January 8, 2010 by Nathalie Herling.

Rockin’ Moroccan Lovers’ Lamb Recipe
An aphrodisiac dish of succulent lamb shanks tagined slowly with pungent fresh ground ras el harout, rose petals, pommes d’amour, almonds and spicy toasted bird peppers, bedded down on grilled honeyed figs and nestled in a menage a trois of rose water, saffron couscous and sultanas.
 
Lots of Ingredients - much you might just have around the house and can feel free to make your own by substituting… this is a forgiving recipe.

Serves 2 - If you have a larger tagine or cooking pot you could double or triple this recipe… but that’s a very big tagine! I sometimes make the lamb in patches 2 shanks at time, or 2 tagines going at once and mix it all together. In one pot, off the bone, this can feed a lot of people as an appetizer or meal.
 
Two Lamb Shanks - Bone in

For the Marinade
 
4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 tablespoon of Bird Peppers Crushed or any hot pepper 
3 Tablespoons of Ras El Honout Spice Blend (This blog Spicelines has many including Paula Wolfert’s wondeful recipe) 
1 minced clove of garlic
2 Tablespoons Rose Water
 
Cooking Ingredients
 
2 Tablespoons Salted Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 medium onion halved then quartered
3 cloves of garlic whole but smashed
Remaining marinade 
2 Tablespoons of Ras El Honout 
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 teaspoons of Salt 
1.5 teaspoons of Ground Pepper
1 teaspoon of Cumin
4 crushed Bird Peppers
2 Cups of Vegetable Stock
1 Tablespoon of Rose Water (optional) 
1 8 oz can of diced Tomatoes
1/8 Cup of Blanched Almonds (optional)
 
Ingredients for the Grilled Figs
 
9 Fresh Figs with stem cut off and cut in half from stem to bottom
1/8 C of Honey (or Agave Nectar)
2 Teaspoons of Ras El Honout

Couscous
 
1/8 C of Plump Golden Raisons or Santanas
1/4 Cup of Rose Water 
Few threads of Sapphron 
2 3/4 cups of Water or Vegetable Brouth 
1 1/2 cups of Couscous
 
 
Start by blending all the marinade ingredients. Marinade the two lamb shanks for at least 2 hours or overnight.
 
Cut the stems off your Fresh Figs and slice your Fig in half from stem top to stem bottom. Toss the cut figs with the honey and spice mixture. Let marinade for 2 hours or overnight refrigerated.
 
If you have a stove top Tagine (or Dutch Oven) follow the directions below.
If you would like to cook this dish in the oven, brown the meat first, then transfer to an oven dish. Cook in oven the same amount as the stove top tagine at 350 degrees.                                                                                                         

Place olive oil, butter in a tagine or a dutch oven. Over medium heat, add the shanks and spices, onions, garlic and hot peppers. Once the lamb is braised on all sides, add the remaining marinade,  two cups of water (or vegetable stock) with the rose water (optional). Bring the meat liquid mixture to a light boil then reduce the heat to low and cook tightly covered for 2.5 hours. You should check from time to time to make sure you have a good amount of liquid in the pan. Feel free to add more water or stock if necessary.
 
While your meat is cooking, grill the figs, skin side down with the flesh of the fruit towards the flame. Broil over low for approx 4 min. Long enough to get soft but not mushy. Set aside to cool
 
When your meat is well cooked and practically falling from the bone, approximately 2.5 hours, remove from heat, with the Tagine lid still on and set aside. The meat and the figs could be prepared a day ahead.
 
Soak the Santanas in the Rose Water and Saffron
 
Remove the meat from the broth and continue to simmer down (in the original cooking pan/tagine). You will want at least 1 to 2 cups of broth to pour over the meat and couscous. The broth should be liquidy and flavorful. Once cooked down you will want to have the consistency of a brothy gravy. At least 20 min should be good for this step. (if you are going to be removing the lamb meat from the shank, I would put the bones in with the broth and let my broth cook for about an hour. If you are in a rush you could taste the broth and season and serve as soon as the meat is ready.  
While reducing the broth (or near it final stages), boil the water/broth for the couscous. Once boiling, add the couscous, the soaked sultanas, saffron, rosewater blend and almonds. Cook for one min. Then set aside tightly lidded or move to a tightly covered serving tagine to let the couscous absorb the moisture.
 
You can serve this Rocking Moroccan Lovers Lamb a few different ways.
If you would like a Romantic Meal for two (great recipe for Valentines Day), you could leave the meat on the shank. Place a good size mound of couscous on a plate setting the shank on top, nest the grilled figs in the couscous surrounding the shank and sprinkle with a couple of gently torn rose pedals.
 
If you would like to take the meat off the bone, you could combine the broth and meat in a serving dish. Place the figs decoratively nested in the couscous and let everyone combine the two dishes.

 
For bite size Lovers Lamb you can serve this dish as an appetizer. Take a rose petal, and use it like an edible dish. Placing a teaspoon of couscous on the petal, nest a seasoned grilled fig in the center of the couscous and top with shredded lamb, topped with a blanched, seasoned almond. An impressive bite size presentation and burst of flavor. 

This recipe was featured at the 2009 Lamb Takedown created and hosted by the none other magnificence, Matt Timms.  See his other Takedowns and attend if you can. Great fun and fabulous food!! One of these days I will post my winning Chili Recipe, here is a vegetarian Chili recipe to keep you warm in the meantime. 

I made this lamb dish for the competition in a couple of these La Souk http://www.lesoukceramique.com/ stove top tagine from Tunisia. I Highly recommend this Tagine. Nice bowl on the bottom and handled my gas stove and oven very well. Easy to clean, very pretty and resonibly priced… Check out their fabulous serving Tagines!! Big on my wishlist! Be very careful which Tagines you use… many are loaded with lead including easy to buy ones here in the US. I will write about this soon. If you would like to know where to buy these Tagines please email or send me a comment.

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December 30, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

I like to think of this Paprika Chicken Stew as a comfort food for Spice lovers.This Spicy Paprika Chicken Stew was featured on the Dish Reality TV show Webisode #1 http://www.ellenandashleytv.com so if you would like to see my kitchen, meet the fabulous Ellen Gafney and Ashley Wood and watch this dish being made along with a Carrot Almond Soup and Goat Cheese tart please watch.

Gently roasted paprika and garlic are the key to the sauce and flavors in this main meat dish.

5 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

1 lb of skinless chicken breast and thighs but in bit size pieces.

3 to 4 Tablespoons of Hot Hungarian Paprika

1 teaspoon of salt and pepper

Chicken Broth 1 large onion chopped1 green pepper, half chopped fine and the other half in bite size chunks.1 red or yellow pepper, half chopped fine and the other half in bite size chunks.2 Tablespoons of flour

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December 28, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

It has taken me way too long to write a review about one of the best Clay Pot cookbooks to ever come out on the market, Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. Why…this book is complex. Not a simple, quick to market book. This is a long term own. Any serious cookbook library should include this for two main reasons… one it offers an excellent view into the uniqueness and depth of Mediterranean cooking and two, for people like me, who are starved to cook authentic recipes in claypots, this book is a fabulous adventure.  

If you are new to Clay Pot cooking, the clay pot primer is the best I have seen in print.  You can find out enough about almost any clay pot to confidently start using your clay on a daily basis including information on which of your pots are great for what kind of cooking.

As for the recipes. They are far from typical. Maybe if you are from a delightful seaport fishing town in the Mediterranean they might seem common but to the wide audience they are unusual and very well thought out. Each recipe is prefaced with what type of pot might be traditionally used and offers multiple types of possibly more common cooking pots you can used.

So far the recipes I have tried have been very tasty, easy enough to prepare and worth making multiple times. Her recipe Creamy Bagna Cauda has become a party stable for me (more to follow on this). The Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomatoes, Olives and Preserved Lemons was quick easy and a well received unusual addition to my Seven Fishes Christmas Eve Dinner.

I had the pleasure of hearing Paula Wolfert talk about her book at the James Beard Foundation in Nov.  If you have the opportunity to hear her speak, GO!. She offers incredible knowledge, cooking skill background and a warm informative style that is very inspiring.

This book is what the clay cooking movement, tradition, trend, lifestyle… whatever you chose to call the current state of Clay Pot Cooking, has needed. A serious, well researched book by a very important culinary personality. Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking is a cookbook you will want to study, refer back to often, and truely enjoy exploring each recipe.  

I would love to see Paula Wolfert’s collection of clay pots. It must be amazing. I do wish this book had more photos of the recipes completed in clay pots. The photo of Paula Wolfert shopping for clay pots in Morocco is particularly charming.

More postings about recipes from this book in the future. Please share your experiences as well.

If you would like to buy this book and help support Creative clay cooking please use this link. This review is a genuine endorsement of this book.

Paula Wolfert’s Website http://www.paula-wolfert.com/

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December 3, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

Claypot Canela, Panela, Rum Sauce

This recipe was inspired when I was given about 20 lbs of Colombian Panela!!! What a surprising ingredient to use for cooking sweets. Offers a complex rich almost Maple Syrup/Brown Sugar flavor. This recipe was tested to rave reviews at a Chamba Claypot food demonstration at the Newark, NJ Art Museum.

The Newark Art Museum has a very choice collection and a fabulous Museum Shop full of very heartfelt quality items from around the world (Chamba Cookware available). For clay pottery lovers!!!! the musuem currently is featuring an inspiring exhibition thru Jan 1oth, 100 Masterpieces of Art Pottery, 1880-1930 http://www.newarkmuseum.org/ArtPottery.html .
Claypot Canela, Panela, Rum Sauce

Super easy and great to make in a claypot. I used a smallish oval chamba pot. You could use any shape medium clay pot… I found the Chamba pot cooked the liquid slowly to give this sauce a great texture that was even more intense the following day.

4 cakes of Panela, approx 16 ozs more is fine too (usally hard cakes of boiled down raw sugar cane, resembling brown sugar, Available in Latin,
Carribean and Indian grocery stores. Many different brands and names. Panela, piloncillo,…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panela)
2 Cups of Water
1 Cup of Dark Rum - I used a dark 4 year old, Nicaraguan Rum, Flor de Cana, Excellent and a great value http://www.flordecana.com/ A Delightful Rum to sip while you are cooking this sauce too!
4 sticks of Cinnamon. I prefer the turkish vs the mexican cinnamon since it stays hard in the sauce, not prone to flaking and easier to fish out of the finished syrup.
4 Full Stars of star of anise
Melt the panela with the water, cinammon, star anise and rum. Cook over low heat long enough to reduce the sauce to a nice syrup consistency. About twenty min to half an hour. Keep an eye on your cooking sauce and stir it from time to time to you get a consistance you would like to pour on pancakes. Test the sauce by taking a spoon full and pour it slowly back in the pot. If you like how it looks as a sauce then its ready. It will thicken slightly as it cools.
Pour on cake, cream puffs, ice cream, pancakes. A rich caramelly tasting sauce with a delightful taste.
This also a good sauce to mix or to pour on many other baking treats like cheese cake and pumpkin pie.The whipcream below is magical over Pies and Cakes.
For Creampuffs,
Make a classic Puff and fill with the following whipcream and drizzle the Claypot Canela, Panela Rum Sauce.
Panela, Canela, Rum Whipcream
2 Cups Whipping Cream
1/4 C of cooled Panela, Canela Rum Syrup above.
Mix the syrup into the cream. Whip until you have a nice glossy topping.

 A very memorable flavor.

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October 29, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

If you are looking for Pan de Muertos in New York City go to Don Paco Lopez Panderia http://www.donpacolopez.com/ at 2128 3rd Ave and 116th St.

Wonderful painted windows will help you quickly find this traditional Mexican Bakery.

They have a good offering of three types.

2 were with the classic crossbones one with sesame seeds and powdersugar options, and the flatter child like figure with red sugar. All of these are very tradional shapes and have the egg bread flavor. The child figure is particularly used on altars for Oct 31st when the children are believed to return for sweet treats.

At the bakery they also have a wide variety of Mexican melted sugar skulls in various sizes available.

If you are in Williamsburg, Brooklyn go by Fuego http://jsauli1.web.officelive.com/default.aspx at 249 Grand St.  There you can find a wide selection of El Dia de los Muertos folkart including minatures, Flasks with Calaveras, cool Posada bags, tin hearts, huge skull pillows…. and  just set up a small sugar skull altar with molded sugar skulls in two sizes.

Check out the little photos hidden inside of many. Soon I will be posting how to make Diorama sugar skulls and examples from my Dia de los Muertos cooking workshop.

For Sugar Skull molds, La Sirena www.lasirenanyc.com on 27 E 3rd St in Manhattan has molds for sale and folkart as well. Nice paper cutouts for your altar too.

For the manufacture and full selection of sugar skull molds visit The Mexican Sugar Skull Company http://www.mexicansugarskull.com

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October 19, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

Aqua de Tamarindo - Tamarind Juice, or really Tamarind Tea, is a classic Mexican drink. Tamarind is used in many sweet dishes such as syrups over fruits, eaten as a jelly paste, frozen in pops, mixed in sweat stews and trendily in Margarita cocktails. Usually you see this beverage in the large faceted juice jars at carts in the market or on counters in market food stalls.  Very refreshing and an unusual taste to the American Pallet. When I try to encourage people to try Tamarindo “Juice” I ask them if they ever drink homemade gingerbeer or rootbeer.  It helps open there minds to the unique refreshing flavor Tamarind Juice offers.

Agua de Tamarindo is very easy to prepare.

Simply boil

6 Pods of Tamarind - usually available dried at Latin or Asian grocery stores

1/4 Cup of Sugar

6 Cups of Water

Its best to remove the crusty outter shell around the sweet interior filling but not necessary if you are in a rush, just crush the pods a little so the water can seep in. Gently Boil for at least 8 to 10 min to extract the flavor of the Tamarind and reduce you liquid.  Let cool, strain a few times to remove the tamarind and residue and serve. Delicious over Ice as a sweet tea. Agave or honey could be substituted for the sweetner eventhough sugar would be the traditional sweetener used in the Markets and homes of Mexico.

Garnish with lime for a more complex flavoring or mix with mango juice for another yummy favorite.

For a more intense Tamarind flavor,  you may want boil the pods without the shells, when cool remove and discard the seeds from the tamarind pulb, run through a blender and strain a few times for a very intense Tamarind Juice. (Also yummy with a little dark rum and lime!!!!).

For an El Dia de Los Muertos gathering, Agua de Tamarindo is an excellent choice to serve since it a is a classic, typical drink, families would bring or buy while celebrating The Day of the Dead at the Cemetaries in Mexico.

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October 19, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

  If you are going to be in NYC this weekend and want to explore the food and culture of El Dia de Los Muertos maybe you would like to join us for a cooking workshop. Check out http://www.meetup.com/hotnspicy-45/calendar/11660763/ for details.

In the meantime here is the beginning of a Day of the Dead Recipe series to get your celebration and Altar offerings started.  Watch for the next refreshing entry, Classic Mexican Tamarind Juice.

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April 15, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

Columbians love soups, every region with its various natural resources has a unique comfort food type of soup. Ajiaco is a delicious classic you would find in the country’s capital city Bogota. It is very simple to make, wonderfully addictive but requires at least one special ingredient to separate it out from most chicken and potato soups, it the herb Guascas. A delightful kind of citrus herb, that grows like a weed, and is sometime called the Valient Soldier!  You can buy it online* or if you are in a Columbian neighborhood any where in the world ask for it in the local stores and delis. They will usually have it.  I also recommend using all the garnishes when serving your soup. The capers, cilantro and cream really offer a fabulous taste treat.

In this picture the Ajiaco is served with the garnishes, rice and some Farmers Cheese Fritters. A very filling meal.

Ajiaco Chicken, Potato, Corn traditional Colombian Soup

2 chicken breasts and 3 large legs - skin removed

3 large cloves of garlic chopped

1 large onion chopped

3 -4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

12 sm yellow potatoes - I like the finger potoatos

3 medium yukon gold cut up in one inch cubes

8 small red potatoes cut in half

 Chopped bunch of cilantro plus 1/4 cup of leaves for garnish

8 T of dried Guascas

 2 T of salt

1 T of Pepper

3 Ears of Corn cut in wheels

10 Cups of a Chicken Broth.

1 Cup of Sour Cream or Mexican Crema if available.

1 Avocado Sliced

1 cut up lime

1/8 cup of capers

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. A classic La Chamba, Colombian clay pot would be idea but any dutch oven or large soup pot will work. Saute the chopped onion and garlic until golden. Remove the onions and save to the side. Next saute and cook the in the same oil/liquid as the onions.  When cooked through re add the cooked onion mixture, chicken broth, spices and herbs. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for about 20 mins. Add the cut up potatoes simmer for about 40 min. Add in the wheels of corn. Colombian corn would be added earlier since the traditional corn from this are for this dish would have larger slightly tougher kennels than the tender yellow typically found in the US. Cook the corn in the broth for about 12 - 15 min.

Serve the soup with bowls of the condiments, capers, sour cream, cilantro leaves and the sliced avocado.

Yummy!!!

 * Online Source for Guascas

http://www.amigofoods.com/kigu10gr.html   cool website for all kinds of special ingredients.

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April 15, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

This recipe is super simple and inspired by my childhood visits to my Grandparents, Mame and Pape, in Le Harve, France. We would go to the once rough waterfront which was previously full of sailors and soldiers filled bars when the port was at it peak. Post war the shores have been transformed into many cafes and family run old style bars.  My favorites were the ones with large vats of Mussels. ”Moule” is mussels in French.  Unlimited, huge bowls of steaming moule with baskets of crusty bread could be bought very cheaply. It became my favorite meal next to the bouillabaisse I later discovered. Moule is a very hands on dish. A kids dream as you grab a shell and just start eating. It felt like one could eat a hundred mussels in a sitting with it’s intoxicate aroma of wine and onions and fresh shellfish. The sauce from the mussels was impossible to resist sopping up with the flavorful bread and using the mussel shells as soup spoon scoops to get every last drop of the seafood gravy.  To this day its hard for me to resist not buying a bag of mussels in the seafood section every-time I see one.

Its a great value to serve  mussels. A very inexpensive super quick and easy to prepare appetizer or meal.  All you need is a large pot, ideally a heavy dutch oven type, since it makes the nicest mussel sauce.  Clay pots are perfect for the way they hold the moisture of your ingredients.  I like making my mussels in my fish clay pot… the theme is fun and I can take it decoratively directly to the table.  You can make many different kinds of sauces. tomato, Thai influenced, spicy… be creative… Here is the one that reminds me of my childhood, easy to build upon and tickles my taste buds when I see mussels for sale.

Classic white wine and shallots Mussels

1 bag of mussels

4 big shallots chopped

2 cloves of garlic

1 stick of butter (you don’t have to use this much… but it tastes so good)

2 Cups of Wine or keep adding as much as you like.

1/2 Cup of Water… or more to fill the bottom of your pot with the wine about 1.5 inches.

1 t of salt

1 t of pepper

1 Cup of parsley

Fresh Sprigs of lemon thyme or lemon verbena (optional)

Juice of one lemon… extra for serving if you like.

 A loaf of crusty bread.

 Clean your mussels. Most mussels I buy at the seafood counter seem very clean,  just make sure the straw like beards are removed. Put the clean mussels aside for a later step.

On the stove saute the shallots and garlic in with the butter, until wilted in the pot you are going to cook your mussels.  You can substitute some olive oil or use less butter or even a pan spray depending on your dietary preferences. Each choice will offer you a different flavor but will be good.

Add the water and wine, half the parsley (and hearbs), salt, pepper, lemon, to the big pot and bring to a very hot steamy boil.

Pre heat your oven for the bread. And right before you put the mussels in start heating your bread. While the mussels cook remove and slice or leave the loaf whole for tearing crispy chunks of bread.

Put the mussels in and quickly and tightly cover the pot. Steam for 8-10 min. Do not over cook. The mussel shells should open and your sauce will have reduced a little. Discard any shells that are unopened. Throw the rest of the parsley on top and take to the table in your cooking pot if appropriate or one big serving bowl.

If you would like a thicker sauce. After 8 min remove the opened cooked mussels, keeping covered to not dry out too much, turn up the heat on the broth, reduce to the your desired consistence, add a couple tablespoons of cream and pour over the mussels and serve.

Serve immediately and ladle the mussels into soup size bowls so the sauce can gather in the bottom and easily be absorbed up by the accompanying bread.

Enjoy and be creative.

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March 17, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

Thank you Cheri from Laarsen Associates, http://www.laarsenassociates.com, major importers of Pomaireware from Pomaire, Chile for offered Creative Clay Cooking  this recipe.

“This is a meal in a meal.  When the kids were small and we went skiing, there was nothing better than to come home to a carbonada with all the goodness of protein and veggies.  I would make it the night before and just reheat with a slice of good crusty bread to soak up all the juice. Also, it is an easy meal when a large group of friends or  relatives are going to stop by.  As my mother always said, you can always throw another cup of water into it! ” Cheri
 

Carbonada-Chilean Vegetable Beef Soup 

Olive oil to sauté

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 ¾ lbs. chuck roast, finely diced in 1” cubes

1 large carrot, diced in 1” cubes

½ onion, diced in 1” cubes

2 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch oregano

Paprika

2 quarts boiling water

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced in 1” cubes

½ lb. green beans, sliced lengthwise

1 cup fresh green peas

3 heaping tbls non-parboiled rice

2 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch oregano

Paprika 

Heat the oil in a large pot. Season the meat with the salt and pepper. Saute until brown.

Drain the liquid.   Add the onion, garlic, oregano, paprika and continue sautéing.  Add the boiling water and simmer for 45 minutes or until the meat is tender.  Then add the potatoes, green beans, fresh peas and rice.  Continue cooking another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.   

This is the pot I am going to try making this soup in the next couple of days. SirenaNathalie.  Thanks again Cheri for the recipe.

Posted in Stove to Table - One Pot Meals, Pomaireware, latin, recipes | No Comments »