This post is long over due, way too many things are going I just don’t know where to catch up from.  At least for now I have sometime, in the coming months I am guessing I will be all over the place.

Last night I was watching the Food Network, a new show called Extreme Cuisine: Jeff Corwin and for this episode the host Jeff was in Morocco.  It was beautiful to see the different regions of Morocco and the different regional foods they were able to catch, prepare, cook and eat with their hands.  Aside from the sight seeing and food cooking, I must say he is one brave man, at one point in the program he drank camels milk, straight from the camel.  It was one of those way too awesome moments, for Jeff and “Jacqueline the camel”.  Honestly his enthusiam motivated me to get up and post this recipe.  Sometimes we all need that bit of motivation.

FRESH LAMB LOIN CHOPS – 1 inch thick – from the butcher at A&D Food Market

MOROCCAN COUSCOUS

Ingredients:

• 8 pieces of lamb loin chops
• 2 white Spanish onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 2 cans of chick peas (garbanzo beans)
• 4 large carrots
• 6 Mediterranean squash (regular green squash – zucchini works great as well)
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of pepper paste
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 5 - 6 cups of water or vegetable broth

Spice Mixture:

• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of all spice
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• pinch of Saffron
• 3 bay leaves dry
• salt (as per your taste)

Preparation:

1. In a deep cooking pot, heat up the olive oil and slowly add in the lamb chops, covering the bottom of the pan completely.  Letting one side cook for about 3-5 minutes. Using a pair of thongs, lift up the lamb chop, it should lift up easily and have formed a nice golden brown crust.  Turn the lamb chop on to the other side and let it continue to cook for 3-5 minutes.  This side should also form a nice golden crust. 
   Cook the lamb chops in batches, do not over load the bottom of your pan at once. Once the first batch is cooked, add in the second batch.
   Place each cooked piece of lamb chop on a separate dish and set a side.
2. In the mean time, begin dicing your onions, garlic and jalapenos.  Completely remove the seeds of the jalapeno.
   To remove the seeds of the jalapenos without burning yourself, either wear gloves or completely cover your hands with cooking oil.  Once you have done this, you can easily remove the hot seeds.  Once done, wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
3. Once all the pieces of the lamb chops are braised, add in the chopped onions into the pot, letting the onions saute until they become nice and translucent.
4. Then add in your diced jalapeno peppers and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes.  Then add in your tomato and red pepper paste and continue to saute until everything is nicely blended.
5. In the mean time, in a small bowl, mix in all the spices and set aside.
6. Once the onions and jalapenos have become translucent, add in the braised lamb chops that you had set aside, into the bottom of the pan. (see pic below)
7. Add in the first 5 cups of your water, along with the spice mixture and give the pot a nice stir.  Let this begin to cook and in the mean time start to prepare your vegetables.
   The meat will take longer to cook then the fresh vegetables, this means we will let the meat cook first. I cooked the meat for about 1.5 to 2 hours at a medium to high heat.  Once the meat cooks through completely, we will add in the rest of the ingredients.
8. Wash and peel the carrots and cut into 3 even sizes.  Wash and cut the heads of the Mediterranean squash only, leaving them in one whole piece.  Drain the cans of chick peas and set everything side. 
9. An hour in the cooking add in the carrots, because carrots need to tenderize and will take longer to cook then the rest of the ingredients.
10. An 1.5 to 2 hours into cooking, poke the lamb chops with a fork and if the meat is soft and tender and should be easily falling of the bone, this means the meat is cooked and we can add in the remaining ingredients.
11. Add in the drained chick peas and the squash and stir everything well and let this cook for another half hour. (Taste the water to see if the needs a bit more salt.  If the water is low, add in the extra cup of water)
12. To double check everything is cooked through, using a fork, poke into the meat, the squash and carrots the fork should insert easily in and out.  The chick peas do not take long to cook, as they are precooked.
13. Serve hot and enjoy!

Couscous Recipe 
                     Simple and quick

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of fine couscous – I used Tria brand
2. 2 cups of water
3. salt
4. 1/4 teaspoon of unsalted butter

Preparation

1. Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil, add in the salt and butter.
2. Once the water has begun boiling add in the couscous. Close the pot with its cover and remove from heat.  Let the couscous absorb all the water and let it sit for approx 5 minutes.
3. Once the couscous has absorbed all the water, using a fork fluff and mix the couscous.

Plating:
        If you wish to plate everything all at once, choose to use a wide and large dish.  Plate the cooked couscous on the bottom first creating a whole in the center.  Then start to plate around the meat and vegetables and chick peas around the couscous and in the center as well.  Using ladle the water from the pot, all around the dish. Serve hot and enjoy! 

BRAISE THE LAMB CHOPS IN YOUR BIG COOKING POT

BRAISED LAMB CHOPS TAKING OUT OF THE POT

SAUTEE THE WHITE ONIONS UNTIL TRANSLUCENT

ADD IN THE DICED JALAPONE WITH THE TOMATO & PEPPER PASTE

ADD BACK IN THE BRAISED LAMB CHOPS

LAMB LOIN CHOPS IN WATER WITH SPICE MIXTURE

COOKING LAMB CHOPS WITH VEGETABLES

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Tags: all spice, cumin, Halal Markets, lamb loin chops, moroccan couscous, Ramadan Recipes, saffron, Vegetables