Heavenly Cioppino

This was incredible.... and yes, even better the next day. It originated, and then twisted, from Fish: Without A Doubt by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore. In general, the recipes in the book are great starting-off points; each one can be improved with a little research and some more complex seasonings or techniques from the cuisine that inspired the dish. I really respect the authors, who took the time to construct a cookbook around sustainably-harvested or farmed fish. They include an introduction about ocean sustainability, as well as how to clean and prepare fresh fish. There are lists of acceptable fish substitutes for each recipe, and the flavors are generally modern and use fail-safe techniques for even the most inexperienced home fish cook.

***

Cioppino, that gorgeous seafood stew, can be as complex as you want it to be. Shrimp, mussels, clams, crab, scallops and lobster all have taken center stage in it at some point. I personally like simple cioppino, just with scallops or a dense fish, so you can really taste the quality of the seafood and let that particular meat shine. So, this recipe is for scallops only. For mussels or clams, use another recipe, preferably with red wine - this one would be too delicate. One of the best things about this dish is that you can make virtually everything the day before, or much earlier in the day - the finishing step takes only ~15 minutes! Oh, so soul-enrichingly good!

Heavenly Cioppino
Serves 6
(Make croutons, cilantro aioli, and cioppino base the day before. The day of, heat base and finish.)

Olive oil
1 rustic baguette, sliced on the diagonal into 1/2" slices
1 large garlic clove

1 tiny shallot, chopped
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1.5 Tbl fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg yolk
coarse salt

2/3 cup olive oil
2 large onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, pressed
4 small bell peppers, one each of red, green, yellow, orange - cut into 1/2" dice
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary, thoroughly crushed
1/2 fresh bay leaf (1 dried)
pinch cinnamon
pinch allspice
2 serrano chiles, seeds and membranes removed
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup Sauvignon Blanc, or other dry, crisp white wine
coarse salt
fresh pepper (white if you can stand it, black if you can't)
16 oz. clam juice
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1.5 lbs sea scallops, fresh or frozen
2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2/3 cup chopped fresh basil

To make croutons:

1. Heat some olive oil in a pan.
2. Put in as many slices of baguette as will fit.
3. Saute until a reddish-brown, maybe 3 minutes.
4. Turn, adding oil if needed, and repeat.
5. Remove bread to a plate to cool.
6. Finish remaining bread.

To make aioli:

1. Put shallot, garlic, lime juice, and cilantro in a food processor and make a paste. Add mayo and egg yolk to make a smooth sauce.
2. Season with salt.
3. Refrigerate until use.

To make cioppino base:

1. Have all ingredients measured out and next to the stove.
2. Heat a large stockpot over high heat.
3. Add the olive oil and onions.
4. Saute until onions are translucent, stirring often, about 3 minutes.
5. Add garlic, saute for another 1 minute.
6. Add bell pepper, dried herbs & spices, saute for another 2 minutes.
7. Add serranos and tomato paste, and mix until combined.
8. Saute for another 2 minutes, or until bell peppers are almost tender. DO NOT BURN PASTE.
9. Pour in wine, bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes, until syrupy.
10. Add pepper, clam juice, tomatoes, and bring to a boil again.
11. Turn down the heat, and let simmer for 30 minutes to reduce.
12. If saving for the next day, let cool and refrigerate. The next day, bring to a simmer and continue.

To finish cioppino:

1. Add the scallops. If frozen, let cook on a slow simmer for about 10-15 minutes, adding fresh herbs in last 3 minutes of cooking. If fresh, add scallops and fresh herbs and cook together for only 3-4 minutes (they will continue to cook after you take them off the stove).

To serve:

1. Rub a clove of garlic over both sides of a crouton & put the slice in the bottom of a bowl.
2. Add a couple ladlefuls of cioppino.
3. Drizzle with aioli, maybe some more fresh basil.

If there is anything closer to heaven, I don't know what it is.

**Note: if you are lucky enough to have leftovers, DO NOT microwave the scallops in the broth - you will be sorry. Instead, ladle out soup into a bowl, pick out the scallops, and heat soup until very hot, about 2 minutes on HI. Meanwhile, rub a crouton with fresh garlic and chop some fresh basil. Take out the soup and add the scallops back in, mixing well. Slide a crouton into the bowl under the soup, drizzle cilantro aioli on top, and top with fresh basil. Like fresh, but better!

Fluffy Pita bread

These pitas were excellent - very soft, fluffy, and even with the required 'pocket' inside!

Great paired with hummus for a potluck.

Fluffy Pita Bread
Makes 8 pitas
Baking+rising time: ~3hrs

1-1/4 cups whole milk
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 c whole wheat chappati flour
1 c King Arthur Bread Flour
1 c Fairhaven red wheat high-gluten all-purpose flour
bread flour for extra sprinkling
1 1/2 tsp salt
1.5 Tbl sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Warm milk in microwave in a glass measuring cup for 30 seconds. Stir, and warm another 30 seconds.
2. Pour out 1/4 cup into a small bowl and sprinkle yeast into it. Set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Put flours, salt, and sugar into KitchenAid.
4. Mix with paddle until yeast is done.
5. Make a well, and pour in yeast, milk, and olive oil.
6. Mix with paddle until incorporated.
7. Switch to a dough hook, and knead for 3-5 minutes, adding flour or water to make a soft dough.
   
8. Oil a metal bowl. Put dough into bowl, move around so it has a layer of oil.
9. Let rise for ~1 hour in a warm place.
10. Punch down, and cut into 8 pieces.
11. Roll into balls, then let rest for 15 minutes.
12. Shape balls into flat, 5-inch pancakes, and let rise 20 minutes.
13. Meanwhile, put a baking or pizza stone into the oven and preheat to 450F. (an upside-down cookie sheet can double as a baking stone)
14. Put three to four pitas at a time onto baking stone and bake for 3-4 minutes, until puffed but not brown.
15. Wrap in a damp towel to keep warm.

A Moroccan Feast

This menu was aided by the fact that I was hungry... but even the next day, all the flavors of these foods together made me swoon.

A Moroccan Feast for Four
(or two, if that's what you've got)

Parsnip hummus
The Best Tzatziki
Nigella-scented Moroccan rolls

Pat's Berber Kale
Simple Horiatiki
Roasted chicken with preserved lemon sauce
Pomegranate molasses in club soda

Sweet almond milk flavored with orange-blossom water

Parsnip Hummus

One of my new favorite cookbooks, Spice; Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, by Ana Sortun, has an unusual arrangement of chapters and recipes with unusual seasonings paired together. The recipes are not that difficult, but have all been terribly delicious.

This recipe is an unusual take on hummus, which I love, but is much lighter-feeling on the tongue and uses parsnips (a local winter treat) rather than garbanzos. The texture is very creamy and quite a bit sweeter than regular hummus, and definitely gives a feeling of the Pacific Northwest in winter.

Warning: this contains butter, and it is heavenly.

Creamy Parsnip Hummus with Parsley
Adapted from Spice
Serves 2-4

1/2 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1-2 Tbl tahini
2 Tbl freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-3 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbl unsalted, cultured butter, cut into small pieces
3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
garnish: 1 Tbl chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
optional: sumac & kalamata olives, for garnish

1. In a medium saucepan, cover the parsnips with water and bring them to a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the parsnips fo about 20 minutes, until they are tender but not mushy. Drain.
3. Mix the tahini with the lemon juice until there are no lumps.
4. Combine the cooked parsnips and the butter in a food processor. Process until smooth.
5. Add the tahnini mixture and remaining ingredients (except garnishes) and puree until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl a couple times with a spatula, if needed.
6. Let cool, or eat slightly warm sprinkled with garnishes.
   
7. Serve with Nigella-scented rolls, tzatziki and ajvar.

Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemon Sauce (slowcooker)

This recipe is adapted from Authentic Recipes From Morocco; 60 simple and delicious recipes from the land of the tagine, by Fatema Hal. The recipes really are deceptively simple, but the flavors of unusual spices paired with high-quality ingredients are mouth-wateringly delicious. This dish would have been okay with a 'natural' or organic chicken, but free-range chickens really do have much better flavor.

The long cooking times for many Moroccan main dishes are great for adapting to slowcookers, which takes longer than the recipes but gets the food put away for a couple hours to attend to salads and side dishes, as well as friendly conversation. This paired extremely well with Pat's Berber Kale, Tzatziki, Parsnip Hommous and some Nigella-scented Moroccan Rolls.

Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemon Sauce
serves 6
preparation time: 20-30 minutes
cooking time: 2 hours

2 cups hot water or chicken broth
several saffron threads
1 free-range chicken, cleaned and dried*
2 heaping tsp whole nigella seeds - one tsp crushed
6 Tbl olive oil
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 large preserved Meyer lemon, quartered**

1. In a bowl, add the saffron to the hot water or broth. Set aside.
2. Rub the chicken with 1 tsp of crushed nigella seeds.
3. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat.
4. Add the onions, ginger, salt, pepper and chicken.
5. Brown the chicken on all sides, about 5 minutes per side.
6. Remove the chicken to the insert of a slowcooker, breast-side up.
7. Add the saffron, cilantro, whole nigella seeds, and preserved lemon to the onion and oil mixture. Stir until just heated.
8. Pour onion mixture over chicken in slowcooker.
9. Cover and set on HIGH for 2 hours.
10. To serve, place the chicken on a warmed platter. Skim off the top layer of oil and reserve for a dipping oil (heaven in a dish, really). Pour remaining sauce over the chicken and dig in.
    

*The drier the skin, the better the chicken will brown.
**The preserved lemons are Meyer lemons with a Safi spicing recommended by Paula Wolfert - ours are nearly a year old and have a great perfume with a lot of sour, bitter and salty flavors.

Harira

This recipe was not only a winner for its flavor and texture, but also its authenticity. Pat had this soup in Morocco, where it is traditionally served as the break for the Ramadan fast. A surprisingly velvety soup - the rich, silkiness of the broth are ideal for a winter's night, served with couscous and an assortment of Moroccan side dishes and salads. Even though this was a half recipe, it lasted us a while. It is also one of the recipes annoyingly cut-and-pasted throughout the web from recipe bots, along with all of the spelling and grammatical errors. We changed a couple things, but kept what we think is one of the most important parts: the flour, blended into the vegetables, added 20 minutes before the end of cooking.

Harira
serves 2 for three days, or 4-6 small servings

• 1/4 lb lamb, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/8 tsp saffron
• 1 Tbl paprika
• 4-5 c chicken stock (not broth)
  
• 1 soup bone
• 1/2 Tbl butter
• 1 Tbl salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/4 c chana dal (baby chickpeas)
  
• 1/4 c dried fava beans, washed and dried
• 2 1/2 Tbl all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c water
  
• 3/4 lb tomatoes
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1/2 bunch fresh coriander
• 1/4 c cooked or canned chickpeas
  
• 1 /2 Tbl butter
• 3 Tbl vermicelli
• 1 /2 lemon, juiced
  

1. Brown the lamb, onion, saffron and paprika (to taste) in a deep pan.
   
2. Add 3 cups of chicken stock, soup bone, butter, salt, pepper, chana dal, and the dried fava beans.
3. Begin soaking flour in 1/2 c. water.
   
4. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours or more (4 hours is ideal).
5. 20 minutes before serving, put the tomatoes, parsley, coriander, and flour/water paste in a blender and add to the soup pan with the chickpeas.
   
6. Add 1 1/2 cups of stock, and when it returns to boil, add the vermicelli.
   
7. When the vermicelli is cooked, add butter and lemon juice.
   
8. Serve each bowl with a wedge of lemon.
   

*Note: Lentils may be substituted for chick peas; meat can be chicken; yeast may be used in
place of flour and water if that mixture was not made night before; rice may be substituted for vermicelli.

A soup served each night at sundown to break the Ramadan Fast.
This receipe is altered from COOKING IN MOROCCO by the American Women's Association of Rabat.