Stewed Eel With Onions Honey And Raisins Food

EGGPLANT STEW WITH HONEY AND GOLDEN RAISIN POLENTA

Steps:

• Place dried mushrooms and 2 cups chicken stock in a small pot over medium-low heat.
• Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven or high sided skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add garlic, crushed pepper, onions, carrots, celery, peppers, and eggplant to the pot as you chop them. Add the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper and cover the pot to sweat the vegetables out a little faster. Stir occasionally for 10 to 12 minutes then uncover and add the balsamic vinegar.
• Remove the reconstituted dried mushrooms to the pot with a slotted spoon. Pour in all but the last few tablespoons of mushroom stock. The last of the stock can hold a little loose grit from the dried mushrooms. Add tomatoes and break up with a wooden spoon. Simmer over low heat the last few minutes before serving. Adjust salt and pepper.
• Heat the remaining 2 cups stock with 1 cup milk, golden raisins and rosemary over medium high heat. Whisk in polenta and stir 3 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in honey, butter and cheese.
• Pile some polenta in shallow bowls and spoon the stew around the polenta.;

COUSCOUS WITH LAMB, ONIONS, AND RAISINS

Steps:

• Prepare the couscous in a large, round, ovenproof dish as described on page 112, leaving the final heating in the oven to be done 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
• Prepare the meat broth in a large pan. Put in the meat, with about 1/2 pound onions, chopped, and cover with 7 1/2 cups water. Bring to the boil and remove the scum. Add salt and pepper, the ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and the cloves. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. At this point, add the saffron and more water, if necessary, and simmer for another 30 minutes, or until the meat is so tender you can pull it apart with your fingers.
• At the same time, prepare the honeyed onion tfaya. Cut the remaining onions in half and slice them. Put them in a pan with 1 cup water. Put the lid on and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, until the onions are very soft. Remove the lid and cook further, until the liquid has evaporated. Add the butter and oil and cook until the onions are golden. Stir in the honey and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, the drained raisins, and a pinch of salt. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes, or until the onions caramelize and become brown.
• Fry the almonds in a drop of oil until golden, turning them over, then drain on paper towels. Coarsely chop about half of them.
• About 20 to 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, put the couscous in the oven, preheated to 400°F, and heat through until it is steaming hot, fluffing it with a fork after about 10 minutes. Before serving, fork the butter, cut into small pieces, into the couscous and again fluff up the couscous as it melts in.
• To serve, moisten the couscous with a ladle of broth and mix in the chopped almonds, and leave it in the baking dish or turn it onto a large, round platter; shape it into a mound and make a wide shallow hollow in the center. Put the meat in the hollow, cover with the onion and raisin tfaya, and sprinkle with the remaining whole, fried almonds. Serve the broth separately.

STEWED ONIONS

Steps:

• Heat oil in large skillet over med to med-low. Add onion, cook 10 min or til soft and browned. Add sugar, barbecue sauce, and vinegar.
• Cook 30 seconds or til liquid evaporates. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

MIDDLE EASTERN COUSCOUS WITH HONEYED CARAMELIZED ONIONS, RAISINS

Steps:

• FOR THE MEAT: Prepare the meaty stew or soup. In a large pan, put the meat and about 1/2 pound onions, coarsely chopped, and cover with about 1 1/2 quarts water. Bring to the boil and remove the scum. Add salt, pepper, the ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and the cloves and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add the saffron and more water to keep the meat well covered (there should be a lot of broth) and simmer for 1/2 hour more. The meat should be so tender you could pull it apart with your hands.
• FOR THE TFAYA: For the honeyed onion tfaya, cut the onions in half and slice them. Put them in a pan with about 1 cup water. Put the lid on and cook, covered, over low heat (they will steam) for about 1/2 hour, until the onions are very soft. Remove the lid and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add the butter and oil and cook until the onions are golden. Stir in the honey and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, the drained raisins, and a pinch of salt and cook 10 minutes more, or until the onions caramelize and become brown.
• Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan or fry them in a drop of oil until golden, turning them over. Coarsely chop about half of them.
• FOR THE COUSCOUS: Put the couscous in a wide oven proof dish so that the grains are not squashed on top of each other. (I use a large round clay dish, in which I also serve). Gradually add the warm salted water, stirring all the time so that it is absorbed evenly. Keep fluffing up the grain with a fork and breaking up any lumps (as the grains stick together). After about 10-15 minutes, when the grain is plump and tender, mix in 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and rub the grain between your hands above the bowl, to air it and break up any lumps.
• Put the dish, uncovered, in a preheated 400°F oven and heat through for 15 to 20 minutes, until very hot. After about 10 minutes, fluff it up again with a fork. Before serving, work in 3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil and break up any lumps very thoroughly.
• TO SERVE: Make a mound of couscous and make a hollow in the center. Moisten with a ladle of the meat broth. Put the meat in the hollow and cover with the onion and raisin tfaya.
• Sprinkle with a mixture of chopped and whole toasted or fried blanched almonds, and serve the broth separately. Alternatively, you might prefer to serve everything separately, or straight into soup plates. Serves 6.
• The New Book Of Middle Eastern Food Claudia Roden.

CHICKEN, ONION, AND RAISIN STEW

Steps:

• Combine raisins and vinegar in small bowl; set aside. Cook onions in large saucepan of boiling water 5 minutes. Drain; cool slightly. Trim and peel onions.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes; transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon oil to same pot. Working in batches, add chicken to pot and cook over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Add chicken to bowl with onions. Add tomatoes with juices, broth, wine, coriander, honey, allspice, and 1 teaspoon pepper to pot. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Return chicken and onions to pot. Stir in bay leaves, orange peel, cinnamon stick and oregano. Cover tightly and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour.
• Stir raisin mixture and remaining 2 tablespoons oil into stew. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to shallow bowl.

MOROCCAN LAMB TAGINE WITH RAISINS, ALMONDS, AND HONEY

Steps:

• Whisk together ras-el-hanout, salt, pepper, ginger, saffron, and 1 cup water in a 5-quart heavy pot. Stir in lamb, remaining 2 cups water, onion, garlic, cinnamon sticks, and butter and simmer, covered, until lamb is just tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Stir in raisins, almonds, honey, and ground cinnamon and simmer, covered, until meat is very tender, about 30 minutes more.
• Uncover pot and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until stew is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes more.

STEWED EEL WITH ONIONS, HONEY, AND RAISINS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the eels with a little salt.
• Put the onions with 4 tablespoons oil in a large pan. Cook with the lid on over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft (they will stew in their own juice). It will take a long time because of the quantity. Take the lid off and cook, stirring often, until lightly golden. Add the cinnamon, saffron, honey, lemon juice, raisins, and a little salt and pepper. Stir well, and cook gently for 5 minutes.
• In a large skillet, sauté the eel in butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil, sprinkling with salt and pepper, until just cooked through. Serve on a bed of onions with couscous.