Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce

On October 11, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes, Romania3 Comments

One of the classic meals that we had while we were in Romania were cabbage rolls. We knew that we wouldn’t be able to recreate them exactly as we had them, so we decided to go with a little different take on our attempt. We found the cabbage rolls in Romania to be a little dry and not particularly flavorful, so we wanted ours to be moist. This recipe is closer to the cabbage rolls that we had as children and we found them to be very tasty. Cabbage rolls may not be the most photogenic of meals to prepare, but it doesn’t always have to look good to taste good.

Stuffed Cabbage and Grape Leaves with Polenta in Romania

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 Small Cabbage Head
1/2 cup Cooked White Rice
1 tbsp Onion – finely chopped
1 Egg – lightly beaten
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 can Tomato Sauce – 8 Oz
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tsp Brown Sugar
2 tsp White Vinegar
1/8 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese – shredded (Optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Remove the core of the cabbage and place the cabbage in a large saucepan filled with water. Bring the water to a boil and begin removing the cabbage leaves as they become soft and translucent, approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Separate the leaves and set aside to cool. Add the oil to a medium saucepan and heat to medium-high. Add the onion and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes until soft and then add the ground beef, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Cook until the ground beef is browned and then add the rice and set aside to cool. In a medium sauce pan, combine the tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, remaining salt and pepper, and heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir the beaten egg into the cooled meat mixture and then spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture into each cabbage leaf. Roll the cabbage leaf like a burrito, tucking in the sides as you roll. Place the cabbage rolls into a baking dish and the spoon the tomato sauce over top of the cabbage rolls. If using cheese, sprinkle over top of sauce and cabbage rolls. Place the baking dish, uncovered, into an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for an hour or until the sauce is bubbly and hot.

Moroccan Chicken with Potatoes, Apricots, and Harissa Sauce

On August 30, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn morocco, Recipes7 Comments

One of our favorite memories of our trip to Morocco was having lunch at a small, family-owned restaurant where they cooked us chicken in a tajine. Tajines themselves are quite beautiful, but they are also functional for cooking one pot meals. We bought a tajine while we were in Morocco, but it was too small to actually cook a dinner so we recently bought a full-size tajine. As we continue to try to replicate meals that we have had during our various travels, we decided to cook a Moroccan chicken dinner. There were some fairly unique ingredients in the recipe that we decided to use and modify, but we were actually surprised that we were able to find them in our local grocery store. Typical of Moroccan food, it was both sweet and spicy and it could easily be modified to suit any taste. The original recipe called for chickpeas, but our family has an allergy to them, so we substituted potatoes, which made it a little hardier. We were very pleased with the results and found the dinner to be very delicious. Because it was just the two of us, we made only cooked two chicken thighs, but the recipe could be increased to serve a larger family. Also, if you don’t have a tajine, you could simply use a Dutch oven instead.

INGREDIENTS

Two Chicken Thighs – skin on
1 tbsp Canola Oil
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Yellow Onion – peeled and sliced thinly
1 Garlic Clove – finely chopped
1 tbsp Ras Al-Haunt
1 Large Pinch Saffron – soaked in a 1/4 cup of warm water
1/2 Cinnamon Stick
1 1/2 cups Canned Diced Tomatoes (15 oz can) – drained
3/4 cup Dried Apricots – sliced in half
1 Large Red Potato – cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup Creme Fraiche
1 tbsp Harissa
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is preheated, place the tajine into the oven to start heating. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down and cook until the skin is golden brown, approximately five minutes. Turn the chicken over and continue cooking for another two to three minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and let it rest. Reduce the heat to medium and remove all but one tablespoon of oil from the skillet. Add the onions and cook until soft and semi-translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about thirty seconds, then add the ras al-hanut and cook for another thirty seconds. Add the saffron with the liquid it was soaked in as well as the cinnamon stick, tomatoes, potatoes, apricots and bring to a simmer. Remove the tajine from the oven and transfer the vegetables and liquid from the skillet to the tajine. Nestle the chicken thighs on top of the vegetable mixture, put the lid on the tajine and return it to the oven. Cook in the oven for forty minutes. While the chicken is cooking in the oven, mix the creme fraiche, harissa, and salt and let stand in the refrigerator for thirty minutes. Plate individual servings of chicken and vegetable mixture. Garnish each serving a tablespoon or two of the harissa sauce.

Nestle Chicken in Vegetable Mixture in the Tajine

Moroccan Chicken with Potatoes and Apricots

Roasted Duck with Plum Glaze

On August 23, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes5 Comments

One of the meals that we had quite often while we were in Europe was roasted duck. Since we were there through autumn and winter, game foods such as duck, goose, elk, deer, and rabbit were commonly found as the specialty for the season. Usually the duck was served with some sort of a berry sauce or glaze, so when we decided to recreate those meals here at home, we decided to create a plum glaze. We purchased a full duck and deboned the breast ourselves, but you could certainly have a butcher do that for you. Not only did our version turn out to be delicious, we actually believe that it might have been even better than any version that we had in the restaurants of Europe. That is certainly not a boast that we would dare to make very often.

Our Roasted Duck with Carrots and Green Beans

INGREDIENTS

Whole Duck – Quartered and the Breast De-boned
1/2 cup Plum Jam
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Fresh Rosemary – finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp Fresh Thyme – finely chopped
1 clove Fresh Garlic – minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small sauce pan, combine the jam, vinegar, rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Heat on medium-low heat until all of the ingredients are fully combined. Using a paring knife, score the skin of the duck, making sure to get through the skin, but not penetrating the meat. Baste the duck with about a quarter of the jam sauce and let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large cast-iron skillet with the olive oil to medium heat. The pan should be hot enough to sear the skin, but not too hot or the skin will burn before the fat from the duck is rendered. Place the duck in the skillet skin side down and sear for about 15 to 20 minutes until the skin is brown. Baste the non-skin side of the duck with another quarter of the plum sauce while the skin is crisping. Flip the duck over, baste with another quarter of the plum sauce and put the skillet with the duck into the oven. Cook the duck for 20 to 30 minutes, basting one more time half way through. Remove from the oven and let stand, tented, for about 15 minutes. Serve with your favorite side dish or vegetables.