Cornish Hens- Moroccan style

My local grocery store was having a 50 % off sale on all poultry products. I initially picked up a whole roaster chicken thinking of frugality and efficiency but then decided I couldn’t possibly consume the whole thing, even with assistance of neighbors and house mates. Also, after the inevitable and numerous reinventions of the chicken, I’d just get sick of chicken altogether, further fueling my newly acquired pescatarianism. More is not always better. Then I saw a pair of Cornish Hens conveniently packaged together for $4. Perfect. Something new to try and the price is right.

As usual with new ingredients, I search for recipes on www.epicurious.com for ideas or to see how they are customarily prepared. To my delight on the top of the second page of recipe listings was Morrocan-Style Roast Cornish Hens with Vegetables

The recipe is more or less a tajine (dish) but without the tajine (conical ceramic pot). I used the recipe as a guide and made the following alterations:

1. Instead of cous-cous, I made lentils:

1 cups French lentils
4 cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
A few tablespoons tomato paste
½ chicken bullion cube
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon garlic powder

I cooked it on low until the lentils were thick and saucy.


2. I took the sweetbreads out of the Cornish Hens and put them in a small crock pot with:

1 tablespoon fresh ginger chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1 ½ cup boiling water
1 green onion chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

I let this simmer while I prepared the vegetables and spices. I later used a strainer and used the liquid as the “chicken broth” from the recipe.

3. Additions, substitutions, deletions, notes:

- I did not use any honey
- I used fennel seeds instead of caraway
- I didn’t use as much paprika as they recommended and instead added a teaspoon of turmeric.
- I only used a dash of cayenne. Moroccan food isn’t supposed to spicy like Mexican or Thai.
-I used a long white radish instead of a turnip
- I didn’t use the can of tomatoes. I put some tomato paste into the spice mix with my broth. That was liquidy enough.
-As for the herbs at the end, my guest doesn’t like cilantro so I didn’t bother. Cilantro and parsley are staples in Morocco cooking, though. Had I decided to use cilantro and parsley, (but not mint- that’s for tea, not chicken) I would have diced it up finely and stuffed the birds with it or stuffed it underneath the skin. This herb combination is generally cooked, not used as a garish.
- I didn’t have squash or zucchini so I used carrots.
- I didn’t “halve the hens”. This is generally done for serving size and does not affect how it cooks. After an hour at 425 degrees in a foil tent, the meat falls off the bone- as it should, just like a tajine.

This was delicious.

Fish Stew with Sesame, Thyme, and Tomato

Ingredients:

2 Swai fillets
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can prepared chickpeas
2 large cloves garlic
2 tablespoons Za’atar ( I used Ziyad Brand, Product of Jordan, made of roasted wheat, roasted thyme, ground sumac, sesame seeds and salt)
1 tablespoon Tahini (approximately) Tahini is pure sesame paste.
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper


Directions.

Put tomatoes, Za’atar, and Tahini in a crock pot on low. Add salt and pepper.

Remove skins from chickpeas by placing them in a deep bowl with water and gently rubbing handfuls of them between your palms. The skins should come off easily and float to the top.

Add chickpeas and a few tablespoons of olive oil.

Let mixture stew on low for a few hours.

Prepare the Swai fillets by cutting them up into rough chunks.

Add the fish to the mixture.

Let the fish be infused with the stew’s flavors for at least 20 minutes. Swai is not a very delicate fish so you can leave it in for as long as you like and even re-heat it without it coming completely apart.

Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle some salt and serve with fresh pita bread.

Enjoy!

Post-Independence Day Dinner 2011

Salad:

Ingredients:

Base:
Organic Spring mix
Toppings:
Slivered almonds
1 dollop of fresh guacamole (avocado, fresh lime juice, fresh garlic diced, sour cream, cumin, salt & pepper)
Imitation lobster
Vinaigrette made with fresh lemon juice, Dijon or grainy mustard, and olive oil.

Directions:

Assemble toppings on the Spring mix. Enjoy.

Beverage:

Thai Tea with milk. I bought this at a store in Chinatown. It’s basically black tea, vanilla flavor and orange coloring. It is sometimes prepared with star anise or orange water blossom water. The vanilla kind tastes like white chocolate- it’s delicious.
Add 2 teaspoons of tea per 1 cup of boiling water. Let steep 3-5 minutes. Add milk and sugar (splenda) to taste.

Main Dish

Ingredients:

Swai fillet (fresh or thawed)
½ a medium purple shallot diced
handful of grape tomatoes sliced
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of spicy pimentón


Directions:

Sauté tomatoes, shallots, in the butter and spices
The shallots might absorb the butter; add a bit of water if the tomatoes aren’t saucy enough.
Add fish and cover on low heat. Turn fish over. Cook until the fish begins to flake.
Remove from the pan and cover.

Serve with…

Side

Ingredients:

2 small corn tortillas
shredded Vermont- Maple-Smoked Cheddar


Directions:

In the same pan as you used for the fish, heat one tortilla.
Place shredded cheese on top, and a second tortilla on top of the cheese.
Flip. Sizzle
Cut into quarters and arrange on plate beside fish.

Garnish with guacamole and green onion.