The Queen of Tarts

Shrimp with Garlic & Chillies

 
 
 

Cooking has been a challenge as of late. You see while we have been trying to sort ourselves out in the UAE (finding a home, getting the proper documents, and sorting out the right roads to take since many have two or three names) our stuff has been taking a slow journey from Boston to Abu Dhabi. Very slow. It left in early June, so by the time it arrives it will be close to 8 weeks. In our shipping crate rests some of our most precious items: a Breville Juicer, knives or all lengths and widths, chocolate molds, cast iron pans, Le Creuset pots, whisks, wooden spoons, candy thermometers, cannelle molds, cookbooks, baking sheets, silverware, coffee mugs, glasses, and the list goes on and on and on.

Because we hope that it will all arrive safely we have been very careful with regard to what we are now purchasing. We have one knive (that we use for everything), a single pan and a single pot, four coffee mugs and four glasses, and several pieces of silverware that might last until the fall. If we want to mix anything, there is a single large stainless steel bowl, and we also got our act together to purchase some dishware.

However, like I said when it comes to cooking, we are down to the barebones minimum, and cooking is further complicated since we are not sure how much longer the stove / cooker will last until it needs to be replaced. Luckily, we bought a new refrigerator that works and manages to keep the necessities in tact. Meals have generally been cold or cooked on the grill outside. We are back to basic people - nothing fancy here. However, when I saw the abundance of produce and spices at all of the markets in Abu Dhabi, I needed to step things up a bit.

I bought Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Easy and realized that most of the ingredients in the book could all be found instantly. It was the perfect place to start delving into seemingly exotic ingredients. While the first dish I chose is not too exotic, I had to balance my thirst for adventure with what was realistic given our cooking tools. The only problem I had was locating basil, although the market was so busy it could have been hiding, and I was entirely too tired to fight the traffic of supermarket carts in the produce section on a Saturday afternoon. I decided to use cilantro (coriander)

Shrimp with Garlic & Chillies (adapted from Curry Easy)

12 raw jumbo shrimp, peeled & deveined

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp green hot chillies finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt & 1 tsp ground pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp whole yellow mustard seeds

1 large clove garlic finely chopped

3 tbsp cilantro (coriander) chopped

1/3 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh)

Wash and dry the shrimp. Place in a bowl with the salt, pepper, chillies, and cayenne pepper. You can cover and keep in the fridge until you are ready to carry on with the rest of the recipe.

Place the oil in a frying or cast iron pan and set it over medium/high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Once they begin to pop (and they WILL pop, and pop out of the pan...) add the garlic and stir gently, and then add the shrimp. Stir a few times, and then add in the tomato. Reduce the heat and add in the cilantro, and continue stiring gently until the shrimp is thoroughly cooked, but not overcooked - probably just a few minutes. Serve straight away... This would be really good with some thick/crusty bread on the side.

Travel Treasures

We love to travel.  In fact, travel and cooking are the two things that keep us going, and often we find ourselves leafing through cookbooks or travel sites looking for the next exotic location.  With the rise in travel and globalization, some of the mystery of traipsing off to far away and remote locations is gone.  

I remember when I traveled as a child we were told that we had to dress up (skirts, tights, our fanciest shoes), and my grandmother would make a bag for my sister and me to bring on board.  She would find pieces of cloth and sew them together and add in a string so that we could carry the bag over our shoulder.  Inside the bag were card games, mini-board games, small edible delights, crayons, Mad-Libs, and other toys that would keep us preoccupied while my parents tried their hardest to pretend that we were the ideal travel companions.  We had to wait until the plane took off before we were allowed to open our bags, and for the first 10 minutes anyway my sister and I would compare our items.  We anticipated these trips since the preparation itself was such a joy - playing dress up and receiving a bag of treasures?  Unfortunately, it is not really like that anymore.

We would return from our holidays with little gifts that one could only find in those areas - honey and tea from London wrapped in the green and gold bags of Harrods.  Bars of beautiful chocolate from Switzerland when they were truly a specialty item.  Aluminum tubes of mustards from Austria, cheeses from Italy, handmade shoes, perfumes, and the latest in fashion from France.  Most of this now seems silly since so many of these foreign items can be purchased at food shops in large cities merely minutes from our city dwelling.  

That being said, there is still a single shop in all countries that holds a magical appeal for me and for Dr. H.  The food market.  Worldwide, local food stores, more than any other kind of store, convey the the true culture of any place.  So instead of bringing back trinkets that will just collect dust on a shelf (expect for the 3 brass camels we bought in Tangers that I still love), we bring back items from the market.  All legal of course...

On our most recent trip, which also happened to be our honeymoon, we spent our last day in London.  My mother, Dr. H and I perused the aisles of Waitrose on Kings Road and I stopped.  A little item peaked out from the refrigerated section and yelled out Dr. H's name.  I stepped back in disgust, I will admit, but I could not deny him this joy.  A little pot of goose fat, in fact, several pots of goose fat sat lined up all in a row.  And next to the goose sat the duck fat.  

(www.ocado.com) 

I beckoned Dr. H over and a smile slowly spread across his face.  He looked like a little boy who had just received the most prized item on his Christmas list. We had both heard on several occasions just how good french fries or potatoes tasted after having been cooked with either duck or goose fat, so I tried my hardest not to take away this moment of delight. That being said, I walked over to the household items, bought a giant box of Fairy Laundry Detergent, 2 kilos of chocolate, and called it day.  

 

White Bean and Leek Soup

  

Soup is one of those meals that comforts, heals, and relaxes you all at the same time.  In the summer it can be refreshing and cooling.  In the winter a single bowl can warm you up and take the harshest winter chill away.  Of all the people I know, it is my mother who makes the single best soups.  The day I came home from the hospital after my open heart surgery, she made chicken soup.  You might think, yes Lily, everyone's mother makes chicken soup.  But I do not normally like chicken soup.  I only like white meat, it has to be cleaned to perfection, and I am easily turned off by things in my soup that I do not think should be there (however, other people simply call me crazy).  This chicken soup was made with boneless breasts that she grilled with rosemary and olive oil and the broth was a light clear broth that had sweet onions, celery, and carrots.  Very few ingredients, and full of flavor.  The soup was so good that I actually told her I thought that I could return to work the following week (mind you this was hours about returning from the hospital and only 3 days after my surgery).  She looked at me, told me that my body was still full of an insane amount of drugs, and to continue eating my soup.  And for once, I listened to my mother.  My mother is an amazing cook.  

A year or so later, feeling considerably better, I found myself eating soup again in my mother's kitchen. This time it was a white bean and leek soup.  I kept asking her for the ingredients over and over again, because I did not believe her the first time.  The soup was rich and creamy, full of flavor, and unlike the chicken soup, this version happened to be vegetarian.  I was convinced that she added cream or butter, but no.  The flavors were enhanced by the freshness of the quality ingredients, and of course the fact that my mother had put the meal together...  Unfortunately, I still think that her version of trumps my recreation, but I felt satisfaction knowing that I came somewhat close to her level of greatness.  Enjoy!

White Bean and Leek Soup - serves 6

30 oz cooked white beans (or 2 cans of white beans - I used cannellini)

1 leek stalk

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Sea Salt

2 C. Vegetable Broth

Rinse and slice the leeks.

 

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and add the leeks and the salt.  Cook the leeks for about 15 minutes until they begin to brown.  

Once the leeks are cooked, at the leeks, the white beans, and the vegetable broth to a blender and put on high until all of the ingredients are mixed into a smooth puree. Pour the mixture into a large saucepan to warm.  Serve immediately.  For added flavor top with fresh grated  pepper, a side of whole wheat bread, and chopped scallions on top.

Buttermilk Raisin Nut Bread

Baking bread is perhaps one of the most rewarding things that you can do in the kitchen - or at least that is what I think.  I still remember on of the first times that I made bread; I was about 6 years old and my father and I spent the greater part of the day kneading, waiting for the first rise, kneading, waiting for the second rise, and well, it went on until we finally got to put it into the oven and bite into delicious warm goodness.  I was hooked, but bread is not an easy thing to make, and it is a time consuming endeavor.  There have been many times since when I have made my own bread, and all different kinds, but there is always the time issue, and life sometimes just does not allow days on end for bread making.  That being said, I recently bought Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.  I am an avid follower of Zoe on twitter, and several months backs, everyone started to "tweet" about this fantastic cookbook.  I finally broke down and purchased the book.  I had to see for myself if bread could truly be made in an efficient fashion.

Lucky for me, and my friends and family, the book is so much better than I could have possibly imagined.  Yes, it has every bread recipe you would want to get your hands (and teeth) on, but it has recipes that go beyond bread like homemade granola, chilled Moroccan-style gazpacho, and spicy kebabs.  Yes, this book is the only book you will need for bread.

I started with the Buttermilk Bread (p. 207) and the recipe makes three 1 1/2-lb loaves.  Because I am a fan of whole wheat flour and adapting recipes, I read the recipe over a few times, and the second time I made the batch, pulled off a "cantaloupe size" ball of dough after the rise and add a mixture of raisins, chopped almonds, and flax seed.  The loaf is moist, dense enough for a sandwich (I like the sweetness raisins with a sharp cheddar) and the nuts add just the right amount of texture.  

Buttermilk Raisin Nut Bread (adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)

2 cups of lukewarm water (about 100F)

1 cup of buttermilk

1 1/2 tbsp of granulated yeast

1 1/2 tbsp of salt

1 1/2 tbsp of sugar

3 c of all-purpose flour

3 1/2 c of whole wheat flour

3/4 c raisins

1/2 c chopped almonds

1/4 c flax seeds

1 egg lightly beaten (for the egg wash on the dough)

Place the yeast, salt, and sugar with the water and butter milk in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.  On low speed, gradually add in the flour, 1 cup at a time.  Once all of the ingredients are well incorporated, the dough should form a ball Cover dough (but not airtight) and allow to rise for 2 hours.  At this point you can start to make a loaf or place in the refrigerator.  Refrigerate for in a lidded (but not airtight) container and you can use this for up to 7 days.

When you want to bake, lightly grease a 9x4x3 inch loaf pan.  Sprinkle flour over a clean surface area and place a "cantaloupe size" size of the dough and roll it out to an 8x16 inch rectangle.  Brush the surface with the egg wash and even distribute the raisin mixture across the dough.  Start to roll the dough from the short end, and as you do pinch the sides.

Place the dough - seam side down - in the loaf pan and allow to rise for an additional 40 minutes (or 1 hour and 40 minutes if you have just taken the dough from the refrigerator.

While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 375F.  Once the dough has risen and the oven is ready, place the loaf in the oven on the middle rack and bake for about 40 minutes (it might need less baking time - check around 36 minutes), and until the top is golden brown.  Remove from the loaf pan, and allow to cool before serving if you can! Eat as is or top with butter, or make into a sandwich, or...

Rosemary Goat Cheese Lamb Chops

Truth be told, I am not much of a meat eater.  Following my open heart surgery, I moved away from meat, and filled my diet with legumes, tofu, fish, and the like.  However, the same does not hold for the King of Hearts, my better half, Hector.  So during one miserable "fall-like" night this past July, I thought that I should break out of my norm and find a tasty recipe for him.  I settled on lamb chops.  I figured that they would be relatively easy to make, I knew he loved lamb, and I would challenge myself as I had never made lamb before.  I searched through several recipes and came across one from Whole Foods, which I adapted.  Hector loved it, and he knows what he is talking about when it comes to food!  The rosemary goat cheese sauce is fantastic, and could accompany so much more than lamb.  In fact, I was happy just eating it off the spoon.  Now that we are settling into fall, I might have to make this recipe again as it is comforting and filling, but not too heavy.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 teaspoon salt
4 lean lamb chops, each about 1-inch thick (I asked the butcher to cut them for me so they were smaller - similar to lollipops)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 ounces goat cheese

Preheat oven to broil.

Place an oven-proof skillet on the stove on high heat and add the salt. When you flick a little drop of water in the skillet and it sizzles it's ready for the chops. Sear the chops on the first side until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes, then flip the chops, sprinkle them with pepper and sear the other side for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle chopped rosemary all over chops.

Transfer skillet to oven and broil for about 3 minutes per side, or longer, if desired. Remove chops from the skillet and keep warm in a covered casserole dish. Return skillet to stovetop and heat over medium high heat. (Be careful not to touch the handle of the skillet since it will still be very hot!)

Add wine to deglaze the skillet, scraping the browned bits off of the bottom. Add broth and 1 sprig rosemary and simmer at a low boil and add the goat cheese.  Allow to cook for about 6-10 minutes. Remove and discard rosemary sprig.

Place the chops on a plate and drizzle sauce over the top. Top with remaining rosemary sprig and serve immediately.  I served mine with rosemary roaster potatoes.