This is a trio of dishes that can be made for a Lenten meal (some with modifications). The first one actually takes longer than the other two, but still doesn't take a whole lot of time and is easily made on a weekday. Abstinent meals are not required to taste bad! And, while focusing too much on the food is missing the point of the fasts, having simple to make recipes that will please your family does make those fasting times easier. I hope these help you on a Wednesday or Friday, or during the Nativity fast coming up sooner than you know. These are good meals. We like to say that sometimes foods "taste Lenten." These taste good, not just like they have been made fast friendly.

Zaalouk

This is a Moroccan eggplant salad. I know it doesn't seem like it is to the Western eye, perhaps, but as salad (like salsa, sausage, and so many other words we get from the Latin sal), simply means salted, that is what this is. In the Middle East, a salad can simply be something eaten with a meal. So, my laban bi chiyar is a salad, though it is quite wet from the yogurt. This dish is a warm salad or side dish, and it is delicious that way, but we often make a larger quantity of it, and serve with bread and rice and salad (they way you might think of a salad) and fruit for an amazing, and Lenten, meal.

2 1/4 pounds of eggplant
Olive oil for frying the eggplant and for finishing the salad
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger (or replace both garlic and ginger with 3 tablespoons garlic ginger paste)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
2 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon kosher flake salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
juice of half a lemon
1 bunch cilantro, finely minced

Peel the eggplant and cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Place in a strainer over a dish and toss with salt to drain excess liquid and remove bitterness. Heat a heavy based pot over medium high heat. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil into the pot when it is hot and stir in the eggplant cubes, browning, in batches, if necessary. Remove all eggplant from pot.

Add a little more olive oil, the garlic and ginger, and cook for around 30 seconds. Add the paprika, cumin, and pepper flakes and bloom the spices in the hot oil for 10 seconds before quickly adding the chopped tomatoes, water, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.

Return eggplant to the pot, stirring to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. The eggplant should now be fully cooked and tender but should not have disintegrated. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature with a drizzle of olive oil and an extra squeeze of lemon.

Spanish Style Fish Stew

This is so lovely and simple to make. It is truly delicious, and it is wonderful for a weeknight dinner, or a fish meal during Lent. We rarely have any left over, but it can be gently heated on the stove for lunch the next day. You can adjust the fish and shellfish to what you like or have on hand, we often shift around the ratios based on what we have, as long as you end up with the same volume as the recipe states. This soup tastes remarkably fresh, even when you use previously frozen fish or shellfish (which we do on a regular basis). This recipe serves eight, but is good the next day. It can easily be cut in half, however, if necessary.

4 tablespoons olive oil
6 onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots diced
4 celery stalks, diced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon smoked hot paprika
28 ounces canned, diced tomatoes
4 russet potatoes peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes
2 pounds cod (or any other firm, white, sea fish) fillets, fresh (or frozen and defrosted)
2 pounds shrimp or scallops
2 bay leaves
juice and zest of 2 lemons plus another lemon or two cut into wedges, to serve
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
large bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped

In a large, heavy bottomed soup pot with a lid, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, paprika, and smoked paprika. Cook stirring until onions are softened, and spices are fragrant about 5 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes, with their liquid to the pan along with the potatoes, and bay leaves. Turn heat to medium-high, cover pan and allow to cook until potatoes are tender about 15 minutes.

Add cod, cover and cook for 3 minutes more. Scatter shrimp or scallops over top, cook another 3 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and cod flakes with a fork.

Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in lemon juice and zest, and parsley. Serve hot with lemon wedges and crusty bread for sopping up the delicious broth.

Pasta with Clam Sauce

This is another quick meal. It uses canned clams, though fresh would be delightful. I make it either with butter (not during Lent/Advent) or with olive oil on weekends during the Lenten fasts. It is another easy to throw together meal that tastes wonderful, and is good enough for company. Add a salad, some bread, and fruit or dessert, and you are set.

16 ounces spaghetti (can use up to 1 1/2 pounds of pasta if needed)
Salt for pasta water
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes (or red pepper flakes)
4 (6-ounce)cans minced clams, including the liquid
1 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more, to serve
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Bring a large pot of salted water to a full, rolling boil. While the water is heating, prepare the garlic, lemon zest, and parsley.

Add the spaghetti to the boiling water, stir to avoid pasta sticking, and set your timer for 1 minute less than the recommended time. Cook the spaghetti uncovered in vigorously boiling water. While the spaghetti cooks, prepare the clam sauce.

Heat olive oil in a sauté pan on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and the Aleppo pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute, until the garlic just is on the edge of browning. Add the white wine to the pan. Open the cans of clams and squeeze out the clam juice from the cans into the pan as well. Raise the temperature to high and let boil sauce the sauce reduces as the spaghetti cooks. (Put pan on largest burner on high heat to help the sauce reduce more quickly).

As the spaghetti is finishing its cooking, the sauce should be reduced by about two-thirds. Add the chopped clams, and return to a simmer. Then stir in the minced parsley and the lemon zest.

When the pasta is al dente, drain and place it in a serving bowl. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and toss to combine. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve with a little more fresh parsley sprinkled over the top. Serve immediately.

Shawerma Spice Blend

This is a basic spice blend for shawerma. In general, I use a different one for lamb, but this is excellent for poultry. It works well on red meat, as well, and I use it to season ground meat as a sausage, or on vegetables for a little extra kick.

1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (sweet or hot, depending on your tastes)
1 1/2 teaspoons onion granules
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic granules
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I prefer Ceylon)
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground clove

Mix all spices together and store in a tightly sealed jar.

Labels: Fasting as a Family, Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen