Moroccan-Spiced Vegetable Kugel

Back in September I posted a recipe for a dish (Couscous with Seven Vegetables) that is traditional on Rosh Hashanah among the Jews of North Africa. We love the dish so much that I made it several times, changing the spices a bit each time. Then, one time, I decided to use the same vegetables and seasonings but instead of serving them over couscous, mix them into a kugel.

It worked perfectly!

Of course the texture of kugel vs braised vegetables over couscous is quite different. But the flavors are reminiscent of each other and just as delicious, either way.

This is a good side dish for Thanksgiving. First, it goes so well with turkey. It’s a good choice for any vegetarians who might be at your table. and also, you can make it in advance

Moroccan-Spiced Vegetable Kugel 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 small onion, sliced

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger

• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

• 1 medium tomato, cut into chunks

• 1 small parsnip, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch slices, optional

• 1/2 cup cut up bite sized butternut squash

• 1/2 teaspoon ras al hanout (or use 1/4 teaspoon harissa plus 1/8 teaspoon each of ground ginger, turmeric and cinnamon)

• 3/4 cup vegetable stock

• 1 cup diced zucchini

• 1/4 red bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks

• 1/2 cup raisins

• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• Salt to taste

• 12 ounces egg noodles

• 3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375F. Heat the olive oil in sautepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for about 4 minutes or until softened and beginning to brown. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a minute. Add the carrot, tomato, parsnip and squash and stir the ingredients. Stir in the ras al hanout. Add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the zucchini, bell pepper, raisins and chickpeas. Cook for about 10 minutes more, or until vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste. Cook the noodles according to the manufacturer’s directions. Spoon the vegetables and pan fluids into the noodles and mix to distribute the ingredients evenly. Beat the eggs and mix them in. Place inside a baking dish and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the top is crispy.

Makes 4 dinner servings, 8 side dish servings

Israeli Couscous with Seven Vegetables

It isn’t my Ashkenazi family tradition, but among North African Jews, and particularly Moroccan Jews, there’s a fabulous dish served on Rosh Hashanah: Couscous with Seven Vegetables.

I’ve cooked versions of this dish several times mostly because it sounded so delicious and also because I am always on the lookout for a good, festive and filling vegetarian entree.

This one satisfies in every way possible.

This is the recipe we like best: I used Israeli couscous rather than the traditional tiny grains of Moroccan couscous because my family likes it better. Also, I used Harissa paste (because I always have some) but you can substitute red pepper flakes or a pinch or two of cayenne pepper (or leave it out if you don’t want any pepper). My husband said he would like more raisins. Up to you…..

Israeli Couscous with Seven Vegetables 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large onion (preferably a sweet variety such as Vidalia), sliced

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

• 2 medium tomatoes, cut into chunks

• 1 parsnip, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch slices

• 1 cup cut up bite sized butternut squash

• 1/2 teaspoon harissa paste

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2-1/2 cups vegetable stock

• 1/2 large red bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks

• 1 small zucchini, cut into bite sized chunks

• 1 cup raisins

• 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• Salt to taste

• 1-1/2 cups Israeli couscous

Heat the olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for about 5-6 minutes or until softened and beginning to brown. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the carrots, tomatoes, parsnip and squash and stir the ingredients. Stir in the harissa, turmeric and cinnamon. Add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the bell pepper, zucchini, raisins and chickpeas. Cook for about 10 minutes more, or until vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste. Cook the couscous according to the manufacturer’s directions. Spoon the couscous on large serving platter. Spoon the vegetables and pan fluids over the couscous.

Makes 4 dinner servings, 8 side dish ervings

Matbucha

Spring has sprung and for me, that means more salad.

So I got to thinking about that word salad, which I realize means so many things that I was never able to fit all of my salad recipes into a file folder simply marked “salad.” I had to sub-categorize them into files such as “grain salads,” “tomato salads,” “fruit salads” and so on.

Over the years I’ve made salads of all sorts. Some based mostly on greens and some that had no greens at all.

I’ve made beet salads, dinner salads, fish salads and quinoa salads.

I could go on. But really, there is no one way to describe “salad,” even though a dictionary might say something like “a mixture of raw and cooked vegetables served with dressing.”

No.

Because recently I prepared some Matbucha, which is an entirely different salad category.

Matbucha is a “salade cuit” — that is, “cooked salad.” In fact the word Matbucha, is an Arabic word that means “cooked salad".”

Cooked salad may seem odd to Western thinking except for the fact that most of us actually eat lots of cooked salads, such as potato salad and egg salad too. We just don’t think of them as “cooked salads,” but that’s what they are.

Matbucha is a Moroccan dish, especially popular in the Moroccan Jewish community, which was once large and thriving in North Africa. When good numbers of Moroccan Jews migrated to Israel, they brought their love of this dish with them and it is now wildly popular in Israel too.

For good reason: Matbucha is vibrantly tasty, easy to cook and is ideal for Shabbat because, even though it’s cooked, you can serve it at room temperature. Use it as a salad course or as a side dish with dinner. I’ve always served it with hors d’oeuvre, as a topping for crackers or pita wedges (it works well with other Middle Eastern nibbles and dips such as hummus, raheb, baba ghanoush and so on).

You can make Matbucha 3-4 days ahead. That’s handy isn’t it?

Matbucha

• 2 large red bell peppers

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 serrano pepper, deseeded and chopped

• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 6 medium tomatoes peeled and finely chopped

• 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Preheat the broiler. Place the peppers under the broiler, about 4-6" away from the heat, and broil for 2-3 minutes, until the skin has blistered. Turn the peppers and repeat this process until the entire surface is blistered and lightly charred. Remove the peppers and place them in a paper bag. Let rest at least 10 minutes. Remove the peppers from the bag, peel off the skin and discard the stem and the seeds. Cut the peppers into pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the peppers, serrano pepper and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, paprika, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook for 30-35 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick.

 Makes 1-1/2 to 2 cups