Healthy Heath

Of all the gin joints April 11, 2011

Lindsay and I had our second dinner and a movie night. What a great way to start off the week! Delicious food, wonderful movie and amazing company!!!

Tonight, we had a ticket to exotic Morocco and enjoyed Spicy Moroccan Chickpeas whilst feasting our eyes on Casablanca. Bogart, Bergman and garbanzo beans… how can you top that?!!

The Recipe, courtesy of Cooking Light:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 cups thinly sliced red onion
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced
• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout (Moroccan spice blend) or garam masala
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
• 6 cups escarole, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• 1/2 cup roasted whole almonds, coarsely chopped
• 4 cups hot cooked couscous

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove garlic from pan using a slotted spoon; discard or reserve for another use. Add onion and next 6 ingredients (through cinnamon stick) to pan; sauté for 7 minutes or until the onion is lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup water, rind, juice, chickpeas, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in escarole; simmer for 1 minute or until escarole wilts. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cilantro and mint; top with almonds. Serve over couscous.

It didn’t take too long, it makes enough for a small army, the ingredients are so flavorful and bold, what a great recipe.  The addition of the mint, cilantro and almonds to the top brings all of the flavors together beautifully. I am a fan of bold flavors all being brought together in one dish. So much fun for the tastebuds!

As for the movie, well, it’s Casablanca. Humphrey Bogart is smouldering as always and Ingrid Bergman shimmers as a goddess of the silver screen.

Now, I’ve watched the film several times previously and each time I get something different out of it. This was the first time that I managed to wrap my head around the historical context and move into the dialogue. What I had never really managed to pick up on before it how witty and humorous the script really is! The film made me laugh in several parts, my heartstrings were tugged at, the music made me long to live in a different time period. All in all, just what you want from a great movie.