Sasha's Kitchen: Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Lemon Lime Cous Cous

I haven't been cooking and baking new recipes as much lately, although I plan to do some new recipes coming up from a vietnamese cookbook I bought. In addition, my husband and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this coming weekend so in addition to a nice meal out, I plan on baking some celebratory petit fours. Petit fours are a pretty complex baking recipe so I am hoping I can get a good result on the first time, since it is something I have wanted to try for awhile as they are both lovely to look at, and delicious. On Monday, over the long labor day weekend, I made a new recipe from Sarah Raven's cookbook, Fresh From the Garden, one of my favorite cookbooks for good seasonal recipes.  I made her recipe for Moroccan Chicken Tagine, and also her simple recipe for lemon lime couscous. The two dishes were delicious and complemented each other quite nicely. I loved the zing of the tangy couscous with the sweetness of the chicken dish with the candied apricots.


Chicken Tagine with Almonds and Apricots (from Sarah Raven)
3 1/2 lbs free range chicken, cut up (I used an organic, antibiotic free chicken, of course)
1-2 T olive oil
2 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp hot paprika
apple juice
1/2 pound dried apricots, chopped
1/2 pounds almonds
mint, chopped
cilantro or parsley, chopped

In a Dutch Oven (I used one of my beloved Le Creuset pots), brown the chicken lightly on all sides for a few minutes in the olive oil. Remove the chicken from the pot and sauté the onion and garlic for three to four minutes. Add the saffron, paprika, cumin, cinnamon and ginger. Return the chicken to the pot and add just enough apple juice to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add the apricots and almonds, and cook covered for another fifteen minutes until the chicken is tender.  When read to eat, add the mint and cilantro to the dish and serve.


Lemon and Lime Cous Cous (adapted from Sarah Raven)
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 3/4 cup cous cous
2 T olive oil
juice of one lemon
juice of one lime
salt and pepper
mint
parsley

Bring the stock and the couscous to a boil, then allow to simmer until cooked. Stir in the lemon and lime juice and cover for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and with the mint and parsley if you like.  Since I put mint and cilantro in the main dish, I simply seasoned with salt and pepper.

Sasha's Kitchen: Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Lemon Lime Cous Cous

Sasha's Kitchen: Apricot Almond Couscous Sidedish Paired With Rooster Hill Riesling

We had a wonderful home-prepared dinner on Saturday night.  Tomorrow, I will be doing my post of another wonderful New York State Riesling wine & food pairing with the main course of that meal.  However, I wanted to first introduce a sweet sidedish that also complemented the fruit-forward scents of the Rooster Hill 2007 Estate Semi Dry Riesling that I just received in the mail to review from the lovely Keuka Lake Winery, Rooster Hill Vineyards.

This side dish is very simple to prepare, and contains apricots.  I decided to prepare the couscous with apricot and almond to complement the fragrant apricot and white peach aromas in the wine, and its smooth, lovely honey finish), as well as cinnamon, almond and a bit of lemon.   The wine was a true bouquet of fresh summer fruits, the way a good Riesling ought to be.  I will give full detail on the pairing of the wine in tomorrow's post, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, here is the recipe for the super side dish that (like the lamb main course) was a wonderful complement with Rooster Hill's aromatic white wine.

Sasha's Sweet Apricot Almond Couscous
1 cup plain couscous
1 1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup dried apricot (cut into small pieces)
1/4 cup almond slivers
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon

To prepare the couscous, I placed the couscous in the pineapple juice in a small pot (instead of using water, like one normally does with couscous).  Then, I brought it to a boil and simmered until the juices were mostly gone.  This infused the couscous with the flavors of the pineapple.  Then, I mixed the couscous with the almond, cinnamon and apricot and sauteed for a couple of minutes in a small amount of canola oil (just enough so the couscous would not stick to the pan).  Finally, I added a small amount of lemon juice to add some tartness to balance out the flavors.  This couscous is a sweet and delicious side dish that can be served with either lamb or chicken dishes.  Don't be afraid of this dish even if you don't have a sweet tooth - even my husband (not normally a fan of overly sweet foods) enjoyed it.

I am pleased to enter this dish in the multi-blog sidedish showdown!

Sasha's Kitchen: Apricot Almond Couscous Sidedish Paired With Rooster Hill Riesling

Sasha's Kitchen: Crab Couscous with Green Apple, Mango, Saffron and Lemon

Crab is one of the featured ingredients of the month for February here on A Kitchen In Brooklyn.  For the first crab recipe, I decided to use some fresh lump crabmeat from my local fish market (unfortunately, I was not able to obtain king crab) and decided to prepare a couscous dish.  The crab was not intended to be the star of this dish, but to be featured as one of several complementary flavors.  There are several foods that I think make spectacular food combinations with crab.  These include green apple, tamarind, lemon, avocado, beets, sugar snap peas, snow peas, mango and eggs (not all in the same dish, of course).  I look forward to experimenting with different ways of presenting crab this month.

For my couscous, I decided to complement the crab with some tang/tartness, so I selected green apple, lemon and mango, and also threw in the sugar snap peas.  I added the saffron because the couscous needed a bit of a pick me up, plus it made for a beautiful pale yellow color.  Saffron is very powerful, so you only need a little bit or else it will overpower the other flavors.  The balance of this dish is nice.  Don't forget the lemon at the end, as it adds an important complement and acidity necessary to balance the dish.  This might be one of my best recipes yet, and I'm sharing.

Sasha's Crab Couscous With Green Apple, Mango and Saffron (serves 4)

1 1/2 cups of couscous

1 cup of sugar snap peas (or snow peas, if you prefer)

olive oil (added as described below)

2 diced cloves of garlic

2 T mascarpone cheese

1 diced shallot

1 medium sized mango, diced

2 green apples, peeled and diced

1 lemon, cut into slices

1/8 tsp saffron

salt and pepper to taste

To prepare this dish, I boiled a quart of water and cooked the sugar snap peas until softened (I guess they no longer will "snap").  Then I removed the sugar snap peas and added the couscous to the water.  I cooked the couscous, as per typical instructions, until al dente, about seven minutes.  Then I drained the couscous from the remaining water and mixed with 2T of olive oil.

Next comes the fun part, deciding how to jazz up ordinary couscous to create a new recipe.  I sauteed the shallot and the garlic in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Then I cooked the diced mango and apple for a few minutes, until softened.  Next, I added the sugar snap peas and the couscous and cooked for a few minutes over medium heat, adding the saffron and seasoning with salt and pepper.

Then, I added the crab and the mascarpone to the hot couscous and mixed well, to melt the mascarpone.  (you could substitute butter if you prefer).  

Finally, for presentation, I used a small bowl to mold the couscous, and garnished with some of the purple cauliflower presented in last night's post.  (I don't suggest eating the cauliflower with this dish, its too bitter, but it looks to pretty).  When you are ready to eat, season with some of the lemon juice.  I used a Meyer lemon.

This dish is one I will make again and again.  An aside here, it really bothers me when people eat lousy food (that I have to be present to see or smell).  I don't mean foods I don't like, per se, just poor quality food - frozen meals, bad restaurant food, poor quality ingredients, lots of chemicals that serve no purpose, msg etc...  You're putting this stuff in your body so you should care too.  Food is an art and should be treated as such, without dumbing down our taste buds.  

For another dish with crab, check out my crabcakes prepared using Marcus Samuelsson's recipe from his new cookbook.

Sasha's Kitchen: Crab Couscous with Green Apple, Mango, Saffron and Lemon

Cindy's Kitchen in Brooklyn: Food and Wine Pairing with New Zealand Pinot Noir

Seeing as how I'm the resident wine expert here, having worked as a wine rep* for a whole two months now, I thought I'd do a little food and wine pairing column, perhaps on a regular basis.
* If you want to know about me and my company, just click on my bio.

Wine and food go hand in hand, they always have. According to Wikipedia, which we know is always so super reliable (they did change Brittany Murphy's profile about ten minutes after she passed), evidence suggests that the earliest wine production took place in the Mid East around 6000 BC, and winemaking in Europe dates back 6,500 years. And, well...people ate back then too! Coincidence? I think not. Well, regardless, I dare you to eat a hearty lasagna and not long for a nice Italian Chianti, or a sausage and seafood-filled paella and not wish you were sipping on a quality tempranillo from Spain.

Ok so, new world wines might lack the history and pedigree enjoyed by those wines from the old country, but they can exhibit some of the greatest flavor profiles, rivaling their European predecessors. For example, Pinot Noir is not just a Burgundy grape; some of the absolute best pinots hail from the Pacific Northwest and Down Under.

Today I'm focusing on a 2008 Pinot Noir from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. This wine has a lovely red fruit profile, with some hints of oak and spice. It pairs famously with chorizo, mushrooms, roast chicken, and of course, New Zealand lamb. As such, I present to you Spiced Lamb with Double Tomato Couscous Salad

Serves 4-6
Indredients:
For the lamb
4 lamb short loins (or fillets) about 1/3 pound each, fat removed
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ginger
2 small hot dried red chillies, finely chopped

For the couscous:
1 1/2 cups instant couscous
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 roasted red pepper, thinly sliced
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
8 sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt/ pepper

Directions Put the lamb in a shallow, non-reactive dish. Mix garlic, yogurt, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and chilies. Spread mixture over lamb, cover with plastic wrap and marinate for minimum two hours.

Put the couscous, salt and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a heatproof bowl, mix well, and add enough boiling water to just cover the couscous. Quickly cover the bowl with foil and leave for 20 minutes. Fluff the grains with a fork to break up any lumps. Cool until warm and then add remaining ingredients, including the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper.

Panfry or barbecue the lamb over high heat, about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium. Remove from heat and let rest 4 minutes before slicing thin. Serve on the couscous salad with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!

To read more about wine, specifically the wines and wineries of Napa & Sonoma Valleys, click here for SashaInTheKitchen's travel wine review.  Click here for Christina's article on chicken prepared using red wine in Budapest.

Lamb is one of the roundtable features of the month at Akitcheninbrooklyn.  Click here for SashaInTheKitchen's braised lamb ancho chile tacos and rack of lamb with fresh herbs.





Pinotnoir

Cindy's Kitchen in Brooklyn: Food and Wine Pairing with New Zealand Pinot Noir