I think I may have been a cook in a logging camp in a former life. I make a meal, and the leftovers usually last into the next week. I only cook for 2, not a team of hungry lumberjacks. This tendency keeps me from making dishes like lasagna and breakfast casserole. By day 3 the leftovers are spongy, and by day 6 they make me cringe. I wish I could toss them. The only thing I hate more than eating day 6 leftovers is throwing them away.

My Flameware cazuela became the inspiration for reducing my portions. Besides, who decided a lasagna should be rectangular?  I also discovered that you can make the entire dish in 1 pot. I boiled my noodles, browned my meat, and built the dish, all in my cazuela. Smaller portion, easier clean up, and I think it turned out beautifully…

Think outside of the box, or rectangle in this case. What traditional pan recipes could you convert to the cazuela? Take inspiration from one of our older posts… Kathie’s Sin in a Cazuela. 

After months of pouring over cook books, experimenting with unfamiliar ingredients, and multiple visits to various ethnic grocers, I was ready to create my own tagine recipe. I wanted the recipe in include as many locally found ingredients as possible.

Lucky for me, new years organization started in my kitchen this year. This summer, a friend had given me a bag of Morel mushrooms he had locally foraged. This inspired me to dig further into my cabinets where I uncovered a bag of wild rice I had bought from a road side stand this summer. I also came found a handful of dried blackberries I bought at a farm in Bayfield. This was my first year buying meat in bulk from a local farm. The Preserved lemon and green olive tagine I made was wonderful, so I decided to use chicken thighs again. This time I trimmed the fat and skin from the thighs. Finally, I chose garlic wine from our local Crow River Winery as the sole seasoning for the dish. After gathering all the ingredients, the recipe just came together. The structure of the dish follows the techniques I have learned through creating other tagine recipes. It starts at the bottom and works its way up. It utilizes the versatility of a tagine for both stove top and oven cooking. I don’t usually measure, so here is roughly how I made my Minnesota Tagine:

4 chicken thighs (skinned and trimmed of any excess fat)
Handful Dried Morels
About a cup of Wild Rice (soaked in water from night before)
Handful dried blackberries
Crow River Garlic Wine (sip for you, and a splash for the tagine… repeat)
Chicken Stock
Heavy cream

First I preheated my oven to 375. I set my tagine on my stove, coated with olive oil and seared the chicken on both sides at med-high heat(3-4 minutes each side). I added my chicken stock to the tagine, enough to almost cover the thighs.

I covered the tagine, and put into my oven for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile I steamed my wild rice in my Couscous steamer. Occasionally I would pour a little chicken stock over the top of the rice. After the 30 minutes, I removed the tagine from oven, and poured off most of the stock.

I then placed the tagine back on my stove top, added around 1/2 cup of garlic wine, morels, and simmered for another 10 minutes.

Last I added a splash of the cream and stirred in the berries. I replaced the lid on the tagine, and set on my table. The rice took a little longer than expected, but when we sat down to eat the chicken was still warm inside the tagine.

I would suggest making this recipe local to your area. Substitute a wine you can find locally. You could also go foraging for your own mushrooms and berries. If you don’t live in an area with wild rice, try using a locally grown vegetable as the side dish. There are so many benefits to finding substitutions locally. It is better for the environment, saves you time and money, and it is a great way to make a dish your own. How would you adapt this recipe to make it native to your area?

Since the focus of this month has primarily been Moroccan cuisine, I thought it was time to taste some of the more exotic and complicated Middle Eastern dishes I have encountered during some of my reading. Since a trip to Morocco is not in my near future, a friend and I entrusted this experience to the chefs at Saffron in downtown Minneapolis. “First-rate comfort food, certainly, but chef Sameh Wadi’s contemporary interpretation of the genre — and his million-dollar nose for seasoning — propel them far beyond home cooking.” says the Star Tribune. This is also true in their drinks. I recommend the “Sunrise in Turkey”, which combines house infused orange vodka, citrus and pomegranate liqueur.

Our server suggested trying a variety of mezzes. We started with the lamb brain in olive oil stewed tomatoes and parsley. The brain is lightly fried, and the taste is mild. The tomatoes and parsley provided most of the flavor of the dish. I assumed it would be chewy and gritty, and was pleased to discover the texture to be creamy. I will not be seeking out this dish again anytime soon, but I would recommend it to anyone looking for an experience.

Our next course was the chicken bisteeya, an aromatic saffron stewed chicken & almond pie wrapped in a phyllo pastry with cinnamon sugar. It was a balanced combination of sweet and savory. I am looking forward to trying this dish myself. It looks to be labor intensive and time consuming, but the results are well worth the trouble. We paired our bisteeya with Charred Brussels Sprouts & Parsnips with black figs, chili flake, brown butter and lemon. Also delightful. The sweetness of the dates seemed to intensify the citrus flavor.

The grand finale was the Shredded Phyllo & Sweet Cheese Pie (Kunafa) with cardamom-saffron syrup and pistachios. This was brought to our table in a hot skillet, and then drizzled with the syrup. It was sticky, sweet, crunchy, and creamy all together. This recipe was from the chef’s Lebanese grandmother.

The entire experience was inspiring. It has given me more depth into the variety of Middle Eastern cuisine. I look forward to creating my own versions of some of these dishes, and encourage you to share variations you have created.

We once again celebrated the season with our annual Clay Coyote Christmas party. We always include a “few of our favorite things” each year…  Local ingredients, a selection of Paula Wolfert recipes, dishes made in Clay Coyote pottery, and ice cream. This year Tom and Betsy made roasted pork from Dale Rusch’s farm here in Hutchinson. Virginia made an artichoke dip in a Clay Coyote casserole dish. Michele created this salad recipe from Paula’s new book, The Food of Morocco.  Moroccans take on salad has altered my perception on how to begin a meal. Instead of focusing on what dressing will cover the vegetables, they seem to primarily consider freshness and vibrancy.

Orange, Romaine, and Walnut Salad

1 head tender romaine lettuce
3 navel or temple oranges
Dressing:
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
3 Tablespoons orange flower water
2 Tablespoons reserved orange juice
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Wash the romaine lettuce and separate into leaves, discarding the tough outer ones. Drain, wrap in paper towels, and refrigerate until needed.

2. Peel and section the oranges. Reserve 2 Tablespoons for dressing. Cover and keep chilled.

3. To make the dressing: Mix lemon juice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange flower water, and OJ in a bowl, blending well. Taste: the dressing should be sweet. Add more sugar if necessary.

4. Just before serving, shred the lettuce and arrange in a glass serving dish. Pour the dressing over and toss. Arrange overlapping sections of oranges around the edges, then sprinkle the salad with chopped walnuts and dust with cinnamon.

It was enjoyed by all at our table…

Every culture has their own unique contribution to the culinary world. I was interested by this quote from Chef Mourad Lahlou’s new book, and wanted to share it.

” I’m going to go out on a limb here- the limb of a lemon tree- and say that preserved lemons are Morocco’s greatest culinary contribution to the world. No, wait, I’m going to say this: they are Morocco’s greatest contribution to the world, PEROID.” After reading this, I was intrigued. I had never experienced the pleasure of a preserved lemon. He compares them to olives and pickles because they are cured and fermented in heavy salt. He then goes on to explain that in contrast they are not an appetizer to nibble, but an addition to savory dishes that brings, “saltiness, acidity, and a perfumy citrus.” With words like “mouthwateringness,” and “intoxicating intensity,” I was inspired to create this “gift from Morocco.”

I preserved the lemons, according to Lahlou’s instructions and they turned out perfectly. First you will need to gather your supplies and ingredients. You will need a quart sized jar with a wide mouth. You will also need kosher salt, because it has a clean iodine free flavor. You will also need 12 lemons. Don’t use the traditional grocery store lemons. You will want to buy organic and pesticide free lemons. Lahlou recommends Eureka or Lisbon lemons. I could find neither at the co-op I visited. I instead bought a bag of meyer lemons at a local co-op, and they worked beautifully.

The Process:
About 6 lemons for juicing
About 6 lemons for preserving
About a 1/2 cup kosher salt

Scrub the lemons you plan to preserve under cold running water, and then pat dry.
*** TIP: Zest the lemons you plan to juice, spread the zest on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze once frozen, place in a freezer bag for later use.***

Pour the salt into a large bowl. Stand the lemon stem side down and cut into lemon as if you were going to half it, but stop a 1/2 inch above the bottom. Now make a perpendicular cut, also stopping 1/2 above the stem. Next you hold the lemon over the bowl of salt, and pack as much salt as you can into the cuts in the lemon. He says to really pack it in here. Next you place the lemon in the jar cut side up, so the salt does not spill out. Pack as many as you can into the jar, pushing down hard so they’re squeezed in tightly. Put the lid on the jar, and leave out overnight.
The next day use a clean spoon to pack them tighter, and add as many as you can to fill the jar. Juice the remaining lemons, and add the juice to the jar. When the lemons are submerged, tighten the lid and place in a cool, dark spot to preserve. Don’t tighten the lid too much, as this may cause it to buckle. I had to add a little juice after the first week, to make sure the lemons stayed submerged. I checked on my lemons every few days, turning the jar upside down to redistribute the juices and salt through the jar. That is all there is to it! I marked the date on the calender when they would be ready, so I wouldn’t forget. Then lemons take 1 month to preserve. In the meantime, don’t be concerned if there is a little bubbling around the edge of the jar. That is a normal part of the fermentation process. Your lemons may also turn a little brown, which is also normal.

That is all there is to it. Open your jar a month later, cut a piece off a lemon, and pop it into your mouth. You will find the lemon to be a little bitter and very salty. I plan to share with you the recipe I specifically preserved my lemons to make. Until then, do you have any recipes you would like to share that incorporate preserved lemons?

Here are a few recipes I have found on other blogs that I would recommend trying…
Melissa Clark’s “Sauteed Scallops with Tomatoes and Preserved Lemon”
Erika’s Kitchen “Garbanzo green garlic hummus recipe with preserved lemon and sesame seeds”