MOROCCAN RED LENTIL SOUP

Red lentil soup

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• ½ tsp. sweet paprika
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• Dash of pepper
• 8 cups vegetable broth, low sodium if possible
• 1-15oz can crushed tomatoes (or diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups red lentils, picked over, washed and rinsed until water runs clean
• 1 lemon, juiced
• I like to add some honey or brown sugar ( optional )
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 4 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat olive oil in a hutch over or large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté until tender (about 3-4 minutes). Add the garlic, coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes stirring the whole time.
2. Add the broth, tomatoes, and lentils stir well and heat to a boil.
3. Simmer uncovered on low heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove the soup from the heat and ladle half of the soup into a large mixing bowl. Carefully blend half of the soup in a separate container with an immersion blender (or use a blender) in small batches if necessary. Return the blended half of the soup back to the pot and mix well.
5. Stir in the lemon juice, red pepper flakes, parsley and cilantro, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Serve hot with warm pita bread or bread of your choice. Garnish with extra parsley and cilantro if you desire.

NOTES

I liked blending half of the soup so create a semi-pureed soup with some chunks. If you prefer a chunky soup then you do not need to blend the soup at all.

Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken

What you will need

• Boneless skinless chicken,
• onion
• garlic
• bell pepper (green, or red, or yellow)
• ginger
• carrot 
• Cornstarch 
• backing powder  
• oil

Sweet and Sour Sauce

• 1 Cup of sugar
• 1 cup of cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• can of diced pineapple
• 1/2 cup of ketchup
• 4 tbsp of cornstarch 

Direction 

1. Cut up chicken
2. use 2 bowls one with egg and the other filled with cornstarch and a pinch of backing powder with salt and pepper 
3. Dip chicken into egg then into cornstarch mixtures, make sure coated well
4. fill frying pan with oil and put on medium heat, do not start cooking chicken until oil is hot
5. heat frying pan and fry up all vegetables adding garlic last 
6. For sauce add all ingredients except pineapple chunks just the juice from the can. 
7. whisk cornstarch in a separate cup  before adding 
8. once everything is cooked add together in a large frying pan and let warm up for 2 min then serve on a plate of rice .  

Morroccian spicy, sweet, and sticky chicken

Marinate 

A dash of each of these spices

• teaspoon ground cumin
• teaspoon ground ginger
•  teaspoon salt
•  freshly ground black pepper
• teaspoon ground cinnamon
• teaspoon ground coriander seeds
•  teaspoon cayenne
• teaspoon ground allspice
•  teaspoon ground cloves
•  
• 30 ml of Honey
• 30 ml of olive oil
• 1 TBS of brown sugar

Combined ingredients then put chicken in marinate and stir the chicken into the marinate. 

Let marinate for 2 hours or longer, turning over and basing when you can

heat oven 400 F

cook covered for 20 min then turn over and cook for another 20 min covered 

when out you can sprinkle some sesame seed on

Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Eggplant

• 4 small eggplants (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• -------------------------------------
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed or very finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 small spoonful harissa, or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• salt

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
 
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

Peel the eggplants, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Brush both sides of the slices with olive oil.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium to medium high-heat. Fry the eggplant, turning once, until golden brown. Set aside.

Remove the pan from the heat, and allow the pan to cool for a minute or two. Add the olive oil and the garlic, and leave the garlic to soften. When the aroma of the garlic has been released, add the honey, lemon juice, harissa, spices and salt to taste. Stir to blend.

Return the eggplant to the pan, and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Cook the eggplant for about 10 minutes, or until the egpplant is tender and the sauce has a syrup-like consistency. Add a little water during the cooking if you feel it's necessary, but not so much that the eggplant will overcook while the liquids reduce.

Serve at room temperature.

MOROCCAN ZUCCHINI SALAD

Moroccan Zucchini Salad with Mint

About 2 cups of chopped zucchini

1 teaspoon of cumin, toasted

1 small clove of garlic*, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons of mint, chopped fine

Salt to taste

Cook the zucchini for 5 minutes in simmering salted water. While the zucchini cooks, toast the cumin in a small dry pan until it releases fragrance.

When the zucchini is done, plunge it into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and keep the zucchini firm. Once it has cooled completely, remove the zucchini from the ice bath and dry on a clean kitchen towel. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, stir in the zucchini, and serve cold.

*Slicing garlic: I use my mandolin to slice the garlic. It creates thin, even slices, but watch your digits.

Falafel

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound (about 2 cups) dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3-5 cloves garlic (I prefer roasted)
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Pinch of ground cardamom
• Vegetable oil for frying (grapeseed, canola, and peanut oil work well)

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

• Food processor, skillet

Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans well. Pour them into your food processor along with the chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour, salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom.

Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms. Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Process till the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste. You want the mixture to hold together, and a more paste-like consistency will help with that... but don't overprocess, you don't want it turning into hummus!

• Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl and use a fork to stir; this will make the texture more even throughout. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Note: Some people like to add baking soda to the mix to lighten up the texture inside of the falafel balls. I don’t usually add it, since the falafel is generally pretty fluffy on its own. If you would like to add it, dissolve 2 tsp of baking soda in 1 tbsp of water and mix it into the falafel mixture after it has been refrigerated.
• Fill a skillet with vegetable oil to a depth of 1 ½ inches. I prefer to use cooking oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat. Meanwhile, form falafel mixture into round balls or slider-shaped patties using wet hands or a falafel scoop. I usually use about 2 tbsp of mixture per falafel. You can make them smaller or larger depending on your personal preference. The balls will stick together loosely at first, but will bind nicely once they begin to fry.
• Note: if the balls won't hold together, place the mixture back in the processor again and continue processing to make it more paste-like. Keep in mind that the balls will be delicate at first; if you can get them into the hot oil, they will bind together and stick. If they still won't hold together, you can try adding 2-3 tbsp of flour to the mixture. If they still won't hold, add 1-2 eggs to the mix. This should fix any issues you are having.

Before frying my first batch of falafel, I like to fry a test one in the center of the pan. If the oil is at the right temperature, it will take 2-3 minutes per side to brown (5-6 minutes total). If it browns faster than that, your oil is too hot and your falafels will not be fully cooked in the center. Cool the oil down slightly and try again. When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time till golden brown on both sides.

Once the falafels are fried, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon.

Sweet Soy-Glazed BBQ Chicken Recipe

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken

• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry
• 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 POUNDS boneless, skinless chicken breasts or bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces

For the sauce

• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup naturally SWEETENED pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup sake or dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water

To grill and serve:

• Vegetable oil, for rubbing the grill grates
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

For the chicken:

1. Place the brown sugar, soy sauce, sake or sherry, and garlic in a large resealable PLASTIC BAG and stir to combine. Add the chicken, seal the bag (pressing out any excess air), and turn to coat the chicken evenly. Place in the refrigerator and let marinate, turning occasionally, for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

For the sauce:

1. Place all of the ingredients except the cornstarch-water mixture in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high HEAT. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce has reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes.
2. Add the cornstarch mixture, whisk to combine, and cook until the sauce has thickened, about 1 minute. Divide the sauce equally between 2 small bowls; set aside 1 bowl for serving and the other for brushing onto the chicken while it cooks on the grill.

To grill and serve:

1. When ready to grill, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a gas or CHARCOAL GRILL to medium (about 350°F to 450°F).
2. When the grill is ready, rub the grates with a towel dipped in vegetable oil. Remove the chicken from the bag and place it on the grill (skin-side down if using skin-on), cover the grill, and cook until grill marks appear on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces, cover the grill, and cook until grill marks appear on the second side, about 5 minutes more.
3. Flip the chicken again and generously brush the pieces using the bowl of sauce set aside for that purpose. Cover the grill and cook for 5 minutes. Flip and brush the chicken, and continue to flip and brush every 5 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest piece reads 160°F to 165°F and the meat near the bone is no longer pink, about 10 to 15 minutes more (about 25 to 30 minutes total cooking time). Remove to a clean serving platter, sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds, and serve, passing the remaining bowl of BARBECUE SAUCE on the side.