Shurpa

Shurpa

When I say we cooked yesterday, I mean we really cooked. In addition to Nora’s Salad and Damlyama, we also made Shurpa. Shurpa is a rich and brothy lamb soup that warms your soul. There are many variations, mainly having to do with vegetables and garbanzo beans. My dad likes garbanzo beans in shurpa and that’s how we made it back home, so that’s how we made it here too, though many people leave out the garbanzo beans. The main thing to keep in mind is that you want the broth to be clear and free of color. Take a look at the picture at the bottom of this post. That is why the vegetables are generally whole or halved. But here is our version. Nora, please correct me where/if I missed anything.

Veggies in Shurpa. See the carrots, onion, greens, and pepper chunks? See the floating tomato half?

Ingredients:
2 whole carrots
1 small onion whole
1 tomato (we used Roma) cut in half
1/2 red pepper (cut 2 sides off)
2 lbs of garbanzo beans (we used 2 1-lb cans drained)
1/2 large onion cut into half moons
2 lbs of lamb (get soup bones, not just the fleshy bits)
1.5 – 2 LB of potatoes
Salt, black pepper (whole, not ground!), cumin (all to taste)
parsley and dill (about 10 stems or so whole, if they’re kinda full)
parsley and dill for garnish (put into each plate, about a teaspoon each plate)
Water

Steps:
1. Salt the meat and put into a large pot (a stock pot would work). Cover with water and let come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat but keep it at a low boil. When the meat is cooking, you will see a grayish film bubble up (I’m sure there is a name for it, I just don’t know what it is in English), but be sure to skim it off; nobody wants to eat that.
2. Add the carrots, small whole onion, 2 halves of the tomato, pepper pieces, and parsley.
3. Cook for about a half hour and then add the garbanzo beans. Season.
4. About a half hour before the soup is done, add the potatoes which have been cut into bite size pieces.
5. Cook for about 4 hours total, on a low boil.

Potatoes in Shurpa

Brothy Shurpa

Damlyama (Uzbek dish)

Damlyama

I’ve never eaten an Uzbek dish that isn’t tasty. They just don’t exist. This is also a layered dish. I guess we had a subconscious theme today with this dish and Nora’s Salad. So, here’s another finger-licking goodness and this one packs a TON of veggies.

 
 
Ingredients:
1-2 lbs of lamb
2 zucchinis
2 yellow zucchinis (summer squash)
2 large onions
4 or more tomatoes
2 large carrots
2 red bell peppers
1/2 – 1 eggplant
1 head of cabbage (remove core)
Spices (salt, cumin, freshly ground black pepper)

Steps:
1. Cut all vegetables into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the eggplant a little thicker otherwise it gets too soggy.
2. Cut the meat into 1 inch pieces. Salt & pepper the meat. Sear it over high heat, especially if the lamb has fat, put the fat side down so it can melt & brown-up what’s left. If the lamb doens’t have enough fat, add some oil while browning.
3. Layer the ingredients as follows:

• Lamb
• Zucchini
• Summer Squash
• Onion
• Tomato
• Carrots
• Bell Pepper
• Eggplant
• Cabbage

The main thing here is that the meat is on the bottom and that the cabbage covers everything. I don’t know if it matters what order the veggies are between the meat and cabbage layer.

Season each layer.

Cover with a heavy lid and cook on a low heat for about 1 and a half to 2 hours. If you like your veggies crisper, cook less, but make sure the meat is cooked.

As you can see in the picture, my dutch oven is a tad too small, so we had to improvise since the dish basically steams. So we put a serving platter on top and covered with the lid. In order to capture the steam, we put 2 clean kitchen towels around the rim.

Layer of Veggies

Layer of Veggies

Layer of Veggies

 
 
 
 
 
 

I need a bigger dutch oven. And a bigger kitchen

Finished Damlyama

Nora’s Salad

Eggplant Salad

Nora and I got together and cooked again today. And boy did we cook! We made shurpa (a lamb soup), damlyama (a lamb and vegetable dish) and a new salad. Since I don’t know the name for that salad and since she introduced us to it, I’ll just call this “Nora’s Salad”. She said that she’s been making it for ages. It’s absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:
2-3 eggplants (cut up like fries)
4 tomatoes thinly sliced (we used Roma tomatoes)
1 medium onion (thinly sliced in half moons and soaked in a water/vinegar solution)
1/2 cup total of dill and flat leaf (Italian) parsley finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely minced
Salt to taste
Oil for frying (or if you have a deep fryer, that would work too)
1/4 – 1/2 cup of vinegar

Finished Salad

Steps:
1. Cut the onion into half moons and soak in a water/vinegar solution for at least a half hour. If you have more time, that would be fine too. Use about 1/4 cup of vinegar about as much water.
2. Cut up the eggplant like you would potatoes for french fries. Soak the eggplant in water for at least a half hour. More would work fine too. Soaking removes the bitterness. Remove as many seeds as possible, but if there are some left, that’s fine.
3. Fry the eggplant in oil in batches and layer the salad as follows:

• Eggplant
• Minced garlic
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Greens (dill/parsley mixture)
• Repeat.

Salad Layers

Eggplant Soaking

[caption id="attachment_403" align="alignleft" width="128" caption="Eggplant Frying"][/caption]

Beef Stew

When it’s as cold as it is now, I always want something hearty, like a chili or a stew.  Since I made chili on Friday, today was the day to make the stew.

I was looking for an easy and quick stew recipe, but seems like those don’t exist.  But I like a lot of Ina Garten’s recipes, and wanted to try her stew. Here’s the recipe to the original: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parkers-beef-stew-recipe/index.html

It turns out I can’t really follow directions.  That, and my dutch oven isn’t as big as hers, so I had to make alterations to the original recipe in terms of quantities and herbs (I really dislike rosemary – to me, it makes everything taste like mold).

So here is my version, inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe:

Ingredients:
2 lb of beef
2 whole garlic cloves, smashed
3 bay leaves
2 cups all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Good olive oil
2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut diagonally in 1 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 pound white mushrooms, stems discarded and cut in 1/2
1 pound small potatoes, halved or quartered
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 cups or 1 (14 1/2-ounce can) chicken stock or broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
tomatoes (I used 1 14 oz. can, but if you have fresh ones, that’ll be great too)
Red wine (I used a half bottle of what I had already opened)

Steps:
Place the beef in a bowl with red wine, garlic, and bay leaves. Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight. A few hours would be fine too, or even a few days, but not more than 2.

The next day, or in a few days (yes, I was too tired on Friday to cook this in addition to the chili I already had going) preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Cut up all the veggies, drain the meat in a colander but save the liquid. Dredge the beef in flour and brown the meat.
In the dutch oven, saute the onions and carrots. Then add mushrooms and potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes or so until the onions are softened.

Add the browned meat to the veggies. Add the stock and canned tomatoes (I used these ’cause I don’t have any sun-dried ones).

Reduce the wine and sieve it into the dutch oven.

Bring everything to a boil. Once everything is boiling, put the lid on and place into the oven for about 2 hours, or until everything is fork-tender.
Note: I added my own spices: coriander, paprika, bay leaves, and several spice blends (Balti, Chili con Carne, and Southwest) from Penzey’s spices.

Memories of Summer (tomato salads)

Aren't they cute!

On days like today and those like last week, I need to remember summer. Since tomatoes are my favorite food, it’s hard to replicate the feeling of summer in the dead of winter. But somehow, I was able to spot good tomatoes at Costco (yes, I know, but they were great). These little beauties were so sweet (they were intended for soup or sauce, but I tasted one and decided that they’re good enough for salad).
So here’s my new take on salad.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes
Onions
Feta
Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar
Salt, pepper (to taste)

Steps:
1. Quarter the tomatoes
2. Slice the onions into thin moons
3. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and feta. Mix. Eat.

Tomato close-up

Salad

Vegetable Saute

I love this saute.  It’s easy to make and absolutely lip-smacking delicious.  Most people would eat this as a spread on a piece of lightly toasted bread, and that’s how I grew up eating.  However, now I can’t be bothered with making toast just for this, so I eat it straight-up.  This is also a great side dish or a cold salad.  It’s actually intended to be eaten cold or at room temperature.

Carrots, Eggplant, Onion, Garlic

Ingredients:
1 eggplant
3 carrots (medium)
1 onion (large)
4 cloves of garlic (finely minced)
olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper.

 

 
Steps:
1. Peel and dice the egg plant. Set the eggplant into a colander and salt it heavily so the liquid can drain out of the eggplant. Let sit in the colander for about a half hour. After draining, wash the eggplant thoroughly to get rid of the salt.  Look at the picture below to see how much liquid was drained.  You don’t want that in the pan because it will make everything soggy.
2. Dice the onion and carrots.
3. Heat a bit of oil in a skillet and start sauteing the veggies (you can add them all the same time). If you see things are starting to stick, add a touch more oil. Eggplant is like a sponge in that respect, it soaks up the oil.
4. Add garlic when the veggies are a getting a little soft. Salt and pepper.
It’s done when the carrots are soft, which would take about a half hour on low-medium heat.

Size to cut the carrots

Liquid from eggplant

Eggplant cut up

Veggies in the pan

Mediterranean Orzo

This is a little odd, but I’ve never made orzo before today. I’ve eaten it plenty of times, just never made it. don’t know why I haven’t tried it sooner. I’ve been craving warm-weather dishes, and the Mediterranean always makes me think of summer and all those fresh flavors.

Here, I just threw things that I thought would work, but of course, experiment with your favorite flavors and quantities.

Some of the ingredients

Ingredients:
1 cup of orzo
1-2 tb of olive oil
Spinach (about 4 cups fresh)
Mushrooms (I used about 1.5 cups of baby bella)
2 Red bell peppers
2 Roasted bell peppers
3 cloves of garlic
3-6 small tomatoes
1 small onion
handful of pitted olives
handful of jarred artichoke hearts
3.5 – 4 cups of chicken stock (for the orzo)
chili powder, cumin, flat leaf parsley, garlic powder
Feta cheese

Steps:
1. Cook the orzo according to the directions on the box (I used stock instead of water though).
2. In a large skillet, saute diced onion and garlic.
3. Add diced bell pepper and roasted red pepper. Cook together for a few minutes.
4. Add the sliced mushrooms and spinach. Cook together for a while, till spinach wilts. This is where I usually add the spices, but you can add them a little sooner.
5. Add the diced olives, artichokes and halved tomatoes.
6. When the orzo is cooked, add it to the skillet with everything else.
7. Add the parsley and feta.

Mushrooms, Artichokes, Olives, Peppers

Added the Orzo, Spinach, and Parsley

Close-up - Added the Orzo, Spinach, and Parsley

Ta-Da!

Puff Pastry Dessert

Puff Pastry Dessert

Writing this blog entry takes longer than it takes to make this delicious dessert. I saw this on FoodNetwork, but there was no oven temperature and no duration listed, so I’ve been experimenting for a few weeks. It was a hit at work when I brought them in. Here is what I came up with (mostly inspired by Sunny Anderson’s recipe on FoodNetwork).

Ingredients for Dessert

Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry (I used two)
2-4 tablespoons of fruit jam (I use apricot and strawberry; one for each sheet)
1 egg for the egg wash
Powdered sugar (optional)

Steps:
Thaw the dough according the packaging
Microwave the fruit jam for about 20 seconds

1. Open the dough and straighten it out (if you bought the same dough as I did, it will be folded into 3, like a piece of paper).
2. Spread the jam evenly, so as not to have too many clumps
3. Roll the opposite ends of the dough so they meet in the middle (start from the sides that are opposite the lines folding).  Flip the dough with the seam down.
4. Cut into 12-15 pieces.  If you cut it into 15 pieces, chances are that they pieces will fall and won’t look pretty and they will ooze.
5. Brush with the egg wash
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the cut pieces on parchment paper and place into the oven for about 15 minutes. Space them a few inches apart.  If they’re too close, like in the picture, they’ll get stuck together when they puff up.  Not really pretty but still tasty.
7. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Spread Jam on Dough

Rolling Dough - Step 3

Rolled Dough with Jam - Step 3

Too Close and Too Thin

Not too pretty

Scrumptious!

Marinated/Pickled Mushrooms

Marinated Mushrooms

I absolutely love pickled things; I think I can live on pickles alone. So I am always looking for good and easy recipes for pickling things. This time, I wanted to experiment with pickling mushrooms. I wanted a recipe that was very easy and very quick and with a very short list of ingredients and steps.
So here is what I came up with:

Ingredients:
2 6.5 OZ package of mushrooms (I used button mushrooms)
1 jar of Zesty Italian Dressing

Steps:
1. Wash the mushrooms (they don’t absorb water and don’t get soggy, don’t worry).
2. Place the mushrooms into a pot full of cold water and bring to a boil.
3. Let boil for a few minutes and drain.
4. Place mushrooms into a clean jar and pour the entire jar of Italian Dressing on top of the mushrooms.
5. Close tightly and let stand for a few days. Make sure all the mushrooms are equally covered, so mix up the contents ever now and again.

I had great tasting mushrooms in a few days.

On Tea

I have to confess, tea is my favorite beverage. I am very particular about it, maybe even snobbish, but when you grow up with good tea it’s easy to be spoiled by the high quality Indian tea. Specifically, the water has to be perfect and I’m lucky that my plain tap water is great tasting (but I still filter it). If you’re serious about tea, you know not to buy tea packets. The general tea packet (Lipton and other such brands) are really just tea dust and to me, they taste like the paper they’re wrapped in. Yuck.

Taste of Tea

Tea jars

When I was in San Francisco visiting friends a few years ago, we went to China town and ducked into a tea shop. I’ve never been to a shop that offered tastes of tea. It was like a tea bar! I loved it; we spend about 2 hours there and I bought some teas. I really liked being able to try them before I bought them.
I don’t even like any “additives” in the tea like sugar or lemon. Never milk. Why spoil things? Milk is milk and tea is tea. The two do not belong together on my taste buds.

I have always had green tea on hand, but never liked it much. The reason for that is because when it gets cold, it’s quite bitter to me. Adding sugar just makes it nasty. Cold tea (of any kind) and sugar. Shudder. But it can be almost sweet (naturally) when at the right temperature.

I like the “gunpowder” style of green tea.  I think it’s called “gunpowder” is because it resembles the pellets of the explosive.

When the tea is brewing, the leaves unfurl and you can see some of then in the second image in detail.  The third image shows how it looks in the tea pot.  Yes, I actually do have a strainer, but I wanted to show how the leaves unfurl and I know how to pour/drink tea to avoid the leaves, so I don’t mind the lack of strainer.

The last image shows a traditional Uzbek cup called пиала or пиалушка (piala or pialushka).  The shape allows the tea to be cooled easily and convenient to hold in your hands.  I prefer these cups, but a regular “Western” teacup, one with a handle, is also great.  It’s what’s in the cup that matters.

Green tea - gunpowder

Green tea leaves

Tea brewing

Tea in piala (pialushka)