Cooking is Back!

I haven't cooked in ages. Which is sad, because I pride myself on being a fairly decent home cook. I don't think I've actually cooked anything in over a month. Pathetic. But I was actually home alone this Saturday night, so I decided to go for it.

Here's the article that finally got me cooking again. The Nigella Lawson recipe particularly appealed to me since I love Moroccan spices.

Root Vegetable Couscous

3 T olive oil
2 med. onions, quartered & sliced thickly
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t each ground cinnamon, cumin & coriander
1/2 t paprika
generous pinch of saffron (if you have it around)
3 med. carrots, peeled & cut into a 1 inch dice
2 med. parsnips, peeled & cut into 1 inch dice
2 medium turnips, peeled & cut into a 1 inch dice
1 small kabocha or butternut squash, peeled & cut into a 1 inch dice
1/2 med. rutabaga, peeled & cut into a 1 inch dice
3 zucchini sliced 1/2 inch thick (you can peel if you like)
4 1/2 cut chicken, beef or vegetable stock
1/2 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with liquid
2/3 c sultanas
1 1/2 c (14 oz each) chickpeas
salt
few drops chili oil or 1 t harissa if you have it

1/2 c pine nuts
4 c quick-cooking couscous
2 T butter

1. Heat the olive oil in a big, deep pot & turn the onions in it for a few minutes.

2. Add the garlic, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, paprika and saffron, and stir over low to medium heat for 5 minutes.

3. Add the carrots, parsnips, turnips, squash, rutabaga and zucchini and turn briskly.

4.After about 5 minutes add the stock, tomatoes, orange zest, sultanas and chickpeas. Turn again & try to get everything at least partially covered by the stock. Add more stock or water if needed. Season with salt.

5. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but not mushy (at least not all of them - some will be beginning to fray around the edges, and that is good) and the liquid has formed a thin but not watery sauce.

6.Taste and add chili oil or the harissa if you want it to have more punch. Serve with couscous, pine nuts.




I doctored it up quite a bit. Trader Joe's had a pre-cut medley of squash, turnips and yams, so I just used that plus a couple carrots and turnips. I attempted to buy parsnips, but was in a hurry and accidentally ended up with daikon. Oops. They'll make a tasty snack tomorrow, I guess!



I couldn't get the effing tin of paprika open (seriously, you need like tin snips to get in that thing) so I used a pinch of cayenne to add heat. Plus Melinda's XX hot sauce instead of harissa. I skipped the pine nuts, I was going to use almonds instead but totally forgot and didn't miss them at all.

Do you know what sultanas are? Me either, until this recipe. They're just white grapes, easy-peasy. British people use such fancy words! Aubergines, brown sauce, etc. I happened to be watching Jacques Pepin today, and he referred to golden raisins as sultanas, so I used raisins instead of actual grapes. We may never know Nigella's actual intended ingredient, but it turned out just fine.

And one last swap, I used Israeli couscous instead of regular, the box had been been sitting lonely and unused in the pantry for months. It's bigger than regular couscous and I love the texture. Think round orzo.



I'm so glad I finally washed some dishes and cooked something. It reminded me of what I love about cooking: being creative with a recipe, that sense of accomplishment when you ladle up your dinner and of course a delicious meal.