Moroccan Roasted Vegetable Couscous

20130305-DSC_7754-5Today I would like to take you to Morocco +  share one of my favourite dishes to make during the week. I love it not only because it’s full of flavour and has wonderful texture. I also love it because it’s so very easy and takes no time to make! There is very little hands-on time with this dish, which I really appreciate after a long day of work. You just pop the seasoned veggies in the oven to roast, make a quick batch of couscous (ie. as quick as boiling a pot of water) and top with golden raisins, pine nuts (or almonds) and caramelized onions. If I’m really running low on time, I skip the caramelized onions and this dish is still amazing. They key to making this dish a real show-stopper is seasoning the vegetables with Ras el Hanout spice blend. Ras el Hanout is a blend of spices often including cumin, ginger, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne pepper, saffron, cloves and nutmeg. The combination of spices are perfect.

Friday Favourites will resume next week. I just could not wait to share this dish with all of you! Wishing all of my wonderful readers a happy International Women’s Day. May there be peace, respect and equal opportunity for all. May each and every woman across the world have access to education, proper health care, security and the freedom to exercise her own human rights.

Cheers to strong, influential women around the world! Which woman inspires you?

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (optional)
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of canola oil or olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of Ras el Hanout
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 and 1/4 cup of organic vegetable broth
  • 1 cup of uncooked couscous (regular or whole wheat)
  • 1-15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil or canola oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup of pine nuts or sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup of golden raisins
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon of honey (or agave syrup)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400’F.

2. In a small bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips with canola oil or olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle ras el hanout, salt and pepper over the vegetables. Mix to distrubute seasoning. Place vegetables on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for until vegetables are slightly browned and tender (about 25 minutes).

3. While vegetables are roasting, bring vegetable broth to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add couscous. Remove saucepan from heat, cover and allow couscous to rest for at least 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork then slowly mix in the chickpeas. Re-cover.

4. While couscous and vegetables are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil or canola oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until browned (about 10 minutes). Add pine nuts or almonds and raisins. Cook another 2 minutes then sprinkle mixture with ground cinnamon.

5. Mound couscous in the middle of a neutral coloured serving platter. Place vegetables over the couscous. Spoon topping over the vegetables. Drizzle honey or agave over the dish and serve.

Yield: 6 servings (about 1 and 1/2 cups each serving)

Source: adapted from Cooking Light – January 2009

Caribbean Corn Chowder

20130302-DSC_7685-5Today, we are off to the Caribbean! This Caribbean Corn Chowder is a little bit wintery with the sweet potatoes and a little bit summery with the fresh corn and salsa. I cannot think of a better dish to serve at this time of year when signs of spring are finally starting to appear. This chowder is comforting and hearty for the tail-end of winter, but refreshing and sweet in celebration of warmer weather. The perfect way to say good bye to winter produce and begin saying hello to that of the spring. This corn chowder highlights a lot of the signature ingredients associated with Caribbean cuisine – allspice, cayenne pepper, chilies, cinnamon, coconut, garlic, ginger, and sweet potatoes. And it’s the perfect chowder to top with a few tablespoons of fresh mango salsa.

*For a gluten-free  + dairy-free version of this dish*, skip the step where you add flour and milk to your dish. Simply add 2 cups of vegetable broth after the garlic and ginger are sautéed. Then add a can of low-fat coconut milk. The chowder will be slightly less thick, but will have a huge amount of flavour.

Happy mid-week everyone! I’ll be back in a few days where we’ll be travelling to Morocco to enjoy a delicious, savoury dish with couscous! :)

Caribbean Corn Chowder

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 4

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of peeled sweet potato cubes
  • 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons of flour
  • 2 cups of low-fat milk (or 1-15 ounce can of low-fat coconut milk)
  • 1 cup of vegetable broth
  • 2 to 3 cups of frozen corn (adjust to your preference)
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground all-spice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • fresh mango salsa

Method

  1. Make the fresh mango salsa.
  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potato cubes. Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes). Drain and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add ginger and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add flour to coat. Gradually whisk in milk and broth ensuring there are no lumps. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, until soup has thickened slightly (about 5 minutes).
  4. Stir in cooked sweet potatoes and corn. Allow corn to thaw and heat through.
  5. Add ground all-spice, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 more minutes then remove chowder from heat.
  6. Serve chowder in soup bowls, spooning fresh mango salsa over top.

Source: adapted from West Coast Nest as originally seen on Peak of the Market website

Fresh Mango Salsa

20130302-DSC_7628Mangoes are the kind of fruit you can enjoy year round. Throughout the year, different varieties are in season. And all are delicious. Some hail from Mexico (mainly in March to May). And some come from Florida, Haiti or Brasil – all at differing times of the year. I’ve heard that mangoes from the Philippines are the very best. However, whenever they are in stock at the local ethnic food market down the street, I never arrive in time to buy some before they sell out. They are a hot commodity around here! Maybe I need to plan a trip to the Philippines…

Alas, today I want to share a delicious mango salsa using mangoes from Mexico. And what better way to celebrate a cute little mango from Mexico than to make salsa with it? *hehe* This salsa goes great with baked taco chips. It’s equally sweet to sour and has the right amount of heat. Even though salsa is seen more as a condiment for summer, it can easily be used in the winter as well. For instance, I like to add winter fruit salsas onto cheese + cracker plates. The perfect snack or appetizer. I also like to use salsa to top baked sweet potatoes or garnish hearty chilis.

In the next few days, I’ll be sharing the perfect corn chowder to enjoy this mango salsa with. But in the mean time, I suggest making a batch of this to have ready in the fridge. I only caution you that it may not last long enough to make it to my next post.

Also, please note, I had mentioned that I would be posting a recipe where Ras el Hanout is the key ingredient. I will be posting the recipe soon. I made it last week to photograph and we ended up eating it all before I could snap some pictures. :)

Fresh Mango Salsa

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients

  • 1 semi-ripe mango, pited and cubed
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 small jalapeño pepper, finely diced (de-seeded to remove some of the heat)
  • juice of one lime (2 tablespoons of juice)
  • 1 tablespoon of honey or agave syrup
  • 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped cilantro (optional)
  • pinch of salt

Method

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Place in the refrigerator and allow salsa to sit for at least an hour to ensure the flavours come together nicely.

To Serve

  1. Salsa with chips
  2. Topping for cheese + crackers or crostini
  3. A condiment for veggie burgers
  4. Garnish for stews or chilies
  5. Topping for a baked sweet potato

Source: loosely adapted from Peak of the Market