Tag: main course
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Apricots
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Apricots
I’ve been really excited to finally make this recipe in an actual tagine. The tagine I bought is made of earthenware pottery. It happens to be unseasoned, so I had to season it. First, the tagine has to be submerged in water for at least 2 hours. After that, the tagine needs to be rubbed with oil and tempered in the oven at 300 degrees for 2 hours. It then needs to cool in the oven. Then it is ready for use.The lamb needs to be cooked in batches, searing for 4 minutes a side. Set the lamb aside. Brown the onions, ginger, and garlic. Mix in the tomato paste and seasoning. Add the lamb back in along with the apricots soaked in beef stock. Place the cover on and simmer over medium low heat for 1 hour. Stir in slivered almonds. Turn off the heat and garnish with cilantro and mint. Serve the tagine over couscous.
Equipment
- tagine
Ingredients
- 4 lbs boneless leg of lamb cubed
- 1/2 tbsp coarse ground salt
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
- 1 cup dried apricots
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- pinch saffron
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup mint roughly torn
- cracked black pepper
Instructions
Seasoning the Tagine
- If this is the first time using a tagine, it will need to be seasoned. If not, skip this step. Submerge the entire tagine in water for at least 2 hours.
- Pat dry. Rub the entire tagine with oil. Place in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 300 degrees. Let the tagine sit in the oven for 2 hours. Turn off the heat and let cool completely inside the oven. Now it’s ready for use.
Lamb Tagine with Apricots
- Season the lamb with salt. Let marinade for an hour.
- Bring the beef stock to a boil in a small pot. Add in the dried apricots. Remove from the heat and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Heat up olive oil in your tagine over medium high heat. Brown the cubed lamb in 3 batches for 4 minutes a side. Set the lamb aside.
- Add in the onions to the tagine. Brown for 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute.
- Stir in the tomato paste, making sure all of the onions are coated. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in all of the spices. Cook for a minute.
- Add in the lamb, stock and apricots. Bring to a boil.
- Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 1 hour.
- Take off the cover. Stir in the slivered almonds. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with cilantro and mint.
Ensopado de Camarao (Brazilian Shrimp Stew)
Ensopado de Camarao (Brazilian Shrimp Stew)
Shrimp stew is a popular Brazilian dish eaten during holidays and celebrations. The stew base is of shrimp stock, coconut milk, and sautéed onions, peppers, garlic, and tomatoes; all puréed smooth. Sautéed shrimp are added to the stew along with lime juice and cilantro. The shrimp stew is always served over rice.
Servings: 8
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
Shrimp Stock
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups shrimp shells
Shrimp Stew
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs 21/25 ct. shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 medium white onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 10 garlic cloves
- 2 roma tomatoes chopped
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lime juiced
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil with the shrimp shells. Reduce to half the amount; about 1 1/2 cups.
- Strain and set aside.
- In the same pot, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the shrimp for 3 minutes.
- Set aside.
- In the same pot again, heat up the rest of the olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and peppers for 5 minutes.
- Toss in the whole garlic cloves. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes and sauté for 3 more minutes.
- Add the sautéed vegetables to a blender along with the shrimp stock and coconut milk. Purée until smooth.
- Pour the purée back into the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Stir in the shrimp. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Squeeze in the lime juice. Garnish with cilantro.
Mango Chicken Curry
Mango Chicken Curry
This is a great first dish to try as an intro to Somali cuisine. A simple mango curry sauce is made from simmering coconut milk, curry powder, cumin, brown sugar, and mango pulp to a thick curry sauce. In a separate pan, you make a chicken stir fry with pretty much any vegetables you want. I used snap peas and red bell peppers. Carrots, broccoli, and zucchini would work as well. The serrano peppers are used to bite into if you want some spice. Then you add chopped mango and the curry sauce and simmer for a couple more minutes. You can serve the mango chicken curry with basmati rice and more mango.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Mango Curry Sauce
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp African curry powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 cup mango pulp
Chicken Stir Fry
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs cubed
- 1/2 medium red onion sliced
- 5 garlic cloves munded
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 1 medium red bell pepper sliced
- 1/4 cup white onion finely chopped
- 4 serrano chilies
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 mango peeled and cubed
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Bring the coconut milk to a boil in a sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Stir in the curry powder, cumin, and brown sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the mango pulp. Simmer for another 5 minutes on low heat until thickened. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the chicken. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add in the sliced onion and garlic. Sauté for another 6 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
- Add in the peppers, snap peas, and serranos. Sauté for 3 minutes.
- Season with salt and the chili flakes. Add in the mango. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Mix in the mango curry sauce. Simmer for a couple more minutes.
