Chickpea Tagine

Our food co-op brought in an assortment of root veggies this week, and fortuitously found a recipe that incorporated many of them while cruising the Food & Wine recipe search. (Note: It's awesome. You can search by ingredients for recipe or for multiple ingredients.)

Anyway, this chickpea tagine was great. It's a thick veggie stew with Moroccan flavors.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. dried chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans) (allow time to soak overnight and drain if using dried) or use 1 can prepared chickpeas (what I did! Much easier)

1/4 tsp. saffron threads (I used the much less expensive Spanish variety available at Caputo's)

1 quart plus 2 Tbsp. water

1 large onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp. ground cumin

One 3-inch cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

2 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

Once 14.5 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

Salt

2 small zucchini, diced

1 Tbsp. minced preserved lemon rind (I used lemon jelly with preserved lemon rind . . . it worked fine)

Freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro leaves

Yogurt and harissa for serving (I didn't have harissa, so I used piment d'espelette . . . could probably use cayenne in a small amount)

DIRECTIONS:

1) If using dried chickpeas, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until tender, 45 minutes. Drain. Skip this step if using canned chickpeas.

2) In a bowl, crumble the saffron in the 2 tablespoons of water; steep for 10 minutes.

3) In a large pot (at least 3 1/2 quarts), melt the butter and let brown. Add the olive oil and heat for 30 seconds. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter and oil over moderate heat until golden; 8 minutes. Add the cumin, cinnamon stick, and crushed red pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the saffron water, chickpeas, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, the quart of water (4 cups), and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the squash and potatoes are tender, 30 minutes.

4) Add the zucchini and the preserved lemon; simmer until the zucchini is tender, 5 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick. Season the tagine with salt and pepper and stir in the cilantro. Serve in bowls with a dollop of plain yogurt and harissa.

Yum.

Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls are surprisingly easy. With fresh veggies and herbs--how can you go wrong, really? I use these measurements as a guideline based on my preference, and you should too.

Spring Rolls
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb-size piece ginger, grated
• 2 green onions, sliced into matchstick pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded or finely chopped cabbage
• 4-6 shiitake mushrooms, cut into matchstick pieces
• approx. 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• Optional: 1/2 C chicken or tofu, diced
• 2 Tbsp. oil, plus more for deep-frying
• 1 pkg. small spring roll wrappers (thawed if frozen)

Stir Fry Sauce
• 2 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (if vegetarian, substitute vegetarian oyster sauce, or extra soy sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. sake or sherry

Serve with
• Thai sweet chili sauce
• or 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part rice vinegar with sriracha to taste
• or 1/3 cup plum sauce with 3 Tbsp. soy sauce. Add cut fresh chili or cayenne pepper if desired.

Directions

1. Place 1 Tbsp. oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add garlic, ginger, and shallots. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add a little water to the pan if it starts to get dry.
2. Add cabbage and mushrooms (and chicken or tofu if you choose). As you stir-fry, add the sauce. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, until vegetables have softened.
3. Remove from heat and add bean sprouts, coriander and basil tossing to mix in.
4. Do a taste test for salt, adding 1 Tbsp. more fish or soy sauce if not salty enough.
5. Set up for assembly--have a bowl of water for your fingers and a clean, dry working surface for the rolls. To assemble rolls, place a spring roll wrapper on the clean working surface. Place one heaping Tbsp. of the filling on the wrapper (if using large wrappers, you will need more). Spread the filling lengthwise along the spring roll wrapper nearer the end closest to you. Also, try not to include too much of the liquid left in the bottom of your wok/pan (a slotted spoon works well for this - drier filling is better.
7. Fold the left and right sides of wrapper over filling, then lift up the wide end nearest you and tuck overtop. Roll to the other end. Secure the roll by dipping your fingers in some water and wetting the end, "pasting" it shut.
8. To fry spring rolls, place some oil (about 1 inch deep) in a wok or deep-sided frying pan over medium-high heat. Oil is hot enough when you flick water at it with your fingers, and the water dances.
9. Using tongs, place spring rolls in oil, allowing them to fry a little less than 1 minute on each side. Spring rolls are done when they turn light to medium golden-brown (see photo). Place on paper towels (or a clean dish towel) to drain while you finish frying the rest. It might take one or two rolls to get the oil at just the right temperature--you don't want the rolls soaking in the oil, but you don't want them burning, either.
10. Serve spring rolls while still hot with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, or your own dipping sauce.