A few years ago, I went to a cooking class given in someone’s house. The class was given by Levana Kirschenbaum, a kosher chef with a flair for the mediterranean style. I left with a package of recipes that I should have used more frequently. Of course they were lost in the storm, so I decided to put my memory to the test and try to recreate these flavors for Baby D. One of my favorite recipes from the class was a lamb and chicken stew? with dried fruits. I have a really strong aversion to blended meats, so I left out the lamb and chicken, but when I make this for the bigger people in the family I will just put some of the meatless part on the side next time! For now, I made it more of a brunch item for Baby D!
Makes approximately 4 4oz jars.
- 8 organic turkish dried apricots (I found them at Trader Joes)
- 3/4 cup israeli cous cous
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 red onion chopped
- 1tsp EVOO
- 1/4 tsp tumeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- additional water for boiling apricots & lightly pureeing
- Put apricots in a pot and cover with water, boil 15 minutes.
- In a separate pot, sautee chopped red onion in the EVOO until translucent (about 4-5 minutes)
- Add the couscous to the pan and stir to lightly brown.
- Add the 1 cup of water to the couscous and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer according to package directions (6-10 minutes)
- Put apricots, tumeric, cloves & cinnamon in a blender with couscous. Add 1/4 cup of water at a time until you reach the consistency appropriate for your baby.
I very lightly pureed this so that the couscous is generally whole but the apricots became pasty. Baby D prefers more solid food to thin purees, but if you add more water and blend more, you can get this to a smooth consistency for younger babies.
It is really delicious! Baby D devoured it = success to me!
LK squared's Blog 