Meatless Monday | marocmama.com

Meatless Monday : Sweet Rice and Fruit

Posted by marocmama on May 23, 2010 in All other posts | 1 comment

Some time ago a participant at MarocMama on Facebook asked a question about seffa. Seffa is a Moroccan dessert made out of steamed vermicelli, cinnamon and powdered sugar. It’s very tasty however I’ve never made it. (If you want to try the authentic version check out Amina over at Moroccan Food on About.com) Instead I tried my hand with rice because I had a huge 20 lb bag on hand we picked up at the Arabic market on our last trip to the Twin Cities. Plenty of rice to make mistakes with! Luckily I got it on the first batch.

So first you have to steam the rice. Sure you could cook it the traditional way in water but it won’t have the same fluff. I have a couscousiere that is used to cook couscous in. It’s a sort of double boiler, with holes in the bottom of the top part. Rinse the rice and soak in water for a little while then add to the top of the couscousiere. In the bottom part of the pot I just used water, but you could add cinnamon sticks, orange blossom water, rose water, even lavender or another aromatic to add some flavor to the rice. Steam until rice appears dry. Remove and pour out into a large plate. Sprinkle with water and separate grains with your fingers. Steam again. Remove, sprinkle and separate again. Add some oil to the water you sprinkle this second time. Steam a third time. The rice should be cooked at this point.

Pour out into an oven safe dish. Add some milk (just enough to get it moist) and a little bit of sugar and stir well. Put into a 350 preheated oven for about 10 minutes (long enough for the milk to absorb). While in the oven toast some almonds and cut up some strawberries (any nut or fruit will work). When the rice comes out of the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon. This can be in a design or randomly. Then add the fruit and nuts. Again randomly or in a pattern. Serve. This is good warm or room temperature.

I’ve found this dessert is not overly sweet nor bland. You can add more flavor or reduce depending on your preference!

Meatless Monday: Roast Vegetables and Quinoa Couscous

Posted by marocmama on May 10, 2010 in All other posts | 0 comments

I asked a question on my Facebook page about what some of you would like to see. (You did “like” MarocMama on Facebook right? Oh you didn’t yet? Well go ahead on over and do that!) One request from my friend and former office-mate Kelly was a vegetarian friendly easy dinner. I knew I had to share this recipe with you all because it was a hit in our house, even with my kids! It’s fast, it’s easy and it’s tasty. I’m calling it Quinoa couscous but I want to make a clarification. Couscous is made from semolina, it’s a type of pasta, but it’s also used to describe the dish that is made using it. In this recipe I use quinoa in the same way I would use couscous. Quinoa is a great alternative because it’s actually a seed, so it has a lot less carbohydrates and is a good option for any gluten free friends.

You can even get ahead of yourself, cut up everything the night before, throw in the seasoning and marinade all day. Then when you get home it’s just a quick pop in the oven and preparing the quinoa – seriously 30 minutes and you should be set!

chicken+veggies+(1) Meatless Monday: Roast Vegetables and Quinoa Couscous

Ingredients:
Vegetables – go ahead use what’s on hand I used;
1 sweet potato
1 russet potato
1 zucchini
1 tomato
4 carrots

Spice Mixture:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 heaping teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chopped cilantro

Quinoa Couscous
2 cups of uncooked quinoa
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth

Directions
Combine all of the spice mixture ingredients in a bowl. Peel and chop rustically all of the vegetables. I try to keep them semi uniform so that they cook a little more evenly. If you are using a mixture of root and soft vegetables keep them separate from each other. You will have two options. I cheat a little and throw the root veggies into a Steam Fresh bag and pre-cook them a bit. If you go this route then all of the vegetables can go in the pan together. If you decide not to, then I would add the soft veggies halfway through the cooking time. Either way, separate the veggies into two ziploc bags or two bowls and pour half of the spice mixture into each bowl. Mix well so that all surfaces are covered. At this point you can store overnight in the fridge. If cooking right away let’s keep going…….

Preheat your oven to 350 and pull out a large roasting pan. Now is when you would partially steam the root vegetables. When that’s set, add all of the vegetables into the roasting pan. I line mine with parchment to prevent sticking. Put the pan into the oven when it’s preheated and let it bake for about 20 minutes. Now is when you would add the soft vegetables if you did not pre-cook the root vegetables. If everything is together check and see how tender the vegetables are. Keep baking until they are at the desired bite you like.

While they are baking you can make the quinoa. If using a box version just go ahead and follow the box substituting vegetable broth for water. If no directions – add 1 3/4c vegetable broth to a pot, bring to a boil and then add 2 cups of quinoa. Cover and reduce heat. Allow to cook for 10 minutes until liquid has reduced. The consistency will be a bit like risotto and it will still have a bit of an al dente bite. You can add more liquid and cook longer if you’d like but I find if it gets overly soft it doesn’t taste as good.

To serve – pile plates with quinoa, making a well in the center to load up with roasted veggies. I top with a thick Greek yogurt mixed with feta and garlic.

ps. that’s not a piece of chicken on the picture…ok so what it is….this recipe goes either way so if you have carnivoric hankerings…go ahead and throw some chicken bites into your veggie mix.

Meatless Monday: Moroccan Side Salads

Posted by marocmama on Apr 19, 2010 in All other posts | 0 comments

A meal just isn’t complete in Morocco without several side salads served before the main course. Today I’m sharing my recipe for two very simple and fast salads that can be served with your meal.
Meatless Monday: Moroccan Side Salads

Mixed Lettuce Salad

1/2 head romaine lettuce chopped small

1 avocado cubed

1/2 cup frozen corn thawed (you can use fresh corn it’s just not in season right now) – use 1 cob boiled until cooked and then cut off the cob)

Mix with vinegarette (2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 lemon, shake of salt, pepper, and 1/2 tsp garlic chopped or powder). Toss the salad with the dressing.

Orange Salad

2 oranges sectioned

1 carrot

1/2 tsp orange blossom water

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp water

Peel and section oranges. Cut into bite size pieces. Peel the carrot and using a grater take off pieces of the carrot. Mix the orange blossom water, sugar and water in a separate bowl. Toss the oranges and carrots in the dressing.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded

2 tomatoes, seeded

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp vinegar

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp chopped garlic

Dice the cucumber and tomato and set aside in a bowl. Combine the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and garlic. Adjust the seasoning for your liking – if you love garlic add more! If you’re on a low salt diet – cut it out, add more pepper and throw in something else, why not try cumin? or cilantro? Mix it all together!

Some other salads that could be served:

Potato and Olive Salad

Moroccan Potato Salad
Taktouka (Green Pepper and Tomato Salad)
Zaalook (Eggplant and Tomato Salad)

Meatless Monday: Eggs with Zucchini

Posted by marocmama on Apr 12, 2010 in All other posts | 5 comments

Weekday morning meals are generally cereal or something easy that I can get together quickly. Weekends however I try to make a bigger breakfast/lunch for the family. This usually includes m’semmen (my kid’s favorite), fruit, some type of meat, cheese and eggs with juice and tea. This weekend I managed to get my shopping done before the weekend and had a fridge full of vegetables and fruit – lots of options! I came up with this recipe off the cuff and turns out it’s a hit! I served it for breakfast but this could easily make a great lunch or dinner, served with a salad and great desert.

typical breakfast – this egg recipe not included – it was eaten before I got a picture!

Ingredients

3 eggs (Free-range or organic if you can)

1 small zucchini

1 tsp chopped garlic

4 tbsp tomato sauce (add more if you like the flavor!)

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1/2 tsp each cumin and paprika

1 tsp sumac

2 tsp vegetable oil

Directions:

Peel the zucchini and slice thinly. If you have a mandolin use it, otherwise very thin slices with a knife will work.
In a saute pan, add the vegetable oil and garlic and saute on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
Layer the slices of zucchini on the bottom of the pan – in a thin layer (overlapping is fine.)
On top of zucchini add the tomato sauce.
Crack the eggs and pour into the skillet – do not break the yolks. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, cumin and paprika on top of the eggs.
Cook until the egg starts to set, and then place a cover over the saute pan to complete the cooking. You can either cook the yolks through, or leave them runny – whichever way you like better.
Before serving sprinkle sumac over the top.
Serve hot with crusty bread to scoop up the dish.