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Kefta Mkaouara

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I’m a big meatball fan and a big tagine fan, so how could a Moroccan meatball tagine fail to please?

The “ou” in Mkaouara is a sort of “w” sound and I’ve seen this written as Mkawara. Similarly, I’ve seen a “q” instead of a “k” resulting in Mqawara. There’re almost as many spellings as there are variations in the recipes. The spices vary considerably, some using regular paprika or smoked paprika (pimenton – maybe to fake out the charcoal on which the tagines might traditionally be cooked). Some spice up the tomato sauce while others leave it plain. Some include a vegetable in the sauce. I’ve even seen the eggs finally poached on top declared as optional.

I like spice in my sauce and the one I tried in the Little Marrakech restaurant in St. Albans had peas in the sauce so I use them, too. Besides, it’s a veggie unit. Clearly you can modify to your heart’s content but here’s my starting position.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time:

Ingredients

  • 400g lamb mince
  • 1 onion, finely chopped or grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, grated
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • 3 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp hot paprika/cayenne
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1½ tsp paprika
  • ¼ tsp hot paprika
  • 1½ tsp cumin
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 200g frozen peas
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 2 tbs fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tbs fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 4 eggs
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Make the meatballs. Combine all the ingredients from lamb mince down to and including the egg yolk in a mixing bowl. Knead the mixture together for a minute or two with your hands until the seasoning is evenly distributed. Take small portions of the mixture and shape into small meatballs; aim for something roughly the size of a cherry. [Moroccan meatballs are a modest bite-size, presumably to make them easy to eat by picking up with flatbread.] Cover and set aside.

It is said that small meatballs don’t need browning first but I like to. In a tagine, skillet or shallow casserole (one with a lid), lightly brown the meatballs on all sides in olive oil. Remove them from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, sauté the chopped onion for a few minutes – there should be enough oil and lamb fat remaining – until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté gently for another minute or two. Stir in the spices (two paprikas and cumin) then add the tinned chopped tomatoes. Add the honey and chopped herbs, stirring to mix well. Lastly, return the meatballs to the pan, stirring to coat them in sauce. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Stir in the peas and adjust the seasoning to taste. Break the eggs on top of the stew, turn the heat down to low then cover the pan and simmer gently until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

Go with tradtion and serve with some flatbreads or you could try some couscous.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Pintade aux Brugues

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A Guineafowl recipe developed in and therefore named after a campsite in France: Les Brugues at Fanjeaux. This is a simple concoction featuring the flavour of shallots in a sauce based on dry rosé wine with the addition of a little wholegrain mustard. The flavour of the shallots is important so do not be tempted to add garlic. Scaling up to serve 4 would be a simple matter.

Planning

serves: 2
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients

  • olive oil
  • 2 large banana shallots, peeled
  • 2 guineafowl breasts, skinned
  • 200ml dry rosé wine
  • 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Halve the shallots lengthwise then cut into slices about 3mm thick. Sauté these in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until they just begin to turn golden, then remove them and set aside.

Brown the guineafowl breasts in the onion oil on both sides then lower the heat, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Set the breasts aside, leaving the accumulated liquid in the pan.

Return the shallots to the pan with the wine and mustard, stirring to mix. Raise the heat a little and simmer to reduce and concentrate the flavours. You are looking for a light emulsion to form with the oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Return the breasts, basting them with the liquid, then cover and simmer to reheat.


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Posted in Poultry Tagged with:

Halloumi with Black Seed Honey

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Halloumi a weird cheese: it’s rubbery when cold and uncooked and doesn’t melt when cooked. This proved a popular way to use it. The quantity here would make a starter for four served alone. Half this recipe would make a good addition to a mezze plate with other bites of interest.

The Black Seeds of the title are nigella seeds which I managed to source at Waitrose. The original of this specifies Urfa chilli flakes so use those if you can get them; I deseeded a dried red chilli and used that.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 5 mins
cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients

  • 100g runny honey
  • ½ tsp nigella seeds
  • ½ tsp coriander seeds
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • black pepper, a pinch
  • olive oil
  • 1 lemon, zest & juice
  • 2 blocks Halloumi, ~250g each

Method

Dry fry the coriander seeds in a small frying pan to develop the aroma a little. Preferably in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar, blitz or crush the nigella seeds, coriander seeds, chilli flakes and black pepper together as a powder. Stir the spices into the honey and set aside.

Cut each Halloumi into four thick slices.

When you’re ready to eat, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry the halloumi slices for 3 or 4 minutes on each side until golden and crisp. I found a quite gentle heat was required.

To serve, plate the Halloumi slices and drizzle with a little lemon zest and juice. Pour over the honey and spice mixture, which will probably need warming in a hot water bath to make it pourable.


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Posted in Starters Tagged with:

Stuffed Mushrooms

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I am very fond of making Sea Bass with a Black Olive Crust. In ensuring that I have have sufficient crust mixture to cover the fish fillets, I usually end up with some left over. This recipe grew from wanting something constructive to do with the left over Black Olive Crust mixture.

Recently I have been using some white sourdough bread for the crumbs; the texture remains loose rather than clogging together, which makes for a lighter result. Mushrooms contain plenty of moisture so can resist baking in the oven without assistance.

It really did seem to work very well as a lunch using large Portobello Mushrooms and, of course, would be admirable as a starter. This would also be great as part of a tapas spread or a even a mezze platter, though you might then find smaller mushrooms more appropriate.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 slices sourdough bread, crusts removed
  • 8 black olives, pitted & finely chopped
  • 1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • 50g butter
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • olive oil
  • 4 Portobello mushrooms, peeled & stalks removed
  • Salt & pepper

Method

First make the black olive breadcrumb mixture. Blitz the bread into breadcrumbs, preferably in a food processor and turn it out into a glass bowl. Stir in teh finely chopped olives followed by the chopped parsley. Crush or finely chop the garlic clove and add it to the breadcrumbs together with a few twists of salt and pepper, then stir all together to mix well.

Heat the butter in a small frying pan to make a beurre noisette. When it is nicely nutty brown, turn off the heat and add the lemon juice to stop it cooking further. Pour the beurre noisette into the breadcrumb mixture and mix well with a spatula. If your bread is like mine, it won’t bind together too much. Let the mixture cool.

Once the mixture is cool, drizzle a little olive oil into the cap of each mushroom before spooning in a generous amount of filling. You can do this all ahead of time.

When you are ready to cook, heat the oven to 220°C/gas 7. Sit the mushrooms on a bakiing tray with a small drizzle of olive oil beneath each one. Bake for 10 minutes when the crust should have turned an attractive light golden colour.


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Posted in Starters, Tapas Tagged with:

Meatballs

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You can just shape minced meat into meatballs but I made this mixture and really liked it. My normal approach is to fry off the meatballs in a 28cm skillet then make a classic Italian tomato sauce in the same pan before finishing the meatballs off in the sauce.

Planning

serves: 2
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 45 mins

Ingredients

  • 400g low fat steak mince
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 slices bread, crusts removed
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tbs dried marjoram
  • 2 tbs brined capers (optional)
  • olive oil
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Firstly, tear the bread slices into the bowl of a blitzer. Whizz the bread until you have fine breadcrumbs (this is by far the easiest way to make breadcrumbs). Tip the crumbs into into a bowl and reserve.

Now put one of the chopped onions into the blitzer and pulse chop it a few times to make it finer (but not mush). Scrape the sides down and repeat.

Add the minced steak and pulse blend that into the finely chopped onions. Now add the breadcrumbs and pulse again until everything is well mixed.

Tip the mince mixture into a bowl and work in the beaten egg manually until it all feels evenly blended.

I like bite-sized meatballs so make about 2-2½cm balls of mixture by pinching some off and rolling it between the palms of your hand. Save them on a plate until all the mixture is used up.

When you’re ready, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet – they should all fit in a 28cm pan. Gently brown the meatballs all over, turning them around as they brown. Once browned, remove them with a slotted spoon and save them on a plate.

Add the remaining chopped onion to the oil in the skillet and soften it over moderate heat without browning. Stir in the chopped garlic and cook for another minute. Now tip in the canned chopped tomatoes together with a canful of water, stirring to mix. Stir in the marjoram, bring to a simmer and cook gently for 20 minutes or so. If the sauce reduces too much add a little more water.

Now return the meatballs to the pan and finish cooking them in the sauce for about 15 minutes, stirring them around occasionally.

If you fance a little piquancy, stir in 2 tablespoons of brined capers with some of their liquid and cook for another couple of minutes to warm them through.

Adjust the seasoning and serve this over your favourite pasta or just with a green vegetable such as broccoli.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with: ,

Lamb Ragoût with Flageolets

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This began as an idea from From Rick Stein’s French Odyssey. His recipe used shoulder of lamb with flageolet beans and tomatoes, along with some rosé wine and a bouque garni of bay leaves and thyme. However, to me it seemed to be screaming out for mint, which pairs well with all three of those main ingredients, so this is my modification using lamb neck fillets. Given the mint, I thought the wine was superfluous, too.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 90 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 lamb neck fillets
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 500g vine tomatoes, chopped
  • 600ml homemade chicken or lamb stock
  • 2 cans flageolet beans, drained
  • 4 tbs chopped mint leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbs plain flour
  • salt & pepper

Method

Split the lamb neck fillets in half lengthwise and cut them into 1.5cm chunks. Season the chunks of lamb before browning in 2 tbs of oil in a flameproof casserole. Put the lamb to one side and add the rest of the oil to the pan. Fry the onions until lightly golden then add the cloves of garlic and fry for another minute. Now add the chopped tomatoes and fry for a further two minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 mins. Return the lamb to the pan and add enough stock to just cover the meat, stirring to blend with the flour. Add half the chopped mint, the bay leaves and about a teaspoon of sea salt with plenty of black pepper. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour when the lamb should be tender.

Add the drained flageolets and simmer uncovered for a further 10-15 mins until the beans have heated through. Finally add the remaining half of chopped mint for a fresh taste and adjust the seasoning.

(Rick suggests serving the original with tubetti pasta but I’d prefer some green vegetables or, at a push, ribbon noodles.)


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Ratatouille

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This is one of my absolute favourites; it positively screams Mediterranean and sunshine at you.

This is one of our weekly staples and can be used in a wonderful variety of ways. What better way to accompany a barbecued shoulder of lamb? Perhaps a little less obvious is that it goes very well with Cajun blackened dishes: pork chop, chicken breast or salmon fillet. More recently, copying a little trick we learned in Madrid, it forms a great base for Heuvos Rotos (Broken Eggs) for lunch.

The moral here is always to make more Ratatouille than you think you need immediately.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 5 mins
cooking time: 45 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium onions
  • a few sprigs fresh thyme (or substitute ½ tsp dried thyme)
  • 2 large sweet peppers (red/yellow/mixture)
  • 3 medium courgettes
  • 1 large aubergine
  • 2 or 3 large vine tomatoes
  • 1 tsp salt (approx)
  • 4 plump cloves garlic

Method

(In the following, all vegetable ingredients should be cut into roughly 2cm chunks.)

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a deep pan large enough to take all the ingredients. Cut up the onion and fry it in the oil without colouring for about 3 mins, together with the thyme.

While the onion is cooking, remover the pith and seeds from the peppers and cut them up. Add them to the pan, stir and continue cooking for another 3 mins without colouring, stirring once more.

While that’s happening, top and tail the courgettes, quarter them lengthwise and chunk them. Add the chunks to the mixture, stir and continue to cook for another 3 mins stirring once more.

Meanwhile, chop up the garlic and crush it with salt. Stir this into the vegetables.

Now top and tail the aubergine and cut it up. Stir this in to the mixture and continue cooking for about another 3 mins, stirring once more.

Meanwhile, core and chop up the tomatoes. Stir the tomatoes into the mixture. Lower the heat, cover and cook gently for about 15 minutes. Stir well and simmer for another 15 minutes.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Huevos Rotos

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OK, I’ve got this under veggies which may be a bit of a stretch given the eggs. This has become one of our staple lunches.

Heuvos Rotos is Spanish for Broken Eggs. It is usually made with fried eggs being broken over fried potatoes, sometimes with jamon thrown in for good measure. However, we first had it in Madrid where the eggs were served over a sort of Ratatouille mixture, though they used green peppers instead of sweet peppers. We now make it as a handy-dandy lunch using left over Ratatouille (I always make enough to have leftovers).

Louisiana hot sauce makes a wonderful addition.

Planning

serves: 2
preparation time: 5 mins
cooking time: 4 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 ladles leftover Ratatouille
  • 2 or 4 (if hungrier) eggs
  • hot sauce, such as Louisiana
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Reheat the leftover Ratatouille in the microwave or pan. Meanwhile, fry the eggs making sure you leave the yolks soft.

Spoon the Rat. into suitable serving bowls. Place the eggs on top of the Rat. Season to taste with salt flakes and coarsely ground black pepper. Shake over hot sauce to taste.

It is de rigueur to break the egg yolks into the underlying veggies. Enjoy.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Roast Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

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It’s difficult to beat a roast chicken; I make them frequently. With two of us, though, having eaten the breasts hot, we have the legs left over. This is our favourite way of making use of the legs when it isn’t really salad weather.

I prefer not to add parmesan cheese to this – it seems to taste cleaner without – but that’s personal taste. Go ahead and use it if that’s your preference.

Planning

serves: 2-3
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 roast chicken legs
  • 250g mushrooms
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 1 modest onion, finely chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 140g carnaroli rice
  • 75ml dry vermouth
  • 500ml chicken stock, hot
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Strip the skin off the chicken legs (it goes soggy), remove the meat from the bones and cut the meat into 1cm dice.

Similarly, cut the mushrooms into 1cm dice. Melt about half the butter in your chosen risotto pan over medium high heat and sauté the mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Add 1 chopped garlic clove to the mushrooms, stir and sauté for another 2 minutes. Decant the mushroom mixture into a bowl and reserve. Mushroom flavoured liquid will accumulate with the mushrooms.

Melt the remaining butter in your risotto pan. Sweat the onion and celery in the butter to soften. Add the remaining 2 cloves garlic and sweat for 2 minutes more without colouring. Stir in the rice and cook over gentle heat to make the grains glossy and get the edges translucent. Throw in the vermouth and stir, letting it evaporate completely.

Add the mushrooms and their liquid to the rice and stir. Allow the mushroom liquid to be absorbed. Now start adding the hot stock over medium-gentle heat. Start with a quarter of the stock, stir frequently and let it be absorbed. The stirring releases starch and makes the risotto creamy. Keep it at a gentle simmer.

Add two further quarters of the stock separately, stirring and allowing it to be absorbed with each addition. With homemade (unseasoned) stock, I season this as I go.

Now stir in the chicken meat and add the final quarter of stock. Keep the gentle simmer going and stir frequently. When this liquid is almost completely absorbed, the rice should be tender. A risotto should end up slightly wet, though.

If you would like to add about 50g of freshly grated parmesan, now is the time do it. Stir the risotto to let the cheese melt. Adjust the seasoning.

Cover the pan and let it sit for a couple of minutes before serving with a fresh green salad.


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Posted in Poultry Tagged with:

Risotto Milanese

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This is the traditional accompaniment for Osso Buco when you are not watching your figure.

Depending on how you are serving this, I’d use either beef stock or chicken stock but home made, not nasty dehydrated cubes. I personally find brown chicken stock a good, easier alternative to beef stock which can be tricky, for me, anyway.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredients

  • 240g carnaroli rice
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • 50g parmesan, freshly grated
  • 1 tsp saffron threads
  • 80/100g butter
  • olive oil
  • 200ml dry white wine
  • 1l stock, kept hot
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Melt 80g of the butter over medium heat together with a little olive oil to stop it burning. Add the chopped onion and soften it for a few minutes. Now stir in the rice and cook it for 2-3 minutes until it becomes translucent around the grain edges, stirring frequently. Add the white eine and bubble it away until it evaporates, stirring frequently again.

Now we start adding the hot stock ladel by ladel. Add the first and stir in the saffron threads. Maintain a reasonable simmer and stir frequently as teh liquid is absorbed. Add further ladels of stock as it gets absorbed and continue stirring now and then.

You’ll probably need to add about 750mls of the stock by which time the rice should be very nearly cooked. Turn off the heat and aprinkle on the parmesan without stirring, together with another knob of butter broken up. Let it sit for two minutes during which time the rice should finish cooking and the parmesan will melt.

Season with a little salt (careful, the parmesan is salty) and pepper, then stir it all together quite vigorously.


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Posted in Accompaniments Tagged with: