Welcome to the MoroccanCulture Blog

2 lg Onions, peeled & sliced             1 ts Cumin
     1 kg Lean lamb, leg or shoulder          1 ts Ground coriander
          -cut into 4cm cubes.                1 ts Ground ginger
     4    Pears, peeled cored & cut           1 ts Cinnamon
          -into 4cm chunks                    1 ts Black pepper
   1/2 c  Sultanas                                 Water, to cover the meat
   1/2 c  Silvered almonds                         Salt, to tast
     1 tb Olive oil

 Intro.
 Tagines are Moroccan slow-cooked meat, fruit & vegetable dishes which are
 almost invariably made with mutton. Using lamb cuts down the cooking
 time, but if you can find good hogget (older than lamb, younger than
 mutton, commonly labelled "baking legs" and sold cheaply) that will do
 very well.

 1.      In a large saucepan gently fry the onion in the olive oil until
         soft, add the meat to the pan and cook until it changes color,
         then add the spices. Add water to just cover the meat and salt to
         taste.
         Cover and simmer gently until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 - 2
         hours. (Displace the lid a little after an hour if there appears
         to be too much liquid.)

 2.      Add the pears to the meat together with the sultanas & almonds.
         Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the pears are soft.

from
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/ethnic/morocco-tangine.html
         Serve with rice.

This is not for the faint of heart, just for those seeking the pleasures of life. Spicy and hot, and you will cook it over and over. If nothing else, we owe Morocco a thank you for this one.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

chicken,3.5,pound,cut in 6 pieces

butter,3.5,T

vegetable oil,.25,c

onion,1,large,cut into wedges

plum tomatoes,.5,pound,quartered

parsley,1,c,fresh, chopped

ginger,1.5,t,ground

black pepper,1.5,t,ground

turmeric,1,t,ground

jalapeno chili,1,whole

cinnamon stick,.5,

cayenne pepper,.25,t

saffron threads,1/8,t,crushed

turnips,5,small,peeled,quartered

carrots,4,large,peeled,quartered lengthwise and crosswise

acorn squash,1,large,peeled,seeded.cut into 2 inch pieces

zucchini,3,,small cut quartered lengthwise then crosswise

garbanzo beans,16,ounce,canned

water,2.25,c

salt,1.5,t

couscous,3,c,about 18 ounces

chicken broth,4,c,canned

Note:Buy couscous from a Middle Eastern store, or you maybe health stores.

Instructions:

Combine chicken and broth in a large Dutch oven. Simmer until chicken is cooked through,turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Using tongs remove chicken from cooking liquid: reserve cooking liquid.. skin and bone chicken; cut into bite size pieces. melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the oil in large heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion,saute until tender,about 10 minute. add tomatoes and next 8 ingredients and stir 30 seconds. Mix in reserved cooking liquid, turnips, carrots, squash, zucchini and garbanzo beans with liquid. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are almost tender about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken pieces to sauce and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Discard jalapeno. Meanwhile bring 2 1/4c. water and 1- 1/2 T butter and salt to boiling. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 10 minutes; fluff with fork. Arrange couscous in center of serving platter. Drizzle couscous with 3/4 c sauce. Spoon chicken and vegetables atop couscous. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

From
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Recipes/Couscous.html

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
• 2 turnips, peeled and julienned
• 1 sweet potato, julienned
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 pinch curry powder
• 2 cups uncooked couscous

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; saute onion until golden. Pour in vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir in carrots, turnips and sweet potato. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low and add zucchini and red bell pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in garbanzo beans, tomato sauce, cinnamon, turmeric, saffron and curry powder. Simmer until heated through.
4. Meanwhile, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 to 7 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve with vegetables on top.

check the original site here
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Israeli-Moroccan-Couscous/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup chopped dates
• 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 2 cups dry couscous
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Moroccan couscous made with seven vegetables! The taste of North Africa !

---

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked and peeled
4 cups couscous (1 1/2 pounds)
4 lamb shanks
1 stick butter
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and 1 tablespoon black pepper
Pinch of saffron
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
3 onions, quartered
6 each cilantro and parsley sprigs, tied together
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered
1 pound carrots, cut into 2inch pieces
1 pound small white turnips, quartered
1 quince, peeled, cored and cubed
1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 pound zucchini, quartered
1 fresh hot chili pepper
1 cup raisins
Ghee* Smen** (aged butter) or butter

PREPARATION:
In a saucepan cover chickpeas with water and cook, covered, until tender. Drain, cool and remove skins. In bottom of a couscousi, Pre heat 5 tablespoons of butter and oil over until hot, add lamb, salt and spices, onions, herb sprigs and tomatoes and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add 3 quarts water and chickpeas and simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours. Cut meat into chunks, discarding bones. Add carrots, turnips and quince to lamb broth and simmer 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan cover squash with broth from lamb stew and simmer until tender.

To lamb broth add zucchini, chili pepper, and raisins. Top with colander containing couscous, cover and steam 20 minutes. Dot couscous with remaining butter during last 5 minutes of steaming.

To serve, spoon couscous onto serving dish and toss with Ghee*, Smen** or butter. Spread out to form a large well in center. With a slotted spoon
transfer meat and vegetables into well. Add drained squash. Strain broth, correct seasoning and moisten couscous and vegetables with broth.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

*Ghee (See under Condiments) **Smen (Aged butter)
this is from
http://www.thegutsygourmet.net/couscous_fez.html