Moroccan Beet Salad with Cinnamon

In my last trip to the grocery store I decided that I needed to buy more vegetables that get overlooked in our apartment.  I wasn't looking for vegetables that we never make, but for vegetables that we make from time to time, but with no real regularity.  Broccoli rabe was an obvious candidate, as was cabbage.  And I threw in some beets for good measure because I love them and as far as I am concerned, we don't make them enough.  But somehow none of our usual recipes appealed.  So I decided to try this recipe for Moroccan Beet Salad with Cinnamon from Serious Eats.  I wasn't sure if I would be serving the beets by themselves or over a bed of greens, but as soon as I took my first bite of the beets I knew I wanted to serve them as a salad.  So I threw together a quick salad with what we had in the fridge - a few large handfuls of mixed greens, toasted hazelnuts and some Coach Farm goat ricotta.  And I topped it all with the beets and their dressing.  Speaking of the dressing, it worked really nicely as salad dressing - I loved the aroma and warmth of the cinnamon.  I had never paired cinnamon and beets together before but I liked the combination a lot.  I have never added sugar to my beets before, but I thought together with the lemon juice it amped up the sweetness just enough without making the beets too sweet.  The tangy goat ricotta was a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the dressing, although you could use any number of cheeses instead of goat ricotta (which I admit is not exactly the easiest thing to find at the grocery store).  The hazelnuts provided a really nice crunch, although it wouldn't be the end of the world if you omited them in the future.  And I'm sure some toasted pinenuts would work nicely too and would give the salad a nice buttery flavor.  Obviously you could serve the beets as is, without the rest of the salad, but I thought they were really nice this way. 

Recipe after the jump!

Moroccan Meatloaf

This might sound a little weird if you know me (because all-American dishes like meatloaf and casserole aren't really my thing), but I have been craving meatloaf for awhile now.  I am going to blame it on the Grandpa Jack sandwich I had in Maine back in October (which was absolutely delicious) and inspired me to pick up some Moroccan meatloaf at a gourmet market near the apartment a few weeks later.  That Moroccan meatloaf was also delicious and it inspired me to plan a Moroccan-inspired meatloaf of my own.  Since this is probably only the 5th or 6th time in my life that I have ever eaten meatloaf (and only my second attempt at making it - my first attempt was a Turkey Meatloaf) I wasn't really sure what went in it.  But I knew that I wanted to use carrots, onion, garlic, harissa, tomato paste and herbs.  I couldn't decide what meat to use but ended up just picking up a pack of meatloaf mix (ground veal, ground pork and ground beef) at Fairway and going with that.  Then Alex and I did a little research to determine exactly what goes in a typical meatloaf and discovered that we weren't far off the mark.  Alex really wanted a glaze on top of the meatloaf and I wasn't sold on the whole ketchup glaze, but agreed to it because I wasn't sure if the meatloaf would be sad and lacking without it.  But I added some harissa and some spices to the ketchup glaze to mix it up a little.  In the end, I'm glad we went with the glaze because I think it really added a nice sweetness without being cloying, which was my biggest fear.  And all of the spices and things we added really gave the meatloaf a nice flavor.  If you think you have the patience, I would totally make this the day before you want to eat it because it was even better the next day.  When I had it a few days later the flavors had really melded and it would have made an amazing meatloaf sandwich.  I wish that the meatloaf itself had been just a little more moist - we might need to soak the bread crumbs in milk or something first next time (like you do with meatballs) to provide a little extra moisture.  Or maybe we will replace the tomato paste in the meatloaf with ketchup...  I had hoped that the combination of the evoo, harissa and tomato paste would provide a little more moisture than it actually did.  But, with a little tweaking I think this recipe could be really fabulous.  I don't know if it can compete with the Grandpa Jack, but I think we are on to something here.

Recipe after the jump!

Moroccan Baked Scallops

I will be the first to admit that scallops in our apartment tend to be epic failures.  Actually, I am being a bit hyperbolic there.  The few times we have tried to cook scallops they have tended to be quietly sad and disappointing.  Sometimes they are overcooked, sometimes they are underseasoned...  They just don't seem to work out for us.  But these scallops were by far the best scallops we have ever made.  They were beautifully cooked and very tasty.  The word that comes to mind is lovely.  The scallops were tender and silky, with a really nice crispy breadcrumb topping.  Texturally speaking, they were flawless.  And the compound butter added just the right level of spice and flavor without overpowering the natural sweetness and flavor of the scallops.  I was a huge fan.  Even Alex, who is generally not a big fan of scallops, was really impressed by this dish.  I think that one of the best things about this dish is that it could be the perfect dinner party dish because it is both elegant and delicious, but it could also be an easy midweek dinner dish because it is so easy to put together.  And the recipe would be easy to tweak to use slightly different flavor combinations.  I'm thinking it would be really easy to do Italian - use some parsley and lemon zest in the bread crumbs and garlic and more herbs in the compound butter.  Maybe add a little white wine to the bottom of the gratin dishes to add some steam and extra flavor?  I don't know.  I just know that I really really liked this recipe.  Thanks Serious Eats!

Recipe after the jump!

Quasi-Moroccan Corn Succotash

This dish came about as an effort to use up some of the copious amounts of fresh produce I picked up at the farmers' market before we were out of town for the weekend.  I have a bad habit of picking up tons of food and realizing that, crap, we only have 3 nights to cook that week and then we either have dinner plans the next few nights in a row or we have travel plans.  So we came up with this recipe as a way to use the parsley, zucchini, tomato, and fresh corn I picked up.  We were making some Moroccan scallops (which I promise to post about later because they were delicious), so I wanted something summery with a vaguely Moroccan feel.  As a brief side note, I just realized that I seem to use the word "quasi" when describing Moroccan dishes.  I guess it's because I'm not altogether that familiar with Moroccan cuisine and spices, so I just don't really know if what I am making is Moroccan or not, but I feel like it is Moroccan-ish enough to be labeled as "Quasi Moroccan."  Moving on.  I decided I wanted to use the corn and we came up with this dish!  Alex stumbled across a few raw corn salad recipes but I wanted something more along the lines of a succotash because I'm not sure that the fresh corn is quite at the peak of its sweetness yet and we had other ingredients (like the zucchini and the sweet onion) that I think often fare better when cooked.  And in the end, I am glad we went this route because I thought the corn salad was very tasty and was the perfect side for our scallops.  The dish was bright and summery, but the flavors were harmonious and light enough that they nicely complimented the scallops and would easily compliment a variety of other entrees - Moroccan or not.

Recipe after the jump!

Olive Oil Fried Eggs with Mozzarella and Harissa

I first came across this recipe when I made a resolution back in November to make more Moroccan food.  I sat on it for awhile because I couldn't find hot pepper relish or paste.  But the other day at Kalustyans I stumbled across something labeled hot pepper paste that looked promising, so we finally got the chance to make our fried eggs.  We ate these for dinner last Wednesday (I think), but I haven't had time to post about them yet, partially because we went to Prune for dinner last Thursday night (which remains by far one of my favorite restaurants in NYC) and then headed down to Maryland for the weekend so Alex could go to the U.S. Open with his father for Father's Day (and so I could take my parents out to one of our favorite restaurants in Maryland, but more on that later).  So I will be upfront in saying that I don't remember every last detail about the dish.  What I do remember is that I really liked the harissa-sauce mixture on top of the fried eggs.  I was thinking about using that sauce in other dishes.  I will keep you posted if I do, but I think it would be nice over other egg dishes or chicken.  Speaking of eggs, ours were perfectly runny, which was really nice.  I love a nice runny egg.  My only real complaint about the dish is that I thought that the toast-to-egg ratio was off.  I think in the future I would either cut the toast thinner, or leave it thick and put two large eggs or one extra large egg on top of each large slice.  We actually used some brioche hamburger buns because they were what we had in the apartment, which worked out just fine, except that they were a little too thick and a little too large for me.  I basically liked the recipe and it was pretty good, but it needs something (aside from smaller toast pieces) to really make it shine.

Recipe after the jump!

Merguez Sausage with Kale and Couscous

Merguez sausage was one of the discoveries that I made soon after moving to NYC.  Most specialty markets, and some regular grocery stores, stock D'Artagnan sausages, including the merguez sausages that I usually buy.  I generally pair their merguez sausages with our standard couscous that I cook in chicken stock and then mix with sauteed onions, currants, toasted pine nuts and cilantro.  But since we had a big bunch of kale in the fridge I decided to mix it up and make the couscous and top it with some sauteed kale.  So instead of adding the onions and currants to the cilantro, I used them to flavor the kale.  I also added a pinch of a few different seasonings that I tend to associate with Moroccan food to give the sauteed kale more flavor.  I liked the addition of the kale, but I think that in the future I will return to our tried and true merguez sausage and couscous combination.  Or I would do some combination of the two.  In the future I might throw the kale in with the couscous, along with the currants, cinnamon, cumin and crushed red pepper flakes.  Or something along those lines.  Alex and I both enjoyed the spices and flavors of the kale, but weren't sure that it was worth the extra pan and extra work.  With our standard recipe it takes exactly two pans and about 15 minutes for the entire meal to come together.  This version takes 3 pans and 20-25 minutes (which is still a fairly quick cooking meal).  Another alternative is to choose between the two versions depending on our mood and the contents of the fridge.

Recipe after the jump!

Moroccan Carrot Salad

So carrot salad - sounds a little gross, huh?  It reminds me of jello molds and various other weird 1950's-esque potluck dishes.  For some reason, it sounds like it should have mayonnaise and raisins in it.  Maybe carrot salads in the US traditionally have both in them.  Actually, I just Googled "carrot salad recipes" and they do in fact traditionally have raisins and mayo in them.  Gross.  And it appears that they sometimes have pineapple in them, or various other fruits.  Also gross.  This carrot salad has none of the above.  And I'm not exactly sure what inspired me to make a carrot salad, except that I was thinking Moroccan and had a ton of carrots from the CSA in the fridge.  But I saw a recipe on Epicurious for a Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad and it piqued my interest.  The best thing about it was that there was no mayo or raisins involved, just evoo, lemon juice, cilantro and spices.  Actually, that was the second best thing.  The best thing was that the carrot salad was good.  Really good.  Alex ate forkful after forkful, and he was even more skeptical about making carrot salad than I was.  I knew it had to be good after I saw Alex go back for his third forkful.

Recipe after the jump!

Faux-Moroccan Roast Chicken with Harissa Sauce and Couscous with Fresh Cilantro and Lemon Juice

So I must admit that I am rather proud of myself for sticking with my resolution to make more Asian recipes this week.  And here I am making Moroccan food, which I also mentioned that I had been wanting to make.  I seem to be on something of a Moroccan (or faux-Moroccan because I'm certainly no expert on Moroccan food) kick lately.  Not too long ago we made Quasi-Moroccan Turnip Greens and Moroccan Meatloaf.  And before that I made some Crispy Roasted Chickpeas with a homemade Moroccan spice blend.  We also made a Moroccan carrot salad, but I will have to post about that later.  I really enjoy the flavor combinations in Moroccan food - the sweetness of cinnamon, the smokey cumin, the spicy cayenne, the floral coriander...  It all just works so beautifully together.  I go through spice phases and this seems to be my current phase.  

Anyway, you have to try this chicken.  I know that I am always roasting chicken breasts and then posting about how wonderful they were, but these were truly spectacular - moist, juicy and very flavorful.  The light dusting of flour on the chicken helped to turn the skin nice and crispy by forming a light crust.  Otherwise I think that the skin would have remained flaccid and gummy from soaking overnight in the marinade.  The chicken was really lovely when dipped into the spicy and vinegary harissa sauce.  It would have been good without the harissa, but the harissa really gave it that something extra.  Plus it gave it some heat and I just can't help but to enjoy spicy things.  The couscous was pleasant, but a little bland. Then again, I purposefully looked for a couscous recipe that sounded a little bland because I figured that the thicken would be very flavorful and I didn't want competing flavor profiles.  Really all I wanted with the couscous was a nice side that would complement or balance out the chicken.  And I got that.  If I were to serve the couscous with a slightly less flavorful main dish, I would probably cook the couscous in chicken stock (instead of water), add more lemon juice/zest, and perhaps toss a bit of cayenne pepper in with the couscous while it steamed.

Recipes after the jump!