Moroccan Bison Tagine

If you haven't had Moroccan food, you've just got to try it. They do an amazing job of bringing sweet and spicy to mingle on the tongue. Pair this dish with hot mint tea for a more authentic experience. For all my world travel, I first discovered Moroccan cuisine at - wait for it - Epcot in Orlando. There, I had a dish called Chicken Bastilla, which forever gave me a hankering for sweet and spicy dessert flavored main dishes. Since then, I've made Chicken Bastilla twice - it's a complicated process. This tagine, however, only takes about an hour - and most of that is just letting it cook on its own without being bothered.

Now, a tagine (or tajine or tajin), for those who are curious, is named so for the special earthenware pot that this North African dish is typically cooked in. I do not have such a dish, so I used a large pot. However, the tajine pot is made entirely of clay and consists of two parts - a base unit that is flat  and circular with low sides and a large cone shaped cover that rests inside the base while the dish is cooking. The cover is designed that way to promote the return of all the steam condensation back into the bottom.

Moroccan Bison Tagine
(makes 4 servings)

3 lbs bison steak, cut into bite size cubes
4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced
1/2 tsp Spanish saffron threads
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups dates, pitted
low sodium chicken stock
3/4 unsweetened coconut milk
~ 1/2 tbsp sea salt and fresh ground pepper, (more or less to taste)

Heat a large pot over medium heat and brown the bison meat in 3 tbsp of olive oil. When the meat is ready, use a slotted spoon to remove it to a plate for a little bit. Now, add the onions to the juices that have seeped out of the meat and cook for about 5 - 10 minutes. Until they're softened and a little brown. Now, add the bison back to the pot. Add the saffron, cinnamon stick, and ginger (the ginger is what makes this dish 'spicy', so if you like more of a kick, add some more here). Stir. Add the salt and pepper. Stir. Next, pour in your chicken stock until the contents of the pot are covered, stir the contents of the bowl so everything is all mixed up together, and let the mix simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of coconut milk to thicken the broth and then let simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ground cinnamon, test the broth and adjust the seasoning to your taste. You may need more salt or ginger to balance the cinnamon. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes. Add the dates and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Raw Cinnamon-Sunflower Truffles (now with almonds)

A coupled days ago, I made the Cinnamon-Sunflower Truffles posted by The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen with a couple small changes and brought them to a party at a friend's house with excellent results. All credit goes to them. For their blog and their exact recipe, click here. And go check out the rest of their recipes - I've tried several of them and they are all supremely superb.

Raw Cinnamon-Sunflower Truffles

[Note: You'll need a food processor to make these.]

2 cups raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup raw unsalted, sliced almonds

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

~1 cup pitted medjool dates (I used a few more than called for)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup (Can also use dark agave syrup)

~ 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut powder (The recipe calls for shredded coconut, but I was unable to find any shredded that was unsweetened, so I used the powdered kind. The texture, I thought, was better than it would have been with shredded, but it's up to your taste.)

Directions:

Place the sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and sea salt into a food processor fitted with the "s" blade. Process until seeds are very finely ground (~2-3 min). 


Then add the pitted dates and olive oil. Process again until combined and sticky. The recipe said only to add the agave maple syrup if need be - but the dates I had were not squishy enough to moisten the mix. The best way to gaugue whether you need the extra sweetener is to check to see if you can form a ball by rolling a spoonful of the mixture in your hands. If it falls apart then add more sweetener and process again.


Scoop out the sunflower mixture by the large spoonful and roll into balls. Then roll in coconut powder. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days. We ate them on the second day and they were delicious. 

[Original source: www.nourishingmeals.com]