Chicken Tagine

Chicken Tagine

serves 4

(Morocco)

Chicken Tagine (Djaj Mqualli) is an exotic play on roasted chicken.  This version allows you to enjoy this delightful dish without the need to purchase a Tagine.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin  olive oil
2 chicken breasts, 2 chicken thighs and legs skin on with bone or 4 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Kosher or sea salt, to taste

 freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 large yellow onions, sliced
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground white pepper
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoons ground turmeric
½ teaspoons crushed saffron threads
1½ cups chicken stock
6 ounces. green olives, cracked
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro
2 jarred preserved lemons, cut into slices*

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

cook the chicken:

Heat oil in large Dutch oven (large enough to contain the chicken portions comfortably) over medium-high heat. Season the chicken portions with salt and freshly ground black pepper; add the chicken portions to the Dutch oven and cook until well browned on both sides, 12 to 15 minutes.  When the chicken is well browned, transfer to a holding plate.

prepare the cooking sauce:

Add the sliced onions to pot and cook until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the spices and cook, stirring occasionally,  for 2 minutes.

bake the chicken:

Return the chicken to the Dutch oven with the cooking sauce and bring the liquid to the boil. Once the cooking liquid comes to a boil cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven.  Bake the chicken until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

bring it all together:

Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, uncover and remove the chicken pieces to a holding plate.  Place the Dutch oven on the stove burner over medium heat and stir the olives, butter, parsley, cilantro, and lemons into the cooking liquid and cook for 6 minutes.

service:

Pour have the cooking liquid, onions, olives and lemon slices onto a serving platter, arrange the chicken on the platter and pour the remaining liquid, onions, olives and lemon slices over the chicken.   Serve accompanied by white rice and flatbread.

* If you can’t find preserved lemons, slice 2 fresh lemons into slices.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat add the sliced lemons and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes until lemons collapse and give up their juices.   Use the slices as you would the preserved lemons.

Taiwanese Style Pork Chops

Taiwanese Style Pork Chops

serves 4

(Taiwan)

Ingredients

4 -  3/4 inch  thick,  bone-in pork chops or ¼-inch boneless pork chops

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon white wine

1/2 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder

vegetable oil

vegetable oil for frying

sweet potato powder (substitute cornstarch)

Preparation

1.  Prepare the pork chops by snipping the edges of the pork chops with a pair of kitchen shears in several place to keep them from curling up when fried.

2.  In a small mixing bowl combine  the soy sauce, wine, garlic, sugar, and five-spice powder.  When the marinade ingredients are thoroughly combined pour the marinade into a large, re-sealable plastic bag an place the pork chops into the bag, and seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible.  Gently massage the pork chops to thoroughly coat them with the marinade. Refrigerate the marinating pork chops over night or at least 1 hour, turning the bag over every so often to insure all the pork chops remain in contact with the marinade.

3.  Heat enough vegetable oil in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan over medium high heat to fill it to a depth of about 1/2 inch.

4.  While the oil is heating, build a dredging station by placing enough sweet potato powder (alternatively cornstarch) onto a flat plate to  dredge the four pork chops.  Remove the marinated pork chops from re-sealable bag and dredge each of the pork chops on both sides  and carefully place them into the oil.  Fry the pork chops, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through.

5.  Serve over white rice or accompanied by noodles.

Old Fashioned Chili Sauce

Old Fashioned Chili Sauce

makes about 3 pints

(America)

Ingredients

4 pounds ripe red tomatoes

2 medium green peppers

2 medium sweet red peppers

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped celery

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped onion

1 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon all spice

1/2 tablespoon mustard seed

1/2 tablespoon celery seed

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

Preparation

prepare the vegetables:

1.  In a large pot, bring a large quantity of water to a rapid boil.  Turn off the heat and add the tomatoes, insure the tomatoes are covered with the hot water.  Allow the tomatoes to stand several minutes.  

2.  One at a time, carefully remove each tomato to a work surface, remove the stem and peel.  When all the tomatoes have been stemmed and peeled, empty the water from the pot.  Coarsely chop the tomatoes and place them into the  pot.

3.  On a chopping board, halve, stem, and remove the seeds and ribs from the peppers.  Coarsely chop the pepper and place them into the pot with the tomatoes.

4.  Add the chopped celery, the chopped onion, the white granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the salt to the pot with the tomatoes.

cook the vegetables:

1.  Place the pot over medium heat and stir the contents until all the sugar is dissolved.

2.  Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil;  reduce the heat and simmer the mixture, uncovered for 45 minutes.

3.  Add the cinnamon, the ground cloves, the all spice, the mustard seeds, and the celery seeds.

4.  Continue simmering  the mixture, uncovered for 30 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

5.  Add the vinegar and continue simmering for 1 hour longer, or until of desired consistency is reached.

prepare for canning:

 Meanwhile, sterilize your canning jars, lids, and seals in separate  pans of simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set rings aside on a clean, sterile surface leave lids and jars in the hot water until ready to use.  Hint: the glass jars can be sterilized in your dishwasher by running them through a cleaning cycle.

can the chili sauce:

1.  Working with one jar at a time, remove it from the sterilizing pan (or your dishwasher), emptying  any  water out of it and placing it, opening end up on a clean, flat surface.  Add  1 tablespoon of lemon juice per pint into each hot jar.  Ladle your still hot sauce into hot jars leaving about 1/2-inch headspace. With a clean, sterile knife, remove air bubbles from the jar,  wipe the rim with a clean cloth to remove any spillage from the jar rim (use a canning funnel to avoid spillage).  Center a hot lid on the jar while avoiding touching the unerside. Apply the jar ring and tighten until it is fingertip tight.  Repeat the process  for each jar until all the jars and hot sauce are used.

2.  Place the sealed jars in  a large pot of boiling, insure that the pot is deep enough to completely submerge the jar in and covers it by at least  1-inch.  Process the submerged  jars in the boiling water for about 35 minutes but not less than 20 minutes.

3.  Remove jars from the pot (using a canning jar lifter) and place,  lid side up, on a clean  dish towel  to cool. Check for positive seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.  For any jars  that have not completely sealed, remove the lids and rings; dispose of the lids you've removed (you can only use rings once . . . if the seal fails the lids CAN NOT be reused).   Check  the jar(s) that haven't sealed for defects (chips on  the jar rim, warped rings, etc.) and correct (for chips on  the jar rim, sterilize a new jar and transfer the sauce to the new jar . . . dispose of the defective jar).   Sterilize the rings and new  lids  and center the hot lids on the jars, apply the jar rings and tighten them until they are fingertip tight.  Reprocess the jars as in  step 10 above.

Jamaican Beef Patties

Jamaican Beef Patties

Makes about 24 to 30 pastries

(Jamaica)

                                                                               Preparation time:  20 minutes

                                                                               Cook time:           30 minutes

                                                                               Total time:            50 minutes

Ingredients

dough (or use 2 packages of commercial 9-inch pie crust):

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 dash salt

1/4 cup margarine

1/4 cup shortening

1/3 cup water

flling:

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, finely diced

1 ½ cups ¼-inch diced potatoes

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon curry powder, or to taste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup beef broth

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten with ¼ teaspoon curry powder

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

cook the filling:

Par boil the diced potatoes in sufficient salted water to cover the potatoes completely.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, add the onions and diced potatoes and sauté them until the onions are soft and translucent.  Stir in the ground beef, the  curry powder, the thyme,   salt,  black pepper, and the cayenne. Cook until beef is evenly brown, stirring constantly. Stir in beef broth and bread crumbs. Simmer until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

mix the dough and form:

In a large bowl, combine flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, and pinch of salt.  Into those ingredients, cut in the 1/4 cup of margarine and shortening until the mixture resembles a coarse crumb.   Stir in the water until mixture comes together and forms a ball.  Shape the dough ball into a 10-inch log, and cut into 10 equal sections. Roll each section into a six inch circle (approximately 1/8 inch thick). Set aside.

                                                                       Or

One at a time, roll out each of the pie crust to about 1/8-inch thickness.  Cut the rolled out dough into as many 4 1/4-inch circles as you can, reserve the dough scraps.  Continue until all 4 9-inch crusts have been rolled out an cut into 4 ¼ -inch circles.  Gather up the dough scraps, combine them  and roll them out into a 1/8-inch sheet and cut out as many 4 ¼-inch circles as you can.  Set aside the circles of dough.

form the pastries:

Working with one of the circles of dough at a time, spoon about one tablespoon of filling into the center of the pastry circle. Fold over and press edges together, making a half circle. Using  a fork  press the edges together to seal.  Place the pastry half circle on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Continue until all the filling and pastry circles are use up.  Brush the top of each patty with the beaten egg/curry mixture.

bake the pastries:

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

service:

Serve as an accompaniment to your favourite meal or as an hors d'ouvres accompanied by mango chutney or your favourite dipping sauce.

Sweet Tomato Jam

Sweet Tomato Jam

makes 3 cups

(America)

                                                                Preparation time:  20 minutes

                                                           Cooking time:  45 minutes

                                                                     Total cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2  pound  plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 ½ cups light brown sugar

1 tablespoons honey

1 lemon, zested and juiced 

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preparation

prepare the tomatoes:

Cut a cross in the end of each of the tomatoes.  Place the tomatoes in boiling water to blanch, about 1 minutes, you'll know the tomatoes are ready to be removed when the edges of the inscribed crosses curl up.  Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately immerse the blanched tomatoes in a pre-prepared ice bath.  One by one, peel the tomatoes and place the peeled tomatoes in a bowl.

mill the tomatoes:

Several at a time place the peeled tomatoes in a food mill positioned over a large bowl and process the tomatoes through it.  Continue to process until all the tomatoes have been processed.  Processing through a food mill will remove all the seeds.

cook the jam:

Combine the milled tomatoes, the sugar, the honey, the lemon juice and zest and the crushed red pepper flakes in large heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat  and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring often.   Continue simmering, uncovered,  until the mixture reaches about 220° F. on an candy thermometer or becomes thick and syrupy, about 45 minutes.

jar the jam:

Remove from the heat and place jam into sterilized jam jars and cover or use immediately.

service:

Jam can be used as a spread for crackers, as a sandwich spread, or as an accompaniment for ham, turkey, or pork.

Moussaka

Moussaka

Serves 8

(Greece)

                                                                         Preparation time: 45 minutes

                                                                         Eggplant fry time:  20 minutes

                                                                         Lamb fry time: 8 minutes

                                                                         Bake time: 45 minutes

                                                                         Total cook  time:  2 hours

Ingredients

3 medium eggplants (1 pound each), sliced diagonally into 1/4 inch thick slices

1 1/2 tablespoons of salt

2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch dice

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds lean ground lamb

3 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons brandy

2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons thyme

1 can (35 ounces) Italian peeled tomatoes, drained well and chopped

1 pound feta cheese, crumbled

4 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

Preparation

prepare the eggplant and potatoes:

Place a colander over a plate, layer eggplant slices in colander sprinkling each layer liberally with salt.  Let stand 30 minutes.  This will remove the bitterness from the eggplant.  Meanwhile, in a  medium sauce pan, cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender (about 10 minutes).  Drain and set aside.

fry the eggplant:

Pat the eggplant dry with a paper towel.  In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over high heat.  Dredge the eggplant slices in the flour; shake off any excess.  Add the eggplant to the skillet in batches and fry over high heat, using up to an additional 3/4 cups of oil as necessary, until all the eggplant slices have been browned (about 2 minutes per side).  Drain the fried eggplant on paper towels to remove excess oil.  Reserve the largest and most attractive slices to top the Moussaka.

cook the onions and lamb:

Wipe the skillet clean.  Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and heat over moderate heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and golden brown (about 5 to 10 minutes).  Add the lamb and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no traces of pink remains (about 10 minutes).

bring it all together:

1.  Transfer the lamb mixture to a colander and drain, then return it to the skillet.  Stir in the tomato paste, brandy, cinnamon, thyme, and pepper.  Cook over moderate heat for 1 minute, stirring to blend flavors.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the tomatoes, reserved potatoes, and the feta cheese; stir well to combine.

2.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Line the bottom and sides of a 5- to 6-quart, shallow baking dish with the fried eggplant slices, overlapping them slightly.  Reserve about 30 of the best looking eggplant  slices for the top of the Moussaka.

3.  In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and the heavy cream.  Spoon half the meat mixture into the lined baking dish,  pour on half the egg and heavy cream mixture, and top with ½ the fried egg plant.  Repeat with the remaining meat and egg mixture.  Cover with the reserved eggplant slices, overlapping them slightly in a decorative pattern.

bake the Moussaka:

Bake until the egg mixture is set and the top is nicely browned (about 45 minutes). 

service:

Let the baked Moussaka stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.  Slice the Moussaka in 8 equal sized portions and serve accompanied by Spanakopita, Pitakopita and/or a Greek salad.  

Crispy Pork Chops in Curry Sauce

Crispy Pork Chops in Curry Sauce

serves 4

(Taiwan)

The first time we tasted this meal was on our trip to Taiwan to meet our daughter-in-laws family.  Unlike American pork chops, these delicious breaded and fried scallopini are fragrant with the subtle taste of Chinese five spice supported by the taste of the Char Siu Sauce they are marinated in, the longer they are marinated the more fragrant they become.   When we visit our son and Taiwanese daughter-in-law in Southern California, this is one of the Asian specialties we look forward to.

                                                       Preparation time:  up to 2 hours

                                                       Chop cooking time:  up to 20 minutes

                                                       Golden Curry Sauce cook time:  15 minutes

                                                        Total cook time:  35 minutes

Ingredients

Taiwanese crispy pork chops:

4  –  ¾ inch, boneless pork chops

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Taiwanese michiu wine (substitute Japanese Mirin)*

1/8 teaspoon  white pepper

1/8 teaspoon  five-spice powder*

1 teaspoon Char Siu Sauce* (Chinese barbecue sauce [DO NOT substitute American Barbecue sauce])

3-4 cloves garlic, micro-planed

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup sweet potato flour* (acceptable substitutes are tapioca  or corn starch)

Peanut or vegetable oil sufficient for frying

golden curry sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

¼ to ½ cup chopped onion

¼ to ½ cup sliced carrots

1 2/3 cups water

1 3.5 ounce golden curry sauce mix (I recommend S&B brand medium hot)*

Preparation

Taiwanese crispy pork chops:

1.  One at a time, place each pork  chop in a large, re-sealable plastic bag and pound  the chop into a thin (1/2 to ¼ - inch thick) scallopini and set aside in the refrigerator. 

2.  When all the pork chops have been pounded, create a marinade by combining the soy sauce, the michiu wine, the white pepper, the five-spice, the barbeque sauce, and the micro-planed in a small mixing bowl.  Once the marinade has been created, pour it into a large, re-sealable plastic bag.  Place the pork chops into the bag and seal, squeezing out as much air as possible.  Allow the pork chops to marinate for several hours, turning the bag every so often, to allow all the flavours to develop.

3.  When the pork chops have marinated for several hours, build a breading station by placing the sweet potato starch, the beaten egg, and the Panko bread crumbs in three separate plates.  Bread each of the pounded pork chops  by first dredging each in the sweet potato flour, then in the egg mixture, and finally in the Panko bread crumbs

4.  Once each of the pork chops have been breaded on both sides  heat enough vegetable oil to fill  a large, heavy bottomed frying pan to a depth of about 1/2 inch over medium high heat and fry the pork chops, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through.

golden curry sauce:

1.  Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan.  Add the chopped onions and sliced carrots and saute until the onions are slightly browned and the carrots are softened,  about 5 minutes.

2.  Add water and bring to a boil, as soon as the water comes to a rolling boil remove the pan from the heat.  Break up the golden curry mix into pieces and add to the water, carrots, and water stirring until all the pieces of curry mix are dissolved.   If the sauce seems too "tight" add a little water, a tablespoon at a time, until the sauce "loosens up" to your satisfaction.

 service:

Serve by plating cooked, plain white rice on each of 4 service plates, place one Taiwanese crispy pork chop on top of that on each plate, and top each plate with ¼ of the golden curry sauce.  Serve hot.

* easily found on the Asian or Oriental products aisle in most supermarkets