Apricot-Cashew Moroccan Tofu & Couscous

Pardon me while I perch upon my culinary soapbox for a moment: it annoys the [bean curd] out of me when people claim they don't like tofu. Mostly because 90% of those people have never tried it. Most irritating of all is the insipid half-question/half-excuse, "Well, I don't even know what tofu IS...!!!"

To which I might reply, "Ever heard of Wikipedia?" Or perhaps, "And I suppose you know EXACTLY what comprises a Filet-o-Fish?"


Tofu is made from the soy plant. You know, the amazing crop that has sustained civilizations all over the world for thousands of years? The simple, humble legume that contains ALL of the essential amino acids, is high in protein, and is - oh yeah - delicious?!? Many of my cohorts loooove to have edamame before they eat their designer sushi rolls, but a scrumptious tofu stir-fry? Never.

OK, OK, I'll step down off my soapbox now. (Although the view is really quite nice.)

All smug, pro-veg-agenda rhetoric aside, tofu is really a wonderful kitchen staple. It's the picture of versatility - which is why it's so often compared to the egg (that, and its textural resemblance to egg whites). It takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in, hence its comparison to the ubiquitous chicken, the flavor-sherpa of the animal kingdom.

I had been meaning to pick up some tofu for awhile, and as I think more and more about the many unsettling things I've learned about the American meat industry, I felt that today was the day for a delicious return to a forgotten favorite. I was craving something spicy and restorative after a draining weekend of traveling (not to mention eating crap airport food).

I remembered I had some couscous, which inspired me to create a Moroccan-spiced, (almost) vegetarian dish that completely hit the airport-garbage-laden spot.


APRICOT-CASHEW MOROCCAN TOFU & COUSCOUS

INGREDIENTS

1/4 block extra firm organic tofu, cut into chunks
1/2 zucchini, halved and cut into half moons
1 yellow bell pepper, chunked
handful dried apricots
handful whole raw cashews, unsalted
1/2 a medium white onion, chunked
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. Moroccan spice mixture (from The Spice House or specialty store)
2 T. peach preserves (apricot preserves would be ideal, but I had peach on hand)
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 T. Sriracha hot sauce, or to taste
1 c. chicken broth
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1 c. dry whole wheat couscous
1 T. butter or olive oil
salt to taste

STEP ONE:

Heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet that has a lid. Saute the onions until translucent and brown at the edges. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute.

STEP TWO:

Add the chicken broth and the rest of the ingredients (except the couscous ingredients, of course), stir to combine, cover, and cook on medium until the veggies are just tender and the liquid is slightly thickened.



STEP THREE:

Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to package directions. Serve the Moroccan tofu mixture over couscous in a shallow bowl. Enjoy!

This came out lovely. The balance of savory and sweet elements punctuated with a bit of fiery Sriracha was just what the flight attendant ordered. The Moroccan spice blend really complemented the apricot flavor, and the tofu was the perfect protein star player. Next time, I'd chop some fresh cilantro as a garnish (I completely forgot to pick it up - if I didn't live in a dark Lincoln Park shoebox, I'd just grow my own).

This recipe, be forewarned, makes enough for about 3-4 meals. I have an inkling that it will only get tastier with time. I can't wait to have it for lunch tomorrow!


I can see this recipe being a nice introduction to the world of tofu for those who may be uninitiated. If you didn't know that there was tofu in the dish, you wouldn't even notice it - its meaty, silky texture is great with the crisp veggies, but its neutral taste allows the bold, exotic flavors to take center stage.

Hopefully the tofu-shy out there will venture into the world of complete vegetarian protein - if just as a brief departure from omnivorousness.

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Recession: Party of One - Clean-Out-The-Fridge Tagine

One of my favorite ways to eat healthily is to take all the inevitable leftover veggie scraps from a week or so's worth of meals and throw them into one dish. I'm always surprised how much I can make out of so little, and it's nice to have a reason to get all that clutter out of the fridge.


This meal was a perfect example of that. Every time I thought I had found every last veggie, I kept stumbling across more little Ziploc baggies of goodness.

I have recently been reading up on how to make tagines, which are a North African dish named for their clay cooking vessel (the tagine), which looks like this:


For those of us who don't own a tagine (er...put that one on the future-wedding-registry-list), making a tagine can involve a CrockPot or just a simple pot with a lid. They are most commonly made with lamb or chicken on the bone, and simmered for long periods of time to tenderize the meat. And if you're one of those gotta-have-the-most-obscure-kitchen-tools types, check out this tagine site.

My inspiration for the CrockPot veggie tagine was my weekend trip to The Spice House, an amazing spice store in Old Town, where I outfitted myself with some basic Indian and Moroccan spices for about $11 (!).


When I set out to put together my tagine, I simply couldn't decide which spice mix to use, so I just mixed the Garam Masala and the Moroccan spice blends. They have similar base flavors, so I figured they'd go well together.

Read on to see how to make one mean tagine...

MOROCCAN- & INDIAN-SPICED VEGGIE TAGINE

INGREDIENTS

(mesaurements are loose approximations)

3/4 c. chickpeas
1/2 c. sweet potato, in small chunks
1 orange bell pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 white onion, in chunks
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. raw peas
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1/4 c. cashews, slightly crushed
1 T. Moroccan spice blend
1 T. garam masala

handful of spinach leaves, raw
sliced green olives

white rice
chicken broth
saffron
salt and pepper
1 tsp. butter

sour cream (for garnish, if desired)

STEP ONE:

(This can be done the night before, which is what I did. The inner part of my CrockPot is removable, so I just put all the ingredients in there and refrigerated it overnight, then stuck it in the CrockPot base to cook all day while I was at work.)

Mix the first 10 ingredients together in the CrockPot.

STEP TWO:

Cook on low for about 8 hours (basically, just cook it while you're at work). When done, stir in the spinach leaves to wilt, and also the olives. Taste, and add salt if neccessary.

STEP THREE:

Turn CrockPot to WARM. Cook the rice in the chicken broth, adding the saffron. When done, add salt, pepper and butter and fluff with a fork.

STEP FOUR:

Serve the veggie tagine over the rice, topping with a little sour cream (or plain yogurt) if desired.


This was a really flavorful dish! The spices made it so complex that I would probably never think that it was a vegetarian dish if I hadn't known. I can only imagine how incredible this would be with some slow-simmered lamb...mmmm. I've also seen some great chicken tagine recipes with preserved lemon rind and olives.... Next time, delicious litte tagine, next time!

Let's check out the PARTY OF ONE PRICE INDEX, shall we?

CHICKPEAS: 20 cents
BELL PEPPER: $1.08
SPINACH: 66 cents
SWEET POTATO: 25 cents
CRUSHED TOMATOES: $1.15
PEAS: 50 cents
ONION: 10 cents (didn't use much)
CARROT: 15 cents
SPICES: around $1.00 total
CHICKEN BROTH: 40 cents

I'm leaving out the rice and the sour cream, since I already had those before my bulk shopping trip. This made about 4 good-size servings (the leftovers are in my lunchbag for tomorrow and stashed in my freezer), which puts the per-serving GRAND TOTAL at:

$1.37

Wow. What a great price for so much slow-simmered yumminess! Proof that you don't have to go halfway around the world to eat like it - that's what I call budget travelling ;-)

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Recession: Party of One - Leftovers, Curried

Loyal readers, I am introducing a new feature on the blog! It's called (hence the title) Recession, Party of One. You are all of course aware of the dismal state of the economy, but many of you may not be aware that Ross (my highly significant other) just moved to our nation's capital to embark on the next great stage of his career.

On my lazier nights, it was always nice to know that I had him to cook for - and he has developed quite a sophisticated palate, and really became a great judge.


Since it's just me now (well, actually, there is a new member of this little household, but we'll get to that later), I've been trying to formulate a game plan about how to handle cooking for one. Cooking for one person poses a few problems; first, it's impossible to find food packaged in single portions, second, leftovers are delicious, but you can only eat leftovers so many times before you start craving something else, and third, what you don't finish gets thrown out. Which leads me to the recession part of the game plan - how do I continue to cook satisfying food for just little ol' me without breaking the bank (oh, and, ahem, since I'm living alone now, my rent has doubled - yikes)?

Oh, and another thing - I don't have a TV! While I'm trying to convince myself that all this new "me time" will culminate in a personal creative Renaissance of sorts, I'll be honest - not having TV sucks! Thank God for Hulu...


All this has inspired this new feature. The first installment: Curried Leftover Porkchop over Jasmine Rice.

Ross and I had an amazing last-night-in-Chicago dinner at the Landmark Grill (which I highly recommend), and Ross got the pork chop. When the waiter brought it, I actually laughed out loud. It looked exactly like the dinosaur chop that Fred used to eat on The Flintstones - we're talking Mastodonian proportions, here. Even he could barely make a dent, so I was left with a mastodon thigh to finish off this week.

I've been reading up on different ways to make simple curries, and that's what inspired this meal. The most interesting thing about this dinner is that I didn't purchase one thing from the store - which is impressive, considering my fridge is by and large empty. But I somehow managed to find the components for this meal.

First, I'll tell you how I ACTUALLY made it, then I'll tell you how I'd adapt the recipe in the future for less Recession-mandated meals.

CURRIED LEFTOVER PORKCHOP

1/2 c. leftover pork chop, diced
1/2 white onion, sliced thinly
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
7-8 grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 c. frozen green beans
1/4 c. cashews
1/3 c. heavy cream***
1/3 c. milk
2 T. olive oil
1-2 T. "Moroccan" spice mix***
salt and pepper
Sriracha (or other) hot sauce to taste
1/2 c. dry jasmine rice

***The Moroccan spice mix is something I made myself awhile back - I think I mixed turmeric, cumin, curry powder, chili powder, salt and pepper in an old hummus container. I'd say just look around for a Mediterranean spice blend, or, better yet, get curry powder.

***You could also replace the cream and milk with plain yogurt.

STEP ONE

Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside and keep warm.

STEP TWO

Heat the the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook the carrots, onions, and tomatoes, seasoning with a little salt and pepper, until beginning to soften. Add about half the spice mix.

STEP THREE

Add the pork to the mix and saute for a few minutes. Then add the other half of the spice mix. Turn heat down to medium and add the cream and milk. Taste, and add some more spice mix if need be. Season with salt and pepper and hot sauce to taste. Stir in cashews and green beans. Cook until the green beans are hot and the sauce has reduced enough to be creamy.

STEP FOUR:

Serve over rice. Enjoy!

This dish wasn't half bad. The pork chop had a deep smokiness that was a little strong in the dish - in the future, I'd use chicken, tofu, or just veggies. I'd also use fresh green beans or bell peppers - maybe even some sweet potato or butternut squash, which I think would really bring out the sweetness in the cumin. I would also add fresh cilantro (when WOULD'NT I add fresh cilantro), and most likely use yogurt instead of cream (the cream in my fridge was scary-old, but it smelled and tasted fine. If I'm dead tomorrow, though, we'll all know why). This would also be delicious over a more biryani-style rice, with saffron and peas, or over fried rice...mmmm.

Hey, for a meal that had an incremental cost of $0.00, I'd say I did pretty well! Maybe when this darn recession is over, I'll start a feature all about really, really expensive foods! Ha - that'll be the day.

I hope you all enjoyed this first Recession: Party of One installment! As promised earlier, I'll wrap up by addressing my cryptic reference to a new apartment resident: she's Sascha, my new tortoiseshell cat! I adopted her this afternoon, and we are absolutely as in love as a human and cat can be. She's snuggling by me as I write this, in fact.


Thanks for reading! Check back soon for a Fearless Paella post!