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African Archive
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Beans in Harissa
Posted on June 26, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThe spicy Moroccan paste Harissa, a blend of chilli and spices, is a perfect companion for green beans. The earthiness of the beans and sharp hit of harissa is quite addictive. Perfect as a side dish for almost anything! RECIPE:
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Tagine of Chicken & Figs with Toasted Almonds
Posted on June 3, 2010 | 3 CommentsTweetThis main course was truly sensational. A really delicious and intriguing flavour. I had no idea how well chicken and figs would compliment each other and was very surprised just how unified this dish turned out. It was really simple to make, like most tagines and pretty much took care of itself. I’ll be making this again soon.
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Moroccan Sardine Balls with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Posted on June 1, 2010 | No CommentsTweetI bought some fresh sardines a short while ago and stupidly didn’t use them immediately. So they’ve been in the freezer ever since. I had to use them today so decided instead of serving them whole, with some kind of dressing, that I would make this Moroccan dish – the fish moulded into balls, served alongside a spicy tomato dipping sauce. A great appetizer dish – intense balls of sardine flavour which complimented the sweet, spicy sauce perfectly.
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Lamb Tagine with Green Beans
Posted on April 18, 2010 | No CommentsTweetHere’s a simple, yet deliciously tasty Moroccan one pan meal – a dish that’s not going to cause too much fuss in preparing and one you can pretty much leave to itself without it suffering in the slightest. It has a rich, tangy flavour that works perfectly alongside the equally fragrant lamb. Perfect for a midweek/midwinter dinner.
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Spiced Chickpea Soup
Posted on January 9, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThis was an absolute triumph! I had a few things lying around the house that I wanted rid of so devised this recipe to make a soup. The resulting dish was divine. A creamy, slightly spicy soup, packed with delicious flavours. It was really one of the nicest things in a while, and really rather simple to boot!
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Moorish Lamb Skewers
Posted on June 29, 2009 | No CommentsTweetThese were rather delicious. I wanted something simple to make as I was feeling a little poorly. I couldn’t be bothered to stand around stirring and chopping so settled on something that would be easy to produce. These little skewered pieces of lamb were stress free and really juicy and tasty. I feel better just thinking about them.
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Fish Tagine with Potatoes & Olives
Posted on June 11, 2009 | No CommentsTweet I hate people who never do anything interesting with fish. Those smug folk who exclaim that you SHOULD just “let the fish speak for itself”. Well for one, fish can’t talk, but if they could I’m sure they’d demand to spend their last moments in a tasty sauce, rather than a frying pan with a bit of salt. I do love a bit of fish simply cooked, but I also like to change it up once in a while and make something truly exciting with it.
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Baharat Duck with Green Bean & Walnut Puree
Posted on May 30, 2009 | No CommentsTweetI just love duck – it’s one of my favourite things to eat. Period. I made dish tonight as a little treat for “officially”, and finally becoming an Australian permanent resident. Not that there’s ANYTHING remotely Australian about this dish mind you – more Middle Eastern. The earthy bean puree together with the gamey, sweet duck was meltingly delicious. Baharat (meaning “spice” in Arabic) is a blend of spices used throughout the Middle East. You can find it, pre mixed in some delis but I have included a simple recipe to make you own if you can’t track it down.
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Moroccan Eggs
Posted on May 16, 2009 | 1 CommentTweet Here’s a delicious light breakfast or lunch dish. I was a little hungover today and couldn’t be arsed with too much faffing about in the kitchen. I also didn’t want to spoil all my recent gym work with a big fry up, so I made this! It’s very simple, wholesome and very tasty. I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that the best way to deal with the morning after feeling is to fight it with wholesome food instead of fat fat fat. It’s only taken me 35 years. So after this, another light sleep and I was back to 75% functional. Just in time for another glass of wine.
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Silverbeet with Rice
Posted on February 19, 2009 | 2 CommentsTweet Silverbeet or Swiss Chard is not a vegetable I had cooked with or tasted as far as I can remember, but it’s certainly is a vegetable I’ll be cooking with in the future. It’s so delicious. Crunchy and flavourful, with a mild taste of beetroot. Combined with rice this dish takes its influence from Morocco. It is a lovely way to accompany meat or fish. Top tea!
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Moroccan Steamed Lamb with Cumin
Posted on February 17, 2009 | 2 CommentsTweet Words cannot begin to explain how sublime this was. Tender, juicy, tasty meat falling off the bone with absolutely no fight. This dish was one of the tastiest things I’ve ever cooked – and it was incredibly simple. Steaming isn’t a method of cooking I would associate with meat, but it sure is an effective one. The meat keeps all of it’s flavour, and slowly gives up the fight to become so tender you can cut it with a spoon. I was impressed no end and the appreciative moans and groans around the table seemed to agree. It’s a perfect dinner party dish that needs very little attention while cooking and it’s guaranteed to keep your guests quiet for a while.
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Carrot & Olive Salad
Posted on February 13, 2009 | No CommentsTweet With all the hot weather we’ve been having here in Sydney, I have become a bit of a fan of cold salads recently. Something fresh and light. This one I served with some beef steak done on the BBQ naturally. The sweetness of the carrot worked perfectly with the saltiness of the olives and meatiness of the beef. Really delicious. I blanched the carrots slightly as I often find them hard work when they’re raw. It worked a treat.
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Ethiopian Berbere Chicken
Posted on February 9, 2009 | 1 CommentTweet After buying some berbere spice mix, it’s been on bloody everything since! It’s so delicious… thankfully I used the last of it for this simple chicken stew from Ethiopia. The spice mix really adds depth of flavour to this dish. Maybe now I can eat something that isn’t Ethiopian…
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Moroccan Tomato Ketchup
Posted on February 6, 2009 | 2 CommentsTweet I do like a bit of tomato ketchup from the bottle once in a while, but I must say it’s way too sweet and strangely doesn’t really taste of tomatoes anymore. This is a simple, homespun sauce which takes a Moroccan character. Lovely and rich, and spicy too. It’s great served just as you would with normal tomato ketchup – dip your chips in it, smother your bacon sandwich. Cover your Christmas dinner with it for all I care – just give it a try!
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Chickpea Patties
Posted on February 5, 2009 | 4 CommentsTweet These little patties were the star of the show! The delicious aromatic Berbere spice mix brings a fragrance and taste to these that is just glorious. The crunch of the crumbed crust works perfectly with the soft, creamy texture inside. All it needs is a little yoghurt on the side to finish it (and me) off!
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Berbere Spiced Pork Cutlets
Posted on February 3, 2009 | 2 CommentsTweet Berbere is an Ethiopian spice mix. I’d seen it on TV recently and when I saw some in my local deli, I chucked it into the basket. Once home, I decided to make a simple spice rub on some rather expensive pork cutlets I’d bought in a moment of madness. The spice mix is a cornucopia of ingredients reminiscent of Indian curry powder. That said, It has a milder, more aromatic temperament than its Indian counterpart and it worked brilliantly on the pork. I accompanied this with a deliciously refreshing APPLE & FENNEL SALAD and CHICKPEA PATTIES, both of which worked perfectly with the meat. All in all, it was pretty refreshing – just what we needed in the sweltering 35ºC heat of a Sydney evening.
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Prawns in Chermoula
Posted on December 24, 2008 | No CommentsTweet Moroccan food is one of the greatest cuisines on earth. A huge array of flavours and techniques make it the finest Africa has to offer. The sophisticated blend of spices, fruit and prawns in this dish really make it stand out. Chermoula is a regular player in Moroccan cuisine and it’s perfect for seafood. A tangy, rich sauce that brings the best out of the prawns. This is a very easy dish to prepare. You can make the chermoula way in advance and it’ll stay fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days – that’s if you can resist for that long.
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Mechoui Lamb Skewers
Posted on December 22, 2008 | No CommentsTweet I can’t resist this delicious Moroccan lamb dish. It’s very very simple, but really very delicious. It’s perfect for the BBQ without any hassle or complicated techniques – which is great when you have a hangover as bad as mine today.
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Moroccan Crumpets
Posted on September 26, 2008 | No CommentsTweet OK, let me start by saying these are fabulous little crumpets. Similar to English crumpets but much lighter in texture. The dish didn’t happen without a few dramas however. It’s not often that I have to second guess a recipe, but when I looked at the quantities this one originally stated for a serving of 16 pancakes I thought to myself “are we talking table cloth sized pancakes?!” Nonetheless I carried on regardless and let’s just say the recipe was a bag of old nonsense. I had to adapt it massively to get it right. As it stood, I made about 30 pancakes and amazingly I had only used 1/2 the batter so, I added heaps more flour to make a dough, kneaded and let it rise again. Then baked 2 whole loaves of bread! I shall save the author of the original recipe any embarrassment by keeping their name anonymous.
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Lamb Cutlet Tagine with Harissa and Beans
Posted on July 11, 2008 | No CommentsTweet I was in a BAD mood today for some reason. Maybe I was hungry. Who knows!? Anyway, I stomped into the kitchen taking no prisoners. I had no set plan when I began making this dish so really didn’t know what to expect. I was amazed that it was utterly delicious. I had seconds unfortunately, so I will be suffering at the gym tomorrow as a reward.
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Moroccan Zucchini & Tomato Dip
Posted on May 18, 2008 | No CommentsTweet This was a snack item. I had eaten a huge lunch and so didn’t want a massive dinner. I made this to eat alongside some bread. It worked a treat. It was fresh and flavoursome.
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Mini Moroccan Fish Cakes
Posted on May 14, 2008 | 1 CommentTweet These little Moroccan morsels were utterly delicious. I used my one of my favourite spice mixes “ras el hanout”. It blends some 14 spices to create a wonderfully rich and complex flavour. Unfortunately, I ‘tested’ too many before serving to my guests – leaving them with fewer each than I had planned. I simply beefed up the salad component to compensate – nobody was any the wiser.
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Moroccan Meatball Tagine with Pears
Posted on March 21, 2008 | 2 CommentsTweet • Share on Facebook • Add to Del.icio.us • Digg It! I’m always banging on about how much I love meatballs. This tagine sounds very exotic doesn’t it? But the use of pears was purely accidental as I had some on the kitchen bench at the time that were about to ‘turn’. The appearance of fruit in tagines is very Moroccan so I knew it would be OK. I was right, it was scrumptious.
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Tomatoes Stuffed with Capsicum & Tuna
Posted on March 19, 2008 | No CommentsTweet • Share on Facebook • Add to Del.icio.us • Digg It! I love a stuffed vegetable! I have had a very expensive jar of tuna in my cupboard for months that has been willing me to use it. This recipe is from one of my all time favourite food writers Claudia Roden. She manages to make the simplest of ingredients taste beyond exceptional. There’s nothing difficult here. Give it a go.
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Vegetable Couscous
Posted on December 7, 2007 | No CommentsTweet • Share on Facebook • Add to Del.icio.us • Digg It! A delicious accompanyment to many dishes. It’s great with fish or anything that’s been slow cooked in the tagine. Also great alongside BBQ stuff.
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Lentil Salad
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Moroccan Lamb Filo Fingers
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Tunisian Carrot Salad
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Chicken With Olives
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Couscous Salad
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Fish Tagine
Posted on August 15, 2007 | No CommentsTweet I decided to have a go at a different kind of tagine tonight. It hadn’t struck me to use fish, so when I saw this recipe in the little book that accompanied my tagine I thought I’d give it a go. The book also told me that I was supposed to “season” my pan before I first used it. I hadn’t so subsequently have “greatly reduced its life span”… A tad dramatic I think. Anyway, the fish was delicious. Give it a go.
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Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon & Peas
Posted on July 31, 2007 | No CommentsTweet I received a ceramic tagine for my birthday recently and decided to give it a go with this recipe. It was amazing. If you can bear the aromas that permeate every inch of the house for the two hours its cooking then I urge you to give this one a go. This should serve four (I say should, but we were pretty hungry that night and pretty much managed to eat it between the two of us).
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Charmoula – Moroccan Marinade for Meat
Posted on July 21, 2007 | No CommentsTweet This is great to add a little lift to your BBQ and works equally well for meat, fish and even vegetables. Make sure you prepare it well in advance as whatever you’re marinating benefits greatly the longer you leave it. RECIPE:
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Harissa Marinated Lamb with Spiced Mash & Onions
Posted on July 6, 2007 | No CommentsTweet A Moroccan themed dinner tonight.This was easy and very satisfying. The marinade contains harissa, a paste made from chillies which originates from Tunisian cuisine but also widely used in Morocco and Algeria. You can buy shop bought Harissa pretty easily these days. The whole dish has a bit of a kick which, in my opinion, is good any night of the week. This serves 2.
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Egyptian Spiced Lentil Soup
Posted on July 1, 2007 | No CommentsTweet There are countless versions of lentil soup all over africa, asia and the middle east. I remember eating this while in Egypt travelling. It is hearty, simple and warming… Just what you need in 50ºC heat. RECIPE:
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Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemon, Saffron & Prunes
Posted on June 20, 2007 | No CommentsTweet There is something so very healing about this dish. Maybe it’s beacause I had a magnificent hangover when I first tasted it, or maybe because it is so intense and colourful with lots of spice to flush out the alcohlol crap from your body? Who knows?
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Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemons & Cumin
Posted on April 23, 2007 | No CommentsTweet This is glorious. It takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R to cook, but if you have a spare day then it’s fine. If you’re feeling particularly reckless, then you can stick it on in the morning and it’ll be ready when you get back from the shops. If your house burns down while you’re out, that’s your lookout I’m afraid.
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Moroccan Lamb in spiced salt.
Posted on April 18, 2007 | No CommentsTweet A tasty way to marinade lamb, and especially good barbequed. If you don’t have the luxury of a BBQ, then put them under a HOT grill or or on a griddle pan if you’re feeling fancy. INGREDIENTS:
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