Category: Big bites

Kibbeh casserole, with ground meat and bulgur, had been a staple for super bowl for years, with roaring success. But I diversify this year, but remain still in the same geo. This recipe landed in my inbox and I was fascinated by the parchment rolling technique as a domestic substitute for the restaurant vertical spit. Moreover, it fits well into my minimalist approach. The result was astonishingly good!! Enjoy.

SPECIAL TOOLS:

Food processor with grater and mixer blade; Mechanical rolling pin; Baking tray with wire-rack.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb ground lamb + 0.5 lbs grated veggies (nappa cabbage)
• Aromatics: 2 medium onion, diced + 4 pods garlic, crushed + (1.5 tbsp each of oregano, cumin powder, red chili powder, paprika) + 1 tbsp black pepper + salt to taste
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• To serve: yogurt, lemon wedges and salad (tomato+onion+lettuce)

METHOD

Fit the grater blade and grate the veggeis. Remove the grater blade and fit the mixer blade and add all the aromatics with the yogurt and mix well. Then add the ground lamb, little at a time, till all are well mixed.

Make four portions of the mix. Work with one portion at a time. Place the portion on parchment, the size of your wire-rack. Cover with another parchment and with the mechanical rolling pin gently roll till very thin. Gently peel off the top parchment and roll the meat with the base parchment into a long roll and place on the wire rack. For the next one, you can reuses the last top parchment as the next bottom. Make the other three rolls.

At 400 F, bake on a wire-rack on the baking tray for 15 mins; rotate and bake for another 15 mins.

Let cool. Peel off the parchment and let the liquid collect in the tray. Cut up the long rolls into 5-6 inch lengths. Serve with salad, pita and yogurt.

NOTES, HINTS, TIPS:

1. Adapted from the NYTimes’s Sheet-Pan Döner Kebab.
2. The two main changes I make is that I add veggies to the meat and completely remove any additional oil (since lamb is already so fatty).
3. I bake on a wire-rack- so collecting the run-off liquid is easy as well.

Last time I was at Taipei, I visited a few tea estates, and not surprisingly, I brought back some excellent oolong teas. But in the mountains of the tea estates I saw that the restaurants specialized in using tea (leaves) in the food. Then I discovered the Burmese tea leaves (fermented) salad dressing!

When I make the high mountain oolong tea, I see the tea leaves unfurl and get their original shape back. They continue to be very fragrant even after multiple fusions; so it seemed such a waste to just toss them. So I decided to use these tea leaves here. Influenced by my visit to the tea gardens in Taiwan and and not to mention my frugal disposition, I present my tea leaves zhug. Surprisingly tasty and is bound to steal your heart.

Special tools:

Small high-speed processor.

Ingredients

• Used tea leaves from 3 tbsps of good quality oolong tea
• Aromatics: 1 clove garlic crushed + 1 tsp grated ginger
• Brightness: 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• Seasoning: 1/2 tsp sea salt + 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• Medium: 3 tbsp peanut or other neutral oil (NOT EVOO!)

Process all ingredients till a coarse paste.

Here I serve as pasta dressing.

Notes, hints, tips:

1. Why zhug ? Mainly, the looks. Zhug is actually of Yemeni origin.
2. Adapted from Andrea’s– a Burmese salad dressing. But I flipped it to a sauce for gnocchi.
3. I use 1 tbsp tea leaves for a drink (with multiple infusions; usually 8 oz + 8 oz of hot tea). After each use, I dry out the leaves on a flat surface. So I collect my 3 tbsps of unfurled, fragrant tea from three sittings over one or two weeks.

Is it called “Poodle” when you spiralize Purple Sweet Potato ? Kidding. So many Thanksgiving leftover posts this year. This one promises to steal your heart!

Special tools:

Spiralizer.

Ingredients

• 1 Japanese purple sweet potato, peeled and spiralized
• 1/2 cup leftover Turkey, chopped into bite size
• Flavor: 1 tbsp EVOO +1/2 shallot diced + 1 crushed garlic pod + 1 tbsp Bacalao XOXO Sauce
• Topping: Norwegian Lofton Seaweed (or Japanese/Korean sesame-seaweed topping)

Method

Heat all the flavoring ingredients till fragrant (2-3 mins) in a large wok. Add the zoodled sweet potato with salt to taste. Cover and let steam for 3-4 minutes. Push the zoodles aside making a hole in the center. Add the turkey and a little more EVOO. Let it heat through. Mix with the zoodle. Serve hot. Top with the flavored seaweeds.

Notes, hints, tips:

1. I got the Bacalao XoXo sauce from Hong Kong. A little unusual. But you can use the regular scallop based XOXO sauce.
2. Again, the Norwegian topping was from my travels, but you can use any other of your liking.

Grilling fish indoors is a tricky affair- the smell can be hard to get rid of. But steaming is a very clean, unobtrusive option with no compromise on the taste. And, steaming is very forgiving- you can never go wrong. Enjoy!

Special tools:

Steamer.

Ingredients

• 1 lb salmon cut into four equal sized pieces
• salt to taste
• Spice rub: 2 tbsp Ottoman spices + 1 tsp ajika spice (or any spice mix of your choice) blended with 2 tbsp EVOO
• Bed of greens: 1/2 bunch chicory

Method

Wipe the salmon dry. Sprinkle salt and let it rest for about 10 mins, then wipe it dry again. Roll the pieces in the spice mix till evenly coated on all sides.

Line the steamer with the greens and sprinkle salt to taste. Place the fish pieces on the bed of greens. Steam for 15 minutes on medium-high until the fish is done.

Notes, hints, tips:

1. When I travel I usually bring home spices from these lands. Here I have an Ottoman spice mix from Istanbul and Ajika spice from Tbilisi. And, if one falls in love with the spices, one can always replenish online. Feel free to use any spice mix of your choice.
2. use any greens for the bed. Also you can add any vegetables that canbe pre-cooked or cut into sizes that will cook cook along with the fish.

Here is another version using purple cabbage leaves as the base.

This dish is insanely delicious. It seems like a big affair with three pots going for the layers of the soup but the result is tremendous. Enjoy!

Special tools:

None.

Ingredients

• Soup base:
  • 1/2 cup tahini + 1/4 cup soy sauce +
  • 2 tbsp each of rice vinegar, sesame oil, chili oil
  • 1 tsp sugar (to balance the flavor)
• Broth (fortified):
  • 4 cups dashi + 6 inches kombu
  • 2 cups oat milk
  • 1 lb frozen corn
• Saute in oil:
  • 12 oz tofu bock drained and broken into chunks
  • 12 fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 12 oz noodles
• Garnish:
  • 4 scallions diced
  • sesame seeds2 cups mixed grains

Method

Prepare the soup base by thoroughly mixing all the ingredients and set aside.

You could do the following three in parallel with two pots and a saute pan:
(1) Heat plenty of water, with salt, for the noodles. When ready soften noodles till ready and then remove with tongs and add to the soup directly.
(2) Mix dashi and piece of kombu on slow simmer for 5-7 minutes. Remove the kombu and slice thin to add to the broth along with frozen corn. (3) Saute the tofu chunks till lightly browned. Sprinkle salt to taste. Remove and set aside. In the same pan saute the diced shiitake till soft. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

To bowl up a serving: Put a tbsp (or to taste) soup base. Then ladle the broth and mix till the base is homogenized with the broth. Add the sauted ingredients and noodles fresh from the pot (no need to cook in advance). Garnish.

Notes, hints, tips:

1. The recipe was inspired from Vegan Tantanmen With Pan-Fried Tofu Recipe.
2. The oat milk could be replaced by regular milk or any other nut or grain milk.

Building the bowl: