CYPRIOT BULGUR WITH TOASTED PASTA AND TOMATO, p. 141
This is comfort in a bowl and a super quick weeknight dish. First step, melt 2 tbsp butter in 2 tbsp olive oil. Um, I just realized I forgot the olive oil? And it turned out fine…Cook 1 small finely diced yellow onion for 3 minutes or until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Then add 100 g of angel hair pasta (broken up into small pieces) and cook until golden. Then add 150 g of bulgur, and mix with the pasta. Add 3/4 cup tomato puree (I used Mutti passata), and 2 cups of water or chicken broth (latter for me). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover with a lid slightly ajar for 5-8 minutes or until liquid absorbs (I went for the max time). Then MS says to remove from heat and drape a kitchen towel over the pot to absorb the steam. That sounded strange to me, so I did it the way it’s done in Iranian kitchens: I wrapped the towel around the lid, tied it over the top, and put the lid firmly back on the pot (like so). Leave for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Super delicious! The author suggests serving this with Cypriot sausage and fried Halloumi. I served it with some meatballs I already had in the freezer and the kale/feta salad from this book. But if I weren’t serving my kids, I would be happy with this and a salad. Or just the bulgur/pasta dish with a fried egg.
CUCUMBER SALAD WITH TOASTED SESAME SEEDS, DILL, AND PARSLEY, p. 54
Sorry for the bad photo. I forgot about taking a photo until the end of the meal. I was surprised to not enjoy this as much as I thought I would. We love cucumbers and eat them almost every day, and I thought this would be a huge hit but it was just fine. Toss cucumbers (I used Persian) with finely chopped parsley, dill, and toasted sesame seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and some red wine vinegar, add salt and pepper. Let the salad chill for up to 2 hours and then season it again. I didn’t have much time to chill it, so perhaps that was the missing magic.
These types of cucumber salads do get even better over time. I make a Hungarian cucumber salad that can last for a week, and it’s better on Day 2 than Day 1
KALE SALAD WITH FETA, DILL, AND TOASTED SEEDS, p. 48
I had my doubts about kale with dill, but needn’t have because this was a truly refreshing take on kale salad. I think the key is MS’s direction to chop the kale into bite-size pieces and, of course, massaging the kale (which I don’t always do for the kale salads in my regular rotation) elevates the salad. Toasting the sesame and pumpkin seeds is also important. I thought the amount of lemon juice here (from 1 lemon) was perfect for 2 heads of lacinato kale (this variety is sold in smaller bunches in my city). The amount of feta gave me pause (100 grams) but I decided to trust her and use the full amount, and distributed through the salad it works well! I’m so excited to eat the leftovers for lunch!
BIFTEKIA (OVEN MEATBALLS WITH LEMON AND OREGANO), p. 104
The process has been described. I followed @MelMM’s experiment with covering the dish for some of the cooking time and it worked well. I used a 3.5 quart braising pan. I covered it with the lid for 30 minutes and then took off the cover for an additionally 20 minutes. The meatballs were nicely browned and I had LOTS of liquid left. You can’t see it in this picture, but even after spooning some of the lemony liquid on the portions I was serving, I’d guess I had almost a full cup of liquid left over.
I loved the softness of the meat and potatoes, and the flavors of oregano and lemon. This was easy, delicious, and will definitely be repeated. I served it with tzatziki and the Georgian-inspired Greek salad in the book.
I agree that this is very refreshing. I love the herbs - I used all the suggested ones (mint, cilantro, basil), except my basil is a Persian variety that tastes somewhat like a mix of Genovese and Thai. I didn’t have any olives but otherwise followed the recipe. My photo shows the salad assembled, but before you are to break up the feta into pieces and distribute it throughout the salad before tossing everything. I can’t wait to try this with good tomatoes in the summer.
Usually I use a Bulgarian feta (not sure of the brand- I buy it at a cheese counter). I ran out of that so for tonight’s salad I had to use the Emma brand (it’s in a tub and marked creamy), because that was what looked best at the store. I was skeptical (esp bc Emma is an Italian company), but it was quite delicious and perfect in this salad. Do you have a favorite?
RADICCHIO AND CHICORY SALAD WITH TOASTED HAZELNUTS, MINT, AND BUTTERMILK, p. 58
This is a modified version of this winter salad, as I only had radicchio–no endive or other suggested chicories. You make a dressing of buttermilk, olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, salt & pepper. Gently dress the radicchio (and chicory) with it. Top with toasted hazelnuts, mint (I used a couple different varieties of basil), and then gently tuck in slices of apple (or pear or orange). Drizzle a bit more dressing on, and season with salt and pepper. This was addictive and delicious and (shocker) easier than Suzanne Goin’s similar salad from Sunday Suppers at Lucques, which I usually make at Thanksgiving.
P.S. I love that I started this draft on my phone and then when I came to HO on my laptop, intending to start fresh, the draft was still there. This is a wonderful feature.
I have some radicchio- it doesn’t go over well here. I ended up cooking some of it after my first salad (not this one) was a flop.
This looks interesting, might give it a try.
My family tolerates it, but doesn’t love it like I do. A long soak will remove some of the bitterness. There’s a grilled radicchio & mozzarella dish in Andrea Reusing’s excellent book, Cooking in the Moment, which I transform into a pasta dish. Basically grilled raddichio, fresh mozz, and lots of parm, tossed with pasta.
