Braised Onions With Raisins And Almonds Recipes

BRAISED RED CABBAGE WITH RAISINS

Steps:

• Cook 2 strips chopped bacon in olive oil in a pot over medium heat until crisp. Add 1 chopped onion; cook until softened, 4 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken broth, 1/2 head sliced red cabbage, 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 bay leaf; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 30 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup golden raisins and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley.

BRAISED ONIONS WITH RAISINS AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• In a coffee mill or using a mortar and pestle, grind the cinnamon, cloves, and allspice to a fine powder. Place the spices and onions in the cooker and add the water or chicken stock.
• Cook on low for 6 hours, or until onions are tender. Add the tomato sauce, salt, and raisins and cook for 30 minutes more. Top with the almonds and parsley and serve immediately.

COUSCOUS WITH LAMB, ONIONS, AND RAISINS

Steps:

• Prepare the couscous in a large, round, ovenproof dish as described on page 112, leaving the final heating in the oven to be done 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
• Prepare the meat broth in a large pan. Put in the meat, with about 1/2 pound onions, chopped, and cover with 7 1/2 cups water. Bring to the boil and remove the scum. Add salt and pepper, the ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and the cloves. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. At this point, add the saffron and more water, if necessary, and simmer for another 30 minutes, or until the meat is so tender you can pull it apart with your fingers.
• At the same time, prepare the honeyed onion tfaya. Cut the remaining onions in half and slice them. Put them in a pan with 1 cup water. Put the lid on and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, until the onions are very soft. Remove the lid and cook further, until the liquid has evaporated. Add the butter and oil and cook until the onions are golden. Stir in the honey and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, the drained raisins, and a pinch of salt. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes, or until the onions caramelize and become brown.
• Fry the almonds in a drop of oil until golden, turning them over, then drain on paper towels. Coarsely chop about half of them.
• About 20 to 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, put the couscous in the oven, preheated to 400°F, and heat through until it is steaming hot, fluffing it with a fork after about 10 minutes. Before serving, fork the butter, cut into small pieces, into the couscous and again fluff up the couscous as it melts in.
• To serve, moisten the couscous with a ladle of broth and mix in the chopped almonds, and leave it in the baking dish or turn it onto a large, round platter; shape it into a mound and make a wide shallow hollow in the center. Put the meat in the hollow, cover with the onion and raisin tfaya, and sprinkle with the remaining whole, fried almonds. Serve the broth separately.

GLAZED PEARL ONIONS WITH RAISINS AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add onions, and cook 3 minutes to loosen skins. Drain, and cool slightly. Cut root ends from onions. Squeeze onions at stem end (onions will slip out of skins). If using frozen pearl onions, skip this step and simply defrost them.
• Combine pearl onions, sherry, raisins, honey, water, butter and thyme in a heavy large skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid evaporates and onions begin to caramelize, stirring often, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove from heat and stir in almonds and vinegar. Add a few teaspoons of water if mixture is too dry. Serve warm.

BRAISED LAMB WITH HONEY AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Put oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until quite soft, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and raise heat to medium-high. Add lamb chunks and adjust heat so pieces brown rapidly without burning. Season meat with salt and pepper as it browns.
• Turn off heat and wait for pan to cool a bit; pour off excess fat. Turn heat back to medium and add honey; cook, stirring, until honey has thinned and coated lamb. Stir in garlic, then add spices, reserved onions and the stock. Cover and simmer until meat is tender, an hour or more.
• Meanwhile, put almonds in a skillet, in one layer. Cook over medium heat, shaking skillet, until lightly browned and fragrant.
• Taste meat mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary. Stir in almonds and serve, sprinkled with a few drops of lemon juice and garnished with the parsley