Thursday, September 22, 2011

A Trip to Morocco

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, we like food from other countries. One of our new favorites is Moroccan food. I found this recipe on Rachael Ray's site and it was so good. I highly recommend making the yummy couscous to go with it.

Moroccan Spiced Lamb or Chicken

2 pounds boneless leg of lamb or chicken, diced
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper
flour for dredging
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 red chili peppers seeded and chopped (I think I just used bell peppers)
2 onions chopped (I just did one)
2 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp orange or lemon zest with juice of said fruit

Sprinkle the meat with the cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper then dredge in the flour. Heat the oil in a pan and when it starts to smoke, add the meat and brown all over. Remove it to a plate and set aside. Reduce the heat a bit and add a bit more oil, chili peppers, onions and bay leaves. Cook 6-7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, stock, zest and juice. Once the liquid comes to a boil, add the meat back in. Reduce heat and thicken it a little.

I love it when web sites give you what to serve something with. Sure we could have gone with plain couscous but there was a link to this one right on the other recipe. What's a girl to do?

Pistachio, Garlic and Mint Couscous

1/3 cup shelled pistachios
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups couscous
salt and pepper
1 cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed

Toast the nuts in a saucepan suitable for rice. Remove to a food processor and finely chop (or just a cutting board and chop well). Add the oil and garlic to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pulse-chop (or use that handy cutting board and knife again) the mint in a food processor very fine. Stir the mint and nuts into the couscous as you fluff with a fork.

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