Spicy Moroccan Shrimp Tagine

This recipe is one of Franks Favorites! Typically each week I browse my various foodie websites for new recipes, and once in a while Frank sends me something that he would like to try. Frank found this favorite on Yahoo! which linked it over from Foodrepublic.com.

We initially tried this recipe over a year ago, and have just recently perfected it. Not because it is a difficult recipe, but there is a definite “trick” to get just the riiiiight amount of lemon. It is rare for me to come across a recipe that I don't modify at least a little, especially after making it the first time- but this recipe I haven't tweaked a bit.

The first time we made this recipe it definitely got a WOW! It is very tasty, healthy (ier), and is great for leftovers. I would rate it on an easy scale to make, but it definitely is not a quick recipe. There are multiple steps, which in total, takes about an hour… but this little gem is well worth it!

The trick to this recipe is getting the right amount of lemon. The recipe calls for “3 slices lemon, halved”. The first time we made it; we simply placed the lemons in the pan and did NOT squeeze them into the sauce. The second time we made it, we must have squeezed ALL the lemons into the sauce, because the only thing you could taste was lemon. The third time we made it we squeezed about 1/2 the slices into the sauce, and the other 1/2 in the skillet. The third time was definitively an improvement, but there was still and overwhelming lemon flavor. And the fourth time we made it, we eventually came to our senses and went back to when we made it the best, and didn’t squeeze any lemons into the sauce.

You may be asking yourself, “Why does she keep talking about lemons?!?” The answer, lemons truly make or break this recipe! AND one of the perks of reading about past experiences is to learn from my mistakes!

I give this recipe four out of four forks! It is definitely a keeper (once we finally mastered the level of lemon). I would also recommend making brown rice to pair with this recipe. Typically I make about 1-1.5 cups (dried) brown rice, which makes about 2-2.5 cups cooked rice (approximately 4 servings). Top the rice with the shrimp and sauce and you’ll have a new family favorite. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!!

Spicy Moroccan Shrimp Tagine

 

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Source: Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes from the Spice-Scented Markets of Marrakech to the Date-Filled Oasis of Zagora, By: Jeff Koehler

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 361 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 403 Calories from Fat 78

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 8.7g                          13%

Saturated Fat 1.3g                  7%

Cholesterol 243mg                  81%

Sodium 262mg                        11%

Total Carbohydrates 46.8g     16%

Dietary Fiber 3.7g                   15%

Sugars 3.5g

Protein 37.1g

Vitamin A 31% • Vitamin C 38% Calcium 5% • Iron 10%

Nutrition Grade A-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 medium ripe tomatoes, halved, seeded and grated

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 bay leaf

salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, tails left on 
Note* I always take the tails off because I hate doing it while I'm eating

3 slices lemon, halved

*1 to 1.5 cups dried brown rice

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pan, add brown rice and 2-2.5 cups of water (or until the rice is completely submerged, and has about 1 inch of water above the rice). Turn to high heat, until the water boils. Reduce the heat to medium-low to medium heat and let the rice simmer until all the water has cooked off.
2. Meanwhile….In a tagine, flameproof casserole, or heavy skillet or saute pan (we simply use a heavy skillet) add the olive oil, tomatoes, and garlic, and cook uncovered over medium heat until the tomatoes are a deeper red and pulpy, about 12 minutes. 
3. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the parsley, cilantro, paprika, cayenne and cumin.
4. Add the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Place the shrimp on top and cook for 1 minute, and then turn.
5. Place the lemon slices around the edges of the tagine, dribble 2 tablespoons water in the side, cover with the lid, and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Serve bubbling hot in the tagine. 
7. Note* we serve the shrimp over ½ cup cook brown rice per serving.

Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce

When I embarked on my food blogging adventure my wonderful friend gave me a book by a very popular food blogger, Deb Peleman. Deb’s blog is called SmittenKitchen.com, and she has WONDERFUL recipes for the tastiest things. Buuuut healthy food is not really on her radar. It’s more about her love of food, and “creating and finding the best of the best and adapting the recipes for the everyday cook”. I would say… she helps the everyday cooker, cook gourmet meals at home.

I have been reading her cook book before bed; similar to some who might read novels before bed… weird I know, but I love food! One thing she talked about was her love of tomato and egg combination. One morning last month I had this idea for poaching eggs in tomato sauce. I thought I had read about in my Smitten Kitchen book, but looking back through I couldn’t find the reference. The problem is I read so many cook books, blogs, and foodie magazines, that I often have trouble remembering where I saw a recipe I want to try! EITHER way… this recipe I am giving my inspirational credit to Deb and her Smitten Kitchen.

Tomato sauce and eggs is not something I think about when I think of breakfast foods, but boy-oh-boy was this deeelicious.

Side story....

I am a big fan of Eggs Benedict and usually order it when we go out for breakfast… something I have recently been ordering is Eggs Florentine (the veggie version of eggs benedict), adding the ham/Canadian bacon, with hollandaise sauce on the side (I’ll admit I may be a server’s worst nightmare). That combo gives you the best of both worlds, the veggies from the Florentine, the ham from the benedict and the bad-for-you-hollandaise on the side. Win. Win. Win. Typically Eggs Florentine comes with tomato and spinach… so I would say that this Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce could be an interesting adaption of my Eggs Benedict obsession. But who knows?

This recipe is an easy morning fix, but hearty enough to be served any time during the day. However this is not my healthiest creation, the three big downfalls, calories, cholesterol, and SODIUM!! If you want to cut back the sodium/calories I would recommend (1) only using ½ the parmesan cheese or completely cutting it out, (2) use egg whites instead of the whole egg and (3) exchanged the jarred tomato sauce for homemade or low sodium tomato sauce. Like anything canned/jarred, prepared tomato sauce has large amounts of sodium.

On the plus side, this recipe is packed with fiber and protein and will keep you full well past lunch!! I hope you enjoy it!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 372 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 297 Calories from Fat 105

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 11.7g                        18%

Saturated Fat 4.5g                   22%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 179mg                  60%

Sodium 1181mg                      49%

Total Carbohydrates 32.8g      11%

Dietary Fiber 4.9g                   19%

Sugars 13.1g

Protein 19.3g

Vitamin A 85% • Vitamin C 22% Calcium 34% • Iron 26%

Nutrition Grade B+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

 

Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce

Serving Size: 2 people

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

1 Whole Wheat English muffin

2 tbs Parmesan & Romano Cheese

2 cups Spinach

2 cups Prepared Tomato Sauce (my favorite Classico Tomato Basil Sauce)

pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a medium skillet, turn heat to medium heat and add tomato sauce. Heat tomato sauce until it is lightly boiling.

Add eggs to skillet, lightly season with pepper and cover.

Cook the eggs until desired “doneness”. I like my eggs to be medium, with the yolks thick but runny. Typically when poaching eggs I cook them until the yolk become opaque and when shook still jiggle. (Very scientific I know).

 

While eggs are cooking toast English muffin.

 

Once toasted, cover the english muffin with parmesan cheese.

In a microwave safe bowl, add your spinach, and microwave for about 20-30 seconds or until the spinach becomes slightly wilted. *Note you could skip this step, and put the raw spinach on the english muffin. I prefer to heat the spinach up because it condenses down once it’s heated, and you can fit a whole cup of spinach on each ½ of the muffin.

 

Next layer the spinach on top of the parmesan cheese.

When your eggs are done, top the english muffin with an egg.

Add any residual sauce from the skillet to the top of your egg.

EAT. ENJOY!