Saffron & Mushroom Cauliflower "Couscous"

Happy belated Mother's Day to all of the amazing moms out there! I had a wonderful time with mama Ina in the Hamptons cooking up our favorite treats for Jeffrey...

Well, I wish...

I did, however, enjoy reading through Ina's latest book, Cooking for Jeffrey, which is a tribute to her 50 year partnership to Jeffrey.

It offers a glimpse into their marriage and shares recipes she's cooked for him over the years. Every page illustrates Ina's unconditional and eternal love for Jeffrey, unaffected by her fame, fortunate, or army of hot gay men at her side. It's one of my favorites!

Though I didn't get my dream date with Ina and Jeffrey, I did spend the week in NYC celebrating with my beautiful birth mother, family and friends.

Somehow I was given free reign over choosing the restaurants this year. That's like letting a misbehaved toddler run loose in a candy store. I had no restraint as I added high end restaurant after restaurant onto our "itinerary." (See below). At least it's organized, but also dangerously bordering pathologic.

Sure, I was teased and taunted a bit for my itinerary, but the food. Sigh. Let's just say it was beyond words...at least any words a measly Biology major who struggled through a single college writing course could muster. There were so many sensational experiences but my favorites (in ascending order) were Nix, Gotham Bar and Grill, Dovetail, Annisa, Le Bernardin, Jungsik, and of course, Eleven Madison Park.

I even got to meet Eric Ripert and Anita Lo at their restaurants! Yes, feel free to be jealous...that is until the debt collectors come slamming on my door

But in all seriousness, while I certainly enjoy Michelin-starred establishments, I'd choose delivery from a Piźa Haute chain any day if it meant dining with my friends and family.

Though I love dining out with friends, my favorite option is always to cook for them myself. Like Ina, nothing brings me more pleasure than preparing a simple, intimate meal for my loved ones, my "Jeffries."

However, not every relationship is as fairy tale as Ina and Jeffrey's, and not all good things last. I have always wanted to be honest on here, so I'm sharing that recently, I've had to learn to be my own Jeffrey.

As my own Jeffrey, I've re-discovered joy and excitement in being kind and loving to myself. In addition to getting back to the gym, taking spa days, and snapping a few shameless selfies, I created a dish to represent me - my quirks, borderline manic passions, and love for lavish ingredients.

I ventured to Whole Foods without a plan, but almost instinctively envisioned a cauliflower couscous elevated with morels, wild mushrooms, saffron, and fresh herbs. Basically all my favorite ingredients.

After weeks of tweaking and force feeding cauliflower to my friends, I'm excited to share my masterpiece. It's great as both a meal or a side dish. Just be sure to make extra because you'll be hooked...I've literally eaten it nonstop for 3 weeks.

The couscous is not only comforting and delicious, it's also healthy. It's entirely made of veggies, herbs, nuts, and EVOO...basically making it the poster child for the Mediterranean diet. That means, it's good for your heart AND can help prevent heart disease. (Click to read more).

Believe me, I very strongly dislike "diet foods." I'm a proponent for moderation, so if I occasionally want a slice of pizza, you better give me a goddamn slice of pizza. Don't even think about serving some imitation crust to this NYC Jew. Not gonna happen. Not on my watch!

With that being said, this cauliflower recipe is special. Whether it tastes like couscous to you or not is irrelevant. It's addictive. I've made the recipe over a dozen times and it's always a hit.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Please let me know on social media or in the comments below!

Tips/Tricks to Make the Perfect Cauliflower "Couscous"

• After reconstituting dried mushrooms, save the wonderful broth
• It's great for stocks and recipes. 
• Just be sure to pass it through a coffee filter to remove dirt and debris
• Morels add a pretentious factor to the dish, but if you can't find them or are a reasonable person that doesn't want to spend 20 dollars on a tiny bag, just replace them with more wild mushrooms
•  A food processor is preferred for a finer, couscous consistency
• Box graters will work just fine, though. Just expect a slightly larger "grain"
• Flavors vary considerably depending on the size of your cauliflower and your ingredients
• Be sure to season to taste with more or less salt, pepper, and lemon
• Have fun and create your own versions. There's endless options. Share your favorites! 
• Try the couscous with my salmon chriameh. The sauce and cauliflower are perfect together

Cauliflower "Couscous" Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower (medium to large), cored, broken into small florets
• 1 1/2 ounces dried mushrooms (morels + any assortment of other wild species)
• Roughly half from dried morels (~3/4 to 1 ounces)
• Remaining portion from other wild species (porcini, chanterelle, lobster, morels, etc)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 (generous) teaspoon saffron threads 
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 8 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts
• 1/3 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Cauliflower "Couscous" Recipe
Reconstitute the mushrooms:
Place the dried mushrooms in a medium sized bowl and pour 2 cups boiling water over them. Soak for at least 30 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, scoop the mushrooms out of the water. (Don't pour the liquid and mushrooms directly through a strainer to avoid re-soiling the mushrooms with dirt and debris that settled at the bottom of the bowl).

Rinse the mushrooms under cold water to remove any remaining grit and drain. (Nobody wants to eat sand for dinner). The mushrooms may vary in size. Cut any large mushrooms into 2 or 3 pieces. Set aside.

Steep the saffron:
Place saffron threads in a small bowl and soak with 8 tablespoons boiling water. Allow saffron to steep for 30 minutes. Set aside.

Prepare the cauliflower:
Place cauliflower florets into a food processor fitted with the standard S-shaped blade. Carefully pulse until all the florets are broken down and resemble couscous. Do not pulse beyond that point.

To make the "couscous"
In a large, heavy bottomed sauté pan or dutch oven (I use a 5 quart dutch oven from Le Creuset), heat 6 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, till the mushrooms are at desired doneness. Remove the mushrooms and garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside, but leave the excess olive oil in the heated pan.

Immediately add the grated cauliflower to the pan, stirring to combine with the oil. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper to the cauliflower and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Using a large spoon, occasionally fluff rather than stir as you would couscous.

Stir in the saffron liquid and threads and cook for approximately 5 minutes, until cooked through. There should be no residual raw cauliflower flavor. As far as the texture, it should be softened, but not mushy. I like it to maintain a slight bite.

Remove from the heat and gently fold in the parsley, scallions, lemon zest, lemon juice, almonds, and mushrooms. Allow the flavors to blend together for about 5 minutes before serving.

Spicy Tripolitan Chicken and Vegetable Tbeha

One of the biggest sacrifices I've made during residency is the time apart from family and loved ones. Though we have a rather high level of baseline dysfunction, I adore my family and cherish the time I can spend with them. What I miss the most is definitely our weekly Friday night shabbat dinners. For those who have never celebrated, shabbat is a Jewish holiday that occurs every week, from Friday evening until sundown on Saturday. Like other holidays, religious or secular, there are lots of family traditions, many related to food. (Obviously...This is a food blog).

Shabbat Challah	Salmon in Chriameh Sauce	Matzo Ball Soup
Stuffed Artichoke with Peas & Dill	"Traditional" Beef Tbeha	Saffron Rice w/ Barberries & Pistachios

Before we move on, I need to give a shoutout to my beautiful mother.  Whether cooking just for herself and my father or for the times when a giant table needs to be set up in the foyer to accommodate everyone, she makes a lavish feast each and every week. My over the top approach to entertaining and the need to throw elaborate dinner parties certainly comes from my mother, though I take it to extremes that we won't discuss here.

Radiant inside and out

My lovely parents and a makeshift table set in the foyer

Anyone who attends a shabbat dinner, or really any holiday meal with my family will likely overeat, drink one (probably two) glasses of wine too many...perhaps even break out into spontaneous song and dance. We *always have a great time. (*That of course omits any memories of the many family fights, yelling matches, table flipping, and meltdowns. Nope, none of that in my sugar-coated fairytale family).

For me, what truly embodies shabbat, and can instantly bring me back home...sitting with my parents and siblings at the dining room table...is a bowl of my family's signature Libyan stew, better known as tbeha (pictured above). Tbeha is actually a broad term for many stews from Tripoli, where my family is from. But the version my family makes week after week (since before I was born) is made with flanken, sweet and white potatoes, and green beans cooked in a slightly sweet and spicy tomato sauce seasoned with baharat (Middle Eastern spice blend) as well as hot and sweet paprika. Served over couscous. It's amazing (and definitely a future blog post).

My sister doesn't eat red meat, so my mom make a second tbeha every week using chicken. She uses boneless chicken thighs that most butchers can prepare, but I just use thighs and legs still on the bone. The vegetables in the chicken version are usually the same as the beef tbeha, but during the summer I enjoy putting a seasonal twist on the dish. I made this tbeha with potato, zucchini, chickpeas, English peas, and haricot vert. Serve it over wholewheat couscous to complete this heart healthy, well balanced, and ridiculously delicious meal.

Chicken and vegetable tbeha	Shabbat feast

Tips/Tricks to Make the Perfect Chicken and Vegetable Tbeha:

• Make sure you have a good quality, large (at least 8 quart) pot with a lid. 
• If your pot is too small, the food won't cook evenly and the bottom may burn. 
• The stew may also overflow and spill all over your stove and counters. (Flashback to college..It's a huge mess).
•   You can find baharat online or at specialty markets, but if you have a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, it's really easy to blend yourself.
• The chicken on the bone tends to fall apart easily
•  Minimize stirring while cooking. Instead, shake the pot back and forth to mix. 
• Also, be careful while serving. To serve, you may find it easier to transfer the top layers of vegetables to a different bowl so that you can more easily access the chicken.
• If you prefer chicken without skin or bones, you can have your butcher cut you boneless, skinless chicken thighs. White meat will dry out. 
• The recipe as written is mild. I prefer it hotter.
• For a spicier dish, adjust the proportions of sweet to hot paprika.
• Add more hot and less sweet paprika for a nice kick
• Use fresh ingredients when possible
• It's okay to use frozen peas
• Don't use frozen haricot vert or green beans. Better to omit the ingredient. 
• I use canned chickpeas, but dried are also great. 
• To substitute canned for dried chickpeas:
• Soak dried chickpeas in water overnight. (~1/4 cup dried chickpeas to replace one 15.5 oz can).
• Drain and rinse.
• Place chickpeas in a pot, cover with plenty of water, add a pinch of kosher salt (about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp), bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
• Cook until softened, but not mushy. (45-60 minutes, but may take longer).
• Drain and set aside.
• Make plenty of couscous and pour generous amount of tbeha sauce on each plate. 

Chicken and Vegetable Tbeha Ingredients:

• 4 pounds chicken legs and thighs, fat trimmed
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste 
• 1.5 tablespoons (plus extra) sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoons (plus extra) hot paprika
• 1.5 tablespoons (plus extra) baharat (recipe follows)
• 3 Yukon Gold or all-purpose potatoes, pealed, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise in halves or thirds
• 2 zucchinis, peeled and cut into chunks roughly the size of the potato pieces 
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black paper
• 1(15.5 oz) can salt free chickpeas, drained (or 1/4 cup dried chickpeas, cooked per instructions above).  
• May add up to 2 cans chickpeas, if desired. 
• 1 pound green peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2/3 to 1 pound haricot vert (or green beans), ends trimmed
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Couscous (for serving)

Baharat Spice Blend:
Ingredients: 

• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 small cinnamon stick, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 1/2 whole nutmeg, grated

Recipe:
Combine the baharat ingredients in a spice grinder and grind finely. Store in an airtight container.


Chicken and Vegetable Tbeha Recipe:
Heat olive oil in a large pot (at least 8 quart capacity) over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste followed by sweet paprika, hot paprika, and baharat. Add 2 cups of water, mixing until well combined. Layer the chicken on top of the tomato sauce. Next add the potatoes followed by the zucchini. Add enough water to just barely cover the the vegetables, about 4 cups. Add 1.5 tablespoon of kosher salt and a pinch of black pepper. Bring to a gentle boil and cook covered for 30 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, green peas, parsley, 1/4 tablespoon hot paprika, 1/4 tablespoon sweet paprika, 1/4 tablespoon baharat, and 1/4 tablespoon kosher salt. Mix gently by shaking the pot back and forth till combined. Taste sauce and add more salt as needed. Add a layer of haricot vert to the simmering stew, making sure each bean is at least partially submerged in sauce. Do not overfill the pot.

Bring the sauce back to a boil, then lower heat and simmer partially covered until the vegetables are soft, about 1 hour. Shake the pot occasionally to mix.  Carefully serve tbeha over couscous.  Avoid over mixing or digging deep into the stew to prevent breaking apart the chicken and making "chop suey" out of the vegetables.