Appetizers

Slow Cooker Harissa Meatballs

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki Leave a Comment

Is it just me or have the last five months gone by incredibly fast? I can't believe that June is part way through. Last year I was so organized and prepared for Ramadan way ahead of time and this year I feel like I'm grasping for straws. This will be my first Ramadan in Morocco. It's hard to believe that MarocBaba and I have been together for 10 years and I've never been in Morocco during this time. We'll be staying through part of July and then the boys and I are returning to the United States to spend some time with my family. Sadly MarocBaba won't be joining us, instead he'll be staying in Marrakech to run food tours and hold down the fort.

I know that I won't have to do much this year as my sister in laws have the food department largely under control. In fact I'm kind of relishing the fact that I might be able to enjoy it without being exhausted. But I will try to help out and offer at least some appetizer type things to include on the table. I've got a pretty standard list of “things to make” ahead of Ramadan – I'm almost professional at this food prep thing pre-Ramadan. One is meatballs. Man these little guys are versatile and amazingly helpful in a pinch. Some things I make with them ;

meatball sub sandwiches
spaghetti and meatballs
meatballs with mashed potatoes and gravy
Moroccan meatballs and eggs
sweet and sour meatballs

The list could go on and on. The best thing is they're easy to make a lot and freeze. Just mix them with basic seasoning; salt, pepper, some garlic maybe and onion. Roll them out and partially bake them – about 20 minutes. Then let them cool and put in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. When you want to use them just pull them out and finish cooking. Now I can add these meatballs to the list of possibilities too. It's hot, no one wants to be over a stove all day so be sure to put your slow cooker to use! These meatballs are a great appetizer/snack for a crowd or stuff them in a sandwich, or on top of some rice. Yummmmm…

[tasty-recipe id=”29916″]

Moroccan Harissa Spiked Chili

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 66 Comments

When the temperatures begin to dip the first thing people reach for are soups and stews. But, by this time of winter the novelty of those hearty, warming foods has worn off. Where is spring, already?!? Here in Morocco, winter is nothing like the upper Midwest. Our day time temperatures rarely go below 60F, and generally are in the 70's and sunny. But nighttime temperatures drop fast to the 40's and 50's. Without indoor heat, it is very cold! I love making stews and welcome any chance to try something new.

I started thinking about how I'd make a different kind of chili. I mean, what really makes a chili, chili? Some digging online told me that it needs to have chili peppers. We have a few different kinds of chilis in Morocco but the most famous is the chili paste- harissa. To me chili also has to have a tomato paste and beans. I combined all the flavors that mean chili to me and created this —

Moroccan Harissa Spiked Chili

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
2 large, fresh tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
5 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp harissa
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 cup red beans
1/4 cup lentils
1/4 cup vermicelli noodles
1 egg

Instructions

If you are using dry beans and lentils, rinse and clean the night beforehand. Soak in water overnight to prepare for chili.
Begin the soup by browning 1/2 lb ground beef in the bottom of a stock pot. While the meat is cooking, thinly slice 1 onion.
When the meat has been cooked remove it and set aside, but leave any fat left in the pot. Add the sliced onions and cook until softened and browned. Drain any liquid left.
Add the meat back to the pot, along with the 5 cups of beef broth.
Grate the two tomatoes (or leave in chunks if you prefer chunkier chili) and add to the soup. Mix in the tomato paste, harissa, garlic, cumin, salt, and paprika.
Allow soup to gently simmer for 15 minutes.
Add lentils and red beans and cook until soft (appx 20 minutes).
Lastly add the vermicelli noodles, cook another 5-7 minutes until al dente.
Crack the egg in a bowl, whisk, and using a cup slowly stream some of the liquid from the soup into the egg to gradually heat up the egg, without cooking it. Continue doing this until you can feel the egg liquid is warmed. Then slowly stream the liquid in the bowl, back into the pot. This is the Moroccan way of thickening traditional harira soup. It's a great way to thicken and add some extra protein.
Serve with harissa on the side or on top to increase the heat.

Tandoori Spiced Popcorn

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 45 Comments

You may have heard there's a little event going on today. Well, if you live in the US you couldn't have missed it. It's Superbowl time! For those of my readers who don't know it's a football game and an excuse for many Americans to overindulge in food, alcohol and noise. I grew up watching football but the only time I've ever (and will ever) cheer for is Green Bay. Sadly, they're not playing this weekend.

While there are plenty of Superbowl parties being held, we have always stayed home and watched the game. This year, I thought that MarocBaba and the kids weren't really paying attention. To my surprise I was given a list of items that they wanted to have on Superbowl Sunday. I hadn't realized that it had become such a tradition for them! So I'll be making guacamole, sloppy joe's, chicken wings and probably a few other appetizer-style items.

If you've gotten up this morning and realized there's a party to throw and no menu in place, the #SundaySupper team is here to help! All of the contributors are sharing great Superbowl inspired recipes for your parties.

I chose to share this Tandoori popcorn for a few reasons. First, it's delicious. Second, it's so easy! Third, chances are you have everything on hand right now to make this. Even if you're getting a late start cooking, put this out with a few other munchies to keep your family (and/or visitors) satisfied while you finish up the rest of the food.

What you need (for appx 5 cups of popped popcorn):

popcorn! You can pop it yourself or do like me and pop a bag of the microwave variety!
1 – 2 Tbsp butter (enough to get all the popcorn a little wet
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp corriander
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp hot paprika or cayenne flakes
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp turmeric

How to Make It:

Place your popped popcorn in a large bowl. It's important to leave enough space so that you can easily mix the spices. Melt the butter on your stove top or in the microwave. Pour half the butter over the popcorn and mix. Then add the rest of the butter mixing again to incorporate well. Finally sprinkle the spice mix over everything mixing regularly so that all of the popcorn is covered.

That's it – super easy and really tasty! You could mix in other things to make a party mix. Pretzels, crunchy chickpeas, raisins, or even MnM's. But it's pretty good all by itself!

Appetizers

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