Wolfert
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I remember the late Professor Phyllis Brober telling a group of food writers at an Oldways conference on the island of Djerba the following, "when Homer wrote about the 'lotus-eaters" he was referring to the jujubes on this island."
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I think the romertopf will serve you well. Good luck.
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Cazuelas are wonderful for cooking all sorts of dishes but I wouldn't use them for beans or chickpeas. Dried beans (soaked or not) are really best cooked in pots shaped as the one pictured below.
And you are absolutely right about not having to cook beans in a large amount of liquid. In fact, it's actually better if you use less.
I believe chickpeas need soaking. In the Mediterranean, where I lived for many years chick peas were often soaked for up to 24 hours with one or two changes of water to keep them from fermenting. The chickpeas always turned out silken...almost buttery without falling apart.
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Welcome cacao,
I haven't cooked any sort of dried bean in a romertopf, but I did find the following recipe in a book published by the Romertopf company back in 1971.
Butter beans with Bacon.
First soak 3/4 pound butter beans overnight, then place them in a soaked romertopf with some chopped onions, tomatoes, bacon, and about 2 cups liquid. Set in a cold oven and bring the temperature up to 400 degrees and cook the mixture for about 3 hours.
I don't know if the resulting texture would be as wonderful as it would be if cooked in a beanpot or a sandpot. I'll be very interested to read your results
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society donor fifty dollars
I have been told, as Paula mentioned earlier, that acidity should not be added to beans until after cooking. Would this be the same for lentils?
I recently saw a recipe for a lentil soup that calls for 28oz of tomatoes at the start of cooking. I haven't tried the recipe because I am concerned that the lentils will not cook properly. Would the acidity in tomatoes (especially that many) affect the way a lentil cooks?
Let me make a correction here: You can cook legumes with tomatoes, red wine and other acids just plan on cooking them quite a bit longer.
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Foodman:you don't have to worry about canneles rising in their molds . The canneles will settle down before they are fully baked and before you turn them out.
As for the writer who hasn't had luck with the recipe. I am truly sorry. I had an incredible chance to get the "real" Bordeaux version and had worked with a number of bakers in France and here in the States to perfect this recipe using our flour and copper molds. (I don't approve of the tin ones.) A number of chefs from the French SW working here in the States use this recipe because they claim it is closest to the "real thing."
BTW the cannele is supposed to be brown to black on the outside. Just as described in my book.
Can't find bee's wax? anyone who goes to a farmer's market and see's honey for sale can find a local supplier for bee's wax. Otherwise, check on the web. There are plenty of folks out there willing to sell clean bee's wax.
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I use the following French bistro technique for a soft salad dressing: macerate 1 teaspoon chopped shallots in 1 tablespoon vinegar for 10 minutes. Meanwhile wash and dry your greens. Salt, pepper and good oil is al you need to make this simple salad.
I don't know the reason but the soaked and chopped shallots do something wonderful to the final product.
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Great! Let us know how they liked it..
Be sure to state that the recipe is from Gaziantep, a city in southeastern Turkey.
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Serves 6 as a main course
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 10 inch skillet.
Add l cup chopped onion and cook, covered, over medium heat until softened but not browned.
Add l pound ground lamb or beef and saute until it is browned and crumbly. Add 1/4 cup pinenuts, l teaspoon or more mixed spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, red and black pepper, and salt to taste.
Place 1 cup cracked green wheat in a sieve and shake over the sink to remove some of the grit and tiny stones. Place the sieve in a deep bowl and cover with cool water. Rub the cracked wheat kernels between your fingertips and palms vigorously to feel for stones or other foreign matter. Wash the wheat in several changes of water until the water runs clear and the kernels feel free of all grit.
Let soak 2 to 3 mniutes. Skim off and discard any debris that floats to the top. Drain the wheat and fold into the meat mixture, mixing well. Adjust the seasonig and set aside.
Rinse 3 pounds medium to large swiss chard leaves. Drain and dip leaves into simmering water until pliable, about 12 seconds, and refresh in a basin of cold water. Drain and gently press out excess moisture. Place the leaves, smooth side down and a few a time, on a work surface. Carefuly remove the stalks and reserve for the cooking. Remove the center rib from each leaf to divide each into irregular rectangles. Place a heaped teaspoon of filling near a narrow end, and wrap over and over as if folding a flag, forming a small triangle. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
Julienne a stemmed and seeded red bell pepper and peel a dozen garlic cloves.
Arrange as shown in the picure. Follow the rest of the recipe as described up
thread.
Jimmyo..thanks so much for your kind words.
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In a deep roomy pot, the bones of lamb neck are slowly browned in a little oil. A simple stock is made and when full flavored, the stalks of chard are scattered on top. The filled colander is set inside the pot and covered and the pot is covered as well. After steaming about 30 minutes. The heat is turned off but both covers are left intact for at least 20 minutes. (All stuffed leaves are much better if this extra step is done before serving.)
Then the remaining juices are strained, defatted, reduced if necessary, seasoned with salt and pepper and lemon juice. The dish is served with a yogurt garlic sauce.
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The Turks use Swiss chard as a wrap for meat and grains. Green wheat or bulgur with lamb and pinenuts is a famous dish in Gaziantep in the south.QUOTE
Paula, this sounds amazing - i'm ordering freekeh right awayI think it is an ingenious method. You steam stuffed triangles of chard leaves over a bed of lamb bones and chard stems and you produce a sensational looking dish as well as one that is very delicous.
You can oil your colander then set the triangles in an attractive pattern along with some strips of sweet red pepper and garlic cloves. Mind you, it is a labor intensive dish.
This picture was taken in Gaziantep, Turkey in a private home. I hope you can see the pattern clearly.
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In the Eastern Mediterranean, Swiss chard often is used as a stand in for grape leaves: Stuff and cook them with the same kind of rice fillings.
The Turks use Swiss chard as a wrap for meat and grains. Green wheat or bulgur with lamb and pinenuts is a famous dish in Gaziantep in the south. Another fabulous stuffing I learned in the town of Trabzon on the Black Sea coast of TUrkey used toasted corn kernels, the insides of marrow bones, lean ground veal, scallions, red pepper, parsely, nint and tomato paste.
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[quote name=fifi' date='If I were going to cut up some pork butt to make this, what size and shape of pieces would you suggest?
[
In the French southwest, I know the typical cut is pork butt or boned pork shoulder or blade end cut into 7-ounce chunks. The traditional salting is 22 grams per poundd, and you can add any other spices and herbs to taste.
The best thing about making pork confit is you can combine rendered pork fat and duck fat
for an even better flavor.
Brown the confit by sauteenig in a skilllet just before serving, 5 to7 minutes.
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Id like to add my two cents and wear a journalist's hat: A few years back. a representative of the famous Valencian food market explained the difference between paellas and the family-style rice dishes called arroces in terms of gender. Paellas, she told me, are 'virile' dishes because they were originally prepared in wide steel pans in the countryside over a fire ( the smoke) by men who gathered snails, hunted rabbits, and caught duck or fresh watereels,.then cooked them with rice until the grains were plump with flavor yet still dry and slightly firm.
"Womanly' arroces, on the other hand, she told me with a straight face are meloso or soft and creamy. They are not cooked in shallow pans over a fire, but in deeper earthenware cazuelas.
Pimenton de la Vera can do a stand in for the 'smoky" aroma you want, but not necessary if you want to keep arroces and paellas in separate camps.
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Paula . . . Oh wow! Does this mean that your next book will focus on clay pot cooking? If so, I can hardly wait. I would like to see some discussion of what is glazed and what is not. A little of the materials engineer comes out here. The thermal properties of the various sorts of ceramic pots ensures even and steady heat. So . . . that is kind of a given. Where I get confused is where porous, unglazed clay or procelain is used and where it is not. Of course, even unglazed porcelain is not that permiable to flavors, but I suspect that there is some of that.
Yes, I will try to answer all your questions ....in time.
The book will be about my love of clay pot cookery on account of the special ease of this kind of cooking and the earthy quality of the results. My favorite food in the world is Mediterranean country food slowly cooked in clay.Let's say it will be more of a 'confessions of a claypot junkie' than a straight cookbook.
Adam, you are so right!
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Zeitoun: That is a fabulous photograph. I love the versatility in your cooking: one day it is kibbeh, the next shishbarak, and now trotters. I would be honored to accept that invite!!
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Here are some approximate measurements to help you purchase or pick greens from your garden:
2 handfuls or 2 loosely packed cups trimmed greens equals 1 1/2 to 2 ounces
1 packed quart trimmed greens equals about 6 ounces
1 handful or l cup shredded leafy greens equals about 1 1/2 ounces
6 handfuls or 6 cups untrimmed leafy greens equals 1 pound
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. My question is: can I use the Asian style sand/claypots to cook beans in the oven? Or, stove top? Or, should I go for one of the old school NE Style Bean Pots ? Any suggestions on cookware would be appreciated
Welcome sour mango to the bean lovers thread.
I am a true convert to using the Asian style sand pots to cook beans in the oven.
This is my preferred method for dried white beans: soak overnight in at least 2 inches of water to cover.
. Drain and cover with just enough water to cover by 1 inch. Add your preferred flavorings. Cover with foil and a tight fitting lid. Place in a cold oven, set the temperature to 450 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 225 and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours longer. The cooking time of the beans will vary according to the quality and age.
Chick peas take longer to cook..
Fifi: Thanks so much for your kind words. Wait until the week after next when I go full throttle into testing using only claypots for my next book.
Nice thing about claypots is---------------- you can afford another one!
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Behemoth
UK based Prospect Books published Medieval Arab Cookery: Papers by Maxine Rodinson and Charles Perry with a reprint of A Baghdad Cookery Book with a translation by Max Rodinson. In its 500 plus pages it will tell you more than you might ever want to know. It costs about 50 US>
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Maybe someone knows more about the source and the name of this dish. To my ears it sounds Turkish. Shishbarak are essentially meat and pine-nut filled dumplings poached in a yogurt sauce with coriander and garlic. The
I think the pronuciation changed but the dish stayed the same. Note the following from Stefan's florilegium:" Salma (coin-shaped pasta) and Shushbarak(ravioli) both have a sauce of yogurt, mint and garlic (15th c. Islamic)."
By the way, the dish looks delicious.
Zeitoun: when you handle the shish\shush-barak that way you are making one of my favorite Turkish dishes called manti. Good thing you are on the other side of the country, I'd be knocking on your door for a plateful. Both dishes are a lot of work but well worth it.
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There is a famous dish from the Canary Islands called wrinkled potatoes. It is prepared at the beach (see zeitoun's note above) in the following way: you put very firm but small potatoes in a pot, cover with very salty sea water. You might even add a little extra salt if you want. The potatoes are covered tightly and boiled for 30 minutes. Then the water is poured off (you can keep it for successive cookings, they say the potatoes are even better with each successive round.). The fire is lowered and the potatoes are left to steam in a covered pan for about 10 minutes. They are served hot or warm with spicy red sauce called a mojo. I've had it with cilantro sauce as well. It is great beach bar food.
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Well, since you are twisting my arm, the book is the Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has more than a dozen kibbeh recipes including the one above . And there are many dishes from Macedonia, Turkey, Syria and the countries beyond the Black sea.
I guess I can toot my own horn here: In 1994, the year it was published it won the James Beard award and IACP award for best International cookbook.
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I found one of my recipes for kibbeh posted on another site. I just snatched it back and have posted it here.
Please study the photo-directions from foodman (see above) so you can make these very light and very tender kibbeh perfect the very first time.
Kibbeh Stuffed With Braised Lamb Shank, Tomatoes, and Onions.
These baby size kibbeh are a must at Damascene weddings. They are fried until brown but are not crisp lest they turn dry. Serve with an assortment of dips, including Baba Ghanoush.
Makes about 36 kibbeh
Ingredients:
For the Filling:
1 large lamb shank, trimmed of excess fat
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch of Syrian Mixed Spices see recipe below
For the Shell:
3 cups fine-grain bulgur
1-1/4 pounds extra-lean ground leg of lamb
3 tablespoons ice water
3 tablespoons grated red onion
Olive oil or butter-flavored oil spray
Oil for frying
Instructions:
Strip the meat off the bone and cut into 1-inch chunks. (Save the bone for some other purpose.) In a medium nonstick skillet, sauté the onion in the butter or oil over moderate heat until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the meat and brown lightly. Add the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, and spices and stir. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and cook over low heat until the meat is very tender and almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 45 minutes.
Cool the meat, then chop, shred, or pulse it 10 times in a food processor. Adjust the seasoning and chill before continuing. Makes about 1 cup filling.
Wash the bulgur in a sieve under running water, then allow it to drain. Puree the onion in the work bowl of a food processor. Add the meat and seasonings and process until smooth and pasty. Add a few tablespoons ice-cold water to the meat and process about 5 seconds, until well mixed. Add the bulgur and process for an instant. (You can do this in batches.)
Turn the mixture out onto a work surface, then knead the dough until it is smooth and pliable. Separate it into batches. Return one part to the food processor and knead in short bursts. Repeat with the second batch. (You don't want the mixture to heat up, lest it turn mushy.) Kibbeh dough should be cold, smooth, and a little sticky. Chill the dough in the refrigerator or freezer if it is soft.
Pinch off walnut-size pieces of the bulgur-meat dough to make, shape, and fill the kibbehs.
To facilitate shaping your kibbeh ovals, fill a wide, shallow bowl with cold water mixed with a tablespoon of cornstarch and a good pinch of salt. The salt inhibits the bulgur from turning mushy.
For easiest handling, wet both palms before shaping each oval and keep hands, fingers, and shell moist at all times. Pinch off a piece of the ground lamb and bulgur mixture and roll into a smooth oval.
If you are right-handed, hold the ball in your wet left hand and make a hole in it with the forefinger of your right hand. Use the palm and cupped fingers of your left hand to mold a thin, egg-shaped, smooth oval around your forefinger.
Make quick open-and-closing motions with your left hand and fingers. Meanwhile twist your entire right hand from the wrist to the forefinger, making short half turns always in a clockwise direction. Left-handed cooks carry out this operation with opposite hands. Seal any breaks by briefly dipping the shell in the prepared water, then smoothing the dough.
Quickly slip the prepared filling into the shell. Pinch ends to seal, using a few drops of cold water to bind. Use fingertips to smooth out dough. Gently squeeze the oval with wet palms to form a smooth football shape. The ovals should be thin and small. Set them out, 1/2 inch apart, on a flat tray, spray with butter-flavored oil or olive oil, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze or refrigerate until ready to cook.
Fry a half dozen kibbehs at a time in hot oil until brown but not crisp. (They can be broiled on all sides.) Serve warm or at room temperature.
Syrian Mixed Spices
This spicy mixture is especially good for seasoning meat pies, köfte, and stews.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Near East or Aleppo pepper, or substitute 2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika and 1 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
Instructions:
Mix all the ingredients well and place in a small jar. Add a little salt to keep the mixture fresh and free of bugs. Close tightly and store up to 3 months.
Yield: Makes about 2 tablespoons
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I think there is a place in Ferndale NY that sells foie gras. La belle ?
Cooking with Liquid Nitrogen
in Cooking
Posted
I remember observing incredible dining room drama 10 or 15 times a night at Andre Daguin's Hotel de France in Auch back in the late 70's. An octogenarian named Rosalie (I could be wrong about her name) would roll out a cart and on it was a canister of liquid nitrogen and the stuff needed to make ice cream. She would do it tableside. Sounds and wisps of whatever went up in the air to make a memorable finale to a meal.