This is a kind of recipe mash-up. A lamb tagine recipe (with the wonderful & amazing spice-paste-rub stuff) and a chicken tagine recipe with the tomatoes and broth and oven cooking. And wow, good call to mix the two recipes togetther! This was WONDERFUL — all caps wonderful. I wrote it down right after dinner so I would remember exactly what I did.

Let’s see, what else? I did not make this in an actual tagine (*hint* *hint*) but a big, heavy, ovenproof, wide skillet. That worked well. I also used some of a spice mix I got at Penzeys — Rogan Josh. It has ginger, paprika, cumin, garlic, etc…so if you don’t have that specific blend, you can just add a little of those spices or omit it, it was only a 1/2 teaspoon. I was really just looking for an opportunity to use it. It smells so good. I wind up with so many little jars of spice blends from Penzey’s because they all smell so good!

Obscure ingredient alert: I actually had sundried tomato paste! If you don’t, I’m sure you could just use regular tomato paste. I’ve also included the recipe for the couscous I made to accompany the tagine and a harissa yogurt sauce below.

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas & Golden Raisins
Adapted from two recipes by Bobby Flay — one for Chicken Tagine and one for Lamb Tagine
2 lb chicken thighs and drumsticks (I used about 1 lb bone-in, skin on drumsticks and about 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs — this was a good combination!)
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 handful chopped cilantro
Pinch of saffron threads
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 white onion, diced
1 leek, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
Optional: 1/2 tsp Rogan Josh seasoning
2 cups chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup golden raisins

Mix together the garlic, honey, olive oil, cilantro, saffron, paprika, cumin and tomato paste in a large bowl. Rub the mixture all over the chicken and cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 5 - 8 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or a tagine over high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place in the hot pan, in batches if needed; cook until golden brown.

Remove chicken to a plate or bowl. Make sure you get up all the garlic pieces and crispy cilantro bits.

Return the Dutch oven/tagine to the stove and add the onions, leek and Rojan Josh seasoning and cook until soft. Add the stock, tomatoes, cinnamon stick, tomatoes, chickpeas, and raisins and bring to a simmer.

Nestle the chicken (and any accumulate juices) down into a tagine or Dutch oven. Cover and cook in the oven for 45 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Do not remove the lid to check on the chicken until after the 45 minutes.

Garnish with chopped clinatro and serve harissa sauce on the side.

Harissa Sauce
1/2 cup 2% fat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp harissa paste

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and let stand at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving. This is awesome stuff. Do not skip it!

Almond, Orange & Pomegranate Couscous
1 cup couscous
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
2 green onions, sliced
salt

Bring the chicken stock, pinch of salt and olive oil to a boil. Add the zest, green onions and couscous. Stir. Add the almonds and pomegranate seeds to the top. Turn off the heat and cover for 5 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and serve with the tagine.

Memorial Day Weekend. Portland. Sunny. 70+ degrees. No rain. Really, no rain. What to do? Make lamb burgers!

Wow, these were good. Juicy and flavorful. The recipe is very easy to halve and make just two burgers (what I did). I found some kalamata ciabatta rolls at New Seasons which worked perfectly with these burgers.

Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers
Adapted from a recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (you could sub flat-leaf parsley)
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup low fat, plain yogurt, mixed with 1 clove crushed garlic and 1/2 a grated English cucumber
4 crusty kalamata olive rolls, split
spinach leaves
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 tomato, sliced

In a large bowl, combine the lamb, cilantro, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

In a grill pan, set over medium-high heat, toast the rolls, set aside. In the same pan, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil and brush it onto the pan’s surface.

Add the burgers and cook, turning once, for 5 minutes each side for medium-rare.

After the first side cooks, add some feta to each burger top. Slather each roll top with the yogurt and stack some spinach leaves and tomato slices on the other side of the roll.

When the burgers are done, place each on top of the tomato slices, place the top roll in place and nom-nom-nom!

On the side we had a salad with 1 cup cooked lima beans, some halved cherry tomatoes, diced red onion, kalamata olives, fresh oregano leaves and crumbled feta. The dressing was some red wine vinegar, lemon zest, crushed garlic and olive oil. Delicious!

Okay, this was delicious. Especially the couscous. It gets a little golden and crunchy on top. Seriously tasty.

I was curious about making something that all cooks together like this. I figured it would turn out okay (I basically trust Tyler) but, as I’ve only ever made couscous on the stovetop, I was intrigued by baking it. It works. We had this with some pan-roasted asparagus.

Changes I made: I subbed broth for water, used Marcona almonds instead of pine nuts, olive oil in the dish instead of butter, and added feta to the top.

Salmon with a Couscous Crust
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence
1 cup couscous
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
3 tbsp coarsely chopped green olives
2 tbsp capers, chopped
3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (almonds can be substituted)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 lemon, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (6-8 ounce) salmon fillets skinned
1 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the parsley, raisins, olives, capers, pine nuts, olive oil, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper; stir in the couscous to moisten completely and season generously with salt and pepper.

Put the salmon in a single layer in a smallish, oiled baking dish; the fillets should not touch one another. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Now spoon the couscous mixture over the top of the fish so that it completely covers them and fills in the whole dish at the same time. Pour over the broth and sprinkle with the feta. Drizzle with olive oil.

Put the dish in the oven and bake 25-30 minutes.

Use a large spoon to spoon out the salmon and the couscous.

So good!

Oh, Bobby Flay, you seem like kind of a tool but I really love all of your recipes that I’ve tried. So, I guess that’s okay. We’ll just agree to agree on food and I can still be kind of meh about you personally. Maybe in real life you’re a really nice guy, you just televise kinda jerk-y. I dunno.

Although for some reason I like watching “Throwdown”. Maybe you’ve mellowed since the days you had that one show where you would travel around, taste people’s food with noticeable disinterest and be an all-around ass. Maybe now you are a really nice guy and my “Bobby Flay is kind of a tool” intro to all the recipes of yours that I post about is untrue and kind of mean of me… Ack! I am so conflicted!

Anyway, these are awesome. I think I made my kofte kinda big, but I think that’s okay. Make the raita first and let that hang out why you do the rest. We also had some hummus with ours.

For the Apple Raita
Recipe based on one by Bobby Flay
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and finely diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper

Stir together the yogurt, apple, salt, cinnamon and cayenne in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

I don’t have an image of it all stirred together. In your head, just take the apple picture above and stir in the yogurt and spices. That’s what it looked like…

Turkey Kofta
Recipe based on one by Bobby Flay
6 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 small red onion, finely grated
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne powder (I used a pinch)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey, 90 percent lean
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 pound baby spinach, washed and dried
Pita or flat bread, lightly toasted
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
diced tomato and crumbled feta cheese for garnish

Whisk together 2 tablespoons of the oil, tomato paste, onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the turkey and parsley and using your hands, gently mix until combined. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors meld. This can be made 8 hours in advance and refrigerated.

Heat the grill to high. You can also just do this indoors on a grill pan. That’s what I did. Get the pan on some med-high heat.

Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions and roll into balls. See, I only did 8 balls, but I was kind of shy of the 1.5 pounds of turkey. Gently press down on the top of each patty to flatten slightly. Brush the patties on both sides with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill the kofte until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.

Put it All Together

Whisk together the lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the spinach and toss to lightly coat the leaves in the dressing. Fill each pita with 3 of the patties, top with spinach, red onions and raita. Since my kafte were kind of big, I sliced them in half before I put them on the sandwiches.

Our kofte here is show on a slather of hummus. I highly recommend this. T’is tasty!

Another vegetarian post? Why yes, yes it is, although, there’s a little bit of salmon at the end. It’s more of an omnivorous post. So, I have never been a huge fan of tabouleh but I may have to rethink that position after making this dish. The vinaigrette is really good…like get a straw good. I also have never used buckwheat honey before and I was surprised to find it easily at Fred Meyer. Has everyone been buying buckwheat honey but me?

This is a Bobby Flay recipe. It’s kind of crazy how many of his recipes that I have been making lately. I even watched a little Throwdown last night. Why? Why?

Anyway, to go with this awesome salad, we had some grilled salmon with a spiced yogurt. Super good also. See the end of the post for the spiced yogurt recipe.

Bulgur Salad with Green Onion Vinaigrette
3/4 cup medium-grind bulgur
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
2 plum tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
4 green onions, sliced, plus 1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp buckwheat honey
1/2 jalapeno chile, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place bulgur in a large bowl, pour 3 cups boiling water over, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well, squeezing out as much water as possible, if needed. Return the cooked bulgur to the bowl and mix in the onion, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, mint, and 4 sliced green onions.

Place the lime juice, honey, serrano, and 1/2 cup chopped green onion in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. If the mixture appears too thick, blend in a few tablespoons of cold water, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Play with the lime, jalapeno and honey ratios if needed. Transfer the salad to a platter and drizzle with the green onion vinaigrette.

Okay, let’s talk briefly about the salmon. Just grill some. But also do this stuff.

Spiced Yogurt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
pinch of ground clove
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon zest

Mix all the spices together. Set aside 1/2 teaspoon and then combine the yogurt with the remaining spices, onion and lemon zest in a food processor. Serve with grilled salmon.

Orange Spice Glaze
1/2 tsp reserved spice mixture from above
1 tbsp orange marmalade
1 tbsp olive oil

Brush on the salmon as you grill it. Mmm.

Serve the salmon with the spiced yogurt and the bulgur salad.