Kenyan Braised Kale & Tomatoes

Here's another quick and easy recipe! After the decadence of Thanksgiving, it's welcome. I don't have my usual smattering of pictures ... and they didn't particularly feel like necessary guidance. The joy of this recipe is in its basic goodness: a heap of greens swimming in spiced tomato juice. In Swahili, they refer to this style of meal as sukuma wiki ("week-pusher" or "stretch the week"), due to the ready supply of kale and other greens in the country. It stands alone wonderfully as a main course, and you're not breaking the bank (or scale) to indulge.

Find the recipe below for your replicating pleasure.

Kenyan Braised Kale & Tomatoes (Sukuma Wiki)
Yield: 4 servings

Note: I did not use onion, though most recipes in this fashion call for it. I went for garlic instead, since I had it on hand, but I see no reason why you can't throw in a little of both.Ingredients:1 pound of kale, cut from rib and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1  teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
3 vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
Fresh-squeezed lemon juice (to garnish)

Method:1. Heat up olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add in garlic and stir gently for 4–5 minutes.
2. Sprinkle in turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
3. Cook down tomatoes for 2–3 minutes, stirring often.
4. Raise heat to medium-high. Add in kale one handful at a time, stirring to combine with each addition. Once all kale is added to the pot, pour in one cup of water. Stir greens again, then reduce heat to medium and cover the pot.
5. Cook for twenty minutes. Then season to taste and serve hot, squeezing lemon juice over each bowl.

Mahjouba (Algerian Crepes)

It's the weekend, which means I actually have time to cook!

Last night we went to Texas de Brazil, that glorious house of delicious steak bites and Parmesan chicken and garlic-crusted pork and an unfairly vast salad bar. We kind of jumped the gun on celebrating Andy's graduation, Christmas, and two and a half years together (which have been amazing, and I absolutely can't wait for whatever's next.)

But this evening I rejoiced in cooking for myself again.

I saw this recipe on Saveur.com, and I set out to recreate it as best I could with the help of Fresh Market. I was unable to find semolina or red Holland chiles, but I substituted brown rice flour and Anaheim green peppers.

I began by chopping up the onions, carrots, and chile.

Then I put the mixture into my food processor and chopped the vegetables up until they were finely processed.

I heated up three tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high and added the vegetable mixture. I cooked them, stirring often, for about twenty minutes--until all the components were very soft and tender.

Then I stirred in the tomato paste. After a few minutes, I added the freshly crushed tomatoes to the mixture. I continued to cook in a very stirry fashion for about forty to forty-five minutes.

Meanwhile, I made the crepe dough. I combined the rice flour, salt, and water in a bowl, kneading it together in a large ball. I then formed six smaller balls out of the motherlode.

I froze four of these balls--planning to make more crepes soon with different fillings! One with ham, swiss, dijon, and a bechamel sauce sounds absolutely delicious--and let the others rest under loosely draped plastic wrap for thirty minutes.

Once the filling was done caramelizing, I stirred in the chopped cilantro and set it aside to cool.

I took the dough balls one at a time and placed them on a (highly) floured work surface, sprinkling more flour on top, because these buggers were sticky.

I used the heel of my palm to press the dough out, flattening it into a vague rectangle about 10x12.

Mid-pressing. I would never commit any dough-wielding crimes, because the fingerprints would be a nightmare.

Once the dough was fully spread out and paper-thin, I placed 1/2 cup of filling in the center and spread it into a smaller rectangle.

I then gently lifted the long sides of the rectangle with a flour-dusted pastry cutter and folded them over the filling.

Then I folded over the shorter sides. I heated up a 12" skillet to medium and carefully placed the crepe seam-side down, toasting it for about eight minutes on each side.

And here we have it! A nice, fairly healthy and exotic Sunday night dinner!

Mahjouba (Algerian Crepes)

Filling:
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 Anaheim pepper, de-stemmed, de-seeded, and chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 14-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes

Dough:
3 cups brown rice flour
1 3/4 cups water
2 tablespoons salt

Catfish Fillets with Tahini Sauce and Spicy Egyptian Couscous

My first experience cooking with tahini was last year. I made some chicken tacos where the marinade involved tahini, gin, and other bizarre and wonderful things. I might just have to remake those soon so I can blog about it. So yummy were they.

Tahini is a sesame seed paste that somewhat resembles (both in consistency and smell) a watered-down creamy peanut butter. Though that doesn't sound very appetizing (especially since crunchy peanut butter is a million times better), tahini makes up for it in flavor. You'll find it most often in things like hummus or baba ghanoush. Definitely a Middle Eastern ingredient.

However, most of the complaints I read about this recipe (though there were a lot of raves too) involved the overwhelming taste of tahini. When making this, I strove to temper the sesame seed flavor while making sure the fish was representing itself well too.

I made the sauce by combining tahini, crushed garlic, water, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and a little white vinegar in the food processor.  I processed the sauce for less than a minute until it was smooth. I didn't want to process too long, though, as that would further bring out the tahini flavor.

For the catfish, I dried the fillets and then seasoned them with salt, pepper, and paprika. I then heated a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high and seared two fillets at a time. After three or four minutes, I flipped the fish and sprinkled each fillet with crushed coriander seeds. Then I let the fish finish cooking through (another two or three minutes), and transferred them to a platter. I added more oil to the skillet and then did the next batch in the same manner.

I would have Andy write about the spicy Egyptian couscous, since I didn't even really make it, but he's at work and I'm not entirely sure he would otherwise...so I will take you on this journey instead! For some reason, I feel like Ms. Frizzle from Magic School Bus, but I'm not sure why.

Andy began by chopping his zucchini up into 1/2-inch pieces. We bought the carrot shredded, so there was no worry about preparing it. He then fired up the couscous water, adding a little bit of butter and letting it boil before stirring in the couscous and raisins.

While the couscous cooked, he heated up a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and sautéed the zucchini and carrot for a few minutes until they were tender. He then stirred in coriander, cayenne, garlic, and cumin and let it cook for another minute before adding the garbanzo beans and water. All that was left at that point was to stir in the couscous!

We then combined our two creations. I spooned tahini sauce over each fillet and then drizzled some of the oil and crushed coriander that was still in the fish skillet. Both dishes were garnished with parsley. It was all so good, especially since I usually forget a side dish, so it was nice to have that accompaniment. And I do believe the couscous outshone the catfish in this instance.

Catfish Fillets with Tahini Sauce (adapted from Gourmet)
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup well-stirred tahini
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 catfish or mahimahi fillets, skinned
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons coriander seeds, coarsely crushed with side of a large knife
Garnish: 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.

Spicy Egyptian Couscous (via EgyptianFood.org)
1 5-oz. package couscous
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 zucchini, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup carrots, grated
1/2 teaspoon coriander
pinch cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 teaspoon. cumin
1 can garbanzo beans
4 teaspoon water
1/4 cup pimento-stuffed olives, chopped and drained (I left these out)
Parsley