Moroccan Beef Curry

Again I have left it too long since my last post, but be assured that does not mean I have stopped cooking.....NEVER!!

However, today I will not be sharing any recently cooked dishes, but instead a dish I have been making for a couple years and just never got around to posting it.
This is one of my guy's favourites. I didn't go searching for recipe ideas to get inspiration for this dish. It is from my own inspired creativity. I didn't feel like going to the shop so I had a rummage through our cupboards, and feeling I have some idea what Moroccan food consists of I figured these ingredients would work well....and success! :)
Although if anyone recognizes this to be similar to a dish which actually already exists please feel free to let me know the name! :)

500g lean ground beef

olive oil

1 can chick peas

1 large onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 stalks of celery (thinly sliced)

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup yoghurt (preferably greek style, but for less fat you can use plain)

2-3 heaped tbsp of curry paste (mild, medium or hot is your choice)

2 tsp celery salt

Instructions:

- In a pan cook the onion, celery and garlic with olive oil on low-medium temperature until all has softened (about 7 minutes). Add beef and cook on medium heat until browned.

- Stir in celery salt and curry paste, cooking for another couple minutes. Now stir in the yoghurt and raisins and cook on a low heat for about 8 minutes.

This can be served with rice, cous cous or flat bread and dips.

Cucumber and yoghurt dip is a nice accompaniment, especially if you've made the curry quite spicy.

This time I've served with cous cous, a little flat bread with cucumber dip and houmus, as well as some roasted vegetable.

QUESTION: Does anyone know the authentic correct spelling of the word 'houmus' ??

Grilled Chicken and Red Pepper with Feta Cous Cous

I made this dish ages ago and totally forgot about it! Andf how could I? It was delicious!
This is one of my "use what's left in the fridge" meals, and as usual, these sort of dishes turn out better than expected.


The mixture of feta with olives and chicken is a classic mix. Adding the sauted onions and grilled peppers made such a nice extra touch to the overall flavour of the dish.


(Feeds 2 people)
3/4 cup cous cous
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion - chopped
1/2 red pepper - sliced into strips
2 chicken steaks - seasoned
1/2 cup black olives - sliced
3/4 cup feta - crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions:
1/ On a hot grill pan with half of the olive oil grill the red pepper strips
2/ In a small hot frying pan with olive oil saute the onions. Stir in the olives and heat through for another minute or so. Now turn off the heat and place the grilled peppers in the sidde of the pan and set aside, covered
3/ Just before you start cooking the chicken prepare the cous cous as per package instructions
4/ On the same grill as the pepper was cooked grill the chicken steaks for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Slice one of the steaks at the thickest part to check they're done. There should be no pink
5/ Combine olive and onion mixture with the cous cous. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide cous cous onto 2 plates. Cover with feta, then lay strips of peppers and chicken over top


Enjoy!

Moroccan Spiced Chicken

I have this year's Sainsbury's Magazine Recipe calendar up on the wall in my kitchen. March's recipe looks irresistible! Don't know how I could have left it until now to finally try it out.
This is a quick yet stylish meal. I'm in love...again!!

(Serves 4-6 people)
1kg corn fed chicken drumsticks and thighs (approx 12 pieces in total)
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic (peeled and crushed)
2,5 cm piece of ginger (peeled and grated)
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
3 tbsp Moroccan spice blend (I bought a ready mix which includes the following: roasted cumin and coriander seed, dried onion, paprika, dried garlic, black pepper, mint, parsley, salt, cinnamon, mustard seed)
300ml chicken stock
a large handful of pitted green olives
25g fresh coriander leaves (chopped)

Instructions:
- Arrange the chicken in a large roasting tin in a single layer
- Mix the oil with the garlic, ginger, lemon zest and Moroccan spices. Rub this mixture all over the chicken pieces
- Roast the chicken at 190 C (gas mark 5) for 45 minutes. Then pour the stock into the tin and baste the chicken. Add the olives then return the chicken to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the juice runs clear when thigh is pierced at the thickest part
- Transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Put the tin over heat on the stove and bubbles juices for a minute or two. Stir in the lemon juice and coriander, season to taste with salt if desired, then spoon over the chicken and serve immediately

I served mine with roasted red pepper and butternut squash and a lemon herb couscous. It made a great combination!!

Lebanese Lamb Pies with Meze

I love foods from Arabic countries. The freshness and rustic tastes. I was recently watching a Travel Food Show taking place in Lebanon and had the strongest craving for those flavours. So I put together a Meze, the focus dish being Lebanese lamb pies.


I'd never worked with phyllo pastry and it became obvious to me why many people are afraid to...it really does take practice. The pastry didn't end up being super flaky and fluffy once cooked because I missed a step and tried to fold them differently (whoops!) but the pies still tasted delicious! I will try the phyllo pastry again sometime because I do like the challenge of trying to get it right but next time I will try using the simpler puff pastry to compare.

If you are going to use phyllo pastry pay close attention, don't miss any instructions like I did, and probably best not to experiment if not experienced already ;)

(Makes 12 small pies)
250g ground lamb
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts (pan roasted with a little olive oil)
1/2 onion (chopped)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mixed spice
ground pepper to taste
fine zest from a whole lemon
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp flour ( I used bisto)

12 sheets ready made phyllo (filo) pastry
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 cup salted butter, melted
6 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions:
Pie Filling:
- Cook lamb in a pan with olive, then add onion and all other ingredients (except for pine nuts). Cook further until onions turn transparent. Add water and flour (or bisto), stir and allow to thicken a little (about 1 minute)
- Stir in pine nuts and remove mix from the heat

- Preheat oven to gas mark 6 (400 F)
- Mix the butter and oil and keep to one side.
- Make sure to keep pastry sheets which you are not working with covered at all times with a slightly damp towel (phyllo dries very quickly)
- Lay out a sheet of filo pastry on a clean work surface and cut into three-inch strips lengthwise.
- Using a large soup spoon, place a dollop of the lamb mixture at the top right-hand corner of the filo strip. Take the top right-hand corner and fold over the pumpkin mixture to the left. The strip should now have the beginnings of a triangle, with the peak at the upper left-hand corner. Continue folding the strip in the shape of a triangle, brushing the filo pastry with butter+oil mixture before each fold. Once you've reached the end of the strip, place on the baking sheet and brush with beaten egg.
- Continue until all the pumpkin mixture has been used, making about 15 triangles.
- Bake for approximately 30 mins, or until the filo is crispy and a dark golden brown.

I served this with some naan bread (I had some in the freezer so thought it would work as a replacement for flatbread), olives, humus, yoghurt and cucumber dip, and salad. Delish Meze!