Taste of Peace

I am have been craving falafel. It is not like an anticipated hunkering for pizza, which was the foundation of my juvenile food pyramid. I do not remember having falafel until I was eighteen on my first big adventure. It had to be the messaging I got for watching the Israeli prime minister address Congress in the weeks leading up his national election, and all the post election analysis. I have always been fond of the foods and flavors of the Middle East, and made regular forays into Brooklyn to sample mezze plates of Syrian, Lebanese and Egyptian restaurateurs who set up in the borough.

I was raised to be a Zionist (what a disappointment I turned out to be), and every year the synagogue we affiliated with held an annual drive to plant trees in Israel – I still don’t understand that one. And, the Passover Haggadah, which celebrates liberation and freedom closed with the proclamation, “Next year in Israel.” I was well schooled in our ancient, and more recent history, and living in the New York area it was frequently impressed upon me that our people are only about 3% of US population. So, we are in fact a minority, and should therefore embrace all the other minorities that made up the US. Isn’t there strength in numbers?

I always viewed the people of the Muslim faith as a first cousin. Our stories started in the same part of the world; the opening chapters of our scared books share a plot line until that horrid family dinner when two brothers quarreled. Never again has the family sat together to break bread. Yet, as I have dined in restaurants and in friend’s homes of various Middle Eastern backgrounds there is great commonality to the meal. I could not trace back when my family followed the diaspora out of the Middle East into northern Europe, and subsequently the US but the mezze table, in my own family, can be seen in the array of pickles, chilled radishes and celery stalks along with chopped liver that ran down the length of our dining room table. Dinner at an Assyrian friend’s the table was crowded with herbs, cubed feta, pickled beets amongst other nibbles that I immediately understand. You may go into a church, mosque, temple or dance rhythmically to the changes of the seasons in order to connect to an idea greater than ourselves. We can all recognize the divinity in the labor and love in a meal laid out, and offer up. Perhaps, it is time we started going to dinner together again and talk just of the quality of the pita bread; the creamy, smokiness of the hummus or, the magical lift a bit of anise hyssop adds to a za’atar blend. 

As the vernal equinox descends lets celebration more than the liberation from winter’s grip but that fact we are one people in a multitude of incarnations with a hunger to feed our souls and our families.  Invited a cousin to dinner this season.

Falafel – yeilds 12pieces

1-cup dried chickpeas

1-teaspoon ground cumin

1-teaspoon ground coriander

½-teaspoon ground anise seed

1-teaspoon ground black pepper

3 scallions – roughly chopped

2- garlic cloves – roughly chopped

½-cup cilantro – roughly chopped

1-tablespoon salt

¼-cup chickpea flour

1½-cup oil for frying

Soak the chickpeas in 4-cups of water for 14 to 16 hours, at room temperature.

Drain the chickpeas through a sieve, and then rinse the chickpeas. Transfer the soaked chickpeas to the bowl of a food process, fitted with the steel blade. Add the cumin, coriander, anise seed, black pepper, scallions, garlic cloves, cilantro and salt.

Process the chickpea mixture until well brokendown, not so much so that it becomes a creamy, smooth paste.

Transefer the chickpea mixture to a work bowl and incorporatre the chickpea flour. Let the mixture rest at room temperature for an hour or two.

Form the chickpea mixture into 12 balls, which will be slighlty smaller then a golf ball.

Heat the oil in a wok to 325 degrees. If you don’t have a candy/frying thermometer use the dool end of a wooden spoon – inserted in the heat oil the oil will immediately start to bubble around it.

Gently place 6 of the falafels into the oil, and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, until crisp and dark golden. Remove to paper line plate to drain. Fry the remaining 6 falafels. Serve warm with pita bread and Tahini Sauce.

Tonight, we roast

Feeding those we Love

Nightly we set the Table

A crisp day is warmed by their Smiles

Braised Pork Loin with Rice Dumplings – serves 4 to 6

3-pound pork loin

2 large onions – roughly chopped

8-10 whole garlic cloves – carefully peeled

2 celery stalks – sliced thinly

6 stems of thyme

1½-cups cooked rice

2-tablespoons fresh mint leaves – chopped

1-tablespoon thyme leaves – chopped

½-cup chickpea flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven 325-degrees.

Heat a 3-quart casserole dish over a high flame, and add the pork loin. Brown the pork on all sides. Remove from the casserole dish, and immediately add in the onions, garlic, celery and thyme. Cook for a few mintues, and return the pork to the dish. Pour over 1-cup of water, and season with salt and pepper. Cover securely, and place in the oven. Cook for 2 hours.

In the meantime, to make the dumpling place the rice, mint, thyme and ½-teaspoon salt in a food process along with ¼-cup of water. Process the rice mixture until particularly smooth. Transfer the rice puree into a bowl, and with a spoon thoroughly mix in the chickpea flour. Form the rice mixture into approximately 14 balls (the size of a walnut – it is easiest if you keep your hands dmapened), and hold on a plate mositened with a thin film of water.

After the pork has cooked for two hours, add in the rice dumplings and replace the cover. Retun to the oven and cook an additional 1-hour. Serve.

when sleep takes over…..

Inspiration strikes me in so many different ways – I could be walking through a farmer’s market and spy something utterly seductive, and I know am going to play with it. I have been overseas, and encountered an unknown fruit or vegetable then I hear it whispering to me, telling me what needs to be done. Of course, every client is a source of ideas for everyone has their own particulars and I love to figure how to work within them. Then there are nocturnal visions. I am not one who has vivid dreams working out the daily crisis during what should be a time of rest – I rest. But I will say, many a recipe or germ of a recipe has occurred while I slept. More amazing to me is that I wake fully conscience the idea and I can carry the memory for days before I actually get down to work. It has always been a sign that I am in the profession I was meant to be in for no math problem was ever solved, by me, either when I was awake, or dead to the world.

Not all ideas are prompted by the high and esoteric. I obsessed recently about a container of yogurt -- we had a house of full of guests a few weeks back, and in an effort to be inviting I bought morning food. For me, that usually means 3 cups of steaming motor oil edged with a splash of soy milk. But I know not everyone can handle my daily java jolt, and I realize people actually wake up hungry where I wake up ready to satisfy hunger. The eggs became a frittata and the blueberry bread quickly disappeared but that container of yogurt remained, and a week later I was still staring at it. I thought I would whip a batch or two of flatbread; they freeze well and clients love them. I dawdled clearly I was not inspired. Then night fell and an adjunct to the usually bread bloomed during a REM cycle. The next morning I got down to making patties.

Chicken Patties – yields 8

2-cups non-fat yogurt (not Greek-style)

2-cups chickpea flour

1-teaspoon baking powder

½-teaspoon salt

2-cups all-purpose flour

In a large work bowl mix the yogurt, chickpea flour, baking powder, salt and 1-cup all-purpose flour until it forms a sticky dough mass.

Place the remaining 1-cup of all-purpose flour on a clean work surface, and knead the dough mass for 5 minutes incorporating the flour. The dough should be slightly tacky to the feel. Put in the dough in a work bowl, and cover with a clean towel. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Filling:

¼-cup tamarind paste

¼-cup coconut vinegar

1-whole boneless and skinless chicken breast

1-teaspoon turmeric powder

2-whole black cardamom 

1-tablespoon coriander seed

½-teaspoon cumin seed

1-teaspoon whitepoppy seed

½-teaspoon celery seed

½-teaspoon mace blades

1-medium onion – chopped

3-garlic cloves – minced

¼” piece ginger – minced

1-tablespoon coconut oil

2-cups chopped greens (such as Swiss chard, spinach, mustard)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

¼-cup raisins

¼-cup olive oil

To make the filling soak the tamarind in the vinegar for 10 to 15 minutes and then push through a fine sieve to collect the seeds and any fibrous debris. Coat the chicken with the tamarind/vinegar paste, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 350-degrees and cook the chicken breast for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow the chicken to cool. Then shred the chicken and reserve in a work bowl.

In a spice grinder pulverize the turmeric, cardamom, coriander, cumin, poppy seeds, celery seeds and mace.

Heat an 8-inch sauté pan over a high flame, and add the coconut oil, onion, garlic and ginger. Low to a simmer, and allow the mixture to caramelize – stirring occasionally (should take about 20 minutes). Once the mixture has browned stir the pulverized spice mixture, chopped greens, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until fragrant and the greens have started to wilt. Stir in the raisins and remove from the heat allowing the onion mixture to cool completely. Combine with the chicken, and correct seasoning with salt and pepper.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, and on a clean work surface roll each piece into approximately a 6 to 7 inch circle. If the dough is sticking to the work surface lightly oil the area – avoid using any flour.

Place an eighth of the filling mixture in the center of each circle and fold in half to create a crescent shape. Crimp the edges with the tinges of a fork. If your patties are prefect and don’t have any “tears” create a vent hole with a small knife.

Place the patties on a lined baking tray. At this point, you can hold the patties in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.

Pre-heat the oven to 475-degrees. Brush each pattie with olive oil and cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.