I'm back to blogging !

Hi All!

It's me Hannah here, David's youngest sister (by 4 minutes!), I know, I know, I've been away for soooo long!I have been away for such a long time and haven't really blogged properly for what seems like yonks! After the experience of blogging trolls last winter, me and my twin sister Rachel went on a month long trip to Israel - I got bitten by a bloody Camel (!)- but Israel is such a fab and fantastic country, going there made me more Jewish and pro-Zionist than ever before! I'm now back and course and have bee shying away from the blogsphere, but I hope to make another go of this blogging effort, this time as a contributor to this site! I am not sure whether I will be able to post every day, but I will give it-that is blogging- a second go! I hope that this simpler and more straightforward template and format will allow me to focus on the writing rather than the gimmicks -the substance, rather than the style. Or perhaps not. Who knows, but I hope that it will be fun Frum experience! [ I'm also in the process of 'cheering up' this blog, with a new template].

Now one of the things I want to do is to write about Jewish cooking! Sephardi Jewish cooking is based on Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African foods, but clearly centred around Jewish food laws. Cooking and food are a big part of the Jewish culture and religion, so I will from time to time provide you all with recipes which you can try out yourself. This one is a Tagine, a cooking form which Jews from Morocco do and also Jews from what is called the Maghreb region also use. A Tagine is basically an earthenware stew pot, as you can see :

This is a form of cooking which is a really good method for the Friday night Shabbat (Sabbath) evening meal, as once Shabbat starts, in Orthodox circles we are not supposed to be cooking and making fires.
I hope you enjoy this one .

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

• Sunflower oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1.5kg of lamb shoulder, cubed (Kosher of course)
• 1 x 450g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp harissa
• Paprika
• 1 lemon, halved
• 500g cracked green olives, rinsed (I prefer Suri)
• 2 large courgettes, thickly sliced
• 250g of cherry tomatoes
• 5-6 tbsp honey

Method :

1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan or Tagine and fry the onions and garlic until golden.
2. Add the lamb and sear for a few minutes.
3. Add the tinned tomatoes, harissa, a generous shake of paprika and a pinch of salt.
4. Pop the lemon halves into the pan. Put cover on and cook on low heat for at least two, possibly three hours, stirring regularly.
5. Half an hour before the end of the cooking time add the courgettes.
6. Fifteen minutes before the end of the cooking time add the olives.
7. Place the tomatoes in the Tagine and drizzle with honey.
8. When the lamb is tender, check the seasoning and serve topped with the honey roasted tomatoes.
9. Serve with saffron or turmeric rice or couscous.