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Spinach and Chickpea Salad Bowl

salad bowl

This Spinach and Chickpea salad bowl is a mixture of my favorite ingredients and my mom’s. She loves adding chickpeas, celery, and carrots to her salads. Most of the time she makes it with Romaine lettuce but I prefer to use spinach since it’s a less bitter and filled with nutrition.

This salad was different since we mixed in the Moroccan Beet Salad recipe. We basically just prepared and added beets to the salad, nothing big. But to learn how to prepare the beets before using, refer to that recipe.

This salad goes perfect with dinner or lunch. I even eat it for breakfast with avocado. A lot of people wouldn’t eat a salad for breakfast but if you mix it with the right things, it will be a pleasant start to the day.

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Spinach and Chickpea Salad Bowl

Spinach and Chickpea Salad Bowl

Ingredients

  • 15 oz. of chickpeas
  • 1/2 bag of spinach
  • 4 chopped baby zucchinis
  • A handful of plum tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup of chopped celery
  • 1/2 cup of chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup of chopped onions
  • 1 whole beet boiled and chopped
  • 1 tsp. of salt
  • 1 tsp. of vinegar
  • 1 tsp. of olive oil

Instructions

  1. Combine chickpeas, spinach, zucchini, celery, carrots, and onions. Instead of chopping the celery, carrots, and onions, I prefer to use the Mirepoix mix from Trader Joe's.
  2. For the beets, you have to peel the beet and boil first before using. A more detailed instruction on preparing the beets can be found here.
  3. Sprinkle salt, vinegar, and olive oil over the salad. Make sure to mix afterwards.
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Publish on May 15

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French Hachis Parmentier

hachis parmentier

This is my second time making hachis parmentier. The last time I made it, I didn’t have a proper oven; this time I did. Hachis parmentier is the French equivalent of Shepard’s Pie minus the vegetables. The dish consists of ground beef in between layers of mashed potato. It’s then topped with a crusty layer of gruyere and parmesan cheese. Doesn’t sound like Shepard’s Pie anymore, does it?

History:

The dish’s name comes from Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a promoter of potato as a food source. He conducted several publicity stunts to make the potato popular. Parmentier would host dinners with potato dishes being the main course. Famous guests included Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier. He would increase the perception of value of the potatoes by hiring armed guards to protect his potato patches. But he would tell the guards to accept bribes and allow the people to steal potatoes. Nothing like building perceptions.

Recipe:

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Hachis Parmentier

Hachis Parmentier

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. of potato
  • 1/4 cup of whole milk
  • 400g. of ground beef
  • 1/2 chopped onion
  • 3 chopped garlic cloves
  • 1 handful of chopped parsley leaves
  • Gruyere cheese
  • Grate Parmesan cheese
  • Nutmeg
  • Salt
  • Black Pepper

Instructions

  1. Peel potatoes and cut each one into four pieces. Boil them in water until tender.
  2. While the potatoes are boiling, chop onion, garlic cloves, and parsley.
  3. Coat a pan with butter and fry the chopped onion and garlic cloves for 1 minute.
  4. Mix the ground beef in the same pan as the onion and garlic. Cover and stir occasionally.
  5. Take out potatoes and start mashing. Add butter and milk. Season it with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix and mash until mashed potato is easy to stir. If it's still hard to stir, add a little more milk.
  6. Check the ground beef. Season it with salt, pepper, and nutmeg as well. Throw in the chopped parsley. Combine well. When done, drain any oil from the ground beef. Set aside.
  7. Heat up oven to 200° C.
  8. In a gratin dish, spread the mashed potato as the first layer covering the dish. For the second layer, spread the ground beef. For the third and last layer, spread the rest of the mashed potato.
  9. Sprinkle grated parmesan and gruyere cheese on the top.
  10. Place dish in oven until the top is golden brown. When the crust is formed, take out of the oven and serve.
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The Tagine Pot: How to Use

Moroccan tagine

The tagine pot, a symbol of Moroccan food and culture. On top of its beautifully hand-painted designs, the tagine pot does a great job in trapping aromas and flavors in stews. These yummy stews, made of chicken, beef or fish, are also referred to as tagines. So, in simple terms, the tagine can either be the pot or the dish.Read More

Moroccan Cucumber and Tomato Salad

tomato and cucumber salad

As quick and simple as this recipe may be, it is still a staple of Moroccan cuisine. The feggous (cucumber) and tomato salad can be the basis to create different salads or can be eaten as is with bread or another dish.

I decided to take this recipe from La Maison Arabe’s Moroccan Recipes book. However, I didn’t follow every step of the recipe. For instance, I did not seed the tomatoes since I felt it would make the salad juicier. This is all a matter of preference of course.

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Moroccan Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tbsp. of fresh chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp. of olive oil
  • salt and pepper for taste

Instructions

  1. Finely chop cucumber, onion and tomatoes. You can seed the tomato if you like. I prefer to not seed it since the tomato juice contributes greatly to the overall taste.
  2. Mix the cucumber, tomatoes, and onion.
  3. Add the lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and pepper.
  4. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
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la maison arabe moroccan recipes

Instant Pumpkin Couscous

couscousAh couscous, the one dish that reminds me of Al Maghreb. A popular dish in North Africa, couscous consists of little balls of durum wheat semolina. It is believed to have been cooked by Berbers as early as 238 to 149 BC. Today, the popularity of couscous has made it’s way to France.

Although instant couscous takes a few minutes to make, the best way to make traditional couscous is steaming it in a couscousiere. You can add different ingredients including zucchini, pumpkin, lentils, and carrots. Pair it with a tagine and a spoon of stew poured on top, you’ll be hooked.

The recipe below is based off of instant couscous. Next week, I will show how to make couscous in a couscousiere with a few different techniques.

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Instant Pumpkin Couscous

Instant Pumpkin Couscous

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  • 3 cups of couscous
  • 1/2 a tablespoon of salt
  • 1 Zucchini
  • 1 carrot
  • a handful of pumpkin chunks skinned
  • a handful of chopped almonds

Instructions

  1. Steam zucchini, carrot, and pumpkin squash until tender. Cut into julienne strips or chop into cubes. This is a matter of preference.
  2. Boil water with butter and olive oil. When water is boiling, gradually add the couscous. Keep mixing until the couscous expands. If there is excess water, add more couscous.
  3. Before couscous is completely dry, add the steamed vegetables and almonds and mix.
  4. Pair couscous with a tagine and pour stew on top. Enjoy.
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Moroccan Chicken Tagine

Moroccan chicken tagineI finally decided to share my Moroccan chicken tagine recipe. I have been making it since the summer last year. Although this dish wasn’t made with traditional Moroccan cooking techniques, like preserved lemons, this one is still very reminiscent of a Moroccan dish.

The yummiest part of the dish are the sweet raisins and crunchy almonds. Serve the dish with a side of couscous and your tummy will be happy.

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Moroccan Chicken Tagine

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. of olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. of butter
  • 5 chicken thighs, skin removed
  • 1/2 tbsp. of salt
  • 1 whole onion sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tbsp. turmeric
  • 1tbsp. cumin
  • 3/4 tbsp. coriander
  • 1 tbsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp of fresh chopped cilantro
  • 2 tbsp. of fresh chopped parsley
  • a handful of a mixture of whole dry roasted and sliced almonds
  • 2 oz. of raisins
  • 1 whole tomato
  • 15 oz. of chickpeas

Instructions

  1. Place chicken thighs in oil and butter with onions, garlic and all of the spices. Cover and allow to simmer over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn chicken occasionally to ensure chicken is cooked evenly on both sides.
  2. Add the chickpeas and whole almonds. Make sure chickpeas are covered in the sauce to cook well. If not, add just enough water to cover. Beware that too much water will dilute the spices. Cover and continue cooking over medium heat for 20 minutes. Turn and stir occasionally.
  3. Add the raisins, cilantro, and parsley. A thick sauce should have formed. Continue cooking over medium heat.
  4. Cook until chicken is tender and chickpeas are soft.
  5. Serve on a tagine and with a side of couscous. Enjoy!
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Kefta Tagine with Eggs

Kefta Tagine

Kefta Tagine

Making any tagine can seem like an intimidating task for many. Now, add poached eggs and the perfect tomato sauce. Exactly. It’s one of those recipes that I wanted to refrain from trying but couldn’t due to how delicious it was. Like plenty of other Moroccan recipes, the Kefta Mkaouara requires various ingredients and dedication.

Traditionally, the dish would be prepared in a tagine but if a tagine isn’t available a deep wide skillet would work too. Now, let’s get to making this dish.Read More

Pepper Penne

The balance between work and home life hasn’t been so easy for me these past few weeks. You may have noticed in my lack of posting on the blog. It may be because of the, what seems to be a never-ending, winter. I even blogged about the negative impact winter can have on people; it’s not a good feeling.

But what better way to get over this than experimenting with new foods and dishes? I call this dish Pepper Penne. I didn’t know how delicious this dish could be. When my mom made it, I couldn’t resist trying to make it myself. It came out very delicious and I had a great time cooking it. If you want to get the recipe, see my steps below.Read More

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