An Expected (and Welcome) Moroccan Party in my Mouth

Unlike my horrific experience with the Lamb & Harissa sausage roll (recalled in a previous post in September), I happened to have an out of this world Moroccan experience right in the comfort of my own home. As much as I enjoy a dining out experience, I especially enjoy whipping up a gastronomical storm in my kitchen- much to Junior's delight. This is why I am going to try and include more recipes in this blog.

The following is a recipe for a Moroccan Beef dish, as I had chuck steak on hand but it will definitely be more authentic with lamb. Having said that, the meat can be easily substituted for chicken and even firm white fish, such as snapper or blue eye cod- depending on your preference. My Mum has my tagine currently so I used a large pan on the stove top instead.

Before I start I am going to have to have a good old rant about Ras Al Hanout because I LOVE it so. Ras Al Hanout is a classic Moroccan spice blend and means "Top of the Shop" because traditionally it is a blend of the best spices from the local spice merchant. As a result, Ras Al Hanout can vary from place to place but kudos to Herbie's Spices as they have come up with a scrumptious version. At $9.80 for 40g, it can seem pricey but I can attest that the depth of flavour and aroma is well worth the money. You can buy Herbie's blends from Herbie's Store in Rozelle or online at Gourmet Shopper. I found mine at my local Fratelli Fresh.

Moroccan Beef with Sweet Potato, Herbed Cous Cous & Mint Yoghurt
750g Beef chuck steak- cut into 2.5cm cubes
1 large Sweet Potato- cut into large chunks
1 large Onion- chopped
2 Garlic cloves- finely diced
1 knob Ginger- grated (I used a Microplane- they are the best!)
2 tbs Ras Al Hanout
2-3 cups Beef Stock
1 can Whole Peeled Tomatoes
1 can Chickpeas (drained and rinsed well to get rid of "tinny" taste)
2 tbs Tomato Paste
Handful chopped Coriander and Flat Leaf Parsley
Zest of 1 Lemon (again Microplane Magic!)
Olive oil

Herbed Cous Cous
1 cup instant cous cous
2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped herbs (coriander, mint, parsley)
Olive Oil

Mint Yoghurt
1 cup Greek Style Yoghurt (to cut down the fat you can substitute with Light Yoghurt but I tend to find the texture is not as nice)
Handful chopped Mint
2 tsp Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper
Pinch White Sugar (caster sugar mixes in and dissolves easiest)

Method
1. Make Mint Yoghurt by combining all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Season to taste. Mint yoghurt is best made a couple of hours to a day in advance to let the flavours permeate. It also keeps well in the fridge so you can make extra to use as a dip, use in wraps or add to Indian style dishes- super versatile and tasty.

2. In a large frying pan, heat up some olive oil and brown the beef cubes with some salt & pepper. Make sure the beef is browned well as it adds to the flavour of the dish. Set aside in dish.

3. In the same pan heat a little more olive oil and add onions and garlic. Be careful not to have on a too high heat as you do not want it to brown but go translucent, stirring occasionally. After a couple of minutes add grated ginger, Ras Al Hanout and season with salt & pepper. Cook further to release flavour of the spices and be careful to make sure it doesn't burn. Feel free to add more oil if it looks like it's sticking.

4. Add beef back into the pan with juices and cook for a further 5 minutes. Then add sweet potato chunks and chickpeas.

5. Add tin tomatoes and lightly crush with back of spoon so it remains chunky then pour in stock so it's just covered, add lemon zest and season really well with salt & pepper. Turn up heat until you bring to boil.

6. Reduce heat in pan and cover to simmer for about 1.5 hours. Stirring occasionally- as the sweet potato will soak up liquid you may need to add stock from time to time.

7. After about 1.5 hours add tomato paste and simmer uncovered for another 15-20 mins to thicken the sauce.

8. In the meantime boil 2 cups of water and add to 1 cup of cous cous in heat proof bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil and cover for 5-8 minutes. After this time stir in chopped herbs.

9. Serve with blanched broccolini. Bon Apetit!

Verdict: Lip-smackingly delicious!

Herbie's Spices
745 Darling Street
Rozelle NSW 2039
Ph: (02) 9555 6035
www.herbies.com.au

Fratelli Fresh
www.fratellifresh.com.au

New and Improved Rocky Road...

Right people. I have made some tweaks to the Rocky Road recipe ingredients, method still the same as Rocky Road post in August.

Enjoy!

Rocky's Rocky Road

• 350g Dark Chocolate
• 150g Milk Chocolate
• 200g Marshmallows (I prefer Pascalls pink and white ones)
• 2 x 55g Fry's Turkish Delight
• 1 x Cherry Ripe
• ½ cup Dessicated Coconut
• ¼ cup Peanuts

Verdict: 

All hail Matt Preston

I really adore Matt Preston. Only he could review Noma, named as one of the Top 5 restaurants in the world, and recalling one particularly memorable course, says "Damn, it's good, in a 'rolling in the trough' sort of way".

Prest is best.

Grease is the Word

I would like to preface this post with a self imposed "I told you so". As a rare diner at McDonald's, I found myself strangely allured by promises of real Angus beef, how Maccas is so committed to making their burgers taste great and murmurs of how it tasted distinctly un-Maccas like... With hope in my heart and a desire to believe in the power of good over evil, Junior and I headed off to meet Angus in his new home of the Golden Arches.

Uh... how you say... er... FAIL!

I know, I know- I have already done the "I told you so's"- let's move on.

Working as a team, Junior and I ordered a Mighty Angus and a Grand Angus each to sample the flavours of both Angus cousins.

I foolishly opted for the Grand Angus, thinking that the "gourmet" salad would be a nice inclusion to my meal. The "gourmet" lettuce must've been running out the door this particular day, as it was replaced by the dependable but limp iceberg understudy. It was also disconcerting when I picked the burger up to take my first bite and grease trickled down my hand. All I could smell was that distinct Maccas fake cheese before I even took the first bite. Lo and behold, it was all I could taste for the remainder of the meal and for hours afterwards. Hmmmph!

It was only then did I recall my colleague Browny, telling me about the time he ate an unmelted piece of that orange plastic they call cheese at Maccas and not only was he nearly sick, he tried to eat raw onion in the hope that its pungency would overpower the evil cheese but alas, the evil cheese proved too powerful and it lingered for days.

Junior's Mighty Angus, sans anything green, avec caramelised onion was a marginally better effort but I suspect this was due to only having one slice of the cheesus vomitus whereas my Grand (and I do use these terms very loosely) was lucky enough to have two.

So kids what have we learnt from this experience? You can never trust Maccas for anything except a guaranteed greasy meal that will repeat on you for days to come.

I also learnt that I should know better than to fall for gimmicky marketing even if the top bun does fall on a cute and jaunty angle.

Grand? Mighty? Why yes, if these words precede DISAPPOINTMENT.

Bang Bang...

OK, I am the first to admit that I am not the most demure and shy person around the traps however, I wasn't brought up by a pack of wild wolves and therefore know how to behave when in a dining establishment. Yes, we have all experienced a time where we've had a few too many bubbles and started to laugh hysterically at nothing in particular but that usually happens on a weekend, with a crowd of equally drunk, loud and hysterical friends and in a venue where the general level of noise is an equaliser for the decibels exuding from your corner of the universe.

Try telling that to Miss Squawk-a-Lot and her band of very merry men and a camper than Christmas, David Brent doppelganger. Clearly a bunch of social misfits that individually would have no friends on Facebook therefore decided to band together, a la Revenge of the Nerds and rise against the cool kids by being uber loud and talking over each other with gusto.

I have enjoyed the ambience of Il Baretto a number of times and whilst it can get noisy from chatter, it usually is a din of conversation that is audible but not pronounced.

I took Junior to Il Baretto for the first time last night as I knew he would love the Duck Ragu Papardelle and enjoy a nice romantic dinner out on a Thursday.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the friendly staff and seated straight away, on a lovely table near the back of the restaurant. Normally I enjoy a nice red with my Italian but the unseasonally balmy 25+ degrees and my selfish decision to have the Spaghetti alla Vongole led me to bring a Zilzie Rose 2006 along for the ride.

Everything was going along swimmingly until Miss Squawk-a-Lot and pals turned up, with their glass shattering guffaws. When the first thing they did was ask for a bottle opener for their Coronas by shouting at the waiter, in case he was hearing impaired, I gave Junior that knowing look of "Holy crap. If these bogans keep it up, I am going to stab the nearest one with my fork- after I finish my delicious meal for fear of ruining the experience (interestingly it would've been Campy David Brent)." He responded with an oft seen "Holy crap. Must eat quickly and leave before there is violence."

Anyway, Junior and I did our darndest to enjoy our dinner which was accompanied by a lovely rocket & parmesan salad, with fresh, peppery rocket leaves; crumbly, salty parmesan and dotted with slivers of sun-dried tomatoes. The rocket and dressing were divine but to be honest 2 shavings of parmesan is not enough for a $9.50 salad.

My Spaghetti alla Vongole has all the right flavours going on, onion, garlic and chilli coating the al dente pasta perfectly but the vongole were a little on the small side (I know they're supposed to be small but the size of a Tic Tac probably is a little too small) and to be honest, I did experience moments of grit. Overall the flavours were enjoyable so it wasn't a complete loss.

Junior's Duck Ragu on the other hand was rich and flavoursome, perfectly paired with the ribbons of papardelle. I am glad he chose that dish as his introduction to Il Baretto.

I would still recommend Il Baretto for the masses despite an overall disappointing experience as I have been there previously and really enjoyed myself. As for the menu, I would suggest sticking with the staple menu (with the exception of the Duck Ragu) to ensure the likelihood of a more consistent dining experience.

And as for Squawky and Friends, forget Il Baretto, just pass me a Beretta...

Il Baretto

496 Bourke Street

Surry Hills NSW 2010

(02) 9361 6163