North African-Inspired Chicken Terrine

So this friend of mine gave me this incredible book on terrines from the Phaidon bookstore in Soho which has a stunning array of recipes for different ways to make terrines. The book was truly inspirational, and, for some reason, my mind immediately went to this tasty, Moroccan pie I had a few years ago in Marrakech. It’s called bastilla or even pastilla, I’ve seen, and it’s traditionally a layered pie of pigeon with egg curd and sugary, cinnamon almonds all wrapped in a phyllo dough-like pastry. A sweet and savoury pie of sorts that I thought would be fantastic as a terrine.

I spend so much time cooking for my husband – it causes me to trend towards manly food. I.e. generally meaty, possibly in casserole form (he will take down with zeal anything layered in a casserole dish..) with some heavily starchy side. I envisioned this dish for a girls’ brunch alongside a lightly dressed salad, and, true to form, every woman that’s eaten this has raved. As a woman, sometimes (a lot of times…) I walk out of the house in an outfit that specifically women will appreciate. This is my culinary version of that.

And I believe this incarnation of pastilla is an elegant one. The pillowy puff pastry gives way to sweet, cinnamon-y crunchy almonds and then gently spiced, buttery minced chicken. This is a great do ahead dish – I’ve actually travelled with the terrine as is (which also happens to be great cold) and when I get to a friends house, I wrap it up in puff pastry, throw it in the oven, and voilá! 20 minutes later the perfect compliment to a great bottle of wine and some cheese or even an elegant main dish. Subtle, complex, surprising, textural, sweet and savoury all at the same time. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields (1) 12” x 4” Terrine

¾ cups marcona almonds

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

3 tbsps unsalted butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 medium-sized leek, white and light green only, thinly sliced

¼ fennel bulb, finely chopped

¼ tsp grated ginger

½ tsp ground cinnamon

pinch ground allspice

¼ tsp turmeric

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 dry bay leaf, crushed

1 pinch saffron

¼ tsp lemon zest

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ½” cubes

4 eggs

½ cup heavy cream

salt and pepper

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed per package insructions

1 egg beaten with a little water or heavy cream (egg wash)

Confectioners sugar (for dusting)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 250° F. Place almonds on a sheet pan and let toast in the oven for 50 minutes. Cooking at a lower temperature for a longer period of time allows the nuts to toast all of the way through, not just on the outside. Remove and cool. Pulse in a food processor with sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Turn oven temperature up to 350° F. In a medium-sized skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add shallots, leek, fennel and ginger and cook until softened (3 to 5 minutes). Add all of the ground spices, the crushed bay leaf, the saffron and the lemon zest and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and let cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Set aside mixture to cool.

In a food processor, add cubed chicken thighs and eggs and process until just a little chunky and transfer to a bowl. I prefer a slightly chunky texture – feel free to process to a paste if you want a smoother consistency. Add cream and the cooled shallot/leek mixture.

Line a terrine mold with plastic wrap so that the longer pieces of plastic wrap hang over the shorter sides of the mold. Create a layer on the bottom with half of the almond mixture. Add the entire chicken mixture and top with the other half of the almond mixture.

Overlap the plastic wrap across the top to cover the terrine completely. Cover with a lid and place in a roasting pan or other baking dish. Add boiling water until it comes halfway up the sides of the terrine mold and bake for 1 hour. Remove from water bath and roasting pan and refrigerate. Cool completely to unmold. You can stop at this point in the recipe and serve the terrine either warm or cold – it’s delicious eiher way.

For those who want the extra decadence of the pastry, preheat the oven to 400° F. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Place the cooled terrine top side down on the puff pastry. Fold over to make a package of sorts and seal with a little water. Flip over and transfer to a sheet pan.

Brush the egg wash over the exposed pastry and bake for 15 to 25 minutes to brown. Dust with a little powdered sugar – slice, serve, and enjoy.

North African Harissa

A friend of mine was telling me about her favorite roast chicken dish, which requires slathering a whole chicken with harissa and olive oil before roasting. Sounds absolutely lovely – spicy, a bit tart and salty, with crispy skin. She mentioned that, to make it, she picked up pre-fab harissa from the grocery store, so I investigated. It’s upwards of $8 per bottle – exorbitant, I think. It’s too easy to do at home and can be done for a fraction of the cost, so I’m giving you a delicious, homemade version.

Harissa is a hot chili paste that is a staple in North African cuisines, especially in Tunisian and Algerian foods. Just like recipes in other cultures, harissa ingredients vary from household to household and region to region – some include cumin, others tomatoes, and even rose petals. Yes, “rose” harissa – how amazing does that sound. In Tunisia, harissa is served with every meal – as a condiment, rubbed on meats, incorporated into stews, mixed in with couscous…

Tunisians use Nabeul and Gabes peppers, which are hotter but similar in flavor to readily available Anaheim and Guajillo chilies here in the States. Dried chilies have more complex flavor than fresh, so dried are typically used. This recipe is for a milder harissa because I like to use it as a salad dressing base and mixed in with mayo on sandwiches; I tend to add fresh or pickled chilies to those, so I want to control my heat. But you can make this harissa as spicy as you want – I add urfa chilies for heat and a bit of smokiness, but chipotles would also be wonderful here, as would dried, hot Indian chilies if you want it even hotter. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields ½ cup

3 New Mexican / Anaheim medium-sized dried red chilies

4 Guajillo medium-sized chilies

2 tsps crushed red pepper or Urfa Biber chilies

1 tsp caraway seeds

½ tsp fennel seeds

Pinch of saffron (optional)

1 ½ tsps ground coriander

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

2 sundried tomatoes (packed in oil or rehydrated)

2 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Procedure

Remove seeds and ribs from the dried chilies and place in a heat-safe bowl. I like to use kitchen scissors for this – it’s easy to just split them open and brush out the seeds / pull out the ribs. Pour boiling water over chilies and let them soak 15 – 20 minutes until softened.

You can do this in either a food processor or a blender. If you are doing this in the food processor, use a spice grinder to grind the crushed red peppers or urfa chilies, caraway seeds, fennel seeds and saffron first before adding those to the food processor. If working with a blender, add those ingredients first and blend until ground before moving on to the next step – it’s like one big spice grinder.

Add ground coriander, turmeric, salt, sundried tomatoes, and garlic cloves. Remove chilies from water and wring out any excess moisture. Add to the blender or food processor. Pulse adding olive oil, a tablespoon at a time, until a thick paste is achieved and all of the chilies have been ground up. Add lemon juice to taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Transfer to a jar and cover harissa with a layer of olive oil to preserve it. Keep refrigerated. It will keep for up to a month in the fridge.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are an incredibly distinct and subtle ingredient used in North African, Middle Eastern, and even certain East Asian cuisines. They may be added to soups, stews, salads, rice dishes, tagines, used as a stuffing, baked in a savory or even sweet pie…there are endless uses. Since it takes a month or so for the lemons to preserve and the flavor to really develop, I wanted to get on it immediately. I’ve been envisioning a beautiful sauce or even a bright salad to be served with summer’s grilled fish dishes and a cold goblet of rosé for a summer Sunday “family” dinner party…and maybe a friendly game of spades.

Although the flesh is used, it’s truly the peel and pith that are the celebrated ingredients. Meyer lemons are great for this because they naturally have a softer peel that eats very well. A cross between a lemon and a mandarin, their sweetness is an added bonus. If only regular lemons are available, go with them – that’s the tradition anyway.

Many recipes call for various spices like coriander and bay leaf to be included in the pickling liquid; some even add rose or orange blossom water. I’m keeping this super simple because I want these little lemons to be as versatile as possible. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Meyer lemons or regular lemons

Sea salt

Lemon juice

Sterilized jar

Procedure

I’m not giving exact quantities because it really depends on how large the jar is that you are using. You want enough lemons to fit in the jar and be completely submerged in lemon juice. You also want to be able to apply some level of pressure on the lemons so the juice oozes out of them.

Start by slicing each lemon into quarters but still keeping them intact at the stem end. Then, take ¼ tsp of sea salt per lemon and rub it onto the inside flesh. Place each lemon into the jar pressing down as you go. When the lemons are all prepped and in the jar, add enough lemon juice to cover completely. Weight down or use the lid of the jar as pressure and seal.

At this point, you just want to store them in a cool place. As I mentioned, they will take about a month, but they do look beautiful on the kitchen counter!

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