Cooking at Wilch Hall #2: Indian Green Beans with Harry

You can only imagine how happy I was when Harry said that he wanted some spices to bring back to school, and some quick cooking lessons so that he would know what to do when he settled in at Wilch Hall. In some families, male bonding consists in going out to the wilds together and firing guns at birds and mammals.  In others, it is going to ball games.  For us, it is eating lunch at an Indian restaurant and shopping for spices together at Foods of India and Kalustyan's my two favorite stores in Curry Hill in Manhattan.  Then, that evening, under my guidance, Harry made chicken shawarma (no recipe necessary:  just dredge chicken cutlets in shawarma spice mix and saute in a little oil until done), cabbage salad with zaatar , a simple tahini sauce, and these not so simple green beans.  The green beans were an instantiation of the general method for cooking vegetables, Indian-style, which was my first installment on cooking in Wilch Hall.  This recipe is a concrete illustration of how it can be done.  No excess verbiage here (at least not too much),  no choices and options, just the facts:

Harry's Indian Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds fresh green beans, washed
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• salt
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup water
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander (wash it well please, it can be sandy)
• sprinkling (about 1/4 teaspoon) of garam masala, if available;  if not use a little black pepper

Method

1. Trim the green beans: you can either snap off the stem ends individually, which involves less waste, or stack them in piles of 10 or so beans and cut off each end of the stack.  This goes more quickly, but involves more waste.  Cut the beans in half.
2. Heat the oil on high in a large skillet for about 30 seconds, and add the whole cumin seeds.  
3. Cook the cumin seeds on high  until they start to change color, but be careful not to  burn.  Add the turmeric and stir in.
4. Immediately add the onions, salt lightly, and cook for about 5 minutes on high until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and cook another few minutes until the aroma changes.
5. Turn the heat down to medium low and add the ground coriander and cumin.  Cook for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally until the spices lose their raw aroma.  
6. Add the green beans, turn heat back up to high, sprinkle with a little more salt, and stir and fry for 3-5 minutes until the beans look glossy.
7. Cover the skillet and cook for 5-10 more minutes until done to taste.  (Indian spiced veggies are often overcooked by contemporary American Northeastern and California standards.  They are practically raw by Southern standards.)
8. Uncover, boil off most of the remaining liquid, and then add the final seasonings:  lemon, coriander and garam masala.
9. Enjoy!  Serves about 5 with other dishes, and is good hot, cold or room temperature.

Haloumi salad

This is another recipe that isn't quite a recipe. It doesn't have to be. The quantities that I give are very imprecise.  It will come out good whatever you do.  Haloumi is a Cypriot cheese, usually made from goat or sheep's milk and looks and tastes something like feta, with less funk. Because it is low in acid, it behaves very differently from most cheeses under heat.  Its melting temperature is very high, so that you can fry or grill it and it will hold its shape and brown.  It is very popular in Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East. Now that it is available in lots of supermarkets, even Trader Joe's, there is no excuse not to make it.

It is good fried by itself, added to shakshuka, or on a sandwich with grilled vegetables.  My favorite way toeat it however is in this simple salad.  Tomatoes, basil, haloumi, olive oil.  No vinegar.  The Catalans never add vinegar to tomatoes,  because they think that they already have sufficient acid. They are onto something.

Haloumi Salad

• Dice about 3/4 pound ripe tomatoes.  If you are using cherry tomatoes, halve them. Place on a platter and salt very lightly.
• Wash and chop a large handful of basil. You should have a half cup or so. Scatter it over the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil.
• Slice a block of haloumi, about 1/2 pound, and fry on high heat in a nonstick skillet until browned, about 3 minutes on a side.
• Put the haloumi on top of the tomatoes and basil, grind a little pepper on it, and serve at once.  Your first forkful will be significantly better than your second, so don't leave it around.
• You can add avocado or cucumber if you want, but why mess with perfection?
• Serves four as an appetizer or side salad, 2 for lunch.

Zapped banana

I should probably tweet this rather than blog it, but here goes:

Take one banana and microwave for 30-45 seconds on high, depending on the power of the ovens. (Newer and larger ovens are more powerful, and use less time.)

Peel and eat.

The results are actually rather comforting.  Sort of like a warm banana pudding.  Perfect for a rainy day.

BEFORE

AFTER

Roast chicken with pomegranate and za'atar

This is so easy that it almost does not qualify as a recipe.  I must have eaten or seen this somewhere before, but I am not sure where.  It takes about 10 minutes to prepare, 45 to roast.  The pomegranate seeds at the end are optional, but add a nice texture and a burst of flavor.  You can leave it to sit before you cook it but don't have to.  It is good enough for company or a Shabbat dinner and easy enough for a weeknight.  All you need is a well-stocked pantry:

Roast chicken with pomegranate and za'atar

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, 3.5-4 pounds, cut into 4-8 serving pieces
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 2 tablespoons za'atar (I used Galil brand)
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• 1-2 teaspoons Turkish red pepper (Aleppo, Maras or Kirmiz)
• 1-3 tablespoons olive oil (more will taste better, but I used a scant tablespoon)
• 1 large onion, quartered and sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds

Method

1. Crush the garlic with the salt to form a paste.
2. Mix in the next 4 ingredients.
3. Drizzle in the oil to form a more or less uniform paste.
4. Spread lightly all over the chicken pieces.
5. Put the onion in a baking pan large enough to hold the chicken with a little room around it.  (It the  chicken is packed to close it will take longer to cook, may not brown well, and will produce too much juice.
6. You may bake the chicken immediately, or leave it up to two hours outside of the fridge or overnight inside.  
7. Roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour until done to your taste.  (The precise time will depend on many variables, including the temperature of the chicken, the size of the pieces, the real as opposed to the presumed temperature of your oven, and the size of the pan.)
8. After removing from the oven, scatter pomegranate seeds over the top.
9. Serves 4 along with rice or bulgur (see below) for the onions and juice from the pan.

Bulgur:  Since bulgur is precooked and dried wheat, it cooks incredibly quickly.  There are many more elaborate recipes for bulgur pilaf, and many are good, but you don't need to bother since it really doesn't need cooking, just soaking and heating.  It is very healthy and easy and I am really surprised that people don't make it more often.  To serve 4, put one cup coarse bulgur in a heat proof bowl.  Sprinkle the top with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Pour one cup boiling water over it, cover the dish, and leave it sit for about 20 minutes.  Heat it by covering the dish with foil and putting it in the oven for the last 20 minutes of cooking, or covering it with paper towel and zapping in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Tuna salad with tahini

Slate, the online magazine, recently published an article called Mayo-phobia: Why Do Some People Hate Mayonnaise So Much?  Even more compelling was the tagline on their home page:  "Why do Jews have a problem with mayonnaise?  It begins with Milton Berle."  As this article makes clear, aversion to mayonnaise is not confined to Jews.  About 10 years ago, an article in The New Yorker discussing Pret-a-Manger  (subscriber access only) thought it was an American phenomenon, and noted that sandwiches sold in the chains British stores were far more mayo-heavy than what would sell in the US.

Be that as it may, my son, Harry, hates mayonnaise and avoids most foods that contain it.  This meant that he would not eat tuna salad or sandwiches.  While this is not necessarily a great tragedy, given the state of the fisheries and levels of mercury in tuna it is still a convenient quick lunch on occasion.  Fortunately, he discovered an acceptable way to eat tuna while spending much of the winter of 2010-2011 hiking in the Negev -- tahini.  Tahini is relatively indestructible, so it is better and safer to hike with container of tahini than an open jar of mayonnaise.  With canned tuna, some water and lemon, you have a pretty good sandwich filling.  I have adapted it a bit more, and we have it all the time now:

Tuna salad with tahini

Ingredients

• 1 generous tablespoon tahini paste
• 1/2 small lemon
• water, about 1/4 cup
• 2 cans tuna, preferably packed in olive oil and drained well (or even vegetable oil;  oil packed tuna is less fishy and dry than water packed)
• optional additions: 1-2 hard boiled eggs, chopped; 1 rib celery,  chopped fine; 1/4 green pepper, chopped fine; chopped scallion or 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion; tablespoon capers well rinsed; 1/2 preserved lemon peel, rinsed well and chopped
• salt and pepper (white, red or black) to taste 

Method

1. To make the tahini dressing, put the tahini in a one quart or larger bowl; squeeze the lemon through a sieve or your fingers into the tahini.  Stir together with a fork, and you will notice that the tahini will stiffen.
2. Begin to dribble in the water very slowly, stirring all the while.  The tahini will continue to stiffen, and will then loosen and turn into a creamy texture.  You will use about 1/4 cup of water, though the quantity varies with the tahini and the solid/oil ratio in what you scooped out.  The texture should be like a thick sauce.  (If you have ever had prepared tahini, you will know what to expect.)  The process will probably take less than a minute.
3. Mix in the tuna, add whatever optional ingredients you want, bearing in mind that you will need less salt if you use things like capers. We generally make it with eggs, celery, red onion and green pepper.  I also like it with parsley.  The capers and preserved lemon make for a more special salad.
4. Serves about 4 -- use as you would any standard tuna salad, but you will probably enjoy this a lot more.

Microwave ollebrod

A while ago I posted a longer, more authentic version of Danish beer and bread porridge. However, there may be times when you want to throw together some ollebrod on short notice, like when some people are dropping by and you are about to pull the leftover ollebrod out of your fridge and you can't find it because your son is home from college and he finished it at 2 a.m.  (The real reason for college vacations is to help parents keep their refrigerators clean.)   You may also feel like ollebrod for breakfast.

In desperation, I tried to make it in the microwave, and it was not bad at all.  You can cut a lot of corners and pull it off in around 15 minutes.  The results are a bit drier but still good.  The important thing is to taste it to make sure that the alcohol has cooked off.  In Denmark, they serve this to toddlers for breakfast.  You don't have to, but the raw alcohol flavor is definitely out of place.

Quick Ollebrod/Beer Bread

Ingredients

• 3 slices of  brown bread  (see below)
• 1 cup dark beer 
• 1 inch piece orange rind, with no pith
• spices ( your choice of a combination of small piece of  cinnamon stick, a cardamom pod, and some allspice berries or cloves -- I just used 1/2 in piece of  cinnamon and cardamom)
• 1-2 tablespoons dried fruit (cherries, raisins or dates )
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar  
• pinch salt

Method

1. Tear up the bread, put it in a deep one quart microwave-safe dish and in soak it in hot water while you assemble the other ingredients. Drain it.
2. Add the other ingredients and stir.
3. Cover with a paper towel and microwave for 3 minutes.  Stir to break up the bread, cover and microwave for another 3 minutes.  
4. Taste the porridge.  Make sure the alcohol is cooked off and that it is sweet enough. If not add a bit more sugar.  Cook 2 minutes more if necessary, covered with paper towel. (The texture should be between a porridge and a pudding.)
5. Serve with ice cream (vanilla or salted caramel), coconut sorbet, cream or milk, depending on occasion and inclination.
6. Serves 2-4 depending on age and appetite.

The bread:  Almost any brown, dark or whole grain  bread can be used in this, and it is a great way to use up stale bread and leftover toast (and leftover beer for that matter).  Remember that caraway rye will make the results taste like caraway, so only use a spiced bread if you want the results to have that flavor.  A coriander-flavored Russian black bread would be worth trying. I generally use a combination of black pumpernickel and whole grain seedless rye, but in the pictured dish I used only whole grain rye.

Comfort food: a quick, inauthentic asopao de pollo

Asopao is a Puerto Rican dish of soupy rice that is, eaten all over the  Spanish Caribbean.  It is sometimes translated as gumbo, but this is misleading, since okra and roux are the defining features of gumbo and this has neither.  Whatever it is, it is straightforward and comforting on a chilly night and it reminds me of Maurice Sendak's early book, Chicken Soup with Rice, which was one of our kids' favorites.

It is also a super-quick dinner.  While I generally go for hyper-authenticity rather than speed, sometimes one has to rise to the occasion and use what is on hand.  So, rather than achiote oil, which I don't have and don't care for, I used a pinch of turmeric which may or may not have a myriad of health benefits, but which we have in the house for Indian and Middle Eastern cooking.  Also,  though traditionally made with a whole chicken, skinless, boneless chicken thighs are easier and less fatty than whole chicken and juicier and tastier than breasts.   Finally, I made it with pareve soup powder, which is probably not an authentic Puerto Rican ingredient.

This takes about 45 minutes from beginning to end -- how I define quick and easy, if not everyone does.

Asopao de pollo -- Soupy chicken rice 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, trimmed and finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• large pinch turmeric
• 1/4 cup cilantro or parsley, chopped
• 1 pound raw skinless, boneless chicken thighs, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 14 ounce can of chopped or diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted (with green chile or garlic is even better)
• 1 green pepper, cored, seeded and cut into half inch dice
• 1 red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into half inch dice
• Salt and pepper to taste.  If using canned broth or soup powder, hold off on the salt until the end.
• 6 cups chicken broth (ideally homemade, but in the real world, boxed, canned or even soup powder is acceptable, and tonight I used a large spoon of Osem's pareve chicken soup powder with boiling water)
• 1/2 cup short grain rice, like Spanish rice, Arborio or Canaroli
• 1/2 cup green peas (presumably frozen -- if you have wonderful fresh peas, use them in something else)
• 1-2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 10-20 pimento stuffed green olives, rinsed and sliced
• 4 scallions, while and some of the green, sliced

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a 4-quart pot on medium heat.
2. Add onions, carrot and celery to the pot and stir until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add garlic, cook about a minute, until soft but not borwned.
4. Add turmeric, stir a few times, add half of the chopped herb, and then the chicken.  
5. Cook on medium-high until the chicken looses its raw color.
6. Add the tomato, bring to the simmer, add the chopped peppers, turn heat down, and cook on low for 10 minutes.
7. Add the broth, bring to the boil, and turn heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes.  
8. Add the rice and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Add the peas, capers, and olives and simmer 5 minute more.  Taste the rice to make sure that it is cooked through, and if not, simmer for a few minutes more.
10. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and set aside to settle and cool for 5 minutes before serving.
11. Garnish with scallions and remaining herb.
12. Serves 4 for dinner with a salad.

Red beans with sour plum chutney -- Lobio Tkemali

Many (okay, three) devoted readers of this blog have noted that I have not posted in the past several months.  This is because our kitchen is being renovated.  I won't go into this here because it has been much of my life for the past three months and blogging is an escape from it all.  Needless to say, our home cooking has been limited and rather uninteresting.  However, I have made a few things which can be done without an stove, oven or much prep work, so I thought I would share them here.  One of my favorite is a Georgian red bean salad with a dressing of sour plum sauce called Lobio tkemali.  Although better with home-cooked beans, it can be made with canned beans as well.  The sauce can be made in a microwave. If you have the sauce on hand, it takes a few minutes to pull it all together.

Lobio tkemali

Ingredients

• 1 large can small red beans (red kidney beans are an acceptable substitute, home-cooked beans a significant improvement
• 1 cup tkemali sauce (about 1/2 of the recipe below)
• 1 small red onion
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped coriander
• salt to taste

Method

1. Rinse the beans well to remove all of the gross liquid in the can. Drain well and put into a serving bowl.
2. Mix in the tkemali sauce.
3. Peel the onion and cut a few thin slices from the center for garnish.  Chop the rest fine.
4. Mix the chopped onion and 1/4 cup of the coriander.
5. Spread the remaining coriander on top of the beans, and garnish with onion rings.
6. Serves 6 as a side dish or appetizer.

I give a double recipe for the plum sauce because it is almost as easy to make in a double as it is in a single recipe and it is very versatile.  It goes well with the George Foreman grilled boneless chicken breast or thigh with spice rubs that have been a mainstay of our kitchen-less diet as well as with shashlik and other kebabs properly cooked over charcoal.   It is the classic accompaniment to kachapuri, the Georgian cheese-stuffed bread.

Tkemali is the name of a Georgian sour plum and a sauce from which it is made.  The great Darra Goldstein recommends using slightly underripe Santa Rosa plums.  I don't know if I have ever even seen this variety, so I make the sauce with Italian prune plums, which are nice and tart and in season in September and October.  If you can 't find these plums, you can make it with empress or any other black plum,  underripe preferred.  Taste the sauce toward the end of cooking, and if it is sweet rather than sour, add some balsamic vinegar or tamarind paste,  bit at a time, until it is nice and sour.  The seasoning is really to taste, but I find that the proportions below make a delicious, sour, garlic, slightly spicy sauce.  The time is also approximate, and will depend on such variables at the power of your microwave, shape of the container, etc.

Microwave Tkemali

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (sunflower is more widely used in the former Soviet Union, I use canola
• 15-20 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 2 hot fresh chili peppers, red or green  (a variety like serrano, cayenne or bird chili is fine, keep the seeds in if you want the heat), slice 
• 2 pounds fresh prune plums, quartered lengthwise and pitted
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt, or more to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander

Method

1. Heat oil is a 2 quart or larger microwave-safe casserole on high for two minutes.
2. Add garlic and chili, stir, and zap two minutes more.
3. Add plums and salt, stir, cover with a piece of paper towel, and zap for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in half the coriander, and cook for 5 minutes more.
5. Remove from oven, and taste for texture and sourness.  If too thin, return to the microwave for a few minutes until the texture of a thick compote.  The plums will lose more than 2/3 of their volume.  If it is not sour enough, add a bit of tamarind or balsamic vinegar until it is.  Return to the overn for a few minutes to blend flavors.
6. When cool, and just before serving, stir in the rest of the coriander. (The sauce will keep longer if you hold back on mixing in raw ingredients until just before serving.)
7. Makes about 2 cups of sauce.

Aunt Rhoda's Famous Chocolate Chip Cake

Trust me on this one.  (I am talking about you Nancy Sinkoff.)  I rarely use convenience foods and I don't know if I have ever baked with a cake mix before I  made this cake.    But this is delicious.  It is not a pareve cake since it contains a pint of sour cream, but it calls for oil rather than melted butter, probably because it is easier.  I was tempted to make it with butter but didn't -- why mess with perfection?

Don't believe me?  Amy brought a selection of leftover desserts from our Hanukah party into work:  great homemade rugelach, teiglach, cookies, pecan bars, and this cake.  This cake is what disappeared, and they all insisted on getting the recipe.

Why famous?  In Daniel Mendelssohn's book, The Lost, he explains that in Jewish America, someone was  famous for something if they achieved renown in a circle of the same 10 or 20 people they usually socialized with.  His grandfather was famous for his stories.  My Aunt Rhoda was famous for this cake.  This  was one of the ubiquitous flavors of my childhood.  There was always some at my aunt's house, she brought it almost everywhere, and it was always available to cap off a day of overeating.  I hadn't eaten this since my aunt died nearly 20 years ago,  until my cousin Barbara (Rhoda's daughter-in-law) brought it to a Hanukah party.  At the insistence of Amy's colleagues, we got the recipe from her, and it tried it out and it worked like a charm.

And this is easy.  When I say a recipe is easy you have to take it with a grain of salt since I have my own standards for these things.  But this is REALLY easy.   You can get it into the oven in about 10 minutes.

Happiness is three or four pieces of chocolate chip cake and a quart of milk.  Don't mess with it,  just enjoy it. 

Aunt Rhoda's Famous Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 pint sour cream
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
• 1 package instant vanilla pudding
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly.
3. Mix in sour cream and oil
4. Mix in the cake mix and the pudding.
5. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
6. Grease a 9X13 inch baking pan lightly with oil, butter or margarine. Add half the cake batter.  Sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar and half the chips.  Spread the remaining cake batter over this and top with the remaining cinnamon sugar and chips.  
7. Bake for 45 minutes.
8. Remove and cool before eating.  Cut into about 20 pieces. Amy likes if just after it cools but when the chocolate is still soft.  I prefer it the next day when the chocolate sets a bit.  There will be more than enough that you can enjoy it both ways.  
9. This cake is so moist that it lasts a long time, and also freezes well.  

The chips:  The recipe calls for 12 ounces, but most packages nowadays have either 10.5 or 11 ounces. One of these packages is fine, and throw in a few extras if you have.  The better the chips the better the cake.

Baked Plums: my easiest recipe

I have come to realize over the years that I have very different standards than most people for what constitutes a "fast and easy" recipe.   Though this takes about an hour to bake, no one will dispute that it is EASY.

We first had it at Balkanika, a Macedonian restaurant on Ninth Avenue.  They served it with whipped cream, which we didn't particularly care for.  The ideal accompaniment would probably be kaymak, a Balkan clotted cream, if you can find it.  But ice cream or sorbet is easily available and quite good.  It is a great alternative to baked apples.  The flesh is always tender and the cooked plums have their own tart/sweet complexity that requires little additional seasoning.  You just have to remember that there is a small and very hard pit in the center.  This has become our Friday dinner dessert of preference when we don't have guests, because it is low in both effort and calories. 

Baked Plums

Ingredients

• 2 medium-large black plums per person
• Vegetable oil or spray
• Honey and cinnamon (optional)
• Vanilla ice cream or coconut sorbet (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Oil  or spray a baking dish that will fit all of the plums snugly.
3. If you want, drizzle lightly with honey and dust with a little cinnamon.
4. Bake 45 minutes to one hour, depending on size of the plum.  Ideally, they should not burst.  They can stay warm in a turned off or low oven for a long time.  (If holding in a warm oven, cut down on the baking time.)
5. Serve warm, ideally with ice cream or sorbet.

Notes:  I don't prick the plums before baking.  This will prevent them from bursting (which usually doesn't happen in any case) but it also causes the juices to run out.  There isn't much more to say, this is really simple.

Lentils with green beans (or green beans with lentils) : a fast and easy vegetarian dinner

I generally avoid partially prepared foods for reasons of cost and taste, but sometimes there is no time for anything and compromises are necessary.  You can get washed and trimmed vegetables and precooked lentils, beets and potatoes.  It beats ordering in or going out, in terms of health, taste, cost and even time.  I threw this dish together with them in less than 30 minutes, a simply spiced stew of green beans and lentils.  I seasoned it with cumin and Kirmizi pepper, and topped it with garlic flavored yogurt.  It is a very flexible dish, so I will give some variations at the end.  You could fancy up the yogurt topping with a mint and pepper butter, or skip it entirely and add some pomegranate molasses to the sauce and top the stew with feta.  And on, and on, and on.  I tend to swing Middle Eastern with ingredients like this, but they are amenable to a host of flavors.

Lentil and green bean stew:

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon flavorful red pepper (Aleppo, Kirmizi or Urfa)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 pound green beans, washed, trimmed and halved (I used haricots verts from Trader Joe's)
• 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen fire roasted)
• 2 cups cooked French lentils (you can either boil a cup for 20-30 minutes, or do as I did and use the precooked kind from Trader Joe's or Fairway, which come in vacuum-sealed 500 gram packages)
• 1/2 cup garlic flavored yogurt (directions below)

Method

1. Spray a nonstick skillet and heat olive oil on medium until hot.
2. Add olive oil, let heat for about 30 seconds, and add cumin seeds.  Cook until aromatics are a few shades darker, but do not burn.
3. Add onions, turn heat to high and cook for about 5 minutes until soft.
4. Add red pepper, salt and black pepper and stir for about a minute until aromatic.
5. Add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5-10 minutes until well cooked -- there are few adequate words in the English language to describe and undercooked canned tomato.
7. Add the lentils and any liquid in the package and cook to heat through, about another 5 minutes. If it is dry, add a little water to keep it from scorching.
8. Serve w on rice or bulgur (my favorite quick method is below), or with pita. Garlic-flavored yogurt goes well with this.   It is good reheated or cold the next day.
9. Serves 4 generously as a main dish.

Quick bulgur: Coarse bulgur goes best here and nothing could be easier.  Bulgur may be a 10,000 year-old convenience food.  It is already cooked and just needs to be rehydrated and warmed.  Forget most of the fancy pilaf recipes.  Take one part of bulgur and put it in a microwave-safe serving dish.  Sprinkle salt lightly over the top, and pour on 1 part boiling water.  Stir to mix, cover and leave it sit until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Cover dish with a paper towel and zap in microwave until warm.  For 3-4 servings, I used 1 cup of bulgur and water and zap them for about two and a half minutes.

Garlic yogurt:  On a cutting  board, smash a medium clove of garlic with a broad bladed knife and remove the skin.  Sprinkle with coarse salt, about 1/4 teaspoon.  Mash the salt into the garlic with the side of the blade.  In about 30 seconds or so, it should be reduced to a puree. If not, chop is a bit with the sharp edge, and then go back to mashing.  Scrape the garlic into a small bowl, and then stir in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of yogurt of your choice and fat level.  I really like goat's milk yogurt here.  This is a wonderful topping for all kinds of Middle Eastern dishes and especially good with those in tomato sauce.

Flavored butter or oil:  Heat 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter on medium heat until melted.  Add 1/2 teaspoon each finely ground black pepper and Aleppo, Urfa or Kirmizi pepper.  Let these heat, being careful not to burn, for about a minute.  If you want, and for a rather wild flavor, add 1 teaspoon of dried spearmint or 1/2 teaspoon of dried tarragon, forced through a sieve.  Cook about 30 seconds.  You make pour this directly over the lentil and green bean stew, or pour it over the yogurt, which will then be particularly beautiful.  If you are pouring it over the yogurt, the stew is best served with the yogurt on top rather than on the side.

Other flavors:  You can add a handful of fresh coriander when you add the green beans, and top it with more fresh coriander.  Add some sliced garlic, abut 4 cloves, when the onions are done and a teaspoon of pomegranate molasses with the tomatoes, and then top the stew with about 1 cup  of crumbled feta and heat a few minutes so it starts to melt.  Don't use yogurt in this case.  Omit the cumin seeds and add 1/2 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon when you add the tomatoes.  Experiment with different kinds of pepper. Experiment in general!

Lentil Salad, Southern-Indian style

This incentive for this recipe was to do something with the half package of precooked lentils that we had left over from the pre-Tisha B'Av meal.  The package said they would only last for two days, so we had to act fast.  If you have the ingredients on hand, this is a cinch.  Some of the ingredients are optional, so I also suggest alternatives for a slightly less "authentic" salad, though there is nothing authentic about this in the first place.  In particular, I encourage the substitution of garlic for the hing/asafoetida, which is a sulfurous resin used by Vaishnava Hindus who, for reasons that I have never been able to understand, do not consume onions or garlic.  If you have it on hand and have the taste for it, the hing is great, but otherwise you should be proud to prepare this with garlic.

This recipe is based on poriyals, a group of Southern Indian dishes in which vegetables are stir-fried with mustard seeds and other ingredients. I made this with about 2 cups of leftover cooked lentils, which made a nice-sized side dish for 4 or a vegetarian main dish for 2.  You could easily double the recipe.  If you don't have cooked lentils on hand, boil one cup of dry French green lentils (or smaller black Beluga lentils) in a lot of unsalted water.  It should take about 20-25 minutes, but start tasting them before, since you want them cooked through but firm.  However, the precooked lentils are great and the dish requires no cooking except for the spices at the end. 

Lentil Salad, Southern-Indian style

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked French lentils (see above)
• juice of 1 lime
• salt
• 1/4 cup grated coconut (ideally fresh or defrosted frozen, otherwise dry, reconstituted briefly in hot water or in the microwave)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
• 1-2 tablespoons oil (ideally light sesame oil, otherwise vegetable oil -- see below)
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon urad dal (hulled, split white dal, optional but highly desirable)
• 15-25 fresh curry leaves (optional but highly desirable)
• 1 thin hot green chili, sliced (leave the seeds in for heat)
• 1/8 teaspoon hing or 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (ideally raw, but roasted is ok, optional)

Method

1. Put the lentils in a serving bowl, mix in the lime juice (use a bit more if you want) and season with salt.  Taste, because precooked lentils are already salted.
2. Top with the coriander, and then the coconut.
3. Have all of your other ingredients ready, since it will go very fast.
4. Heat the oil in a small skillet on high heat. (I actually use a jezve, a Turkish coffee pot.) Add the mustard seeds, and when they pop, add the dal and cook until they just begin to color lightly, about 30 seconds to a minute. Don't let them brown since they will cook further.
5.  If using, add the hing and let sizzle a few seconds and then add the curry leaves, chili and garlic (if using), stirring after each addition.   Turn the heat down until the garlic looses its raw aroma, less than one minute.  Stir in the sesame seeds and cook briefly until they being to color, also less than a minute.
6. Pour the oil and spices over the coriander and coconut, and serve.  It can wait up to an hour without going in the refrigerator.  When serving, toss the salad together at the table to mix in the spiced oil.
7. For a slightly less attractive, but tastier dish, add the spiced oil to the lentils and mix well before topping with the coriander and coconut. 
8. Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side or appetizer.

The oil:  The classic Southern Indian cooking oil is sesame oil.  Unlike East Asian oils, it is not roasted.  It is a yellow color with a nutty aroma and it can withstand a bit more heat,.  The best choice is a sesame oil from an Indian grocery, otherwise an unroasted sesame oil which should be available in the health food store or in the health food section of a supermarket.  An interesting choice would be coconut oil which is very typical of the cooking of Kerala, but since it congeals at room temperature, you would have to serve it on warm, freshly cooked lentils and serve it at once rather than letting it sit.  You can also use a regular vegetable oil other than olive oil.

Terong terasi, varkashert : Umamified Indonesian Eggplant

A predominant salt flavoring in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines is some form of fermented shrimp paste.  In contrast to other parts of Southeast Asia, the shrimp paste in these countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia tends to be more heavily fermented and often dried. In Malaysia it is known as belachan, in Indonesia as terasi and in the Philippines as bagoong.  To develop the flavor even further, it is often fried or toasted before being used in a dish.   The smell, to most Westerners, is nothing short of revolting, but it is an essential element of the cuisines and adds an umami richness to the dishes where it is used.  (One day I will write a more extended discussion of fermented fish and seafood products and their role in Southeast Asian cooking.)

You can think of this particular dish as a Southeast Asian version of Imam Bayildi, a Turkish dish that means "The Imam Fainted." The most common version of the Turkish story is that an imam married a woman who was renowned and a good cook, and as a wedding gift they received enough olive oil to last for years.  She made him a dish of eggplant, onions, tomatoes and garlic cooked in olive oil, and he liked it so much that he asked her to make it every night.  She did, but after a week she said she could no longer make it because she had run out of olive oil, so the imam fainted.   In the Southeast Asian variant, the wedding gift is shrimp paste, and the imam faints when this runs out.   I'll take the olive oil. 

This having been said, something good is missing when you leave the shrimp paste out of the dish. This variant is intended for vegetarian, those who want to observe kashrut, who have shellfish allergies, or who may not want to be knocked over by the smell of shrimp paste when they cook it.  I substitute a deep red barley miso for the terasi and it is not bad.  Even better than that.  It is also quite easy, so try it.

Indonesian-style Eggplant with Red Miso Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh, firm eggplants (I use 3-4 medium sized ones;  Japanese-style are also nice but should be prepared differently, see below)
• 6-8 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 hot, fresh red chili peppers
• 1 tablespoon dark red barley miso
• 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 shallots, peeled, halved and sliced
• 1/2 cup water

Method

1. Prepare the eggplants:  If using conventional or medium-sized eggplants, quarter them lengthwise and cut the quarters into one-inch chunks.  Place on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with oil spray, and broil about 5 inches from the heat for 10 minutes.  Make sure not to burn them.  Turn off the broiler, and turn the oven to 350 and back for 10 minutes.  They should be tender, but if not, leave them in the turned off oven and they will soften considerably.  (You could also cook them on a grill.) 
2. If using long, thin Japanese eggplants, slice them into 1/2 inch disks and saute them on medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet, sprayed with oil spray, until tender and browned, about 10-15 minutes.
3. While the eggplants are cooking, using a mortar and pestle pound the garlic with the chilies and a pinch of salt until you have a paste.  Add the miso and pound a bit until almost homogeneous. (If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can use a mini-chopper or make a paste on a cutting board using the side of a broad knife or cleaver.)
4. After the eggplants are tender, heat the oil on medium in a nonstick skillet and add the shallots.  Saute until soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the paste from the mortar and stir about 2 minutes until the aroma changes, indicating that the garlic is no longer raw.
6. Add the eggplant and stir until it is well incorporated.  Add the water and cook on high until most of it evaporates and you have a thick sauce and the eggplant is tender.  If it needs more time, add a bit more water and repeat.
7. Serves 4-6 as a side dish and goes very well with rice.

Their finest hour: Paneer in tomato sauce with red peppers

Thanks in part to the exhibit at the Morgan Library, which I have not yet seen, Winston Churchill and his soaring rhetoric are in the press again.  One of his most stirring phrases is how the British resistance to the Nazi onslaught was "their finest hour." It got me to thinking -- what am I really proud of in life.  At the top of my list is certainly helping to raise two wonderful children, Maya and Harry, who have a loving and mutually nurturing relationship.  Another is the Moroccan dinner I prepared on New Year's Eve to usher in 1990 (a selection of seven salads, b'stilla, a tagine of whole red snapper with peppers and tomatoes, chicken with preserved lemons and olives, and a sweet lamb tagine with carrots and prunes).  I might put this simple dish somewhere on that list as well.

This is only possible because of the relatively recent availability of high-quality paneer (fresh, pressed Indian cheese) in a number of Indian groceries.  (I have even classified this dish as fast an easy. To be honest, many of the dishes that  I  put in this category are not, but this really is.) I go back and forth on whether or not life is too short to make your own preserved lemons.  I currently think that it is really worth it.  But life is definitely too short to make your own paneer and it is the kind of thing that I would only take on every year or so.  The product that I used is Nanak brand which comes in a 14 ounce block and makes it possible to produce dishes like this on very short notice.  (Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism, a religion centered in the Punjab, and this dish has some of the artery-clogging characteristics of Punjabi food in an age of relative affluence, albeit toned down a bit for American sensibilities. There are other brands of paneer on the market, including one that is organic and kosher and available in some neighborhood stores.) The only downside to using store-bought is that you do not get the fresh whey, which is very tasty in preparing rice and other Indian vegetarian dishes. 

I put this dish together in about a half hour a few nights ago. Steve, a college friend of my son Harry was visiting, and they wanted to save money so they ate home a lot. One evening I gave them the choice between pasta, eggs cooked with potato chips, and  Indian vegetarian.  Somewhat to my surprise, they chose the last. I made basmati rice, Begali cabbage with coconut (see the post on Cabbage and marriage ), a raita and came up with this dish as well.  If you live near a source of paneer, try this.  It makes a quick supper and will leave your friends and family very satisfied.

Paneer in tomato sauce with red peppers

Ingredients

• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 medium onion
• 1 tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil (if using ghee, you can go up to 2-3 tablespoons)
• 7 oz paneer (1/2 package of Nanak brand) cut into 1/2 inch cubes 
• 1 red pepper, cored and cut into strips
• 2 teaspoons whole cumin seed
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 15 ounce can crushed or diced tomato (the smoky flavor of fire roasted Muir Glen is great here)
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder, to taste
• Salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon should do it, since paneer has little salt)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (for a real Punjabi delight you can go up to 1/2 cup) 
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala

Method

1. Put the ginger, onion and garlic in a mini chopper or food processor and grind until they are pureed.  Set aside.
2. Heat ghee on medium in a nonstick skillet until hot but not smoking.  Add the diced cheese and cook until brown on several sides.  Remove to a plate.
3. Add more ghee to the skillet if needed, and then add the pepper strips.  Salt lightly and cook on high until soft and brown in bits, but not mushy.  Remove these to the plate with the paneer.
4. Turn heat down to medium, add the cumin seeds, and cook until they turn a few shades darker.  Be very careful not to burn them.
5. Add the turmeric, stir once (you want to cook it slightly but not burn it) and add the past from the processor.  Turn heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, until the aroma changes, about 3 minutes.
6. Add the coriander and cumin and cook, stirring for another minute.
7. Add the tomatoes, and salt and cayenne to taste.  Cook on high heat until it turns into a sauce and the fat begins to separate, about 5-7 minutes. 
8. Turn the heat down and add the heavy cream.  Stir to incorporate and add the water.  It should be the consistency of a medium-thick bechamel sauce.  Cook on low heat to meld the flavors, and taste for salt and cayenne.
9. Return the paneer and peppers to the skillet and warm for a few minutes.
10. Turn into a serving dish, sprinkling with the garam masala, and serve at once.
11. Serves 4-6 depending on the rest of the menu.  Excellent with either basmati rice and Indian breads. 

Note on keeping paneer:  Paneer is perishable, fresh cheese.  Plan to use it withing a few days of when you open the package.  So, either double the recipe, or cook something else.  If you don't feels like an elaborate dish, it is very good pan fried in a little oil and served with a spicy tamarind or cilantro chutney.  It can also be cut into larger cubes of about 1 inch and cooked on the grill.  This is especially good if you slit the cubes and push in a stuffing of chopped green chile, ginger and coriander.

Peanut butter banana quesadilla

Maya and Andrew moved to Austin in November.  The disadvantage of this is that they are really far away.  The advantage is that we get to visit them there.  They live in a great neighborhood near South Lamar, and are walking distance from a great taqueria, a Lebanese baker and grocery store, a good bookstore, a branch of the Alamo drafthouse movie theaters, and the South Lamar location of the Kerbey Lane Cafe.  Being an Austin institution, Kerbey Lane specializes in locally sourced ingredients and excellent breakfasts and the menu has vegan and gluten-free sections.  Being an Austin institution, they serve queso (cheese melted in heavy cream) and you can get it on just about anything.

The first time we went, they offered a breakfast quesadilla made with peanut butter, bananas and cheese.   I made it at 6 this morning for Harry and his Year Course friend Laina before they left to work as volunteers at the Firefly music festival in Delaware.  Harry said that it sounded disgusting until he tasted it.  I hate the term crackalicious, but I have to admit that it is a necessary one.  There are few other ways to describe dishes like this. Here is my take on this dish, which varies somewhat from that served at Kerbey Lane.  It is impossible to give exact quantities, so I haven't.  You can eat it as breakfast, lunch, or almost any time of day:

Peanut butter banana quesadilla:

1. Put two flour tortillas on a cutting board.  It will serve two if you use eight inch tortillas.
2. Spread each with a thin layer of creamy peanut butter.  (For a real addictive treat, you can spread one of them with Speculous Butter, a cookie butter which tastes sort of like liquefied graham crackers and is sold by Trader Joe's.)
3. Top one side with bananas, sliced about 1/4 inch thick.  One large banana is enough for an eight inch tortilla.  You will need more for larger ones.
4. Sprinkle the bananas with about 1/4 cup of a salty hard melting cheese, like Cotija, Asiago or Romano.
5. Drizzle some honey on the other side, and then put the two tortillas together in a sandwich.
6. Spray a nonstick skillet with oil spray if desired, and heat it on medium-high.   If not using spray add some oil or melt some butter in the skillet.
7. Add the quesadilla (which is what the conjoined tortillas have become) and cook for about three minutes.  Flip carefully, fully expecting that some of the filling will ooze out, and cook for about three more minutes.  It should be nicely browned on both sides and the cheese inside should be melted.
8. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Shad charmoulayit

Charmoula is a North African seasoning paste used for fish.  The version that I use most often is by Paula Wolfert and contains garlic, cilantro, parsely, paprika, cumin, olive oil and salt.  Typically, the fish is coated with the charmoula and  is cooked slowly  in a tagine, a kind of casserole, for a long time with vegetables and, if you are lucky, preserved lemons.  It is one of the world's great dishes, but it does take time.

This recipe is my own quick take on fish with charmoula.  I doubt that this is an authentic recipe. I also doubt that the word charmoulayit means anything in any language though it is my attempt at creating a Hebraicized  Arabic adjective.  Rather than cooking it long and slow I have used most of the charmoula seasonings in a very fast saute.  Shad is in season, ever so briefly, so I enjoy it while I can.  It is very rich but otherwise relatively mild, and though my wife claimed not to care for shad,  the spices cut through some of the richness quite nicely and she liked this.  (It is also cheap, only $9.99 per pound at Citarella's.)  I have also used  butter rather than olive oil and added capers and preserved lemon peel.   I left out the garlic since it can burn when cooked quicky on high heat, but you could add a clove or two.  Prep takes about five minutes, cooking another five. What could be bad?

This recipe serves two and you could double or triple it, but some things like shad are too good to share.

Shad charmoulayit

  

Ingredients

• 12 ounces to 1 pound boned filet of shad
• 1/2 teaspoon each sea salt, ground cumin, paprika and Aleppo pepper
• Peel of 1/2 preserved lemon, pulp removed and shredded
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed.
• Small handful chopped fresh coriander, well rinsed and chopped

Method

1. Cut the filet  in half crosswise to make it easier to turn.  Pick out any bones that remain if you can.  (If you can't, don't worry about it, they will come out much more easily onces the fish is cooked.)
2. Rub both sides of the fish with the salt and spice mixture and set aside while you do the rest of the prep. 
3. Spray a medium nonstick skillet with vegetable oil spray if you want, and the heat it on medium.  Add the butter and let it melt.  (If you want garlic, I would add two crushed cloved here and let them cook in the butter on low heat for a minute or two to season it, then remove.)
4. Heat the skillet on high, and add the preserved lemon peel.  Cook for about a minute and add the fish, flesh side down.  Cook for two minutes.
5. Flip the fish and add the capers and cilantro.  Cook for three minutes skin side down.
6. If you don't trust me that the fish is done, test it with a fork or knife.  Transfer to plates with the juices and serve.  This goes very nicely with roasted fingerling potatoes, a crusty baguette, or toasted Turkish pide bread. A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or a Sancerre are good wines to serve with this.

Salmon with miso and black sesame seeds

This is a riff on my salmon with wasabi peas , in which the fish is slathered with a combination of white miso, ginger juice and mayonnaise, which is in turn topped with ground wasabi peas.  This is the dish that Maya's friends always request when they come to dinner.    Here, dark barley miso gives the fish a much richer flavor, and the black sesame adds crunch, flavor and a dramatic appearance.  I would say, a bit reluctantly, that I prefer this to the old version.  It is easy to double or halve, but 2 pounds of fish will serve 4 very generously, with there likely being some left over for lunch:
Salmon with miso and black sesame seeds:

Ingredients

• 2 pounds salmon fillet
• Salt
• 1 generous tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 scant tablespoon dark red barley miso
• Togarishi (Japanese pepper and spice mixture) or cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup black sesame seeds (I find that they work better if they are not already roasted)
• oil for greasing the baking pan

Method

1. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and set aside, ideally for an hour to come close to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Oil a bake and serve dish that will hold the salmon snugly, and put the salmon fillet in it.  (You may also like the dish with foil which will make it much easier to clean.
4. Combine the barley and the mayonnaise in a small dish.  The quantities are approximately, and add more mayo if you want to make it easier to spread.  Add about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon togarishi if you have, otherwise a generous  pinch of cayenne.  Spread it over the fish.  If it doesn't cover it, make more of the miso mayo mixture. You can use a rubber spatula for spreading, but it works much better if you use your fingers.
5. Sprinkle the fish generously with the sesame seeds so that they make a thick coating.
6. Put the fish in the oven and bake 15 minutes (a bit less if it is thin, a bit more if it is thick or very cold).
7. Remove and serve hot or room temperature.

What kind of salmon?  Farmed salmon works fine here and is a lot cheaper, but it is most wonderful with wild salmon.  Because it is leaner and thinner, I find the wild salmon tends to cook faster.  You could also make this with arctic char. 

How long do I cook it?  For me, less is more but some folks like their salmon nuked.  I tend to like it medium and 15 minutes would be more than enough especially since it will continue to cook if you let it rest and come to room temperature.  A lot about the cooking time depends on the thickness and temperature of your fish, the size of the piece, and the temperature of your oven.  If you test it in the center and there is some slight resistance, it is medium, and if it flakes easily, it is well done.

Variations:  If you are cooking more than one piece of salmon, try one this way and one topped with wasabi peas.  You can also use the white miso and mayonnaise spread with a topping of roasted white sesame seeds.  One particularly attractive way of doing it is to use a large fillet, and top half (the long way) with the black sesame seed and the other half with wasabi peas or white sesame seeds.  It is easiest to do this if you work with one half of the fillet at a time and keep the other covered with wax paper.

Turkey meatballs for salinophiles, Tunisian style

Salinophiles are bacteria that thrive in salty environments.  The term is generally not used for primates but is an apt description of my immediate family.  If she ate sauerkraut, my wife Amy would salt it, before tasting.  Maya uses incredible amounts of salt.  When she was young and on the white diet, she put so much salt on her pasta (nothing else could go on it other than air) that it was inedible to anyone else, except her mother.  Harry and I are somewhat more moderate, but can still salt with the best of them.  We take our salt really seriously.  We consider our discovery of Maldon salt a number of years ago to be a life changing event.  There was a box left in the kitchen of our Cape Cod rental by the previous occupants, and it opened our eyes and our palates.  If you have never tried Maldon, it is worth every penny -- the pyramidal structure of the salt flakes gives an incomparable texture and flavor to food, and it has become our table salt of choice. 

I really increased my salt consumption when I lost weight about eight years ago.  I found that I needed to increase the salt and spicing of my foods to compensate for the decrease in fat.  This had some unforeseen consequences. Depending on what I ate the night before, I would sometimes wake up in the morning feeling like a schmaltz herring or a piece of belly lox (not nova).  This led me to occasionally put sugar in my coffee to counter the lingering salinity.

As much as I like salt, that is how much I dislike turkey.  I of course eat it on Thanksgiving, and when I am served it on other peoples' homes, and I will even prepare a turkey dish once in a blue moon for reasons of economy and health.  As much as I dislike turkey, I dislike turkey burgers even more.  Dried ground-up bird on a bun?  What could be less appetizing?  I also prefer textured vegetable protein to turkey in chili.  However, as I increased my observance of kashrut,  I found that ground turkey was just about the most economical meat available. I started to turn around when we were once served it in fesenjean, a Persian sauce based on walnuts and pomegranate juice, and found that it was not bad at all.  I experimented a bit and found that if you seasoned the ground turkey well (do not use the ground white meat, it is far too dry), and if the occasion called for it put in some egg, parsley and bread crumb, and then browned it before stewing, the results were edible.  More than. Best of all is a newer variation (from March 2012) to which I add some grated tofu.   I have some other turkey meat ball recipes that I will share in the future, but wanted to post this one first, since it is a dish that I have been meaning to try for over 30 years and finally got around to it last night.

This recipe is adapted from a Tunisian spiced ground beef with pickled vegetables that appears in both the 1977 and 1994 editions of Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Cooking, which otherwise differ substantially. The later edition includes more recipes, especially from Tunisia and Turkey, but the earlier one is noticeably less fussy.  I substituted ground turkey for the beef (you can use beef in my version as well as lamb), browned it before stewing and changed the sauce.  This dish is cheap, fast and easy (by my standards), and tasty, but given the pickled vegetables, olives and capers, you need to like you food salty to enjoy it:

Turkey meatballs, Tunisian style

1. Take one pound of ground turkey (I use Empire) and put it in a bowl.  Add 3 cloves garlic smashed to a puree with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 15 turns of the pepper mill, and 1 teaspoon each of powdered spearmint,  ground coriander, ground caraway and Aleppo pepper. (The caraway, coriander and mint are a surprisingly winning combo.)  Mix the seasonings in by hand.  It may be gross, but it is the only way to do it.  Did I say wet your hands?  Wet your hands, otherwise most of the turkey will be between your fingers rather than in the bowl.
2. Cleaning and wetting your hands again, form into small meatballs, about 16-20, and brown in a 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil on high in a large nonstick skillet, turning the meatballs every few minutes to brown on several sides.  
3. Leave the meatballs in the skillet, but push them over to the cooler side, and add 1 finely chopped medium onion, about five or six sliced scallions, the white with some green, and saute until soft on medium.  Add 3-5 cloves sliced garlic and saute for another two minutes.
4. Add a 14 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 1 tablespoon rinsed capers, 1/2 cup pitted olives (green, black or a mix,  just don't use canned ripe olives), and a cup of mixed pickled Mediterranean vegetables. (I used Galil, which sells enormous tubs of the stuff for $3.  It is mostly cauliflower, carrots and peppers, but has a nice kick and a coriander flavor that complements the meatball seasoning.  Other brands are also available, usually with Greek or Italian foods.) It also wouldn't hurt to throw in half a preserved lemon rind, rinsed and shredded. Add a tablespoon of sweet paprika, 15-20 more turns of the pepper mill, a small handful of chopped parsley and a cup of boiling water.
5. Bring to the boil, turn heat down to medium, and simmer vigorously uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Most of the water should evaporate and the sauce will thicken.  Add some more parsley when it is done.
6. Serves 4 for dinner with rice, couscous of pasta. For a nice couscous recipe, see end of my chicken tagine posting.

Variation with tofu: You can stretch the turkey by adding some tofu to the meat mixture.   This comes from a Japanese trick -- tofu and chicken patties.  The tofu not only counters the birdiness of the mixture, it also makes the meatballs much moister.  Take 1/2 pound extra firm tofu, wrap it in paper towl, put it on a board or dish and weight it down.  A pot filled with water works great.  Since it will give off a lot of liquid, it is a good idea to put the dish with the tofu in a larger pan.  Grate the tofu on the large holes of a box grater and mix it into the turkey.  this way the recipe will serve 4 or 6 people, or just leave you leftovers for lunch.

Hashed Brussels sprouts with za'atar and pine nuts

We are Brussels sprouts addicts.  My wife used to hate them, but then we started roasting them (see several recipes here) and she was converted.  There are only two issues (I use this word because I don't really consider them to be problems although some people, like the one to whom I am married, do) with roasted Brussels sprouts.  They can take a long time to cook -- 30 minutes or so, and the timing is unpredictable.  Ircan be difficult to get them just right, and if you cook them too long, they can get too "cabbagey." (Again, this is in quotation marks because I don't really see it as a problem, but other people eat the food I cook as well.)

Shredding the sprouts prior to cooking resolves these issues.  (We even buy pre-shredded sprouts.) They cook quickly, in under 10 minutes.  Also, the doneness is easy to control, so they come out brown but still a bit crunchy and nutty tasting.  They are not much more work to prepare than whole or halved sprouts, especially if your knife is nice and sharp.  We have been making them with za'atar, a Middle Eastern spice blent of thyme, marjoram, sesame and sumac that is available both in stores that stock Middle Eastern and kosher ingredients, and even in many supermarkets.  If you can't find it, mix together 1/2 tablespoon each of crumbled thyme and oregano.  Add a few sesame seeds and about 1/2 teaspoon sumac.  If you don't have sumac, use a bit more lemon juice.

Hashed Brussel Sprouts with Za'atar and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

• 1 to 1.5 pounds Brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3-5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1 tablespoon za'atar
• 2 tablepoons roasted pine nuts (we buy them pre-roasted)
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

1. Cut the Brussels sprouts into fine shreds, no more than 1/4 inch thick, leaving the stem behind. Peel and slice the garlic.
2. Heat the olive oil on medium in a large nonstick skillet. Add the garlic and saute about 1 minute until soft but not brown.
3. Add the shredded Brussels sprouts and salt, and turn the heat to high.  Stir and fry for about 5 minutes until some of the shreds are browned.  Taste, and cook a bit more if desired. 
4. Add za'atar, pine nuts and lemon juice.  Serve hot to 4 people as a side dish.

Leftovers for breakfast:  heat 1/2 to 1 cup leftover sprouts in a small nonstick skillet, sprayed with oil spray.  When warm, push to the side to make a nest in the center.  Crack in an egg, cover the skillet and cook on medium until white is set and the yolk is still soft. Serve on toast if you want.

Brussels sprouts and eggs for dinner:  Use between 12 ounces and one pound of shredded sprouts.  Cook as above, but crack 4 eggs onto the cooked, shredded sprouts.  Sprinkle a handful of grated parmesan or grana Padano on the eggs, and cover and cook until done.

Roasted cauliflower and tomato soup

This soup is easy (by my standards), low-carb, low-fat, vegan, and pareve.  You can gussy it up if you want -- some suggestions are below -- but it is fine just as it is.

Roasted cauliflower and tomato soup

Ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower
• vegetable oil spray
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 15 ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon each ground chitpotle chile, thyme,  smoked Spanish paprika, and cumin
• handful washed chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 quart boiling vegetable stock (I actually used 4 teaspoons of Osem powder in boiling water)

Method

1. Roast the cauliflower according to my recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Eggs.
2. Meanwhile, saute the onion in the canola oil in a medium (3-4 quart) pot on high heat until it is soft and starting to brown on the edges.  
3. Add the spices and give a few stirs.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook down on high heat until it looks like a sauce, about 5-10 minutes.
5. Add half the cilantro and stir a bit
6. Add the stock and bring to the boil.
7. When the cauliflower is done, set aside a few of the smaller florets for a garnish, and add the remainder to the soup, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
8. Puree the soup using a hand-held immersion blender. (You could use a conventional blender, but then you have to let it cool down and the recipe would not longer be fast and easy.)
9. Reheat the soup, stir in the remaining coriander, and serve with a few roasted florets in each bowl.
10. Serves 6 as a first course.

Other accompaniments:  Although this soup is fine as it is, we had it with a little goat's milk yogurt stirred in.  I am not being precious, it is widely available now.  The sweetness of the goat yogurt counteracted the acidity of the tomatoes very nicely.  You could also serve the soup with a variety of traditional Mexican garnishes:  diced chili, white onion, tortilla strips, cheese, avocado, lime and more cilantro.  This could turn the soup into a main dish for up to four people, especially at lunch.  For more on these garnishes, and on preparing the tortilla strips, see my recipe for Mexican vegetable soup. If you were going to use a lot of garnishes, I would eliminate the roasted cauliflower garnish and just puree it all with the soup.