PERSIAN MEATBALLS WITH BEET SAUCE - Israeli Soul, p. 249
The unusual sauce is what drew me to this recipe. Beets with tamarind and pomegranate molasses? Had to try it. The meatballs are made in a similar way to the kebab recipes. This time the seasonings are onion, cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, salt and parsley. Like the kebabs, this recipe calls for a little bit of seltzer to be added to the mix, and once again, I omitted it. My concern with it was that with the Impossible ground, it would make the meatballs less likely to hold together. And tenderness, or lack thereof, is never really an issue with the Impossible. Anyway, you make up these meatballs and brown them in oil in a Dutch oven, then remove from the pot and set aside. Use the same pot (and oil) to make your sauce.
When an author says ātamarind pasteā I think they are referring to the very concentred, thick, dark stuff. That is not something I use. For this, I used a tamarind concentrate that is a lighter brown and looser consistency. I went heavy with it because I think the author intended something more concentrated here.
I was pleasantly surprised by this dish. We loved it! The pomegranate and tamarind balanced out both the sweetness and earthiness of the beets, but not so much that you ended up with a pickled beet sort of acidity. It was perfect, really. I highly recommend it. I forgot the mint garnish for the photo, but remembered it before serving. This is a case where the herb garnish really adds something extra to the dish. The mint is a great counterpoint to the beet sauce.
More kebabs! Iām taking advantage of a break in my schedule and pleasant weather to grill while the grilling is good. I have to admit not following this very closely. I looked at the long list of spices, then looked at the recipe for the merguez seasoning blend on p. 151, and the ingredients were the same, although the proportions a bit different. Butā¦ I already had that spice blend mixed up from making the stuffed eggplant recipe, so of course I am going to use that. So I just totaled up the spice measurements and then used quite a bit more than that of the merguez blend. The only remaining ingredients to add were some garlic, parsley, and cilantro. Oh, and seltzer, which I once again skipped. Grilled on the egg, and served with matbucha (tomato and red pepper salad) from p. 189, as recommended in the book, and a rice pilaf from the book. I like the spicing here, although not quite as per the recipe. Youāve got fennel and caraway coming through. The recommended pairing with the matbucha was also a good one.
This is kind of similar to the yellow rice on p. 237, except that recipe has black pepper in it, and this recipe has ground coriander. Both dishes are good, nothing mind blowing.
This is one of the hummus toppings, and I served it over the 5-minute hummus. I grilled the zucchini the day before when I was grilling kebabs on the BGE. The zucchini cut in half lengthwise and is coated with oil, salt, and sumac. After itās grilled you cut it into chunks, and mix with tomatoes, fresh mint, more olive oil, and adjust the salt and sumac to taste. This is a lovely dish, especially if the zucchini has been grilled over charcoal. The whole hummus topping section of this book is full of gems. Add flatbread and you have a meal.
GREEN BEANS AND MUSHROOMS WITH TEHINA, LENTILS, AND GARLIC CHIPS - Zahav, p. 58
Now that Iām finally posting a recipe from Zahav, I realize that Iāve been neglecting to specify which book the recipe is from on my recent posts. Donāt be like me! Anyway, all those where I didnāt name the book were from Israeli Soul. And now you get one from Zahav, finally. The author calls this his riff on the traditional American green bean casserole. Donāt let that scare you away.
I have to say that when I tasted the tahini sauce, the cider vinegar wasnāt working for me. But once the dish was fully assembled, it was fine. This tastes nothing like a green bean casserole, but who cares? It was different and tasty. This is supposed to serve 4 (as a side, I guess) but two of us at the whole dish as a main with rice on the side. It made a pretty satisfying meal.
I agree about the negative effect of baking soda on soaked chickpea flavor. Solomonovās hummus at his Chelsea Mkt restaurant, now closed, was so delicious, I cant imagine it was made with baking soda but it did have a ton of tahini (I agree with you thats the way to go!)
YEMEMITE BRAISED SHORT RIBS, Zahav (ebook)
For this recipe you coat short ribs with hawaij (tumeric, cumin, coriander, black pepper) and then roast them in chicken stock with some aromatics.
Hawaij is a mild blend that Iāve never found to do much for a dish, and it was the same here. Itās probably user error; no doubt a Yemeni cook would produce something more interesting. Adding a whole head of garlic also resulted in the main flavor in the broth being roasted garlic.
The cooking method worked well except that it called for way too much time. You roast the short ribs and vegetables at 475 until well-browned (about 20 minutes), and then turn the temperature down to 325, add the stock, and cover with foil. The recipe says to cook at 325 for about 6 hours, but my ribs were done in about 2 hours. They certainly would have dried out if Iād gone further.
I made a plain (salt & pepper + chicken stock) pan of ribs alongside these for comparison. Despite the thick coating of hawaij I gave the ribs, both dishes were equally mild though of course a little different in flavor. Both tasted mostly of beef and garlic.
I probably wouldnāt make these again, but mostly because I seldom cook meat and when I do I tend to try to new recipe or idea.
BROCCOLI AND PINE NUT PESTO, Israeli Soul pg. 166
This recipe is one of 24 in a section about possible toppings for hummus. Itās a broccoli-two-ways recipe, with pureed broccoli topped with roasted broccoli. I havenāt eaten it over hummus, but Iāve enjoyed it over a dried fava bean puree and by itself with eggs.
For the puree, broccoli is blanched and then chilled to stop cooking and retain color. As Iāve mentioned on this site before, one of my favorite tips Iāve ever come across it to spread blanched vegetables out on a sheet pan and stick them in a the freezer for a few minutes rather than mess with an ice bath. I cooked the broccoli a little beyond blanched because I didnāt wanted a crunchy puree. The broccoli is then blended up with āabout the same amountā of toasted pine nuts (I had probably 40-50% in volume), olive oil, and lemon juice. Simple and tasty.
For the roasted broccoli, I added quite a bit more than the prescribed āpinchesā of Aleppo pepper, paprika, and coriander. The browned, spiced broccoli on the soft, mild puree is a nice contrast.
I would make this again.
SHUG/ZHOUG, Zahav (ebook)
I would be remiss if I didnāt mention my favorite Solomonov recipe here, even though I havenāt made it recently.
I first read about zhoug about 20 years ago in Saveur magazine, and Iāve seen many variations as itās grown in popularity in the West. This one is hands-down my favorite. I preached its excellence many times on Chowhound. This version is all fresh and uses only cardamom and coriander as spices.
This sauce is almost always in our freezer, and it goes with everything. Itās very spicy, especially when not yet frozen, so a little goes a long ways. It plays well with all types of cuisine, and numerous guests have asked for the recipe.
Itās a bit of a labor of love, mostly because Iām picky about stems in my purees and will spend an hour separating cilantro and parsely leaves from their bunches.
Solomonovās proportions are perfect, so I do actually measure everything:
Puree 20 chiles serranos, 1 cup of cilantro (leaves), 1 cup of parsley (leaves), 4 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 T salt, 1 T ground cardamom, 1 T ground coriander, and 2 T lemon juice. Puree to a ācoarse paste,ā not completely smooth.
Move mixture to a bowl and stir in oil. I guess this is where I diverge from the recipe: He calls for 1 c canola oil, but I add olive oil until I like the consistency and taste (usually way less than 1 c).
When I get around to posting on the all-time favorite recipe thread, I will reference this post. I may have made this sauce more than Iāve made any single particular recipe.
I canāt say enough good things about this showstopper of dish. Just make it. If you are lucky enough to live near Zahav, you have eaten it at the restaurant. If you are not and you live in the US, you can order it on Goldbelly. It is not difficult to make, but does require advance planning. It can easily be frozen and reheated.
Oh, and you will want to serve it alongside all the sides. Hummus, cucumber salad, pita, etc.
