Middle East
Roasted Quail Feast for Valentines Day
Exotic, aromatic and romantic we prepared this intimate feast with a table for two in mind. Succulent quail are roasted to perfection with one of our most alchemical blends: Ras el Hanout, which contains a hint of Moroccan rose petals and finished with a finger licking honey glaze. Our Wild Rice Pilaf accompaniment features the bold, classic flavor of cassia cinnamon while the Paradise Pistachio Relish combines grains of paradise and Aleppo to bring everything together for a memorable Valentine’s Day Feast, we’ll leave the desert up to you.
Honey Roasted Quail with Wild Rice Pilaf and Paradise Pistachio Relish
Ingredients
Instructions
- For the Brine - Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot.
- Once boiled, remove from heat and add sugar and salt.
- Stir until sugar and salt have dissolved.
- Add enough ice to bring water volume to 1 gallon
- Once the brine has cooled, add quail and spices and refrigerate for 2 1/2 hours
- Preheat over to 450 degrees
- Remove quail from brine and pat dry with paper towels Set aside to bring to room temperature, about 30-40 minutes
- While quail are setting, melt butter in a small skillet
- Add Ras el Hanout, whisk and remove from heat
- Apply butter/Ras el Hanout mixture liberally to quail
- Roast quail, preferably on a grill rack, for 12-17 minutes
- While the quail roasts, prepare the glaze:
- In a small saucepan, heat honey and coriander over medium heat, stirring often, until honey is reduced by half, about 8 minutes
- Discard coriander seeds
- With a pastry brush, glaze the roasted quail with honey.
- Finish with Sel de Mer
- Serve with rice pilaf and pistachio relish (recipes below)
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, brink stock to boil
- Add rice, cinnamon stick and bay leaf
- Reduce heat and simmer until rice kernels open, about 45-50 minutes
- While rice cooks, saute onion on medium heat until lightly browned, about 10 minutes
- Add garlic to onions and continue sauteing until garlic is lightly browned
- When rice is nearly cooked, add onion/garlic mixture, and dates
- Cover and until the dates have dehydrated, about 10 minutes
- Season with salt to taste
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine pistachios, parsley, mint, garlic and lemon in a mixing bowl
- Slowly add olive oil, mixing as you go
- Add Aleppo, grains of paradise and salt
- Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour
Heavenly Hawaij Soup
This decadent mushroom soup wowed us at our last tasting. The fusion of the aromatic cardamom, turmeric and saffron in the essential Yemenese blend combined with mushrooms and cream to make one heavenly bowl of soup. We added Porcinis for a meaty richness and additional depth of flavor. This exotic twist on an American classic is perfect as a soup shot for a holiday party or on those chilly winter nights.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, melt the butter on medium heat. Saute the garlic and onions until slightly browned. Add the flour, and mix well. (It will be thick.) Add in the Porcinis, Criminis, stock, wine and Hawaij. Mix well. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium low, and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Once the soup is pureed, return it to the pot and add the heavy cream. Simmer for about 10 minutes, to reduce the cream a bit. Add the juice of 1/2 of a lemon, then taste for salt and add what you need. If you feel the soup is too thick, add more stock. If you feel it needs to be thicker, continue to reduce it on low until it’s at the consistency you prefer. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Besar Cranberry Chutney
The rich and toasty taste of our Besar blend makes an ideal compliment for the pop of fresh cranberry flavor in this exotic twist on a holiday classic. The candied ginger and dried apricots round out the fruity flavors, and when you bring it all together, this chutney has a place well beyond the Thanksgiving table when the bounty of winter begins to fade. Go cranberries!
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Put olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced onions and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and, stirring frequently, cooking for about 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning. You might want to add more salt, vinegar or brown sugar.
- If you want a 'smoother' sauce, cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool, then put into a covered container in the refrigerator. This will keep for about a week.
Aleppo Pepper Muhammara
This eastern Mediterranean dish is the perfect example of that regions ability to take simple ingredients like nuts, peppers and olive oil…and make something magical by adding a spice such as Aleppo Pepper. The sweet and sharp chile from the Aleppo region of Syria has a moderate heat and fruity flavor that brings a taste of the sunny Mediterranean to every bite. An elegant alternative to hummus, Muhammara will be the easy holiday hors d’oeuvre that your guests adore.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Put the toasted nuts in a food processor or blender, and pulse until they are broken down into small pieces.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until smooth. Taste for seasoning - you might want to add more salt, lemon juice or pomegranate molasses.
- You can then transfer to a serving bowl or put in a container for the fridge. It will keep about a week.
Ras El Hanout Plum Preserves
Her name was Edna Nosworthy, and she had the same birthday as I do- only eighty years difference. She had a bottomless stash of Tootsie Rolls, made a mean Snickerdoodle, and had a sprawling green lawn dotted with fruit trees- apples, pears, cherries, and Italian plums. It’s been more than fifteen years since she passed, but I still choke up when I talk about her. Every summer, the other families lucky enough to know Edna would gather in her yard to harvest her fruit, which she would then turn in to vats of phenomenal home goods- pickles, preserves, jams, and pie fillings. What I wouldn’t give to have a Ball jar in my cupboard with her spidery scrawl on it now!
These preserves are an homage to all of the “Greatest Generation” who inspire us to use what we have, and share with our neighbors. The global update is lent by the Moroccan staple, Ras El Hanout, whose complex flavors support and feature the sweet-sour plums. Any variety of plum will do- and the choices abound! A loop around your local Farmer’s Market will alert you to the bumper year it’s been for this stellar stone fruit in the Northwest, or if you’re lucky enough to have an Edna Nosworthy in your life, you’ll opt for Italian, all the way. Serve them over ice cream- as we’ve pictured- or as a dipping sauce for a juicy lamb kebab.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Coarsely chop plums and stir together with water, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a 2 quart, heavy saucepan.
- Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, stirring more often as cooking process progresses.
- Mixture will thicken and reduce to about 2 1/2 cups within 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Discard cassia stick, and stir in Ras El Hanout.
- Cool preserves, and transfer to an airtight container to chill and store.
Israeli Zahtar Flatbread
After a long day of working (or running errands and doing chores), I just want something quick and easy for dinner, but it still has to be delicious… And if it’s at least somewhat healthy-ish, all the better! I don’t know about you, but I can always eat pizza, in pretty much any form. I can always find ready-made pizza dough at the store, which means my homemade pizzas or flatbreads can be made without any fuss. There’s also something incredibly soothing about rolling out pizza dough, especially after a long day. The smell of the yeast dough always takes me back to childhood when I would help my mother make bread. Working with that kind of dough has an air of tranquility to it…it’s a blank canvas, just waiting for you to do something fun, interesting and flavorful with it. I’ll roll out the dough, brush it with olive oil, then top it with spices. Now it’s ready for me to add fresh colors and flavors. I’ll rifle around in my fridge or the cupboards of my small kitchen for odds and ends of goodies that I can either put on the dough before I bake it, or after it comes out of the oven. It all depends on my mood at the moment. I have always enjoyed “playing with my food,” and this certainly fits the bill. Israeli Zahtar is my favorite spice to use for this, but I also love Dukka. The smell of the flatbread baking is heavenly, and always seems to perk me up a little bit. It’s a perfect end to a hectic day.
Israeli Flatbread, topped with the salad on the left, and an “untopped” Dukka Flatbread on the right.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Follow instructions on pizza dough package. (Sometimes you have to leave it out for 20 - 30 minutes to 'rest' at room temperature.)
- Divide into 3 portions and roll them out thinly - if you roll them into long ovals, and not rounds, they will fit on one cookie sheet. (They will cook more evenly this way.) Brush the cookie sheet with the olive oil and place the dough on it, without any of the sides touching.
- Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle on the Israeli Zahtar. Bake in the oven until the crust is golden brown cooked through. Since there is only oil and spice on the dough, keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn.
- While the flatbread is baking, you can make the salad that will go on top of it. Combine the rest of the ingredients (except for the lemon juice and olive oil), mixing well.
- When the flatbread is done, remove from oven. It will be easier (and less messy) if you cut the flatbread into pieces now before you put the salad on top. Put the cut up flatbread on your serving plates. Add the lemon juice and 2 Tbl. olive oil to the salad and toss to coat. Evenly top the flatbread with the salad.
- Feel free to drizzle more olive oil on top before you serve it. Or anything else you choose!
Dukka and Olive Oil
If you’re like me, when you get home from work dinner-time can’t come soon enough; and nothing beats a simple snack of fresh bread and olive oil while I cook the rest of my meal. There are countless ways to flavor the oil but one of my personal favorites is the Egyptian spice blend Dukka. There is a huge variety of recipes for this blend and references to Dukka show up in texts as early as the 19th century. We use a blend of toasted spices and hazelnut chunks in ours. The traditional method of eating Dukka is to dip a chunk of bread in a shallow dish of olive oil and then in to a plate of coarsely ground Dukka but to save myself another dish at the end of the day, I usually just mix the oil and Dukka together in a small dish and dip in to that. You can try different types of oils to find out which variety you like best. My favorite is a Greek extra virgin olive oil made with 100% Kalamata olives and for a special treat I love to get a nice fresh loaf of Kalamata olive bread from our friends down at Grand Central Bakery. The uses for this versatile blend go well beyond a delicious dip for bread. Try it as a crust on chicken or lamb or even to make a truly unique savory scone!
Dukka and Olive Oil
Urfa Biber – Strawberry Ice Cream
Chiles aren’t just for cooking savory food; many are wonderful in desserts, too. Urfa Biber, for example, is a great pairing with berries or chocolate. At a recent cook-off, we added Urfa Biber to Strawberry Ice Cream with fantastic results.
Urfa Biber and Strawberry Ice Cream, with a little bit of Beet Powder (for extra color).
Ingredients
Instructions
- Bring milk and cream, bourbon (or extract), and 2 tsp. of the Urfa Biber to a simmer.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg and yolks together, add sugar and mix until fully incorporated.
- Temper the milk and cream mix into the eggs by adding just a small amount of the hot milk at a time, and whisking continuously. Once half of the milk mixture is incorporated into the eggs, the remainder can be added in a steady stream. If care is not taken during this step, the eggs will scramble in the hot cream.
- Pour the custard in to the sauce pan, and continue to whisk or stir constantly over medium-low heat to thicken. DO NOT BOIL! The temperature of the mixture shouldn't exceed 180 degrees Fahrenheit at any point during this step. Dip a spoon or spatula into the mixture, and draw your finger across the back of the spoon through the mixture residue on it. If the track from your finger remains, and the mix doesn't run together to cover up the track, it's thick enough.
- Pour the ice cream through a fine mesh strainer into a clean, chilled bowl (preferably metal for quicker cooling) and stir in the strawberries, omitting any juice that may have resulted in the bottom of the bowl, the remaining 1/2 tsp. of the Urfa Biber, the Beet Powder (if using), and the salt. Place the bowl over another container filled with ice to cool it quickly. Stir occasionally as it cools. At this point, the mixture can be covered and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before being churned. If you're using liquid nitrogen*, you can proceed to the freezing now. If you're using a traditional ice-cream maker, chill the custard until it's less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Freeze according to your ice cream machine's instructions, or, pour a little liquid nitrogen directly in to the ice cream mix. Wait 45 seconds, then whisk vigorously. Repeat until ice cream is slightly thicker than soft-serve texture. Transfer to a freezable container, packing firmly. Press a layer of parchment paper directly on the surface of the ice cream, and then cover with a lid. Place in the freezer for 2-4 hours to fully set.
Notes
Liquid nitrogen is potentially deadly. Only use after instruction by an expert, and using appropriate safety precautions.
Arabic Baharat Lamb Stew in Kabocha Squash
This recipe from our friends at Sunset breaks down the steps to sweet and savory success, using our Arabic Baharat. Don’t be concerned about tricky presentation. This lamb stew is delicious and easy to make.
This recipe from our friends at Sunset breaks down the steps to sweet and savory success.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat. Sprinkle lamb with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Brown lamb in heated oil, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer lamb to a bowl and set aside.
- Reduce heat under pan to medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon oil, shallots and 1/4 cup broth to pan, and stir to loosen browned bits. Cook shallots, stirring occasionally, 7 to 10 minutes, until browned (add a splash of water if drippings start to darken).
- Return lamb to pan, sprinkle with Arabic Baharat, add 2 cups broth, and stir again. Cover pan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. (Add 1/4 cup broth if pan starts to dry). Stir in rice and tomatoes, and return to a boil while you prepare the squash.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Use a short knife to carefully cut a 4-inch lid around squash stem, pry out with a blunt table knife, and scrape out seeds from squash and lid. Brush interior of squash and lid with remaning 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle interior of squash and lid with remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper (tip to coat evenly).Set squash on rimmed baking sheet, and print with a fork in a few spots near the top.
- Remove stew from heat, carefully fill squash to capacity, and set lid in place. Bake until just tender inside when pierced, 70 to 90 minutes. Spoon any remaining stew into loaf pan, cover and bake 1 hr.
- Stir chives into squash and loaf pan just before serving. Carefully transfer sqash to serving platter with two wide spatulas (but don't worry if some splitting occurs).
Notes
Recipe and photo from Sunset Magazine, October 2010.
Classic Hummus
Hummus is one of those things best made fresh from scratch, and neither grocery store nor restaurant versions can compare. Served with crunchy veggies, olives, feta and warmed pita bread, hummus is always a crowd pleaser! Our hummus always comes to the table with a hearty sprinkle of spice right on top. Our taste-testers couldn’t agree on just one, so we recommend, Israeli Zahtar, Syrian Zahtar or Sumac.
Perfect hummus!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Soak garbanzo beans overnight. Discard soaking water, and place in a pot and cover with water by about an inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until tender. Strain and reserve cooking liquid.
- Place all ingedients in a food processor or high-speed blender. Add just enough of the cooking liquid to get the mixture moving. Process to desired consistency.
- Note: You can also substitute 2 15 oz. cans of garbanzo beans, drained, for this recipe - just use water in place of the cooking liquid.
- Garnish hummus with a sprinkle of sumac (or Israeli Zahtar or Syrian Zahtar) and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. (This would be where you could use that good extra virgin olive oil you have.)
