January 2013 COTM: JERUSALEM -- Vegetables; Beans & Grains; Soups

[blue room]

Please report here for these recipes:
Vegetables 24 - 93
Beans & Grains 94 - 129
Soups 130 - 149

The Chowhound Team has asked me to remind you that verbatim copying of recipes to the boards is a violation of the copyright of the original author. Posts with copied recipes will be removed.
Please check to see if the recipe you're reviewing already has a report. If so, reply to that post. That will help to keep order in the thread.

[geekmom]

Burnt aubergine/eggplant and mograbieh soup - p 141

Headline: This soup converted a very determined eggplant hater!!

3 small eggplants are thoroughly burned under the grill or on a gas flame while two others are cubed and browned in oil, then left to drain. Meanwhile, onion and freshly ground cumin are sauteed, a mixture of tomatoes, chicken stock, water and other flavourings are added and everything simmers for 15 minutes. The smoky eggplant pulp is then added to this mixture & everything gets blitzed with a hand blender. Meanwhile mograbieh or another variety of giant couscous is cooked separately in boiling salted water. When the soup is ready to be served, most of the couscous and browned eggplant is stirred in, with some reserved to sprinkle over top of each bowl of soup; a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped basil or dill are also suggested as toppings.

This is a wonderful, rich, substantial soup which is incredibly more-ish. It smelled so good when it was cooking that my eggplant-hating kid asked for a bowl, gobbled it up and asked for another. I'm still reeling in delighted shock. I have found a number of recipes in this book and "Plenty" that have taught my family that the vegetables they think they hate are actually good if cooked properly and paired with the right flavours.

Note: the recipe says the mograbieh will probably take 15 or more minutes to cook to al dente. My package didn't have any directions but I checked after ten minutes and the mograbieh was more than adequately cooked - probably needed even less time than that.

I will be making this one again and again.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Seafood & fennel soup, p. 136 (US ed.)

This is similar to many Mediterranean seafood soups with fennel, tomatoes, and saffron, with the Tunisian addition of preserved lemon. I love this general flavor combo in fish soups, and the preserved lemon added interesting and appealing salty/savory notes. The result was marred somewhat by an execution problem that stemmed from following the recipe's instructions, however. In hindsight, I should have seen that it would be problematic as written.

Preparation is straightforward: Sliced garlic, cubed waxy potato (I used Yukon gold), and wedges of fennel are sauteed for a few minutes, then stock and preserved lemon are added (it doesn't say to chop the lemon, but I did), and it all simmers until the potatoes are tender. Peeled, quartered tomatoes (I used canned plum), saffron, paprika, and parsley go in and cook for a few minutes. Then the seafood: sea bass fillets (I didn't use), mussels, clams, and tiger prawns (wild jumbo shrimp), plus water to make enough liquid for poaching the shrimp. I didn't add water, judging that there was enough liquid for the shrimp. Cook for a few
minutes, until the seafood is done, remove it with a slotted spoon, add arak, ouzo, or Pernod (ouzo), and reduce if too watery (not necessary, as I didn't add water).

The problem came with the instruction to cook everything together, with instructions to "boil quite fiercely," no less. I don't think I let it do that, but any boiling for a few minutes,
even of very large shrimp isn't good. So while the mussels and clams were perfect, the shrimp were overcooked. I also thought the potatoes would have benefited from less cooking. The soup is worth a repeat based on flavor and would be good with any combo of seafood, I'm sure - but next time I'd give less time to the initial simmering of the potatoes and fennel, and I'd also gently poach any fish and shrimp and remove before steaming the mollusks, then return them at the end.

[jpr54_1]

I received on facebook a new recipe from ottolenghi.co.
curried root vegetable with lime,etc.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyl...
this was a great site
recipe calledfor swede-had no idea what this was-the blog had a helpful definition as well as for BARBERRIES

[geekmom]

FYI -- Yotam Ottolenghi posts two or three new recipes in the Guardian every Saturday and many of them are in high demand in my house. You can also search back through years and years of archived recipes on the Guardian website, many of which appeared in YO's book Plenty (for now - they may follow the lead of other newspapers & start hiding their content behind a paywall.) The Ottolenghi restaurant website also has a blog & they regularly post new recipes developed by their chefs. http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/blog/

If you have Google Reader or another RSS reader, you can subscribe and then you get the recipes more or less automatically.

[reiney]

Pistachio Soup, p. 138 (US edition)

Wow is this ever delicious - and elegant.

The biggest pain is the pistachios - raw, unsalted, and shelled. You blanch these for a minute to be able to peel that final outer layer - not essential to the dish but really enhances the colour. I also wonder if having the papery bits would affect the texture. Anyway, I did the extra steps and I do think it's worth it. The suggested peeling technique worked well though it gets harder as the pistachios start to cool. Roast them lightly for 8 or so minutes after doing this. 12-14oz of pistachios in shell yielded the required 200g of shelled pistachios for the dish (7 oz or so).

Other than that - standard soup stuff: sweat a mirepoix of leek, shallot and ginger in butter for a good 10 minutes, simmer in chicken stock and brewed saffron, then pour the hot liquid over pistachios and blitz with an immersion blender. Season with orange, lemon and garnish with more saffron, a bit of sour cream, and a few chopped pistachios.

If your sour cream is particularly thick I'd consider mixing a bit in. I also ended up enhancing the citrus notes with more oj/lemon than was called for - so season carefully.

I also thinned with some hot water so it wasn't quite so sludgy in texture. To refine this it could be passed through a tamis/chinois.

Surprising, delicious, about the colour of real pistachio gelato. Really recommend trying this!

[blue room]

Balilah p. 102

This couldn't have been easier and then I ate half of it on the spot. It was both quick and good. The recipe calls for chickpeas cooked 'til very soft, so canned I used. Then just a dressing of lemon, olive oil, cumin, parsley and green onions. Instead of juicing the lemon, you slice off the peel and pith and chop it -- add both flesh and juice to the mix. Salt and pepper to taste -- a delicious dish.
A variation of this, called "arbes", can be made by subbing fresh-ground black pepper for the cumin. According to the book, both are sold on the streets of Jerusalem as warm snacks in newspaper cones.

[Westminstress]

Balilah, p. 102

Made this tonight with canned chickpeas as we needed something to round out our meal, which otherwise consisted of leftover bulgar pilaf and roast chicken with Jerusalem artichokes. Blue room described the dish perfectly - a snap to put together (with canned beans) and very tasty. I made the black pepper variation. He also mentions that you can turn the dish into a salad by adding leaves, feta and tomatoes. I'll be trying that and the cumin variation as well. What a great way to dress up a can of beans in a flash!

[pavlova]

Just made this and couldn't stop picking at it while I waited for it to cool. I skipped the green onions as I can't stand them, but I'm going to pick up a red onion or some shallots to give it an oniony crunch. The baking soda really speeded up the cooking time for my chickpeas too, so I'll have to keep doing that as I always use dried chickpeas.

[geekmom]

Burnt aubergine/eggplant with garlic, lemon & pomegranate seeds - p 79 (UK ed)

Blacken large eggplants on all sides using a gas flame or oven broiler, then remove the flesh in long strips and drain well. Mix with a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper, and garlic, and allow to marinate for an hour, then sprinkle with chopped mint, parsley and some pomegranate seeds.

This is a simple make-ahead dish. I cooked and drained the eggplant a day or so beforehand when I had some free time at home, so it was waiting in the fridge when I was ready to use it and it was simple enough to toss with the marinade and then leave it alone while I cooked the rest of dinner. I served it with falafel and the butternut squash with tahini sauce, and it was a lovely fresh-tasting counterpoint to the richer flavours of the other dishes. The garlic is sharp, the lemon is tangy and bright, and the eggplant is smoky and delicious.

[blue room]

Hot yogurt & barley soup p. 134 (US)

This is from an Armenian soup. The authors explain that the Armenians have occupied a section of Jerusalem since almost the time of Jesus -- this whole book is the "lifelong-learning" kind of fascinating!
I was skeptical about the soup, though, because it sounds pretty bland. Turned out to be very nice, yet still a little too bland for me.
Almost a sorta kinda mushroom-barley soup situation. But no mushrooms -- this is barley, (save the cooking water), and chopped yellow onion cooked in butter with dried mint. I used Turkish oregano instead of mint. It isn't mint exactly, but it isn't my usual oregano either. (The book gave me permission to delegate herbal authority.)
The (I used Greek) yogurt is whisked with egg and barley and barley water. All is mixed together carefully so the egg doesn't cook into pieces, to keep it smooth and creamy. It's seasoned with salt & pepper, and garnished with chopped parsley and green onion.
On a scale of one to ten (ten being the best cream soup I ever had) I suppose this would only be a 5 1/2 or 6. But I would agree with the book that it's comforting (kid's soup, maybe) and quick and adaptable.

[delys77]

Looks very good. At first blush the idea of warmed yogurt sounded very unappealing, but then I suppose I love many Indian dishes that have cooked yogurt sauces.

[geekmom]

I had a warm yogurt curry recently at an East African / Ismaili restaurant and the staff were very cautious about serving it to me because they thought it might not appeal to my Western palate. I had just been cooking my way through 660 Curries, so at that point I was quite game. It was delicious and very unusual - there was a strong tartness from the yogurt that played nicely with the mild spicing and the herbs in the curry. It was a very basic curry, served over a mix of rice and split mung beans. This recipe is pretty close to it: http://chachiskitchen.blogspot.ca/201...

BR, it sounds like the soup from Jerusalem could perhaps have benefited from some kind of spicy kick to counteract the blandness of the recipe.

(delys77, if you're ever out by Burnaby Village Museum, it's worth checking this place out - Safari Snack House - they have great samosas, amazing friendly service and a rotating menu of excellent homestyle curries).

[delys77]

Thanks Geekmom. I ate at an East African place owned by Ismailis somewhere near there years ago, I think it was called Jambo grill. I think it is gone now, so I made give your suggested place a try.

[pavlova]

I finally got around to making this tonight and I really enjoyed it. I found it filling and flavourful. I was worried that it would be bland, based on blue room's comment, and the fact that I usually make an Indian-spiced yogurt soup. I probably really overdid the herbs here, using an entire bunch of mint and parsley at the end. It did need more salt when I tasted it, but a pinch really livened it up.

[Gio]

Fried Tomatoes with Garlic, Pg. 50, US Edition

I just found my new quick tomato sauce for macaroni. Well, it could be a sauce if one lets the tomatoes get really soft. I think the whole process took all of 8 minutes, if that. The ingredients are: 3 large tomatoes sliced lengthwise, 3 large garlic cloves pressed , 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley, a little bit of EVOO, and some salt & FGBpepper.

Mix together the garlic and parsley. Heat the oil (G used a wok), add the tomatoes, season with S & P, cook 1 minute. Turn tomatoes over, season again, sprinkle the garlic & parsley over, cook another minute. Turn over for a third time, cook a minute - don't let the tomatoes get mushy. Turn out onto a platter with the juices, serve. Garlicky tomatoey aromas wafted throughout the kitchen.

John Besh's decadent Not My Grandmother's Fried Chicken was the main dish. It's oven baked chicken thighs slathered with Tabasco mayo then rolled in seasoned Panko. When the tomatoes and chicken met it was love at first sight. OMGoodness... such a delight...!

I used organic vine tomatoes from Maine that were smaller than required but sweet and juicy. Baked yams were served along side and they too benefited from the tomatoes' flavorful essence. Can't wait to try them over fusilli.

[Breadcrumbs]

Oh my goodness Gio, you meal sounds outstanding! You've made me want to make these tomatoes and the chicken.

Your meal shows how well these dishes can be incorporated into a variety of menus.

Thanks for the enticing review Gio. Just imagine how much traction this tomato dish will get in the late summer....

I make something similar w butter vs EVOO and serve it over toast for breakfast.

[Gio]

Thank you BC. I can just imagine what this dish will taste like when we're in the midst of tomato season. It will be great as a crostini topping too as you do with toast or with cheese and meat in a sandwich or panino...

[blue room]

Thanks for this, could be dinner tonight!

[Gio]

I hope you have secondary dishes in mind. RB cuz alone it ain't gonna satisfy your man. J/S.
Include some sort of bread? Or pasta?

[Gio]

If anyone's interested here's a link to John Besh's not fried, fried chicken:

http://www.today.com/id/46343091/site...

For the record, I've made this recipe twice: once with bone-in chicken thighs with-skin and once with boneless skinless chicken breasts. Both times it was fab.

[blue room]

Gio , I see a recipe for fried chicken using 3 cups flour and a quart of milk -- but not the recipe for the Tabasco-mayo-panko -- I'm confused.
I'm gonna make the fusilli and fried tomato-garlic,
but not sure where to find the chicken you liked so much.

[Gio]

Just keep scrolling down, BR... it's the second recipe down from the one you found with the milk & flour. "Recipe: John Besh's Not Fried, Fried Chicken."

1 cup no fat mayo
1/4 teaspoon tabasco
1 teaspoon zatarains creole mustard
1 pound Italian style panko break crumbs
6 each boneless skinless chicken thighs

[blue room]

Got it, thanks!

[Gio]

Oh, whattheheck:

>Mix together the mayo, mustard, and Tabasco. I used Gulden's spicy brown.
>Slather the chicken pieces all over with the mixture.
> Dredge chicken in the breadcrumbs, covering both sides. Pastene makes Italian seasoned Panko!
>Put coated chicken on parchment line baking sheet
>Bake in 350F oven 20 minutes or til golden brown.

[JaneEYB]

Fried tomatoes with garlic p.50

Gio has summed up the process well so I have nothing much to add except agree that this was a super-easy and tasty side dish. I served it with Poached chicken and sweet spiced freekah on p.182.

[pottergal]

last night i cooked the "cod cakes in tomato sauce". sorry that i forgot to take a photo but it really did look exactly like the picture in the book. both my husband and i felt it was just average tasting. the cod cakes were nicely spiced the sauce was tasty but it was a very ordinary tasting dish. just our opinion....

[Gio]

Mixed Bean Salad, Pg. 42, US Edition

A funny thing happened on the way to finishing this salad. Not exactly a disaster but certainly a senior moment for Dear Husband. As many COTM cooks know, because of my mobility problem I prep at the sink for the evening meal here and G does the hands on cooking on the stove behind me. Well, last night's dinner was to have been this bean salad and a lentil and rice dish I make regularly using more or less the same spices we've been using with Jerusalem.

Picture it: Several pans bubbling away on the stove, mise en place to the side. The recipe calls for blanching the beans, roasting strips of red pepper, scallions, and chopping fresh tarragon, dill, and parsley. Everything was going along swimmingly: The beans had been tossed with vegetables and herbs and just waiting for the final toss with the dressing, the cooked rice waiting to be mixed into the lentils and spices. G was finishing up at the stove and telling me everything was ready. I ask to taste for seasoning. He brings the serving bowl to me and what do my wondering eyes behold?
Everything Tossed Together In The Same Bowl.

My first thought... Get angry now. All those beautiful green beans, the wonderful dressing of lemon zest, garlic, capers, cumin and coriander seeds that were sizzled in olive oil. The perfectly cook rice and not quite finished lentils... all tossed together in the same bowl.

Looked lovely, though. And well, this has only happened one other time since November 2006 when we first started cooking along with COTM. So plate it he did and eat it we did and you know what? It wasn't half bad. But, I'll make the salad again because everything, up to a point, was delicious...

[JoanN]

Funny story, Gio. But he sounds like a keeper so if it's only once every six years . . . .

[blue room]

Except for the "not quite finished" lentils it doesn't sound too bad. It is hard to eat longish beans along with rice, though -- that combo won't stay on a fork properly!

My fellow once added extra liquid to a CANDY recipe in order to "allow for evaporation." Ruined it of course.

[delys77]

Funny buy very cute Gio. Leads me to an idea of a funny thread on kitchen mishaps by our significant others. I'll post in a separate thread on Home Cooking.

[The Dairy Queen]

I delegate a lot of cooking to my sous-chef, ahem, spouse, and really try to hold my tongue when he does something nutty! I'm glad the dish wasn't a complete disaster!

~TDQ

[bunnylicious]

Made this two nights ago. I really loved the sizzled garlic and capers, but I felt the tarragon didn't belong. Next time, I will omit the tarragon and chop the veggies inhf.

[beetlebug]

Spicy Carrot Salad (US. pg 65)

This was a really interesting dish. I liked it although it's not quite to my flavor profile. C, on the other hand, went nuts for it. He kept saying how much he liked these carrots.

This is a pretty easy prep and can be made ahead of time. Boil the carrots until tender. When they've cooled, slice and add to the bowl. Meanwhile, sauté onions until browned. Add, harissa, cumin, caraway, salt, sugar, apple cider vinegar and oil. Mix with the carrots and let it sit for about half an hour for the flavors to meld.

When you are ready to serve, add handfuls of arugula (or in my case, upland cress). The pepperiness of the cress/arugula contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the carrots. My carrots were pretty sweet to begin with and the slight bit of added sugar made it a tad too sweet for me.

I would make this again though, with a better quality harissa. Mine is jarred and could have more flavor. This was also a very pretty dish to behold.

[Gio]

I'm so glad to read your report BB. This is on my list to make soon, tomorrow I think, and your review has helped me to imagine what to expect. Thanks!! My harissa is jarred too, from Formaggio, so I think it will be OK...

[beetlebug]

I suspect we have the same harissa. Clear jar and handmade in Tunisia? Mine is a bit dried out though and the harissa is sweeter then what I usually make (from Flex Table).

For the caraway, I only half heartedly crushed them. They were more whole then crushed and it was fine.

[Gio]

I can't remember where the harissa was produced but it's in a clear squat jar. I'll look when I go downstairs. Thanks for the caraway tip, I like their flavor so that will be fine.

[bunnylicious]

I made this too, forgot to post!I cut the carrots before boiling, just to make things a bit faster. Forgot the arugula (I seem to forget a lot of the final "garnish" steps in these recipes... blame it on the baby :) ). This was delicious. Don't be tempted to skip the 30 minute wait, the flavors need this time to meld.

[JoanN]

Spicy Carrot Salad (page 65, US edition)

Thank you, beetlebug, for reporting on this. Hadn’t noticed it, and I had a few carrots I needed to use. Made half a recipe. Because I got distracted, I cooked the carrots way too long but they were still sliceable and held their shape. I used a canned harrisa (Le Cabanon brand, from France, with Arabic writing on the label) that I bought in a Persian market. It’s wonderfully flavorful, but quite strong so the salad was somewhat spicier than I would have liked. I enjoyed this a great deal. In fact, I’m liking what I’ve taken to calling the “winter” salads (this, the spinach salad, the cauliflower salad) even better than the meat dishes. At least so far.

[geekmom]

Spicy carrot salad - p 65 (UK ed)

I made this the other night & just realized I never actually posted my comments.

This is an unusual and very flavourful salad, but opinions were sharply divided at our table. Mr Geek and I loved the fieriness of the harissa and the sweet/vinegary flavours in the dressing, and enjoyed the contrast of the bitter arugula/rocket against the sweet, spicy carrots and onions. The geeklings did not approve of this dish at all, however, and refused to eat theirs; the complaint seemed to center on the vinegary taste. We ended up with a lot of leftovers!

(Since others are discussing what brand of harissa they're using - mine is Harissa du Cap Bon, from Tunisia, in a bright yellow tube.)

[painperdu]

We had some ancient woody carrots to deal with, this was the perfect treatment for them. I hadnt stocked up on harissa, subbed some Chinese chili sauce instead. And I forgot the arugula, too...but we ended up eating them as a side to a chicken chili. These were a great complement to the mole sauce. I agree the half-hour meld time is important, as is the direction to saute the onion for 10 minutes. Might be easy to short-cut but the slower longer time really sweetens the onion and adds to the flavor profile.

[DebHo]

Finally made a huge dinner from the book last night and this was a last minute addition. I had some unexpected guests show up and needed another side and good thing to because everyone loved this one so much so that someone asked to lick the plate!

It had a nice warm spice to it and the carrots were cooked perfectly. I am planning on making more this week to take with my lunch. I would have loved a little more crunch factor with it though. Maybe next time a topping of chopped nuts.

[lilham]

Spicy Carrot Salad (UK iBook edition)

I have to agree this is a very interesting dish. I used shop bought harrisa, otherwise made it exactly as said in the recipe.

It's tasty on its own, but has a very strong flavour. I served it with a chicken katsu curry (with rice), and the two just doesn't work together. Mr lilham loves them together, but I found it overpowering. I think the salad would be very nice as a main dish, or as a side to something bland. I'm thinking something like a fish pie.

PS. Rereading previous posts, I think I'm with geekmon's children. I object to the vinegary taste, especially with the sweet japanese curry.

[L.Nightshade]

Spicy Carrot Salad, page 65.

I made this last night, using baby carrots, which was what I had on hand. I did not have arugula, so just used a baby greens mix. It had some arugula in it, but not enough to add its unique flavor.

I did make the Pilpelchuma to go into this dish. Yikes! Was it ever hot! So I started with just a teensy amount. The carrots and the vinegar seemed to mitigate the heat a bit, and the result was a perfect seasoning. I tasted the carrots before and after the mellowing time, and it really does make a difference. I definitely recommend this dish, especially with the homemade Pilpechuma.

[Gio]

Couscous with Tomato and Onion, Pg. 129

This is a bare minimum version of couscous but with a difference. A tomato sauce is made with chopped onions, tomatoes, a little tomato paste and sugar, S & P. Steep the couscous in either boiling water or stock... I used home made chicken stock... in a bowl while the sauce is cooking. Add the sauce to the couscous, cover w plastic wrap, set aside while the sauce pan is prepared for a second cooking.

Heat butter and olive oil. Spoon the couscous into the pan then pat it all around so it fits "snugly". Cover pan, reduce heat, steam the couscous till you see a brown crust beginning to form at the edges. You can peek under to see if it looks nice and crisp. Do a flip with a plate to release the couscous and serve.

This was delicious. Crunchy with a simple tomatoey flavor from the sauce which was baked into the pearls of pasta.. It was a good foil for a remake of the koftas. A roasted beet salad with horseradish dressing was served along side...

[Breadcrumbs]

I was looking through the book last night Gio and this recipe caught my eye. How fortuitous that you reviewed it today! This sounds wonderful and now I'm really looking forward to trying it.

[JaneEYB]

Couscous with tomato and onion p.129\

Gio has described the process well above so I'll just record my impressions. This was a good way to liven up what can be a rather bland starch, It was pretty quick though I had an issue with the bottom of the couscous "cake" browning at the lowest heat possible (authors' instruction). It didn't help that I hadn't noticed the flame had gone out (don't you hate it when that happens?) but when I started it up again there was no way it was going to get a crunchy browned crust on the bottom with minimal heat. Turning the heat up worked well. It didn't turn out of the pan in a neat shape either, but it tasted good anyway. I served it with the Turkey and courgette burgers with spring onions and cumin on p.200.

[law_doc89]

COTM?

[L.Nightshade]

Cookbook Of The Month.

[law_doc89]

Thanks!

[Gio]

Just in case you might be interested, here's a link to past Cookbooks of the Month with further links to discussions and recipe reports...
http://www.chow.com/cookbook_of_the_m...

[L.Nightshade]

Chunky Zucchini and Tomato Salad, page 84.

Pale green zucchini and tomatoes are cut in half and charred on a hot grill pan, then go into the oven to cook through. Once slightly cooled, they are coarsely chopped, and tossed with yogurt, garlic, red chiles, lemon zest and juice, walnuts, mint, parsley, and date syrup. Once plated, additional parsley and drizzles of olive oil and date syrup finish the dish.

This was a nice dish, and refreshing. Quite compatible with lamb. The yogurt and date syrup had a rather dessert feel to me, not completely incompatible, but not an enhancement to the zucchini and tomatoes. I doubt if I'd do it again, as it didn't really knock my socks off.

The recipe can be found in Google Books here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=2w2d...

[L.Nightshade]

Apparently, I spoke too rashly and unilaterally on this dish. We had the leftovers tonight, and Mr. NS declared that he loved it, both last night and tonight. I was a bit more enticed by the dish tonight, so it may have been a matter of timing. Or something.

[geekmom]

Do you think that the flavours benefited from more time to develop? If so, this could be a great make-ahead dish.

[L.Nightshade]

Actually, I think I just wasn't in the right mood for it the first night. I think it is better when the vegetables are still warm from the roasting.

By the way, I can't figure out what that is in your avatar! What is it? A shrimp on a string?

[geekmom]

Oh well, I'll keep looking for a good make-ahead dish, then.

That's me bungee-jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge! My daughter and I are laughing here about the shrimp on a string thing.

[L.Nightshade]

Wow, I'm impressed!

[Gio]

Kohlrabi Salad, Pg. 46, US Edition

This was a very different salad than most. It's the dressing that makes it so: yogurt, sour cream, mascarpone, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, a little salt and white pepper to taste. The main ingredient is the kohlrabi of course, however, one can add other firm fruit and vegetables. To augment the 2 smallish kohlrabi I had a quite firm Bosc pear was added along with a daikon radish which made a pleasant crunchy salad. Everything is mixed together then freshly chopped mint along with dry mint and baby watercress are gently stirred into the mix. I used arugula in place of watercress. Finally, sumac is sprinkled over top.

I loved this salad. Each element enhanced the other then came together to create a surprising interlude to the other food on the plate. The creamy dressing was the top note with the peppery arugula taking up the bass. The whole meal was a symphony of three cultures. Fuchsia Dunlop's Homestyle Bear Claw Bean Curd was the main course with a New England Yellow-eyed peas cooked a la Tuscany dish along for the ride. Surprisingly all three dishes played very well together.

[geekmom]

This recipe has caught my eye several times as I've flipped through the book, and I'm so glad you had a good experience with it! It sounds wonderful with the adaptations you made.

[ChrisOfStumptown]

I liked this too. I am a sucker for crisp vegetables with yogurt, and it ended up being a sophisticated version of the type.

The dressing is quite good but forgiving too. I scaled down the quantity and so shortcut the dressing to 3 parts yogurt to scant 2 parts sour cream to 1 part marscapone which worked well despite being a bit off from the recipe.

I paired this with the grilled fish skewers with hawayej and parsley. The crunch of the kohlrabi was nice but was a little overwhelmed by the spiciness of the fish. It was good but might have been better with more yogurt, lemon, and mint, and less cheese. But that's not a flaw with the salad, which was excellent.

[Allegra_K]

Wheat Berries & Swiss Chard with Pomegranate Molasses pg.100

What a delicious surprise this unassuming little recipe turned out to be! What has potential to be a ho-hum comfort food-type dish is taken in a different direction with the addition of tangy and sweet pomegranate molasses. Even though I used the "okay" (Ottolenghi/Tamimi's words) substitute of pearl barley in place of wheat berries, this was an eye-opening delight that I will be making again.

Thinly sliced leeks are sauteed in olive oil and butter and later with chard stalks and leaves. Brown sugar and pomegranate molasses meet up in the pan along with wheat berries and chicken stock and the pan is covered and left to simmer gently until the grains are al dente, which was a much shorter length of time for my choice of grain. Any remaining liquid at this point is cooked off until the sugars in the bottom start to caramelize, increasing the heat if needed. Add more pomegranate molasses and seasoning to taste just before serving, the desired flavours being sharp and sweet. Serve with greek yogurt (which I completely forgot about; it wasn't missed).
I made a half recipe, tossing in a couple of handfuls of spinach at the end since some of my chard leaves had frozen and I needed some extra greenery. This also came with the added bonus of giving a colour boost to the drab olive-green of the long-cooked swiss chard.

The only reason I selected this recipe was because I had both leeks and swiss chard that needed to be used up. I always passed it by when flipping through the pages, but am so pleased that I ended up trying it, as this dish was such a delight to the taste buds. This isn't much to look at (which I suppose is why the photo in the book is of the raw ingredients!), but don't let that fool you. It was hearty and comforting yet new and exciting. A definite do-over.

[blue room]

I'm convinced!

[Gio]

Me too! Tomorrow night for me...

[Breadcrumbs]

Allegra I'm glad this dish was a success and like you, I hadn't noted it on first pass. I've now rectified that and added chard to my grocery list. Your photo is beautiful btw. I'm sure if YO had seen it he'd have wanted to include it in the book instead of the one of the raw ingredients!!

[Allegra_K]

That's so kind of you to say BC, thank you!

I sure do hope that you all enjoy it when you give it a go. My 8yo asked to take it for lunch today; quite the compliment as he doesn't usually like kids to see him eating "weird" food at school.

[Westminstress]

I love your dishes, Allegra! Very pretty.

[blue room]

Wheat berries [barley] & Swiss chard with pomegranate molasses (p. 100 US)

Liked this! I don't have barley much, but should, and like it, and had some to use.
The pomegranate molasses is too good, almost drinkable!
I did not have leeks, and sliced a mild shallot (very thin slices) instead.
Carmelization was not quite achieved, but the brown sugar and pomegranate and shallot were as sweet as I would have liked, I think.
So, a whole new way to eat grains, a whole new flavor.
The Swiss chard I used was beautiful, on sale, and seemed especially good.

[Breadcrumbs]

Looks beautiful blue room and sounds amazing! Your serving pieces are lovely as well. Do they happen to be Falcon ware?

I've been eyeing the beautiful bakeware:

http://www.falconenamelware.com/

[blue room]

Thanks, Breadcrumbs, but no, that's just old (maybe Pottery Barn from years ago?) china. I do love enamelware though, the spattery kind too
http://www.crowcanyonhome.com/product...

[Allegra_K]

Hah, do we all have dinner/servingware addictions on top of the food obsessions? I know I do, and by the sounds of it, I'm not the only one...

[L.Nightshade]

I sure have that addiction. And I love seeing others' wares in these photos. One photo from Breadcrumbs a while ago, prompted me to purchase several pieces of Denby bakeware!

[Breadcrumbs]

I'm always admiring your tableware LN and the plates you're using this month are among my faves in your collection. I know things seem to photograph better on white but its far more fun to change things up and show the food as it likely would be served on perfectly themed platter or plate.

[Breadcrumbs]

....hmmm, it sure seems so Allegra. In addition to collecting antique and vintage kitchenware I can't ever seem to have too many baking dishes, bowls (I have a serious bowl monkey on my back!!!) and I'm a sucker for platters and dinnerware.

...oh and I might have a little table linen problem too come to think of it!!

I just love decorating the table and being able to change things up for themed meals/entertaining.

I wish I had a huge beautiful flower and herb garden like Martha or Ina...imagine the arrangements you could put together!!

; - )

[Allegra_K]

Lately I've found myself unable to resist stopping in at the thrift stores every time I'm in the vicinity, and as a result my collection has grown to the point where I've had to clear out some extra cupboards in the basement to house all the latest acquisitions!
My husband has stopped objecting when he sees me walk in the door with another bag of newspaper-wrapped items, but what he doesn't say is made up for in extremely dramatic eye-rolling and heavy sighing.

I never used to care much for antique stuff but I find myself really drawn to it these days, My greatest find so far was a nearly complete 75 piece china set from the forties (as seen in the barley & swiss chard photo here www.chow.com/photos/872074), including all sorts of serving ware....some of it in well-loved condition, but other pieces near perfect. I found it on kijiji for $15, and the elderly woman I purchased it from told me it was her first dish set, received on her wedding. She seemed really happy that it was going to such an...enthusiastic individual. I truly love those dishes, and a good back story really appeals to my romantic side.

[Breadcrumbs]

I love your dishes too Allegra and what an amazing story, not to mention price. I thought your pattern was reminiscent of a Chinese Imari pattern from the 1700's (there's a photo of a plate directly beneath the glass goblet in this link)

http://www.ernestjohnsonantiques.com/...

I love rescuing these old pieces and giving them a new lease on life. As you say, many were never even used, just locked in china cabinets for "special occasions"

That photo you linked to is the beautiful photo that I felt should have been used in the Jerusalem cookbook.

[Allegra_K]

I'm a sucker for Asian-inspired dishes and that's probably why that set called out to me so loudly. That plate in the link you provided is incredible! And so very, very old...I may have to change the word I used to describe my plates from "antique" to "vintage"....

[Breadcrumbs]

It's a beautiful set Allegra and it may very well be antique, who knows and likely no one cares so I'd carry right on w calling it antique if I were you!! I have some platters from Hungary and Germany that are in the Imari style as well. For me the attraction is the less common colour combination of orange and blue. I love those colours together in the garden and on the table. (opposites on the colour wheel so they really pop when combined I think).

It's amazing how many incredible pieces you can pick up at garage sales, auction or online as you did. I think the secret to success though is doing as you did and choosing pieces because they speak to you vs just because they hold monetary value. I learned this lesson the hard way and actually had to set up an antique business to get rid of (most of) my surplus!! Now I only purchase pieces that I feel a connection to.

[greedygirl]

I think my Minton soup tureen might be an Imari pattern. I think it's actually quite valuable, which makes it a very generous gift indeed!

[L.Nightshade]

I love that china and your story. I've googled kijiji, and I still can't quite figure out what it is, or how it works. But I'm tempted to look for, or start a thread on some board (cookware?) to talk about these selections and finds. I LOVE having different serving pieces for different types of meals, and I appreciate seeing everyone else's also. It contributes to the atmosphere of the dinner, don't you think?

[Allegra_K]

I love that idea for a thread! It would be great to share exciting finds and purchases with people who actually appreciate it. It's so true how a few well-selected dishes can bring a note of authenticity and elegance to a meal.

btw-Kijiji is an online local (Canada-wide) classifieds.

[Gio]

My obsession with china
jillp Jan 5, 2008 04:41 PM

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/476476

[greedygirl]

I got a similar find from a car boot sale last year. I wasn't even looking for dinnerware, but couldn't resist a complete dinner service of Luneville Old Strasbourg for only £10!.

It's this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Luneville-O...

A friend gave me her grandmother's Minton soup tureen at Christmas - because I said I loved it. I was overwhelmed by her generosity tbh.

[Breadcrumbs]

Oooh, thanks for the link blue room! I haven't seen this line before but it really is lovely. I may just have a purchase on the horizon!!

[reiney]

Made this last night and really loved it - but would make a few minor adjustments/notes for next time

- I used duck stock instead of chicken but it got lost in the strong (/delicious) flavours of the dish. So veg stock would absolutely work for this recipe to make vego/vegan.

- I think I'd soak the wheat berries for 8+ hours first - after 80 minutes, plus 10+ minutes sauce reduction, and they were still really chewy.

- No reason this couldn't work with farro either.

- I think you can also sub onion for leek without noticing too much. I used one large leek and it seemed to be plenty.

- I only used one bunch of swiss chard but didn't weigh it - I don't think it was nearly enough so do amp up the greens.

- Watch the caramelization process. I turned my back on it for a moment after waiting for a while for the sauce to reduce, and my Le Creuset is taking a nice, long, hot bath as a result.

I really loved the yoghurt and thought the dish needed it if eating on its own. But this would be great as a grain/starch alternative to polenta, potatoes, etc for something like a lamb or beef stew. Lack of spices, garlic, etc meant that prep isn't at all fiddly, so it's an easy thing to throw together (albeit time elapsed is a while)

[herby]

Fried (roasted) Cauliflower with Tahini p. 60

I've chosen to make this dish to serve as a part of supper aftera spa day with a friend, did not want to fry cauliflower and roasted it instead.

The recipe instructs you to fry cauliflower in batches until it colours evenly and drain. Fry green onion next for just a minute and allow both to cool.

Make the dressing of tahini, minced garlic, mint, parsley, yougurt, juice and zest of lemon and pomegranate molasses, s&p and toss cauliflower and green onions into it.

I made half recipe since there were just the two of us and it was delicious that night though I wished for cauliflower to be a bit crunchier; it was just OK next day and I threw out the rest the day after - it was unbelievably soggy :(

The flavours were great but I thought that there was too much dressing. I will try it with fried cauliflower nexttime and will use half of the dressing adding extra if the salad needs it.

[reiney]

I quartered the dish (there's but one of me) and I think it did make too much for one serving. I also accidentally sliced the green onions instead of leaving them in 3" pieces as instructed - it worked but melded with the sauce.

I also wish that the cauliflower were more crunchy, but I think that might have to do with my technique. Will research further, or perhaps try with roasted next time (uncertain as yet about the value the frying gives.

I loved the sauce, so I didn't think there was too much, but made as prescribed it's not a light coating. It's a good companion recipe with Swiss Chard with buttered pine nuts, as the sauce is very similar (adding pom molasses in this one) - so you can use leftovers in one for the other.

[geekmom]

Basmati & Wild Rice with chickpeas, currants, and herbs - p 106 (UK ed.)

Basmati and wild rice are cooked separately, mixed with spiced chickpeas, currants and fresh herbs, and topped with lightly floured fried onions.

This takes a rice side dish to a whole new level. So many flavours and they all work incredibly well together. My daughter didn't think she would like it because she isn't a huge fan of dill, and thought the addition of currants sounded weird, but everyone in this house has learned to trust Mr Ottolenghi and he was right again. I could see myself happily polishing off a whole batch of this stuff on my own for lunch someday. It worked extremely well as a vegetarian main for our non-fish eater and also made a great side to the mackerel with beet & orange salsa which I will review in the appropriate thread.
.
We did find that we needed a little bit more flour than the 1/2 tbsp called for in the recipe, but this may be because our onion was larger than the one used in testing the recipe for publication ("medium" is a bit vague...)

[greedygirl]

"Everyone in this house has learned to trust Mr Ottolenghi"

Not forgetting Sami Tamimi - it's his book as well and he often gets forgotten! ((((Sami))))

[geekmom]

No, I don't mean to overlook Tamimi either - but we came to know & love Ottolenghi through Plenty & his Guardian column which are not co-authored by the amazing Sami.

[GilaB]

We enjoyed the flavor combo here, but I found that a) it was much better warm than at room temperature, although the recipe header suggests that it can be served either way, and b) although I prepared the basmati rice precisely according to recipe directions, it came out a bit too al dente for us. Next time, I would plan to serve it hot, and add a little more liquid to the rice.

[Westminstress]

Butternut Squash and Tahini Spread, p. 69

Loved this! Butternut squash is peeled, chunked, tossed with olive oil, cinnamon and salt, then roasted till tender. Let it cool, then mix with tahini, Greek yogurt, and crushed garlic (I grated it on a microplane). I used a potato masher/fork combo for the mixing, which left a nice, uneven texture. The spread is topped with sesame seeds, date syrup, and optional cilantro (I skipped this). This was a delicious and unusual spread, we all really enjoyed it. I made a half recipe and we have plenty of leftovers - you'd need a lot of guests to polish off the full amount. If you don't have date syrup, I think honey would work nicely.

[beetlebug]

Butternut Squash and Tahini Spread, p. 69

I loved this as well and it was a huge hit at a dinner party. The plate was scraped clean. I was a little suspect of the recipe because I'm not a fan of adding sweetness to my vegetables. But, after tasting the combo of the date syrup and the cinnamon butternut squash pieces, I was sold.

I did change the roasting technique a bit, but it's only because I didn't read the directions. I did my standard, cut up the squash, add olive oil, salt and pepper as well as the stated cinnamon. The authors have you cover the dish in the oven. I didn't and it was fine.

[Breadcrumbs]

I'll have to try this recipe, it sound wonderful bb! I need to replace my date syrup though. Unfortunately I picked up a Moroccan version and it had what I felt was a very odd scent. On closer inspection I learned that it also included "rose syrup".

[beetlebug]

My date syrup is called date molasses. But, it has that same maple syrup consistency. Regardless, it's delicious and my new favorite find.

[Breadcrumbs]

Sounds delicious, I can't wait to try the proper kind! There were several different types on the shelf. I'll be sure to ask for assistance this time. I was drawn to the photograph of dates on the label of the syrup I purchased but clearly the photo was only telling part of the story!!! Though come to think of it, I think the label itself was a reddish-rose colour!!

[Westminstress]

I did the same when roasting the squash, BB. I roasted on a sheet pan and didn't have any way to cover it. I liked the cinnamon roasted squash on their own too. I would probably roast uncovered in future as I like the caramelization that occurs.

[herby]

Butternut Squash and Tahini Spread, p. 69

Made this today for tomorrow'sdinner with friends and it is delicious even without sesame seeds and date syrup which will be added tomorrow just before serving.My second appie is gravlax with cream cheese, capers, scallions and baguette. I am thinking that I willput out some cuke slices and celery sticks for scooping up the spread.Thoughts?

[Breadcrumbs]

Sounds great herby. Do you have any pita? They'd be good for dipping/scooping as well I think.

[herby]

I do have nice pita but I am also making spinch salad and believe it has pita chips - too much bread, no? That's why I thought maybe veggies will be better and there will be fresh baguette for those inclined to dip that.

[Breadcrumbs]

I find that for some folks (men in particular) there's no such thing as too much bread. I agree w you though, if there's baguette, you've got it covered for those who don't wish to dip veggies. Enjoy herby and pls report back to let us know how it goes.

[herby]

The spread was delicious, light and creamy. Loved the date syrop on it. Veggies were not graet with it; toasted pita would've been much better. We used baguette to dip into it in addition to veggies and that was good but not as good as pita.

[Breadcrumbs]

So glad to hear you enjoyed the spread herby. I can't wait to try it. I'll take your advice and go w the toasted pita. That's too bad the veggies didn't work w it.

[herby]

I also found that roasting squash as instructed (covered with foil and for an hour) produced different result from uncovered roasting and I like it. BTW, veggies were almost gone and made me feel virtuous :)

[Breadcrumbs]

Hah, a very interesting technique that I'd never have thought of. Glad you mentioned that herby, I'll be sure to follow the recipe as set out. Much appreciated!

[herby]

I am learning to trust Ottolenghi however strange a combo or a technique sounds! With a few very small exeptions everything works beautifully for me in this book and in Plenty as well (do not have his first book).

[Allegra_K]

Ever since all the successes I've come across in Plenty, and now Jerusalem, I have been wanting to get my hands on his first book. It's seemingly unavailable (unless through the UK) anywhere around here, but I have found (and pre-ordered) the paperback version that will be released in North America in September.

[herby]

That's interesting, Allegra! Do you think it is somewhat updated or just a reprint? I am wondering about his first book, not sure that I want a third book along the same lines of spicies and ingredients... That said, definitely would love to at least have a look at it.

[Allegra_K]

I'm just guessing here, but since it's being sold to a NA audience it may have the weights and measurements reflecting that change?

I once asked around to see if the original was worth acquiring (this was before Jerusalem was released) and the responses I received were overwhelmingly in favour of the first book over Plenty. It certainly seems to have wonderful reviews from its time as a cotm.

[herby]

I think a big part of it is that Plenty is vegetarian. Wonder how people feel about the first book after they cooked from Jerusalem? Maybe after January we'll do a pot-mortem (I do not like this term!) and ask for comparisons from those who cooked from both books.

[greedygirl]

The first book is possibly my favourite. So many wonderful recipes. I'd definitely choose it over Plenty, if I really had to.

[Allegra_K]

I am eagerly anticipating its release date here. When I first pre-ordered it, the date was set in March or April, but it keeps getting pushed back! I can't wait to see what is inside those pages...

[Westminstress]

We had ours with pita, but also as a side dish (with clementine chicken and bulgar). I usually like to eat these kinds of spreads with bread, but I also enjoyed it on its own and alongside the bulgar. Mine was pretty thick.

[delys77]

Butternut Squash and Tahini Spread Pg. 69

We thought this was a very nice spread/dip. The texture is absolutely wonderful, with a smooth buttery feel. The flavours of the squash and the tahini are definitely present and in excellent proportion to each other, and the date syrup adds a very interesting additional note of sweetness. We served with pita, sliced cucumber, and celery sticks and I thought it was best with the pita. The slight bitterness of the vegetables didn't really clash with the sweetness of the spread, but they did seem to compete a bit with each other, it wasn't bad with veggies, just not as good as with the pita. If you are serving to people who don't particularly like sweet flavours in savoury dishes perhaps cut back on the date syrup as the spread is relatively sweet.
I think this would be lovely spooned into a pita with a bit of chopped salad and some nice crispy pork bits. I know the pork might seem odd to some (given the context of the book), but I always find pork pairs relatively well with sweeter flavours.

[corneygirl]

Barley risotto with marinated feta

Saute shallots, garlic and celery. Add tomato, barley, broth, thyme, bay, smoked paprika and chili flakes. Cook until tender. Top with toasted caraway seeds with feta and olive oil.

Really a great dish! Pretty much followed the direction except I used 1 large can of tomatoes instead of the chopped and then the sieved. A really nice, satisfying vegetarian main that even impressed the carnivorous BF. The caraway and feta garnish take a good dish to great. I used a nice sheeps milk feta and the creaminess and complexity worked really well. A standard feta would be fine, but a good one really shines. Certainly something I will make often in the future. Bonus points for basically being a pantry meal.

[bunnylicious]

Just made this tonight. What a wonderful dish. I made a number of changes and it still turned out great. I used chicken stock instead of vegetable, halved the caraway seeds, used one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes instead of 14 oz can + passata, and forgot the oregano garnish. Nonetheless, it was delicious. I was a bit hesitant throughout the cooking process - i thought there was an awful lot of liquid for the amount of barley. But at the end of the 45 minutes, the texture was creamy just like risotto. Very impressed, and it seemed less fussy than regular risotto.

[pavlova]

I made this the other day with all passata, as i didn't want to have half a jar of that and half a can of tomatoes left over. it was really good, but I think the diced tomatoes would have added something to the texture. I used leftover feta with olive oil and sumac from another recipe.

[delys77]

Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta Pg. 109

I quite liked this, and my partner really loved this. I must admit that I skimped on the cheese and oil a bit. We were looking for a light vegetarian main, but when I read the recipe I noticed that there were 2 Tb of butter, 6Tb of oil, and 10 oz of cheese for four servings. This seemed a little over the top to me so I cut the oil and the cheeses back by about 1/3rd. The result was still very good with a nice tangy tomato flavour in the nicely plumped barley, pairing very well with the rich feta that had a slight nuttiness from the caraway. The only draw back for me was that since I cut oil and cheese back the tomato flavour was quite pronounced and a little unbalanced, it was lacking the creamy fat content to offset it.

This was my fault and when I repeat I would likely go with a the suggested proportions and cut back on the serving size a tad if I am concerned with calories.

[Gio]

I guess this will be our dinner tonight since my brain is resting on the couch right now and hasn't planned what to cook. I'm so glad to read all the different adjustments. I have all the necessary ingredients except fresh oregano. That's buried under several inches of snow.

[delys77]

Actually Gio I also forgot to mention that I skipped the fresh oregano as the market was out. I simply sprinkled in a scant tsp of dried oregano with the cheese when I was tossing it with the caraway. Tasted just fine to me.

[Gio]

Thanks Delys. I have dried oregano too, but in the fridge there's fresh mint, parsley, tarragon, dill, and cilantro. After I taste the stew I'll know better what to use. I have a feeling the DO will be the one, though.

[delys77]

I think any of them would work well since the primary flavour note is tomato, and all of the above work very well with tomato. Perhaps the dill since it would also work well with the feta. Either way, best of luck.

[Westminstress]

Probably too late for you at this point, but when I made this dish pre-COTM I subbed parsley for oregano to no ill effect.

[Gio]

Thanks Westminstress! I must delay cooking the risotto till Tuesday, so your advice is timely after all.

[Westminstress]

I also used a box of pomi chopped instead of canned tomatoes and passata - much easier, less waste, and very similar texture I would think.

[Gio]

I was going to use Pomi as well. So glad to see your use was satisfactory.

[BigSal]

Barley risotto with marinated feta p. 109

I liked this quite a bit, much more than I had anticipated. The barley added a nice texture that was delicious with the sweetness of the tomato and the richness of the feta. It made for a very satisfying meal that was a breeze to make.

[Gio]

Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta Pg. 109

We finally cooked this last night and I'm so happy to say we loved it. Like others I made a few adjustments to some ingredients but nothing too drastic: reduced the oil by half, used 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth, used 1 box of Pomi chopped tomatoes so a little less than required, 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds. The feta was Israeli sheep's milk beautifully rich and creamy, not too salty. Everything else remained the same. At the end I strew a few fresh parsley leaves over and called it done.

The barley was cooked perfectly and the brothy tomatoey flavor was enhanced by the sweet cumin-like caraway. Yes, definitely this will have a repeat performance here.

[GretchenS]

My turn for the barley risotto with marinated feta. I think something is wrong with my barley. At the end of the specified cooking time it was as hard as can be. It ended up needing 2+ hours, by which time I had tasted it so many times I had completely lost interest in it and had eaten something else for dinner. So I grumpily stuck it in the fridge. Today (two days later) I reheated a portion and topped it with the marinated feta and parsley -- wow, that is seriously wonderful! So my contribution is that it stores and reheats very well. Would be a great candidate to prepare on the weekend and have available for a fast weeknight dinner. Must go buy some new barley....

[lilham]

Barley risotto and marinated feta

Nothing to add other than saying we like this very much. Mr lilham thinks this taste like baked beans. Toddler ate her portion with exaggerated yum yum noises. I made double what we needed for lunch. It tastes just as good on reheat. (I refrigerate the feta separately from the risotto).

[Caitlin McGrath]

Barley risotto with marinated feta, p. 109 (US ed.)

This was just delicious, creamy and comforting, but full of flavor and I like how low-maintenance it is. Like some others, I used Pomi chopped tomatoes for the full amount, and parsley in place of fresh oregano. I also cut the butter and oil for cooking it in half, and also halved the oil for marinating the feta, of which I used a bit less. It did not feel unbalanced to me. Initially, I spooned the feta and parsley on top, but then I stirred it into the dish, and liked it better that way.

[Frizzle]

Wow. We thought this dish was sensational.

I made a few subs - chicken stock instead of vegetable stock and fresh marjoram instead of oregano. I used goat feta. I also ended up cooking it for longer than the 45 mins and adding more stock to the pan. Towards the end it started sticking and needed close attention. This will be a dish we repeat often.

[pavlova]

Lemony Leek Meatballs p. 44 (yes, they are in the vegetable chapter!)

These were outstanding! They are made with about triple the weight of leeks to ground beef and bound with fresh breadcrumbs in a simple chicken stock and lemon sauce, served with Greek yogurt. I served them with the butternut squash and red onion with tahini and the barley and parsley salad, with the clementine almond syrup cake for dessert.

I discovered too late that the recipe called for breadcrumbs and there was no bread in the house so I used cooked basmati instead and it worked just fine and they held together well and were tender. I also used more beef than the recipe called for, just to use an entire package. We loved the lemony sauce and a dollop of Greek yogurt on top was the perfect accompaniment.

[GretchenS]

Oh I am so happy to read your report, pavlova, have had my eye on this recipe. It sounds wonderful!

[greedygirl]

I made these for dinner tonight, intending to split the recipe between us for a main, as it's a starter for 4. We ended up only eating half, as the meatballs are huge, but extremely light because of the leeks. We served over rice and enjoyed this dish a lot. Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch.

[Frizzle]

I've made this recipe a few times before the COTM period started. I LOVE (yes, with all caps even) these. They are incredibly light and tangy. I wish leeks were cheaper so I could make them more often.
I'm glad other people are enjoying them too.

[biondanonima]

Has anyone found this recipe online? It sounds delicious but I can't seem to find it anywhere...

[Frizzle]

It's one of the few I haven't found I'm afraid.

[biondanonima]

Bummer...if anyone would be willing to paraphrase it here I'd be grateful. I'm trying to be frugal post-holiday shopping, so there's a moratorium on book buying until further notice!

[blue room]

Lemony leek meatballs paraphrased

6 large leeks, trimmed
9 ounces ground beef
scant 1 cup breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
3/4 to 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (garnish)
1 tablespoon fine chopped flat leaf parsley (garnish)
salt & pepper

Slice the leeks 3/4 inch, steam 20 minutes until soft.
Cool, squeeze out water with towel, then process until chopped up but not mush.
Mix with meat, crumbs, eggs, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Form into 8 patties, chill for half hour.
Sear in hot oil on both sides. (Heavy-bottomed pan that has lid.) Wipe out pan, put patties in (can overlap) and pour stock over to almost cover. Add lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for half hour. Uncover and cook more if needed, liquid should be almost gone. Serve with yogurt and parsley. Can be served @ room temp.

[biondanonima]

Thank you! These look excellent...I'm thinking of subbing/adding some chopped preserved lemons, since I have about a million of them sitting in a jar on my countertop.

[biondanonima]

I finally got around to making these last night - they were very interesting! The only sub I made was to use low-carb bread, whizzed in the food processor, instead of dry breadcrumbs. Upon tasting the finished product, I could hardly believe that there was so little meat in them - they tasted very "meaty," and I will definitely try leeks as a "bulking" agent in other meatball/meatloaf type recipes (although they're a pretty expensive bulking agent - at $2.99/lb, they were more expensive than the meat!).

The only minor negative with this recipe is that I felt the outsides of the patties soaked up all the lemon flavor, making the outsides too tangy and the insides not tangy enough. Next time, I will probably work a little chopped preserved lemon into the meat mixture, and cut the amount of lemon juice in the sauce.

[greedygirl]

Leeks are expensive? I think the quantity needed for this recipe cost about £1. The small quantity of meat required makes this a very economical dish, IMHO.

[Frizzle]

They are here at present in Australia. It's about £9 worth of leeks. In season it's about £4 worth. I guess they just cost more here. It's great inspiration to start a vegetable patch.

[lilham]

Frizzle, you know what, I've never had leeks when I was in NZ. Mr lilham remembered it when he was young but he has british parents. I think it must be the cost! I haven't even thought about it until your post.

On the other hand, we really miss passion fruit. They are so expensive in the UK. When you can just steal them off your neighbours bush back home, it feels wrong to pay so much for them.

[Frizzle]

I was born and grew up in NZ but live in Australia now (for a few more months anyway). Leeks are a seasonal item in NZ but not hugely popular. I think leek and potato soup is the only use for them that was widely known when I was a kid. I never had them until I was an adult.
Passion fruit I love and you are right, you just grow or steal them in NZ. I've found the prices here in Australia to be exorbitant too.

[LulusMom]

We were in Australia and NZ two years ago for 9 weeks and I was stunned by the price of food. Especially in NZ there was also a problem with availability (at least at the small city grocery I went to in Wellington). I don't remember seeing any leeks.

[lilham]

NZ is a very expensive place to live. It has always been. I went to a private school and my friends don't have the latest bags or shoes like I see in british school children. It's what is so lovely about it. If the Jones don't have the stuff, you don't need that extra money for them either. You get other things money can't buy too. Like lovely countryside and space. Even houses in Auckland are huge compared to the UK. I like how they say this is a three bedroom house with two double bedrooms. The master I have now is about half the size of the bedroom I grew up in.

[pavlova]

I paid $9.00 Canadian for enough leeks for the dish, more than twice what the meat cost!

[bunnylicious]

Wow! Made these tonight and although I took a few shortcuts, they turned out fantastic. I made the recipe as directed, but I did not let the raw meatball mixture cool in the fridge for 30 minutes. I put the stock and lemon juice for the sauce in a separate pot, and put the fried meatballs in the sauce as I went along, instead of cooking all the meatballs then simmering in the sauce. I only left the meatballs in the sauce for a few minutes, at a higher heat. All this to say, I took a few shortcuts and they still turned out delicious! I loved the light fluffy texture, the velvety leek, and the bright lemon sauce. Another definite repeat.

[MelMM]

Lemony Leek Meatballs, iBook edition

Made this for dinner last night and had the leftovers for breakfast.

As noted earlier, this recipe has 800g of leeks, to 250g of ground beef and 90g of bread crumbs. This means that "meatball" is really a misnomer. First, they are patties, not balls. Second, they would be better described as leek patties, that have a little meat in them.

I would strongly suggest weighing the chopped leeks for this recipe. I bought 4 leeks, and the weight ended up being less than half of the specified 800g. Accordingly, I made a slightly-less-than- 1/2 recipe, and got a yield of 7 patties (made to the size specified), whereas per the recipe, I should have gotten a stingy 4. During the simmering process (in the same saute pan I fried them in), I found I had to keep an eye on the pan to make sure they didn't dry out completely. I ended up adding additional water to prevent that. By the end of the 30 minutes, I did manage to have a nearly dry pan without the patties scorching.

There were, as others have reported, very tasty. Served with a simple dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkle of parsley, the lemon came through very well. The texture of the patties, since they are mostly leek and not much meat, is quite soft.

[Breadcrumbs]

I really appreciate your description of these Mel. The leek to meat ratio was a deterrent for me in terms of trying this recipe as I couldn't imagine how they'd turn out as a meatball. Thinking of them as leek patties w a little meat helps. For my meat-loving mr bc I suspect I'd need another protein on the table to ensure he was full. He does love leeks though so I'll definitely give this a try. Thanks again.

[MelMM]

Glad you found it helpful. This is a good recipe, but I did want to make sure that people reading the thread had a clear idea of what these were. Someone expecting what we normally think of as a meatball might be disappointed, but if you are expecting a vegetable-based patty you will be happy.

[GilaB]

Spicy Beet, Leek, and Walnut Salad (p. 73 in US edition):

We loved this recipe, which I prepared without the walnut oil in the dressing; I find it goes rancid too quickly to be worth keeping around, delicious as it is. Also, my local grocery was out of arugula, so I substituted watercress, the rest of which I eventually used in the watercress soup I reviewed elsewhere in this thread. I do not know what tamarind water is, but I diluted some tamarind paste down to watery consistency and used that.

This was delicious, impressive, and made a ton of food. Both we and our guests really enjoyed it, and it was the first container of leftovers that we both went for the following day.

I would totally make it again, but with some other vegetable rather than leeks. The leeks tasted great, don't get me wrong, but were a huge pain to deal with, as I needed to keep them from falling apart during so many steps: washing between the layers, boiling, draining, cutting into even shorter lengths that needed to be kept together, tossing with dressing, and arranging on a platter. I found myself occasionally reassembling the layers of a leek segment after it fell apart.

In future, I might use wedges of steamed artichoke hearts, or perhaps roasted fennel wedges, rather than the leeks. I think that either would work with the other flavors, and would be easier to deal with.

[dkennedy]

Gila, Keep your walnut oil in the fridge and you will find it takes a very long time for it to turn.

[GilaB]

If I kept everything in the fridge (nuts, oils, beans, grains, flours) that everybody tells me to keep in the fridge, I wouldn't have room for the milk.

[bunnylicious]

We loved this salad!!! So satisfying and tasty, wish I hadn't halved the recipe as we both wanted seconds.

I used pumpkin seed oil instead of walnut, and replaced the tamarind with lemon juice and a tiny punch of sugar. I didn't stress too much about keeping the leeks together. They fell apart but it wasn't too messy and didn't affect the flavor. Another winner.

[pluralofcow]

I made this last night and didn't love it. I'll try it one more time, lighter on the apple cider vinegar. It was too tart for me and I didn't even add any tamarind. I think it may have been my expectations were off. I've spent a lot of time in Georgia, and I think I was expecting something different.

[DebHo]

Crazy about the too acidic part as I did not think that of mine at all. Just wondering if you ever took a second shot at it.

[ChrisOfStumptown]

Made this last night. I generally agree with the other posters: it's a good recipe but the leeks are a potential trouble spot. My only leek trouble occurred during slicing, but largely avoided this. The recipe cautions using a sharp knife here and I think dull knives risk shredding the leeks. I had a few, in the photo below these are on the far side of the salad. I think it also helps to toss the leeks in the dressing using your hands, at least that is what i did.

A few notes:

The dressing uses more vinegar than oil. I was expecting something more tart, but was glad it wasn't. I think the vinegar was fairly low in acidity.

I like the plating and assembly instructions: the salad is assembled in layers which resulted in an attractive result. I intend to add this technique to my regular bag of tricks.

I happened to have orange-saffron sauce from the chicken and herb salad recipe which made a nice mixer for club soda. Just saying, goes well with the beet salad.

I think this salad would go well with, or after salami or similar.

I used watercress in the picture below:

[DebHo]

Chris, love the picture! And I am a sucker for salami so I might try that. The salad went well with the roasted chicken recipe too.

[geekmom]

Spicy beetroot, leek and walnut salad - p 73 (UK ed)

Whole beets are baked in tinfoil, then peeled after they are cool. Meanwhile, 10cm segments of leek are simmered gently for ten minutes, and a walnut, tamarind and cider vinegar dressing is assembled. The beets and leeks are sliced into chunks and tossed separately with the dressing.The salad is plated in layers: beets, then rocket/ arugula, leeks, more of each of these vegetables, and finally sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.

This salad was mostly assembled by my daughter; I helped here and there while cooking other dishes. She did a great job, aside from slightly overcooking the leeks. Even so we did manage to get them to hold together. It helps that she forgot to toss the dressing with the beets and leeks, and simply poured it over top of everything before sprinkling on the pomegranate seeds; this made it a little easier for the leeks to hold their shape.

We all really enjoyed the combination of flavours here. Even the beet haters in the family liked this salad. However, we agree with other posters that the cider vinegar is a little too prominent & my sticky-note on the recipe reminds me to cut back on the vinegar next time.

I didn't think the salad was in fact spicy, as advertised. There was a nice bitterness from the rocket but the pepper flakes that I added to the dressing must not have been strong enough to compete with all the other big flavours. If you want a really spicy kick with this dish, I recommend either increasing the chili flakes in the dressing (taste as you go!) or make sure the ones you're using are very potent.

[blue room]

What a pretty salad -- I'd be hovering over this waiting to taste it while everyone else was being seated. Good idea to *not* toss leeks.

[DebHo]

I completely echo what you wrote. The dish and flavors were great. I have a new love for walnut oil and even let my dinner party guests sample the oil pure and had them on board too. I lucked out and got the best tasting arugula from the farmer's market that morning and am glad as it really made the "salad" part of the dish.

The leeks...I wish I could have loved this part. They just never seem to be the right texture for me and I had mixed reviews from my guests. One liked them more al dente and the other wanted them cooked more. Next time I am leaving out the leeks. I think this is a great salad just with the beets and arugula but I like your idea of perhaps artichokes.

[Goblin]

Regarding the Spicy Beet, Leek, and Walnut Salad: I agree with DebHo's and others' conclusion about the leeks. I loved the other flavors and textures except for them. Despite my careful handling, they fell apart after cooking, which was OK, but when we ate them, they just seemed too "slippery" in texture.
The idea of subbing artichoke-bottoms is appealing. But prepping fresh artichokes is even more time-consuming than the leeks. Would anyone recommend using a brand of canned or frozen artichoke bottoms, or is this heresy! ;-)

[LulusMom]

I use frozen artichoke bottoms/hearts! I don't have any in the freezer right now, but I've only ever seen one brand (in DC and here in North Carolina) and they've been good quality. Not cheap, but, as you say, you're saving a lot of time - and your time is worth money, right?

[GilaB]

I was thinking of using frozen artichoke hearts when I made the suggestion (which I haven't tried yet). Prepping fresh artichokes goes beyond the level of fussiness that I'm willing to do. I'd skip the canned ones, which have an unpleasant taste/texture IMO. I believe the only brand of frozen artichoke hearts in my local grocery store is Birds Eye, which are all right, but you need to check them for small leftover fibrous bits.

[Goblin]

Thank you, both Lulu'sMom and GllaB, for the advice on using frozen artichoke hearts in this beet salad recipe. I have bought them before in my local supermarket. Glad to have the reminder about checking for the leftover bits of "choke."

I have to say, "Jerusalem" has been one of the most rewarding Cookbooks of the Month for me. I've loved the recipes and the many and varied reviews.

[GilaB]

Watercress & Chickpea Soup with Rose Water & Ras el Hanout (p. 132 in US edition):
In a very unlikely turn of events, I happened to have almost all of the ingredients for this soup kicking around the fridge one Sunday, although I was a bit short on both greens and supplemented with about a cup of chopped parsley to make up for the lack. We also skipped the optional yogurt garnish as we happened to be out of it. My husband and I both really enjoyed this soup. The rose water gave it a slight hint of perfume in the background without overwhelming the dish, as it sometimes can. Any pureed soup needs a lot of garnish to provide textural contrast, but the roasted carrots and chickpeas here added wonderful spice and heft to the dish. I made my own ras al hanout, as we were out, which probably helped the flavor. We would totally make this again, although perhaps with more chickpeas in the pureed portion to add more thickness.

[Allegra_K]

Hummus Kawarma with Lemon Sauce (half recipe) pg.118

A hummus that knows how to party! This luxurious version of hummus is topped with a fantastic spiced lamb mixture and a generous drizzle of intensely flavoured lemon dressing, and is as Ottolenghi states, "one of the most sensational things you can put in your mouth". I wholeheartedly agree.

For the kawarma, finely chopped lamb is marinated in a mixture of black & white pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, za'atar leaves (oregano as a sub), white wine vinegar and fresh mint and parsley. After a time, the lamb is cooked in olive oil and butter until barely done.
A gloriously tart and slightly spicy lemon sauce is made up using parsley, fresh green chile, lemon juice, white wine vinegar and garlic.

Hummus-the recipe from page 114- gets spread out to individual plates and the lamb topping is divided up amongst it. A liberal amount of lemon sauce is poured atop the mix and the whole thing is scattered with reserved whole cooked chickpeas, flat leaf parsley, and toasted pine nuts.

This was irresistible! The lamb had such a lovely spice mix that really elevated the hummus to extraordinary heights, and the addition of the lemon sauce went so perfectly with all the other ingredients that I found myself adding extra at the table. It was greedily eaten at once with blisteringly hot pita, fresh from the oven, and a side of Na'ama's Fattoush. The items together made for a very delicious and hearty dinner, the kind that has you reflecting on the meal with pleasured satisfaction long after the dishes are put away.

[blue room]

Thank you again Allegra_K, this one will haunt me!

[Breadcrumbs]

Beautiful Allegra, sounds divine!

[qianning]

wow...now I really do wish my library copy would show up soon....that dish sounds absolutely fabulous.

[JoanN]

Read both your reports and went right out and bought chickpeas. Lamb already in the freezer. Soon. Soon. Looks and sounds irresistible.

[GretchenS]

Fabulous report, Allegra_K, I can almost taste it! You write as well as you cook! :)

[Gio]

I wish I didn't dislike chickpeas as I do. Your report of the Kawarma with Lemon Sauce sounds wonderful. So, I wonder if I could use another bean preparation instead of hummus. I made so much hummus in the past that I really don't care for it now, even though I see that YO's recipe is quite different...
I need another think about this. Off the top, I'm thinking a fava bean puree.

[BigSal]

Sounds amazing! I am adding this to the growing list. Inspired by your previous post, I am having falafel for lunch. The minced raw ingredients smell amazing, can't wait to try it.

[Allegra_K]

A warm thank you to all above for your kind words; it's a real pleasure to come back here and find such encouragement. My day has been brightened because of it!

[blue room]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047522/

[biondanonima]

Beautiful! I have been lurking on these threads because I don't have the book and (mostly) haven't been tempted to buy it - however, this recipe is beyond tempting! Luckily I was able to find it online, over at Serious Eats. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/20... Can't wait to try it!

[JungMann]

I also made the hummus kawarma. The lamb meat is, to say the least, delightfully spiced. It is a series of bursts of flavor from the vinegar, herbs and spices. The hummus, however, I thought fell completely flat. It somehow managed to be watery while leaning too heavily on the tahini. The lemon sauce definitely added the zing that was missing from the hummus, but if you were not lucky enough to scoop up some garlic and lemon, you were just getting a bite of fabulous lamb with chickpea mash. The kawarma is a keeper, but I will be sticking to the bright, garlicky bite of Lebanese hummus recipes to compliment. There are plenty of ways to make a delicious, decadently smooth hummus, but I don't this basic hummus recipe is one of them.

[beetlebug]

Hummus Kawarma with Lemon Sauce pg.118

I made this last night for a dinner party. This was the dish I was most eager to try and it didn't disappoint. Not much to add, but if you love spicy lamb bits and hummus, you must try this combo. I did divide the hummus into two portions since there was one vegetarian at the table. I drizzled some of the lemon sauce on to the non-lamb one and it elevated that hummus as well.

I can't wait to eat my leftovers.

[Breadcrumbs]

I like your idea of serving the hummus w the lemon sauce for the vegetarians beetlebug. Sounds delicious.

[JoanN]

Kawarma with Lemon Sauce (page 118, US edition)

This didn’t work for me. Could have been any number of reasons

First of all, what cut of meat is everyone using for this? I used part of a boned leg of lamb that I’d bought specifically to section and use for recipes in this book. What is “neck fillet of lamb”? How would it differ from leg?

I was too impatient too cook the meat in batches and cooked it all at once in a wok. It threw off an awful lot of liquid and turned sort of gray rather than brown. I pushed the lamb up the sides of the wok thinking to boil off the liquid and brown the meat, but the meat was overcooking before that was going to happen so I just gave up. I had a lot of leftover Basmati with Orzo so decided to serve it on that rather than make the hummus. Maybe that was a mistake; maybe the hummus is a necessary foil for the other flavors to work? I thought the sauce was too, too. Too sharp; too raw. It overwhelmed both the meat and the rice. Did I just use too much of it? And finally, perhaps (this was my third lamb dish from this book) I’m just tiring of the flavor profile. All three lamb preparations contain allspice and two contain cinnamon. Yes, each contains other herbs and spices as well, but allspice is prominent in all of them. And this lamb itself without the sauce just wasn’t as spicy as I had expected, hoped?

Anyway, I was excited when I read beetlebug’s report because I have a dinner coming up with a mix of vegetarians and meat eaters and I was counting on this dish to be the centerpiece. But I don’t think so.

[Breadcrumbs]

What a shame Joan, so sorry this disappointed. If it's any consolation, your photograph is lovely and very enticing!

[greedygirl]

Lamb neck fillet will have more fat than leg. It sounds like you were steaming the meat rather than frying it, by cooking it all at once.

[JoanN]

Thanks, gg. I suspected that might be true about the lamb neck. I did use one of the fattier pieces of leg, but perhaps it just wasn't enough. I wonder if you can even buy lamb neck fillet here. I've certainly never seen it. But then, I've never asked for it.

As for the steaming, that was no more meat and not much less oil than I often use in a stir-fry so I was expecting a similar result.

[Allegra_K]

Oh no, I'm so sorry this didn't work out for you! I did really like the spicing of the lamb, but could certainly see how it would get boring if every application involving said meat was the same.

I really felt that the lemon sauce made the hummus 'pop', and married the flavours of the meat and the chickpea spread, but I guess the rice must not have needed such a citrus burst. At least you tested it before the company came!

[beetlebug]

I used whatever lamb fillets were in the meat case at whole foods. I know it wasn't neck though. It may have been leg but I have no clue.

I also used my wok. My chopped fillets were probably around 9 oz which is just the right amount for my wok. I actually used the Grace Young method of stir fry (put meat in wok and don't touch it for a minute). Mine didn't throw off excess liquid although there was some.

I do think you need the combo of lamb, hummus and lemon sauce to make the dish work. Or, for the vegetarians, the lemon sauce and hummus. I added more of the lemon sauce to the vegetarian dish because the hummus lacked the lamb. But, I loved the combo overall.

Bummer that it didn't work for you.

[JoanN]

Had some of the leftovers last night and liked it better the second time around. Maybe the sauce had mellowed somewhat. Or maybe it was I who had mellowed. May reconsider for the dinner party. I will trust that he had a good reason for pairing the lamb and sauce with the hummus, to say nothing of the fact that those who have loved this dish did indeed serve it that way.

[delys77]

Hummus Kawarma with Lemond Sauce, Pg. 118

We loved this dish! As I noted above, the hummus was very good, both in texture and in flavour, but the topping really brought it to another level.

Here in Vancouver there are a large number of Shawarma/Donair/Gyro/Kebab places in the neighbourhood near my work, and I particularly love when I get take out and a crunchy piece of seasoned meat has gone rogue and fallen into the hummus. I usually grab some pita scoop up some tabouleh (sp?) and then pluck the meat out of the hummus and into my mouth. For me this dish was the perfect recreation of that flavour profile with its unctuous hummus, spicy bites of crisp meat, and the strong tang of the lemon sauce.

A real winner this one, we just loved it.

[Allegra_K]

Hooray, glad you liked this, and what a beautiful photo!

[blue room]

The hummus in that picture looks so good -- exactly the right thickness!

[geekmom]

Yum, that looks incredibly good. I'm going to go and soak some chickpeas now. :-)

[greedygirl]

We're on the "love" side with this one, which I served as the starter for a Jerusalem dinner party. Beautiful combination of textures and flavours. I think the word stunning may have been used by some guests.

[Allegra_K]

Basic Hummus p.114

The method for making this fabulous hummus yields the smoothest batch of chickpea spread that has ever come out of my kitchen, a method I won't hesitate to use again.

The soaked chickpeas, once drained, get mixed with baking soda in a pot over high heat -no water- and vigorously stirred for several minutes before adding the water. This baking soda fry really seems to loosen the skins of the chickpeas, and after a few minutes in the boiling water, the skins start to rise to the surface. I stood over the stove for a while with a small sieve, removing the skins as they appeared and stirring every so often to encourage the other, more stubborn legumes to release their casings. In the end probably only about 10% of the chickpeas had their skins still on.

On top of the skinless chickpeas, another reason the spread is so creamy is because of the vast amount of tahini called for in the recipe, plus the fact that it is blended in a food processor for five minutes with icy water.

I did really enjoy this hummus, but for everyday use, I would add extra lemon juice, less tahini, and a touch of olive oil. This version reminds me of the kind one would have in a ME restaurant: very rich, very smooth, very extravagant. I would make it this way again for sure, but I'll need to make sure that I have a full jar of tahini. The hummus found its way into the recipe on the following page, Hummus Kawarma with Lemon Sauce.

[Breadcrumbs]

Yum! Sounds wonderful Allegra. As you say, quite different from the usual Hummus and undoubtedly nice for a change of pace. It's nice to have a range of options for making a dish and this one sounds like a keeper, even if reserved for special occasions.

[greeneggsnham]

Basic Hummus, pg 114.

I made the basic hummus as well. I was actually a bit puzzled by the baking soda fry, but I bet you are right that it helps to loosen the skins. My chickpeas also lost their skins very rapidly.

I was shocked by the amount of tahini I put into the hummus (over a cup!). I have made hummus many times in the past and never even approached this amount of tahini in a batch. I completely agree with Allegra's final assessment as well, very rich, very smooth, very extravagant. So much so, that we only ate a relatively small portion of the full batch and have a lot in the fridge as leftovers. I also thought it could use more lemon juice, and will probably add a bit to the leftovers.

For me, I prefer a slightly less extravagant hummus, I think. The Hummus Kawarma sounds divine, though.

[shaebones]

Basic Hummus, pg 114.

I didn't like it. :( I thought it was bland and there was something off about it. There was a bitter aftertaste. The tahini and garlic were both fresh so not sure what went wrong. I was bummed. Thats a lot of hummus to dump.

[mrsleny]

Did you taste it again the next day? Sometimes I find it's much better after it sits for a day.

[shaebones]

Yes, still off flavor,,,had to dump it.

[delys77]

Hello all

My plan was to prep this hummus tonight and then to do the rest for the Hummus Kawarma tomorrow. I just reviewed the recipe a bit more closely and I had a few questions I hoped some of you might be able to help me with.

1. I was actually supposed to soak the chickpeas last night but after a few glasses of wine it slipped my mind. I have them soaking now and I just assumed that overnight meant 8 hours or so of soaking, which would mean I could drain them around 5pm (8 hours after I put them in). Do we think this will equate to an overnight soak? Also, once they went into the water, how long did it take them to soften after their overnight soak. YO/ST say approximately 40 minutes to an hour, did you find this accurate.

2. One of my New Year's resolutions is to lose a little weight (getting married in August) so I am a being slightly more careful of calories. I'm not calorie counting mind you as I am doing quite a bit of exercise, but I also don't want to eat unecessary calories. It sounds like the general concensus is that the suggested amount of tahini is a bit on the high side. Since he calls for a cup I thought I might cut it back to 1/2 a cup. What do you all think this might do to the consistancy and the flavour? I've done a little research in the books I have at home and the average for 600gr of chick peas seems to be about 1/2 a cup. Which leads me to assume my approach might yield a slightly more average hummus, but still something that has a good balance of tahini flavour. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance all for any help.

[herby]

Delys77, when I am in a hurry to soak beans, I bring them to a boil and leave for a couple of hours off the heat; drain, rinse and cook as directed. I like my chickpeas on the soft side, one hour cooking is usually enough but taste a bean to see if it is to your teaste. The same with hummus - add 1/2 cup of tahini and taste - if you like a bit more, add a tablespoon or two. I do not like a lot of tahini in hummus and probably would go with 1/2 cup.

[delys77]

Thanks Herby

[delys77]

Basic Hummus

Allright, I actually finished the hummus on Sunday evening but we didn't really have any till Tuesday when we ate it as part of the Hummus Kawarma. Loved this hummus! I soaked for about 9 hours and then simmered for about 30 minutes and the beans were very tender and wizzed up perfectly in the processor. I did cut back to about 1/3 and 1/2 a cup of tahini and I thought that was just right for us. While I like tahini, I also don't want it to be the dominant flavour note in the hummus. With this amount the hummus was still very smooth, rich, nutty, but with a good balance between the tahini, chickpea, garlic, and lemon.

The texture this process yields is extremely smooth, as other have stated, mostly likely due to the elimination of many of the skins and the long processing with the drizzle of ice water. I have made hummus from other recipes before but have generally not found that there was much difference between those recipes and commercial hummus, this recipe however yields a far superior product.

Would definitely repeat.

[rasputina]

Basic Hummus

I made this today, with dried chickpeas I soaked and cooked last week. So I didn't do the baking soda fry to skin them. I skinned them by hand like I usually do. Hummus is a staple at our house and it's usually made by my husband who lived in Israel for a few years and learned to make it there from his aunt.

I have to admit that I was a very surprised at the amount of tahini the recipe called for but I followed it as written. This is terrific hummus. I think the key's are the amount of tahini and also the extended processing time. I know we've never processed it before, for the 5 minutes after it's all come together.

Also this recipe has a perfect balance between the garlic, lemon, chickpeas and tahini.

I've always skinned my chickpeas, and it's so time consuming that I often just resort to canned out of laziness. Next time I'll try the baking soda fry method.

I'll be making this recipe again though. I just wish my husband wasn't out of town until Friday so I could get his opinion.

[greedygirl]

I cooked my own chickpeas using the recipe but a lot of the skins stayed put. It was a very creamy hummus nevertheless. A revelation.

[Gio]

Shakshouka, Pg. 66, US Edition

This was the best version of eggs and tomatoes I've ever had, and I've made several versions: Mario Batali's Uova in Purgatorio, Fuchsia Dunlop's Stir-Fried Eggs with Tomatoes, and others. The sauce is star here but fresh free-range eggs are pretty important too, IMO. The recipe calls for 4 eggs plus 4 egg yolks but I used only the eggs.

Make the sauce first: In hot olive oil heat harissa, tomato paste, garlic, large red peppers cut into strips, cumin, and salt. Fry and stir in till peppers are soft. Add chopped tomatoes and simmer till you have a thick sauce. Make little indentations in the sauce and drop the eggs into them, being careful not to break the yolks. Simmer till whites are set but yolks are still runny. Serve with Labneh...I simply served Greek yogurt, the alternative.

The spinach and date salad on page 30 was the side dish. Crusty bread was used to mop up the spicy, aromatic sauce and runny yolks of the Shakshuka. Absolutely delicious!

[Allegra_K]

That sounds just fantastic, Gio! I was planning on making this for brunch one of these days. Have you tried the version of shakshouka in Plenty? Another amazing recipe.

[Breadcrumbs]

This really does sound delicious Gio...high praise indeed. Looking forward to trying this one. Thanks for your enticing review!

[Gio]

Thanks Allegra and BC...

I Think I made the shakshuka from YO's Plenty but I can't remember now. I do know there were several recipes from COTMs and "Nons" I've cooked, though...

[Allegra_K]

Shakshuka

Inspired by Gio's glowing report above, I rushed to the fridge immediately and started gathering ingredients to make this for brunch. And what a delightful Sunday meal it was.
I used harissa from a tin that I picked up in a Middle Eastern market instead of making my own, and perhaps should have tasted it before adding the full amount; the spicy capsaicin zip was quite a way to wake-up! I added in some coloured bell pepper halves that needed to be used as well as the two red peppers, and so increased most other ingredients accordingly. Used a 28 oz tin of tomatoes, plus a couple handfuls of frozen Israeli cherry tomatoes leftover from the garden; a most fitting end for those lovelies. Instead of 4 extra egg yolks, added two extra whole eggs. This was eagerly eaten with some leftover toasted pita.
There is enough sauce leftover for me to reheat this for an easy brekkie tomorrow after adding a couple more eggs. A wonderful version on what is quickly becoming a favourite dish.

[herby]

I love Shakshuka! I used to make a similar dish that I came up with on my own; it was great but not spectacular as are all Shakshuka versions in Ottolenghi books.

[MelMM]

Shakshuka, iBook ed.

I love eggs and tomatoes in pretty much every incarnation I have tried, so this recipe was a no-brainer for me. Gio has already described the process, so I'll just add my notes.

My edition of the book says to cut the peppers into 1/4" dice, not strips, so that is what I did. Using freshly ground cumin, straight from the mortar, I reduced the amount just a bit to account for the increased flavor as compared to store-bought ground cumin. Like Gio, I left out the egg yolks. In my case it was unintentional. I just didn't notice the "plus 4 egg yolks" on the same ingredient line as the whole eggs. The Harissa I used was from a jar, Mustapha's brand. Strong enough to give quite a kick to the sauce. Like Gio, I used Greek yoghurt alongside. I added a couple pinches of smoked paprika to my sauce to gild a lily that didn't really need gilding.

Delicious is right. Spicy sauce, eggs, bread to mop everything up... what's not to like? The yoghurt also went really well, balancing the spiciness of the sauce with a cooling, tangy richness. This makes for a satisfying meal at any time of day.

[beetlebug]

Shakshouka, Pg. 66, US Edition

I made this for dinner last night and loved it. I haven't made his other versions yet. This version seems simpler to prep with less ingredients which is why I made it.

Like Gio, I only made four eggs with no yolks. I did have a fair amount of sauce leftover which I'll eat for breakfast soon (with either more eggs cooked in the sauce or a straight fried eggs).

One slight change, I wanted some greens so I blanched kale and added it into the tomato sauce while it thickened. I really liked the addition and it felt more complete to me.

I served this over rice which went well with the sauce.

[DebHo]

I finally made this last night and absolutely love it. Being of the spicy persuasion and first I wanted to kick it up a bit more but in the end I am glad I did not as the spice was rich verses the heat I am used to. My guest loved it as well and I am making it again for dinner this week.

I would not change a thing.

[bunnylicious]

So happy to have made this shakshouka. Followed the recipe except I reduced the amount of Harissa so that my 11 month-old could eat some of the sauce too (no eggs just yet). I overcooked the eggs a bit but still found this just wonderful. I topped half with yogurt as suggested in the recipe, and the other half with feta and zaatar. Loved it both ways.

[cheesecake17]

My toddler likes the tomato/ yogurt mixture with an omelette on the side.

[bunnylicious]

Can only hope that our little ones keep their adventurous palates! :) will try with omelette for next time. This time she ate the sauce with yogurt and bread and couldn't get enough!

[Caitlin McGrath]

Shakshuka, p. 66 (US ed.)

This made a great lunch. I made a half recipe, and used two eggs, no extra yolks. I actually made the sauce a few days ago and stuck it in the fridge, so it took only a few minutes to bring it to a simmer and then cook the eggs. Next time I'll make the full amount, so it can be on hand for more than one quick solo meal.

[JaneEYB]

Shakshuka p.66

Like everyone else above, I loved this. I had it for lunch today and can see this becoming a regular. I made 1/2 quantity of the sauce and have enough left over for another lunch. When I tasted the sauce while it was cooking I thought it was very spicy but when eating it with the eggs, labneh and some warmed pita bread, the spice level was perfect. Like several others, I didn't add the extra egg yolks. I'm not sure I see the point of that as it is quite a rich dish already, especially if adding labneh.

[Westminstress]

Shakshuka

Like everyone else, we loved this dish. For my family of four (2 adults, 2 under 3) I made 5 whole eggs. I had a bit of trouble getting the whites to cook through before yolks set too much -- I think I should have scrambled them into the sauce more. But, absolutely delicious. We loved the sauce.

[ChrisOfStumptown]

Chermoula Eggplant with Bulgur and Yogurt (p 59)

Served with grilled chantarelle and wild mushroom barley pilaf. To start with, not the right pairing as the red pepper flakes with the chermoula did not mesh with the creamy mushrooms. However the mushroom was in use-it-or-lose-it state.

This recipe was a partial success due to poor ingredient selection: I used Chinese eggplant which is not meaty enough for the bulgur. Other than that it was excellent.

Notes:
1) the spice mix, chermoulla, is excellent. Tasty enough to lick the scraps out of the mixing bowl. Two things though: finely chopping preserved lemon peel was too coarse for my liking (see photo on finished eggplant). I would puree next time. The red pepper flakes resulted in a very inconsistent level of heat in the finished dish. I am really on the fence whether to substitute cayenne powder to get a more even heat.
2) Although the chermoula had the consistency of wet sand, I thought the eggplant looked a little dry and it cooked dry. Not a big deal as it was easily corrected by adding more oil near the end of cooking, which of course the eggplant absorbed like a sponge.
3) The bulgur mix was wonderful. It calls for almonds, I toasted raw almonds at 350 for 15mins and smashed with a rolling pin. I am so glad I did, the mixture had a heady almond aroma. Don't buy sliced almonds, you will regret it. Regarding the olives, I bought some cheap but quite good whole olives (ie, with pits) at a Lebanese grocery and wish I had bought pitted olives. It was a real time sink. Large slices looked bad so I finely diced them. The big shreds in the photo in Jerusalem are much more attractive.
4) Olive oil: the recipe specifies one quantity but uses it in two spots: in the chermoulla, and for finishing the final result. I'd use a cheap mild oil in the chermoulla and a medium high grade for finishing. The final result is quite busy, so no point using an extra special oil.

Final note: Use of Chinese eggplant changed dish from eggplant with bulgur into Eggplant under bulgur mountain. In fairness I knew this as I shoveled bulgur mix onto the slender vegetables. They're underneath, trust me.

Very nice recipe, would make again, but better next time.

[Frizzle]

Thank you for the great review. We made this tonight and found it to be a stunning meal. It's such a lovely mix of flavours. The preserved lemon came through the most and everything else supported it. We will be making this again.

I did a couple of alterations to the recipe. I reduced the spring onions from three to two. Mine were large and leafy so two seemed ample.
I took the advice to not use flaked almonds on board and toasted sliced, blanched raw almonds in pan on the stovetop. I also slivered my olives. The halves seemed too big for the topping and out of scale.

I used whole cumin and coriander seeds and pounded them up in a mortar and pestle. Store bought ground spices here tend to be tasteless. The chermoula was just as Chris posted. Bowl-licking good. My preserved lemon was store bought and quite soft so the fine chop worked fine.
I also thought the aubergines were looking dry in the oven but I didn't add extra oil, they turned out fine. I guess it may depend on the individual aubergine.

If you like North African flavours then please try this. I can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

[greedygirl]

This was a main course for my vegetarian friend, who absolutely love it. Haven't had a chance to try the leftovers yet.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Chermoula eggplant with bulgur and yogurt, p. 59 (US ed.)

I enjoyed this very much. I made a half recipe, and I only used about half the proportional amount of oil called for in the chermoula, and another drizzle in the bulgur, and that was fine. I did need to add a bit more water (and time) than indicated to fully hydrate the bulgur. I coarsely chopped the olives. Only when I was cleaning up after lunch did I realize I completely forgot the golden raisins. Oh, well.

[pavlova]

I made this tonight, but I didn't serve it with the bulgur topping. I used Chinese eggplant and it was delicious. We ate the eggplant with the spinach salad, the chicken with clementines and arak and some rice. All in all, a fantastic dinner.

[blue room]

Roasted cauliflower and hazelnut salad p. 62 (US)
Almost sure someone here has already written about this, but I can't find the person or post!
This is terrific, we both raised our eyebrows on the first taste --
I'd make it again for sure.
It's cauliflower tossed with olive oil, S&P, and roasted 'til browned in spots. Then roast some hazelnuts too, at a lower temp. Mix with sliced celery and parsley and pomengranate seeds. (My pomegranate seeds took the form of a few chopped sections of tangerine, not as pretty but still little bits of fruit juice.)
The dressing (not a lot) is exactly right! Olive oil, sherry vinegar, maple syrup, cinammon, allspice, S&P. Wow -- *again* I'm impressed with this book.

[pluralofcow]

I've made this three times since I purchased the book. It's my new favorite way to eat cauliflower--and it's good without the hazelnuts as well. In fact, I have a head of cauliflower in my fridge now--I was intending to try the other cauliflower recipe in this book but I'm finding it hard to resist this salad.

I served it at Thanksgiving and it prompted half of the family to purchase the book as well!

[geekmom]

After reading the reviews here, and looking at the photo in the book, I'm trying to convince my husband to make this (it's his turn to cook supper tonight) - but I may just bite the bullet and make it myself. And maybe eat it all myself, too. LOL!

[Frizzle]

I've only cooked the other cauliflower dish from the book (three times now) and love it so much I have not tried this one. It sounds like there are two winning cauliflower recipes in the book.

[The Dairy Queen]

Frizzle, according to EatYourBooks, the other cauliflower recipe is Fried cauliflower with tahini. Below I've linked Ottolenghi's Fried Cauliflower
recipe from the Guardian, which apparently appeared in Plenty. The only difference in the ingredient lists for the Fried Cauliflower in Plenty vs. Jerusalem is garlic (in the Plenty version).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyl...

Two questions:

1. Is this the same winning cauliflower recipe you love from Jerusalem, except for the garlic?

2. I'm not big into frying right now due to my child constantly underfoot. Do you think this recipe would work with roasted cauliflower instead?

~TDQ

[blue room]

Hello Dairy Queen, as I have the book right here--
the Guardian link ingredients and the ingredients in "Jerusalem" are the same.

[The Dairy Queen]

Terrific, thank you! Now the only question is, is fried cauliflower essential to this recipe, or would roasted cauliflower do?

~TDQ

[Frizzle]

I think it would be nicer with fried but still good with roasted. You will probably lose some texture with roasting. I'm imagining the roasted cauliflower would be softer to begin with and adding the wet tahini sauce to it will make it even softer. It's worth a go. The frying is a pain as you're standing over the stove for ages doing it in batches so I would love to find out if roasting works too.

My other tips for this recipe are about the deep fried bits of green onions. I'm not sure how you would do this without frying but if you figure out a way let me know. The recipe tells you to cut then into quite long pieces, I found these very chewy. The second time I made it I chopped them small. It was much nicer but the onion in the leftovers became overpowering the next day. The third time I cut them small and kept them in a separate bowl to be a garnish for the meal and for leftovers. Much better, we just mixed it in as we ate.

[The Dairy Queen]

Thanks for your thoughtful response. I'll let you know how it turns out, though it might be a month or two! I've not been too speedy with new recipes lately.

~TDQ

[Westminstress]

I'm sure roasted would work. One of our favorite take out spots has a chef from Jerusalem. She makes a fantastic cauliflower salad with roasted cauliflower in tahini sauce ... sounds a lot like this recipe. I would test it but we eat that salad so often I have no desire to replicate it in my own kitchen.

[The Dairy Queen]

Great encouragement, thank you! Do you think I need to thin the tahini at all?

~TDQ

[herby]

TDQ, I made this salad with the roasted cauliflower and it was very good when freshly made. On the second day it turned soggy and what was left after that went into the dust bin. Next time I make it, I would dress only a portion that will be eaten right away and leave the remainder roasted cauliflower separate.

You need to thin the tahini so that the consistency is of a salad dressing.

[The Dairy Queen]

Excellent info herby, thank you. What did you thin the tahini with?

~TDQ

[herby]

Just water, a little at a time until the consistency is right for you.

[BigSal]

Roasted cauliflower and hazelnut salad p. 62 (US)

This started off rocky for me, but was well worth the effort. I burned the first batch of roasted hazelnuts- I found the 17 minutes recommended too be too long (I missed blue room's note on this). This was also my first time working with pomegranate. So off to the cloud I went to find out how to deseed it. I ended up cutting the pomegranate in half horizontally and put a half under water and pushed the seeds out under water, This worked well and kept the membrane and seeds apart. Is there a better way?

This was a surprising and delicious flavor combination. The sweetness of the roasted cauliflower,combined with the nutty hazelnuts, crunchy celery, and the brightness of the sweet/tart pomegranate seeds (which also adds another texture) is fantastic. This delicious combination worked well with the dressing.

I'm discovering so many new flavor combinations from this book. I can't wait to try more recipes.

[Breadcrumbs]

Sounds lovely BigSal. I don't know of an easier method to de-seed but, my supermarket now sells POM brand cups of fresh pomegranate seeds at a pretty reasonable price so for the frequency that I purchase pomegranate, this is my top choice for convenience. Prior to that I was buying bags of frozen seeds...not expensive at all (maybe $2.99/kg).

[BigSal]

Thanks Breadcrumbs, I'll be on the lookout for the POM cups when I need a time saver.

[Caitlin McGrath]

If you have Trader Joe's in your neck of the woods, they have packets of pomegranate seeds with the produce. Very convenient.

And in my experience, the underwater method is the best if you do it yourself.

[beetlebug]

Plenty has a wonderful roasted cauliflower with yogurt and pomegranate seeds. Those seeds really do take it to the next level.

[BigSal]

Thanks for mentioning it. I'll have to try that one to see which I prefer.

[beetlebug]

Sorry BigSal, I was thinking of the Melissa Clark recipe. I think it's in Cook This Now.

[Westminstress]

BB, are you thinking of the Melissa Clark recipe?

[beetlebug]

Ooops. I think I am. I got confused because the flavor profiles were so similar yet different.

[JulesLP]

Bigsal,

I made this tonight and for my pomegranate I used something I saw on iron chef. Which was to cut the pomegranate in half or quarters and hold over a bowl and hit the skin with a wooden spoon. This worked pretty good, and was easier then trying to get the seeds out by hand. I did this for the whole thing, and for the seeds I didn't use I dried and froze on a sheet tray so I have about two cups for the next time I need them.

Hope this is helpful. Jules

[herby]

This is how I do it too - cut in half and bang on the skin over a bowl - the seeds come out nice and it is fast. I am planning to make this salad next week.

[BigSal]

Thanks Jules.

[bunnylicious]

I made this last night, expecting to be wowed. The idea of all the contrasting flavours and textures really appealed to me. I made the recipe as written, except that I was not "generous" with the cinnamon and allspice. I'm disappointed to say that I wasn't wowed by this dish. It was fine, I certainly had no problem eating it, but I wasn't planning when I would be making it again like I have with every other dish I've made from this book :) My husband enjoyed it more than I did. I think the allspice flavour was just a bit to strong for me. I would consider making this again, but with a sharper dressing.

[geekmom]

bunnylicious, that was my experience too. I made this salad for lunch on Saturday. Also failed to note other CHers' helpful comments about the roasting time, so I burned the first batch of nuts (my 11yo son had no problem eating them, though - go figure). Overall, the salad was tasty, crunchy and I enjoyed eating it but it didn't have the Ottolenghi wow factor for us.

[bunnylicious]

Yes, 17 minutes is just way too long! I think I took mine out after 10 min or so. Glad I'm not the only one who didn't fall in love with this dish. :)

[JoanN]

Roasted Cauliflower & Hazelnut Salad (page 62 US edition)

I thought this was just delightful. Not surprising since cauliflower is one of my favorite roasted vegetables, and I love both pomegranates and hazelnuts. Made this without celery because I didn’t have any and I can see that the crunch would have been a welcome addition. Very happy to have such a delicious and satisfying main course salad for this time of year.

[greeneggsnham]

Roasted cauliflower and hazelnut salad.

I made this last night as part of a meat free dinner along with the Roasted butternut squash and tahini salad and the basmati rice and orzo pilaf. This salad was my favorite part. I really enjoyed the combo of tastes and textures with the sweet pomegranate seeds, rich hazelnuts, savory cauliflower and fresh parsley all playing off the warm cinnamon and allspice in the dressing. I only wish I had cut my cauliflower florets smaller for roasting as some of my pieces were rather large and didn't mix well with all the smaller components of the dish.

My husband, however, was not very fond of the dish (he didn't like the cinnamon with the cauliflower) and all children refused to eat it. Oh well. I may not make this again anytime soon, but I probably will make it again sometime for myself.

[beetlebug]

Roasted cauliflower and hazelnut salad p. 62 (US)

Not much to add other then that I loved this salad. It's amazing how just a few ingredients can elevate a dish. In this case, it's the hazelnuts and pomegranate seeds. Thanks for the warnings about the timing of the hazelnuts. I had skinned nuts and roasted for about 7 minutes.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Roasted cauliflower and hazelnut salad, p. 62

I've never had a bite of roasted cauliflower I didn't love, so I was really looking forward to this after reading all the reviews here. I was not disappointed; it was as delicious as I'd imagined. Great interplay of sweet and earthy. I think it would be great to serve to guests, but I'd have to multiply it - I could eat the whole bowl myself. I left out the parsley because I was serving it alongside the parsley and barley salad. I did use but a fraction of the oil for the cauliflower.

[painperdu]

We made this to go with the slow-cooked veal shanks (p. 206). Maybe too much of a good thing! There is so much going on here, I would serve it again as a main on its own, or a side to a less complex main. Pomegranates are out of season now in our grocery stores, but the POM cups are around. Yay! And i really liked the thinly sliced celery.

Hazelnuts at 17 minutes worked well for me. They had a nice deep flavor.

[Allegra_K]

Saffron Rice with Barberries, Pistachio, and Mixed Herbs (Workaday variation) p. 105

I didn't follow the recipe fully but instead used the simplified version that the authors suggested in the headnotes, which was a delicious yet much less extravagant version of the full recipe pictured in the lovely photo.

To start, basmati rice is coated with melted butter in a saucepan and then boiling water is poured atop and covered until nearly cooked. After a time, a small amount of saffron-infused (Ottolenghi calls for 1 t. of saffron but I just couldn't part with such a vast amount and thus used a scant 1/2 t) water is poured over a small section -about a quarter- of the rice, which is then re-covered (dish towel between pot and lid) and left to finish steaming. The white part of the rice is then spooned into a mixing bowl and the other components-barberries, pistachios, dill, chervil, tarragon- are stirred in. In my version I left out the barberries and nuts and added cooked fava beans (well, soybeans--still haven't found any favas), and left out the chervil and tossed in a small handful of chopped parsley. At this point the bright yellow saffron rice is gently fluffed into the mix. Serve, like most everything in this book, warm or at room temperature.

Really liked this very attractive dish. The brightness of the fresh herbs lifted the often-heavy rice up into refreshing territory, but the butter added a note of luxury. I could see this simple variation as a constant side and am looking forward to trying the no-holds-barred version.

[Westminstress]

What a pretty dish, Allegra. I had written off this particular recipe as too complicated for me at this time of life (plus I can't find barberries), but your workaday version seems very doable, and quite nutritious also. Guess I have to add another one to the "to make" list!

[jpr54_1]

there r several places to buy the barberries on line-
i listed 2 on another link on Home Cooking

[delys77]

Wow Allegra, that looks delicious! I think I am going to try and add this one to my ever expanding list.

[JulesLP]

I also made the saffron rice w/ barberries, pistachio and mixed herbs.

I did my bet to follow the instructions but was unable to find barberries, did not have currants so used dried cranberries which I cut into smaller pieces so the chunks weren't so large. I also was unable to find the chervil so that was left out. Everything else I did according to the directions.

I thought that this came together pretty quickly. And paired it with the turkey and zucchini burgers as suggested in the book. Would definitely make this again and would like to find the barberries or use the suggested currant substitution.

[Breadcrumbs]

Saffron Rice with Barberries, Pistachio and Mixed Herbs – p. 105

More praise for this dish that tasted as enticing as it looked. Thanks to Allegra and Jules for covering how this comes together. I did make some adaptations which I’ll share here:

• No pistachios at the market so I omitted the nuts all together. I wasn’t too concerned about this since we were serving this dish w the Meatballs & Favas p.196 and we’d have plenty of contrasting flavours and textures from that dish.
• I used my Zoji rice steamer to cook the rice. I also opted to use Tilda brown basmati since I’m committed to making healthier choices this year, especially when its easy to do so. As a result my brown rice didn’t produce the same visual interest of contrasting colours in the finished dish but I was still pleased that you could easily differentiate the saffron-infused grains from the “naked” ones.
• I used flat Italian parsley, fennel fronds and dill as my herbs since that’s all I had on hand and our market never seems to carry chervil.

This is the first time we’ve ever eaten barberries and we really liked them. Not as substantial as dried cranberries but certainly substantial enough in flavour to add a citrusy pop to the dish.

The rice was sensational and I’d like to make it again and add some legumes, lentils perhaps as I think it would be fabulous as a vegetarian meal. This is one of my favourites from the book thus far.

[bunnylicious]

Made this tonight for an iranian-inspired dinner. What a lovely dish. It's beautiful to look at and makes a pleasant side . It was fresh and tasty, with sour notes from the barberries, green from the herbs, and crunch from the pistachios. My only change was to add extra tarragon as I did not have chervil (never seem to have it at the grocery stores I shop at). Perfect complement to chicken kebabs, spinach yogurt, and tomato-cucumber salad.

[beetlebug]

Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Onion with tahini and za'atar (US pg. 36)

This was delicious and a different way to eat butternut squash. I generally roast squash with leeks and fresh herbs. This was a great change.

I did make a slight change. The recipe has you cutting the squash and leaving the skin on. I did peel the squash since I don't like the skin. Other than that, I followed the recipe.

Roast the squash and onions until cooked through. Meanwhile, prepare the tahini sauce (mix tahini with lemon juice, water, garlic and sauce). Fry the pine nuts with olive oil.

When the squash is finished, drizzle the sauce over and scatter with the pine nuts, za'atar and parsley.

Note: my husband assembled the finished dish. He used a deep bowl which made drizzling a bit more difficult. Also, the tahini had thickened up so he just glopped it on to the dish. I forgot to tell him to thin it, if necessary. Regardless, the recommended platter is the better way to go. It will look nicer since stirring the squash with the sauce did cause some breakage in my squash.

[aching]

I've made this recipe several times recently - I really love it (and I don't particularly like squash). There's something about the creamy tahini and the sweet flavors of the squash and onions that really works for me.

[pavlova]

I made this tonight and it was fantastic! I have made a similar Ottolenghi recipe in the past so I was really looking forward to this one. The only thing I omitted was the pine nuts, as I discovered I didn't have any at the last minute. It was still great without it. I used a platter, taking beetlebug's advice.

[bunnylicious]

+1 We were blown away by this one. Hubby isn't a huge fan of squash, but he loved this combo, and so did I!

[Caitlin McGrath]

Roasted butternut squash & red onion with tahini & za'atar, p. 36 (US ed.)

I'm joining the rest who loved this dish. Roasted butternut squash can get a bit cloying in its sweetness, but the toppings were a nice contrast. I heeded the platter advice, and I'm glad I did because it really allowed good distribution of the toppings.

I took the shortcut of using pre-cut squash, so the pieces were smaller than the recipe indicates. I cut the onion smaller so the size would work well together, and roasted just until done, a little less than 25 minutes, I think. I used only enough olive oil to film the vegetables (way less than called for), and also dry-toasted the pine nuts (used less than called for, too).

[LulusMom]

I've been thinking of doing this with pre-cut squash - glad to hear it works, and will use your timing, etc. when I do.

[lilham]

Want to add I have also made this with pre-cut squash. It's a really really nice way to serve winter squash. We all loved it.

[The Dairy Queen]

Heh, I'm glad I'm not the only person who was thinking of using pre-cut squash. I was actually thinking of using pre-cut frozen squash...

~TDQ

[corneygirl]

I tried this tonight as well. I really enjoyed how the earthiness of the tahini played with the sweetness of the squash. I used some sort of pumpkin or something I had on hand from a farmers market in the fall and subbed the toasted seeds for the pine nuts. I also like that it is easy and can be served at room temperature - perfect for guests or nights when I'm trying something new and I don't know the timing.

[geekmom]

Roasted butternut squash & red onion, etc (p 36 UK ed)

In the spirit of using up things I already had in my pantry, I made this for lunch today & served it with a gigantic flatbread from a Persian bakery.

My only change was to use two delicata squash instead of butternut. They proved to be a very attractive substitute for butternut squash with their striped skins and half-circle shape.

I liked this dish a lot, but found it was too salty for me. There is a whole teaspoon of salt mixed with the veg pre-roasting, then there is salt in the tahini dressing and salt in the za'atar and salt on the pine nuts. I will omit the salt from the squash & onion pre-roasting next time, to allow the natural flavours of the vegetables to shine a little more.

My "I don't like squash" kid ate a significant amount of this, claimed that it was "just okay" but then as she was wandering through the room after lunch I saw her grab another piece of squash off the platter and scarf it down. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be able to serve squash to my kids and have them willingly eat it!

[beetlebug]

I don't remember what the recipe calls for. But, I usually sprinkle kosher salt on to the roasting vegetables. I find this is a bit less salty and more flavorful.

[geekmom]

Oh, that's a good idea. Now that I look more closely at the recipe it says to use Maldon sea salt, so obviously if I had done that the crystals are so large that there would have been a lot less salt in the teaspoon (I used the regular old sea salt).

[blue room]

Tonight for me!
(My "I don't like squash" kid is 60 1/2)

[geekmom]

Hah! :-D I look forward to hearing how this goes.

[LulusMom]

How is it possible that you're 29??? : )

[blue room]

Oh LulusMom I just saw this comment.
And I thank you from the bottom of my really hot twenty hot nine hot heart.

[blue room]

Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Onion with tahini and za'atar (p. 36 US)

My turn for this dish. I cut the squash in biggish pieces to roast -- fully intending to cut off the peel later, which I did. The red onions were fine, but could have been yellow or white onions, I think, and just as tasty. Easy to mix up the tahini sauce -- (Mr. blue room fears tahini, I fear pine nuts, so the dish was divided but delicious in the end.
I would make this good very good dish as part of a dinner meant to be Arab-Israeli, like the book "Jerusalem", but both tahini and butternut squash have better applications, to me. Nevertheless, a good plateful of food, a success!

[greeneggsnham]

Roasted butternut squash and red onion with tahini and za'atar

I made this using the pre-cut butternut squash from TJ's. I also subbed sliced almond for pine nuts due to an allergy. I was pleased with how easily this came together. I wasn't blown away with the final product, however. Maybe the subbing out the pine nuts was a bad idea. In the end, I thought the squash and red onion combo was good, but I didn't love it with the tahini sauce. And I felt like the nuts and parsley seemed just like garnish rather than really integrating into the dish. That being said, I think my husband liked this dish better than I did. I served this with the Roast Cauliflower and Hazelnut salad (reviewed downthread) and my husband preferred the butternut squash. I preferred the cauliflower.

[Westminstress]

i was going to join the camp of people for whom this salad didn't quite gel. I just wasn't blown away by the squash-tahini combo. However, I just realized that I totally messed up the recipe! I got confused with my two new spices and used sumac instead of Zaatar! As I have noticed that YO's recipes often seem a bit unbalanced until every element is accounted for, I will withhold judgment until I can try it with Zaatar. For future reference though, the sumac-coated pinenuts were really delicious!

[BigSal]

Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Onion with tahini and za'atar (US pg. 36)

Just adding to the chorus of accolades. I have a strong preference for savory dishes and my Mr. prefers sweet. This dish worked for both of us. The tahini sauce helps balance out the sweetness of the squash. I also enjoyed the woodsy notes from the za'atar and the crunch of the pine nuts.

[mebby]

Add me on to the list of fans of this dish. Made a half-recipe for a simple but satisfying solo lunch yesterday using TJ's precut butternut squash and loved the way all the flavors played off of one another. My tahini was a bit thick, so I also added significantly more lemon juice and a bit of water and liked the tang it brought to the dish.

Will definitely make again, but I may take a cue from Caitlin and reduce the oil next time around and see if I can make it friendlier to my new year's resolutions without a major impact on flavor.

ETA: the za'atar flavor didn't really come through for me, but it had been hanging about in the pantry for a while, so probably not the freshest.

[Gio]

Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Onion with Tahini and Za'atar, Pg. 36

I do not have much to add except my kudos with the long line of folk who cooked this recipe and loved it. Funny, but like many others it's not unlike the way most of my vegetables are roasted with the exception of course of the delightful tahini sauce and za'atar. The timing was right, and the end result was terrific.

I left the skin on and omitted the pine nuts as usual. I included a small fennel bulb, sliced like the onions, I wanted to use up. G plated the vegetables and drizzled the sauce over top., then the za'atar, etc., over that. It worked out well for us. The flavor was sweet, tangy, and slightly exotic...

[JaneEYB]

Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Onion with Tahini and Za'atar, p.36

I've been reading so many great reports on this recipe and I finally made it. What a fantastic dish. I think next time I will cut the squash into smaller pieces as I like more caramelized edges but apart from that I would change nothing.

I served it with the baby spinach salad with dates & almonds on p.30.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Swiss chard with tahini, yogurt & buttered pine nuts, p. 88

This is a slightly different variation on the usual sauteed chard with garlic and pine nuts that was very nice. Sliced chard stems and leaves are blanched briefly, drained, rinsed, and squeezed. The recipe calls for almost 3 pounds of chard, and I used three bunches - quite a lot, really - that weighed something like 2 pounds. Pine nuts get sauteed in butter and olive oil, then set aside. Sliced garlic goes in the pan till golden, followed by a little white wine. That reduces, then the chard is stirred in until hot. I used considerably less butter and oil then called for.

The chard is topped first with a sauce of tahini, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and water, and then with the pine nuts. I used a smidge less tahini and yogurt then called for and only used enough water to achieve the smooth paste described, but I wished I had thinned it more so that it could be mixed into the chard more.

[reiney]

I made this with collard greens instead, only 1 bunch, but otherwise followed the recipe quantities and instructions. Delicious and simple (but not in an insulting way). Accidentally over-reduced the wine: I'd recommend watching this to have enough to coat the leaves.

I agree about making sure to thin the sauce, too - tasty but a bit too thick otherwise. Leftover tahini-yoghurt mixture makes for a great general topping/dressing/dipping sauce.

[cheesecake17]

I'm preparing two recipes for dinner tonight-

Butternut squash and tahini spread
US edition page 68-69

Planning on half recipe, since we are only 2.5 people eating
I used delicate squash instead of butternut. Hoping to go out later to get date syrup, otherwise I'll use pomegranate molasses. Final report on the dish later tonight!

Shakshouka
US edition page 66-67

I made this before as written. This time, I added an onion to the beginning step of sautéing the peppers. For the red peppers, I used frozen fire roasted chopped red peppers. Prepared the sauce earlier, and will heat it up and cook the eggs right before dinner.

[delys77]

Tomato and Sourdough Soup Pg. 103

I made this soup on New Year's day as my partner and I were craving one of our favourite hangover cures, grilled cheese with tomato soup. Luckily there was an open market nearby so I picked up a few of the things we were missing and the soup was ready to go in just a little over half an hour.

I usually worry about tomato soups made with fresh tomatoes since we rarely have any good tomatoes around here in Vancouver, even less so in the dead of winter. That being said, I wanted to try the dish as he suggested since he was cutting the fresh tomatoes with canned tomatoes and I was curious to see what the results would be.

In the end, while my tomatoes weren't stellar, the addition of a can of lovely San Marzano's and a good touch of sugar yielded a soup that had good, if more muted tomato flavour, than my usual rendition. In addition, the use of whole cumin and the sourdough provide other strong flavour notes that make for a much more interesting tomato soup than many others I have tried. My conclusion, unless you are using excellent fresh tomatoes this recipe will yield a soup that doesn't have a very pronounced tomato flavour, but for me this was a very nice change from the usual. Plus, it allowed me to appreciate the supporting cast so to speak.

I am not sure if this was his intention, as I suspect Jerusalemites have luscious and very flavoursome tomatoes to work with, but for me it was a pleasant surprise.

[geekmom]

I'd been thinking about putting off any and all recipes in this book that call for fresh tomatoes until late summer when we will have access to all those amazing ripe flavourful tomatoes from the farmer's market. You're right, the tomatoes available in Vancouver are pretty sad specimens this time of year but it sounds like your result was quite tasty regardless.

[delys77]

I was thinking the same thing, but I am glad I tried it after all because the results were still good. Different, but good.

[cheesecake17]

I'm happy you tried this! I bookmarked it, but didn't have a chance to make it. Hopefully next week

[delys77]

Best of luck

[blue room]

This soup is on page 142 in the US edition.

"...sourdough soup" ? Ok!

[greedygirl]

We had this soup for lunch today and loved it. I actually thought the tomato flavour was pretty good, given that tomatoes are never at their best in January. I added a good squeeze of tomato purée to help things along a bit. Loved the cumin, and the sourdough gave it a nice texture, as well as making it a bit more hearty.

[delys77]

Basmati Rice and Orzo Pg. 103

He is quite correct that this may very well replace my standard steamed rice accompaniment, at least when it comes to Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine.

The interesting thing for me is that this dish brought back a great food memory that had all but been forgotten. Something that had been buried in the recesses of my aging brain that came right back into my conscious memory when I first read the recipe. I'll spare you a long story, but about 10 years ago I was living with a good friend of mine who was of Armenian origin and on a blustery winter day he made this lovely little lamb stew that his mother used to make for him, something he had raved about to me in the past. While I was impressed with the dish I remember thinking that the best part of the meal wasn't the stew, but the rice he had served it on. Having grown up in a home where Uncle Ben's was the rice of choice I was truly taken in by these long grains of basmati, robed with a little bit of butter, and in his case, lightly fried pieces of vermicelli. The rice had texture, colour from the toasted noodles, and above all it had flavour all on its own. For me this was a revelation because the rice of my childhood was bland, textureless and utterly boring.

I had forgotten about this moment, until I came across this rendition with orzo.

I must admit that I hate cooking rice in a pot, so I modified the recipe a touch. I cooked the rice in the rice cooker with chicken stock and then I simmered the toasted orzo in about 3/4 cups of stock which I reduced down over about 8 minutes. Once the orzo was done I tossed in the cooked rice and added a touch more butter and a pinch of salt. Voila, flavourful rice with the nutty aroma of the toasted noodles and butter, and with the familiar texture of perfectly cooked basmati.

A real winner for us!

PS forgive the reminiscences above

[geekmom]

That's a cool story, delys77 and I'm glad you shared it. It's amazing how we can store food memories away like that & with one bite or smell of some long-forgotten flavour it all comes back.

[delys77]

For me, it is one of the best parts about eating and talking food!

[Allegra_K]

What a great story and review! I enjoy your food details very much.

[delys77]

Thanks very much Allegra.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Great story! I made this dish last fall (reported in the pre-COTM thread), and followed the recipe's instructions for cooking the orzo and rice together, then letting it sit off heat covered by a tea towel, and the result was perfectly cooked basmati and orzo. I also used only around half the oil and butter called for.

[delys77]

Excellent. I always have bad luck with either over cooking or undercooking rice when I do it in a pot, but I might try it given that others have managed just fine using his technique.

[greedygirl]

This is the rice they always serve on Turkey and which I love. Can't wait to try this recipe.

[abby d]

Lovely dish which I'll make again. I used broken spaghetti as my pasta which was great.

[JoanN]

Basmati Rice & Orzo (page 103 US edition)

Thank you, delys77. I was going to make this with brown jasmine rice and was unsure the timing in the book would work so followed your lead and made the rice with stock in a rice cooker, sautéed the orzo in ghee, and added stock to cook the orzo. Once the orzo was cooked, I added the cooked rice and some more stock and simmered them together for a bit. I added salt as directed, but needed no additional butter. Great dish. Couldn’t get over how much flavor it had. And I used boxed, not homemade stock. I made this as a side for the Lamb-Stuffed Quince with Pomegranate & Cilantro ( http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/884302 ) and it was a perfect pairing. A winner indeed.

[greeneggsnham]

Basmati Rice and Orzo

I made this dish to pair with the Roasted Chicken with Clementines, or actually I should say my husband made it. This was great as a side to the chicken and we loved soaking up the delicious chicken juices with this pilaf. My husband made it as directed in the book and the timing seemed perfect.

[JaneEYB]

Basmati Rice with Orzo p.103

I made this to go with the beef meatballs with broad beans & lemon on p.196 and it was perfect. It made a big difference in the cooking time of the rice to soak it for 30 minutes first. The addition of toasted orzo made the rice more interesting and didn't add much time to the cooking process.

[Gio]

Basmati Rice and Orzo, Pg. 103, US Edition

Throwing all caution to the wind, and overlooking the advice of others who made this recipe before us we prepared and cooked the recipe exactly as written. Normally I too would have cooked the rice separately from the orzo by our method but this time after washing the Basmati well it was set aside to soak for 30 minutes. Butter was melted and orzo toasted. Stock added, cooked 5 minutes,then the drained rice and salt were added and all was simmered for 15 minutes. Uncover pan, place tea towel on pan, leave for 10 minutes. Shoulda been Rice-a-Roni. Wasn't. The flavor was wonderful but the rice was undercooked. Absolutely Never had that happen before. I have made similar rice and orzo recipes in the past with no trouble at all. We were disappointed in this one. Roasted butternut squash and onion was served along side and saved the day...

[Frizzle]

Mejadra

You can find the recipe here: http://m.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/...

Another winner from this book. Sweet onion, cinnamon, the occasional crunch of a coriander seed. I'm generally useless at cooking rice but this came out perfect. Admittedly the onion does take some time to fry, I did maybe 6 or 7 batches. I managed to pull this off on a weeknight with a couple of cheats detailed below.

The recipe goes like this. Cook lentils. Fry sliced onion until golden and crispy. Fry cumin and coriander seeds, add rice, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, lentils and water. Cook covered for 15 mins. Remove from heat, cover with a tea towel and lid and sit for 10 mins. Stir in half the onions and use the other half as garnish.

I cheated somewhat by doing the rice in a different pot to the onions at the same time rather than use the same pot as instructed by the recipe. I also used tinned lentils. A search on the Internet gave an indication that 250 gram of dry lentils would yield about 750 gram of cooked lentils, so two 400 gram tins went in after rinsing.

We ate this with just some chopped up Lebanese cucumbers as a side. I think it would go well with a fish or chicken dish too. Also, the dish itself is vegan so if you are like me and struggle when you have a vegan over this is a great option for something filling and tasty.

[lilham]

I've overlooked this one. I will adopt your method and use a rice cooker (further simplifying this). It sounds like a great vegan rice dish. I think I'll serve it with vegetables like you have too.

[Breadcrumbs]

So glad to hear this worked out well Frizzle, it's a dish that immediately appealed and I'm looking forward to making it.

[herby]

I made Mejadra too with a few modifications. I used cooked leftover brown basmati rice and black lentils bc that is what I had. The onions took a long time to caramelize properly and were delicious. A bit of flour made them clump up together somewhat but this did not take anything away. While the onions cooked, the lentils were boiled. Then I put everything together in a frying pan as Frizzle explains above; instead of water I added lentil cooking water (there wasn't much of it, maybe 1/2 cup) just to moisten everything and distribute spices through the dish. I had it by itself and with chicken with jerusalem artichokes and lemon. I made half of the recipe and even that was a lot but wonderful to have in the fridge.

[herby]

Here is a picture (finally got photos off my camera!)

[BigSal]

Mejadara p. 120

This made for a tasty lunch today. I made a couple modifications (I only fried the onions in 1 T grapeseed oil (for a quarter of a recipe) and a 1 t of oil to coat the basmati), but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Even though I missed out on the crispiness of the onions but not frying them (my choice to make it lighter), this was a very flavorful meal. Fragrant, savory, and some sweetness from the onions.

As a side note, I have never had better luck cooking basmati. His recipes have worked spot on for me.

[Breadcrumbs]

Mejadra – p. 120 (Canadian Edition)

Fabulous! This is a dish that I’ve enjoyed in variations on a number of occasions when dining out and as much as I love it, I’d only made it at home on one occasion prior to this. I’m delighted to report that this recipe produces outstanding results. We thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

Big thanks to Fizzle for doing such a terrific job of describing how this comes together and, for sharing a link to the online recipe. It’s definitely worth making if you’re a fan of these ingredients. I did modify the preparation of this dish so I’ll share my changes below:

Since I have (and love) my Zoji rice steamer, I decided to do the rice in there. I toasted the seeds as described and placed them, along with the remaining spices into the rice cooker along w the Zoji suggested amount of water. The aromas coming from Zoji were so enticing. The combination of spices infused the air with such a sweet, exotic fragrance that had everyone commenting how lovely the house smelled. While the rice cooked, I boiled the (green) lentils as set out in the book and once they were drained, I tossed them into the cooked rice along w approx 1 tbsp of EVOO. I didn’t feel any additional oil was needed after doing a quick taste test.

Since this recipe yields quite a large quantity and we planned to serve it over a couple of nights, I decided to fry the onions to order so I just did enough for this meal. I used my All-Clad Windsor pan to fry the flour-dusted onions. I have another recipe that requires a similar preparation of leeks and I find this pan gives me the depth of oil without having to use a large quantity. It’s perfect for frying small batches due to its high sides. If I’m doing larger quantities, I use my wok. I also find that it helps to let the thinly sliced onions (I used a mandoline) drain a little on paper towel before tossing w flour to ensure they don’t get too “gloppy”. I also dump them into a sieve and give them a quick shake to remove excess flour before adding them to the oil. I know it may be tempting to skip the onions but, IMHO, it’s the onions that take this dish from good to great. They really are delicious and, added a nice crunchy texture.

I’d wholeheartedly encourage everyone to make this truly yummy and versatile dish. I’ll be enjoying some for my breakfast tomorrow w a lovely, runny egg atop and a little Sriracha stirred in. For those of you who may have missed it, I’m pasting a link to TorontoJo’s thread in praise of this dish:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/744475

[Allegra_K]

Lovely! If I didn't have so many veggies to use up first, this would be on the menu tomorrow....in fact your review was so enticing that I may just have to cut my losses with the water spinach and have a go at this anyway.

[Allegra_K]

Mejadra

This is quite a gussied-up version from the usual 'peasant' dish that I enjoy so much; a rendition fit for company, no doubt. I liked the extra crunch that the flour-dusted onions provided, though I prefer the onions without it, mainly because they clump less and aren't as messy. Mr. Allegro, on the other hand, kept stealing into the kitchen to pick at these crispy alliums until I had to ban him from entering the room lest they disappear completely.
I didn't use as much oil to fry the onions, but for the third batch I fried in olive oil, dumping both the browned onions and the flavoured oil into the pot of lentils to give it an unctuous mouthfeel as per Paula Wolfert's recipe.
I served this with Na'ama's Fattoush, and the excess dressing pooled around the mejadra and was happily blended into the rice; a great replacement for the yogurt/mint/garlic sauce I usually dribble over it. A very nice dish.

[BigSal]

Adding the onion flavored oil sounds great! Which Wolfert recipe (and book) are you referring to?

[Allegra_K]

It's from The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean, Rice & Lentil Pilaf Megadarra. I believe it's an adaptation from Roden's ME classic book. It's more of a simple recipe, the predominant spice being pepper, but it's absolutely wonderful.

[greeneggsnham]

Mejadra

Count me as another fan, I finally got around to making this dish last week. I followed Allegra's method of frying the last batch of onions in olive oil and then adding that oil to the rice/lentil mix. I thought this was comforting and delicious. I made it to pack in lunches for my husband and I and added a bit of siracha for some heat. Every time I was eating it, I kept thinking, "I need to make a chopped salad to go with this" but actually never got around to that.

I am trying to convert my family to more of a mediterranean diet, so I imagine I will be putting this into the regular rotation. In the future I will probably skip flouring the onion, because it caused a messy crust to form in the bottom of my pan.

[lilham]

Mejadra, UK iBook edition

I made this last night, but forgot about the yoghurt with cucumber. (The authors suggested serving it with yoghurt with cucumber, or just plain greek yoghurt). I loved it and didn't find it too dry without the yoghurt, but mr lilham did. So definitely remember to get some non-flavoured yoghurt (or a tzatziki) to serve with this. I served this with a carrot salad with an oriental style dressing - fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil. They go really well together.

I used a rice cooker for the rice, instead of doing it on the stove top. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds on a pan, then add to the rice cooker with the rice and spices. Boil lentils for about 12min. Coat onions in flour and salt, and fry until crisp. I used only one tiny onion (was making half recipe), so I did all the onions in one batch. All of these can be done while the rice is in the rice cooker, with time spare to cook some veg (and probably make the yoghurt with cucumber as suggested).

[MelMM]

Mejadra - iBook ed.

I don't need to describe the prep in detail, since that has already been done. So I'll just say that I pretty much made this according to the directions. In the future, I would cook the rice separately, as others have done. That would be a big timesaver.

My big problem with this recipe is the onions. If you're like me, you'll have to make three times the amount called for. Otherwise you'll just eat them all right out of the pan and have none left for the finished dish. Who can resist a crisp fried onion? Not me, that's for sure.

I liked this dish just as much as everyone else did. The seeds that were left whole added a lot to the dish, as every now and then you bite into one and get an explosion of spice. Leftovers were breakfast this morning, topped with a fried egg and the last bit of Zhoug (must make more Zhoug).

[delys77]

Mejadra Pg. 120

I'm sorry to say I can't report that this was a total success for us. A co-worker of mine is originally from Egypt and he often talks of a dish very similar to this so I was quite excited to try it. I believe I followed the instructions precisely, yet the flavours were a little underwhelming and the dish was too dry for my taste. I even cooked the rice in a pot as directed, avoiding my usual predilection for the rice cooker, but it was just a little ho hum.

Don't get me wrong, the onions were delicious. Every bite that had a good amount of onion was fabulous, but without the onion I found the rice and lentils a little one note despite the spices. Next time I might lightly crush the spices to see if that releases more flavour, plus when I have my leftovers I am going to up the yogurt garnish quite a bit to try and moisten the dish.

Perhaps a light shot of something astringent, like lemon or maybe pomegranate molasses.

Not sure.

I'm sure it is just me as most of the reviews are very positive.

[geekmom]

We had a similar reaction when I first cooked this dish (pre-COTM). The bits with onion were fabulous, and rice and lentils on their own were dry and not very flavourful. I've had this dish at a Palestinian restaurant since then and it was not at all dry; I'm not sure what I need to do differently to get that effect.

[Westminstress]

I haven't tried the Ottolenghi version, but when I make this dish (a very simple version, just rice, lentils, onion, s&p, olive oil) I cook the unfloured onions in quite a bit of olive oil, then stir onions and olive oil into the rice and lentils. The soft onions and oil provide plenty of moisture for the rice and lentils.

[Allegra_K]

Yes! That's the way I do it as well. And I make a yogurt sauce with a bit of garlic, dried mint & lots of pepper to spoon over top. Can't imagine the dish without a side of dairy-based sauce! That's why I enjoyed this version so much with their rendition of fattoush on the side.

[delys77]

Ah yes, the addition of the flavoured oil would probably be delicious.

[delys77]

The actual lentils probably don't absorb much water once they go into the pot with the rice as they are already cooked, so it may simply be a question of upping the liquid a bit (maybe chicken broth) so that there is still some moisture when the dish is done.

I believe the recipe calls for about 12/3 cups of water to go with the 2 cups of rice, which while it worked is likely the culprit for the dryish result.

[roxlet]

Your Egyptian friend is referring to koshary, which is a dish of lentils, pasta, chickpeas and rice all served with crispy onions on top. In Egypt, they do ladle a light tomato sauce over the whole thing, and serve hot sauce and lemon juice at the table to spice it up according to your taste. Maybe this would help give this dish a little more oomph, though to me it was, like a lot of Egyptian food, kind of bland. We referred to Koshary as a salute to carbohydrates!

[delys77]

That is precisely what my friend was referring to. There is definitely a similarity with this dish and I expect dressing it up with some "wet" garnishes might help. I have to admit I have a little bit in my fridge that I am going to have to eat soon and I don't particularly feel like it since the time in the fridge has definitely not helped it on the moist front. We are trying to waste less food as part of our new year's resolutions, so it is going into someone that is for sure.

[geekmom]

Time for a liberal application of sriracha to those mejadra leftovers. ;-)

[delys77]

That is a good idea. I think I'm going to load it up with a little lemon and Sriracha.

[pikawicca]

Whirl it all together in the food processor, add lemon juice and minced garlic, thin with tomato juice (or even water) if needed. Garnish w/chopped parsley and za-atar if you have it. Serve room temp w/pita.

[delys77]

Hm very interesting suggestion. Have you done this before, I've never processed cooked rice before.

[pikawicca]

Yep, I've done this with all kinds of grains and legumes (meat, too). It's an experiment every time, but with judicious seasoning, you can usually produce a tasty dip/spread. Don't know that I've done rice on its own, but rice/beans, yes.

[delys77]

Good to know, thanks so much Pika.

[pluralofcow]

Parsley and barley salad (page 80)

The name off this dish masks how spectacularly good it is. Some crumbled feta is mixed with olive oil, za'atar, coriander and cumin. While that sits, chopped parsley (I used one bunch), a chopped green bell pepper and a few chopped scallions are mixed with about 3/4 cup of cooked pearl barley, and a handful of crushed toasted cashews. The feta is mixed in and the salad is dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of allspice.

Lots of flavors here, and they all work well together. We ate this alongside the chicken roasted with clementines and arak. It was a nice counterpoint to the sweetness, and I think it would also work very well with richer or heavier dishes.

[Allegra_K]

Thanks for pointing this one out, cows! I have always skipped past this recipe, but now will have to give it a good look. It sounds lovely.

[Frizzle]

I made this tonight as a last minute salad but didn't add the cashews or the green pepper as I had none at hand. I also reduced the amount of green onion as I knew it was going to be mainly eaten tomorrow and I find green onion gets quite overpowering after a day in the fridge.
Even without all the ingredients it's a lovely salad. I loved the spongey/slightly chewy texture of the barley in particular.

[abby d]

This is my most made recipe from the book and i love it. It's forgiving depending on the colour of your pepper , happy to keep in the fridge for a few days and tonight i made a version without feta which was fine. Well worth making.

[blue room]

Parsley and barley salad p. 80-81

I can't wait for summer so I can sneak some tomato into this. It's another delicious idea from this book -- I used more barley and less parsley than called for, and red bell pepper rather than green. Did use cashews and feta, and za'atar and coriander and cumin, fresh lemon juice, allspice, garlic, green onion -- oh this is good! I think it would be a natural for a potluck, everyone will want the recipe.
A+

[pavlova]

I made this tonight as part of a 'Jerusalem' dinner and it was a big hit! The only change I made was to use red onion instead of scallions (hate green onions). It was fantastic and there is very little left. Will make a note to double the recipe next time.

[Westminstress]

Question on this dish .... do you think it would be a good thing to bring to a potluck baby shower?

If so, I'd be interested to know whether I should make a double recipe, and if it could be partly or wholly made ahead and still taste good enough to share with others.

TIA!

[Frizzle]

The leftovers taste great, the parsley gets a bit limper but still holds up. The only thing I would say is that feta is a soft cheese and some pregnant ladies won't eat it due to health concerns.

[greedygirl]

It's usually made from pasteurised milk though which I think makes it safe to eat while pregnant.

[Westminstress]

Health recommendations in the U.S. say to avoid all soft cheeses, even if pasteurized, because of the risk of listeria. I personally chose not to do this the second time around as the risk is miniscule and I love cheese, but most pregnant women this side of the pond will not eat soft cheeses unless heated bubbling hot, and sometimes not even then.

[Westminstress]

That's true, I had forgotten about the cheese thing! I think I will prepare the salad ahead except for the fresh herbs and add those the morning of. And I will bring two versions, one with cheese and a smaller portion without.

[JaneEYB]

Parsley and barley salad p.80

This was a great salad and since I usually have all these ingredients in stock this will be a good standby dinner. Actually I missed out the green pepper as I didn't have (and never have) that but it seemed fine without it. It was very fresh tasting and the marinated feta added a good texture and flavor contrast.

[BigSal]

Parsley and barley salad p. 80

Add me to the list of those who think this is a great salad. The combination of spices combined with the freshness of the parsley and the varying textures of the barley, cashews, green peppers and feta, make every bite full of flavor.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Parsley and barley salad, p. 80

Another very satisfied customer here! I loved how this tasted very fresh and green, yet also salty and savory, with lots of crunch. All the spices give it a fairly complex flavor, too.

I used the proportions specified, making it, like classic tabbouleh, a parsley salad first and foremost - a big pile of green, as you can see. I weighed the parsley, and one large bunch supplied the 80g called for. Food processor made quick work of chopping it all finely. I inadvertently doubled the amount of coriander seed, but to no detriment.

[herby]

The salad looks beautiful, Caitlin, and the plate is stunning!

[GretchenS]

everything herby said!!!

[Caitlin McGrath]

Thank you. The serving plate is from Tunisia - I couldn't resist buying it when I was shopping at the Spanish Table during our Food of Spain/Moro COTM last year.

I ate some of the salad for breakfast, and it held up perfectly overnight.

[L.Nightshade]

This beautiful photo, and all the great reports, inspired me to make this dish yesterday. Very happy I did!

[Westminstress]

Parsley and Barley Salad

So my friend's baby shower was today, and I finally got around to making this dish! As it turns out, I didn't cook anything ahead but put it all together in the morning before leaving. I made a double recipe, using proportions as written except that I omitted the green pepper (I don't care for them) and used 3 instead of 4 raw garlic cloves. I unfortunately have a cold that is interfering with my sense of taste, so it's hard for me to comment on the salad. I *think* it was very good, but I couldn't tell you for sure! The salad was mostly eaten up and I got a few compliments so it couldnt have been too bad anyway! Seems like a great salad option for winter and I would like to try again when my sense of taste returns!

[L.Nightshade]

Parsley and Barley Salad, page 80.

I had glanced in the vegetable drawer and I thought I had scallions, but when I went to make the salad, I discovered that they were baby leeks! I sliced them thinly and used them instead of scallions. I also used a red pepper, as I'm not too fond of green pepper. Everything else was done as written.

What a wonderful salad! We loved the spices on the feta, the crunch of the cashews, the bright fresh taste of the parsley. And it's so very pretty too. Definitely goes into the do-again file.

[Goblin]

Parsley and Barley Salad, p. 41.

I loved this salad too-- so reminiscent of tabbouleh in its green freshness, but different enough to deserve its own category. Easy to make and providing more than a hint of summer even without the usual chopped fresh tomatoes of tabbouleh. I served it as a side with the Roasted Chicken with Clementines and arak/Ouzo. The chopped toasted cashews and marinated feta cheese were inspired additions.
Leftovers were great, too.

[lilham]

Na'ama's Fattoush, UK iBook edition

Pikawicca has already summarised the recipe here http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8691...

I made the buttermilk using Greek yoghurt and semi skimmed milk the day before. I substituted tomatoes with baby plum tomatoes, lebanese cucumbers with normal cucumbers (seeds removed) and naan with tortilla. There is a lot of dressing so I will reduce it to 3/4 or 2/3 next time.

I have only had fattoush from mighty spice before. This version is creamier and moister and I much prefer this. Very very easy too.

Edit: I got the feeling that the proportion of milk and yoghurt given by Ottolenghi vs Nigella Lawson is very different. Lawson says 200ml yoghurt and 50ml milk. I thought Ottolenghi is equal proportion of milk and yoghurt but it turns out I misread it! It's 200g yoghurt not 200ml. I also just eyeballed a cup of yoghurt, so the amount of dressing is probably quite far from what the recipe intended.

[Allegra_K]

Na'ama's Fattoush pg 29

I absolutely loved this version of fattoush. It had all the tangy and refreshing flavours of regular fattoush, but with a creamy twist from the buttermilk dressing. The pita held its own in the sauce despite not being toasted and was able to mop up some of the excess liquid while retaining its chew. I made a half recipe, and if I hadn't also made another dish to go alongside it, I would have been able to polish off the bowl on my own. It could make a really great meal by itself. True, there was plenty of dressing near the bottom of the bowl, but it was nothing a few extra swipes with a pita couldn't fix.

[delys77]

Na'ama's Fattoush Pg. 29

I have made fattoush only once before, from a recipe that I found on epicurious years ago, and I had forgotten how delicious it can be. I love the crunch bits of bread with the tangy sauce, and the varied veggie/herb flavours. Extremely refreshing, and quite filling given the bread.

I quite enjoyed the dairy in this version, but then again I am a sucker for dairy. My only quibble is that I went with the buttermilk in the dressing, and for me it was a bit too much. I already cut it back from 400 ml to 300, and next time I might just go with 200 ml. Also, for my partners taste I would cut back the vinegar a little. As is you end up with about 5 tb of acidic ingredients (vinegar and lemon) in about 4 tb of oil, which for some people might be a bit too much. I like astringent dressings, but for those of you who don't you might want to pair back the acid a bit.

I also like the crunchy effect this salad often has so I toasted the bread before it went in. For us that was just right!

I will definitely be repeating this one.

[bunnylicious]

I love traditional fattoush salad. If you omit the yogurt/ buttermilk, and toast the bread, you will essentially have a fantastic version of the traditional salad. The yogurt transforms it into a whole new delicious salad. I toasted the bread but otherwise followed the recipe. I too felt there was a lot of dressing, but it was delicious so it wasn't a big problem :)

[pluralofcow]

Root vegetable slaw with labneh (page 49)

I made this on Thanksgiving. You cut beets, carrots, celery root and kohlrabi into thin matchstick strips. This is definitely the time consuming part of the recipe! Then you prepare a dressing: heating lemon juice, olive oil, sherry vinegar, sugar and salt until everything is dissolved. Douse the vegetables in the dressing and refrigerate for 45 minutes. Before serving the salad gets a topping of chopped mint, cilantro, parsley and lemon zest. The book calls for serving this with labneh on the side, but we skipped that part.

This is a refreshing way to eat root vegetables in the winter. The flavors are bright and the slaw is versatile. I stuffed the leftovers in some turkey tacos and threw it in some pitas withi hummus as well. Next time I would make slightly more dressing--perhaps my vegetables were larger than the norm, I but I had to add extra vinegar and lemon juice after refrigerating. It tasted a bit flat before.

[Allegra_K]

Swiss Chard Fritters (half-recipe) p.54

Although not much to look at, these deep green fritters were indeed delicious.

Wilted chard leaves, stalks removed and thoroughly squeezed dry, are processed until smooth with more greenery like parsley, dill, cilantro, and then nutmeg, sugar, flour, garlic and eggs. Once blended, crumbled feta is stirred in by hand. Shape into flattened rounds in a hot pan and fry until slightly coloured.

I found that my mix wouldn't blend properly as it was, perhaps due to my half-batch, so I tossed in an extra egg yolk that I had lying around, which loosened things up greatly in the food processor. Also, since I apparently have problems reading a recipe all the way through, I didn't realize that it called for only the leaves of the chard until it was time to cook them, so I had to add some beet greens to make up the additional weight. No matter, as I was using ruby chard anyway and the colour was already pretty intense.

These were really nice served with the suggested lemon wedges, or even dipped in the Sour Cream & Sumac Sauce on pg.200. Luckily they tasted much better than their appearance, which was a very dark-almost black-green, lacy sort of 'round'. The briny feta paired well with the earthy flavours of the greens. I did think that the finished product was a touch dry and may add an extra egg for next time, but we did enjoy as is.

[LulusMom]

Um, where do you live Allegra? I ask because I'll be buying an airline ticket to visit next Dec. 31st ...

[GretchenS]

Allegra_K, what a knock-out feast you made! I had marked many of these recipes to make and I thank you for your careful and helpful notes on them. Happy New Year!

[Frizzle]

I've made this too but subbed spinach for the chard. If using spinach you don't wilt it first. I found my processor struggled with the mix also so the extra egg yolk could be the way to go. In saying that I was using a poor quality mixer. I also added more feta than called for because there was a small amount left over and I get sick of having small bits of feta in the fridge that inevitably go off.

I loved these too. They're not pretty - a scary dark, almost black shade of green. But the taste is wonderful. Earthy spinach with the salty feta and then the dill coming through. I had them cold the next day for lunch too and still enjoyed them.

[bunnylicious]

Agree, the colour was rather unexpected, but mine turned out light and fluffy and my 11-month old went nuts over them. I served them as a main dish for meatless Monday, but would serve as a side dish next time.

[geekmom]

Swiss chard fritters - p 54 (UK ed)

These were a bonus side dish yesterday as I was making the beetroot, leek and walnut salad and the only beets available at our supermarket came with the greens still attached. So our fritters were beet green fritters.

These are incredibly easy to make, particularly if you're in the kitchen anyway doing something else. Removing the stems from the leaves is the most taxing part. The finished product is as others have described - a lovely strong green flavour from the greens, the blend of fresh herbs and a great tang from the bits of crumbled feta. The suggestion of serving with lemon wedges was great - those little squirts of lemon juice really helped to build the flavours in the fritters.

The only change I made was to omit the flour. I forgot to add it to the mix as we were cooking three other dishes and got distracted. The mixture didn't seem to be lacking much, though it may have been a tad runny, but once in the pan it held together just fine and tasted lovely.

[Goblin]

Swiss Chard (Spinach) Fritters, p. 54.

I'm going to try these again as Geekmom did, with beet greens, which I have left over from the beet and walnut salad.

I had made them last night with spinach instead of chard, and I have to say that the almost black color of the sautéed spinach fritters put me off, to the extent that I couldn't really appreciate their taste. I kept thinking of something more suitable for a Hallowe'en dinner--sorry! I'll try them with beet greens and see if they stay a bit lighter in color when sautéed.

[Allegra_K]

Falafel p.98

These spiced chickpea patties were my favourites of the evening. Their irresistable crunchy exterior with the soft and delicate insides were a fantastic addition to the mezze platter.

Chickpeas that have been soaked overnight get pulsed in a food processor (or, ideally, put through a meat grinder) with onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and spices such as cayenne, cumin, coriander, cardamom and a touch of baking powder, flour and water. This mix is blitzed until it is finely chopped and holds together well. I found that my mix wouldn't keep together too well at first, so I sprinkled in an additional tablespoon of flour and blended it all a hair longer, which did the trick. All gets chilled for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve,

The falafels, once shaped into balls or patties with wet hands, get rolled in sesame seeds and then deep fried to a nice and crispy golden brown. Since I'm cheap....err, thrifty....I shallow-fried instead, turning when necessary.

I made the lovely lemony tahini sauce to go with, and then some. Pita, Yogurt w/Cucumber (p 299), chopped veg salad all paired fantastically with these enticing guys. I really doubted that this recipe would be better than the one I already used, but oh, they were. They were softer, crunchier, and more about the chickpea flavour than about masking it, what with the subtle spicing and restrained use of herbs. I just loved these.

Whether eaten alone, dunked in tahini sauce, or given the royal treatment--stuffed into a pita with all the fixin's--, they were just great. My go-to falafel recipe from now on.

[BigSal]

Another tantalizing dish. I haven't tried making falafel at home yet and have bookmarked recipes to try, but I will start with this one first. Curious to know what your previous go-to version was?

[LulusMom]

Like Big Sal, I've been meaning to make falafel at home for ages, and just haven't gotten around to it. Until Jerusalem the Mighty Spice version was the top of my list to try. Feeling a little conflicted.

[lilham]

I have two falafel recipes I fall back on. One from mighty spice, one from the river cottage baby and toddler. I prefer the river cottage one.

I wasn't going to try this one, but now I'm intrigued!

[LulusMom]

Thanks lilham. Can you tell me what makes the river cottage one better? How could I tweak the Mighty Spice one to bring it up to snuff? Or should I just go for the Jerusalem one?

[lilham]

The river cottage one has dried apricots so I don't think it's a very traditional recipe. It's strange for a falafel to be sweet but it works and quite moreish.

But given what Allegra said about using uncooked chickpeas makes falafels less crumbly and soggy, I will say give the Jerusalem one a try first. I agree with her my falafels are a tad crumbly.

[The Dairy Queen]

Pardon my interruption, but lilham, I have that River Cottage Baby and Toddler Book. Would you mind listing your other favorites from that book?

~TDQ

[Allegra_K]

I had tried a few falafel recipes from various online sources, always with tinned or cooked chickpeas, always with soggy, crumbly, sub-par results, until I came across a version in Cook's Illustrated's Best International Recipe, using dried, soaked chickpeas-no cooking but for the frying. This is probably old news for most, but to me it was a revelation in falafel-world. I've just stuck with that recipe since then, and even though I have accumulated better, more thorough Middle Eastern cookbooks since then, I've never tried another until now.

[blue room]

Allegra_K, you're the first best thing to come along this year.
Thank you!

[Allegra_K]

Hah, glad I could finally be of some use on these boards!

[alkapal]

allegra, your falafels look so fabulous!

my new lebanese cookbook uses the soaked, dried chickpeas, pulsed in the processor. the author uses, however, quite a bit of parsley in hers,,,so the interior was green. i think she noted that was why she loved that recipe. (i saw you had commented on the low-key herbal component of your falafel).

[geekmom]

Wow - you just moved this recipe way up on my to-cook list from Jerusalem. Thank you for your detailed reports, Allegra_K! I love the sound of your NY feast!

[tcamp]

I finally got my copy of Jerusalem from the library and the falafel recipe is the one I'll make first. I've made another recipe with soaked, uncooked chickpeas and it is definitely my preferred method.

[BigSal]

Falafel p.98

Thanks to Allegra for highlighting this recipe! I tried the meat grinder method and this confirmed that I need another food grinder. Once I worked through the kinks, the grinder created a wonderful texture. The aroma of the ground chickpea mixture took me back to my colleague years when I first tried falafel. A friend from Saudi Arabia introduced us to it (I was a vegetarian at the time). One taste and I was hooked.

These were crunchy, savory, addictive. I had never made falafel previously, but would make this again without question.

[Allegra_K]

Oh, phew, I'm glad you liked them as well as I did!

[lilham]

Falafel, UK iBook edition

This makes the driest and cruchiest falafels I've ever made. Like others have already said, the falafels made this way is a lot less soggy then using cooked chickpeas.

I made a half recipe. I used a food processor and blizz in three batches. The mixture would not hold together when I dropped them into the pan. After three failed falafels, I added an egg into the mixture. (I couldn't remember what others did to make their falafels stick together and it's a bit late to look at chowhound with a pan of hot boil oil). That seemed to do the trick. Ottolenghi said to use oil at 180C. I don't have a thermometer so I can't tell the temperature of my oil, but it's definitely far too hot. My falafels were a bit on the blackish side after 3 min in the oil.

Next time, I'll try adding more flour (like Allegra_K), but it's delicious enough with the egg. I'll also pan fry them because I just can't control the temperature without a deep fryer. I have a electric stove so adjusting is a very slow process.

[herby]

Falafel
I made falafel a couple of days ago but didn't get around to actually cooking it until yeterday. I did not deep fry and next time will try deep fried. Shallow fried they were still very tasty. Mine looked different from Allegra's - they had greenish hue from the fresh herbs that possibly intensified from seating in the fridge for a couple of days. Another winner!

[MelMM]

Falafel, iBook ed.

I made these as a finger food to server for football-watching. The basic method has already been described. I used the meat-grinder method. The instructions are to pass the mixture of chickpeas, onions, garlic and herbs through a meat grinder on it's "finest setting". My one and only quibble with this recipe is that it doesn't define what that means. Meat grinders come with plates with different diameter holes, and different models will come with different plates. So "finest setting" could mean very different things, depending upon your grinder. For the record, I used a 3/16" plate. You pass the chickpea mixture through this twice, then add spices (I ground mine in a mortar), and a small amount of flour (I subbed rice flour to make this gluten-free) and water. The mix is refrigerated for an hour or more before shaping and frying.

I used a spoon to help shape the falafel, so mine came out kind of football-shaped. Appropriate enough, for the occasion. I weighed the first couple to make sure I was making them the right size. Final yield was 23 falafel. Fried at the temperature recommended in the recipe for the time recommended, and that worked perfectly.

Served as finger food with the tahini sauce and zhoug for dipping. These were, in a word, fantastic. The best I have made, and as far as I can recall, as good as any I have eaten. In both flavor and texture, these are perfect. This one is worth the price of the book.

[geekmom]

Falafel - p 98

Got a chance to make these last night & I wanted to add to the chorus of approval for this recipe. I used the food processor method, and the falafel balls held together extremely well (it really helps to have wet hands & keep wetting them if you need to while you're forming the balls). I didn't plan ahead so I used the quick-soak method - earlier in the day I covered the chickpeas in water in a saucepan, brought to a boil, then immediately removed from the heat. I was also pressed for time so I didn't leave the mixture in the fridge for an hour; anyone have an idea why the recipe suggests this? Does it help to flavours from the spices permeate the mixture?

The result was wonderful. Crispy and nicely browned on the outside, held together wonderfully, lovely and not overpoweringly spicy flavour. This recipe is a winner.

Instead of serving the falafels in a pita with all the trimmings as described in the book, we made a batch of the roasted butternut squash & red onions with tahini & za'atar, doubled the tahini sauce from that recipe, and dotted the plate with falafels. This worked extremely well and was very simple for a weeknight dinner.

[lilham]

That's a very good idea. Serving the falafels with the roasted butternut squash with tahini sauce!

[Emmmily]

Mine turned out dry inside. What did I do wrong?

[Allegra_K]

Latkes pg.92

These lovely little potato pancakes were a fantastic addition to the table. Even snacking on the cold, somewhat soggy leftovers this morning, they are still wonderful.

Grated potatoes are rinsed and drained, then spread out to dry out completely on a towel. The spuds get tossed with grated parsnips, chopped chives, egg whites, cornstarch, salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Small mounds are removed by hand from the bowl, squeezed to rid it of some liquid, and pan fried with a mix of oil and butter.

It took me few batches to get the hang of this; at first I was a touch overzealous with the liquid removal, and the latkes were very dry and wouldn't hold together in the pan. Once I got that sorted out, the shreds clung to each other with relative ease, tho occasionally I did have to press with a spatula or add a couple drops of eggy liquid to tame the rogue edges.

These were just marvelous. I loved the woodsy flavours of the parsnip with the potaoes and the peppery bite of these crunchy morsels. Dipped these in Sour Cream & Sumac Sauce (p 200); a great match.

[blue room]

What a feast you put together, I'm in awe!
Beautiful.

[BigSal]

Very impressive spread. Everything looks gorgeous!

[Allegra_K]

Thank you, ladies! It was a busy night in the kitchen, that's for sure.

[Breadcrumbs]

Stunning presentation, such a lovely meal. I wish I could have been there Allegra!! ; - )

[Allegra_K]

Aw shucks, thanks Breadcrumbs!

[JoanN]

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates & Almonds (page 30, US edition)

This wonderful salad has already been reviewed a number of times in both the original “Jerusalem” thread and on the main thread, so I’ll just report my experience with it.

Other than halve the recipe (which is very easy to do and served one for dinner) and use a whole wheat pita, I made this as directed. Unlike some others, I had no problems with the thin pieces of pita becoming soggy; they remained crisp until the salad was finished. Nor did I think the vinegar marinade at all too strong. The quartered dates were too much sweetness in a single bite for me so next time I make this I’ll either slice the dates more thinly or perhaps even chop them so they are more evenly divided throughout the salad. Also, when the recipe called for “chile flakes,” I automatically reached for my regular medium hot crushed red pepper. I don’t know whether I didn’t stir it into the pita/nut mixture well enough or whether I thought it just too powerful, but I’m making a note to go with crushed Aleppo chile next time. This is a great salad, one I’m sure will be in regular rotation for many of us for years to come.

[bunnylicious]

Agreed! This salad presents the perfect contrasts of sweet, tart, crunchy and soft. Loved it.

[Gio]

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds, Pg. 30, US Edition

Stunningly delicious, this salad. Like JoanN I halved the recipe, used whole wheat pita which did not get soggy, and used the white wine vinegar which we didn't think was too strong. Unlike Joan I used my "regular crushed red pepper flakes" but didn't think they were too hot.

I served the Shakshuka on page 66 along side. These two dishes convinced me that Mr. Ottolenghi is a genius when it comes to combining flavors.

[delys77]

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds Pg. 30

This salad was so interesting, and so flavourful. I have to say it is likely one of the best salads I have had in a long while.

There are some very strong flavours in the dish with the sumac seasoned nuts/pita that have been toasted in oil and butter (I let my butter go a bit so that the pita/nuts would have a slight brown butter taste), and the pungent pickled onion offset by the sweet dates, all coming together with the tender greens. Great balance, great flavour, interesting texture, a winner all around.

The picture below is of the salad and the turkey burgers which I served alongside.

[herby]

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates & Almonds - page 30.

I made all components of the salad to serve for dinner tonight with regular spinach since my produce storedidn't have baby spinach. I am making the whole recipe and strted my marinating slivered dates and sliced red onion in vinegar but there 1t specified wasn't enough to even moisten date/onion mixture. I added another T and there was nothing to pour off after 20 min.

My next issue is with frying pita pieces and almonds together. Almonds were done but pita (I used fat white pita) was nowhere crisp and golden-brown. So I had to fish the almonds out (not an easy task!) and continue with pita.

All looks and smells delicious and I can't wait to taste it. Did anyone had similar issues?