Tag Archives: main dish

Cauliflower Tagine

This healthy little dish is just that–healthy! Good for you! And wonderfully light on the stomach. It’s tasty and satisfying, and though it won’t blow the gourmet world away (no vapors of crawfish or fumes of foie-gras here), I would totally make it again, especially if I’m feeling heavy and bloated and need something that isn’t going to weigh me down. You feel good just looking at it, and with its lightly spiced tomato broth, topped with fresh cilantro and crunchy almonds, it’s a winner. Your taste buds may not dance the tango, but they will at least bust a couple decent moves, like the sprinkler. Or the shopping cart.

Originally from this recipe, here it is with my humble modifications:

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

2 TBS olive oil
1 large yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 slices lemon
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
2 14 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
1 head cauliflower
3 carrots
1 15 oz can chickpeas
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cinnamon stick
2 medium to large zucchini
Slivered almonds, to garnish
Fresh minced cilantro to garnish
Cooked couscous, quinoa, or rice to serve

Slice the onion and heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add the onion . . .

. . . and sauté for 6-8 minutes, until starting to brown. Toss in the lemon slices.

Mince the garlic, and add it to the onions along with the cumin, ginger, bay leaves, salt and pepper.

 

Stir everything for a minute or two, then pour in the vegetable broth and tomatoes.

Break up or chop the cauliflower into florets, and chop the carrot into 3-inch lengths. Add the cauliflower, carrots, chickpeas (rinsed! Get that grody bean juice outta there!), raisins and cinnamon stick to the pot.

Bring it all to a boil, then lower the heat and cover the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cut the zucchini into thick rounds, and add it to the pot. Continue to simmer (covered) for 10 more minutes.

And it’s done!

Isn’t it so beautifully colorful?

Toss the cinnamon stick into the garbage (pronounced gah-baaaaj by the way), and serve over rice, couscous, or quinoa, garnished with cilantro and almonds.

It tastes . . . simple. In a good way. Unpretentious, light, straightforward.

It’s not devoid of flavor, but lets the vegetables shine through in all their vegetable naturalness instead of covering them up with heavy doses of spice.

This tagine has no hidden agenda.

Make it! Or something.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Cauliflower Tagine

Black Bean Soup with Chorizo, Ham and Bacon

I recently started following a great little blog and decided to make Terri’s recipe for Black Bean Soup to feed a crowd of friends that was coming over for a game night. It’s a spicy, roasty wonder of a soup. I didn’t take step by step pictures–I’d just returned from a long weekend in Wisconsin the night that I made it, was pregnant and tired, and getting out the camera seemed like too supreme of an effort. Thankfully, after sampling the soup and swooning over and over again, I wised up and snapped some pics of the finished product that will hopefully drive you into the kitchen.

The printable recipe link is below, and guys . . . you should really put this on the menu soon.

Besides being easy to make, it goes fabulously with beer bread and rice, cheap and quick ways to fill a lot of stomachs. The soup is meaty and hearty, chunky and satisfying, and I highly recommend it. You may notice in the picture above that there are some flecks of orange–that’s the grease that had congelead overnight when the soup was in the fridge. I skimmed most of it off the top and then snapped a picture before it had really heated up.

I also want to mention that when it was fresh off the stove the first evening, the soup had considerable bite to it, but the spiciness really mellowed after a night in the fridge. I don’t think a single person complained about the spice level being too much to handle, but if you’re concerned you could always skip the chipotle chili. Only if you’re really worried though, because the flavor that it adds is seriously awesome.

And that pretty much wraps it up. Yes, you have observed correctly: I have nothing remotely amusing to say, no stories to tell (related or unrelated to this soup), and pretty much nothing interesting going on in my brain right now.

Hmmmm.

Will ponder situation at length later, when brain power returns.

Hope Tuesday is treating you right! On to another cup o’ coffee . . .

Click here for printer-friendly version: Black Bean Soup with Chorizo, Ham and Bacon