Main course from North African Feast Day

I have simply become fascinated with food and it's truly amazing how making up my mind to cook has introduced me to cuisines I never would I have even considered to make. Yes I am probably one of the few people in the world loving this journey of writing my dissertation and honestly it's all thanks to researching (something i learnt from grad school) and recipe testing to create zesty, electrifying, and delicious cuisines that make people come back for seconds all because they love what you have made. My guests were truly amazing and I am glad that my labor of love put smiles on people's faces this past weekend. This journey (here is a picture is of my work station on the feast day) has become a fulfilling experience and I look forward to more feast days...

So I served four dishes as the main course meals and they include: Djedj b'l-qasbour (Algerian coriander chicken), Moroccan Fish Tagine, Moroccan Vermicelli with chicken and green beans and Moroccan Prawns. Both Moroccan Fish Tagine and the Moroccan Prawns have been featured in older blog posts. But here are the recipes for the Algerian coriander chicken and the Moroccan Vermicelli with chicken and green beans.

Djedj b'l-qasbour-Algerian Coriander Chicken. This recipe was adapted from The African News Cookbook which was published and edited in 1985 by Tami Hutman. The recipes in this book are truly for people who have a wider appreciation of African culinary masterpieces. For the Algerian Coriander Chicken, here are the ingredients I used:
One packet of chicken drumsticks (there were 14 pieces in the packet i bought)
4 tbs of ground coriander
4 large garlic cloves chopped fine

2 tbs of turmeric
1 tbs of cumin (optional)
2 tbs of olive oil
1 tbs of cayenne pepper(optional)
1 tbs of salt
sprig of fresh coriander
Wash the chicken as you would normally do and then place them in a large pot. Add the ground coriander, garlic, turmeric, cumin, olive oil, cayenne, pepper, salt and fresh coriander. Although the original Cook for about 20 minutes with a 1/2 of water. Once it is cooked, place in a large foil and bake in the over for 30 minutes. Serve over rice or couscous.

Moroccan Vermicelli with chicken and green beans: So beyond rice and my love for salad, there is a desire to eat pasta, but not with the bland pasta sauce that most people are used too in America, but with different ingredients like chicken breast or even green beans. This dish that I made for the North African Feast Day was by far everyone's favorite. I asked around to see what people liked best and everyone, from the little children that attended to even my friends from out of town and their ethnicity really didn't matter, instead everyone categorically loved this dish. Clifford Wright penned the recipe for this dish in his book entitled "Some like is Hot, " and it includes the following ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of extra olive oil
1 packet of boneless chicken breast
1 bunch green onions chopped (optional-in the recipe he used regular small onions, but I prefer the green onions)
fresh green beans (although in the recipe he used chickpeas, I love green beans and I think it helped to enhance the overall flavor of this recipe, you can use chickpeas if you want).
2 tablespoon tomato paste (optional-I didn't use this in my recipe as I wanted to try something different)
2 large finely chopped garlic cloves
2 tbs of cumin
2 tbs of coriander
2 tbs butter
2 tbs cayenne pepper
3 pieces of sweet red or yello pepers

I packet of verimicelli broken into tiny pieces
Salt to taste
Boil water in a pot mixed with 1 tbs of cumin, coriander, butter, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add a 1tsp of garlic and the vermicelli and bring to a boil. Drain the vermicelli. Cut up the chicken breasts into tiny pieces and add the remainder of the spices. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes. In a very large frying pan, heat a cup of the olive oil. Add the green onions and the sweet peppers. Add the chicken and then stir fry until the chicken is cooked. Once the chicken is cooked, add the vermicelli and the remainder of the oil, stirring gently so as fully mix up the chicken with the pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley leaves and serve.