Moroccan Freekeh Skillet

 What is freekeh? Why did we have half a pack to use up? I don't have the answers for you. But found this recipe and here we go:

Recipe

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 small eggplant, diced
• 1 squash, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 dates, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, with liquid
• 1/4 c olives
• 2 tsp ras el hanout (substituting a mix of spices we had on hand seemed to work out)
• 1 1/2 c freekeh
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 c veggie broth
• 3 tbsp tomato paste

Saute your veggies & garlic in some oil, then add dates, chickpeas, olives, spices & freekeh and keep going a couple more minutes. Then add the lemon juice, broth & paste and simmer about 15-20 minutes, until teh grains are tender and liquid absorbed (can add more water if needed).

Notes

Turns out, freekeh is pretty good! It has a nice smoky flavor that went well in this eclectic dish. Successfully used it up and had a delicious dinner and good leftovers... Is more freekeh in the future?

Chorizo Pisto

Buenas noches!  Donde esta la biblioteca?  Tengo mucho hambre.  Quiero una cena espanola.  Hacemos pisto!  La idea viene del New York Times aqui.

Recipe (I feel like I must have known the Spanish word for "recipe" before, but not anymore so back to English...)

1/2 lb chorizo, removed from casing (optional)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb zucchini or summer squash
1 14 oz can tomatoes
2-3 eggs
salt & pepper
olive oil

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Start with the chorizo, breaking it up and getting it a bit brown.  Next add the onions until well tender (about 5 minutes),  then garlic (a minute or so), then zucchini/squash until starting to soften (another 5 minutes).  Add the tomatoes and juice, lower heat to medium low and cook about half an hour, stirring and mashing with a wooden spoon periodically.  Finally, make wells in the stew for the eggs, break one into each, sprinkle with salt & pepper, cover, and cook until the whites are set but yolk still runs (6-8 minutes).

Notes

This is kind of a simplified, meat-ified version of the NYT's recipe.  I was hungry though, and regret nothing!  The chorizo gives it so much flavor, and the rest of the stew is essentially all vegetables so hearty and healthy.

Hummus-Crusted Chicken

We're back after a little bit of a layoff for summer travels and being too hot to cook...  Original recipe here.

Recipe

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 lemons
hummus
smoked paprika
olive oil, salt, pepper

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Toss the veggies with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put the veggies in a baking dish and the chicken on top.  Cover the chicken with hummus.  Squeeze one lemon over the chicken and veggies, and slice the other and put the slices under the chicken.  Sprinkle the paprika over everything, and pop in the oven at 450 degrees for about half an hour (until done).

Notes

It's interesting that the major flavor here ends up being the lemon in the veggies.  The hummus does add something to the chicken, but maybe slightly underwhelming?

The other advantage of this recipe is that everything goes into one dish.

Final note: The recipe says to cook for 25-30 minutes.  After 40-45, mine was still underdone.  I actually preferred the leftover chicken breast, which I just cooked the hell out of.