Harissa Chicken with Leeks, Potatoes, and Yogurt

This recipe is now all over the internet, with good reason. It's very tasty, and smells wonderful while cooking. The recipe comes from Melissa Clark's fab cookbook - Dinner: Changing the Game, but I've used David Lebovitz's slight variation here. I recommend using dill as one of the herbs, but you can use whatever is in the crisper drawer that needs using. Harissa is spicy, so if you don't love spice, perhaps cut back a bit on that ingredient. This recipe serves 3 but could stretch to 4 with a side salad.

Harissa Chicken with Leeks, Potatoes, and Yogurt

2 tablespoons harissa
4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons kosher or flaky sea salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 pound skin on chicken thighs, legs and/or drumsticks
1 1/2 pounds roasting potatoes (such as Yukon Golds), peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch (4cm) cubes
2 leeks, washed, sliced in half lengthwise, and thinly sliced crossways

grated zest of one lemon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
lemon or lime juice

1 cup (10-12g) mixed fresh herbs, such as parsley, mint, dill, chervil, and tarragon, very coarsely chopped

In a large bowl, mix together the harissa, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, cumin, 2 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper. Add the chicken and potatoes. Use your hands and toss to combine. Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.

In a medium bowl, toss the leeks together with the lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Transfer the chicken and potatoes, and any sauce in the bowl, onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the chicken pieces so they are skin side up, and make sure the chicken parts and potatoes are in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Toss the potatoes (so they can brown on the other sides of them) then strew the leeks over everything on the baking sheet. It may look like a lot, but they'll bake down.

Bake until the chicken is cooked through, another 20 to 25 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, in a small bowl, mix the yogurt with the garlic, the remaining salt and pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and spoon the yogurt sauce in various places over the chicken and potatoes. Top with fresh herbs and serve.

Beryl's Sunday Basmati

I love this recipe. It's the third pilaf-style rice recipe I've posted here - and they are all different. This one is now a standard in our house, and a real comfort food. Planning to make it tonight with a grilled curried flattened chicken and Costco baja salad. Perfect fall fare.
This recipe comes from Floyd Cardoz's Flavorwalla cookbook. I've tweaked the recipe a bit to streamline the instructions.
Enjoy!

Beryl's Sunday Basmati

3 tbsp canola or avocado oil
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 c chopped white onion
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 c basmati rice
1 1/2 c diced tomatoes (you can use well-drained tinned tomatoes if necessary)
3 c water
Bouillon (original recipe calls for 1 large Maggi cube/I often use 3 tsp Better than Bouillon)

Put rice in a large bowl and fill with cold water. swish with your hands, pour off water - repeat, until the water is almost clear. Drain, cover rice with lukewarm water, and soak for 20 minutes. Drain well.

Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add cinnamon and cloves and cook for about 1 minute. Add onions and scallions and saute until softened but now browning. Add bay leaves and drained rice and cook, stirring frequently, until rice starts to stick to the bottom of the pot.

Add tomatoes, bouillon, and water. Bring to a boil, stir, cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 15 minutes.

Remove cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Tzatziki (Cacik)

This is a recipe for Turkish cacik from Rick Stein's Venice to Istanbul, but it's what we use for tzatziki. It is easy and great!

Tzatziki

1 English cucumber, peeled, deseeded and grated
1 tsp salt
500 g greek yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
I garlic clove, grated
1 tbsp chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped mint leaves
1/2 tsp cumin


Mix grated cucumbers with salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Drain cucumbers, then squeeze between paper towel to remove excess liquid.
Add cucumber to yogurt then stir in remaining ingredients.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with cayenne before serving.

Two Classic Salads - Two Great Recipes

We all know these salads and most of us have recipes we go back to time and again to make them. I realize, however, that I have not committed my favourite recipes to this blog. This post will correct that. The first recipe - for Greek Salad - comes from Rick Stein's Venice to Istanbul. It is simple but for me yields the perfect greek salad. The second recipe - for Salade Nicoise - come from Melissa Clark's Dinner. The dressing is fabulous! In both cases I have made some minor changes to better suit our tastes. As with every salad you'll ever make, the freshness and quality of the ingredients will make all the difference.

Greek Salad

1 lb tomatoes, cut into chunks

1/2 english cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced into thick slices

1 red onion, sliced thinly

20 kalamata olives

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1 cup feta cheese (the block kind in brine, not the grated kind!)

Put tomatoes, cucumber, onion and olives into a large serving bowl.

Mix together oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over salad and toss gently. Slice or break the feta into large-ish pieces and place on top of the salad. Sprinkle with oregano.

Drizzle with additional olive oil to taste.

Salade Nicoise

8 oz new or baby potatoes

8 oz green beans

1 tbsp basil leaves, finely chopped

8 radishes

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

12-14 oz tuna packed in olive oil, drained

1/2 c kalamata olives, pitted

4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, minced

1 large garlic clove, grated

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 tsp grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp dijon

1/3 c olive oil

Blend together anchovy, garlic, salt, lemon juice, lemon zest, dijon and olive oil.

Boil potatoes until fork tender, adding green beans for last 2-3 minutes. Drain and let cool to a temperature you can handle. 

Halve potatoes, and place in bowl with green beans. Dress with some of the dressing. Allow to cool, Toss in basil.

Arrange potatoes and green beans, radishes, tomatoes, and tuna on a large platter. Scatter with olives and drizzle with remaining dressing. 

Garnish with black pepper, flakes of sea salt, and torn basil leaves.

Brown Rice with Spiced Chicken, Tomato, and Zucchini

I used to make this recipe all the time. Then I forgot about it. I saw some beautiful zucchinis at Pat's Supermarket last week and searched out this recipe. It's from Leith's Cooking for One or Two (where they are called courgettes of course). I've revised the recipe so it feeds four. Quick, easy, tasty. Especially when winter returns in mid-April! Leftovers make great lunches.

Brown Rice with Spiced Chicken, Tomato, and Zucchini

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 oz brown rice
1 pint chicken stock
2 zucchinis, cut into 1 cm dice
2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1 cm dice
4-6 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
2 tsps cajun spice
2 tbsp butter
lemon juice
parsley

Toss chicken thighs with cajun seasoning and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in saucepan and fry onion until soft. Add rice, stir to coat. Pour in stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer 40-50 minutes until rice is tender, stirring occasionally.
When rice is almost cooked, heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Add butter. When foaming, fry chicken briskly until browned. Add zucchini and tomato and toss until hot but zucchini is still crunchy. 
Add cooked rice to chicken. Check seasoning. Add lemon juice to taste and garnish with chopped parsley.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chia Pudding (aka Breakfast)

This is THE BEST chia pudding I've ever had. Almost as good as a budino!

Thanks to cousin Jen for sending me to A Saucy Kitchen gluten free website where you can find the recipe here: https://www.asaucykitchen.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-chia-pudding/.

This is my (slightly modified) version:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chia Pudding

1 c unsweetened almond or coconut almond milk
1/4 c chia seeds
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (all natural)
2 tbsp maple syrup

Combine ingredients, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Makes 4 servings.

Swedish Lemon Visiting Cake

I love baked goods with cardamom. They remind me of Sweden. I made this cake for the first time this week and we all loved it. It baked evenly and yielded a moist, dense, lemony loaf. The recipe was posted on the NYT website and attributed to Dorie Greenspan. I have made a couple minor tweaks based on my own ingredients. (The original recipe also had a marmalade glaze that I found unnecessary, but if that appeals you can get the original recipe online.) Best served with afternoon tea (or coffee)!

Swedish Lemon Visiting Cake

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/4 tsp b powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 c sugar*

1 large lemon

4 large eggs, room temp

1/2 c greek yogurt**

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

5 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter 8 1/2 inch loaf pan, dust with flour, and place on baking sheet.

Whisk together flour, b power, cardamom, ginger and salt.

Put sugar in a large bowl. Grate zest of lemon over sugar. Rub sugar and zest together until mixture is moist and aromatic. 

Squeeze lemon to yield 3 tbsp juice and set aside.

Add eggs to sugar one at a time, whisking after each addition. Whisk in juice then yogurt. Using whisk, gently stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients in two additions.

Stir vanilla into melted butter then blend into batter.

Scrape batter into loaf pan.

Bake 70-75 minutes, covering loosely with foil if it browns too quickly. 

Transfer to a rack, let rest for 5 minutes, loosen with a knife and invert onto a rack.

Cool to room temperature.

* original recipe called for 1 1/4 cups

** can use heavy cream