Tagine of chicken with loads of flavors

After a long long break, I am back! Well, the PhD dissertation had to be submitted in between :) It might also have something to do with the summer in general as I am much less motivated to cook. Some very simple salad or just watermelon is enough most of the time. So, just as it starts getting cold again, here is a yummy tagine/casserole recipe from Soup's On!


Ingredients:
8 skinless-boneless chicken thighs
8 medium potatoes (peeled)
2 medium onions (chopped)
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch parsley
1 cup chicken broth
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups of frozen small peas
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil

It is actually pretty easy to make, as you essentially mix everything together. I used a casserole dish, but you can of course substitute it with a tagine or a slowcooker. A few key points though. You should start with preheating the oven to 400 F, and wash the bunches of cilantro and parsley, using strings to tie each bunch. Place your casserole initially on the stove, heat the olive oil, and brown the chicken on all sides. Then add the potatoes, onions, garlic, broth, cilantro, parsley, turmeric, ginger and black pepper. It looks (see above) and smells so good! Close the lid, and bake in the oven for an hour. At this point you need to discard the cilantro and parsley, and add the remaining ingredients: peas, lemon juice and salt. Return to oven just until everything is hot.

As you can see, I served it with some couscous and some fresh parsley on top. Healthy and so flavorful...

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Chicken Casserole

I've learned this recipe from my american flatmate (many thanks to Heather and her mother's famous recipe) and actually once we cooked it together (I was as silent and useless as I am here :p). Unfortunately, I didn't take any fancy pictures of it but I have this one, which I took while preparing it.

What do you need?

*Frozen broccoli, thawed
*Chicken, cooked (preferably sauteed in butter)
*Can of Cream of Chicken soup
*Mayonnaise
*Lemon juice
*Grated cheese (mature cheddar)
*Bread
*White rice

In a bowl, mix the cream of chicken soup with a large spoonful of mayonnaise and some lemon juice (half of a fresh lemon is fine). Place the cooked chicken and broccoli on the bottom of a greased pan and pour the cream of chicken soup mixture on top, making sure it covers everything. Next you sprinkle the grated cheese on top so that it covers everything, and then you take the bread, and squish/roll it up so that you make breadcrumbs and then cover the entire top with that. One can sprinkle the top of the bread crumbs with a little bit more cheese. Then you heat it for about 30 minutes at a low temperature (like 150 degrees C).

Finally, you can serve it on white rice. (I assume that everyone here knows way more than I do about how to cook rice, so I just skip my rookie comments :p)

I hope you enjoy it!

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Easy and tasty chicken stir-fry

This is a super quick and easy stir-fry recipe that I've been using for years!

-1 medium zucchini
-1½ cups broccoli florets
-1 cup snow peas
-1 cup bean sprouts
-½ cooked chicken breast (optional)
-2 cans chicken broth (Campbell’s works well) or replace with 2 sachets of powdered chicken bouillon.
-3 tablespoons soya sauce
-¼ cup corn starch
-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
-2 cups of white rice (Minute Rice works well)
-2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)

Prep time: 5-10 mins
Cooking time: 10-12 mins

Begin by cooking the rice so that it is ready at the same time as the stir-fry (which usually takes about 10 minutes or so to make). If using Minute Rice, I like to start the rice first and once the water is boiling, take it off the heat and let it sit while I cook the stir-fry – that way, it is light and fluffy by the time the main dish is ready.

Chop the zucchini into about 5mm slices, and prepare the broccoli florets (bite-size pieces work best). Cut off the ends of the snow peas. Put the vegetables aside for now. Then, add the chicken broth to the corn starch while stirring, making sure to dissolve all of the cornstarch without leaving clumps (you can do this in a large measuring cup). Add the soya sauce and stir well.

Pre-heat the wok on high using about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (a fry pan can work nicely if you do not have a wok). Once it is very hot, throw in the broccoli, zucchini and snow peas. Stir fry the vegetables on high heat using a non-stick utensil (like a wooden spoon) for about 5 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender and browned on both sides. Then add the bean sprouts and the chicken (optional). Stir fry for another 2 minutes, adding the sesame seeds once everything has been cooked. Then, stir the sauce one last time in the measuring cup to further dissolve any cornstarch and then add it to the wok, being careful not to splash. The sauce will bubble quite a bit at the beginning, so be sure to stir the wok’s contents well. Once it quiets down, let the sauce thicken – this usually takes about 2-3 minutes. You will notice that it will begin to boil and get darker – be sure it does not burn, though. Once all the sauce is the same thick, dark consistency, the stir-fry is ready! Serve over a bed of white rice (about 1 cup per person), as depicted.

Serves 2 (for more people, you can double the quantities of vegetables and meat, but perhaps only make 1.5x the sauce – the portions are already quite generous!)

Enjoy!

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Zucchini Boerek

This is a recipe that some of you already tried! I decided to write one of my all-time favorites. Strangely, I am finding this hard to categorize, it is sort of a quiche, a gratin or a Turkish boerek. But it is simple to make and very delicious.

Ingredients:
1 medium-size zucchini
1 medium-size carrot
125 grams of feta cheese
7-8 sheets of phyllo dough
1 cup of carbonated water
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Fresh dill (chopped)
1 cup cheddar cheese
Butter

Grate the zucchini and the carrot in a big bowl. Break the phyllo dough sheets into small pieces with your hands. The pieces can be uneven, it does not matter. Then add the eggs, the feta cheese, the dill, the milk and the vegetable oil. You could also add some cheddar cheese if you like. Mix well with a spoon, cover with a lid or foil and let it sit in the fridge for an hour.

In the meantime butter the pyrex dish, preferably a large deep one, approximately 8''x12''. Transfer the mixture to the pyrex, and then pour the carbonated water on. When you do that you get a feeling that you ruined everything, no worries :) On top, place little pieces of butter, and then cover with grated cheddar cheese. Bake about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden, at 425F.

Once it is ready, let it cool down a little before you serve. Otherwise, just like lasagna, it loses its form once you transfer to the plates. Bon appetit!

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Chickpea and Lamb Soup/Stew

Ingredients:
3 lamb shoulder chops (around 500 grams -cut into cubes)
1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 can of crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Fresh cilantro or mint
Salt

If you like Moroccan cuisine, I am sure you will enjoy this soup. I found this recipe in the Soup's On book, and here is a slightly modified version. First thing to do is to prepare the spices. Place the coriander and cumin seeds in a small skillet and cook until they are toasted and fragrant. Then place them in a spice grinder and crush them into powder. I do not have one, so I just placed them within foil and used a glass to crush them. It's fine if they are not perfectly powdered. Add the cinnamon and pepper flakes to this mix.

Separate the meat from its bones and cut into small pieces but do not trash the bones yet. In a large soup pot, heat (medium-high) 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add the meat and the bones, and cook just to brown them for 4 minutes. Then transfer them to a bowl.

Reduce the heat to medium and add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the same soup pot. Add the onion and the garlic. Once they soften, add the prepared spice mix, and stir well. Slowly mix in the chicken broth, the lamb meat and the bones (and the juice in the bowl), crushed tomatoes, and water. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer uncovered about an hour. The can of chickpeas needs to be added at the very end, to cook for about 10 minutes only. Season with salt and remove the bones. The soup is ready! Serve it with chopped fresh cilantro or mint to garnish.

The recipe makes a thick soup so if you prefer you could thin it by adding more water. Alternatively, you can have it as a stew. We served it with some couscous, worked perfectly!

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