3 cups canned chick peas, drained, rinsed, and drained again
1/4 cup sesame paste (tahini)
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped parsley

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the chick peas, sesame paste, water, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic. Process or blend until smooth and creamy in texture. Scrape down sides of bowl if necessary. Add salt and pepper and process for a few seconds. Add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste. If too thick, add small amounts of lemon juice and olive oil. Stir in the parsley. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Black Olives with Harissa

The spicy North African condiment called harissa is often mixed with olives or served with salads, couscous, or tagines - meat or poultry stews.

1 pound oil-cured black olives (preferably Moroccan)*

For harissa*
1 teaspoon cuminseed
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 hot red dried chilies*, stemmed but not seeded (about 2 inches in length)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, or to taste
1 medium red bell pepper, roasted (procedure follows) and chopped coarse
1 tablespoon olive oil

*available at Middle Eastern or Mediterranean markets

In a colander rinse olives under cold water 1 minute and in a large bowl cover with cold water. Soak olives 4 hours to remove excess salt and drain well.
Make harissa: In a mortar with a pestle, an electric spice grinder, or a cleaned coffee grinder grind seeds fine. If using mortar and pestle, add chilies, garlic, and salt and pound to taste. If using a spice or coffee grinder, transfer seeds to a small food processor and add chilies, garlic, and salt. Grind mixture to a paste. Add pepper and oil and pound or purée to a coarse paste.

In a large bowl stir together harissa and olives and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 6 hours or overnight. Olives may be prepared 1 week ahead and kept chilled, covered.

Serve olives at room temperature.

To roast peppers:
Using a long-handled fork, char peppers over an open flame or on a rack set over an electric burner, turning, until skins are blackened, 4 to 6 minutes. (Or to broil peppers on rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from heat, turning every 5 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes, or until skins are blistered and charred.) Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Keeping peppers whole, peel them, starting at blossom end. Cut off pepper tops and discard seeds and ribs.

Baba Ghanooge

An eggplant based dip that is rapidly gaining in popularity. The mixture of baked eggplants, Tahini, and garlic make a wonderful tasting dip. If you had wondered how to prepare those large eggplants you find in the supermarket, Baba Ghanooge is the answer!

1 large eggplant
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons Tahini
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup yogurt
3 tablespoons olive oil
several whole olives

Heat oven to 400 degrees
Place whole eggplant on a baking sheet and bake until outer shell is crisp and inside is soft and mushy. A fork should pass easily through the eggplant when done (about 1 hour).
Let the eggplant cool, then remove and discard black skin and green cap. Spoon the insides into a food processor or a blender.
Add garlic, Tahini, salt, lemon juice and yogurt. Puree until creamy.Spoon into a serving dish and garnish with olive oil and whole olives.

Serve cold or warm with sliced Pita bread and/or vegetables for dipping.

Moroccan Potato Casserole

6 cloves garlic
salt to taste
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup chopped parsley
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch squares
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
4 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 pound tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, paprika, cumin, and cayenne in a food processor bowl. Process until mixture forms a paste. Add herbs, and pulse a few times to blend. Add lemon juice, vinegar, and 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil; blend. Season to taste with salt.
In a large bowl, combine potatoes, peppers, and celery. Season with salt, and toss with herb sauce. Transfer to a large shallow baking dish. Scatter tomatoes among the potato mixture. Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons oil over top, and cover with foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil. Continue baking until vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Hummus

2 cups canned chick peas, drained
2/3 cup sesame paste (tahini)
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley for garnish

Place all ingredients in a food mill or blender, mix until the chickpeas are smooth. Store in refrigerator. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top before serving.

Moroccan Eggplant

1 large eggplant
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 oz. cilantro
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt as needed
4 cup water

Dice eggplant (large dice), you need not peel it. In a large sauce pan put water and add eggplant and let cook till egplant is soft (about 15 minutes). Drain eggplant.

In a large skillet saute garlic, spices and cilantro in olive oil. Add eggplant and let cook for 10 minutes stirring ocasionally. Serve warm.

Lettuce-wrapped Moroccan Meatballs

The aromatic Moroccan spice mixture, ras el hanout, used in these little meatballs is typically made with allspice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and cumin seeds, ginger and peppercorns. Pork can he used instead of lamb, although it's not a meat normally eaten in Morocco

1 heaping tsp cornstarch
2 tblsp vegetable oil
10 baby romaine lettuce leaves
5 mint leaves
5 cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chili sauce

For the Moroccan meatballs:
4 oz ground lamb or pork
1 scallion, chopped
2 tsp ras el hanout
2 tblsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 tblsp white sesame seeds
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together for the meatballs and roll into 20
balls. Sprinkle the cornstarch on a tray and roll the balls in it to
lightly coat. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs in batches over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until well browned.
Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Let them cool a little. Put a warm meatball on each lettuce leaf and place a mint or cilantro leaf on top. Serve with the chili sauce to dip.
Advance preparation:
Fry the meatballs 8 hours before, cool, cover, and chill. Reheat
them at 375° F. for 10 minutes or until hot. Prepare the lettuce,
cilantro, and mint; cover, and chill up to 8 hours before.
Freezing:
The meatballs can be frozen cooked or uncooked 4 weeks ahead.

Moroccan Spiced Carrots

2 Tbs. pine nuts
1 1/2 tsps. cumin seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
12 medium carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut diagonally into 1/8-inch slices
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 Tb. honey
4 tsps. fresh lemon juice
12 Moroccan or other black-cured olives, chopped
1 Tb. chopped cilantro
2 tsps. chopped fresh mint

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put pine nuts on small sheet pan and toast 9-10 minutes, or till golden brown; set aside. Put cumin in heavy skillet over medium heat and toast 4 minutes, stirring a few times, Grind cumin with mortar and pestle or spice grinder; set aside.

Put oil in skillet large enough to hold carrots in one layer. Cook carrots over high heat 3 minutes. Lower to medium and cook 2 minutes longer, or till tender and golden brown. Gently shake pan for even cooking. Add salt.

Drain carrots in colander; transfer to bowl. Mix in honey, lemon juice, olives, cumin. Cool to room temperature and mix in cilantro, mint, pine nuts.

Felafel

The patties:
1 lb. dried, pealed fava beans
Water
2 medium onions, quartered
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch parsley, large stems removed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups oil

The Yogurt dip:
1 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 glove garlic. Minced or pressed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Patty preparation:
Soak the fava beans in water over-night, or until very tender. Remove skin if present.
Combine the fava beans, onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander, baking powder, salt and pepper in a blender. Grind until mixture becomes very smooth (it helps if you partially chop, or dice the ingredients before you put them in the blender). Let paste rest for 30 minutes.
Take walnut-sized lumps and make round, flat patties. Let the patties rest for about 15 minutes to preserve their shape.
Heat oil in a deep pan so that the patties can be submerged. Fry the patties until golden brown. Place them on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Serve with pita bread and yogurt dip.
Yogurt Dip preparation:
Combine all yogurt dip ingredients. Blend well and refrigerate.

Himmus Bitahini

A dip that is popular with my guests, and is easy to make. Try it with your guests, and be prepared to answer questions on how to make it. Dot with olives, and dust with paprika before serving, or if you are adventurous, dust with ground cayenne (red) pepper.

1 16-oz. can garbanzo beans (drained)
2 tablespoons Tahini
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup cold water
4 tablespoons olive oil

Place the garbanzo beans, Tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic and water in a blender and puree until smooth.
Mix in 2 tablespoons olive oil by hand and place in a serving dish.
Pour the remaining olive oil on top and garnish with olives, snipped parsley and a pinch of ground cayenne.

Pickled Cucumbers (Turshy)

10 salt-pickled (Dill Pickle type) cucumbers, juice discarded (you can buy these from the store. Do not buy the sweet pickles).
1 bunch parsley, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white wine vinegar
1 cup boiled water cooled to room temperature

Slit each cucumber lengthwise down the middle.
Combine the parsley, curry powder, garlic and salt.

Stuff each cucumber with some of the parsley mixture. Pinch the cucumber slightly to keep the filling inside. You can use a string, parsley stems, or other media to tie them. Arrange the stuffed cucumbers in a pickling jar.
Combine the vinegar and water.
Pour the liquid on the stuffed cucumbers to cover by at least 3 inches.

Seal jar and set to pickle for 2-3 days.