A damn good meal
Moroccan Vegetable Pilaf
Not sure if this is still a pilaf, as I substituted the rice in the original recipe for couscous. But it was really good. If you need actual measurements (I tend to wing it when I cook things like this), the recipe I loosely followed is here.
Ingredients
couscous
ground cardamom(½ tsp?)
ground cinnamon(½ tsp?)
low-sodium vegetable stock
raisins
cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans
olive oil
red onion, thinly sliced
garlic cloves, crushed
ground cumin (½ tsp?)
harissa (maybe ½ tablespoon for two people?)
carrots, thickly sliced
dried apricots, roughly chopped
Grated rind of one orange
red pepper, cored, deseeded and roughly chopped
chopped tomatoes (just one tomato was enough for the two of us, the tomato flavour should not overwhelm)
flaked almonds
chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
Freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
Prepare the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the red onion and cook for 5 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add the garlic, cumin and harissa and cook for a further minute.
Add the apricots, carrots and red pepper to the pan and stir. Add some stock and bring to the boil. Add black pepper to taste, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.
Place couscous, raisins, cardamom and cinnamon in a bowl. Add boiling stock (consult packet for amount) cover and stand for five minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in salt and orange rind.
Place couscous in serving bowl and top with vegetables. Sprinkle over almonds (toast them first if you can be bothered) and coriander.
And I know its possible to buy harissa, but I didn’t know where to look, so I made some.
Harissa
1 tblspn vegetable oil
1 large red pepper, finely chopped
3 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground caraway
2 tablespoons tomato puree (this means concentrated tomato puree like you get in the UK. In the US I used part of a can of tomato paste)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat oil in large, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add all ingredients except salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until pepper has softened. Add ½ pint water and bring to boil. Simmer 10 mins, puree in a blender until smooth, then return to saucepan and reduce to a thick paste. Freeze in ice cube trays for handy portions when needed.
Not sure if this is still a pilaf, as I substituted the rice in the original recipe for couscous. But it was really good. If you need actual measurements (I tend to wing it when I cook things like this), the recipe I loosely followed is here.
Ingredients
couscous
ground cardamom(½ tsp?)
ground cinnamon(½ tsp?)
low-sodium vegetable stock
raisins
cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans
olive oil
red onion, thinly sliced
garlic cloves, crushed
ground cumin (½ tsp?)
harissa (maybe ½ tablespoon for two people?)
carrots, thickly sliced
dried apricots, roughly chopped
Grated rind of one orange
red pepper, cored, deseeded and roughly chopped
chopped tomatoes (just one tomato was enough for the two of us, the tomato flavour should not overwhelm)
flaked almonds
chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
Freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
Prepare the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the red onion and cook for 5 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add the garlic, cumin and harissa and cook for a further minute.
Add the apricots, carrots and red pepper to the pan and stir. Add some stock and bring to the boil. Add black pepper to taste, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.
Place couscous, raisins, cardamom and cinnamon in a bowl. Add boiling stock (consult packet for amount) cover and stand for five minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in salt and orange rind.
Place couscous in serving bowl and top with vegetables. Sprinkle over almonds (toast them first if you can be bothered) and coriander.
And I know its possible to buy harissa, but I didn’t know where to look, so I made some.
Harissa
1 tblspn vegetable oil
1 large red pepper, finely chopped
3 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground caraway
2 tablespoons tomato puree (this means concentrated tomato puree like you get in the UK. In the US I used part of a can of tomato paste)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat oil in large, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add all ingredients except salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until pepper has softened. Add ½ pint water and bring to boil. Simmer 10 mins, puree in a blender until smooth, then return to saucepan and reduce to a thick paste. Freeze in ice cube trays for handy portions when needed.