CHICKEN TAGINE WITH SWEET POTATOES AND PRUNES . . . EXOTIC, ENTICING MOROCCO IN YOUR KITCHEN TONIGHT

When we lived in Amsterdam my favorite place to shop was the Albert Kuyp Market.   A little edgy. Completely exciting.  And, absolutely out of this world for those wanting the finest in fresh foods.    For over one hundred years Albert Kuyp has filled the most discriminating shopper’s grocery basket. 

I had my favorite stalls; the grower from France with forty different kinds of potatoes, the tiny black ones roasted sweet and delicious.  The herb and spice merchant’s shop with intoxicating  aromas of exotic spices and seasonings.  The “vishandelaar” fish monger with the loud voice hawking his seafood displayed like precious diamonds on beds of  crushed ice.  He introduced me to my favorite Amsterdam street food.  Fresh herring with thin slices of onion on a crusty bun. 

On the edge of Albert Kuyp sits a North African shop.  Their window filled with tagines in every size and design, shelves of fragrant spices, and a variety of meat my sensitive Canadian eyes learned to deal with (whole baby goats and lamb).  I have  been cooking various tagines for years.  Tagine is both the name of the  food and the earthen ware container it is baked in.  I bought the largest tagine and that night the kitchen was filled with the delicious aromas reminiscent  Marrakesh and Morocco.

This is the kind of dish that works well any time of year.   I use either or both chicken thighs and drumsticks.  They respond well to a dish that is slowly simmered into something glorious.    It’ s a great dish for entertaining  when you want to serve your friends something different.  I like to make it early in the day and then gently reheat it. You can back this in any heavy casserole with a lid.    The recipe is in Mrs. Butterfingers. 

COLD WEATHER COMFORT FOOD …. FRENCH STYLE BOEUF BOURGINGNON … beef bourgingnon

 

A little over ten years ago a popular French cookbook  was published in English. I KNOW HOW TO COOK by Ginette Mathiot’s has been the best-selling cookbook in France for three generations.  The book first published in l932 has been regularly revised and updated.   This book has been an essential fixture on the counters of French kitchens for over 75 years.  You could call it the definitive cookbook for French home cooking.

You’ll find the all the French basics, but what I appreciated was the unusual;  recipes for Barley Sugar,  Ash Leaf beer, Cuissot de Sanglier (hindquarter of wild boar)   and Becasse Rotie Sauce Crème (Roast woodcock in cream sauce).  It makes terrific bedside reading.

The recipes are brief and concise.  But here’s the codicil.    The author requires one to have enough general knowledge to navigate the recipes.     For example;  some of the cake recipes don’t give exact pan sizes. So be aware.  Be brave.     You won’t be disappointed.

When the cold winds of November have you longing for something hearty and deeply satisfying this so very French recipe from I KNOW HOW TO COOK  is absolutely perfect.

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON (Beef Bourguignon)

Preparation time: 20 minutes.  Cooking time: 2 ½ hours.   Serves 6

1 tablespoon oil,   3 oz. pearl onions or shallots.   3 ½ ounces small bacon cubes,   1 pound 8 ½ oz. stewing beef, cut into pieces,   Scant  ¼ cup flour.   1 ¼ cups any stock, hot.   1 ¼ cups red wine.   1 bouquet garni.   Salt and pepper.   3 ½ oz. mushrooms, peeled and chopped.

In a heavy pan over medium heat, heat the oil and pan-fry the onions and bacon cubes until browned.  Remove them, add the meat and brown it on all sides.  Sprinkle with the flour, stir until browned.  Scrap up the brown bits in the bottom of the pan  then add the hot stock.  Mix well to combine.   Add the bacon cubes, onions, wine and bouquet garni, and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer gently on low heat for 2 hours, then add the mushrooms (see chef’s note below) and cook for 30 minutes more.  Bon Appetit

Chef’s Note:  The recipe is according to the book.   I suggest when you add the hot stock you scrap up the brown bits in the pan.  Before I added the mushrooms I sautéed them in a little olive oil and butter.  Delicious

RED CURRY CHICKEN SOUP WITH LENTILS AND TURMERIC

In my  large repertoire of soups there are several that I return to time and again.   Heading the list is this sublime, exotic tasting soup.  It is not complicated to prepare but has such outstanding addictive flavours and textures it is a wonderful dish to serve to family and friends.   The title tells it all.   Red curry paste and turmeric combine to give it exceptional flavour.  The red lentils cook away  to thicken the soup to an almost stew-like consistency.    You can prepare it several hours ahead by refrigerating the soup after you have simmered the vegetables in the chicken stock.  Then about half an hour before serving reheating the soup and adding the chicken and sweet potatoes.   We know dishes like this taste even better for the resting time.

Tasting is important when you are cooking.  Not just at the end of the preparation of a dish but also while you are cooking it.  When I suggest two to four teaspoons of red curry paste, for example, start with the lesser amount  then taste to check the flavour.  Salt is an ingredient in a recipe.  It should be added while you cook, not at the end.  Again it is all about tasting, tasting, tasting.  I keep a container of oversized soup spoons by the stove.  You need to taste a generous amount of what you are cooking.

Like most recipes you cook over and over again improvements in ingredients and methods change a little. I have made this soup/stew for you before but this is the updated recipe for   RED CURRY CHICKEN SOUP WITH LENTILS AND TURMERIC.

CASSOULET … celebrates Bastille Day

I will never forget the first time I dined on cassoulet.    It influenced forever my passion for this sophisticated and humble French peasant dish that is a glorious version of pork and beans. 

The  handwritten invitation arrived in the mail.   The back of the envelop sealed with  red wax incised with the fleur- de- lys.     An invitation to dinner at the home of friends,  Dunc and June, to celebrate  the storming of the Bastille.   In the lower left hand corner the words “dress beautifully”.

In that magic time between dusk and twilight the “beautifully” dressed guests arrived.  The women wearing filmy, barely there summer dresses and shimmering  jewellery.   The men at once both elegantly and magnificently attired.  Dress military  uniforms had been resurrected from storage closets.   White dinner jackets dazzled.  One gentleman wore a fez and a richly embroidered caftan.      Another a romantic  poet’s shirt of finest white linen.

On a large round table  forty white pillar candles chased away the dark evening.  Champagne glasses sparkled.   Edith Piaf sang of love.   From the kitchen came the  enticing, earthy aroma of our very French meal – cassoulet  . .  my introduction to this glorious, rich slowly cooked dish of meat, pork and white beans.

There are as many versions of cassoulet as there are regions in France.    My adapted  recipe takes full advantage of our garden raised dried Heirloom French Tarbais white beans and our own milk fed pork.   Substituting  dried white  beans and having an understanding butcher you can easily create your version of this classic dish.

This is not a difficult dish to prepare but it is time-consuming.  This is not a recipe for “slow-cooker” aficionados.    The final two hours of cooking demand you stay close to your oven.  The recipe can be prepared over three days  and is then put together a   few hours before you plan to serve it.

The recipe for CASSOULET awaits you in my kitchen – MRS.BUTTERFINGERS.  Bon appetit!

 

 

SPINACH PIE … a vegetarian dish that will make your reputation as a splendid cook

SPINACH PIE  in all its glory

This dish looks  professional and complicated.  In reality it is easy to make.  Don’t be concerned about using phyllo pastry dough.   In this recipe perfection isn’t necessary.    If a sheet tears just keep going.  The results are truly spectacular and impressive.  This is one of several vegetarian dishes I make on a regular basis.  Make it part of your repertoire.

SPINACH PIE  serves 6

3 cups finely chopped yellow onions

2 tbsp good extra olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 (1o-ounce ) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted.  This is one of those times frozen is actually better than fresh

6 extra-large eggs, beaten

2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (don’t even think of using powdered nutmeg)

1/2  cup freshly grated  parmigiano-reggiano

3 tbsp panko  or ( plain dry bread crumbs)

1/2 pound good feta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup pine nuts (optional)

1/4 pound butter (salted or unsalted) melted

6 sheets of phyllo dough, defrosted

Reheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan on medium heat, sauté the onions,( sprinkled with salt)  with olive oil until translucent and ever so slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with the freshly ground black pepper and allow to cool slightly.

Squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible.  Put the spinach into a large bowl, and then gently mix in the onions, eggs, nutmeg,  parmigiano-reggiano, bread crumbs or panko, feta and pine nuts.

Butter a ovenproof casserole and line it with  sheets of phyllo dough.    To do this take one sheet from your stacked pile of phyllo dough, lay it on the counter and brush with butter.  Then  lay each sheet around the edges of casserole allowing about half the phyllo  to hang over the edge of the dish.  Pour the spinach mixture onto the phyllo and spread evenly.  Neatly fold the edges up and over the top of the spinach to seal in the filling.  Brush the top well with melted butter.

Bake for l hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.  Serve at room temperature.

 

for an easy to copy recipe just click on SPINACH PIE

SICILIAN BRAISED CHICKEN … (Pollo Agrodolce)

There as many ways of making Pollo Agrodolce as there are good Sicilian cooks.  What makes this dish so delicious is the ying and the yang of sweet and sour flavours.  You  can add almonds or pine nuts, some basil or mint instead of parsley.  You can make it with red wine and red-wine vinegar.  Some recipes for this dish  are spiked with saffron or anchovy, and some contain hints of orange-flower water.  The constant through all of them is the cooking down of vinegar and sugar until they infuse the meat and vegetables with their combined sweet but slightly sharp flavor.  With all these tantalizing options this recipe for SICILIAN BRAISED CHICKEN should be tucked in your apron pocket.

CLASSIC MACS AND CHEESE RECIPE

My brother-in-law and his family were moving back into their old house.  They had moved out six months ago and embarked on extensive renovations.    Today was moving day and  I wanted to ease the pain by delivering supper.  Something that would transport well,  that two over-six-foot tall teenagers would really enjoy,  and be delicious as left overs.  The menu; macs and cheese, a big salad of greens fresh from my garden,  for dessert rhubarb crisp.

Macaroni and Cheese is my family’s number one comfort food  choice.  Not  macs and cheese out of a box,  but honest-to-goodness straight from the heart macs and cheese made with a classic white sauce,  plenty of  good cheddar cheese, and  baked in the oven.  Sublime.  This is a large recipe.  I bake enough for supper.  The rest I put into oven-proof dishes, wrap well and freeze.  It’s a time-saver to have these prepared dishes on hand.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

l pound  of  penne or tubular macaroni

4 oz. (8 generous tablespoons) butter

3/4 generous cup of flour

4 cups hot milk

Around 4 cups (8-9 oz) of shredded cheddar cheese (save a little to sprinkle on top)

l large onion chopped

6-8 garlic cloves chopped

salt, freshly ground pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Some good dashes of Worcestershire sauce

A few dashes of hot sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

coarse bread crumbs or panko for the topping

Now let’s make REAL macs and cheese:

Cook  your pasta until just tender.  Leave a little water in the bottom of the pan. This will stop your pasta from sticking together.  Set it aside.

Saute your onions and garlic with a little salt and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes, until tender and translucent.  Set aside.

Make your white sauce. In a large saucepan, over medium heat,  melt your butter, add your flour and whisk to blend and cook the flour.  Add your milk and continue whisking until the mixture thickens .  It shouldn’t be too thick (you have yet to add your cheese etc.).  If you feel it is on the thin side shake a little more flour over the mixture and continue whisking.  When your sauce is ready add the chopped onion mixture and the grated cheese and stir well.

If there is any water left in your pasta pot drain this off.  Now add your cheese sauce and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.  Be sure to taste your sauce.  Put into greased oven-proof dishes, sprinkle with panko or bread crumbs and some cheese.

To prepare for your freezer wrap well in a couple of layers  of plastic wrap, label and freeze.   Remove from the freezer and let thaw a little before baking.  Oh yes, don’t forget to remove the wrap.

Bake in a 350F oven until the mixture starts to bubble and the top gets crispy and brown.  Enjoy!!