Morrocan-Spiced Vegetables with Couscous, Chickpeas + Grilled Chicken

A few weeks ago I wrote about a superlative lamb stew I enjoyed under a tent at Savuti Camp in Botswana while on safari with my sister-in-law, Arlene. Savuti was the first of three camps we visited, and we fell madly, head-over-heels in love with every person, every animal, every experience we had during our sojourn, and we made friends that we still—despite being half a world apart—keep in touch with to this day. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried like two-year-old that hadn't napped when we finally had to leave this Shangri La, but at Kwetsani Camp, in the Okavango Delta, a whole new world awaited us; baboons stealing the soap from our outdoor shower, scorpions scurrying across the floor of our loo, a whole new cast of characters to get to know. But the highlight of our stay--one of the most perfect evenings of my life--was a traditional African meal served out in the bush, under a canopy of sparkling South African stars.

This particular dinner came as surprise to us; after a typical safari day of watching eles, and hippo, and giraffe, rather then heading back to camp, our guide instead drove us through a thicket of scrubby brush, to a large clearing, lit up by a wild, blazing bonfire. Upon exiting the Rover, we were greeted by the camp staff singing traditional African songs, while playing percussive instruments. As the beat increased, they started dancing around the fire, and—after a few lubricating cocktails—we kicked off our shoes and joined in the dance as well (as they say, "when in Rome...")

And then, under an African sky peppered with so many sparkling stars that I had to pull my eyes away, lest I fall under a spell, we all—friends and strangers, from different worlds, and lives, and backgrounds—sat down at a long table, covered in white linen, and topped with fine crystal. We started our meal with a soul-restoring pumpkin soup, laced with cinnamon, and cumin, and coriander, and oh, how I wish I knew what else! In between courses, we chatted with the other guests and amazingly, I discovered that the gentleman sitting directly across from me was not only from my hometown, but knew my brothers as well (reminding me once again what a small world it truly is). For our entree, we hungrily dug into fluffy couscous, nutty chickpeas, and exotic, spiced vegetables, served, the African way, with grilled meat, on the side. I loved every second of the evening and never wanted it to end. But that's the thing about Africa, the more you experience it, the more you want it, the more you need it; it's the most addictive drug I've ever known.

Morrocan-Spiced Vegetables with Couscous, Chick Pea + Grilled Chicken
You can use grilled chicken, or beef or lamb with this dish. Or, skip the meat all together and make this a vegetarian dish. For the couscous, simply follow the directions for the entire box.

Garnish
Dried apricots, soaked in warm water for ten minutes, then thinly sliced
Toasted pine nuts
Shelled pistachios

Spiced Vegetables
8-10 (really fresh, preferably organic) carrots, sliced
1 butternut squash (preferably organic), diced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloved garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
Salt + Pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a roasting pan and roast in 450 degree oven for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until vegetables are just tender.

Chick Peas
2 cups dried chick peas
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Place chick peas in a large bowl, cover with water (+1"), then soak for 8 hours, or overnight. Drain, rinse and place peas in large pot. Add 5 cups water and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, bring to boil, then simmer until peas are soft (appx. 2 hours.) Add more water as needed. When tender, drain and set aside.

Composing the Dish
When ready to compose, place couscous in the center of the platter, spoon vegetables, and chick peas around edges, add meat. Sprinkle pine nuts, pistachios, and chopped apricots over the top and serve at warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!
Suzanne Brown 1.31.08

Sweet Potatoes + Acorn Squash in Spicy Coconut Milk

Unable to sleep at 2:00 a.m. this morning, I tossed and turned, trying to distract myself with visions of seascapes, and secret gardens, until finally I just gave up trying and instead started planning my next cumin-inspired meal. Too weary (and cold, since heating your house with wood means a 50 degree bedroom in the wee hours) to drag myself into the kitchen to look for inspiration in my cookbook library, I instead chose to throw tradition out the window (methaphorically speaking , of course), and simply improvise a meal in my head; by 2:45 a.m. I had decided upon a vegetarian supper inspired by the flavors of Asia; sweet potatoes and acorn squash, bathed in a rich coconut milk sauce. Can you say, "aroi mak" (very delicious, in Thai)?

This spicy, flavor-packed dish is wonderful spooned over steamed basmati rice, but can certainly share center stage with a simple chicken or beef dish, if you can't survive without protein for a few hours. However you serve it, prepare for a chiminea-like warmth in your belly; the perfect antidote for a bitter January evening.

Sweet Potatoes + Acorn Squash in Spicy Coconut Milk
5 sweet potatoes, peeled, diced into 1" cubes
1 acorn squash (or butternut squash, or a combo of the two), peeled, diced into 1" cubes
1 yellow onion, diced
2-3 tablespoons chopped, fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 - 13.5 oz can coconut milk (not lite)
1/2 cup water
Chopped cilantro

Steam the potatoes and squash for 10 minutes, or until just barely soft. Drain, set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in skillet or wok over medium-high heat, then add onions, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and garam masala, and cook until onions are tender. Remove from pan and set aside. In same skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil until hot, then cook sweet potatoes and squash until golden, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes). Add onion mixture, coconut milk and water, continue cooking for another 5 minutes, then serve over basmati rice.

Serves 4

Simple (but by no means boring) Spiced Rice
4 cups water
2-3 teaspoons salt
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon saffron
2 cups basmati rice

Bring water, salt cinnamon, and saffron to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for approximately 2o minutes, or until liquid is evaporated. (note: don't peek; good rice gets that way by not being checked on.)

Suzanne Brown 1.21.08

Arroz Con Pollo + Black Beans

¡Soy así que excitado; amos a Puerto Rico! (Translation: I'm so excited; we're going to Puerto Rico!)

Looking as pale and pasty as could be (short of laying on a gurney with a tag tied to my toe), and seriously needing a break from Ice Melt, 4-wheel drive, and Thinsulate, we just booked a little getaway to Old San Juan. For those who have never been there, Puerto Rico is a bubbling stockpot of excitement; the weather is pretty much perfect every day of the year, the music makes even the most buttoned-up wallflowers start tapping their toes, and the food is...well, where do I begin? Puerto Rican food is sassy, and flavorful, and exciting, filled with warm, earthy spices, and loads of garlic and onions. Like all my favorite foods, it gets its roots from simple, filling, peasant fare. Rice, beans, pork, chicken, fish, plantains, and fresh vegetables make up the typical Puerto Rican menu; there are blissfully no anxiety-inducing cream sauces, no expensive cuts of meat, and no complicated preparations. Puerto Rican food is food for the soul, that you roll up your sleeves for, and dig into heartily, stopping only to take a sip of a cold cerveza, and maybe let out a sigh, and close your eyes in utter delight.

In anticipation of our trip, I am making Arroz con Pollo with black beans tonight for dinner. I've been cooking the black beans with two ham hocks, and a handful of seasonings for about two hours now, and the smell is so amazing, that my mouth is watering like I am Homer Simpson in a Krispy Kreme shop. Clearly, it's time to roll up my sleeves, and start digging in.

Black Beans
16 oz. bag of dried black beans
1 or 2 ham hocks
6 cups chicken stock
6-8 cloves of garlic, whole
1 heaping teaspoon, cumin
2 bay leaves
Salt + Pepper, as needed

Soak beans in cold water for 2-4 hours, then drain and rinse. Throw all the ingredients into a stockpot, and simmer for 2-3 hours. Beans should be tender, and still inside their skins when ready. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Remove ham hocks and bay leaves, and serve beside white rice, or arroz con pollo.

Arroz Con Pollo
Chicken
3 lbs of chicken thighs, skin on/bone-in
1/2 cup flour, seasoned with a bit salt and pepper
Olive oil

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Dredge chicken in flour, then cook chicken in batches in the pan, turning once (and adding more oil if necessary), so until the chicken is browned on both sides. Remove pieces from pan and drain on paper towels.

Rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 green pepper, sliced into thin strips
2 heaping tablespoons diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
4 cups chicken stock
1-2 cups cooked peas (optional)

Heat oil in stockpot over medium-high heat, add rice, and stir to coat. Cook rice, stirring only occasionally, until golden brown. Add onion, garlic, peppers and tomatoes, and continue cooking for 5 or so minutes. Add chicken stock and chicken pieces to the pot, then cover and simmer for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, and rice is tender. Stir in peas if you'd like, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Serves 4-6

Suzanne Brown 1.17.08

African Lamb Stew

There are some meals in life that for whatever the reason--taste, setting, company, two too many glasses of Cabernet--that you remember forever. I have several meals that stand out over the years that I feel are worthy of taking up precious space in my ever-dwindling supply of brain cells, and I am happy to share them with you today.

-A lobster roll, at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine. So good, I gobbled it down in three bites, then went back for another.

-A plain, brown paper bag filled with briny, juicy, indescribably delicious, fried whole-belly clams, on Martha's Vineyard.

-Ropa Vieja at Puerta Sagua's in South Beach, Miami.

-My grandmothers matzoh ball soup.

-The mixed green salad with a farmers egg, at Blue Hill Restaurant in Pocantico Hills.

-Linguini with manilla clams, made by Juan, at the Fish Market in San Diego.

-Ravioli Alfredo at Luna's, on Mulberry Street in Little Italy.

-A bowl of hot chicken broth that Jerry brought me after three days of not eating because of a bout of food poisoning.

-A 3-lb, perfectly grilled lobster, at Charlie's Crab in Hilton Head.

-My first fish taco, at Fred's in San Diego (and then another a few days later at Taco Loco in Laguna Beach, after a morning of surfing lessons).

-Grilled hotdogs, at Rumrunners, on the beach at Hilton Head.

-Lamb stew, at Savuti Camp, Botswana.

As I look over my list, I'm amused at how diverse it is; clearly I'm not swayed by ethnicity or pricetag! Instead, I like to think (outside of the food poisoning, and my grandmothers Perfect 10 matzoh ball soup), that these meals were special not just because they tasted good, but because they were part of a road trip, an adventure, a departure from the everyday blah, blah, blah baked chicken. Certainly I've had my share of lamb stew in my lifetime (thank you, St. Patrick), but when I enjoyed it under a starlit sky in Botswana, sitting around a candlelit table, with Arlene, a bakers dozen of strangers, and safari guides, with elephants trumpeting at the waterhole just feet away, and plenty of good wine being poured freely and generously, it suddenly became the best lamb stew of my life.

And so, I encourage you to take a day this weekend, or the next, to get in your car and just drive. Drive to a town you've never been to, but always wanted to explore. Or, head into the nearest city, and take a chance on a restaurant that might open your mind, and your palate. For if there is one thing I've learned on my culinary journey, it's that you don't have to travel the globe for a wonderful meal; sometimes, the taste of a salty hotdog on a hot August afternoon, can remain in your memory for a lifetime.

African Lamb (or beef) Stew
2 lbs. boneless shoulder of lamb, cut into 2-inch chunks (or, feel free to substitute stewing beef)
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon hot paprika
16 oz can chopped tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (no pith)
1 cinnamon stick, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup dried apricots
Salt + pepper (to taste)
1/2 toasted (in a dry skillet) pine nuts (optional)

Place a bit of olive oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat, and cook meat in batches until browned on all sides (add more olive oil as needed). Place meat in a stock pot, then saute onion and garlic in the skillet or wok until tender. Add onions and garlic to stockpot along with chicken stock, cumin, paprika, tomatoes, orange zest, and cinnamon, and cook over medium-low heat for approximately 2 hours. Add apricots, and continue to cook until beef it fork-tender (about another 1/2 - 1 hour). Season with salt and pepper, if needed. When ready to serve, spoon over white rice, couscous, or mealie meal (cooked white cornmeal), and top with toasted pine nuts.

Serves 4.

PS. This is even better the next day, so if you have the time, make the stew one day ahead, then reheat

PS.PS.
This is a photo I keep on my desk of my sister-in-law, Arlene, and me in Africa. We had just enjoyed a few sundowners out in the bush (Sundowners are the safari equivalent of happy hour, except there's usually not a chance of getting eaten by a lion at your neighborhood pub). I don't recall what has Arlene laughing so hard in this picture, but I tend to think it has something to do with the absurdity of having a wild elephant meandering by directly behind us as we posed.

Suzanne Brown 1.15.07

Green Chile Pork

We had a wee bit of snow last evening, which I was secretly hoping would lead to one of those classic snow days, where commerce would come to grinding halt, and I would snuggle in for the duration, with the woodstove cranking, and a big pot of deliciousness simmering on the back burner. Alas, the much feared BIG! storm of 2008 turned out to be an anemic one at best, and so commerce pushes forward, and sadly, so do I. I did, however, stock up on groceries in anticipation of a potential blizzard, and so right now the house is filled to the rafters with the scent of cumin, and chiles, and garlic, and goodness. Inspired by the pork taquito's I dug into this past Saturday at Dos Camino's on Park and 26th, I've got a stew of green chiles, and pork simmering away in my slow cooker, just waiting to be tucked into flour tortilla's, and cooled off with a spoonful of sour cream, come dinnertime.

This is one of those recipes that gets even better the next day, so if you're ambitious, make it the day before, then simply reheat when you're ready for a belly full of yum.

Green Chile Pork
1 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork, cubed
1 yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup chicken broth
4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles
14.5 oz can diced or stewed tomatoes
1/2 jalapeno, or hot red pepper, seeded and chopped (optional...only if you prefer extra spicy)
Salt + Pepper, to taste
Warm tortilla's (flour or corn), or rice, or cornbread (optional)

Heat oil in a wok or heavy skillet on high heat, then cook pork in batches, until browned on all sides. Remove pork with a slotted spoon and place in crockpot, then saute onions and garlic in the wok/skillet until tender. Add onions and garlic to crockpot, then mix in cumin, chicken broth, chiles, tomatoes. Simmer on low heat for 6-8 hours, or until meat is very tender. Season with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, spoon over white rice, or tuck into warm flour or corn tortillas and top with salsa and/or sour cream. Or, just serve in a big bowl with a wedge of cornbread on the side.

P.S. By all means, feel free to cook this on your stovetop. Just simmer on low heat in a heavy stockpot or dutch oven, until pork is tender (approximately 3-4 hours).

Serves 4

Spice + Life

The idea for this weblog has been stewing and brewing around in my head for some time now. I originally thought it would be fun to write a book about my taste travels, and the spices I encountered along the way, but then I wrote Summer, and everything changed; I suddenly found myself writing about New England lobster rolls, as opposed to Vietnamese summer rolls, surf shack fish tacos, rather than green chile pork tacos. But I'm certainly not complaining, as I loved writing about my very favorite season, and the wonderful foods that go along with fresh air, abundant sunshine, outdoor cooking. Nope, no regrets here.

But I'm currently in publishing limbo, and find myself with some welcome free time on my hands, and so, I thought to myself "why not?" Why not take a stab at creating an online destination for foodies who love adding a bit of spice not only to their recipes, but to their lives as well. My goal is to explore as many global tastes as possible (ambitious yes, but I do live in New York, so not impossible) and to translate those experiences into an inspiring culinary destination.

As those who know me well will sagely concur, there will most definitely be bumps, and potholes, and construction signs along this road I'm planning to travel, but that--without saying--is half the fun. For it's only when you ignore the road blocks, and veer off that well-worn, heavily-trodden path, that you somehow, without a moments planning, stumble upon the best meal of your life. I invite you to join me on my journey.

Suzanne Brown 1.14.08