Category: GLOSSARY / METHODS

Categories
CONDIMENTS GLOSSARY / METHODS

Pistachio dukkah


A homemade Egyptian spice mix.

Serve over poached eggs; with olive oil and flatbread, dipping the flatbread in the oil, then in the dukkah; or sprinkle over roasting pumkin, carrot and zucchini with olive oil.

¼ cup sesame seeds
½ cup pistachio kernels, finely chopped
3 teaspoons ground coriander
3 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Place the sesame seeds in a medium non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until toasted and golden.
Add the pistachio, coriander, cumin and pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Stir in the salt and set aside to cool.

Store dukkah in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 1 month.

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

Clarified butter


Clarified butter
This is butter that has had the whey and the milk solids removed which allows the butter to be heated to a higher temperature without burning.

To make clarified butter:
Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  As it melts, the butter will start sizzling as the water evaporates and the butter breaks up in three layers.  A sediment will form in the base of the pan, a froth will form on top and the clear butter in the middle. The sediment on the bottom should not go brown in the process and the froth on top has to be skimmed. Pour the butter through a sieve lined with cheesecloth to trap the milk solids. Store the clarified butter covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or freeze it for 3 months.

When the recipe calls for foaming butter, do not use clarified butter because the impurities that you remove when clarifying, is in fact, what encourages the foaming.

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

Shaoxing rice wine


https://fine-dining-for-you.com/2014/01/18/duck-breast-fritters-with-basmati-rice-and-roast-peaches/

Shaoxing Rice Wine  —  a traditional Chinese wine, fermented from rice  — originating from the region of Shaoxing, in eastern China. It is widely used as both a beverage and a cooking wine in Chinese cuisine. It is internationally well known and renowned throughout Asia and available at all Asian supermarkets.

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

Black olive tapenade


BLACK OLIVES.jpg

175 g/1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
4 anchovy fillets, drained and coarsely chopped
15 ml/1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
60 ml/¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

In the bowl of a food processor place the olives, anchovy fillets, capers and garlic and process until finely chopped.

This can also be done in a mortal and pestle

With the motor running, add the oil in a thin, steady stream until a smooth paste has formed.
Seal in an airtight container and pour over extra oil to cover the tapenade surface to prevent oxidation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

SUMAC


Sumac, from the berries of the sumac bush (vaguely related to Poison Ivy although not poisonous) are dried and in some instances you can buy the berries whole or already ground.  It is dark brick red in color and adds a delightful color and zing to food without overpowering it — subtle and refreshing.  Add it to scramble eggs, a vinaigrette, garlic mayonnaise, tomato salad, etc.  Try it with chicken, fish, butternut soup ….  the possibilities are endless.  Use your imagination.

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

BOTARGA


Botarga is sun-dried salted Mullet roe, powdered. In Spain it is called Botarga, in Greece Avgotaraho, in France Boutargue and in Italy it is Bottarga. Whatever language you may use, you are sure of an exotic taste and a wonderful gourmet addition to pasta, fish and salads.

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

MUSHOOM STOCK


1 tablespoon/15 ml olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 leek top, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
500 g/1 lb white mushrooms, sliced
30 g/1 oz dried shiitake mushrooms, whole
4 liters/17 cups cold water
6 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon/5 ml black peppercorns

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the onion, leek, and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and leeks have softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the white mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the water and bring to a boil, then add the shiitake mushrooms, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about an hour, skimming the surface constantly. Remove from the heat and let stand until cool (to infuse furthermore). Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large enough container or several smaller ones. Discard the solids. Let cool furthermore then refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

ZA’ATAR


The Za’atar plant, originally called “hyssop”, is a herbaceous perennial native to the Middle East.  Strongly aromatic, pungent and delicious.  But since the Israeli authorities have declared the herb and endangered species and banned picking in the wild, those who were used to using this herb freely has come to terms with making their own blend of a few herbs and spices to imitate the same flavor.  I don’t know the real flavor of the authentic mix but I am so delighted to have found a recipe that is so satisfactory — sharp, warm and slightly pungent.  Sprinkle it over pita bread with olive oil, or stir into Goat’s cheese mousse (to spread over freshly baked bread). Use this mixture as a dry rub for fish or chicken or add to marinades for roasted vegetables.  Mix it into a party dip with fresh garlic, feta cheese and olive oil…

1 tablespoon/15 ml roasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon/15 ml cumin
¼ cup/60 ml sumac
2 tablespoons/30 ml dried thyme
2 tablespoons/30 ml dried marjoram
2 tablespoons/30 ml dried oregano
1 teaspoon/5 ml coarse salt

If you grow your own herbs, try and dry them by picking them at their prime, stick them in brown paper bags to protect them from any dust and hang it up somewhere drafty and dry.

Lightly toast your cumin and sesame seeds in a heavy based frying pan. Tip all of the ingredients into a spice blender and work into a fine powder.  Store in an airtight container in a cool place away from strong light.

 

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

MASSAMAN CURRY PASTE


MASSAMAN CURRY PASE

 

 

 

 

 

The distinct characteristic of Massaman curry paste is that all ingredients are roasted before it is ground. This paste is commercially available but making your own is very satisfying and the flavor is so much superior to the store bought paste. The purists prefer that the spices be pounded in a mortar and pestle, but it is really hard work. A processor works just as well for me and I find it difficult to taste the difference between the pounded one and the processed one.  Use this curry paste for Massaman curry chicken with butternut, red pepper and pak choi.

3 shallots
1 head garlic
4-6 dried whole chilies
1 stalk lemongrass
12 mm/½ in piece ginger, julienne
4 cardamom pods
5 cm/2 in piece cinnamon stick
5 cloves
15 ml/1 tablespoon coriander
5 ml/1 teaspoon cumin
15 ml/1 tablespoon mace
1 whole nutmeg
5 ml/1 teaspoon peppercorns
30 ml/1 tablespoon salt
5 ml/1 teaspoon shrimp paste

Roast the shallots and garlic with their skin on until the skin is charred and the flesh is soft and cooked. Peel the skin and remove any charred spots. Cut the stem of the chili off and shake out all the seeds, then cut into pieces. Slice half of the lemongrass stalk, the part closer to the root, in thin slices.

In a pan and over medium heat, toast the chilies, lemongrass and ginger until slightly brown, then remove from the pan. Add to the pan the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, mace, nutmeg, peppercorns and salt and toast them until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Remove from the heat.

In a processor ground the toasted spices first, then add the chili, lemongrass and ginger and process further. Last add the roasted shallots, garlic and shrimp paste and process until it forms a smooth, dark and fragrant paste. Keep in a sealed jar for up to a month in the refrigerator and a year in the freezer.

Categories
GLOSSARY / METHODS

WHY MAKE STOCK?


Chicken stock

Stocks have become the foundation of my cooking.  I use it not only to make soups, add it to stews or making fabulous sauces, but cauliflower cooked in chicken stock and butter, or potatoes simmered in duck stock with a bit of duck fat, even risotto made with fish stock, finely chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese, changes an ordinary side dish to something  sublime.  Making stock, however, is time-consuming with lots of fussing and do’s and don’ts, and unless you are committed to getting maximum flavor out of your food, you will find it a bore and unnecessary.  For me it certainly has become a labor of love and deeply satisfying and the more I do it, the easier it gets.  There are some basic rules, though, but you will not regret sticking these.

  • Use bones as they often have stray bits of meat on them. Roast the bones in a hot oven until crispy and brown before adding to the stock pot, except in the case of white chicken or seafood stock.
  • Start off with the vegetables according to your recipe and always sauté them before adding the roasted bones.  Only then add cold water.
  • Never let the stock boil. Bring it to a bare simmer only. Boiling will cloud your stock and can make it bitter.  The longer the stock cooks, the better the flavor.  But not for fish or seafood stock. Cooking time for this is not more than 20 minutes, otherwise it becomes bitter and nasty.
  • Do not add salt.  In doing so, means you’re committed to that salt later. Remember the idea of making stock is to concentrate flavours.  And the more you reduce the sauce you are making from the stock, the more the amount of salt concentrates and increases in saltines.  Salt does not evaporate with the water.
  • Skim the stock while it is simmering. During the simmering process fat and impurities will float to the surface and gather in a foamy scum. Use a large spoon and skim it off.  It is especially important in the beginning.  Have a container with warm water ready to rest your spoon in between skims.  This way the scum from the previous skimming won’t stick to it and is put into the stock.
  • When the stock is ready, turn off the heat and let it sit, not only to cool but to infuse a little longer.
  • Strain the stock with a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. If you have rather large bones, lift them out with tongs first.
  • Stock will last for about 4 days in the refrigerator, but it works very well freezing it in small containers.

See recipes for Chicken stock, Beef stock, Fish stock (see Poached salmon in seafood broth with fennel and tomato), Lamb stock (See Lamb neck casserole  with Moroccan flavors), Prawn stock, Pork stock,  Duck stock, Venison stock, etc.

neral