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Posted on » by Dino » Theme:

Julia Child’s Lamb Stew

Ingredients

  • Chunks of bacon: 6 ounces
  • Lamb: 3 lb leg (cut into stew cubes)
  • Olive oil: 1 tablespoon
  • Onion: 1 (Sliced)
  • Carrot: 1 (Sliced)
  • Salt: 1 teaspoon
  • Flour: 2 tablespoons
  • Pepper: 1/4 teaspoon
  • Young red wine: 3 cups (full-bodied)
  • Tomato paste: 1 tablespoon
  • Brown beef stock: 2 to 3 cups
  • Garlic cloves: 2 (mashed)
  • Bay leaf: 1 (crumbled)
  • Thyme: 1/2 teaspoon
  • Rosemary: 1 spring
  • Dry white wine: 1/2 cup
  • Pearl onions: 20 (skin removed)
  • Unsalted butter: 3 tablespoons
  • Wild mushrooms: 1 lb (quartered)
  • Chopped parsley: 1 tablespoon

Directions

  1. Remove rind. Next, cut bacon into 1 ½ inch long and ¼ inch thick pieces. Simmer bacon and rind for about 10 minutes in water. Drain the water, and let them dry. Preheat your oven precisely to 450 F. Turn on the heat. Take a pan and put some oil into it. Next, put bacon into the pan and sauté it over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until it turn light-brown in color. Remove the bacon from heat and take it out into a dish. Set it aside. Reheat the fat left in the pan until it is almost smoking.
  2. Take the lamb, and dry it with the help of a towel. Sauté it in the hot oil and fat until it is nicely browned on every side. Add it to the bacon you placed aside before. Brown the vegetables in the same fat. Pour out the fat. Put the lamb and bacon into the casserole and add some salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour and toss everything together in order to coat the lamb. Set the casserole in the preheat oven for about 4 minutes. Take it out, toss the meat and put it back into oven. Let it cook for another 4 minutes. Take the casserole out of the oven, and turn the heat to 325 F.
  3. Pour in some stock and wine to cover the lamb. Add garlic, herbs, tomato paste, and bacon rind to the pot. Bring everything to a full boil using the stove. Cover the casserole and set it in the lower-third portion of your preheated oven. Regulate the heat in order to ensure that the liquid simmers slowly for about 3 hours. Test the meat with the fork. If it pierces easily, it is ready.
  4. When the lamb is in the oven, prepare the mushrooms and onions. Melt half tablespoon of butter in a skillet and bring it to bubble. Add the onions to the butter and sauté it over medium heat for about ten minutes. Make sure that the onions are browned evenly from all sides. Pour in the white wine. Season the mixture to taste. Cover the skillet and simmer the onions for approximately 45 minutes. The onions must be perfectly tender. However, they must retain their shape when the liquid is evaporated. Set it aside.
  5. Melt the other half tablespoon of butter in another skillet and bring it to bubble. Add the mushrooms to the butter and toss them for 4 to 5 minutes until they turn brown. Set them aside.
  6. Finally, check if the lamb is ready. If it is tender, take the content of casserole out into a sieve. Skim the fat off the sauce. Put that sauce into a pan and simmer it until it thickens. Pour it back on the lamb. Garnish the dish using parsley, and serve with rich, noodles or mashed potatoes.
Posted on » by Dino » Theme:

Mercimek Köftesi (Turkish Lentil Balls)

  • Recipe: Slightly adapted (omitted garnish) from Joan Nathan at NY Times Cooking
  • Yield: About 40 lentil balls, 8–10 appetizer servings
  • Time: About an hour

Ingredients

  • 2 cups red lentils
  • Salt
  • 1 cup fine bulgur
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons Biber Salcasi (Turkish red pepper paste (not harissa), or a mix of puréed roasted hot and sweet red peppers)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
  • Black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup scallions, finely chopped
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Step 1

  1. In a small saucepan, combine the lentils, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 4 cups of water.
  2. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and have absorbed most of the water, about 10 minutes.
  3. Stir in the bulgur and remove from the heat.
  4. Cover and set aside until the bulgur is very soft, 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 2

  1. In a small skillet over low heat, heat the oil and add the onion, sautéing until soft, about 3 minutes.
  2. Add the tomato and pepper pastes and mix well.
  3. Remove from the heat and cool.
  4. Add cumin, crushed red pepper and black pepper.
  5. Season with salt to taste.

Step 3

  1. Add the onion mixture to the lentil mixture and toss to mix.
  2. Add the scallions and parsley, mixing gently.
  3. Line a platter or individual serving plates with lettuce leaves.
  4. With dampened hands, form the lentil mixture into oval walnut-size balls.
  5. Serve immediately, or cover lightly and refrigerate up to one hour.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving (8 Servings)

  • 368 calories
  • 14 grams fat
  • 2 grams saturated fat
  • 10 grams monounsaturated fat
  • 1 gram polyunsaturated fat
  • 47 grams carbohydrates
  • 8 grams dietary fiber
  • 2 grams sugars
  • 14 grams protein
  • 319 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Stuffed Vine Leaves – Authentic Turkish Dolma

(Mine didn’t look exactly like this but pretty close 🙂 – And it wasn’t a lack of effort

 

TOTAL TIME
2hrs 30mins
PREP 1 HR 30 MINS
COOK 1 HR

“Dolma” in Turkish translates to any vegetable stuffed with a rice-based mixture. Lots of spices are used for the stuffing. For me, the most important one is the lemon salt. It gives a nice aromatic taste, which can not be replaced by the combination of lemon juice and table salt. If you can not locate any lemon salt, don’t forget to replace it with only half the amount of kosher salt (two tbsp will be too much) and juice of half a lemon. The process may be a little confusing, you can check out step-by-step pictures at my blog here: http://cafefernando.com/?p=42

INGREDIENTSNutrition

1040 dolmas

DIRECTIONS

  1. Dice the onions and sauté with 1/4 cup of olive oil.
  2. When they turn translucent, add the pine nuts and sauté for 5 more minutes.
  3. Add rice and stir constantly for 5-10 minutes until the rice is translucent.
  4. Add the spices (dried mint, cinnamon, lemon salt, black pepper, dried currants, sugar and allspice) and chopped parsley.
  5. After another quick stir, add 1/2 cup of boiling water and simmer on low medium heat for 15-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice mixture.
  6. Take off heat and let cool.
  7. And now, here comes the fun part. Traditionally, you would put a spoonful of the cooled mixture in the center of the top part of the leaf, fold the sides inwards and then roll the leaf like a cylinder. But since I have “The Ultimate Dolma Machine” (follow the link mentioned in the description section), I just placed a leaf on the rubber compartment of the machine, put a tbps of mixture in the middle and with a single slide, there comes my dolma from the other side of the machine. The process was a breeze. It took me only 10 minutes to roll nearly 40 perfectly shaped dolmas. Below is the process fully photographed.
  8. As the final step, spread a layer of vine leaves on the bottom of a large and heavy pot (to prevent the stuffed leaves from burning).
  9. Lay all your dolmas side by side and tuck very tightly.
  10. Transfer the remaining 1/4 cups of olive oil, juice of half a lemon and 2 cups of boiling water, cover with a plate upside down (so that the dolmas don’t move around in boiling water) and bring to a boil.
  11. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until all the water is absorbed (roughly 45-60 minutes).
  12. Transfer to your serving dish and let cool.