Two weekends ago, a friend hosted a birthday party for her husband, who is from Morocco. The theme, as a ode to him, was for each of us to cook a Moroccan dish to share. I was so excited to venture this way, as I love Indian food and I knew that it would somewhat similar. Don’t get me wrong, there are some differences for sure but many of the main spices (cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, mint) are bilingual within the cultures. I Googled a lot to try and find out more about Moroccan dishes, I have to say I was surprised that I didn’t find as much as I would have expected, boo hoo. And, for living in a food-mecca like Miami, you would think we have a great selection of Moroccan  eateries from which to indulge…well, not really. Indian, yes. Mediterranean, yes. One successful entity to visit and well worth it is The Daily Bread. What a wonderful place to experiment.

So, I offer you “fusion”…it’s the buzz word in the food industry because so many cultures cross-pollunate (if you will) when it comes to food. So I want to offer you a hearty vegetable curry and a chilled beverage that is quite yummy (but more Indian).

Quick side note: Curries come from all over the globe, mainly you hear about Indian curries which tend to be very hot, Thai curries that will really strike if you are not careful and other creamier versions of curry with coconut milk infused. Curries come in red, green and yellow. Don’t think that you can tell the heat by the color because each can be altered. Try them all and see what you like. Explore and give your palate a chance to experience layers of flavor and a depth of warmth and sophistication in this cuisine. But, don’t be afraid to try this in your kitchen…most middle-eastern recipes are very easy! You will just spend more time on the chopping block and marinating more than anything else. Hint…find yourself a sous chef to help cut up the goods!

Vegetable Curry

1 Sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 medium eggplant*, cubed (yes, leave the skins on)

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

6 T olive oil, divided

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 t ground turmeric

1 T curry powder (I like yellow for this recipe)

1 t cinnamon powder

1/2 t ginger

3/4 T kosher or sea salt

1 – 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained

1/4 c blanched almonds (for convenience, buy them and don’t blanch them yourself)

1 zucchini, sliced

3 T raisins

1 c orange juice

9-10 oz bag of spinach

In a large saute pan or Dutch oven, heat 3 T olive oil over medium heat. Saute the sweet potato, eggplant, peppers, carrots and onion for 5 minutes.

In a smaller saucepan, mix 3 T olive oil, garlic, turmeric, curry, cinnamon, salt and ginger and heat over medium for 3 minutes. Pour this mixture on top of the vegetable mixture. Add the beans, almonds, zucchini, raisins and orange juice. Simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Add spinach and cook for 5 more minutes.

*Something I learned recently while reading Julia Child’s first cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking: when cooking with eggplant, which contains a lot of water, take the time to prepare it first. Cut the eggplant in half and make a few 1/4 inch slices in the flesh. Sprinkle some salt on the flesh and place flesh down on a cutting board for 30 minutes. This will draw much of the water out. Gently squeeze and pat dry the flesh before continuing your cuts or whole roasting. The eggplant will have less tendency to fall apart and break down, giving you more vegetable and flavor.

Mango Lassi

2 mangoes, peeled and cut away from the seed

4 T yogurt (I like low-fat vanilla yogurt but you can use plain as well)

6-8 oz crushed ice

1/4-1/2 t cardamom powder

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Pour into glasses. Garnish with a sprinkle of cardamom or cinnamon and a sprig of mint.

Next week’s recipes are undecided, any suggestions?