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Moroccan Lentil Soup with Baby Spinach and Feta
Best Ever Chicken in a Pot with Dates, Lots of Caramelized Onions and Preserved Lemon
Whole Wheat Couscous with Cinnamon and Black Pepper
Salad of Mixed Baby Greens, Arugula, Fennel, Endive, Orange and Grapefruit with Citrus-Cilantro Vinaigrette
James Beard's Secret Venetian Polenta Cake with Cognac Creme Fraiche
About the Class
I've been enthusiastically making the lentil soup for almost a decade, after a a food-writer friend shared her recipe. The basic soup is richly flavorful as is and then seriously enhanced last minute by the addition of baby spinach and feta. As with most soups, it's way better made a day or two ahead which leaves one less thing to do day-of. Or make it weeks or months ahead. Freezing ahead gives you one less thing to do even the week of.
The fabulous cake recipe was given to me by brilliant food writer and teacher Barbara Kafka when I was researching LOST DESSERTS. Kafka taught with and was a good friend of James' Beard. The cake too can be made a day or two ahead. OR even pre-made, frozen, and defrosted in the refrigerator overnight when ready to serve. The trick to freezing most things is to be sure to store really airtight in something non-porous (glass, metal, foil etc). For long term freezing, plastic, plastic bags, plastic wrap will eventually lead to at least some freezer burn. This cake is equally good for breakfast, at teatime or for a bedtime snack. And if (unlikely) it gets stale before you finish it, it's lovely toasted with a bit of butter.
The chicken is high up on my list of favorite poultry recipes ever. Loosely adapted from something I found online a few years ago, the combination of the slow-cooked onions, caramelized garlic, lemon slices, presesrved lemon, spices and dates is way better than it should be. It's ideal served over wholewheat couscous which deliciously sops up the juices. If you've never tried whole wheat couscous (this recipe with a bit of added cinnamon and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper), you should. It's much flavorful than the normal and so good for you.
A salad of fresh greens, tangy citrus and salty Moroccan capers, the perfect foil to the richly flavored, slow-cooked chicken, rounds out the meal.
Do consider joining me for this virtual trip to Marrakesh if you can.