Couscous in Casa

THE FRUGAL GOURMET

WITH THE
release of
Casablanca, I
might be fun
some typical
dishes.

The most common dish is
couscous. This wonderful wheat
pilaf became a favorite with the
French and you can find it in
many Parisian restaurants.

The stews, or ‘‘tagines,’’ of
Morocco are so filled with sweet
fruits and spices that they take on
a romantic aura.

You will enjoy all the following

foods.
COUSCOUS

(Serves 4-§ when served with

a stew or tagine)

Morocco has offered some of
the most wonderful food imagin-
able, and it would take quite an
imagination to come up with
something as clever as couscous.

This is a processed wheat dish
not unlike bulgar wheal. But it is
a finer grain, light in flavor and
texture, and it absorbs the flavor
of the foods with which it is serv-
ed, stews being the usual accom-
paniment,

This dish is aiso fun for the
kids to eat because it is to be
eaten with the fingers, not with
silverware.

1 pound couscous,
cooking

22 cups boiling water
Salt to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Place the couscous in a large
bowl and add the boiling water
and salt. Let the couscous rest a

recent re-
the movie
thought it
to prepare
Moroccan

not quick-

few minutes to expand.

In a 12-inch frying pan heat the
butter and couscous. Cover and
cook over medium heat about §
minutes, stirring occasionally.

Be careful not to burn the
couscous, Turn off the heat and
let stand covered a few minutes.

MOROCCAN RED PEPPER

SAUCE
(Makes 1 cup)

For those who love hot things
here is a sauce that is traditionally
served with couscous. You just
spoon it on and enjoy.

This recipe is from Eva Zane's
fine book Middle Eastern Cook-
ery.

2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 garlic cloves, peeled

V2 teaspoon salt

1 cup olive oil

Using a mortar and pestle crush
the spices, garlic and salt together
to form a paste.

Heat a frying pan, add the olive
oi! and spice mixture. Cook, stirr-
ing constantly over medium heat
for S minutes. Serve with
couscous dishes.

KEFTA TAGINE
(Serves 6)

‘Tagine’ simply refers to a fine
stew spiced with the flavors of
Morocco. Since one is to eat it
with the fingers these meatballs
are convenient — and the sauce is
great with couscous.

THE KEFTA (Meatballs):

1 pound ground lamb

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cor-
iander

¥2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cup onion, peeled and finely
chopped

4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sait to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil for pan-
frying

THE SAUCE:

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chop-
ped

2 medium onions, peeled and fine-
ly shopped

I green bell pepper, cored, seeded
and chopped

1 small bunch parsley, chopped

2 pounds tomatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper

Ya teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

V4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1¥2 teaspoons salt or to taste

ledni

ary

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

HUMPHREY BOGART earned his first Academy Award nomination
for his portrayal of Rick in Michael Curtiz’s 1943 film Casablanca
- Bogart: “‘! came to Casablanca for the waters.”’ Claude Rains
(as a Vichylte police official): “The waters? What waters? We're
in the desert.’’ Bogart: ‘‘t was misinformed.”’

GARNISH:
6 eggs .

Combine ail the ingredients for
the kefta and with wet hands form
into 1-inch balls.

Heat a 6- to 8-quart stove-top
casserole and add the olive oil.
Brown the meatballs in the oil,
then remove, leaving the oil in the
pot. Set the meatballs aside,
covered,

Add the garlic, onion and bell
pepper to the reserved oil and

saute until the onion is clear. Add
the remaining ingredients for the
sauce and simmer, covered, 30
minutes until the sauce has cooked
down to a thick gravy.

Return the meatballs to the
sauce and simmer uncovered 10
minutes more.

Carefully break the eggs into
the sauce and poach for a few
m< tutes (don’t overcook the eggs).

Serve at once directly from the
pan.

hore News -— 37

blanca

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH
SEVEN VEGETABLES
(Serves 4-6)

I first tasted this dish wt my
friend Ben’s Marrakesh Restau-
rant in Seattle. He does a fine job
with his food and the place is a
delight with all its formal Moroc-
can trappings.

1 chicken, about 3% pounds, cut
into 8 serving pieces, with the
breasts cut in half. (Remove the
backs and wings and save for
soup.)

3 iablespoons olive oi}

1 cup peeled and diced yellow
onion

3 cloves gaslic, peeled and finely
chopped

t %-pound eggplant, cut into 1-
inch cubes, unpeeled, salted and
drained for 20 minutes, then sins-
e

3 cups fresh or canned chicken
stock

1% cinnamon sticks, about 3 in-
ches long

1 teaspoon curry powder

i {esspoon ground cumin

MY teaspoon turmeric

% teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper

1 facge carrot, cui into %-inch
dice

3 medium zucchini, cut into 2-
inch dice

1 medium white turnip, peeled
and cut into %-inch dice

Y% medium ced bell pepper, cored,
seeded and cut into 42-inch dice

2 cups medium-ripe tomatoes, cut
into ¥2-inch dice

42 cup golden raisins

Z tablespoons chopped fresh cor-
iander or chopped parsley

Remove all the skin and fat
from the chicken pieces. Heat a
large frying pan and add I table-
spoon of the oil. Saute the
chicken in 2 batches until opaque
on both sides (a few minutes). Set
aside.

Heat a 6- to 8-quart casserole
and add the remaining 2 table-
spoons of oil. Add the onion,
garlic and eggplant.

Saute over low heat until the
onion is just tender, about 5 to 10
minutes. Add the chicken stock,
cinnamon sticks, curry powder,
cumin, turmeric and black pepper.
tir, bring to a boil, reduce heat
and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the dark meat along with
the carrot, zucchini, turnip and

See Lemon page 39

Blame spinach’s bad reputation on overcooking

inquisitive
Gook

LUE
HLSON

ANNE
GARDINER

IN OLD cookbooks,
spinach was considered so
adaptable to different dishes
it was called the ‘‘virgin
wax of the kitchen.”’

lt seems strange, therefore, that
several generations of kids have
grown up hating the scuff.

Perusing old recipes, however,
quickly gives clues as to why
spinach wasn’t well received at the
dinner table. Simply put, it was
horribly overcooked.

Just imagine how spinach might
taste after boiling the leaves for 25
to 30 minutes, rubbing them
through a fine sieve, cooking
more, and then topping the cook-
ed puree with brown gravy.
Somehow it's not surprising that
for the younger generation, even
the promise of building muscles of

iron didn't make spinach worth
eating.

There’s not much good to be
said about overcooked spinach.
It’s a dreadful color because heat
changes the form of rich green
chlorophy!i to colors closer to
mud than grass.

Spinach is particularly suscepti-
ble to changes in chlorophyll
because its pigments are in a very
thin layer in the leaves. And as
spinach cooks, chlorophyll is easi-
ly accessible to both the plant's
natural acids and to heat.

When chlorophyll and acids
react with each other that unap-
petizing color results.

Of course, using fresh spinach
in salads avoids the color prob-
tem. Make sure the leaves are
glossy and dark, and so crisp they
look lively. Fresh bunches should
smell moist and earthy.

As most salad dressings are

acidic, dress the salad just before
serving.

Look for small leaves, as the
larger ones are likely to contain
tough lignin in the stem and ribs.
Remove the stems; lignin, a
woody compound, stays stringy
even after cooking.

For a change from traditional
spinach salads, toss the leaves
with fresh strawberries, a grinding
of black pepper, and a poppy-
seed dressing.

Later in the year, mix fresh
spinach with thinly sliced oranges,
pralined aimonds and a light
vinaigrette dressing.

Spinach really only needs a
brief wilting to be cooked. This
minimizes the exposure of
chlorophyll to acids, so it stays a
rich green.

There's no need to add extra
water. During the first minute of
cooking, just the moisture that cl-

ings after washing the leaves pro-
vides ample liquid. As leaves wilt,
moisture is released to contribute
extra water. Five minutes a pound
crumples the leaves just enough.

Even the traditional sprinkle of
acidic lemon juice after cooking
changes the color somewhat,
especially if it stands before being
eaten,

And about those muscles like
Popeye? Though it’s rich in iron,
the form found in spinach is not
easily absorbed by the body. So
much of the reputation of spinach
as a muscle-builder is based on
myth,

I's very high in vitamin A,
however, and also light on calo-
ries.

When
are respected,
new culinary
the kids.

its natural constituents
spinach achieves
tus... even with