A Get Well Winter Meal

The weather has turned cold here in LA and we decided to make a winter meal. We had just purchased a new cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller and chose a soup recipe: Heirloom Bean and Escarole Soup. I went to Handy Market in Burbank to purchase some bar-b-que ribs (only available on Sat.) and they sold smoked ham hocks. They are required for the soup. We couldn’t find escarole at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market so we substituted Tuscan Black Kale. The soup is very hearty and delicious, perfect for cold weather!

Our friend Barbara Lanning, from Santa Fe, was in Los Angeles and took quite ill and had to be hospitalized. Her son Richard flew out from Philly to be with her. He is staying at our house. He joined us for dinner.

We also made one of my favorite vegetable dishes: Grandmother's Cauliflower with Cheese. It is from Madhur Jaffrey's memoir: Climbing the Mango Trees. It is absolutely delicious. If you don't like cauliflower this is the dish you should make! You can get the recipe from our blog of: Dec 6, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the Cauliflower we served: Sun-dried Tomato and Breyani Rice from Spice and all things nice.

We had Ice Cream and sauces for dessert with Cookies from Mozza2go.

It was good to spend time with Richard and wish his mom a speedy recovery.

Heirloom bean and escarole soup
===========================
From Ad Hoc by Thomas Keller

3 tablespoons canola oil
2 1/2cups diced (about 1/2-inch) carrots
3 - 4 cups diced (about 1/2-inch) leeks
2 cups diced (about 1/4-inch) onions
1 ½ teaspoons finely minced garlic Kosher salt
smoked ham hock (about 1 pound)
8 cups Chicken Stock
2 heads (about 12 ounces each) tuscan kale
7 cups cooked white beans
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or to taste

This is a big rustic soup, the kind you'd find in the Italian countryside, and a great example of why bean soups are my favorite. You've got the protein-rich beans, the healthful greens and aromatic vegetables, and a delicious broth given depth from a ham hock and deft seasoning with some red wine vinegar. If you have good stock on hand, it's very quick and easy.
Heirloom beans are now widely available and easily found in stores and via the internet. My favorites come from Steve Sando's Rancho Gordo, in nearby Napa. He grows some of the best beans in the world, and he also tracks down other great products such as dried corn, dried chiles, spices, and herbs.

Heat the canola oil in an 8- to 10-quart stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, leeks, onions, garlic, and a generous pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a parchment lid and cook very slowly, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Remove and discard the parchment lid.

We added 2 bunches of tuscan kale that we had deveined and shredded and cooked wilted.

Add the ham hock and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 1 hour, or until the ham hock is tender. Remove from the heat, remove the ham hock, and let cool enough so you can handle it.

Pull away and discard the skin and fat from the ham hock. Shred the
meat and return it to the soup. Add the beans and season the soup with salt, pepper, and the red wine vinegar. At this point, the soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese
SERVES 6 (MAKES 10 CUPS)

Traditional slow-cooked beans
=======================
1 pound (about 2 ½ cups) dried borolotti beans or cannellini beans.
1 medium leek, trimmed, split lengthwise and rinsed
½ large carrot, peeled
1 sachet: 1 bay leaf, 3 thyme springs, 10 black peppercorns, 1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled. Lay out on 7 inch square cheesecloth.
8 cups water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Kosher salt

The key to cooking beans well is to cook them gently. If you boil them, they begin to fall apart efore they’re cooked through. The rule is the gentler the better. I’m a huge fan of using slow cookers for beans. The newer models have much better temperature controls and so can cook legumes perfectly every time.

Put the beans in a large bowl, add enough cold water to pour in the them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight.

Drain the beans. Put them in a large sauce pan, add the leek, onion, and sachet, and pour in the water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 50 minutes to an hour. The beans should be tender but not falling apart. Remove from the heat.

Moroccan Clay Pot

We had read about a meat market in Burbank. We drove to the valley to check it out on Sat. It turns out on Saturday only they bar-b-que ribs and sell slabs. We bought a slab, they were excellent. Really liked the sauce.

What we really went for was to get Veal Shanks. There was a recipe that we wanted to make from the new Paula Wolfert Book: Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. We decided to make Marrakech-Style Veal Tangia with Preserved Lemons. It is slow cooked in the oven in a clay pot for 5 hours. The meat came out extremely soft and succulent. It was very tasty. We recommend this recipe.

We made a first course of a great salad from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook: Radicchio with Croutons, Hardboiled Eggs and Anchovy Vinaigrette. It is an excellent salad and easy to make. The recipe is can be found on our blog of: Jan 31, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

We have had many different Couscous over the years but we found a brand that is exceptional: M’hamsa Couscous from Tunisia. We really recommend it. Look for it at a gourmet shop near you. We think this is the best cous-cous. It can be found at Cube on La Brea, or ordered from their web site.

Marrakech-Style Veal Tangia with Preserved Lemons
=================================================
From: Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking

I tasted my first tangia in Marrakech, where it was baked over burning acorns behind a bathhouse, the fire having been set to warm the bath water inside. As so often when Moroccans build a I lire for warmth, they figure out a way to use it for cooking too.

In this case, tall amphora-shaped clay jars called tangias were nestled in the embers. Some of these tangias contained bony parts of veal or lamb such I is shoulder, feet, and tails; others were filled with limb and beef short ribs; and some with gazelle and camel meat.

I've had great success making this dish in a bean pot with veal, achieving a fine balance between the flavor of the meat, garlic, preserved lemons, spices, and preserved butter, or smen. Basically everything is packed into the pot at the same time, the top is covered with paper, and then the dish is cooked very slowly In a good tangia the meat juices become tres savoureux due to the mixing of salt, steam, aromatics, and the special flavor imparted by the clay cooking vessel. Serve with warm bread.
;
Preferred clay Pot:

A 2 1/2 or 3-quart bean pot, Spanish olla, or any .earthenware casserole that is taller than it is wide.

1 3/4 pounds boneless veal shoulder or 3 pounds bone-in veal shanks or beef short ribs (we used 4 pounds of Osso Bucco.
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ras el hanout or La Kama spices
14 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons homemade smen or unsalted butter
1 preserved lemon, rinsed and quartered

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Cut the veal into 4 roughly equal pieces. Soak the saffron in 1/4 cup warm water for 10 minutes.

2. Place all the ingredients in the bean pot; use a
wooden spoon to mix them gently; then press them
down to a compact mass. Cover with a small sheet of
crumpled wet parchment and a lid. Set in the oven and
bake for 4 hours.

3. Let cool down; then pour the stew into a bowl.
Skim off the fat and reheat in a conventional pan just
before serving. Serve in a warm serving bowl.


There's a sweet spot in my food memory for La Kama spices, the favorite tagine seasoning mix in Tangier, where I lived on and off for seven years.

La Kama
=======
La Kama spices are similar to the more famous ras el hanout (which literally means means "top of the shop") in that its formula varies from cook to cook. Some ras el hanout mixtures contain as many as fifty different spices, others just ten or twelve. A good La Kama mixture may be made with just five, as shown, here. You can increase the amount as you wish; simply maintain the same proportions.

1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon finely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground Ceylon or Mexican cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Combine the ginger, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamo, and nutmeg and transfer to a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in a dark place and use within 6 months.

Back from India, Get Your Meat On!

Wine:

Grand Enclos du Chateau de Cerons Graves
Cannubi Barolo 2003
Silver Oak 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
Charles Mitchell Malbec Reserve 2005

My sister had a heart attack when we were in India and fell breaking her ankle. Billy and Kevin were fabulous in visiting her in the hospital and then texting me with status updates.

We knew that our first dinner upon returning would be a dinner featuring beef and salad. We actually didn’t miss the beef in India, the vegetables are so good. We did however miss salads and ice (especially for my martinis).

We wanted to thank Billy and Kevin, and so we decided to make a prime rib dinner, nothing could be less Indian but if you want beef. I am only sorry that Krushna was not here to enjoy it!

We started with Cheeses from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. Chris laughed and said he could have predicted that we make Prime Rib upon our return. He suggested we try a new cracker: raincoast crisps. They are delicious and made from dates, almonds, raisins, etc. Try to find them: www.raincoastcrisps.com.

For the salad we made the Hungry Cat Salad. It is a simple but delicious salad. Take leafy lettuce, lemon juice, Avocado cut into pieces, sea salt, olive oil, grated Pecorino Cheese, grated hard boiled egg. No recipe just mix the ingredients to your taste. We usually don’t use avocado, but this salad requires it!

The Prime Rib recipe that we always use is from a recipe we found in The New York Times. The recipe can be found in our blog of: Nov. 24, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe. Matt at Osteria Mozza had given us some of the porcini dry rub they use on Porterhouse Steaks so we used that as the rub. It really works with the Prime Rib. Wow – checking the link I see that we served the Prime Rib before to Billy / Kevin. Hope they like repeats!

We made the sauce in the recipe. It is really tangy and good. We did NOT make the potato recipe. Instead we made Chantilly-Mashed Potatoes Biba. You can find the recipe on our blog of: Feb. 7, 2006. Click the date to get the recipe. This is an even richer recipe. It is basically a fantastic potato gratin. This was definitely a double Lipitor meal!

For dessert we had Ice Cream with two sauces: Coconut Dark Chocolate Sauce and Burnt Caramel Sauce – both from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. We also had cookies from Mozza!

We finished with Amarguinha an Almond Liqueur from Portugal.

I definitely got my meat fix!

Back to India

We are off to India!

You can follow us by clicking: Cliff and Cathy in India.

Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne

Cathy loves Butternut Squash with all kinds of pastas. She Googled Butternut Squash Lasagne and found a recipe Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne on Epicuirious.com. We made the Butternut mixture ahead of time and then assembled the lasagna when we were ready to make it, a few days latter.

We really liked this dish. The flavors and colors remind us that winter is approaching. It is a great treat to eat because of the crunchy texture of the nuts combined with the soft texture of the lasagna. We know we will make this lasagna again, perhaps we will add some bacon (my favorite seasoning). I think it will enhance it.

We used Lasagne from Rustichella d’abruzzo. It is hard to find, we bought ½ a case via Amazon. We think it is the best pasta and try to always use it.

We started with a Pear Salad. We use lettuce, blue cheese, almonds and topped with prosciutto and balsamic. It was our first pears of the season. The salad was a treat.

Epicurious.com

Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Active Time: 1 1/2 hr
Total Time: 2 1/2 hr

For squash filling
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 cup hazelnuts (4 oz), toasted , loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and coarsely chopped

For sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups milk
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

For assembling lasagne
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz)
12 (7- by 3 1/2-inch) sheets no-boil lasagne (1/2 lb)

Make filling:
Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, salt, and white pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling.

Make sauce while squash cooks:
Cook garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. (Cover surface of sauce with wax paper if not using immediately.)

Assemble lasagne:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Toss cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.
Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Cooks' note:
• Filling and sauce can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before assembling.

T and T Dinner (Tart and Tagine)

Bea came over for dinner. We made a recipe for Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton from the New York Times. I really liked it, very rich! It reminded Cathy and I of a Pizza we use to get at Café Quattro in San Francisco.

We then made a Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes from The Food of Morocco. Susan had recommended the cookbook to us. I loved this recipe. It was a combination of tastes of both Moroccan Spices and the sweetness of the Potatoes. The meat was extremely succulent. We used the Tagine maker that Courtney had given us, it gets very hot and steams the meat. Plus it is beautiful!

We served Couscous with it.





New York Times
________________________________________
September 30, 2009
Recipe
Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton
Time: 1 1/2 hours
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions (1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 sprig rosemary, more for garnish
Pinch sugar
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Flour for dusting
3/4 pound prepared puff pastry
1 pint fresh figs ( 3/4 pound), stemmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 1/2 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled (about 6 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Good-quality honey for drizzling, optional.
1. In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter with oil. Add onions, rosemary and sugar. Cook, tossing occasionally, until onions are limp and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg until smooth. Stir in the onions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Transfer to baking sheet.
3. Use a fork to spread onion mixture evenly over pastry (let excess egg mixture drip back into bowl), leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange figs, cut-side up, in even rows on onion mixture. Scatter cheese and pine nuts over figs. Use a pastry brush to dab edges of tart with egg mixture. Gently fold over edges of tart to form a lip and brush with more egg mixture.
4. Bake until pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with rosemary needles and drizzled with honey, if desired, warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 servings.

THE FOOD of Morocco
TAGINE LAHM BIL BATATA HELWA

BEEF TAGINE WITH SWEET POTATOES

USE THE ORANGE-FLESHED SWEET POTATO AS IT IS MEALY AND. SWEET, AND KEEPS ITS SHAPE COOKED. THE TAGINE IS FINISHED AND BROWNED IN. THE OVEN; IN TRADITIONAL MOROCCAN COOKING, IT WOULD BE COVERED WITH A METAL LID WITH GLOWING CHARCOAL PLACED ON TOP.

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) blade or chuck steak
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 tomatoes
500 g (1. lb 2 oz) orange sweet potatoes,

TRIM the steak of any fat and cut into 1 inch pieces. Heat half the oil in a saucepan and bi the. beef in batches over high heat, adding a more oil as needed. Set aside in a dish.

REDUCE the heat to low, add .the onion and the remaining oil to the pan and gently cook 10 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add the cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric, ginger and paprika, cook for a few seconds, then add 1 teaspoon salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Return the beef to the pan, along wi parsley, coriander and 250 ml (9 fl oz / 1 cup) Cover and simmer over low heat for 11/2 hour until the meat is almost tender.

PEEL the tomatoes. To do this, score a cross in the base of each one using a knife. Put the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for 20 seconds, then plunge into a bowl of cold water to cool. Remove from the water and peel the skin away from the cross the skin should slip off easily. Slice the tomatoes. Peel the sweet potatoes cut them into ¾ in chunks and leave in cold water until required, as this will prevent them discoloring. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

TRANSFER the meat and its sauce to the ovenproof serving dish (the base of tagine would be ideal). Drain the sweet potatoes and spread them on top of the beef. Top with the sliced tomatoes. Cover with foil (or the lid of the tagine) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 425 F and raise the tomatoes and sweet potatoes are flecked with brown and are served tender. Serve from the dish.

Last Pre-Indian Dinner

We decided to cook one last Indian dinner before going for the real thing. We made two of our favorite dishes. Goan Style Shrimp Curry is delicious and rich with coconut milk. I really like it. At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we bought beautiful large shrimp from the fish truck. I wonder if we will have lots of Goan Shrimp when we go to Goa on our next trip. Hope so! It will be interesting to see the difference. One difference, I am sure, is that it will be a lot spicier in Goa! We use a recipe adapted from Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, from the restaurant Devi in New York City. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Aug. 9, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We also made Gobi Jalfrezi (Cauliflower blended with tomato puree and vinegar) from Rocky Mohan The Art of Indian Cuisine. At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we picked up probably the last tomatoes of the season, and candied them in the stove. We then used them in this delicious recipe. The Indian’s sure have a way with vegetables! You can get the recipe from our blog of: Sep. 11, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Fig Pasta

Fig season is growing to a close. We made Fig Pasta once last time. It is unusual in that it is a sweet pasta. We use the recipe from Lynn Rossetto Kasper in her cookbook: The Splendid Table Cookbook. It is very simple and delicious. You can get the recipe from our blog of Aug. 22, 2006. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a salad of White Nectarines, Prosciutto, Almonds and Saba. We love salads made with fresh fruit!

Moroccan Tuna on Skewers

We were so impressed with the quality of the fish from the truck at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we decided to make another Moroccan Dish. We used the cookbook: The Food of Morocco – a journey for food lovers. Susan had the book in Santa Fe and we decided to purchase a copy. The recipe is called: Tuna Skewers with Herb Marinade. Doesn’t sound that special in English but it tasted great!

The J & P West Coast Fish truck had fabulous fresh Sushi Grade Tuna. It looked like giant steaks. I wondered if the tuna would fall apart when skewered but it held together. The herb marinade is really a Chermoula. Nice and spicy!

The tuna grilled very fast on the grill (just a about 1-2 minutes per side.
We made another Moroccan dish to go with it. Grilled eggplant covered with onions that had been slow cooked in spices. It was OK but not great. Win some loose some. The Tuna is a keeper! We served it with Tunisian Couscous.

We had also made Corn Pasta. It will probably be our last fresh corn dish of the year. You can find the recipe for the corn pasta in our blog of: Aug. 12, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.



QUOTBAN DEL TON BIL CHERMOULA
TUNA SKEWERS WITH HERB MARINADE
From the food of Morocco a journey for food lovers

TUNA IS IDEAL FOR SKEWERS AS IT IS A FIRM-FLESHED FISH AND DOES NOT FALL APART DURING COOKING. THE CHERMOULA GIVES THE TUNA A FLAVOUR BOOST AND KEEPS IT MOIST. WHILE MOROCCANS COOK TUNA THOROUGHLY, YOU CAN SEAR IT AND SERVE RARE IF DESIRED.

1 Ib 12 oz tuna steaks, cut into 1 1/4 in cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

CHERMOUUX
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
3 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 1/2 fl oz/1/3 cup lemon juice
4 fl oz / 1/2 cup olive oil

SOAK eight bamboo skewers in water for 2 hours, or use metal skewers.

PUT the tuna in a shallow non-metallic dish. Combine the olive oil, cumin and lemon zest and pour over the tuna. Toss to coat, then cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 10 minutes only.

MEANWHILE, to make the chermoula, put the ground coriander, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper in a small frying pan and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Combine with the remaining chermoula ingredients and set aside.

THREAD the tuna onto the skewers. Lightly oil a chargrill pan or barbecue grill and cook*the skewers for 1 minute on each side for rare, or 2 minutes for medium. Serve with the chermoula drizzled over the tuna.

A Taste of Morocco (Tagine)

We went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and bought a beautiful piece of fresh Halibut from J & P West Coast Fish. They sell fresh fish from their truck - that kind of looks like a typical Los Angeles roach truck (for those of you not from LA – there is some seriously good food available from these trucks). Their truck has been modified to sell fish and has lots of ice to keep the fish fresh. The fish is better than most of the fish you would get in a market. It is straight from the boat to San Pedro to the truck to us!

We have been on a bit of a Moroccan quest and found a recipe for a recipe for Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomato, Peppers, and Preserved Lemons in Paula Wolfert’s World of Food Cookbook. This is a fish dish we will definitely make again! It is great. I usually don’t like leftover fish, but this dish re-heats well in the microwave. Part of the reason it is so good has to be the quality of the fish. It was very firm and cooked perfectly!

Cathy made our favorite Couscous from Tunisia to go with it.

Two days later Kashmera and Krushna stopped by to say goodbye (they were returning to India). We offered them some leftover Tagine but they demurred saying they had a big lunch and had to get on a plane. We let them smell the tagine and they decided they wanted some. It was cute they kept eating it. I think we will continue to expand their food horizons.

Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomato, Peppers, and Preserved Lemons
From Paula Wolfert’s World of Food Cookbook

SERVES 4

A popular Moroccan green-hued sauce used in fish stews, or tagines, is called charmoula, a balanced combination of quantities of flat-leaf parsley and fresh coriander, oil, cumin, paprika, and hot pepper. I love it for its powerful taste and the way it permeates the delicate flavor of fish, and in this dish especially it makes marvelous eating. You can make it ahead of time and keep it refrigerated for 1 or 2 days.

In Morocco fish stews are always cooked in earthenware, which is especially helpful when the stew contains tomatoes. (Tin-lined copperware and aluminum definitely alter flavor.) In this Moroccan fish tagine, the rich tastes of tomatoes, green peppers, and hot peppers are offset by the tart, briny flavor of preserved lemons. Traditionally this tagine would contain an entire fish with head intact, but I have found it easier to make with thick fillets. Serve the fish directly from the baking dish. Pass slices of anise-flavored Moroccan bread, and accompany with a light, dry red or white wine.

CHARMOULA
1 large garlic clove, crushed with 2
teaspoons salt in a blender or mortar
until smooth
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin seed
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped Italian fiat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red-pepper flakes, seeds removed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fruity olive oil
4 thick lean fish fillets or slices, about 8 ounces each: monkfish, red snapper, sea bass, tilefish, or other ocean fish
1 large carrot, sliced very thin
1 pound red, ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced thin
small green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced thin
1 small green or red hot pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced thin
Sea salt and pepper
2 wedges of Preserved Lemons, rinsed and drained, pulp discarded, peel sliced thin
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Sprigs of fresh coriander, for garnish

Early in the day, or the day before, make the charmoula: In a blender, combine the garlic, spices, herbs, and pepper flakes. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a small saucepan and heat it slowly, stirring, until hot and aromatic, about 30 seconds; do not boil. Let it cool, then divide the spice mixture, or charmoula, in half.

Rinse the fish and pat it dry with paper towels. Rub one portion of the spice mixture into the fish and let it stand at least 1 hour, or overnight. Add 1/2 cup of hot water to the remaining spice mixture, cover, and refrigerate separately. (The recipe can be prepared to this point a day ahead.)

About 1 1/2 hours before serving, preheat the oven to 300° F. Spread 2 tablespoons of reserved charmoula over the bottom of a shallow 2 1/2-quart baking-serving dish (about 10 inches in diameter). Scatter the carrots on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with a little charmoula. Add half the tomatoes, bell peppers, and chili pepper; sprinkle with a little charmoula. Lay the fish over the vegetables and cover with the preserved lemon peel and the remaining tomatoes and peppers in a decorative pattern. Spread the remaining charmoula over all. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Pour off the liquid from the fish into a small non-corrodible saucepan. Bring it to a boil over moderately high heat, and boil until it is reduced to 1/2 cup of thick liquid. Pour it back over the fish. (The dish can be prepared up to 1 hour ahead to this point.)

Raise the oven temperature to 500° F. Uncover the baking dish, baste with the pan juices, and bake in the top third of the oven for 10 minutes, or until a nice crust has formed over the vegetables. Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with sprigs of coriander. Serve warm.

Not Very Indian Dinner

Our friends from Bollywood Kashmera Shah and Krushna were in the town so we decided to invite them to dinner. We also invited Tim who introduced them to us. Just about dinner time I received a call from Harsha who was calling from the top of a Griffith Park Mountain he had just climbed. He was in town. I invited him to join us for dinner but didn’t tell him that Kashmera and Krushna were coming.

He was very happy to see them and was tickled to meet two Bollywood Stars!
We planned to grill steaks but realized that we would need some vegetable offerings for those that don’t eat meat. We also grilled a Salmon. The steaks of course were Dry Aged Porterhouse Steaks from Harvey Gus Meats. They are the best!

We found an absolute fantastic cauliflower recipe from a cookbook we had purchased on our last trip to India. It is called GOBI JALFREZI (Cauliflower blended with tomato puree and vinegar) the cookbook is called: The Art of Indian Cuisine by Rocky Mohan. It calls for tomato paste but we have frozen oven dried tomatoes this summer and defrosted and used them. It was far better than any tomato paste. We liked the idea of frozen tomatoes so much, we plan to go to the farmer’s market and buy a lot of tomatoes this weekend and freeze some more.

Tim brought a Bollywood Cake for dessert.

After dinner we played some Bollywood Dance Music and Krushna and Kashmera showed us some dance steps. They promise to teach us some more. We would really like to learn!

GOBI JALFREZI
(Cauliflower blended with tomato puree and vinegar)
From Rocky Mohan The Art of Indian Cuisine

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Cauliflower (phool gobi) / broccoli florets
1/2 cup Clarified butter (ghee) / refined oil
4 Red chillies (lal mirch), dry
1 1/2 tsp. Cumin seeds (jeera)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Peppercorn (kali mirch) powder
2 tsp. Ginger (adrak), juliennes
1/2 cup Tomato (tamaiar) puree
1 Tbsp. White vinegar (sirka)
1 Tbsp. Coriander leaves (hara dhaniya), chopped

METHOD

Heat the clarified butter / oil in a wok (kadhai); add the dry red chillies, then stir and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the cauliflower, salt, peppercorn powder, and ginger. Stir well. Cover the wok and reduce the heat. Cook on a slow fire until almost tender.

Add the tomato puree and white vinegar. Cook until the cauliflower becomes tender. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Malaysian Chicken

When we were in Bali we met the author of a Malaysian Cookbook, Christina Arokiasamy. Her cookbook is called: The Spice Merchant’s Daughter. Her mother obviously was a spice merchant and she grew up loving to cook. We bought a copy of her book and asked her to recommend some recipes. She recommended several. We decided to make Whole Roasted Chicken in Tamarind Butter Sauce.

It is one of several recipes that we have made that roast chicken on a rack over water. It is an excellent way to roast chicken because the steam keeps the chicken very moist. We made Couscous to go with the chicken. It is a great recipe!
We have found one particular brand of Couscous that we really like. It is called: m'hamsa hand-rolled couscous from Tunisia. It is far better than any other couscous we have ever eaten. Click herefor their web.

We started with a Corn and Avocado Salad with Cherry Tomatoes.


Whole Roasted Chicken in Tamarind Butter Sauce
From The Spice Merchant’s Daughter by Christina Arokiasamy

My mother was celebrated for her roasted chicken, which was tender and flavorful right to the bone. She first made this recipe for one of our regular customers at our spice stall and soon enough could hardly keep up with the orders. I enjoyed standing beside her as she made it, watching the palm sugar, butter, and tamarind as they caramelized. In this recipe, we never used the reserved juices from the pan as the tamarind sauce was so delicious on its own. However, you may serve the reserved sauce on the side if you wish. Just before
serving, my mother would sprinkle in a handful of fried chiles for an extra kiss of flavor. serves 6 »

Chicken
2 TEASPOONS CORIANDER SEEDS
4 STAR ANISE
ONE 4-INCH CINNAMON STICK
2 GARLIC CLOVES, PEELED
'A CUP SOY SAUCE
ONE 41/2- TO 5-POUND WHOLE CHICKEN

Sauce
1 TABLESPOON UNSALTED BUTTER
1/2 CUP PLUS 2 TABLESPOONS TAMARIND LIQUID
2 TABLESPOONS FISH SAUCE
1/4 CUP SOY SAUCE
½ CUP PALM SUGAR SYRUP (OR BROWN SUGAR
1/2 TEASPOON CAYENNE

Tamarind Liquid

MAKES 2 CUPS
Put half of a 14-ounce block of tamarind in a medium bowl. Add 2 1/2 cups hot water and allow the tamarind to sit for 10 minutes to soften. Using your fingers, squeeze the tamarind block (like you would squeeze a sponge) until the pulp separates from the seeds and dissolves in the water. Strain the tamarind liquid into a medium bowl. Discard any seeds and pulp that have not dissolved. The strained tamarind liquid should be reddish brown. Store tamarind liquid in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Palm Sugar Syrup
MAKES 1 CUP
To facilitate using a small amount of palm sugar at a time, make liquid palm sugar by cooking an 8-ounce block of palm sugar in 1 ½ cups water over medium heat until melted, without stirring. The syrup is ready when large bubbles appear on the surface. Let it cool before pouring it into a glass jar. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. You may substitute Lyle 's Golden Syrup (available at gourmet markets) or brown sugar for palm sugar, although the taste will not be as mellow

To prepare the marinade, put the coriander, star anise, and cinnamon in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant and slightly darkened. Set aside to cool.

Put the toasted spices, garlic, and soy sauce in a food processor or mini-chopper. Blend until you have a smooth paste.

Put the chicken in a glass baking dish and pour the marinade over the chicken, rubbing inside and out with the spices. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours,
preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put the chicken on a rack, reserving the marinade, and then place the rack on top of a baking pan. Fill the pan with 1/2 inch of water.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting the chicken with the reserved marinade every 20 minutes.

Roast for 30 minutes longer without basting, until the juices run clear when you prick the thigh with a fork. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

While the chicken is resting, put a saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, tamarind liquid, fish sauce, soy sauce, and 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Add the palm sugar syrup and cayenne, stirring gently to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, until the sauce is deep reddish brown in color and slightly thickened.

Carve the chicken, arrange the pieces on a platter, and pour the sauce over them.

Lobster Left Overs

Wine: Benovia Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2006 La Pommeraie
Riveras

We had left over lobster and invited Bea over to continue our Lobster-a-thon. She brought a fabulous wine with her! We also had left over grilled corn on the cob. We read the Sunday New York Times and in the magazine they had a recipe for a Shrimp Chowder. Since we had the lobster we decided to make the recipe substituting the lobster for shrimp. The Lobster Chowder was wonderful, we will make again!

Matt Poley is The God of Lasagna. His catering company is: Heirloom LA. He is the caterer of choice in Silverlake. One of his specialties is the creation of different types of lasagna. He sells them. He brought a Smoked Cheese Lasagna over to Bea and she brought it to the dinner. It was quite good.

We started with a Lobster Parfait from The Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant Seafood Cookbook. . Lettuce topped with lobster and dressing served in a chilled parfait glass.

Lobster Dressing
½ cup Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chili sauce
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh chives minced
½ teaspoon horseradish
1 tablespoon celery, minced

Mix ingredients and chill, then pour over lobster.

Red Shrimp Chowder With Corn
4 cups fish stock, clam broth or water
2 pounds shrimp, shelled, chopped into pieces roughly 1/2-inch thick, shells reserved (see note)
4 ears corn, shucked, kernels cut off, cobs and kernels reserved
2 basil sprigs, leaves cut into fine ribbons, stems reserved
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Half a fennel bulb, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Salt
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 bay leaf
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved
Freshly ground black pepper.
1. In a medium pot, bring the fish stock, clam broth or water to a boil with the shrimp shells, corncobs and basil stems and simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. In a large pot set over medium heat, melt the butter and fry the bacon in it. When the bacon is crisp, fish it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Fry the onion, garlic, celery, fennel and carrots in the hot fat until softened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Strain the shrimp-flavored broth into the pot. Add the corn kernels, potatoes, bay leaf and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Using the back of a wooden spoon, crush a third to a half of the potato chunks against the side of the pot. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and juice, return to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Add the shrimp, stir well, taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt, black pepper and more red pepper flakes to taste. (The shrimp will cook from the heat of the soup.) Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the basil ribbons and some bacon.
Serves 4 to 6.
Note: For a richer meal, lobster may be substituted for the shrimp. To prepare, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Drop in 2 lobsters (2 pounds each), cover the pot tightly and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lobsters and let them cool, keeping the water at a simmer. Pry the meat from the claws and tail, reserving the shells, and roughly chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Return the shells to the pot and proceed from Step 1 above, using the lobster water instead of fish stock or clam broth.

Lobster and Hot Dogs

We were planning to grill Hot Dogs. We really like the ones we pick up at The Cheese Store of Silverlake. They are called: Let’s Be Frank. Bea contacted us and was up for Grilling Lobster Tails. So we decided to combine the two and serve grilled Hot Dogs and Lobster (sort of a version of surf-n-turf).

It was a warm summer night and we started with drinks on the deck. We had eaten at Rivera and really liked a drink they served called: Rivera. It is made by crushing some cucumber in a glass, adding vodka, lime juice and simple syrup. Shake well over ice and sprinkle some salt on top. It is very refreshing.

We then proceeded to grill the hot dogs and lobster tails on the egg.

We started with a Summer Corn Salad. I stripped the corn kernels from some cobs we had previously grilled on the egg and added cherry tomatoes, avocado, chopped fresh tarragon and chives. We combined the corn mixture with a small amount of mixed greens and then added vinegar & olive oil. The salad was a winner!

I think that Bea really liked the Hot Dogs!

Gratin and Ham

We made a salad that we really like. We first saw it made at The Hungry Cat one night when we were eating at the raw bar. It doesn’t have a name so we call it The Hungry Cat Salad. It is a simple but delicious salad. Leafy lettuce, lemon juice. Avocado cut into pieces, sea salt, olive oil and Pecorino Cheese, grated hard boiled egg. No recipe just mix the ingredients to your taste. We usually don’t use avocado, but really liked this salad!

We made an absolutely delicious Potato and Cabbage Gratin from The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen Cookbook. We had never made this particular Gratin before. We loved it. Anything with crispy potatoes we love! This is a good one!

We served with it Sliced Ham we had purchased from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. The ham is made by Fra’ Mani it is very good.


Potato and Cabbage Gratin
The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen

In this superb southwestern French gratin, a base of silky soft leaves of green cabbage are topped with a layer of crusty potatoes plus a second super-thin layer of cheese custard. The whole is baked to a golden brown crust.

SERVES 6
2 pounds green cabbage, quartered
Salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or duck fat
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 juniper berries, gently bruised
3 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
½ cup poultry, pork, or vegetable stock
2 ounces dry-cured ham, such as Bayonne or serrano, finely diced (1/2 cup)
1 to 1 1/4 pounds red potatoes (about 3 medium), sliced 1/4 inch thick
3/4 cup milk
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 ounces imported Cantal, aged gouda, or Swiss Gruyere, shredded


1. About 3 hours before serving, preheat the oven to 325°F. Slip the cabbage wedges into a large >t of boiling salted water until tender but still green, about 12 minutes. Drain the cabbage and ise under cold running water. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water. Cut e cabbage into 3-inch pieces, discarding the core.

2. Meanwhile, put i tablespoon olive oil and the butter or duck fat in the center of a 10-inch -cup capacity) baking-serving dish. Add the garlic, juniper berries, thyme, and bay leaf, cover with a lid or foil, and set on the lowest oven rack. Bake for 10 minutes.


3. Add the cabbage, stock, and ham to the baking dish and stir to mix; then spread evenly in the dish, arrange the potatoes in overlapping circles over the cabbage. Cover with foil and bake for I hour.

4. Remove the foil and lightly sprinkle the remaining I teaspoon olive oil over the potatoes, raise the oven temperature to 4OO°F, transfer the dish to the upper rack, and bake for minutes, or until the potatoes are lightly browned.

5. Heat the milk in a small saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk, flour, and nutmeg, Whisk in the hot milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the pota¬toes, sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake on the upper rack of the oven for 30 minutes, or until browned. Serve hot.