Since the focus of this month has primarily been Moroccan cuisine, I thought it was time to taste some of the more exotic and complicated Middle Eastern dishes I have encountered during some of my reading. Since a trip to Morocco is not in my near future, a friend and I entrusted this experience to the chefs at Saffron in downtown Minneapolis. “First-rate comfort food, certainly, but chef Sameh Wadi’s contemporary interpretation of the genre — and his million-dollar nose for seasoning — propel them far beyond home cooking.” says the Star Tribune. This is also true in their drinks. I recommend the “Sunrise in Turkey”, which combines house infused orange vodka, citrus and pomegranate liqueur.

Our server suggested trying a variety of mezzes. We started with the lamb brain in olive oil stewed tomatoes and parsley. The brain is lightly fried, and the taste is mild. The tomatoes and parsley provided most of the flavor of the dish. I assumed it would be chewy and gritty, and was pleased to discover the texture to be creamy. I will not be seeking out this dish again anytime soon, but I would recommend it to anyone looking for an experience.

Our next course was the chicken bisteeya, an aromatic saffron stewed chicken & almond pie wrapped in a phyllo pastry with cinnamon sugar. It was a balanced combination of sweet and savory. I am looking forward to trying this dish myself. It looks to be labor intensive and time consuming, but the results are well worth the trouble. We paired our bisteeya with Charred Brussels Sprouts & Parsnips with black figs, chili flake, brown butter and lemon. Also delightful. The sweetness of the dates seemed to intensify the citrus flavor.

The grand finale was the Shredded Phyllo & Sweet Cheese Pie (Kunafa) with cardamom-saffron syrup and pistachios. This was brought to our table in a hot skillet, and then drizzled with the syrup. It was sticky, sweet, crunchy, and creamy all together. This recipe was from the chef’s Lebanese grandmother.

The entire experience was inspiring. It has given me more depth into the variety of Middle Eastern cuisine. I look forward to creating my own versions of some of these dishes, and encourage you to share variations you have created.

Chicken in Red Wine Vinegar

ACTIVE TIME: 25 MIN

TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 5 MIN

SERVES: 4

For Paula Wolfert, this rustic Lyonnais dish is comfort food. Slow cooking transforms red wine vinegar, tomato, shallots, garlic and a touch of honey into a perfectly balanced sauce for chicken. This is the recipe we recommend to try after crafting your own vinegar using our Vinegar Crock.

INGREDIENTS

14 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 large chicken thighs, trimmed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 large shallots, thinly sliced

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons crème fraîche

3 tablespoons chopped tarragon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the vinegar, broth, honey and tomato paste to a boil, stirring well. Simmer the vinegar sauce until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes.

2. Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add half of them to the skillet, skin side down. Cook over moderate heat, turning once, until browned. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining thighs.

3. Add the garlic and shallots to the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the wine; boil until reduced to 1/4 cup. Add the vinegar sauce and bring to a simmer.

4. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Cover and simmer over low heat until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to plates.

5. Add the crème fraîche to the skillet and boil for 3 minutes. Add the tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

WINE PAIRING RECOMMENDATION: Red-cherry rich 2004 Potel-Aviron Juliénas Vieilles Vignes.

Recipe by Paula Wolfert

From The Virtue of Homemade Vinegar

This recipe originally appeared in October, 2006. Food and Wine Magazine www.foodandwine.com

(ed note)  This one’s from Abby who runs the Borealis Yarn Shops in St. Paul MN. Fabulous materials for serious knitters.  Now let’s see about some serious eating!

1/8 cup vinegar (any type, I usually use white)
1 sprig fresh Rosemary
4-6 cloves garlic
2.5-4lb whole chicken

Fill the well of your ‘beer can’ Chicken roaster with 1/8 cup vinegar, 1/8 cup water. Rinse Chicken. Place over well. Cut off the bottom of your garlic cloves. Don’t bother to remove the paper around the cloves. Push the cloves and the Rosemary down the Chicken neck. Place in oven, set oven at 350 degrees, walk away. Chicken will be ready in 2 hours (2.5 lbs ) or 3 hours (4lb).

It can no longer be called “Beer Can Chicken.  Paula’s roasting rub elevates this simple dish to gourmet status.

1 Roasting Chicken 3-1/2 to 5 lbs
3 Garlic Cloves
1 TBSP Juniper Berries
2 tsp coarse Salt
1 tsp dried Oregano
½ tsp Black Peppercorns
2 Cloves
2 Bay Leaves
3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil, rendered duck fat
or clarified butter
1 sm Lemon – sliced thin

We’d always used dry rubs on the chicken bakers. We sent one to Paula for the heck of it, and she developed this extra special Mediterranean style recipe. It is fabulous! We made two of them for our “company” Paula Wolfert Christmas party (everything from appetizers to dessert was from “Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking”.  Juniper berries are available from Penzey’s Spices. If you don’t know about them, you need to!  This is clay pot cooking at its best!

1. Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Cut off tail. Place on a rack over paper towels and refrigerate, uncovered.
2. Use a heavy pestle to pound the Juniper Berries, garlic, salt, oregano, peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves to a paste in a mortar. Or use electric grinder or spice mill to grind. Blend in the olive oil.
3. Remove chicken from refrigerator. Slip fingers under the skin of the thighs and breasts and gently separate skin from the meat to create an air pocket without tearing the skin. Insert pinches of the mixture under the skin and massage into the flesh. Use remaining mixture to season the cavity and the skin.
4. Slip lemon wedges into the cavity.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degF. Bring the chicken to room temperature. Fill the center cup about 2/3 full with water and juice of 1 lemon. Seat the chicken over the cup with legs to the side making a tripod.
6. Bake, uncovered for 1-1/2 to 2 hours (depending on size)
7. The bird can be placed on the table on the baker (juices can be removed with a baster to make gravy) or lift the bird carefully off the stand and transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5-10 minutes before carving. Juices can also be put in a skillet and boiled down to about ½. Correct seasoning and serve with the carved bird.

You can buy thin cutlets or ask your supermarket butcher to cut some for you. This recipe is easily doubled, but you’ll likely need to cook the chicken in batches.Serves two.
ingredient discovery
Ingredients pancetta dry Marsala chicken breast cutlets more
kosher salt black peppercorns all-purpose flour flat-leaf parsley
Olive oil
2 oz. pancetta (about a 1/4-inch thick slice), cut into a 1/4-inch dice
Flour for dredging (about 1/2 cup)
4 thin chicken breast cutlets, about 1/2 lb. total
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper, preferably on the coarse side
1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
2 to 4 Tbs. heavy cream
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Coat a large skillet lightly with olive oil and set it over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until just crisp and lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan, and set aside.

Put the flour on a plate. Pat the cutlets dry. Season them on both sides lightly with salt and amply with pepper. Heat the skillet with the pancetta fat over medium high. Add more olive oil, if needed, to get about 2 Tbs. fat in the pan.

When the fat is hot, dredge a cutlet through the flour on both sides (see Tips for moist sautéed chicken). Shake off the excess flour and immediately put the cutlet in the pan. Do the same with as many cutlets as will fit in the pan without touching. Sauté the cutlets, turning once, until browned on both sides; if thin, they should cook through in just a few minutes total. Transfer the cooked cutlets to a plate and continue sautéing the rest, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer these to the plate as well.

Pour off the excess fat. With the pan over medium-high heat, add the Marsala and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the Marsala is reduced by about a quarter. Stir in the cream and boil until you get a nicely thickened sauce. Return the chicken and pancetta to the pan and turn the cutlets over to coat. Let them reheat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Serve with the sauce and a sprinkling of parsley, if you like.

From Fine Cooking 42, pp. 90

www.finecooking.com

January 1, 2001