This is a great stovetop side dish that packs a great nutritional punch and makes a nice change from rice.  It’s another forgiving recipe that you can go crazy changing up.  Instead of green onions, tomatoes, and lemons try it with slivered almonds and fresh thyme, rosemary, and fennel or whatever you have on hand and would use in a rice pilaf!

Couscous Pilaf

• 2 C couscous
• 3 C chicken broth
• 1 sweet onion (Maui or Vidalia), minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Zest and juice from one large lemon
• 2 large garlic cloves, grated or pressed in garlic press
• 1 can of Muir Glen diced tomatoes with juice if the juice is needed
• 4 green onions, greens and whites sliced thinly on the diagonal

In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, cook the couscous until it just begins to turn brown.  Stir nearly constantly so that it doesn’t burn.  Transfer toasted couscous to a large, heat proof mixing bowl and set aside.

Add butter and olive oil to the large sauce pan and return to the heat.  Add in the minced onion with salt and pepper.  Let this cook until the onions are caramelized – about 12 to 15 minutes.  Grate or press the garlic into the sauce pan.  And lemon zest and cook for about 30 seconds.  Add the chicken broth, stirring, turning the heat up a little, and bring to a boil.

Pour the chicken broth into the large mixing bowl of couscous and cover with a plate, lid, or plastic wrap.  Let the couscous sit, covered until it’s tender.  This should take 12 to 15 minutes.  Uncover, fluff, and add the lemon juice, tomatoes (using part of the juice from the can as needed), and green onions.  Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed.

From Recipes

[Photograph: Robin Bellinger]

Sometimes dinner needs to hit the table fast, but when I have an extra hour I’m happy to spend it turning super-cheap, super-simple ingredients into a treat. One of my favorite such kitchen projects is Madhur Jaffrey’s pupusas, cheese-stuffed corn tortillas traditionally eaten with a cabbage salad called curtido in Ecuador. This fun meal, which I think of as a special grilled cheese, is simpler to make than you’d guess.

Two cups of masa harina should cost far less than $1, but if you don’t shop in bulk you may be obliged to buy a whole bag. Although the cooking procedure may sound complicated, once you’ve tried it you’ll see how simple it is. I usually end up with one dud pupusa, and even that one tastes almost as good as its handsomer brothers.

Add a pot of black beans and rice to stretch this meal to serve four. If pupusas sound like too much of a hassle, you should at least try the cabbage salad. Simple to make and tasty as can be, it now accompanies many of our meals, especially when I’m trying to add some vegetable matter to a Mexican dinner.

Pupusas de Queso

-serves 2-
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian.

Ingredients

2 cups masa harina
1 teaspoon salt
About 2 loosely packed cups (8 ounces) coarsely grated queso fresco, Monterey Jack, or pale, mild cheddar
Peanut or canola oil

Procedure

1. Put the masa harina and salt into a wide bowl. Slowly add about 1 1/3 cups hot tap water, mixing as you go. The resulting dough should be soft and puttylike but not sticky. Add more water if you need it. Knead well and form into a smooth ball. Put the dough all in a plastic bag and set aside for 30 minutes or longer.

2. Divide the dough into 10 smooth balls. Flatten the balls slightly to make small, smooth patties. Keep them covered with plastic. Divide the grated cheese into 10 portions and keep a bowl of lukewarm water nearby.

3. Dampen a cupped palm with the lukewarm water. Take one dough patty, put it in the cupped palm, and press down on it until you have a slightly cupped 3-inch round. (If the edges break, fix them with dampened fingers.) Now put 2 to 3 tablespoons grated cheese into the cup (I can never fit quite this much and end up with cheese left over). Bring the edges of the cup together over the top of the cheese and form a ball again. Press down on the ball gently to make a patty. Make 9 other cheese-filled patties, keeping them covered on a sheet of wax paper as you work.

4. Put a cast-iron griddle or frying pan over a medium-high flame. It needs some time to heat up. Cut a plastic baggie into two pieces or prepare two pieces of wax paper about the size of your tortilla press. Put a stuffed dough patty between the two pieces of plastic and flatten in the tortilla press until it is about 5 inches in diameter. Make each pupusa right before you cook it.

5. Use a paper towel to grease the griddle lightly. Remove the top layer of plastic from the pupusa and then invert the pupusa onto the hot griddle, peeling away the bottom layer of plastic as you do so. Cook for 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for 30 seconds. Flip again and use a small but thick wad of paper towel to rotate the pupusa by pressing down on its edge while giving it a slight turn. Quickly work your way around the whole pupusa. It should puff up a bit, but it won’t always do so—don’t worry about it. Turn after 20 seconds and keep pressing and spinning if it has not yet puffed. Keep turning every 15 seconds or so until the pupusa has a few brownish spots and has cooked 2 to 2 1/2 minutes in all. Remove from the griddle and keep covered with a towel while you cook the rest, stacking them atop each other as you finish.

6. Serve immediately or reheat by re-griddling 30 seconds per side or bundling in foil and baking at 350 for 15 minutes.

Cabbage Salad with Oregano

-serves 4 to 6-
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian.

Ingredients

1 pound green cabbage, shredded (about 6 well-packed cups)
1 carrot, peeled and grated (optional)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil

Procedure

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to mix. Set aside for 1 hour or longer, refrigerating if necessary.

About the author: Robin Bellinger is a freelance editor and shameless cookie addict. She lives in San Francisco and blogs about what she feeds her husband and her daughter at home*economics.

“Such a small state, with such a vibrant food community.”

[Photograph: Leah Douglas]

The state of Rhode Island may be small, but as I’ve learned in my past few months attending school in Providence, it doesn’t lack for food activities. One distinctive characteristic is the state’s abundance of farmers’ markets.

With more than 1,200 farms across the state, residents don’t have to travel far to get seasonal produce. During the winter, options are naturally more limited. But the marvelous Pawtucket Wintertime Farmers’ Market becomes the focal point of locavorism from November to May.

Only two years old, the market has already seen great expansion, now displaying wares from over 45 farmers and vendors. The market occupies a long hallway in a previously abandoned warehouse. Driving down North Main Street in this industrial part of town, you’d never expect to see crowds of locals toting reusable shopping bags parading in and out of a seemingly innocuous doorway.

One of my favorite vendors, Narragansett Creamery, is the only cheese producer in Rhode Island and thoroughly committed to sourcing local milk and collaborating with Rhode Island farmers. All of their products are outstanding, but my personal favorites are their spreads.

The light and creamy Angelito is a milder but still distinctive cream cheese; the Pirate Spread is more aggressive and spiced, with a delicious sun-dried tomato flavor.

Some of the most delicious coffee I’ve had is produced by New Harvest Coffee Roasters. New Harvest has a strong ethos of fairness to coffee growers, practicing fair and direct trade in their coffee varieties. I’m no coffee connoisseur, but even I can tell these deep, rich brews are truly spectacular.

And then there’s the wealth of local bakeries, so tempting with their delicious aromas and authentic, homemade feel. Seven Stars Bakery is a household name around these parts, producing stellar crusty breads, moist cakes, and crumbly cookies. And Olga’s Cup & Saucer is equally charming, their stall-laden down with macarons, sandwich bread, and pizza.

While not in Providence proper, the Pawtucket Farmer’s Market draws crowds from all over the capital city and its neighboring towns. As I wandered from stall to stall, carefully tasting and praising one locally-made good after another, I was pleasantly surprised with how many shoppers and vendors I recognized. Students, farmers, and townspeople all wave to each other and giddily fill their reusable bags with produce.

Such a small state, with such a vibrant food community.

About the author: Leah Douglas is a college student in Providence, Rhode Island. She’s thinking of studying public policy, or ideally creating her own major related to food policy and studies. She’s currently enjoying the challenge of mapping foodie destinations in Providence!

Filed under: Reviews, Drinks

Red-wine blends are akin to a coffee roaster’s espresso blend, as it’s formula that is unique and carefully thought through. By merging grapes, sometimes from different terroirs (vineyards), complex layers are introduced. To the winemaker, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate his or her craft and talent in mixing flavors for a really great mouthfeel. Lots of experimentation, lab time and sipping trials go into creating the perfect blend.

After the jump, find seven red blends we’ve recently tried and have no hesitations recommending.

Continue reading Wine of the Week: Interesting Red Blends

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[Image: maps.google.co.uk]

Whether it’s an homage to the most famous plumbers in the videogame world or just a coincidence, Mario’s and Luigi’s on Claremont Road in Manchester, UK, is an amusing sight. Mario’s is a bakery and confectioner while Luigi’s makes pizza, kebabs, and burgers. Has anyone tried either of these places? [via Neatorama]

Filed under: Cheese Course

When it comes to cheese consumption, measuring the depths of taste is no easy task. Take a demi-sec (medium-aged) French goat’s milk cheese like Charolais from Burgundy. It has a bright grassy aroma and a smooth, firm paste that melts on the palate, giving way to several different taste sensations that are all mildly citrus-like and “goaty.”

At first, the cheese seems to be fairly mild, making it the perfect goat’s milk cheese for the sensitive palate. However, after the cheese is swallowed, its flavor resonates and increases in strength, accumulating deep floral and grassy notes. In other words, it has a kick that lasts for a bit.

Continue reading Charolais – Cheese Course

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From Recipes

[Photograph: Blake Royer]

When I wrote about Eggs in Purgatory for this column awhile back, I was amazed at the number of commenters who declared that tomatoes and eggs should never appear together in the same recipe. Some called it a “phobia.” It mystified me, because Eggs in Purgatory—essentially a simple tomato sauce with eggs cracked into it and simmered until the whites are just set—is serious comfort food and one of my favorite egg dishes. I love the way the yolks melt into the sauce.

Obviously this recipe won’t convince the haters, but those who are down with tomatoes and eggs might love this new Moroccan twist on the recipe, which I found on Food52. Not happy with a boring tomato sauce, the recipe amps up the flavor with merguez, a spicy lamb sausage found in North African cuisine, then switches out regular tomatoes for the “fire roasted” variety. A hit of smoked paprika and a Moroccan spice blend called ras el hanout (a curry powder such as garam masala can serve as approximate substitute) gives it a smoky depth.

Moroccan Merguez Ragout with Poached Eggs

- serves 4 to 6 -
Adapted from Food52.

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, small dice
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 pound merguez sausage, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 tablespoon ras el hanout
1 teaspoon Spanish sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 fifteen-ounce cans fire-roasted tomatoes
8 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro, stems included
2 tablespoons harissa (optional)
Warm crusty bread, for serving

1. In a large (12-inch) pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occassionally, until golden, then add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the merguez sausage slices and cook for a few more minutes, until almost cooked through.

2. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the paprika, ras el hanout, and salt. Cook until the spices marry and lightly toast, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes until thickened.

3. Crack the eggs into the sauce and cover. Simmer gently until the whites are set and the yolk is still runny.

4. Spoon some sauce into shallow bowls and top with the eggs. Sprinkle with cilantro and, if desired, dollop with a little harissa. Serve with the bread.

About the author: Blake Royer founded The Paupered Chef with Nick Kindelsperger, where he writes about food and occasional travels. After a year in Estonia, he’s now living in Chicago.

Filed under: Restaurants

For many people Minnesota conjures up images of frigid temperatures and duck boots. But ironically it’s also home to the largest Somali community in the United States, more than 30,000 people. Located in the horn of Africa, Somalia has had many culinary influences throughout its history — Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Indian and Italian to name a few.

In 2006, Jamal Hashi, a 28-year-old Somali chef, who was forced to flee his homeland when he was only eight years old because of civil unrest, opened a restaurant in Minneapolis called Safari Express, which offers Somali fast food. It’s become hugely popular not only for Somali immigrants but among Americans craving something different and a little spicy.

“African food has not gotten much recognition because it’s been overlooked by political problems there,” Jamal told Slashfood. “When I talk to people about Somali food they are always taken aback a bit by the idea of an East African cuisine.”

Jamal says that goat dishes are the most popular among Somalis but they also use a lot of chicken and, being coastal, a large variety of seafood like tuna and shellfish.

“I always win over Americans to Somali food when I tell them the process of cooking with fire started in East Africa. We’ve been doing cooking for a very long time and we’ve influenced a lot of people,” Jamal says proudly. “I’m trying to reshape the image people have of Africa and its food.”

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From Recipes

This post is part of our Small Plates series, which is brought to you by California Pizza Kitchen.

Falafel sandwiches with crab, fennel, and harrissa mayonnaise. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

I admit it up front: this is one of those wacky dishes that comes from a lot of places in general, and nowhere in particular. A plate that Archie Bunker would describe as “one of them things that’s got a little too much of both, and not enough of neither.”

Fortunately, we’re all a bit more open-minded than Archie, especially when it comes to deliciousness.

I’d never considered the prospect of a non-vegetarian falafel—particularly not one that combines falafel with seafood—until I read Cathy and Tony Mantuano’s Wine Bar Food. In it, Tony Mantuano, chef at Chicago’s Spiaggia presents Mediterranean-inspired small plates ranging from the highly involved (Crispy Lamb Shoulder with Peas and Mint), to the exceedingly simple (Baked Caciocavallo Cheese).

These crab and chickpea “sliders”* start with a slightly streamlined, miniaturized version of Mantuano’s Falafel Crab Cakes (I use canned chickpeas, tweak the spice blend to make it more sandwich-friendly, and add a tiny bit of flour to help the patties hold together more easily during the frying stage), which he describes as from “southern Spain, which owes many culinary inspirations to the Moors of Northern Africa.”

* I’ve included quotes, because around these parts, it’s dangerous to call anything a slider.

While he matches his North-Africa-via-Spain crab cakes with Greek tzatziki in an odd but delicious combination, for my New England palate, a tangy, mayo-based sauce is the perfect complement to fried seafood. In another nod to the Moors, I spike my mayo (store-bought does just fine) with a heavy does of spicy harissa, the chile-based North African condiment that lends merguez, Moroccan cous-cous, and lablabi their characteristic complex heat.

For crunch, a good Bibb lettuce would be fine, but I like the crispness and slight aniseed scent of shaved fennel. Flatbread or a North African-style roll might be good, but Martin’s continues to prove itself and the King of all sandwich breads. Their party-sized buns have a soft, mild sweetness that goes perfectly with the naturally sweet crab meat.

Plus, as my diminutive wife will attest to, all the best things come in fun-sized packages.

Crabby Falafel ‘Sliders’

- makes 12 sliders –

Note: Martin’s party sized rolls come in packs of 24. Extra rolls can be wrapped in foil, placed in a zipper-lock freezer bag, and frozen for up to 3 months. Alternatively, the crab cake recipe is easily doubled. Avoid using canned, pasteurized crab meat if possible—it is far inferior to fresh-picked crab meat. Crab cakes can be made without food processor by mashing the chickpeas with a potato masher until rough paste forms, and finely chopping cilantro, scallions, jalapeño, and garlic before incorporating along with remaining ingredients listed in step 1.

Ingredients

One (14.4 ounce) can chickpeas beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped cilantro leaves
2 scallions, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, from 1 lemon
1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, chopped fine (optional)
1 garlic clove, peeled and grated on microplane or passed through garlic press
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 pound fresh picked lump blue crab meat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 fennel bulb, cored, and thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
12 slider-sized potato rolls, toasted
1/2 cup harissa aioli (recipe follows)

Procedure

1. Place chickpeas, baking powder, cumin, cilantro, scallions, lemon zest, jalapeño (if desired), garlic clove, and flour in bowl of food processor. Pulse until mixture holds together, but chunky bits of chickpea still remain, about 8-10 one-second pulses (do not process into paste). Transfer mixture to large bowl and gently fold in crab meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix again until homogenous.

2. Toss shaved fennel with lemon juice and olive oil in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Form crab mixture into 12 equal portions and form into patties roughly two inches across. Refrigerate crab cakes and fennel until ready for use, up to 8 hours.

3. Heat remaining oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Carefully add crab patties (if oil continues to smoke after crab patties are added, reduce heat to medium). Cook, gently shaking pan occasionally until deep golden brown, 2-4 minutes. Carefully flip using tongs, and continue to cook, gently shaking pan occasionally, until golden brown on second side, 2-4 minutes. Transfer cooked patties to plate lined with double layer of paper towels.

4. spread harissa mayonnaise evenly over bun tops and bottoms. Place a small pile of shaved fennel over each bun bottom. Top with crab patties, close sandwich, and serve immediately.

Harissa Mayonnaise

- makes 1/2 cup –

Note: Harissa is a spicy North African condiment made with chiles, spices, and vegetables. It can be found in cans or jars in the international aisle of many supermarkets, or is available online. I recommend DEA brand harissa, which balances out chile heat with complex vegetal flavors, and comes in a resealable metal tube.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons harissa paste
1 teaspoon juice from 1 lemon

Procedure

1. Place chickpeas, baking powder, cumin, cilantro, scallions, lemon zest, jalapeño (if desired), garlic clove, and flour in bowl of food processor. Pulse until mixture holds together, but chunky bits of chickpea still remain, about 8-10 one-second pulses (do not process into paste). Transfer mixture to large bowl and gently fold in crab meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix again until homogenous.

About the author: Become a fan of The Food Lab on Facebook for play-by-plays on future kitchen tests and recipe experiments. After graduating from MIT, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt spent many years as a chef, recipe developer, writer, and editor in Boston. He now lives in New York with his wife, where he runs a private chef business, KA Cuisine, and co-writes the blog GoodEater.org about sustainable food enjoyment.

Filed under: Health & Medical, News

Australian scientists claim they’ve stumbled upon a sixth sense — but not the kind where you see dead people. No, researchers down under have found a new flavor sense: fat.

Everyone knows that fat is an excellent vehicle for food flavors and has a highly appealing mouthfeel. A new study, however, suggests that along with sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (essentially, the ability to detect protein), we can also actually taste fat itself.

Dr. Russell Keast, an exercise and nutrition sciences professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, says he and his team built upon previous research in the United States that used animal models to discover fat taste. In the Deakin study, which appears in the latest issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, a group of 33 people were given fatty acids found in common foods, mixed in with nonfat milk to disguise the telltale fat texture. All 33 could detect the fatty acids to at least a small degree.

Continue reading So Fat, You Can Taste It

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