Chicken Machboos (Kabsa) - الدجاج كبسة

Our friends Ryan & Leah are moving to Dubai so we decided to do a leaving do for them. Obviously, the theme had to be Arabic so everyone brought Arabic/Middle Eastern food. I decided to prepare some Arabic dishes for everyone to enjoy. After 5 hours slaving away in Simon's kitchen [I do love cooking so, wasn't really slaving haha] I came up with 4 dishes including Lamb & Beef Koftas with Yogurt dip, Basbousa, [a semolina sweet], some Tabbouleh and the star dish, Chicken Machboos which is also known as Fogga or Kabsa. 

Chicken Machboos is basically Chicken & Rice cooked the Arabic way. It is full of spices (by the way, the dish is not spicy [hot] at all) and hence full of flavour. It went down a treat with everyone. Me being a purist I had to find an authentic Arabic recipe, so I did and I adapted it for a huge portion for our banquet. The original recipe is from the book "The Complete United Arab Emirates Cookbook" by Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari Copyright © 1994 by Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari. Obviously, if you are cooking for fewer people feel free to use less chicken and rice. One of the most important ingredients of this dish is the Dried black lime aka Loomi which gives it a musty, citrusy flavour (although it is not that overpowering). 

I buy my dried black limes from SousChef. Another ingredient is the Bezar (or Bzar) which is a traditional Arabic spice mix which is very tasty and fragrant. I make my own and you can too (the recipe is below *) but if you cannot find it or do not own a spice grinder do let me know and I will try and maybe I can ship you some. Just drop us an email on ramandaspicypassion@gmail.com

So for a banquet style serving you will need...

• 1.5 - 2kg chicken pieces (use thighs and drumsticks), skin removed
• 3-4 tablespoons bezar (recipe below *)
• salt to taste 
• About 2 litres chicken stock
• 3 fresh tomatoes, deseeded and chopped 
• 8 cloves garlic
• 4 whole dried black limes (loomi)
• 1 large stick cinnamon 
• 10 green cardamom pods
• 1kg Basmati rice
• Smen, ghee or butter, for frying

To serve

• 3 onions, sliced
• 2-3 tablespoons whole blanched almonds
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Dates & raisins [optional]

*To make Bezar spice mixture: In a shallow frying pan, toast the following until fragrant mixing occasionally; 2 tablespoons cumin seeds, 2 tablespoons fennel seeds, 1 large cinnamon stick (broken into 4 pieces), 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns. Leave to cool down and grind into a fine powder in a spice grinder. Transfer into a glass jar; add 1 tablespoon turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon chilli powder. Put the lid on and give it a good shake. Store in a cool dry place.

How to...

• Rub the skinned chicken pieces with salt and bezar. 
• Gently fry in 2 tablespoons of smen, ghee or butter until brown on both sides. 
• Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a large deep pan add the stock, garlic cloves, dried black limes, cinnamon, green cardamom pods and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. 
• Taste for salt and add the rice. Bring to a gentle boil again on a low heat (don't stir). Now, cover pan with damp cloth and a heavy lid. Leave to steam on low heat, unopened for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and stand uncovered for about 15 minutes before serving.
• In the meantime, fry the onions in 1 tablespoon smen, ghee or butter until golden brown and soft. Remove the onions and set aside add in the same pan add the almonds and stir fry until they are slightly brown.
• Transfer the chicken and rice onto a large platter. Sprinkle the fried onions and almonds on top and serve. If using add some dates and raisins too!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Gołąbki - Polish cabbage rolls

Polish food is one of the most famous foods in the Western world. Along with Pierogi - Polish dumplings, Gołąbki - Polish cabbage rolls are a favourite not just with people of Polish origin but with anyone that has the honour of biting into these tasty traditional dishes. Once eaten, you will come back for more, guaranteed. These cabbage rolls are well worth boiling and separating the cabbage leaves (the tricky bit). I can vouch that once cooked these cabbage rolls are addictive. I used a mixture of minced beef and pork and the result was some really delicious, tasty and juicy cabbage rolls. If you find it you can also add some minced veal as well. The accompanying tomato sauce gives it the Eastern European taste, the tanginess of the tomato sauce, the sweetness of the caraway seeds, the herbiness of the marjoram and parsley...oh, heaven! Give them a go, you will not be disappointed. You will need...

For the Gołąbki - cabbage rolls

• 1 large cabbage head
• 750g minced beef & pork
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cooked rice, cold
• 250ml (1 cup) tomato passata + ½ cup tomato passata
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• A knob of butter, for frying

For the tomato sauce

• 300ml (1 ½ cups) beef stock
• 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
• 175ml (¾ cup) tomato passata
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 30g butter
• 30g plain flour

How to...

1. Start by boiling a very large pot of salty water. Now put the cabbage core end up and using a paring knife remove the hard core. Put the cabbage in the boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes. At this point some of the leaves will start to come off, that is what we want. After 10 minutes, carefully take the cabbage out of the boiling water, be very very careful as it will be very hot. Use 2 large spatulas or ladles when doing this process. Leave to cool slightly. When slightly cool, start peeling off the cabbage leaves with extreme care (remember they are the star ingredient of the dish). Separate them and put them flat on a platter and set aside to cool further.
2. Now it is time to prepare the filling. Start by frying the onions and garlic in the butter until brown (about 5 minutes on medium heat). Set aside to cool. In a large bowl add the minced meat, cooked rice, grated carrot, passata, eggs, cold fried onion/garlic mixture and salt & pepper. Put a pair of gloves on (optional) and mix by hand until all ingredients are incorporated, do not mix too much or else the meat will toughen. 
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
4. Now here comes the fun part, firstly if the spine of the leaf is too tough carefully trim it with a sharp knife). Now spread the cabbage leaves end bit away from you, put some filling (about a tablespoon or more...this depends on the size of the leaf), now roll the sides first and roll up all the way up to the stalk/spine part. Stack them up into a casserole next to each other (see picture).
   
   Keep going until all the filling is used up. If you have spare leaves or torn leaves save them so you can cover the rolls in the end. 
5. Now fill the casserole with water half way up to the rolls and add the half cup of passata. Spread the torn/spare leaves on top, cover and put into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
6. Whilst they are cooking away, start the tomato sauce by melting 30g butter, add the flour and cook stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes. Add all the other sauce ingredients and stir until thickened, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, make sure you keep on stirring or it will stick to the bottom of the pot. Turn off the heat and remove from the heat.
7. After 30 minutes take the cabbage rolls out of the oven and pour the tomato sauce on top, cover again and put in the oven for another 30 minutes.
   
8. Take out of the oven, let stand for about 10 minutes and serve hot with a couple of spoonfuls of tomato sauce on top. Gołąbki can also be enjoyed cold as appetizers...an absolute delight!!
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Egg Fried Rice with Lap Cheong 腊肠 (Chinese Sausage)

We invented this dish when we were introduced to Lap Cheong aka Chinese sausage by our friends. Chinese sausage is so delicious, so sweet, meaty and juicy...we fell in love with it. Stir-fried rice is quite famous with everyone and is very easy to prepare and indeed, since this dish is a stir-fried rice based dish it is quite easy to prepare. It always makes me laugh whenever I cook this dish as I'll be like, so, some of this some of that and voilà...dinner is served!! I must admit that I could eat as much as I can of this dish and I do find it hard to stop! We prefer to use Basmati or Jasmine rice instead of plain rice as it is more fragrant and adds further flavour to the dish. Also the secret to perfect fried rice is to cook the fried rice into batches. I cook ours in two batches. Use a bowl to measure the amount. We usually do a bowl of cooked rice per person. To serve this dish as main course for 2-4 people you will need...

• 250g uncooked rice (we use Basmati or Jasmine but plain rice will do)
• 500ml boiling water
• 4 Lap Cheong (Chinese sausages)
• Half a leek or 2 spring onions, cleaned and cut into Julienne strips
• 2 small carrots, cut into Julienne strips
• Handful of frozen peas, defrosted
• Handful canned sweetcorn
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
• Oyster sauce, to taste
• Dark soy sauce, to taste
• Sesame oil, to taste

How to...

1. Cook the rice either in a rice steamer or on the hob. To cook the perfect rice on the hob, add the rice to a medium sized heavy based pan and add the boiling water. Stir with a fork and bring to a boil. When it boils, lower the heat to low and simmer covered for 10-12 minutes. Do not open the lid. This is called the absorption method. When rice is cooked, wash with cold water, drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, steam the sausages for 20 minutes, slice into bite size pieces and set aside. Do not throw away the boiling water used to steam the sausages. Add the leeks and carrots to the boiling water from underneath the sausages and blanch for about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Prepare the egg omelettes. Beat one egg and pour it in a hot small non stick frying pan (we use a 6-7 inch pan), turning gently so as to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes and turn over to cook the other side. Remove from the pan, roll into a roll and cut into strips. Repeat with the other egg.  You can do them both in one go if you have a larger pan obviously. 
4. Heat  2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan until hot. Add 2 sausages (cut into pieces), half of the blanched veg and stir well. Add a bowl of cooked rice, keep stirring frequently or else the rice will stick. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the peas, half a teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder, soy sauce and sesame oil to taste and stir well.Cook for a further 3 minutes. Now add the egg omelette strips, give it one last stir and serve hot maybe with some more soy sauce or sesame oil.
5. Repeat until you use all the rice and ingredients.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Lamb Liver Risotto with Sage & Marsala

This was our second time cooking risotto and as the first time it was a success! It turned out delicious. I love liver and the combination with fresh sage and the Marsala wine that it is cooked with made this recipe taste wonderful. If you do not have Marsala use red wine, the taste will change but will definitely turn out as good. All you need for a perfect risotto is patience, it takes between 20-30 minutes to cook a good risotto and you have to keep stirring all the way to make sure the rice soaks up all the stock. So do have a go at the recipe. For 4 people you will need...

• 1.5 litres boiling water
• 2 vegetable stock pots (or cubes)
• 300g Arborio rice
• 250g lamb liver, cut into small pieces
• 6 fresh sage leaves
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 100ml Marsala wine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 60g (½ cup/½ stick) butter
• 60g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

How to...

1. Start by preparing the stock. In a large pan dissolve the stock pots or cubes in the boiling water, bring back to the boil and turn off the heat.
2. In an other small pan put 50g of the butter and the sage leaves and heat up until the butter has melted. Add the chopped liver, season with salt & pepper, stir well and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. 
3. Now add the Marsala to the liver and cook on high heat until all liquid has disappeared. Remove from heat, remove the sage leaves and set aside.
4. In a large heavy based frying pan or pan (I prefer a frying pan because it spreads the heat evenly during cooking), add the olive oil, carrot, onion and celery and cooked covered on low to medium heat until soft, about 10-15 minutes. 
5. Now add the rice turn the heat to medium and toast the rice for a couple of minutes stirring continuously. 
6. Add a cup of the vegetable stock whilst constantly stirring until all stock has been absorbed by the rice, this takes about 2 minutes. 
7. From now on, keep adding the remaining stock ½ cup at a time, always adding the next one when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the rice.
8. After you have used half of the stock, stir in the cooked livers and continue adding the remainder of the stock until all stock has been used. This process took me about 25-30 minutes.
9. After all the stock is absorbed, stir in the grated parmesan and the last 10g of butter. Serve immediately!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Mujaddara - Arabic Lentils, Rice & Onions - مجدرة

Well what can we say, I made this dish as a quick and cheap end of the month dinner and we fell in love with it....wow...sooo tasty!!! Simple, easy and quick to make I just hope you do try it. Obviously I added some spices to it but they are optional as this dish is quite simple as I said. This recipe is quite old and in fact, the first recorded recipe for Mujaddara appears in Kitab al-Tabikh, a cookbook compiled in 1226 by al-Baghdadi in Iraq. It was indeed known as a dish for the poor and there is a saying in the Eastern Arab world which says, "A hungry man would be willing to sell his soul for a dish of Mujaddara." I added Advieh (which is not an Arabic spice mix but Persian) but you can add Baharat a very popular Arabic spice mix or none at all. It is completely up to your taste! It is vegetarian, although some variations are served with meat but not this one. You can also make it vegan by omitting the yoghurt at the end. So for 3-4 people you will need...

• 3 onions, chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 cup brown or green lentils
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 3 ½ cups cold water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Advieh* or Baharat** spice mixture (optional) 
• 1 teaspoon Harissa paste (optional)
• Sesame seeds, to garnish
• Greek (thick) yoghurt, to serve

*To make Advieh spice mixture : Mix 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground rose petals, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin in an airtight glass jar and store in a dry cupboard.

**To make Baharat spice mixture : Mix 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½  teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves in an airtight glass jar and store in a dry cupboard.

How to...

1. In a small pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the chopped onions together with the Advieh or Baharat if using on medium heat stirring occasionally until soft and brown. Set aside.
2. In a medium (5 litre) pot add the lentils and water, bring to the boil, lower heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes.
3. Now add the cooked onions, rice, salt and Harissa paste. Stir well and simmer covered on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid rice from sticking to the pot. 
4. In the meantime, heat the remaining oil in the same pan that you cooked the chopped onions in and cook the sliced onion until caramelized (stirring frequently).
5. When everything is cooked, serve the lentil/rice/onions mixture hot, some caramelised onions on top, sprinkle some sesame seeds and a couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Shiitake Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto

"Well, that was worth the lifetime wait" That is what I said as soon as I finished my last spoonful of this risotto. The reason behind that saying was the fact that I never had a proper risotto before and also I had never cooked one before yesterday. For some strange reason I never felt confident enough to cook a risotto, always thinking that I'm going to mess it up. But hey, as they say, I nailed it!! I was browsing as usual and found this recipe which I adapted to our own taste. The recipe says to use dry white wine but we used a good Spanish dry sherry, which has the same colour and dryness as white wine but a fruitier crisper taste, in my opinion, but if you do not have it feel free to use a dry white wine. This recipe is completely vegetarian as well. I actually found out that the secret to the perfect risotto is patience, in fact you have stir calmly for nearly 20 minutes but do not be put off by this, it is certainly worth the effort. So here it goes, for 4 people you will need...

• 1.5 litres boiling water
• 2 vegetable stock pots (or cubes)
• 250g (1 ½ cups) Arborio rice
• 150g asparagus, ends discarded and chopped into 3 pieces
• 60g dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for about an hour
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 120ml (½ cup) Spanish dry Sherry
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 60g (½ cup/½ stick) butter
• 50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano

How to...

1. In a pan add the boiling water and vegetable stock pots. Bring to the boil and throw in the asparagus and simmer for 4 minutes. Take out of the stock and put into ice cold water to stop the cooking process completely. Drain and set aside.
2. Now prepare the mushrooms. Start by discarding the steams and slicing the mushroom caps thinly. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and add the mushrooms, sauté for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Set aside. 
3. In a large heavy based frying pan or pan (I prefer a frying pan because it spreads the heat evenly during cooking) heat up half the butter and add the onion and cook covered on medium to low heat until soft and transparent. When onion is cooked, increase the heat to medium, add the rice and cook, stirring frequently for about a minute. 
4. Now add the sherry and simmer whilst stirring until it is absorbed, this will only take about a minute. Now add a cup of the vegetable stock whilst constantly stirring until all stock has been absorbed by the rice, this takes about 2 minutes.
5. From now on, keep adding the remaining stock ½ cup at a time, always adding the next one when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the rice. Keep doing this until you used all the stock or until rice is looking creamy. It is very important that you keep stirring the rice constantly to ensure an even absorption. This will take about 20 minutes. 
6. When done, take off the heat, stir in slowly the remaining butter and half the cheese. Now stir in carefully the cooked asparagus and Shiitake mushrooms. Serve immediately with extra grated Parmigiano.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Baked Cod with Sweet Peppers & Cherry Tomatoes

Recently my parents and youngest brother visited us and my dad wanted me to cook something for them so I thought why not cook some local fish with a Mediterranean touch for all of us. So, whilst we were at Doncaster market, I visited my friend Vince of Penny's Fisheries and got a good deal on some fresh cod. Then on our way home I browsed the net  for ideas whilst thinking what I had in our pantry at home and I found a recipe on the BBC Food website and adapted it to our own taste. So, off we headed to the supermarket to buy the rest of the vegetables that I was missing at home. Since cod is not everyone's favourite fish as some might say that it is quite bland on flavour I decided to add some natural flavour enhancers that made this dish super tasty and flavourful. I added some more herbs and capers. As you might imagine this amount of ingredients fed all five of us so feel free so adapt the ingredient amounts. Give it a go, you can use any fish you like and also vary/omit the vegetables to your liking. For 5-6 people you will need...

• 1.2kg fresh large cod fillets
• 4 red sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
• 3 yellow sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
• 2 red onions, diced into 8 pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
• 250g cherry tomatoes
• A large handful of green olives
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 500ml (2 cups) tomato passata
• Fresh basil leaves
• Fresh or dried mint leaves
• Some dried oregano
• Dried parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.
2. In a large bowl put the chopped peppers, onions, garlic, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and some olive oil and mix well. Divide the mixed vegetables between two large oven dishes and put in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
   
3. In the meantime cut the large cod fillets in two pieces. When the vegetables are done, leave the oven on, take the vegetables out of the oven and pour 250ml (about 1 cup) of passata on top of the vegetables. 
4. Now, put the cod fillets on top of the partially cooked vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with some fresh basil leaves, mint, oregano and parsley. Freshly grind some black pepper and put into the hot oven for a further 20 minutes until fish is flaky and falling apart. Serve hot!
   
   
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Seafood Rice Salad

Summer is here and  there is nothing better than a delicious fresh rice salad. This is our favourite combination of ingredients. It tastes so fresh! We serve it with plain old fashioned salad cream!! You can use mayonnaise, more olive oil or even a vinaigrette. Give it a go...you can prepare this salad in advance and share it with your family and friends to a BBQ or party or even a picnic at the park or at the beach. It is very easy to prepare as the only cooking needed is cooking the rice. So, for 6-8 servings, you will need...

• 3 cups cold cooked rice [about 900g]
• 1 red or green pepper, diced
• 1 large tomato, deseeded and diced
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp pitted green olives
• 120g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
• 200g cooked prawns 
• 16 surimi sticks, sliced
• 175g cooked fresh mussels, without shell
• 1 tin (60g) anchovies, chopped (optional)
• Chopped fresh mint
• Chopped fresh coriander
• Half teaspoon dried marjoram
• Half teaspoon dried dill
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Salad cream or mayonnaise, to serve
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

How to...

1. This has to be the easiest method ever.  Just put all the ingredients (apart from the salad cream or mayo) in a bowl.
2. Mix slowly with a plastic spoon.
3. Dress with the salad cream or mayonnaise.

Enjoy!!
R&A

Arroz con chorizo, pimientos, cúrcuma y garbanzos - Turmeric rice with chorizo, red peppers & chickpeas

This is one of our favourite rice dishes. It tastes like Spain :) The flavours are so intense. The chorizo gives the dish a kick, the red peppers give it a beautiful colour and taste, the chickpeas give it a great crunch. Our secret in making this rice dish even more tasty is that we boil the rice in turmeric scented water. You just put a teaspoon of turmeric in the water before boiling and the rice will taste incredibly good and obviously it will have the turmeric's vivacious yellow colour. It is very easy to make...so go on...give it a go!

You will need...

• 200g Chorizo, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 1 medium red onion, finely sliced
• 2 small red peppers, sliced
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 250g rice - (we use two 125g boil-in-bag rice bags)
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon turmeric

Method...

1. Start by boiling the rice in the turmeric water. (1 teaspoon of turmeric in the water)
2. Fry the onion in a little olive oil until soft.
3. Add the pepper and chorizo and stir well. Cook until the peppers are soft.
4. Check the rice...if ready set aside.
5. Add the cherry tomatoes and chickpeas to the chorizo/peppers mixture and simmer for a couple of minutes until tomatoes and chickpeas are warm.
6. Add the mixture to the rice and stir carefully again to mix all the ingredients. 
7. Serve with extra olive oil.

Enjoy!!

R & A