This recipe comes from the culinary goddess herself, Martha Stewart. They flew off the dinner table at my family's seder this past Passover.
Here are a few variations you can try as well:
Leave out the semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder if you desire plain coconut macaroons
Leave out the cocoa powder for chocolate macaroons
Do not melt the chocolate, but leave as chunks, for chocolate chunk macaroons
They are just too good to save for Passover...macaroons make a yummy dessert all year long!
Makes 2 dozen
Ingredients
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Reduce heat, and allow it to simmer. Place chocolate in a small bowl, and set over saucepan. Stir until chocolate is melted, and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine cooled chocolate, cocoa, sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla, and salt. Use your hands to mix well, completely combining ingredients. Dampen hands with cold water. Form 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture into a loose haystack shape, and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture, placing macaroons 1 inch apart.
Bake until just firm to the touch but still soft in the middle, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven to a wire rack, and let cool on baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds
Morocco is famous for "tagine" dishes, a culinary experience that stimulates the eyes, the taste buds and the nose. Referring merely to the dish in which the food is cooked, "tagines" are an easy way to impress a group of friends over for dinner! [Note that you can cook this dish in any dutch oven. Just give it some tender love and care, and cook it for a little while longer, and you'll bring Morocco right into your own kitchen.]
Serve over couscous (I liked the "herbed" version, or regular couscous cooked in low-sodium chicken broth), and enjoy!
Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (don't leave this out! turmeric gives the dish a beautiful yellow color and a rich middle-eastern taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
1 (3-lb) chicken, cut into 6 pieces, wings and backbone discarded
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium red onion, halved, then sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 sprigs fresh cilantro
5 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons mild honey
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
3/4 cup dried Turkish apricots, cut into quarters
1/3 cup whole roasted almonds
Special equipment
1 10- to 12-inch tagine or heavy skillet or dutch oven
kitchen string
Preparation
Stir together ground cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat well and refrigerate if you have time. Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in base of tagine (or in skillet), uncovered, over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then brown half of chicken, skin sides down, turning over once, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Brown remaining chicken in same manner, adding any spice mixture left in bowl.
Add onion and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to tagine and cook on lowered heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Tie cilantro and parsley into a bundle with kitchen string and add to tagine along with 1/2 cup water, chicken, and any juices accumulated on plate. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes (45 minutes if using a dutch oven).
While chicken cooks, bring honey, remaining cup water, cinnamon stick, and apricots to a boil in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until apricots are very tender (add more water if necessary). Once apricots are tender, simmer until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 10 to 15 minutes.
Ten minutes before chicken is done, add apricot mixture to tagine. Discard herbs and cinnamon stick, then serve chicken sprinkled with almonds on top.
Recipe adapted from Gourmet, May 2006
Serve over couscous (I liked the "herbed" version, or regular couscous cooked in low-sodium chicken broth), and enjoy!
Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (don't leave this out! turmeric gives the dish a beautiful yellow color and a rich middle-eastern taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
1 (3-lb) chicken, cut into 6 pieces, wings and backbone discarded
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium red onion, halved, then sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 sprigs fresh cilantro
5 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons mild honey
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
3/4 cup dried Turkish apricots, cut into quarters
1/3 cup whole roasted almonds
Special equipment
1 10- to 12-inch tagine or heavy skillet or dutch oven
kitchen string
Preparation
Stir together ground cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat well and refrigerate if you have time. Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in base of tagine (or in skillet), uncovered, over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then brown half of chicken, skin sides down, turning over once, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Brown remaining chicken in same manner, adding any spice mixture left in bowl.
Add onion and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to tagine and cook on lowered heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Tie cilantro and parsley into a bundle with kitchen string and add to tagine along with 1/2 cup water, chicken, and any juices accumulated on plate. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes (45 minutes if using a dutch oven).
While chicken cooks, bring honey, remaining cup water, cinnamon stick, and apricots to a boil in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until apricots are very tender (add more water if necessary). Once apricots are tender, simmer until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 10 to 15 minutes.
Ten minutes before chicken is done, add apricot mixture to tagine. Discard herbs and cinnamon stick, then serve chicken sprinkled with almonds on top.
Recipe adapted from Gourmet, May 2006
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