Moroccan Couscous Salad

Ingredients :

· 1½ cups couscous
· ¼ cup orange juice
· 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
· 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or one teaspoon dried
thyme)
· 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
· 2 cups boiling water
· 1 cup chopped parsley
· ½ cup chopped spring onions
· 1 orange, peeled and sliced
· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
· freshly ground black pepper


Preparation :

In a large bowl, stir together couscous, orange juice, mustard, thyme, and orange zest. Stir in boiling water, cover and set aside for five minutes, or until all liquid has been absorbed. Fluff couscous with a fork. Add parsley, spring onions, orange slices and lemon juice. Toss to blend. Season with black pepper, chill. Serve with grilled or BBQ fish. Serves 6-8.
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Moroccan herbed smen

Ingredients and directions :


Boil a small handful of salt and the oregano leaves in 1 quart of water. Strain into a shallow bowl; allow to cool. When the blackened "oregano water" has cooled to the point where it will no longer melt butter, add the butter, cut up into pieces, and knead until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes, pressing the mixture again and again against the bottom of the bowl so that every bit has been thoroughly washed. Drain the butter and then squeeze to extract excess water. Knead into a ball, place in a sterile, airtight glass container, and cover tightly. Keep the container in a cool place (not the refrigerator) for at least 30 days before using. Once it has been opened store in the refrigerator, where it will keep 1 to 2 months longer. The author also writes: "In Safi ( moroccan city ) I have tasted smen made by washing the butter with water containing cinnamon, ground coriander seeds, and other pickling spices. Of course in the bled, or countryside, one finds some extremely potent smens. Some Berbers cook it, salt it, and bury it in the ground in earthen jugs for a year, after which it comes up tasting something like Gorgonzola cheese. The rich people of Fez (the Fassis) are the keepers of legendary quantities of smen, stored away for years in secret caches in the cellars of their magnificent homes, and brought out on rare occasions in all its pungent, dark-brown glory to be sniffed by honored guests." From "Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco" by Paula Wolfert
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Chicken and rice

Ingredients :

For the rice:
• 220g rice
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1L water

For the chicken:
• 500g chicken ( cut into pieces)
• 2 onions
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 pinch cumin
• 1 pinch ginge

Preparation :

For the rice:
1. Boil the water and add salt, vegetable oil and rice.
2. Cook for approximately 25 min or until soft. Stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking.
3. Drain in a strainer and run cold water over it.
4. Shake slightly and let it stand in a warm until ready to serve or heat it in the microwave just before serving.

For the chicken:
1. In a large cooking pot, heat oil on medium high heat and add chicken, diced onion, paprika, curry powder, minced coriander, salt, cumin and ginger.
2. Cook about 10 min and add 1/2 cup water.
3. Cover and cook about one hour or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.(Water when necessary to keep the mixture wet and saucy).
4. Serve the chicken over the rice and the sauce in a small bowl.

Yield
6 persons

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Moroccan Chicken tagine

Ingredients :

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS :

1. Season chicken with salt and brown in a large saucepan over medium heat until almost cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
2. Saute onion, garlic, carrots and celery in same pan. When tender, stir in ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and turmeric; stir fry for about 1 minute, then mix in broth and tomatoes. Return chicken to pan, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add chickpeas and zucchini to pan and bring to simmering once again; cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until zucchini is cooked through and tender. Stir in lemon juice and serve.

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