Ways to Feel Warm on Dreary February Evenings

After about the third iteration of snow-->rain-->melt-->freeze (a common occurrence here in Montreal at this time of year), I decided a night of good friends and food from warm, dry places was needed. So I hosted a vaguely-Moroccan themed dinner party.

The menu consisted of 3 main items:

• Zalouk, which I assembled 5 minutes before the guests arrived and which was gone shortly thereafter, i.e., before any pics could be taken. All I'll say is this: take the time to roast the eggplant. It's dead easy and makes a world of difference.


• Chicken Tagine (it's always a good sign when you can follow your own recipe).


• And a carrot and chickpea salad, which was a hybrid of two recipes: Chachi's carrot and chickpea salad , and Pan Chancho Bakery's Moroccan chickpea salad.

Between the chick pea salad and the chicken tagine, there are a lot of similarities. Similar to Indian food, there are a few core spices/flavors that most Moroccan dishes share, and once you have that, you can get pretty creative.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 15oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
• 2 onions (about 1 3/4 cup, chopped)
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3 cloves garlic (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp of chopped mint/parsley/cilantro

1. First, grate the carrots and drain and rinse the chickpeas, set aside.
2. Next, chop onions, garlic, and assemble spices.
3. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions--cook until tender.
4. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
5. Add tomato paste and mix in well and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. In a large bowl, toss tomato mixture with the chickpeas and mint/parsley. Taste and add some salt if needed.

"Women, Cats and Marmalade...

Marmalade moodiness, originally uploaded by CaitKP.

will do as they please, and men, dogs and marmalade makers should relax and get used to the idea." To paraphrase a quote from Robert Heinlein.

The photo above shows marmalade made from the same recipe (Nige's), in different years (left: this years batch, right: 2 years ago's batch).

How one of them ended up several shades lighter but with a firmer set than the other is anybody's guess. All I know is that they both taste delicious..totally different, but delicious none the less.

Marmalade...always an adventure.

Mushroom Vindaloo

Mushroom Vindaloo

(originally taken from here)

Ingredients:

1-2 pack of button mushrooms (about 3 cups, sliced if big and whole if small)
1 small onion, chopped
1" ginger chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp cumin powder

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
2 dried red chilies, with seeds (crumbled)

2 chopped serrano chilies (seeds or not, depending on how brave you are)
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tbsps chopped cilantro leaves
2 tbsps olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Grind onions, garlic, serrano chilies, and ginger into a fine paste (I use a mini food-processor, but a mortar and pestle should work too).
3. Heat oil in a pan; add the onion, garlic, ginger and chili paste and saute on medium heat until the raw smell of the onion is gone and the mixture has turned slightly golden (about 5 min.).
4. Now add the crushed tomatoes, turmeric, red chilies, garam masala powder, cumin powder,ground coriander and saute well for about 3-4 minutes until well blended and the spices are fragrant.

5. Add the yogurt, salt and mushrooms and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked to the desired consistency.
6. Add white vinegar and simmer for few more minutes.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

Edit: I made it again, and now there are photos!

I made this a couple weeks ago, but wanted to get a photo before I published the post...however, it "got et" before any such photo could be taken...so you'll just have to make it and see for yourself.

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 skinless chicken thighs

1 large onion, chopped

1″ piece of fresh ginger, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1.5 tsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

.5 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 Tbsp harissa paste

1 preserved lemon (pith and seeds removed, chopped)

3/4 c dried apricots

1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 15-oz can chopped tomatoes.

1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1-2 c chicken stock, or water

1/2 c bulgur (or couscous)

salt & pepper, to taste

1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add chicken and cook until brown on all sides. Remove from pot and set aside.

Reduce the heat of the pot to medium and add the onions. Cook until onions become soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, apricots, harissa, lemon, and tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add chickpeas to the pot, along with a cup of chicken stock or water. When the mixture reaches a gentle boil, bring the chicken back to the pan. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to break apart. Stir in bulgur or couscous. If necessary, add more stock or water (no more than a cup) to the pan. Add salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer until the bulgur is done and the chicken is nearly falling off the bone, about 10-15 minutes. Cooking time will be less if you substitute with couscous. In the last minute of cooking, stir in freshly chopped parsley. Season to taste and serve.

Serves 3-4

Chaat: In three easy steps

Chaat is the prototypical Indian snack/street food. It has everything you could ask for in a snack: flavour, substance, and arguably the most important, crunch.

Step 1: Find the crunchies. What are crunchies, you ask? They usually consist of a mixture of sev (small crunchy fried noodles), lentils, and puffed grains. They come in bags like the ones in the picture above. We found them by sheer luck at the local fruit shop. If you have a nearby Indian or Asian market though that would probably be a good place to start looking. In a pinch, you could substitute any sort of crunchy noodle or unsweetened cereal, seasoned with some turmeric and chile powder.

Step 2: The content. This step is open to interpretation. Basically, you need something to put the crunchies on. I prefer to roast a starchy veg of some sort (potato, squash, chick peas) tossed in olive oil and curry paste (I use Patak's Jalfrezi paste), but you could also boil potatoes and season them after the fact, or in a pinch, you could even get away with tossing a (rinsed and drained) can of chick peas with oil and spices (cumin, corriander, curry powder, chile).

Step 3: Assemble. Let the veg come to room temperature (if it's not there already) and mix with fresh cilantro, lime juice, and yogurt. Top with a bit more yogurt, tamarind sauce and crunchies.

Here's an example to give you an idea of numbers (this serves 2 as a meal and 3-4 as a side/snack):

The Veg:

1 small - med butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1" cubes

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drains

3-4 tbsp curry paste

3-4 tbsp olive oil

In a roasting tin, mix all four ingredients together. Roast at 375 for an hour, or until the squash is soft and has a bit of color.

The Chaat:

1 recipe veg at room temp

1/2 - 2/3 cup + 2 tbsp plain yogurt (or more if you prefer)

large handful cilantro

juice of 1/2 a lime

1/2 cup crunchies

tamarind sauce

Put the veg in a bowl and mix with 1/2 cup yogurt, cilantro and lime juice. Top with crunchies, remaining yogurt, and tamarind sauce.

This is an excellent way to use up leftover potatoes and the like.