Curried Zucchini and Couscous with Turkey Kofta

Those marketers in the supermarkets know me too well.  They put those special edition cooking magazine right at eye level so that I am sooo tempted by the promise of a quick, easy, delicious - and healthy - dinner on the cover of those magazines.  I rarely leave the grocery store without one. 

Last week's impulse buy - The August edition of Eating Well.  

I figure that these purchases are justified if I can get even one good dinner out of it and Eating Well did not disappoint.  

Curried Zucchini Couscous with Turkey Kofta

After I got the chopping done, it all went together quickly and Hubby was able to grill the Kofta kabobs while I finished up with the couscous.

The couscous has a light curry taste and the veggies and almonds give it a creamy crunchy texture that was delicious!  You could definitely serve this dish, warm, at room temp or chilled.  Next time I would add a few  raisins.  

The Turkey Kofta had just the right spiciness (not hot spicy, just flavorful spicy).  My husband proclaimed it better than the beef kofta we get at our local Kebab restaurant - so I declare it a success!  The secret to grilling a meat like ground turkey is to spray the meat with cooking spray and oil the grill so that you don't leave half of your dinner behind on the grill.

I did get in a bit of sewing today too.  I'm working on the muslin for the stretch knit dress.  Glad I did a muslin.  The first attempt was a size too big even though my measurements would have led me to a size larger!  Hopefully the next muslin will be the one.  I am anxious to get sewing on the real fabric, but want to make sure that I have the fit better first.

Curried Zucchini Couscous

Eating Well - August 2013

• 1 Tbsp EVOO
• 2 med. Zucchini diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2/3 cup couscous
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1.  Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add zucchini and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.

2.  Add water, lime juice, curry, cumin, salt and pepper to the pan and bring to a boil.  Stir in couscous.  Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.  

Add the couscous and carrot to the bowl with the zucchini; stir to combine.  Serve topped with almonds. 

Serves 4  Serving size:  1 1/4 cup   WW points: 5

Turkey Kofta with Tahini Sauce

Eating Well - August 2013

• 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup coarse fresh or dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs (I used panko because that's what I had and they worked fine.)
• 5 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 tsp ground cumin, divided
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus 1/8 tsp divided
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

1.  Preheat grill to medium high.

2.  Combine turkey, onion, breadcrumbs, 4 Tbsp cilantro, 1/2 tsp cumin, allspice, 1/2 tsp salt and cayenne in a large bowl; gently knead together.  Do not over mix.  With damp hands, form the mixture into two ovals on each skewer; use about 1/3 cup for each and place about 1 inch apart.

3.  Oil the grill rack and spray the kebabs with cooking spray.  Grill the kebabs until and instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 165 degrees F, about 4 minutes per side.

4.  Combine yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, the remaining 1 Tbsp cilantro, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/8 tsp salt in a small bowl.  Serve the kebabs with the sauce.

***I did not have tahini on hand so I combined some hummus and sesame oil to make 2 Tbsp of a loose/liquidy paste and it tasted great!  It had enough of the sesame flavor that the sauce needed.*** 

Serves 4, 2 kofta and 2 Tbsp sauce,  WW points: 7

 

Feasting Moroccan style

I was in the mood for something a bit exotic, but not in the mood for a long stay in the kitchen.  After digging through my older special edition cookbooks, I stumbled upon Chicken Tagine in the July 2009 issue of Cooking Light's 5-ingredient, 15-minute cookbook.  A touch exotic and quick - perfect!
It was delicious, but took a touch longer than 15 minutes - mostly because I had to make my own moroccan spice mix.  My husband deemed the dinner a "do-over" which is our family's equivalent of 2 thumbs up.  

Hubby likes thighs and I prefer white meat so I used a few of each.  I just cut the chicken breasts in half and added them a bit later so they wouldn't dry out.  I will also include the recipe for the brown butter couscous that I served on the side.

Enjoy feasting Moroccan Style!

Chicken Tagine

8 (3 oz) skinless, boneless chicken thighs 

(Because I cannot follow a recipe exactly, I used 4 bone-in chicken thighs - way cheaper - and took off the skin myself and 2 boneless chicken breasts cut in half)

1 1/2 tsp moroccan spice blend 

(I couldn't find this in the store so I used this recipe:  Moroccan Spice Mix)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

1 (16 oz) can chickpeas rinsed and drained

1 (14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion (or with any other seasoning- just not mexican) undrained

Plain fat-free yogurt (for topping)

Chopped fresh mint (for topping)

1.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice blend, salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. 

2. Add chickpeas and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until chicken is done.  

This makes 4 servings - 2 thighs (or 2 pieces of chicken breast) , 2/3 cup veggies, and about 3/4 cup couscous.

Brown Butter Couscous

1.  Add 2 teaspoons of butter to a pan over medium-high heat.  Heat, stirring or swirling frequently and watching very closely until butter just turns golden brown. Remove from heat

2.  Add 2 Tbsp of pine nuts and 3/4 cup of couscous and brown lightly.

3.  Add 1 cup of chicken broth, cover and allow to sit for about 10 minutes

4. Just before serving, add the juice of 1/2 lemon and fluff with a fork.