Middle Eastern Flavours

Grilled Mushrooms w Couscous

Serves 4 - starter or lite lunch

8 Large Field Mushrooms
½ cup Couscous
½ red pepper finely chopped
1 tbls ex virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ cayenne pepper
2 tbls coriander
2 tbls fresh min
3 tbls lemon juice
½ cup veggie stock

1. Remove the stalks of the mushrooms, pop them under the grill top side up for about 3 mins.
2. Place the Couscous, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, & lemon juice into a bowl.
3. Pour the veggie stock over the Couscous, cover with a clean cloth for 5 mins then fluff with a fork.
4. Pop the red pepper, coriander, mint into the couscous mixture and fluff again with a fork.
5. Fill each mushroom with the couscous mixture and pop under the grill until nice & golden.

These are very simple but tasty morsels, which take very little time to prepare ….

Serve them with some mixed leaves drizzled with chilli oil for a spicy kick!!

Tagines

A Tagine is basically an earthenware pot, it has a conical shaped lid, which fits very snugly to prevent the food from drying out when cooking. A casserole dish with a tight fitting lid will work just perfectly..

A Tagine is also a Moroccan stew, they are usually cooked slowly which tenderises the meat and also allows the flavours to mature.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

2 kilos - shoulder of lamb trimmed of any fat cut into cubes
6 garlic cloves
1tablespoon clear honey
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
300ml chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick
250g can of chickpeas
250g raisins
250g carrots
Marinade the lamb in a casserole dish with, the garlic, honey, olive oil, coriander, paprika, cumin & tomato paste, combine.
Season with salt and pepper and marinade overnight or for a couple of hours in the fridge.
Remove from fridge one hour prior to cooking (to allow it to come to room temperature) add the carrots, cinnamon & stock.

Combine all ingredients and cook covered in a preheated oven to 200 C for 1.5 hours. Stir in the chick peas and raisins and cook for 20 minutes.

Garnish with coriander sprigs and serve with Harissa and couscous..

Harissa

Harissa originated in Tunisia and is now used extensively in Morocco and Algeria. Basically it is a fiery blend of red chillies, onions, garlic and spices that adds life to dishes. Moroccans use it when preparing food to add spice and it also sits as a condiment in small bowls on the table at meal times. Why not try it with some grilled chicken to add flavour and contrast.

2 red peppers, roasted and skinned
1 or 2 fresh red chillies, chopped with seeds (to your taste)
2 Garlic cloves crushed
½ teaspoon coriander seeds toasted
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
Olive oil
Salt

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor, adding enough oil to make a thick paste. This will keep in a clean jar topped with olive oil and covered for weeks in the fridge.

To toast coriander seeds, pop onto a non stick pan over a low heat for about 2 Mins…