Middle Eastern Flavours

Grilled Mushrooms w Couscous

Serves 4 – fab as a starter or lite lunch

8 Large Field Mushrooms

½ cup Couscous

½ red pepper finely chopped

1 tbls ex virgin olive oil

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ cayenne pepper

2 tbls coriander

2 tbls fresh mint

3 tbls lemon juice

½ cup veggie stock

1. Remove the stalks of the mushrooms, pop them under the grill top side up for about 3 mins.

2. Place the Couscous, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, & lemon juice into a bowl.

3. Pour the veggie stock over the Couscous, cover with a clean cloth for 5 mins then fluff with a fork.

4. Pop the red pepper, coriander, mint into the couscous mixture and fluff again with a fork.

5. Fill each mushroom with the couscous mixture and pop under the grill until nice & golden.

These are very simple but tasty morsels, which take very little time to prepare ….

Serve them with some mixed leaves drizzled with chilli oil for a spicy kick!!

Chermoula

Coriander, Flat leaf parsley and mint are the traditional herbs used in Moroccan cooking and combined with spices, coriander, cumin, garlic and chillies they can be used to form the basis of chermoula.

Chermoula, can be used as a marinade or a sauce and probably was used in ancient times as a method of preserving the food for longer as no refrigeration was available. There are many different varieties of chermoula and in Morocco each cook has their own way of preparing it and adding their own flavours.

Here is our recipe which I hope you will really enjoy ;)

3 Garlic Cloves

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

Pinch of dried chilli flakes

Small bunch of coriander chopped

150ml olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Place all the ingredients in a food processor (except the olive oil & lemon juice) blend for about 1 min then slowly pour in the olive oil and juice of lemon to make a smooth paste. Transfer to a clean glass jar and top with olive oil… Chermoula will keep in the fridge for about 4 days…

Chicken breast skewers with chermoula & mixed leaf salad

Serving 4 people

3 medium sized chicken breasts

Lemon Wedges (garnish)

Chermoula - recipe above

1 generous handful of mixed leaves per person

Drizzle of olive oil per person.

Fresh lemon juice

Slice Chicken breasts lengthways into 3 strips per breast . Pop the chicken skewers onto a plate and spoon 4 teasp of chermoula mixture over the chicken skewers and combine … marinade for a couple of hours. Heat the grill or bbq to a high heat & cook for about 5 mins on each side. Toss the salad in a large bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Transfer to each plate and top with the Chermoula Chicken Skewers.

Tagines

A Tagine is basically an earthenware pot, it has a conical shaped lid, which fits very snugly to prevent the food from drying out when cooking. A casserole dish with a tight fitting lid will work just perfectly..

A Tagine is also a Moroccan stew, they are usually cooked slowly which tenderises the meat and also allows the flavours to mature.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

2 kilos – shoulder of lamb trimmed of any fat cut into cubes

6 garlic cloves

1tablespoon clear honey

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

300ml chicken stock

1 cinnamon stick

250g can of chickpeas

250g raisins

250g carrots

Marinate the lamb in a casserole dish with, the garlic, honey, olive oil, coriander, paprika, cumin & tomato paste, combine.

Season with salt and pepper and marinade overnight or for a couple of hours in the fridge.

Remove from fridge one hour prior to cooking (to allow it to come to room temperature) add the carrots, cinnamon & stock.

Combine all ingredients and cook covered in a preheated oven to 200 C for 1.5 hours. Stir in the chick peas and raisins and cook for 20 minutes.

Garnish with coriander sprigs and serve with Harissa and couscous..

Harissa

Harissa originated in Tunisia and is now used extensively in Morocco and Algeria. Basically it is a fiery blend of red chillies, onions, garlic and spices that adds life to dishes. Moroccans use it when preparing food to add spice and it also sits as a condiment in small bowls on the table at meal times. Why not try it with some grilled chicken to add flavour and contrast.

2 red peppers, roasted and skinned

1 or 2 fresh red chillies, chopped with seeds (to your taste)

2 Garlic cloves crushed

½ teaspoon coriander seeds toasted

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

Olive oil

Salt

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor, adding enough oil to make a thick paste. This will keep in a clean jar topped with olive oil and covered for weeks in the fridge.

To toast coriander seeds, pop onto a non stick pan over a low heat for about 2 Mins…

Middle Eastern Baked Fish Parcels

Serves 4

4 fillets of white fish

3 tbls of olive oil

1 tsp of cumin

¼ tsp of chilli powder

1 tsp of coriander

1 lemon juiced

1 lemon sliced ( 4 thin slices)

1 large red chilli (for garnish)

1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 200 c – 400f/gas 6

1. Combine the olive oil, cumin, chilli powder, coriander & lemon in a small bowl stir until well combined.

2. Tear 4 pieces of foil – enough to take a fillet & make generous parcels.

3. Place a fillet on each piece of foil and brush each fillet with the olive oil marinade.

4. Pan fry the lemon slices in a little olive oil with a little cumin until slightly charred.

5. Pop a lemon slice on top of each fillet .

6. Wrap each parcel tightly and place in the fridge to marinate for about 1 hour.

7. Meanwhile finely chop the chilli & flat leaf parsley .

8. When you are ready to cook the fish – pop into an oven proof dish and bake for 8/10 mins.

9. To serve, place the parcels on individual serving plates and serve open with scattered chilli and flat leaf parsley.

Serve with steamed rice & lovely fresh greens…..