03.12.10
Posted in Beef, Bread, Cuisines, Dinner, Meats, Mediterranean, Nuts, Grains & Legumes, Sides at 8:49 pm by julie
I still can’t believe I liked this recipe.
I chose it because it was the first recipe I came across that I could make from pantry staples in a short amount of time, but it is like nothing else I have ever made with ground beef. In our house, the norms for ground beef are hamburgers, chili, meat sauce for pasta, meatballs, and maybe the occasional taco. This was ground beef cooked with odd spices and sweet dates and nuts, and then just eaten as is. I hardly even knew how to describe it to my husband when I brought him a plate, but he scarfed it down and declared it delicious, and to my very great surprise, so did I. It was savory and aromatic, with little bursts of sweetness from the dates, saltiness from the capers, and the crunch of almonds, and I was frankly surprised at how well all those disparate elements balanced together.
Apparently this recipe is very similar to a Latin American dish called picadillo, which is made with ground or minced beef, raisins, and olives or capers, and has a sweet-sour-salty profile. I was also put in mind of b’stilla, which is a Moroccan dish of ground chicken wrapped in phyllo dough, and seasoned with cinnamon, almonds and sugar. I decided to play up the Moroccan aspects of this recipe by adding a touch of pomegranate molasses to the beef and pairing it with couscous and some onion flatbread.
Moroccan Picadillo
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb ground beef
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt, as needed
3 T chicken, beef or veggie stock
4 medjool dates, chopped
2 T salt-packed capers, rinsed
1 T pomegranate molasses
Olive oil
1 C couscous
1 1/2 C water or stock
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1-2 T olive oil
Heat 1 T olive oil in a wok over moderate heat; add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add ground beef and spices; cook until meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
While the meat cooks, heat a small skillet over moderate heat and toast almonds. Heat water or stock in a small pot until boiling; add couscous, cover, and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Once the meat is thoroughly cooked, add dates, capers, 3 T stock, pomegranate molasses, and a splash of olive oil to the meat; stir. Fluff couscous with a fork and stir in the almonds and another splash of olive oil. Serve beef over couscous (or with rice, pitas, etc.).
Source: Adapted from Epicurious.
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09.23.08
Posted in Appetizers, Bread, Cuisines, Dinner, Italian, Mediterranean at 10:31 pm by julie
A few weeks back, we found out that one of our dearest friends is going to be moving out of the area, and Jeremy and I offered to throw a going-away party for him. This was a pretty big deal for us, because we’re kind of hermits—I think we’ve only even attended one party in the last year or two, and I’ve never hosted anything organized before. But since we rarely have company and I don’t get out much thanks to the baby, I was actually pretty excited at the prospect, and I spent a lot of time poring over menu options. In the end, I went with mostly Italian and Mediterranean flavors, for several reasons: our friend has Italian roots; I personally love Italian food and feel pretty comfortable cooking it; and a lot of Italian food is good, or even meant to be eaten, at room temperature. To make it easy on myself, we planned on bruschetta with a variety of spreads and toppings, and a few other items for snacking.
The party was at 3pm on a Sunday to give me most of the weekend to cook and clean up. With our little guy to take care of, I needed every moment I could get. I ordered a serving platter and a tablecloth from Amazon, and on Friday night we hit Fred Meyer for groceries and disposable plates and cups. On Saturday morning, I walked over to the farmer’s market for all the fresh produce I would need, determined to make the party food as local as possible. Somehow I managed to lug home red peppers, Roma tomatoes, peaches, boysenberries, garlic, prune plums, lettuce, goat cheese, mushrooms, zucchini, and a huge bouquet of flowers for the table. Nolan slept the whole time, and let me get a head-start roasting peppers and oven-drying tomatoes before joining us for the afternoon. All in all, by Saturday night, we had finished several bruschetta spreads and toppings, baked off one type of bread and made the dough for another, and got elements started on several other items.
The day of the party I made one more dip, fried zucchini, baked a crostata and finished making the watermelonade; Jeremy shaped and baked three loaves of pain a l’ancienne, and we both did a bunch of cleaning and organizing. I ran out of time to toast the bread, but it was freshly baked and no one seemed to mind. Nolan cooperated again by taking a three-hour nap that ended just as the first guests arrived. Of course, that meant that I had to go feed him and pump, and missed the first half hour of the party, but most folks didn’t show up until after that anyway. The food was all well received and worked well at room temperature, as I’d hoped, and I think everyone had a good time. We had quite a bit of leftover dip and such, but I found a few creative ways to use them up.
There are too many items to cover in a single post, so I’m going to break it up over several days, and mention what I did with the leftovers at the same time. I’ll start with a few of the spreads and miscellany.
I made three spreads to go with the bread: garlic-white bean hummus, fig-kalamata tapenade, and a third one I’ll discuss later. The hummus was technically more of a bean dip because it didn’t contain tahini, but it did have a nice garlic zing from raw and skillet-roasted cloves. I’ve lost track of where I got the recipe, but it was pretty straightforward. I didn’t get to try the tapenade, but it was very well-received also.
With the copious leftovers, I snacked on the bean dip with carrot sticks. It and the tapenade would make lovely sandwich spreads in place of mayo. Jeremy mixed some of the tapenade into tuna salad, which gave it a pleasant tang. I also considered mixing some of the tapenade into bread dough for olive bread, but didn’t get around to it.
To go with the slightly Moroccan flavors of the muhammara, I decided to make roasted garbanzo beans seasoned with a Moroccan spice blend, just for snacking purposes. These were very tasty, but were largely overlooked amid the other hors d’oeuvres.
These, on the other hand, were devoured entirely. I was lucky to get this photo before the last one was taken. They were fried zucchini roll-ups with capers and lemon, from Lidia’s Family Table
, and they were the last item I made before the party started. Like many Italian fried foods, they were intended for eating at room temperature, and made perfect little bites. I’ve done this recipe once before, but not in the roll-up version; Lidia also recommends the fried slices as a tasty sandwich filling, and I can vouch for that.
Zucchini Roll-Ups
2 lb (about 5 or 6) small zucchini
About 2 C flour in a shallow dish
5 large eggs, beaten in a shallow dish with a pinch of salt
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 C or more canola oil
1-2 T nonpareil brined capers, well-drained
1/2 lemon
Rinse and dry the zucchini and top and tail them. With a sharp knife, slice lengthwise into about 5 or 6 1/8 thick strips, flexible but not transparent. Dredge several strips at a time in the flour, shaking off any loose flour. Slide them into the eggs, and turn to coat well. Remove and allow to drain on a colander or drying rack.
Meanwhile, pour canola oil into a 12″ cast iron skillet to a depth of 1/2″ and set over medium high heat. Line a large platter with paper towels and set nearby. When the oil is very hot, slip several battered strips into it; they should sizzle actively. Don’t crowd them; cook for about 90 seconds per side, so that they are nicely colored, then remove to the paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt while they are still hot.
Once all the strips are fried up and cooled enough to handle, roll up each strips with a few capers in the center, and secured with a toothpick. Just before serving, squeeze fresh lemon juice over the roll-ups and scatter a few more capers over them. Or just leave them as strips and pile them into sliced bread for sandwiches.
Source: Lidia’s Family Table, by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (p. 21-23).
Since we don’t do alcohol, I let our friends take care of that (they brought fixings for martinis and cosmos) and provided pitchers of iced tea and sparkling watermelonade as alternatives. The watermelonade was well-liked and very easy to make. I pureed the watermelon the day before, and added the sparkling water to it just before serving.
Sparkling Watermelonade
1 (12-14 lb) watermelon (preferably seedless)
1/4 C sugar, divided
4 tsp fresh lemon juice, divided
Sparkling mineral water, ginger ale or lemon-lime soda, optional
Cut watermelon flesh into 2-inch chunks and discard rind. Purée watermelon in a blender in batches, adding sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in the last batch. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, discarding solids. Add more sugar or lemon to taste if desired and serve over ice. You can make this a sparkling punch by adding about 4 C mineral water, ginger ale or soda, to taste. Serve with lemon slices. Drink will separate if allowed to sit; re-stir before serving.
Source: Slightly adapted from Epicurious.
Stay tuned for several more posts in this series…
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09.01.08
Posted in Chinese, Cuisines, Dinner, Fish, Italian, Mediterranean, Pastas, Seafood, Sides at 12:40 pm by julie
Tilapia is one of those proteins that Jeremy likes bringing home in bulk from Costco, so I’m always on the look-out for creative ways to use it. Here is another pair of recipes that were set on the blog’s back-burner, thanks to a trip to the emergency room. No worries and no relation to the fish—turns out Jeremy had a kidney stone, and it seems to have passed. Of course, now I’ve got a bunch of tilapia stranded in the freezer because he has started associating it with intense pain. Sigh.
Thank heavens for fish, really, because it cooks so quickly. Even marinating it takes no time at all. I made the sauce for this meal in a free moment, and came back when we were ready to eat and cooked off the fish. I served it with Jaden’s garlic scallion noodles (a.k.a. noodle crack), veggiefied with shredded red cabbage, vertically sliced onion, and carrots cut into lazy-man’s julienne (I peel the carrot, then use the peeler to cut the entire carrot into thin slices, stack and julienne from there). Every time I make these noodles, Jeremy comments on how good they are and forgets he’s had them before—perhaps because I include whatever veggies I’ve got on hand. It was a perfect side-dish for the mild Asian flavors of the fish.
Five-Spice Tilapia with Ponzu Sauce
2 T thinly sliced green onions
2 T orange juice
1 T lemon juice
1 T low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
1/2 tsp five-spice powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
2 tsp canola oil
Combine green onions, juices, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and ginger in a small bowl. Set aside.
Combine five-spice powder, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle both sides of fish evenly with spice mixture. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from skillet, and serve with sauce.
Source: Cooking Light.
The second recipe I chose for my tilapia this time around was a quick piccata, served with couscous that I seasoned with sun-dried tomatoes and basil. I liked it, but I think Jeremy was already wary of tilapia after his first kidney stone, so he mostly ate the couscous.
Tilapia Piccata
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper, divided
3 T all-purpose flour
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
3 T butter, divided
1/4 C white wine
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 T drained capers
Combine salt, pepper, and flour in a large shallow dish. Dredge fish in flour mixture. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Remove fish from pan; keep warm.
Add wine, juice, and capers to pan; cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add remaining butter to pan; stir until butter melts. Serve fish with sauce and pasta.
Source: Cooking Light.
Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Couscous
1 T olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 T dried basil or 1/4 C chopped fresh basil
10-12 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 C couscous
1 C boiling water
Place 1 1/2 cups of water on the stove or in a kettle to boil. In a bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, basil, tomatoes, and couscous until combined. Measure out 1 cup of boiling water and pour over couscous mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 5 minutes. Lightly fluff the couscous with a fork, and drizzle with a bit more olive oil if desired.
Source: Slightly adapted from VeganYumYum.
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06.20.07
Posted in Cuisines, Eggs, Mediterranean at 11:57 am by julie
Well, I may have gotten started too late to participate in any of the End of Month Eggs on Toast Extravaganzas, but any time of month is good enough for an Eggs and Toast Extravaganza at our house. We have eggs whenever the fridge is looking empty and Jeremy wants some protein without waiting for a trip to the store or for a packet of frozen meat to thaw. And—who are we kidding?—sometimes eggs just sound better than that other stuff anyway.
I’m going to make a periodic running series of our egg adventures—though, admittedly, many of these meals are more comfort foods than culinary stretches—so I thought I would start things off with a bang, in a garlicky puddle of Greek yogurt.
Jeremy has been on a poached egg kick lately, so good thing my technique is improving. It’s really not as intimidating as it seems, provided you use the freshest eggs you can. I’ve deposited them on pan-roasted asparagus with Parmesan and balsamic reduction, braised Belgian endive with cream and prosciutto, fantastic hash browns from the Good Enough to Eat cookbook, and even on plain buttered toast when he wasn’t feeling so well. So when he asked for poached eggs again on Sunday, I scratched my head and tried to come up with something I hadn’t made before.
The answer was Turkish poached eggs with yogurt and spicy sage butter, a recipe introduced to me by Molly of Orangette several years back. It was one I mentally filed away to try sometime when I was feeling brave, because the plain yogurt made me nervous. I usually keep vanilla yogurt at home for snacks instead, and that works beautifully in desserts, but now we always have at least one tub of plain yogurt on hand also (sometimes in multiple varieties, since Jeremy likes Greek-style yogurt and we always have Nancy’s to supplement the puppy’s meals). While the eggs poached, I scraped the bottom of a container of plain Greek Gods yogurt and stirred it up with some salt and minced garlic, and spread it (a bit nervously, I admit) into rounds on two plates.
I then snipped and rinsed a few sage leaves from the garden, happily tossing them into the melted butter with a healthy sprinkle of my current favorite spice, smoked Spanish paprika. By the time I had some slices of lovely spinach-onion sourdough bread toasted and buttered, the eggs were ready, and the paprika-butter had started to brown a bit.
This was a fantastic meal. I can always tell when I’ve made something Jeremy really likes because he starts suggesting I should open a restaurant or bakery: dear man. In any case, the garlicky yogurt was perfect with the eggs, and topped with a drizzle of that melted butter, made everything taste really decadent. It was so wonderful that even I was compelled to sop up every bit on the plate with my toast, and I’m absolutely not the toast-sopping sort. This will definitely be one to keep in regular rotation, even with more mundane toast.
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