A traditional tagine

I call this a chicken tagine dish because it traditionally would be cooked in the conical ceramic tagine.

I have adapted it so you can make it in any pot that will fit the ingredients and have added a crock pot version as well.  The recipe blends the spices of Morocco (cumin, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon) with a New England twist (molasses).  Don’t let the long list of ingredients fool you, it’s mostly spices and the prepping should take about 20 minutes.  Because liquid is released from the vegetables while cooking, the end result is more of a stew and is great served on rice.

Chicken Tagine with Lemons and Olives

Chicken Tagine with Lemons and Olives

(Using a Dutch oven or crock pot)

2 pounds chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon, peeled and sliced very thin

3 cups green olives, with pits (or without if desired)

2 red peppers, cut into long, wide, strips

2 yellow peppers, cut into long, wide strips

2 orange peppers, cut into long, wide strips

3 onions, cut into quarters

8 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons molasses

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1/2 tsp each Salt and pepper, and then to taste

2 tsp Cumin

½ tsp Ginger

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Cinnamon

Dutch oven version:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, stir together tomato paste, honey, molasses, Dijon mustard, and spices.
3. On top of the stove, in a large Dutch oven (or covered cast iron), add olive oil and sauté chicken pieces until no longer raw on the outside.
4. Add vegetables to chicken and then spice mixture.  Stir well.
5. Cover and put in Oven.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring at half-way point.
6. At 1 hour, stir and recover.  Turn down temp to 300 degrees F and continue to cook for another hour.

Crock Pot (slow cooker) version:

1. In a skillet, sauté chicken in olive oil until no longer raw on the outside.
2. Add all ingredients, including chicken and 1/4 cup water to slow cooker.  Stir well.
3. Cook on high for 4 hours and then on low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serves 8

From the upcoming book: Eating Mediterranean in New England by Bill Bradley, R.D., L.D.N.

Falafel with Tahini Sauce

My first experience making falafel was a huge and embarrassing disaster.  I was in my late 20′s and living as an intern in an intentional community.  Once a month, I had to make dinner for all the interns and residents of the community.

I wanted to prove what a great cook I was so I decided to make a traditional Middle Eastern meal.  The menu was tabouleh, bread with olive oil, salad, and the main course was falafel with tahini sauce.

The plan was to look like I had spent hours sweating over the stove while, in fact, I would use pre-made mixes and throw away all the evidence before anyone arrived for dinner.

In the two hours before dinner, I (nervously) mixed the tabouleh, made the salad, and then mixed the falafel.  I made about a hundred small falafel patties.

A half an hour before dinner was to start, I heated a cup of oil in each of the two large cast iron pans and started filling them with falafel patties.  Everything was going just fine until I started turning the patties over and noticed that they were crumbling apart.  Desperately, I tried to be more careful with the flipping.  Still, the falafel patties were quickly disintegrating into the oil.  Soon, there was no evidence that the falafel was ever in patty form at all.  I tried more patties and the same thing happened over and over.

People were beginning to walk in for dinner and I was in a panic.  What would I serve them besides salad, bread, and tabouleh?  In the end, I ended up serving each person a teaspoonful of overcooked, oily, falafel crumbles topped with tahini sauce.  Not one of my better cooking moments.

The Trouble with Falafel

It wasn’t until recently that I discovered I’m not the only one who has experienced the disappearing falafel trick.  There are tales of falafel woes all over the cooking stratosphere.  Apparently, many meals have been ruined by the main course disintegrating into nothingness.

Solutions abound on the internet including using a binding agent such as flour or an egg to help keep everything together.  Another trick I discovered was refrigerating the falafel patties before cooking.

In the end, I am in a constant state of creating my “perfect” falafel recipe.  Below is my latest version which is getting close to perfect.  I use chickpea flour as the binding agent.

If you have a falafel trick or amazing recipe, please share on my facebook page (link above right).  If I use it, I will give you credit and you will get a free copy of my cookbook (written with Koula Barydakis):  Foods of Crete: Traditional Recipes from the Healthiest People in the World.

Meanwhile, enjoy!

Falafel

Traditionally served in a pita pocket with tahini dressing

4 cloves garlic

1 small onion, quartered

2 cups chickpeas (canned), rinsed and drained

Falafel with Tahini Sauce

handful of parsley, chopped

handful of cilantro, chopped

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon dried coriander

¼ cup chickpea or white flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1. Mince garlic and onion in a food processor.
2. Add all other ingredients.  Pulse only until chickpeas are chopped.
3. Form 2” round patties.
4. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour (up to 1 hour).
5. Fry on medium heat in olive oil.
6. Top with tahini sauce.  Serve with tomatoes, lettuce, and pita bread.

Serves 4

Tahini Sauce

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3-4 Tablespoons water

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Mince garlic in food processor.
2. Add tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil.  Blend.
3. Add water, a tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.  Salt and pepper, to taste.

Recipes by Bill Bradley, R.D.

Lemon Parmesan Dressing
Photo by Bill Bradley, R.D.

Comfort food in America has been given a bad name because it is usually high in saturated fat and sugar.  When we think of something we eat to relax our nerves or when we are having a hard time it is usually meatloaf or macaroni and cheese or ice cream.  When I lived in Crete, one of my favorite comfort foods was green pie.  The people of Crete go into the mountains to pick a whole variety of greens with the Greek name of Horta.  By some estimates there are 150 varieties of edible greens on the island.
The greens are prepared by simmering them in extra virgin olive oil for about an hour, usually with a little bit of salt.  Some of the greens are quite bitter eaten raw, but once cooked in the oil, the bitterness tends to dissipate.  The greens are then drained and are then placed in a simple rolled out dough (which includes more extra virgin olive oil) and folded up into a little individual pie.  When I ate green pies in Crete they were usually golden brown rounds about 3 to 4 inches across containing a warm and moist heaping of greens in the center.
A study was done recently on the Green Pies of Crete (now that’s a study I want to participate in).  They found that two small green pies had “12 times more quercetin than one glass of red wine (100 ml), and three times more quercetin than a cup of black tea (200 ml).”  “Quercetin is a flavanol which may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.”  The study went on to say that “wild greens potentially are a very rich source of antioxidant flavonols and flavones in the Greek diet.”
Purslane, another green eaten often in Crete, is also known to be quite high in Omega-3 fatty acids.
So, the difference between a comfort food in Crete and one in America is that the one in Crete will actually promote health and healing.

One of my favorite new bloggers is Elena Paravantes.  She is a Greek-American Registered Dietitian and has some really great recipes.  I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but let me know if you do before me!
Hortopita:  Greek Savory Pie with Greens, Herbs, and Feta Cheese

Traditional Greek Salad

Order Things to do with Black Bean Stew

Most supermarkets these days have a whole section dedicated to the many varieties of flavored hummus.  Red pepper, jalapeno, and guacamole hummus are just a few of the takeoffs of the original.  In many ways, hummus is a perfect Mediterranean food, it’s delicious, high in protein, fiber and reasonably low in calories.

Hummus is also very easy to make which makes it quite a bit cheaper and gives you the opportunity to add your own flavors or to make it the traditional way.

Here are three great hummus recipes that are quick, simple, and delicious!

Traditional Hummus

Spiced Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Black Bean Hummus