Monthly Archives: August 2011

Meat cigars

Posted on August 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

For our finger food meal at church this Sunday, I decided to make ‘meat cigars’, or Briwat Bil Kefta. These are a meat, egg and herb filling wrapped up in phyllo dough and baked. Traditionally in Morocco, Briwat (with many different types of filling) are made with a thin pastry called warka, but sheets of phyllo are much easier to come by in the U.S.  As with any individually-wrapped party food, these take a while to make, but they’re worth the effort!

First, make the filling (kefta):
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
salt and black pepper to taste
5 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 package phyllo dough (8 oz. needed)
canola oil

Over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet, saute the onion in oil until translucent. Add cinnamon, ginger, cayenne and chili powder and stir briefly to combine. Stir in ground beef and continue to stir and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until meat is cooked through. It will stay kind of wet (ie. the beef will not brown in the pan). Stir together eggs and fresh herbs in a separate bowl, then pour over beef in the skillet and stir continuously for about 3-4 minutes until eggs are cooked. Remove from heat and set aside for filling to cool before assembling ‘cigars’.

When the filling is cool, remove the phyllo dough from its packaging and cut into three strips (about 9″ x 4.5″). Stack these up on top of each other into one stack (this will help keep the layers underneath from drying out). Brush the top layer very lightly with canola oil, then place a heaping Tablespoon of filling near one edge – about an inch from the bottom.

Start rolling from the bottom edge, then fold in the sides. If dough tears a little at this point it is ok. Then continue rolling to the end, adding a bit of oil at the top edge to seal it well and keep it from unrolling.  continue this process and make 50-60 rolls until the filling is used up.

At this point, I refrigerated the ‘cigars’ (stored in single layers with wax paper between the layers) so that I could bake them in the morning before our finger food meal. I would actually recommend freezing them instead if you’re not baking them immediately. The phyllo got wet and they started sticking to each other and the pan after overnight refrigeration.

To bake the rolls, place them on a baking dish or baking pan in single layers and brush with canola oil or butter. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Serve hot.

Adapted from: Arabesque: A taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon – by Claudia Roden

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Posted in Appetizer, Morocco

Two veggie dishes

Posted on August 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

So far at least, Hurricane Irene has caused only a brief blip of a power outage, so I was able to do some cooking today. I’m trying to be more healthy and increase my fruit and vegetable intake, so here are two delicious vegetable side dishes. The flavors are just exotic enough to really “kick things up a notch” (as Emeril would say), while retaining all the nutritive value of any lightly cooked veggies.  Another handy feature is that both of these dishes actually taste best at room temperature, so you can easily make them to go along with any meal or picnic.

Zucchini with Cumin and Herbs
1 lb. zucchini
1 Tbsp. olive or canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon or lime juice

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and boil the zucchinis whole for about 5 minutes, drain. When cool enough to touch, slice the zucchini into medium-thick rounds. In a non-stick pan, saute the garlic in olive oil over medium heat until starting to brown.

Add 1/3 c. water, cumin, salt, chili power, and fresh herbs. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 more minutes until completely tender and flavors are absorbed. Sprinkle with lemon or lime juice. Serve at room temperature.

Adapted from: “A Taste of Morocco” by Maria Seguin-Tsouli

Sweet Potato Salad
1 lb. sweet potatoes
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
canola or olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
pinch of saffron, crushed and dissolved in 2 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Saute onion over medium heat in oil until translucent. Add ground ginger and saffron and stir for another minute. Add sweet potatoes, cumin, paprika, lemon juice and salt to taste. Add about 1/2-3/4 c. water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, stir in fresh herbs, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Set aside to cool, serve warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from: “Cafe Morocco” by Anissa Helou

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Posted in Morocco, Vegetable Side

Moroccan-style Roasted Chicken

Posted on August 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ll admit I haven’t eaten a lot of ‘real’ Moroccan food, but I have eaten and cooked recipes that touted Moroccan flavors and spices.  I’ve loved those dishes and the combination of spices that is ‘moroccan’ in my mind. So I’m excited to try some more traditional recipes through September, and see how they match up with my preconceived notions of Moroccan cuisine.

As a first attempt, I tried a roast chicken stuffed with spiced couscous and dried fruits. The chicken was rubbed with a butter flavored with crushed garlic, oregano, and paprika. But the outer treatment of the chicken is not the main event here, the stuffing is what makes this dish sing.

Couscous Stuffing:
1 1/4 c. couscous
1 c. boiling water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. golden raisins
4 oz. dried apricots, sliced
4 oz. Turkish dates, sliced
3 Tbsp. slivered or sliced almonds

Stir the couscous with salt and boiling water. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes to absorb liquid. Fluff with a fork, then mix in the olive oil and work with your hands to remove any lumps. Mix in all other ingredients.

Note: Couscous is often described as a ‘grain’, but it’s not really. It’s basically a type of pasta made with semolina and water.

Here’s what the chicken looked like when I put it in the oven – it was rubbed with the flavored butter, stuffed with the couscous stuffing (above), and then capped off with the end of an orange – which is supposed to help hold the stuffing inside. The recipe said to squeeze the rest of the orange juice over top (pulp came out of my orange, so I left it there too!). Then you pour a little chicken stock in the bottom and roast the chicken uncovered at 350 until it is cooked through, about 1.5 hours in my case. Baste the chicken regularly with the liquid from the bottom of the pan.

Here’s what it looked like when it was finished. Mine did end up to be a little dry, I’m not sure if it should have been covered during the first part of roasting, or if I just overcooked it a bit in general. But the stuffing was delicious – very fruity and almost like dessert rather than a main dish! There was leftover stuffing that didn’t fit inside the chicken, so I just mixed it all together at the end.

Adapted from: Flavors of Morocco, by Ghillie Basan

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Posted in Main dish, Morocco