[Sca-cooks] tajine?

[Lilinah]

Ana, a bit puzzled, wrote:
>  Very nice recipe, but what she mean here: "Precede with an
>  array of Moroccan salads". What is a Moroccan salad? A
>  special salad from Marocco?

From: "Mike C. Baker" <kihebard at hotmail.com>
>Ana, off the top of my skull -- while not explicitly Moroccan -- I would
>suggest an array of tabouleh/tabouli, baba ganoush, hummus, and
>accompaniment of pita bread / toasted pita wedges.  There is also a
>cucumber&onion cold dish (served at times in vinegar, and at others with
>a yogurt-based sauce similar to that often used with gyros) I would also
>consider as part of an "array".
>
>Personally, I might add dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) and other "mezze"
>/ savory finger-foods to the array.

None of that is at all Moroccan. They are all Lebanese or Syrian 
dishes and quite different from Moroccan food.

And the Moroccans do not eat pita. While it's unlikely one can get 
Moroccan style bread, a nice boule will work.

Moroccan salads are small dishes of various kinds of cooked and 
spiced vegetables served at room temperature, and sometimes some raw 
fruit salads.

There are lots of Moroccan recipes on the web, but the ones below are 
from my collection of cookbooks and my personal experience cooking 
them.

Here are a few i've enjoyed. Select about 6 for the dinner. All can 
be made ahead of time and kept for a couple days in the fridge. Most 
are served at room temperature, so take them out of the fridge a 
couple hours before serving. One or two are served hot - see recipes 
for details.

---
Savory Carrot Salad
Hezzou Mrqed

1 lb. carrots
5 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. granulated sugar
salt to taste
1 tsp. paprika
dash of cayenne or to taste
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
1/4  c. chopped parsley

Wash & peel carrots, leave whole.
Boil carrots (you may have to cut some in half to fit into your pan) 
with garlic until barely tender.
Drain, reserving garlic.
Cut carrots in serving pieces - you may choose sticks, cubes, coins, etc.
Combine garlic, cinnamon, cumin, sugar, salt, paprika, and lemon 
juice. Pour over carrots.
Let stand a while.
To serve, sprinkle with oil and parsley.

---
Orange and Radish Salad with Orange Flower Water

An unusual combination to the American palate - I think it's great. 
The crunchy sharpness of the radishes, the moist tanginess of the 
oranges, the sweetness of the sugar, the pungency of the cinnamon, 
and the richness of the orange flower water are a palate stimulating 
experience.

2-3 bunches red radishes, long or round
2 Tb. granulated sugar or more to taste
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tb. orange flower water
Salt to taste
2 navel or blood oranges oranges
Cinnamon

Wash and trim radishes.
Grate radishes. They can be grated in the blender by "pulsing", that 
is turning on and off. Be careful NOT to puree! Remove and drain.
Place grated radish in serving dish and sprinkle with sugar, lemon 
juice, flower water, and salt to taste. Toss lightly and chill.
Peel oranges, remove all outside membrane carefully, so as not to 
break segments--if using blood oranges, remove seeds. When fruit is 
free of membrane, carefully lift out and place in serving dish--if 
orange juice comes out, pour over oranges.
Mix oranges gently with grated radishes and dust lightly with cinnamon.

(yes, this is a meal-opening "salad", it is not a dessert)

---
Cooked Eggplant Salad
Z'ahlouk

1 lb. eggplant
1 or 2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in slivers

2 Tb. chopped parsley
2 sprigs green coriander/cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. good flavorful paprika
1 tsp ground cumin

2 Tb. olive oil (green is tastier than yellow)
1 to 2 Tb lemon juice
salt, to taste

Leave eggplant whole and unpeeled. Slit skin here and there and 
insert garlic slivers well into the flesh. Bake in 400 F. oven until 
very soft - it will look collapsed and the skin will be blistery and 
blackened. Check periodically to see how it's going. This can take up 
to an hour. Remove from oven and let cool.

When cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin. Then squeeze 
"meat" to release bitter juices - let drain for a while in a sieve or 
colander. Discard brown liquid.

Mash eggplant pulp and garlic. Don't use a blender - it will not have 
a good texture and instead will be like paste. Add chopped herbs and 
spices and mix well.

Then fry in a skillet in oil on moderate heat. Turn eggplant often 
until all the liquid has evaporated and the pulp is thick and dark 
brown. This can take 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice. 
Taste and adjust salt and spices as desired. Serve at room 
temperature.

Variation:
Add several ripe tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped - to mixture 
in frying pan. Will probably take longer to reduce.

---
Beet Salad

1 lb. beets
1 Tb. granulated sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tb. olive oil
large pinch cinnamon
1 Tb. chopped parsley
salt to taste

Wash and clean beets well, being careful not to break their skins. 
Cut off the leaves, leaving stems about 1-1/2 inches long. Boil 
covered until just tender. Let cool in the water.

When cool enough to handle, take beets out of the water, slip off 
their skins, trim off the tops and cut into bite-size pieces. Place 
in serving bowl.

Mix remaining ingredients, pour over beets and marinate 1 hour before serving.

Variation
1 tsp. orange flower water
1/8 tsp. cumin
a pinch of good flavorful paprika
a dash of water

Add all these additional ingredients to the ingredients above for 
marinade, using enough water to moisten the powdered cumin and 
paprika.

---
Bakoula Salad

Although you probably can't get the herb/vegetable bakoula, you can 
make this dish with substitutes.

3 cups arugula
1/2 c. sorrel (if unavailable, increase watercress or arugula 
according to your taste)
1 c. parsley sprigs, tightly packed
1/2 c. tightly packed green coriander/cilantro
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. watercress
3 Tb. olive oil
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. good flavorful paprika
dash of cayenne to taste
lemon juice
1/4 preserved salted lemon
black olives

After washing arugula and sorrel, chop coarsely. Place in steamer 
over boiling water and steam 15 min., only partially covered. Remove 
from heat, uncover, and let cool. When cool enough to handle, squeeze 
out excess liquid from greens.

Wash then chop parsley and cilantro. In mortar, grind the parsley, 
cilantro, and garlic with 1/4 tsp. salt.

Wash and chop watercress.

Heat oil in a skillet, add herb paste, and cook 2 or 3 minutes -- 
don't burn! Add arugula and sorrel and saute slowly until all liquid 
has evaporated, turning often to prevent burning. Add chopped 
watercress, stir to wilt. Remove from heat and cool. Chop finely, add 
salt, paprika, and cayenne and mix well. Cool.

Before serving, sprinkle with lemon juice to taste, and adjust 
seasoning. Rinse preserved lemon, remove the pulp, and slice peel 
into slivers. Put greens in serving dish and garnish with preserved 
lemon and olives.

---
Cooked Mixed Herbs and Greens Salad

8 cups/2 quarts greens, including stalks - use a mixture of greens 
you like (and maybe toss in a few you haven't tried), such as beet 
greens, celery leaves, collards, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, kale, 
mustard greens, sorrel, spinach, orache, etc...

1 or 2 small dried red chilis
10 to 12 cloves garlic
salt
1 c. chopped parsley
1 c. chopped green coriander/cilantro
3 Tb. olive oil
1/4 lb. cured black olives
2 tsp. good flavorful paprika
2 tsp. ground cumin
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 c. olive oil
lemon wedges

Wash greens, drain well, chop small. Place on a steamer in a deep pan 
and steam covered for 30 minutes (you may have to replenish some of 
the water - check occasionally so pan doesn't dry out and get 
ruined). Remove from heat and allow to cool uncovered. When cool 
enough to handle, squeeze out as much moisture as you can.

In a large mortar, grind and pound together the chili, garlic, and 
salt. Gradually add parsley and coriander and keep pounding until it 
forms a paste. Or you could use a food processor.

Heat 3 Tb. oil in a casserole. Slowly cook the olives with the 
paprika and cumin 2 or 3 minutes. Add herb paste and lemon juice, 
cover, and cook 5 minutes. Then pour in 1/2 c. oil, stir well, add 
the greens and cook, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes or until all 
the water has cooked out and the mixture is very thick. Salt to 
taste. Serve warm or cool with lemon wedges.

If you like it spicy hot, serve with harissa, a hot chili paste 
popular in Algeria. It is sold in squeeze tubes in France. [i don't 
know if you can find it where you are, Ana...]

---
Moroccan Spiced Olives

1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds
1/4 tsp Cardamom, ground
1 Tb Crushed red pepper flakes
1 pinch Nutmeg, ground
1 pinch Cinnamon
1 Tb Olive oil
1 1/2 cup Green olives, brought to room temperature
1 Tb Lemon juice
1 Tb Orange juice
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 preserved lemon

1. Heat first 8 ingredients in a small skillet over medium heat until 
fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Remove from heat & add olives & toss to coat.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients.
4. Let stand in an airtight container for at least 4 hours or 
refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.  The longer they marinate, the better 
they taste.
5. Drain & serve at room temperature.

---
Bissara/Byesar
serves 6

1/2 lb. dried fava beans (i cheated and used about 1 lb. canned)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cumin seed
best quality olive oil (green and fragrant, not mild and yellow)
salt
1/4 tsp. zaatar (the herb alone, NOT the Lebanese blend with sesame 
and sumac) - or use a mix of marjoram and thyme

1. If starting from scratch, soak fava beans overnight in lots of 
water - 3 or 4 times their volume. Discard any floaters.
2. In the morning, drain. SKIN the favas (the skins are tough and 
need to be removed).
3. Cover with fresh water and simmer with garlic and cumin seeds for 
about 2 hours until tender. Drain.
4. Puree the favas - easiest in a blender or food processor.
5. Add enough olive oil and a little water so that it is somewhat 
thin (soupy, sez Paula Wolfert)
6. Salt to taste.
7. Heat before serving in a little more olive oil.
8. Serve sprinkled with the herbs, with bread (to dip in it) and a 
dish of mixed ground cumin, hot paprika, and salt.

---
Roasted Bell Pepper Salad
(from Paula Wolfert)

3 bell peppers - red are the best, but green will do
4 large ripe tomatoes
1 clove garlic
pinch of sweet paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tb. olive oil
1 Tb. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. chopped preserved salted lemon

1. Take whole bell peppers and either grill on top of an open gas 
flame or under a broiler, turning often, until skin is completely 
black and blistered.
Put peppers in a plastic bag or under a towel and let stand until 
cool (skin should separate from flesh). Remove seeds, inner 
membranes, and skins.
Cut into small pieces (i like them in strips)

2. Bring a small pan of water to a boil, drop in the whole tomatoes, 
and boil about 15 seconds.
Drain, and let cool enough to handle.
Cut off stem, remove seeds, and slip off skins.
Cut flesh into small pieces (little dice are good)

3. Mix cooked pepper and cooked tomato in serving dish.
Mix in all other ingredients, except salted lemon.
Rinse off salted lemons, remove pulp, and cut rind into little cubes 
and sprinkle over dish.

While salted lemons are yummy and very easy to make (although they 
take some time), leave them out if you don't have them. I've sent 
directions for making them to this list several times.
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

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