Moroccan Meatball Tagine with Eggs

This dish was outstanding!! This will be a regular in my household...and it was surprisingly easy! Even better after a tough workout at the gym. (Scroll down for more pics).

Meatballs
600g minced beef or lamb
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 eggs, to bind
salt and pepper, to season
sprinkling of finely chopped parsley
3 Tbs oil, for frying

Sauce
1 onion, chopped roughly
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 Tbs tomato paste (mixed with 500ml beef stock)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tablespoon honey
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
4 eggs (or more)

To Serve
couscous or rice
bread of choice

Combine the meatball ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the meat and spices through thoroughly with your hands, add the onion, garlic, and parsley and crack the eggs in. Mix the eggs throughout the mixture well so that it binds together well.

Form small balls by taking a palm full of the mixture, flattening it out to remove air pockets, and then rolling between your hands to make golf ball sized meatballs. Obviously you can make them as big or as small as you want.

Using a tagine (you can just use a regular frying pan with a lid if you don’t have a tagine) and add a little oil to the bottom, then fry the sliced onion until it’s mostly cooked through. Add the meatballs on top of the onion and fry them until just browned all over, turning them over every few minutes to make sure they’re cooking evenly.

Once the meatballs are browned, add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste mixture over the top until the meatballs are almost covered. At that point sprinkle in the other spices and drizzle over the honey. Give the whole dish a gentle stir mix the spices through. Place the lid of the tagine on, and turn the heat down to quite low to let the flavours infuse and the sauce to soak into the meatballs. If the level of liquid in the dish is a bit low, then add some water.

Give this ten minutes or so to simmer and for the meatballs to cook through. Take the lid off and crack the eggs into the sauce (in between gaps in the meatballs). Add another good seasoning of salt and pepper, and then put the lid back on the tagine. Leave the eggs to poach for a few minutes until they are just soft and still runny inside.

Serve with couscous or rice, and bread.

This was the first time I used my new tagine.....and I loved it!!

Raw meatballs.

Raw mince 'kofta' mixture.

Just after adding all the sauce ingredients.

Browning the meatballs.

After serving.....

The eggs were poached perfectly!

The meatballs were cooked through.

Plain Biryani Rice

3 cups long grain rice, soaked for 3 hours, drained
3 Tbs oil

3 medium onions, chopped

1 tsp grated, fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed
4-5 cups water
1/2 tsp each ground turmeric, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, ground coriander, cumin 

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 bay leaf

4 Tbs skim milk

For Garnish

Plain yoghurt, stir in lemon juice

slivered almonds

 

Method

In a large non-stick saucepan, heat oil and sauté onions until golden brown. Add ginger and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add rice, water, all spices and bay leaf. Mix well.

Boil, covered, until rice is three-quarters cooked, then reduce heat to very low. Add milk and almonds, and continue to cook until remaining liquid is absorbed. Stir rice, remove from heat, and serve with garnishes.

Lamb Biryani

After having tried this dish for the first time at a local Indian restaurant, I decided to make a lamb version.

I didn't use a store bought mix, sauce or base, but made it from scratch. Although a bit time-consuming, it was SO worth it! This dish will certainly be a future regular in my kitchen.

1kg lamp, chopped into nite size chunks

1 1/2 Tbs ground coriander
1 tsp ground paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground aniseed

1/4 tsp each ground turmeric, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, ground cloves

2 tsp grated, fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tblsp white vinegar

3 tblsp oil
4 large onions, finely chopped
3 tblsp slivered almonds
6 tblsp plain yoghurt

4 cups long grain rice, washed and drained
3 Tbs oil

2 onions, chopped

1 tsp grated, fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed
6 cups (1 1/2 liters) water
1/4 tsp each ground turmeric, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, ground cloves

1 bay leaf

4 Tbs skim milk

For Garnish

Plain yoghurt, stir in lemon juice

slivered almonds

How to make Lamb Biryani:

• Remove excess fat from lamb, place in a bowl.
• In another bowl, mix coriander, paprika, cumin, aniseed, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice.
• Add to lamb and mix well.
• Allow to stand for 15 minutes.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan, sauté onions until golden brown.
• Add marinated meat.
• Cover saucepan and simmer with no added water for 40 minutes.
• Remove from heat, add almonds and yoghurt.
• Stir to prevent sticking.
• Cook covered, until liquid has dried up and oil rises.
• Remove saucepan from heat and put aside.

• To prepare rice :
• In a large saucepan, heat oil and sauté onions until golden brown.
• Add ginger and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
• Add rice, water, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf.
• Mix well.
• Boil it covered until rice is three-quarters cooked, then reduce heat to very low.
• Add milk and continue to cook until remaining liquid is absorbed.
• Stir rice with a fork, remove from heat.
• Transfer half the rice to a serving dish or casserole.
• Spread half the curried lamb over it.
• Make another layer of rice, and top dish with remaining lamb.
• Garnish and serve.

Lamb with marinade, before mixing.

Chicken Tofu Pad Thai

This dish was adapted from Thai Kitchen's Shrimp Pad Thai recipe. Really easy and so delicious! You could omit the chicken and shrimp paste to make this recipe vegetarian friendly.

• ricestick noodles, four servings
• 500g chicken breast, sliced into bite size pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs tamarind puree
• 1 Tbs kecap manis
• 2 Tbs oil
• 2 tsp shrimp paste
• 1/4 cup palm sugar, chopped
• 2 tsp extra tamarind puree, mixed with 1Tbs water
• 3 spring onions, chopped into 1 inch lengths
• 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely broken up
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 cup firm tofu, cut into thick strips (I purchased Thai flavoured pre-marinated tofu)

Garnish

• 1 cup beansprouts
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, coursley broken up
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• juice of half a lime

1. Marinate the chicken by combining the chicken, garlic, puree and kecap manis. Marinate for 1 hour.
2. Cook noodles according to packet directions, drain and set aside.
3. Heat a little cooking oil in a wok and add the chicken, stir fry until almost cooked, remove to a bowl.
4. Reheat oil and add shrimp paste, palm sugar and puree, briefly stir fry.
5. Add spring onions, stir. Push ingredients to the side of the wok and add the egg. Fry until almost cooked through.
6. Add noodles to wok, stir until coated with sauce. Add small amounts of water as required.
7. Add rest of ingredients, stir fry briefly. Remove from wok and serve with garnish.

To make the garnish:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Marinate in fridge for at least 15 minutes. Sprinkle this mixture over the cooked Pad Thai.  

Spring onions.

Chives.

Marinated tofu.

Half of this 'accidentally' fell in my mouth while preparing.

The garnish.

Rice stick noodles.

Palm sugar cubes.....

....all chopped up!

Finished in the wok.

The result? The best Pad Thai I've EVER made!!

Lentil and Rice Soup

Very easy! Why use dried lentils when you can use canned?

2 Tbs oil
3 litres hot water
2 brown onions, roughly chopped
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 can lentils (any colour)
1 large carrot, diced
6 tsp vegetable stock powder
2 cups rice
3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot and fry off onion. Add the tomato paste and fry for 1 minute.
Add lentils, carrots, stock powder and all of the water. bring to the boil and let simmer for 45 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Serve with crusty bread.

Homemade Sushi and Sake Night

Singapore Noodles (Vegetarian)

I think this may be the first time I've ever made Singapore Noodles.

My past experiences of Singapore Noodles have always been from Asian takeaway stores - frantically stuffed into a plastic rectangular container, the lid convexed due to the extra large amount of yellow, stringy noodles within. I am reminded of the spicy, curry aroma of the thin noodles scattered with peas and tiny prawns, maybe the occasional piece of shredded chicken or pork.

This version (v1.0) is vegetarian, however the original recipe calls for chicken, pork and/or prawns. My aim is to find an authentic recipe and cook a v2.0, which I will of course share with you all.

• 440g packet Singapore-style noodles
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil, divided
• 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1 green capsicum, cubed 
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons kecap manis
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• small amount of water, if required

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, set aside.

Heat a wok over medium-high heat, add oil. Add carrot, ginger and garlic; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add capsicum and zucchini, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add curry and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.

Stir in noodles, stock, kecap manis and salt; stir until noodles are thoroughly coated with sauce and heated through. (Add a small amount of water if noodles seem dry). Serve.

These noodles are slightly larger than the traditional Singapore noodles.

Fresh greens!

This recipe uses a fair bit of ginger.

Stir-frying the garlic, ginger and carrot.

The Easiest Damper Rolls Ever

I literally made these within 10 minutes, no kneading. What can I say, I'm hungry! They're still in the oven baking as I'm typing this....

• 450g (3 cups) self-raising flour
• 50mL oil
• 1 cup water

Preheat oven to 200°C. Spray a 12-hole muffin tray with oil. Combine the flour, oil and water in a large bowl until it comes together to form a dough. You may need to add more flour or more water as required. The dough should not be sticky.

Shape into 12 even balls and place in muffin tray. Bake in preheated oven for no more than 20 minutes, or until the damper is cooked through and sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

Transfer to a wire rack for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rolled into balls and placed in muffin tray.

Out of the oven!!

Break it open....