Moroccan Chicken and Couscous

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Our Growing Paynes

Spring seems to be back! The air is fresh and the days are beautiful. I hope it lasts awhile. I wasn’t ready for summer and the sticky heat. It was lovely being in the garden yesterday getting in the last of the tomatoes. If only we can get rid of the rabbits. They are back! Which means putting more bloodmeal down around the veg so they stay away.

Because it was so cool I took the opportunity to make a warming dish while I still had the chance. My first Moroccan meal, years ago, was a dish similar to this. We ate it with our hands round a coffee table, sitting on the floor, in the traditional way. It was delicious.

Heat up several tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Season chicken thighs with sea salt and pepper on both sides. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Brown both sides of the thighs then transfer to the oven to cook through.

In the skillet cook about 1/2 -3/4 cup of chopped onions and 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped until the onions have softened. Add a few sliced mushrooms.

Add a cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer. I didn’t have any fresh ginger (forgot to put it on the list!) so I used ground ginger. Start with a 1/2 a teaspoon of ground ginger, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1-2 teaspoons of ground tumeric, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, and 1-2 teaspoons of paprika. Allow to simmer for a bit. Taste the broth and adjust the spices as needed. At this point I added more tumeric and paprika. Everyone’s tastebuds are different.

Dice up half of a red pepper, a great colour to go along with the tumeric, and add the pepper and the chicken to the broth and simmer for a few minutes. While this had been cooking I cooked up the couscous according to the instructions on the package.

Layer the ingredients and serve. Make sure you put enough of the broth on the couscous as couscous can be a bit dry. Which isn’t good for a nice meal!

Moroccan Lamb Soup

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Our Growing Paynes

Mother Nature has been messing with us a lot this past week. Winter had a lot of periods of spring weather and so far spring has ushered in winter weather. We’ve had freezing temps and snow. Not amused! Fortunately we haven’t had anything in the garden yet and the bulbs seem to be holding their own which is good.

It did present a perfect time for baking and soup last weekend. I found some nice stewing lamb at the co-op and I was in the mood for Moroccan flavours. Something to take the chill off.

This is an easy soup to throw together. In a bowl add 1/2 a cup of flour, a tablespoon of ground tumeric, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and 2 teaspoons of paprika. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Mix thoroughly. I got about a pound of lamb for this meal. Cut it up in small pieces, an inch/2.5cm square or so. Toss in the flour mixture to coat.

In a large saucepan heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Brown the lamb in the saucepan for several minutes.

Chop up a small onion and a few cloves of garlic. Add to the pan and saute for a few more minutes.

For some reason, I spaced on taking pictures for the next few steps. Don’t know what I was doing! Add 4 cups of vegetable bouillon to the pan. I use a paste mixed with water rather than the dry cubes. For this I kept it on the light side so the flavour was subtle. Grate a piece of fresh ginger that is about 1 1/2 inches/3-4 cm square. Simmer for a couple of hours at a low temp. Cube an aubergine and add to the soup in the last hour of cooking. After it simmers for awhile check the seasoning and adjust as needed. I added a bit more tumeric and paprika to mine. When the lamb is tender and cooked so it’s falling apart it is ready to serve.

You can’t go wrong with lovely crusty bread and butter with this. As warming this soup was I am looking forward to the weather behaving itself so we can get back to grilling and salads. I am ready for spring!

Lamb and Parsnip Curry

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Our Growing Paynes

After leaving the warmth of Texas I needed to make a warming dish. We could see snow this week, hopefully it’s just a dusting. With a prediction of another harsh winter, it can take its time arriving. I wish autumn didn’t go by so fast.

A curry would do the trick. Not only did the co-op have some lamb they also had some parsnips which I thought would be a nice pairing.

I chopped up half an onion and 4 cloves of garlic. I sauteed them in avocado oil for a few minutes to soften then added about a cup of chopped parsnip. Cook for a few minutes more.

Add diced lamb to brown. Then add 2 cups of vegetable bouillon and bring to a simmer. Be careful how “hard” you simmer because you don’t want to toughen the meat. It can be a balance depending on how much time you left yourself to cook the dinner. Reduce the broth by at least a third.

For seasoning I added a few spoonfuls of Red Thai Chilli Paste, 1-2 tsp of ground tumeric, 1 tsp of garam masala, a bit of cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Add some chopped pepper, mushrooms, and fresh cilantro. Just as it finishes cooking add a few grape tomatoes that have been halved. Stir well and serve over basmati rice.

It was warming and delicious, just what we needed with the temps getting lower and lower!

Apricot Chutney

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Our Growing Paynes

My husband and I joke about hoping the mould was broken when Murphy was born. I mean he’s a wacky dog. It looks like the mould wasn’t broken! I have started volunteering at the local humane society by walking dogs and playing with them. There is one puppy, a very large puppy, that is just all over the place. Reminded me of how Murphy was when we first got him.

It is fun volunteering there as I get my fix for the dogs and cats without actually bringing them home. Our house is full enough!

It’s apricot season! So it’s time to make our apricot chutney. It was a shorter season than normal this year, I think because of the harsh winter. There are rumblings that we are facing another harsh winter. My tolerance for this is getting less and less!

This is done over two days, nothing too difficult but it is time consuming on some of the steps. I have no idea where we got our recipe. We have a print out but it doesn’t say who’s it is. This is our version of it.

Dice 3 1/2 pounds of apricots, 3 small onions, 5-6 garlic cloves, and 4 ounces of dates.

Place these ingredients into a big pot. Add 3 inches of fresh ginger grated, 1 1/2 teaspoons of whole cloves, 1 teaspoon of whole allspice, 1 1/2 teaspoons of black peppercorns, 2 teaspoons of tumeric, and 2 teaspoons of mustard powder.

Add two cinnamon sticks and 1 chopped hot pepper. We used Ring O Fire from our garden. Also add 2 teaspoons of sea salt.

Add 4-6 oz of malt vinegar and bring the heat up to medium. Once it gets to a roiling simmer lower the heat to medium low. You want to stir frequently because you don’t want it to stick on the bottom. If it is dry add a bit more vinegar. Once the apricots have broken down a bit and softened add 7 oz of raisins along with the zest of 3 lemons and their juice. Our chutney got to this point at about 45 minutes but it can take up to an hour.

If the apricots are pulpy enough add 8 oz of brown sugar. Stir well and bring back up to a simmer. Once it thickens like a jam cover and remove from the heat. Allow to sit overnight. The next day add 4-6 oz of brown sugar and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. If the chutney is too stiff add a bit more vinegar. Sterilise the jars you need and then spoon in the chutney.

After hand tightening the lids on, process the jars for 10 minutes. Allow the chutney to be stored in a cool dry place for a couple of months to allow for the best flavour.

This is great on naan, over rice, or with a cheese plate.

Our Growing Paynes

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Tag Archives: tumeric

Moroccan Chicken and Couscous

Moroccan Lamb Soup

Lamb and Parsnip Curry

Apricot Chutney