All posts for the month October, 2022

STAFFORDSHIRE OATCAKES (Scottish Pancakes)

Paul Hollywood’s cookbooks aren’t the best, especially for anyone outside of the UK. It seems like most of the recipes either have some sort of dried fruit, rely on ingredients that are hard to find, or both. But his “Paul Hollywood’s British Baking” book does have a few interesting regional specialties. One of them is this super simple yet interesting yeast-leavened eggless fat-free Scottish oat pancakes. The combination of oats and yeast yields a really unique flavour. It can be made either sweet or savory, and serves as a blank canvas like a crepe for all sorts of fillings. I simplified the recipe a bit, and adapted it to mix the night before so it’s ready in the morning for breakfast. They are especially delicious with a bit of spice and schmeared with some sweetened ricotta, as suggested below.

Ingredients

  • 400 ml milk (cow or nut)
  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • 100 g all-purpose flour
  • 100 g old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar (optional)
  • butter (or oil) for cooking
  • Optional:
  • cinnamon
  • nutmeg, freshly grated
  • ricotta
  • honey

Directions

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a container with a lid or a bowl.
  2. Stir well to combine, and cover.
  3. Leave at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then put in the fridge to ferment slowly overnight.
  4. In the morning, remove from fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking, stir well, and add a splash of water if too thick.
  5. Add sugar if not using a savory filling.
  6. Cook like a large pancake: heat a skillet over medium heat, melt enough butter to coat the pan, pour in enough batter to thinly cover the pan. When bottom is golden brown, flip and cook the other side for a minute or two until golden brown.
  7. Eat like pancakes or roll/fold around filling like a crepe.
  8. Optional: once cooked, sprinkle with cinnamon, spread a spoonful of ricotta, drizzle some honey, and grate some nutmeg.

Notes

  1. The original recipe calls for a tablespoon of melted butter in the batter, but it’s not really needed, especially if you cook them in butter.
  2. If you want to use it the same day, leave at room temperature for 90 minutes until bubbly.
  3. If the batter isn’t sufficiently bubbly, add 1/4 tsp baking powder before cooking.
  4. The original recipe calls for “fine oatmeal” which we don’t really have in the US. The oats will soften overnight, but for a smoother batter chop the oats in a spice grinder or pulse in food processor. But personally I like the bit of rustic texture from the oats.
  5. If making the night before, the oatmeal will swell up and additional liquid may be needed in the morning (water is fine).
  6. If the batter is still too lumpy after stirring, it can be smoothed out with an immersion blender.
  7. I used unsweetened almond milk, and they came out great.

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by Aardvark on October 27, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Aardvark on October 27, 2022

https://aardvark007.wordpress.com/2022/10/27/staffordshire-oatcakes-scottish-pancakes/

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder, Middle East Style

I’m not a huge fan of pork in general, and the shoulder in particular tends to taste more “piggy” than some of the other parts. For this reason, it’s not as popular in general, and hence a lot less expensive than ham from the other end of the animal. Not to mention lamb, which is what I wanted to make, but it’s hard to find in most supermarkets, and is 4-6x the price of pork for the same cut. I don’t understand why lamb isn’t popular in the US, but that’s really a topic for a different day. The point is, I wanted to make a shawarma-inspired slow-cooked lamb dish, and adapted it to use cheap pork instead. I used mostly Middle Eastern flavours, but borrowed some ideas from Momofuku’s bo ssäm recipe.

Ingredients

  • 7-9 lb bone-in pork “picnic” shoulder
    whole spices
  • 1 dried Persian lime
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 TB black pepper
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 6 green cardamom pods
  • 1 black cardamom pod
  • ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 TB coriander seeds
  • 1 star anise
  • Ground spices
  • 1 TB sumac
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Glaze
  • 2 TB cider vinegar
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • 2 TB harissa paste
  • 1 TB kosher salt
  • 4 TB brown sugar
  • 2 TB spice mix

Procedure

  1. The night before cooking, prepare the pork and the spice rub. If the pork has the skin intact, carefully slice it off, and trim any large fat deposits, and pat dry. Optionally rub with 2 TB of kosher salt (can be done a day in advance).
  2. To make the spice rub, lightly toast the whole spices in a hot dry skillet, swirling it around to prevent scorching. Transfer to a bowl to cool, then grind in a spice grinder. Once ground, pour back into the bowl, add the other dry spices, and mix well.
  3. Coat the entire piece of meat on all sides with the spice rub, rubbing it in to all the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle on some more to make sure that it’s well coated.
  4. Refrigerate the meat overnight, covered with plastic wrap or foil.
  5. The next day, preheat the oven to 325F and remove the meat from fridge and put in a roasting pan if it isn’t already. Roast at 325F (or 300F with convection) for a total of 6 hours. After the first 30 minutes, add 1/4″ of water to the bottom of the pan. After 1.5 hours, baste and lightly cover with foil. Baste every hour, adding additional water if necessary, but there will likely be enough drippings.
  6. After the meat is essentially done, remove from oven, mix the glaze ingredients in a small bowl, and brush all over. Raise the oven temperature to 450F and put back in the oven uncovered for about 10 minutes until a nice crust has formed. If the bottom is soggy, turn it over and cook for a few more minutes. Repeat with a second layer of glaze if desired and put back for a few more minutes. When done, remove from the oven and brush on some more glaze.
  7. Allow to cool slightly, remove meat from bones, and slice, chop, or shred as for pulled pork.

Notes

  1. If you were lucky and got a piece of meat with the skin, use it to make chicharrones. I used the Modernist Cuisine method of first pressure cooking the skin, then drying in a low oven, which works really well, shatteringly crisp and puffy without any frying.
  2. The spice rub can be made up to a week in advance. And any leftover can of course be used on just about any smoked, grilled, BBQ, or roasted meat.
  3. I opted for a dry rub, but you can also make a marinade paste: in blender, mix 1 chopped onion, 8 cloves garlic, 1″ piece of fresh ginger, 2 TB cider vinegar, 2 TB olive oil, 1/3 cup spice mix. Slather over meat and proceed as above.
  4. Taste the glaze and adjust proportions before applying. If the meat is already salty, don’t add as much to the glaze. Depending on the harissa, it might not need as much (or any) oil or vinegar. There should be a nice balance between hot, tangy, salty, and sweet, and it should be easily spreadable and not too thick or thin.
  5. Although the original intent was to stuff into a pita with salad and tehina like shawarma, it’s quite versatile, and can be served BBQ style with cole slaw, or even as a topping for focaccia with caramelized onions. There will be leftovers, be creative!
  6. Don’t discard the bones! Save them to make bone broth. I mixed them with some chicken bones and giblets I had in the freezer, and added some Chinese spices (star anise, Szechuan peppercorns, bay leaf, ginger, cardamom) and simmered it slowly overnight. It made the perfect base for noodle soup with the leftover noodles I made the other day (see earlier post below).
  7. This would be amazing in a smoker instead of the oven.

Sources:

  1. Leg of lamb schwarma recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by  Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
  2. Pulled lamb shawarma sandwich recipe from Falastin: A Cookbook by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley
  3. Bo ssäm recipe from Momofuku by David Chang

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by Aardvark on October 25, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Aardvark on October 25, 2022

https://aardvark007.wordpress.com/2022/10/25/slow-roasted-pork-shoulder-middle-east-style/

Mom’s Cheesecake Recipe

There are various types of cheesecakes, which one is best is largely a question of personal preference. I like mine pure and unadorned (no gloppy fruit topping, no swirls, no crunchy crumbles, no weird flavours, no gimmicks), smooth and creamy, with a classic pressed cookie crust. I’ve tried a bunch of versions over the years, including from some of the most famous NYC bakeries, but none match the results of my mother’s recipe. I thought that maybe it was just nostalgia, but no, I recently found the recipe and it really is that good. It’s also pretty easy, so try for yourself and see if you agree.

There are a couple of things that make it so special. First, instead of graham crackers, it uses a vanilla wafer crust, which is more delicately flavoured than the typical one made with more robust crackers. The addition of cottage cheese instead of ricotta seems like an odd choice, but really helps lighten the mixture while preserving a silky smooth texture. And finally, the lemon adds just enough zestiness to offset the sugar and keep it from tasting too stolid.

You’d never know that this is a relatively low fat recipe, the texture is creamy and it melts on the tongue as if it was full-fat, without being at all crumbly or dry and watery.

In what follows I have left the wording exactly as she wrote it, with my own notes appended at the bottom.

CRUST:

1 1/2 c. finely crushed vanilla wafers

6 T. melted butter or margarine

Mix together.  Pat into bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of an 8 inch springform pan.  If you don’t have a springform pan you can use an eight or 9 inch baking pan.  In any pan without a removable bottom:  Cut a double layer circle of aluminum foil to fit the bottom, also put a 1 inch band around the side of the pan.  Put the crust only on the foil lined part of the pan.

FILLING:

Put in the blender container:

1 pound cream cheese

1 c. cottage cheese ‑ preferably low fat unsalted (even if you are not on a low salt diet)

1 t. dried lemon peel, or 1 1/2t. freshly grated peel.

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 egg white

1/4 c. milk (powdered skim or evaporated fine here)

Blend together until the mixture is just about uniform.  Then add 1 c. sugar and 2 T. flour.

Pour mixture into the pan.  Put the pan on a cookie sheet in a 450 oven. Bake for 10 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 300.  Bake for 45 more minutes OR until the center appears set.  Remove from oven.  Cool for 15 minutes and then carefully loosen the sides with a long spatula or knife (very important if no springform pan is available.)  Cool 30 min. more and then remove sides of the pan.  Cover and chill for 2 hours.

My Notes

  1. I don’t have a springform pan and the foil lining seemed to bothersome, so I just used a deep pyrex pie pan, and didn’t attempt to remove it, just let it cool on a wire rack for a bit, then covered and put in the fridge to chill.
  2. Low fat cream cheese (often labelled as “Neufchâtel” even though it bears no resemblance to the Normandy original) works just fine.
  3. I didn’t want to buy a whole box of gross supermarket cookies just to make the crust, so I made a quick batch of vanilla wafers the day before. It was easier than I thought, the whole process took less than 30 minutes. I followed the King Arthur recipe (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/vanilla-wafers-recipe), but didn’t bother with the piping, just scooped out balls of dough onto a Silpat lined baking sheet and roughly shaped them into rounds. They came out perfectly formed, with a rich butter and vanilla flavour, crisp around the edges, and a lot fresher tasting than the boxed ones.
  4. I made the whole thing in the food processor. First, I crumbled the cookies (I left them out to get a bit stale and dry), then poured in the melted butter and pulsed to combine, then dumped it right into the pan and used my fingers to spread it out evenly and press into shape. Then I mixed the filling in the food processor, it does a great job of emulsifying the mixture and getting rid of any clumps. Then just pour into the pie crust.
  5. I prefer the freshness of microplaned lemon zest, but the dried stuff is arguably the better choice in this recipe.

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by Aardvark on October 22, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Aardvark on October 22, 2022

https://aardvark007.wordpress.com/2022/10/22/moms-cheesecake-recipe/

Spicy Handmade Xi’an Biang Biang Noodles

I closely followed the recipe in the Xi’an Famous Foods cookbook (link below), with a couple of minor modifications. The only real hard part is stretching out the dough by hand; the first couple of pieces ripped, so I ended up using the rolling pin to make it thin, then cut it into strips with a knife. Not as authentic but a lot less finicky. Because the noodles want to be cooked and devoured as soon as they are shaped, this is one dish where preparing everything in advance is critical.

Makes 2 meal portions, or 3 appetizer (600 g of noodles)

Ingredients

  • Noodles
  • 405 g all-purpose flour
  • 180 ml water (plus 50 ml reserved)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Oil for brushing
  • Sauce
  • 120 ml soy sauce
  • 38 ml vinegar [see note]
  • ½ TB oyster sauce
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 star anise
  • ½ tsp whole Szechuan peppercorns
  • 1 smallish bay leaf
  • 2 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 1” piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
  • 2 TB water
  • Garnish (per bowl)
  • 2 large cabbage leaves, sliced into strips
  • 1 TB coarse gochugaru (or other chili powder)
  • ½ scallion, thinly sliced
  • ½ Serrano chili, thinly sliced
  • 2 TB canola oil
  • 1-2 TB chili oil, with solids
  • 1/4 cup roast pork or other cooked meat (optional)

Method

  1. In stand mixer bowl, combine the water and salt, and stir to dissolve.
  2. Add the flour, stir on low (speed 2) for 2 minutes to shaggy mass, then knead on medium (speed 4) for 8-10 minutes. Add additional water a little bit at a time if the dough isn’t coalescing into a ball (up to 50 ml).
  3. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled container and cover.
  4. Rest for 10-20 minutes, then knead for a minute or do a book fold.
  5. Repeat rest and fold two more times, for a total of at least 30 minutes rest.
  6. Do a final rest of 10 minutes, then cut into six equal pieces of 100 g each. Roll each piece into a ball, and form into a flattened rectangle.
  7. Lightly brush with oil, cover, and transfer to refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight if preparing in advance.
  8. Make the sauce:
    • In a small saucepan, lightly toast the whole spices.
    • Add the water and stir to stop the spices from scorching.
    • Add the other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
    • Remove from heat and let stand for 10-20 minutes to steep and cool.
    • Strain into a small container, and refrigerate until ready for use.
  9. Prepare the garnish:
    • Remove the noodles from the fridge and bring to room temperature. Use 3 pieces (300g) per meal serving.
    • Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a boil.Wash and slice the cabbage.Blanch the cabbage for 2 minutes, remove from pot (leave the water for the noodles), drain it, and put in serving bowl.
    • Thinly slice the chili and scallion and measure out the chili powder.
  10. Shape and cook the noodles:
    • Using hands or a rolling pin, stretch each piece of dough in 6” x 3” rectangle. Grasp by the ends and stretch out until shoulder width apart. Then do the biang biang part – slap the dough on the counter while pulling, until it’s at least a meter long. Rip in half from the center to make a large ring. Or cheat and use a rolling pin and cut them into slices. Repeat with the other two pieces.
    • As soon as the 3 pieces of noodles are stretched and torn/cut, plunge into the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. The noodles will float when cooked, but should still be al dente.
    • Remove from water, drain, and add to the serving bowl with the cabbage.
  11. Final assembly:
    • Add a few generous spoonfuls of the noodle sauce and the meat if using, and stir to coat the noodles and mix in the cabbage and meat.
    • Top with the chili, scallions, and chili powder in a small mound in the center of the bowl.Heat the canola oil in a small pan (or microwave) until shimmering and almost but not quite smoking hot.Slowly (and carefully!) pour the hot oil over the chili powder, it should sizzle and be completely drenched. Gently stir in to coat the noodles.
    • Drizzle with chili oil, scooping up some of the solids and serve immediately. Best eaten with chopsticks.

Notes

  1. The original noodle recipe has a complicated system of dissolving the salt in water then slowly pouring it into the flour while the mixer is running, then removing the dough from the machine and kneading by hand, which seems to me defeats the purpose of using the stand mixer. It also has very short resting periods, which generally don’t allow the gluten enough time to relax, so I extended the time. Other versions simplify further and just do a single 30-minute rest followed by a few minutes of additional kneading. Either way, the dough should reach the “full gluten development” stage by the end of it, as verified with the window-pane test. If it still tears easily, do another rest and fold and try again.
  2. The original sauce recipe calls for Chinese black vinegar, I used Filipino “native” vinegar, which I think is made from sugar cane. But rice wine vinegar or even cider vinegar would work too.  
  3. Watch a YouTube video (e.g. https://youtu.be/UBxNd-E2sP0) on how to stretch and cut the noodles, it’s easier to see than to describe.
  4. I simplified the garnish a bit, the original recipe has garlic paste, Chinese celery, and Chinese chive instead of the fresh chili.

Source: Hot Oil-Seared Biang-Biang Noodles, Xi’an Famous Foods- The Cuisine of Western China. Jason Wang. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53694718-xi-an-famous-foods

Noodle Shop noodles sans noodle shop

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by Aardvark on October 20, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Aardvark on October 20, 2022

https://aardvark007.wordpress.com/2022/10/20/spicy-handmade-xian-biang-biang-noodles/

Adjcharuli Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese Bread Boats)

These difficult to pronounce contraptions are thankfully easier to make than they are to pronounce. Basically it’s an open calzone, shaped like a boat, with an egg in the middle. There are various versions of stuffed breads in Georgia, but this kind with the egg is the most popular in the rest of the world. Often served as a hearty snack, in my mind it’s more of a replacement for the ever popular breakfast egg-and-cheese-on-a-roll, just not quite as easy to eat on the run.

I mostly followed the King Arthur recipe (which you should definitely look at, as it has some nice animated gifs showing how to shape the dough), with a few tweaks from “Jerusalem: A Cookbook” by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, and drawing upon my own expertise [ha] and vast experience [of attempting this for the first time].

The original Georgian version uses obscure regional cheeses that you likely won’t be able to easily find, there are a number of possible substitutions but the mixture of mozzarella, feta, and ricotta seems to be the most popular. However, since it’s also likely milder than what was intended, it can stand a bit of hotting up to avoid being too bland.

I think it’s best to make a purpose-driven dough for this with butter and milk and/or yogurt, but lots of recipes (including the NY Times version) just use pizza dough.

Ingredients (Makes 4)

  • 3 TB butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup milk, slightly warm
  • 1/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 6 grams (2 tsp) instant yeast
  • 330 grams bread flour (preferably King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour but all-purpose flour works too)
  • 1/2 TB sugar (or 1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder)
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ground mahlab [see note]
  • 9 grams (1.5 tsp) salt
  • Filling:
  • 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup ricotta
  • 8 oz package of shredded mozzarella (or 2 cups grated)
  • 1-2 TB grated parmesan
  • 1 TB za’atar
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • 1/8 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt (optional, taste first)
  • grated zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 4 whole eggs, cold
  • 4 pats of cold butter, 1 tsp each
  • Olive oil, for drizzling
  • Flaky sea salt, for serving

Directions

  1. Mix the butter, milk, yogurt together, the mixture should be slightly warm (but make sure it isn’t too hot for the yeast) and stir in the yeast to dissolve. You should do this directly in the bowl of the stand mixer.
  2. Add the dry ingredients except for the salt, mix on low speed for a minute or two with the dough hook to incorporate, and allow to rest while it autolyzes for 20 minutes.
  3. Knead on medium for about 8 minutes, until you have a nice silky dough. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides a few times to make sure it all kneads evenly. Add 1-2 TB of additional flour if the dough is still too sticky to easily handle.
  4. Transfer to lightly greased covered rising container of choice, and let rise for 1-1.5 hrs, ideally doubling in size. Or put in the fridge to rise slowly overnight.
  5. Filling: In a large bowl, mix the cheeses and the spices. Taste and add salt if needed, adjust spices. Once satisfied, add half of the beaten egg, reserving the other half for an egg wash.
  6. Once the dough has risen, divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball, and bench rest for 10 minutes, covered.
  7. Arrange two shelves in the oven near the center. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  8. Using a rolling pin, stretch out each piece into a roughly 10″ x 6″ oval. Transfer to a baking pan lined with silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. (you will probably need 2 pans to avoid crowding)
  9. Cover each dough oval with 1/4 of the filling, leaving a 1″ border on all sides.
  10. Pull up the sides and twist the ends together to make a boat-shaped vessel that will [hopefully] contain the filling as it melts. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
  11. Add 1/2 tsp water to the reserved beaten egg, and brush it over the exposed tops of the dough.
  12. Put the pans in the oven and lower the temperature to 400F. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven.
  13. With the back of a large spoon, make an indentation into the middle of the filling. Break a cold egg into the depression, and top with a pat of butter. If there is any egg wash leftover, feel free to apply a second coat.
  14. Return pans to the oven and bake for about an additional 10 minutes, until the egg is cooked but still runny and the dough is golden brown. Check after 8 minutes, and rotate pans if cooking unevenly, adding more time if necessary.
  15. Once done, remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool. Set the rack over the pan to catch any drips, and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of finishing salt and za’atar. Allow to set for 5 minutes, then eat warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  • The mahlab is optional, if you don’t know what it is don’t even worry about it. But if you have some, might as well use it.
  • I messed up the rise times a bit, so didn’t exactly follow what I wrote above. It still came out ok, but the dough didn’t hold its boat shape and was a little doughy under the filling. The additional rest periods also help the dough relax, making it easier to roll out and work with.
  • When working with the dough, do it one at a time and keep the other 3 pieces covered to prevent them from drying out.
  • I had intended to make this with bread flour, then forgot and used all-purpose instead. As a result, I let it knead for a couple extra minutes to help develop the gluten. The dough was a little sticky, but I didn’t want to add any extra flour.
  • I struggled with finding the right oven temperature. In the 3 recipes I looked at, the temperature ranged from 375F-450F. Although I don’t normally bake bread with convection, this seemed like a good time to do so, because I was worried about cooking all 4 pieces evenly when they were on two different pans. As a result, they cooked too quickly in the first 15 minutes, so I lowered the temperature a bit and then it took forever for the eggs to set. Opening the door a few times to check on them and fuss with the pan locations didn’t help either. Next time I won’t bother with the convection, just rotate the pans after 8 minutes. Thankfully, they still came out ok, crust evenly browned and dough not too underbaked with slightly runny eggs.
Filled boats
Ready for round 2
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by Aardvark on October 13, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Aardvark on October 13, 2022

https://aardvark007.wordpress.com/2022/10/13/adjcharuli-khachapuri-georgian-cheese-bread-boats/

Orange, Date & Baby Greens Salad

Normally I wouldn’t bother writing up a standard green salad, but this one was a bit unique for me, and I definitely will make it again.
It’s a great salad for winter when you’d rather it was summer and you were in a nice warm place somewhere in the Mediterranean. These days we can get an assortment of nice pre-washed packaged baby greens year round, and citrus is best in winter, so it doesn’t matter that the typical salad ingredients like tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers are overpriced and tasteless.

Ingredients

  • 5 oz package of baby greens (mesclun, “spring greens”, baby spinach, baby arugula, baby kale, etc.)
  • 2 small or 1 large orange
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 fresh hot chili pepper (optional)
  • Handful of dates (6 large or 10 small)
  • 2 TB red wine vinegar
  • 2 TB lemon juice (1 small lemon)
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper (or Piment d’Espelette)
  • 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 tsp orange blossom water
  • 2 TB Olive oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/4 tsp sugar (optional, if needed)
  • 1/2 tsp pomegranate molasses (optional, if needed)
  • Handful (about 12) shelled pistachios (preferably roasted and unsalted)
  • Sprig of fresh mint

Directions

  1. Peel the onion, cut in half, and slice into thin rings. Put in a small bowl and lightly salt.
  2. Coarsely chop the dates and add to the bowl with the onions.
  3. If using, thinly slice the fresh chili and add to the onions and dates.
  4. Cover the onions and dates with the vinegar, stir to coat, and chill in fridge for 20 minutes while prepping the rest of the salad. Then drain off and discard any excess vinegar.
  5. Meanwhile, make the dressing: combine the lemon juice with the orange blossom water and spices, whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the balance between floral, sweet, sour, salty.
  6. Peel the oranges and slice or cut into small chunks, removing seeds and any white pith. Or be fancy and cut out the supremes like a chef: https://mollybaz.com/techniques/citrus-segments/
  7. Add the oranges to the greens in a large salad bowl, along with the nuts and the dressing, and toss to coat (you might not need all of the dressing, so hold back a bit to avoid drowning the delicate leaves).
  8. Finely chop or julienne the mint leaves at the very last minute before serving and sprinkle over the salad, toss very lightly to mix in.

Notes

  1. The quantities are approximate and need to be adjusted based on the sizes and potency of the ingredients, which can vary drastically. I ended up with a rather bitter lemon and orange and onion, and not quite enough lemon juice from the single lemon, so added a pinch of sugar, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a bit of pomegranate molasses to compensate. With fresher ingredients I likely wouldn’t have needed any of that, but it came out just fine after a bit of tasting and tinkering.
  2. I didn’t have any Aleppo pepper, so used Korean gochugaru instead. Any mild chili flakes will do just fine.
  3. Inspired by a cross of 2 recipes: “ORANGE, LEAFY GREEN, AND DATE SALAD” from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert and “Baby spinach salad with dates & almonds” from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. One used pine nuts and the other almonds, but I felt that pistachios would be a better fit.
Colourful and so fragrant!
Ridiculously Eclectic Ingredients for reference

I also usually wouldn’t bother to show my messy counter, but I had to laugh when I saw the Korean chili, Whole Foods nuts, supermarket greens, Italian oil, Hispanic cinnamon, Israeli sumac, and Lebanese orange blossom water all lined up.

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by Aardvark on October 11, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Aardvark on October 11, 2022

https://aardvark007.wordpress.com/2022/10/11/orange-date-baby-greens-salad/

Chorba (Turkey-Bulgur-Lentil Soup)

Across the Middle East, there are at least 100 versions of this soup, and like chili or BBQ sauce, hundreds of variations of each. As far as I can ascertain, the main gist is to have some sort of meat (subject to affordability/availability), some sort of grain, some sort of vegetable, some spices, and optionally a legume or two, in a simmered broth.

This rendition borrows heavily from both Persian and Tunisian influences, and is hence completely inauthentic to everyone. The meat is ground turkey (because that’s what I had in the fridge), but small chunks of lamb or beef would be preferable. I used my standard “soup vegetables” of carrot, onion, celery, burgul (bulgur) for the grain, and lentils. It came out pretty good, I see a few more potfulls in my future this winter, although it’s unlikely that they will exactly replicate this one.

Although the list of ingredients seems long, this is very much a quick “one-pot meal”, with no advanced prep or fussy mis en place required. Just chuck the ingredients into the pot as they are ready.

Ingredients

  • 2 TB ghee or oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ dice
  • 1 carrot, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ dice
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped into 1/2″ dice
  • 1 Serrano chili, seeded and chopped fine
  • About 8 oz ground turkey (I didn’t measure)
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 dried Persian limes or 1 dried lemon
  • 1/2 cup medium or coarse bulgur
  • 1/2 cup lentils
  • 1 quart box of beef broth
  • 1 liter water
  • 1 TB Yemenite hawaiij for soup [Pereg]
  • 2 tsp baharat (or other warm spice blend)
  • 1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
  • 1 tsp hot paprika
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri pepper (or Aleppo)
  • 1 tsp roasted chili powder
  • 2 TB Pomegranate molasses
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • Yogurt (optional)
  • Za’atar (optional)
  • Chopped herbs (e.g. mint, parsley, cilantro) [optional]
  • Lemon wedges (optional)

Directions

  1. Melt the ghee in a Dutch oven or soup pot.
  2. Peel and dice the vegetables and sauté in the oil for a couple of minutes over medium high heat until onions start to turn translucent.
  3. Add the meat and stir to coat with oil, brown lightly.
  4. Add the garlic and other whole spices, along with the burgul and lentils. Stir well to incorporate.
  5. Add the water and broth, stir to deglaze any stuck bits, stir in the dried spices. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and cover.
  6. Cook for about 20 minutes, until grains and legumes are soft. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add a couple of tablespoons of pomegranate molasses (the astringency and sweetness vary by brand), and the chickpeas.
  7. Simmer for another 5 minutes to soften the chickpeas a bit and allow the flavours to blend.
  8. Ladle into soup bowls, and optionally garnish with one/all/none/some of the following: a dollop of yogurt, a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of za’atar, one or more chopped herbs. Serve with some sort of bread.

Notes

  1. When tasting in step 6, ask yourself WWSNS (What Would Samin Nosrat Say). No, not: “This soup is an insult to my ancestors and the person who made it should be banished from the kitchen forever”, but rather “is there a good balance of flavors, specifically the amount of salt and acidity.” The former depends on the broth and spice mixes used. The latter comes primarily from the pomegranate molasses, which may need to be supplement with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice, or even some tamarind paste if you’re feeling frisky.
  2. Although I listed four (4) different types of paprika/chili powder, that is of course excessive and unnecessary. I find that paprika can taste bitter in large quantities, so didn’t want to overdo it. But the broth wasn’t as assertive as I wanted, so rather than double up I reached for the next jar on the shelf to hopefully get some more depth of flavour without being overwhelming. It worked, and gave the soup the lovely red colour I was looking for, without any tomatoes (which wouldn’t be bad, just not what I was looking for).
  3. Instead of (or in addition to) the fresh green chili, a spoonful of harissa would work great in this. But I had one and not the other, so that’s what I used.
  4. Like many soups/stews, this was even better the next day, the extra liquid had been absorbed and the flavours more evenly distributed throughout.
Garnished with yogurt, za’atar, and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses
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by Aardvark on October 11, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Aardvark on October 11, 2022

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Roasted Cauliflower Omelette

Using leftovers from the night before for brunch the next day is standard practise, and sometimes it works out so well that it’s almost worth creating the original dish just to have leftovers to play with.

In this case, I chopped up the remaining roasted cauliflower from the previous post (see recipe here), heated it in the microwave with a tablespoon or two of the leftover gravy, and crisped up a couple of slices of salami along with a thinly sliced Serrano chili and a few chunks of feta. Mixed all that together, and used as the filling for an amazing omelette, seasoned with a sprinkle of baharat and black pepper and topped with a nice spoonful of toum. What a great combination of flavours and textures!

Midway through cooking
Ready to eat!
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by Aardvark on October 11, 2022  •  Permalink
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Baharat Roasted Cauliflower with Toum

I’ve never been a huge fan of cauliflower, probably because we ate it steamed plain growing up, which is not an appropriate thing to inflict on children’s taste buds. I’ve experimented with a few ways to make it palatable, and most didn’t seem worth the effort, or else ended up covered up with so many unhealthful ingredients that it negated the whole point. I’ve ended up with two winners: pureeing into a soup where it essentially disappears, or roasting it, as done here.
 

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • Olive oil
  • Baharat
  • Salt and pepper
  • Salami or pancetta (optional)
  • Beef jus or gravy (optional)
  • Toum (see previous recipe)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F (400F with convection).
  2. Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, rinse well, cut the florets into even sized pieces, and slice the stem into halves or thirds, depending on how thick it is. Dry the pieces on a paper towel, and sprinkle with kosher salt.
  3. Transfer to a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with baharat and a few twists of pepper, toss well to coat evenly.
  4. Spread out the cauliflower on a sheet tray (or a cookie sheet), put in the oven, and roast for 15-20 minutes. The edges should be starting to crisp up at this point. Remove from oven, carefully turn all the pieces over with long tongs, and return to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes, until cooked through and well browned. The exact cooking time will depend on the size of the pieces, so if it isn’t crispy yet, stir to avoid singing and return to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes, checking periodically to make sure it isn’t burning. Small pieces may need to be removed sooner than the large ones.
  5. If using, during the last 10 minutes, cut a few slices of salami into slivers and scatter over the cauliflower. Diced pancetta can also be used, but may take a few more minutes to cook. Omit for vegetarian version.
  6. Meanwhile, if desired prepare a quick beef gravy.  While optional, and obviously to be avoided if making a vegetarian meal, it adds some depth and enough “meatiness” to transform a side dish to a main course.
    I started with a basic roux (1-2 TB each butter and flour), cooked for a couple of minutes, then slowly added about a cup of low sodium beef broth while stirring to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer to reduce it. Alternately, thicken with cornstarch for a silkier sauce. Our use whatever leftover gravy or jus, incorporating any available pan drippings  A proper chef would start with veal demi-glace for a more refined and sophisticated sauce.
  7. To plate, ladle a bit of gravy into the center of a shallow bowl (or deep plate). Top with a pile of cauliflower, topped with shards of crispy salami. Practice your quenelling technique to carefully float a dollop of toum on top of the cauliflower, or to be extra fancy, pipe into small dots or other design. Or just put in a small side dish and spoon on as desired.
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by Aardvark on October 11, 2022  •  Permalink
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Toum (Garlic Spread)

Toum is wondrous stuff for people who like garlic. The people who look at a recipe that calls for 2 cloves and automatically doubles it to 4, then tosses in an extra one for good measure. It is garlic at its most primal and purest, short of just biting into a whole clove like a troglodyte. The Greeks have skordelia, which cuts the potency with bread and/or potatoes, and the French have aioli, which adds eggs to the emulsion. Other cultures have more elaborate garlic based sauces with wonderful additional flavours, but none can compete with toum for conveying the powerful essence of garlic.

Obviously since garlic is the star here, it is important to start with good, fresh garlic. Look for the domestic stuff, not the imported Chinese ones (which are perfectly fine for most things). You can tell the difference because the roots are completely removed from the imports, while the local ones usually have a bit still attacked. The pre-wrapped 5-packs are usually imported, and the loose ones more often domestic. Either way, avoid the pre-peeled containers, despite how enticing they may look, those are fine for cooking but will be too oxidized for this application.

Ingredients

  • 2 whole heads garlic, peeled and trimmed
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • 1-2 TB ice water

Directions

  1. Add the whole garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor with the metal blade. Pulse until chopped finely.
  2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, sprinkle on the salt and add a squeeze of lemon juice, and continue to process until the garlic is a smooth paste, scraping down the sides a few times as necessary.
  3. Add the oil very slowly in a thin stream while the machine is running. Stop after 1/4 cup and scrape down the bowl to evenly incorporate. Turn the machine back on, slowly add half of the lemon juice, then proceed with another half cup of the oil.
  4. Repeat the process of scraping, add the rest of the juice, the rest of the oil, and check the consistency. It should be silky smooth, pure white, and light and fluffy. If too thick (quite likely), add a bit of water, 1 TB at a time.
  5. Scrape the toum into a container with a cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

Notes:

  1. It helps if all of the ingredients are cold
  2. The NY Times has a version for a larger batch, with slightly different proportions: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021075-toum-garlic-whip
  3. Sohla El-Wayllay describes the process in detail and has a great video so you can see what to do: https://www.seriouseats.com/traditional-toum
  4. Sohla recommends removing the germ from each clove of garlic, which I agree would likely be a good idea, especially if the garlic is more mature, but I don’t have the patience
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by Aardvark on October 11, 2022  •  Permalink
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