Ways to Feel Warm on Dreary February Evenings
After about the third iteration of snow–>rain–>melt–>freeze (a common occurrence here in Montreal at this time of year), I decided a night of good friends and food from warm, dry places was needed. So I hosted a vaguely-Moroccan themed dinner party.
The menu consisted of 3 main items:
- Zalouk, which I assembled 5 minutes before the guests arrived and which was gone shortly thereafter, i.e., before any pics could be taken. All I’ll say is this: take the time to roast the eggplant. It’s dead easy and makes a world of difference.
- Chicken Tagine (it’s always a good sign when you can follow your own recipe).
- And a carrot and chickpea salad, which was a hybrid of two recipes: Chachi’s carrot and chickpea salad , and Pan Chancho Bakery’s Moroccan chickpea salad.
Between the chick pea salad and the chicken tagine, there are a lot of similarities. Similar to Indian food, there are a few core spices/flavors that most Moroccan dishes share, and once you have that, you can get pretty creative.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups grated carrots
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
- 2 onions (about 1 3/4 cup, chopped)
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3 cloves garlic (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp of chopped mint/parsley/cilantro
- First, grate the carrots and drain and rinse the chickpeas, set aside.
- Next, chop onions, garlic, and assemble spices.
- In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions–cook until tender.
- Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and mix in well and cook for another 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss tomato mixture with the chickpeas and mint/parsley. Taste and add some salt if needed.
