750ml (3 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
270g (1 ½ cups) polenta
90g parmigiano, grated or shaved
salt

Serves 6

Bring water & stock to the boil in a heavy based saucepan. Sprinkle polenta over & whisk in to prevent lumps forming. Reduce to a low simmer & cook fro 20 minutes, stirring often until the mixture thickens. Take care, as the polenta can splutter & burn. Add more stock or water if it becomes too thick to stir. Remove from heat & stir through parmigiano, season to taste & serve.

Spiced Salmon

Tonight I cooked up this very very quick & simple dinner from Marie Claire’s Luscious. It’s just a matter of throwing it all together & whacking in the fridge while you run around the house sorting out all of those after work bits & pieces you normally don’t have the time for as cooking elaborate dinner! Nice simple flavours with the smokiness of the paprika really coming through. I also added some cherry tomatoes to my couscous for just a teeny big of fruit/veg factor.

Spiced Salmon

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon small salted capers, rinsed & drained
1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon rind
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
4 Salmon Steaks

Place all ingredients in a bowl & stir, add the salmon, cover & refrigerate for 1 hour.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180c for 10 minutes & serve with steamed couscous & mint leaves.

Spiced lamb tagine with preserved lemon & green olives

Well after going out for a fairly late breakfast this morning I wasn’t really up for lunch & instead when I got peckish late this afternoon I had some left over Christmas plum pudding made beautifully by my mum, I love the way these things last forever & get better with age (as do women of course), a very generous dash of custard & a minute or so in the microwave & yum all done!

As is typical of Melbourne weather, after a couple of gorgeous perfect hot days the sky turned dark, lightning flashed, the sky rumbled & then came the rain, has been pretty heavy & steady all afternoon which of course left me with lots of time to cook up some slow food for dinner as I couldn’t get stuck into the garden as planned.

Made the following Lamb Tagine which in my modesty I claimed to be ‘absolutely sensational & possibly even better than the one I had at Mecca Bah recently’. Michael though, as is usual said it was ‘nice’ but much preferred last nights duck as the flavours were not strong enough for him. Anyway I think this dish won out myself, lamb falling apart, beautiful subtle spicy flavours, & perfect with a glass of 2001 Brown brothers merlot & the sounds of the rain beating down outside. Now all I need is a Tagine Dish so I can make it for my next dinner party & impress everyone, next time I’m in Morocco perhaps…! The recipe was ripped from a recent magazine, sorry can’t remember which one, here it is

Spiced lamb tagine with preserved lemon & green olives

Olive Oil
3 sticks celery, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 medium brown onions, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbspn roasted & ground cumin seeds
1 tbspn roasted & ground coriander seeds
¼ tspn ground turmeric
¼ tspn ground ginger
¼ tspn ground cinnamon
pinch saffron threads
1 boned lamb shoulder, approx 1.5-2kg, cut into 6cm pieces
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
2-3 litres chicken stock or water
2 tbspn honey
2 tbspn harissa
1 cup pitted green olives, cut in half
1 tbspn julienne of preserved lemon
salt & pepper
1 cup picked & washed coriander leaves
1 cup picked & washed parsley leaves
steamed couscous to serve

In a saucepan big enough to hold the lamb, heat a good splash of olive oil, add the veges & garlic & cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until soft but not brown. Add the mixed spices, lamb, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme & enough stock or water to cover the lamb. Bring to the boil, skim the surface of any fat, then reduce heat to low & simmer very gently for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Skim the fat from the surface again, then add the honey, harissa, olives & preserved lemon. Season to taste with salt & pepper, then transfer to a tagine dish (if you are lucky enough to have one that is!) for serving.

Scatter the herbs generously over the top & serve immediately with steamed couscous on the side.

Marinated Duck Breast with Moroccan couscous, braised leeks & paprika oil

On Thursday I headed out to the Vic Market at lunch time to gather the last of the ingredients I was missing for this dish, duck (key ingredient I couldn’t do without!) and Rice wine from the Asian supermarket across the road.

So at home after work I thought I was all prepared, opened up my cookbook ‘A Slice of Port Douglas' & read the first line of the recipe, ‘To prepare the duck, sprinkle salt onto the skin of the duck and refrigerate overnight, uncovered to draw out the moisture.’ Bugger, missed that line when I picked out the recipe, anyway really don’t like cooking on Fridays & wanted to get the dish done so thought I would skip part 1 as figured it wouldn’t make that much difference. Moved on to part 2, measured out my five spice, went to the cupboard for ginger & you guessed it NO BLOODY GINGER, checked the fridge & didn’t even have ginger in a jar. Contemplated going out to buy ginger, looked at clock, already after 7 & needed an hour of marinating, realised that unless I wanted to eat at midnight this dish was not to be done tonight, I was defeated! Sighed, salted the duck as per part 1 and scrounged up some steak & salad from the fridge for dinner instead.

Friday night now being all prepared after heading out at lunch time & buying my missing ginger I was ready to go & do it all according to the book. There were a few steps involved though none that had any degree of difficulty & the flavours were great. The couscous in particular I loved, the dates & sun dried tomatoes really stood out & gave it a unique flavour. Also the leeks were good though I didn’t really think they complimented the dish all that well, seemed like an odd side so would skip them if making again.

Marinated Duck Breast with Moroccan couscous, braised leeks & paprika oil – from Stephen ‘Fester’ Gates, Iron bar saloon restaurant/bar

4 duck breasts
½ cup sea salt

Marinade

1 tbspn chinese five spice
2 tbspns ginger, grated
2 tbspns garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ tspns rice wine
1 tbspn sugar
½ cup olive oil

Braised leeks

4 leeks, white part only, washed & sliced
2 cups chicken stock
¼ cup white wine
2 tbspns lime juice
cracked black pepper

Couscous

1 ½ cups couscous
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbspn butter
2 bocconcini cheese, chopped
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 large red chilli, seeded & finely chopped
½ dates, finely chopped
¼ semi-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
¼ roasted pecans, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Paprika Oil

2 tspns paprika
¼ cup olive oil

To prepare the duck, sprinkle salt onto the skin of the duck and refrigerate overnight, uncovered to draw out the moisture.

To make the marinade, place all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl & mix well. Remove the salt from the duck & add to the marinade, refrigerate for 1 hour. Place the duck on a greased tray & bake in a 160c oven for 20 minutes, increase to 180c & cook for a further 10 minutes until the skin is crispy.

To prepare the leeks, place all the ingredients in a baking dish & cook for approx 35 mins or until soft.

To make the couscous, place the couscous in a bowl, pour over the boiling stock, cover for 5 mins or until the liquid is absorbed. Mix with a fork to separate the granules, then add the rest of the ingredients & mix well to combine. Place the paprika & oil in bowl to combine.

To serve, place the duck on top of couscous with leeks on the side. Drizzle the oil around the plate.

Mecca Bah Docklands Thursday 2nd Feb

Last night I caught up with a few friends for dinner, Docklands was decided on & I suggested we try out Mecca Bah as had heard lots of good things about it. So I walked on over after work to meet the girls there. The décor was nice enough though nothing flash, we were seated on a simple table in the middle overlooking the water. The boys were not meeting us til later so we thought we would start slowly with a drink. We started off with a bottle of 04 Freycinet Riesling, from Tasmania which was recommended by the waitress when we enquired which of the Rieslings was dry & good of course, it was very fresh & not at all sweet (I can’t stand the sweeter style of some Rieslings), we all really enjoyed it & decided to stick with it all night, when you’re onto a good thing why change! A couple of glasses & we all started getting a bit tipsy so ordered the dips & bread which turned out to be hommos – a very dry version though still good, tzatziki, delicious & a fantastic Baba Ganoush, the smoky flavour was intense & I love them this way, all served with some Turkish bread, was a good start & soaked up some of the alcohol while we were drinking & waiting for the boys.

Michael soon arrived so we had one boy on board. A phone call determined that the last to arrive was still at least an hour away so we moved onto some mezze to share. We had Spicy Turkish kofte with yoghurt sauce - lovely, sweet potato felafels with tahini sauce - these were especially good & nice to try an old favourite with a bit of a difference, Lebanese sausages and spicy chickpeas & abeetroot & yoghurt salad – this salad sounds so simple yet was a real hit with all, it was fantastic, basically from what we could tell it combined rocket, roasted beetroot, an olive oil & vinegar dressing & the yoghurt, all of these flavours married together beautifully, will try & recreate this at home I think.

Ok so soon after the mezze we were through with the second bottle of wine & ready for another as well as the mains, one more phone call & we were assured that the missing person was only ½ an hour away so we could order the mains, yippee! I went for the Lamb Tagine with preserved lemon, green olive, harissa & couscous. This was served in a gorgeous traditional Tagine Dish which looked like it came straight out of the Bazaar, I must buy some of these one day when I have my dream kitchen & lots more cupboard space! The lamb was melt in the mouth falling apart & the dish on a whole was a great choice. Everyone else was happy with their choices as well.

As you can imagine their was not much room left after this though we still couldn’t resist sharing 3 scoops of ice cream as the flavours sounded divine. Date & Vanilla – very unusual & nice, Middle Eastern Halva ice-cream – this was a real surprise for me, I don’t usually like Halva & I think it must be the texture that disagreed as the same flavours in ice cream were sensational - a must try, lastly Turkish coffee ice-cream, as you can imagine very good also.

Overall it was a great meal, the service was excellent, prices not too high, would go back again & definitely recommend it.

PS – Sorry no pics, forgot the camera

Moroccan Lamb Cutlets Monday 5th Dec 05

Tonight I cooked up these tasty lamb cutlets from a recent Delicious Magazine - very very good

Moroccan Lamb Cutlets with Couscous salad & Tahini Dressing

2 x French Trimmed Racks of Lamb (6 cutlets each)
1/2 cup (140g) Greek style Yoghurt
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tspn ground cumin
1 tspn ground coriander
1 tspn sweet paprika
1/2 bunch coriander leaves, chopped
Zest & juice of 1 lemon

Salad

1 3/4 cups (350g) couscous
2 tspn ground tumeric
1 small red onion
1 lebanese cucumber roughly chopped
1 ripe vine ripened tomato roughly chopped
1/2 bunch coriander roughly chopped
1/2 mint, leaves chopped
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup toasted pine=nuts
1 tsp ground cinamon
1/3 cup olive oil
Zest & juice of 1 lemon

Tahini Dressing

1 cup Greek style yoghut
1/4 cup tahini paste
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Zest & juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsn honey (Oops just realised I forgot this!)

Combine lamb with remaining ingredients, rub into lamb, cover & marinate in fridge overnight.

Salad - Place couscous in a large bowl & pour over 2 cups of boiling water, cover & set aside for 5-10 minutes, then fluff with a fork, add remaining ingredients & season with salt & pepper

Whisk all dressing ingredients together, season to taste

Grill the lamb racks & serve with salad & dressing