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Food, Glorious Food
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Perhaps, but those gorgeous ingredients (and what glorious colours) are the starting point for so many delicious dishes - just add aubergines (eggplant), tomatoes, and garlic (and olive oil, of course) and you are good to go.
These require a lot of work to get done right. Unfortunately one broke while cleaning the inside our prior to
Stuffing
Stuffing
I made one of these this morning, I need to make these more often, they're so good-
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and healthy......may be wise to to avoid being in a small room with your loved ones for a few hours afterwards....
Looks brilliant, and I'm sure that it was delicious.
How, exactly, did you prepare it?
What is disappointing is that I get shivers signaling revulsion when I think of cooked cabbage. It is disappointing because sometimes I allow my food prejudices to get the better of me. Although I have liked certain variations of kimchi.
Can you look at NYT cooking?
Braised Cabbage Recipe
The chef Floyd Cardoz shared this recipe with The Times in 2011 “I personally love cabbage,” he said At Tabla, his restaurant on Madison Square Park, he offered lightly caramelized cabbage wedges that had been spiced with cloves, black mustard seeds, shallots, garlic and ginger
Basically fry cabbage to get some char on there, remove from pan. Fry up the spices then add fresh ingredients/stock and cabbage back into pan and cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
The combination of spices is really amazing with the cabbage, brown mustard seeds and ginger etc...
Thank you for that, but unfortunately, not, as I'm afraid that I hit a paywall; re stock (I assume chicken or vegetable), but I will admit to some curiosity re spices & other ingredients used in this delicious soundng recipe.Can you look at NYT cooking?
Braised Cabbage Recipe
The chef Floyd Cardoz shared this recipe with The Times in 2011 “I personally love cabbage,” he said At Tabla, his restaurant on Madison Square Park, he offered lightly caramelized cabbage wedges that had been spiced with cloves, black mustard seeds, shallots, garlic and gingercooking.nytimes.com
Basically fry cabbage to get some char on there, remove from pan. Fry up the spices then add fresh ingredients/stock and cabbage back into pan and cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
The combination of spices is really amazing with the cabbage, brown mustard seeds and ginger etc...
You just need to let that **** go, you need to rule your brain not let it rule you. Anyway just so happens I am making Kimchi on this nice rainy day.What is disappointing is that I get shivers signaling revulsion when I think of cooked cabbage. It is disappointing because sometimes I allow my food prejudices to get the better of me. Although I have liked certain variations of kimchi.
Kimchi, super good after a couple weeks or months hahaha.
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How do you rule your brain? There has to be a better way to say that, such as don’t let your prejudices get the better of you.
Birria Tacos ( veal and lamb) and Margarita
Paella was the dish du jour this evening.
I started by sautéing monkfish (already cut into chunks) in olive oil, for a few minutes, in a large, Le Creuset cast iron paella pan. There, the monkfish was seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, and pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika; today, I used both "dulce" - i.e. mild, sweet, smoked pimentón, and "piccante", i.e. hotter - pimentón), before being removed and put aside, placed in a bowl.
Next, diced Spanish chorizo (plus more olive oil), was added to the paella dish, sautéed, and removed in turn, with a slotted spoon, to its own dish. Some guanciale (instead of pancetta) - cut into small dice - met a similar fate.
Then, finely chopped onion was added to the paella pan, along with two or three anchovies (to dissolve in the olive oil); when they were softened (around twenty minutes or so), garlic (a full head, around 14 cloves, already minced, awaiting the feast in its small dish) joined them in the pan. This lot were seasoned (again) with pimentón.
When they had cooked down, I added a dish of grated cherry tomatoes (I had plenty to use up), already seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, and a little sugar.
Then, the rice (bomba rice, paella rice) was poured into the pan (always a satisfying moment), and stirred for around two minutes to coat it with the delicious oil and vegetables.
A glass of wine (white, I had some left from last night), and another small glass of saffron and its liquid were added to the pan, followed by stock (I used chicken stock, with a dash of Asian fish sauce for added flavour; anchovies have already dissolved in the oil).
After around twenty minutes, the monkfish chunks, chopped chorizo and guanciale that had been put aside were returned to the pan, and carefully placed under the stock.
The next ingredient to join the others in the pan came from a jar; Spanish piquillo peppers (with an intense sweet, smoked, flavour), which I sliced and then placed in the pan.
This was when the heat was turned off, and the dish covered for around 10 or so minutes before serving.
Dinner was served with lemon wedges, homemade aioli (garlic mayonnaise - egg yolks, garlic and olive oil) and a tomato salad (as I had no greens to hand), seasoned with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and a little sugar.
I started by sautéing monkfish (already cut into chunks) in olive oil, for a few minutes, in a large, Le Creuset cast iron paella pan. There, the monkfish was seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, and pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika; today, I used both "dulce" - i.e. mild, sweet, smoked pimentón, and "piccante", i.e. hotter - pimentón), before being removed and put aside, placed in a bowl.
Next, diced Spanish chorizo (plus more olive oil), was added to the paella dish, sautéed, and removed in turn, with a slotted spoon, to its own dish. Some guanciale (instead of pancetta) - cut into small dice - met a similar fate.
Then, finely chopped onion was added to the paella pan, along with two or three anchovies (to dissolve in the olive oil); when they were softened (around twenty minutes or so), garlic (a full head, around 14 cloves, already minced, awaiting the feast in its small dish) joined them in the pan. This lot were seasoned (again) with pimentón.
When they had cooked down, I added a dish of grated cherry tomatoes (I had plenty to use up), already seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, and a little sugar.
Then, the rice (bomba rice, paella rice) was poured into the pan (always a satisfying moment), and stirred for around two minutes to coat it with the delicious oil and vegetables.
A glass of wine (white, I had some left from last night), and another small glass of saffron and its liquid were added to the pan, followed by stock (I used chicken stock, with a dash of Asian fish sauce for added flavour; anchovies have already dissolved in the oil).
After around twenty minutes, the monkfish chunks, chopped chorizo and guanciale that had been put aside were returned to the pan, and carefully placed under the stock.
The next ingredient to join the others in the pan came from a jar; Spanish piquillo peppers (with an intense sweet, smoked, flavour), which I sliced and then placed in the pan.
This was when the heat was turned off, and the dish covered for around 10 or so minutes before serving.
Dinner was served with lemon wedges, homemade aioli (garlic mayonnaise - egg yolks, garlic and olive oil) and a tomato salad (as I had no greens to hand), seasoned with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and a little sugar.
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My wife makes a hybrid steak rancho / swiss steak meal. She uses trimmed NY strips about 3/4 in thick, seasonings like a rancho sauce, (Cummin, chili powder, onions, fresh minced garlic, ancho chilies and a few other things.). Crushed tomatoes and whole peeled tomatoes. Cooks it in the crockpot on low for 12 hours! The NY strips end up falling a part.... Then we serve it on top of fresh pasta strips she makes. (Large Egg noodle size.) Its so good.
This evening, I treated myself to a tweak on Pasta (Spaghetti) Carbonara, the tweak being that I omitted the pasta entirely, and had lightly scrambled (free range, organic) eggs, with freshly grated Parmesan - that is, Parmigiano Reggiano - (not Pecorino - I didn't have any, whereas a generous slice or hunk of parmesan can always be found chateau moi) and sautéed guanciale, sautéed in butter, and seasoned with sea salt and black pepper.
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That sounds really good. I had a tweaked Carbonara instead of pasta it had spiral cut zucchini. It was very good.
My father loved Greece, and loved the culture and climate of Greece, and he loved Greek cuisine. Or, rather, to be more precise, he loved certain, specific dishes he used to dine on, nightly, if and whenever possible, when holidaying in Greece: Namely, lamb chops (lamb cutlets, if we are aiming for a ambience that suggests a more cultured, elegant, civilised and elevated world, for, if Mark Twain could assert that "cauliflower is simply cabbage with a college education", then, well, I'd argue that cutlets are simply middle class - bourgeois - chops) with roasted potatoes, a salad, and wine.
Now, as he is no longer with us, - and hasn't been for the best part of two decades - I am unable to put this question to him; I do know that while he loved lamb cutlets (chops) and roasted potatoes whenever I prepared them for him (anytime my mother was away, and I donned my chef's apron, he requested lamb cutlets and roast potatoes for dinner every evening; luckily, I am partial to them, too, and we would also cheerfully drink wine together, and chat at length over dinner), somehow, it wasn't quite the same as what he had devoured with greedy relish, in Greece, which I knew he loved, but I wasn't so sure I was quite able to capture, or replicate, this dish in all of its Hellenic/Greek glory.
Okay, sunshine, antiquity, holiday atmosphere, all ensured that the experience was even more unforgettable, but, until recently, I had never really quite realised (for Greek cuisine is not considered to be on quite the same level as the more elevated interpretations of Italian, or French cuisine) that lamb cutlets (chops) in Greece are prepared in a quite specific way.
While the various descriptions of the recipes (for "Greek lamb chops") I consulted do differ, in actual fact, they don't differ by all that much. The ingredients and preparation are pretty much the same irrespective of which recipe has been consulted.
However, every site I consulted informed me that "Greek lemon roast potatoes" were a non-negotiable accompaniment to Greek lamb chops.
Every single ingredient was purchased in the farmers' market (organic, environmentally aware, etc etc).
The trick - or treat - is that the lamb spends some time in a marinade. "Time", in this context, is as elastic as time is thought to be: Anything from twenty minutes, or thirty minutes, to twenty four hours.
And that marinade comes with some quite specific ingredients: They are: Grated lemon zest, lemon juice (juice and zest of one lemon), minced garlic (and here, as always, I doubled - at the very least - the quantities suggested; in fact, I doubled the quantity of minced garlic of the recipe with the largest number - four cloves - of minced garlic, hence I used seven or eight), olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, dried oregano (at least a generous teaspoon).
You prepare the marinade, wash (and dry) the lamb chops (cutlets) and then place them gently in a dish with the marinade, turning them every half hour or so. Today's chops spent around four hours in their marinade, before they were introduced to a sauté pan, where shimmering olive oil, with that wonderfully oleaginous texture of olive oil that has met and married something very hot, awaited it.
Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes: Again, recipes vary, but not by much.
Here, the first dilemma is whether you parboil the potatoes or not, before roasting them; I've learned this the hard way: Parboiling cuts at least an hour off your actual cooking time.
So, peeled (or not, your choice, - some ferociously healthy types prefer not to do so - but, personally, I peel potatoes) and cut into thick wedges potatoes are added to salted, boiling water; today I used chicken stock, and parboiled (until "tender to point of a knife"), until almost cooked.
The potatoes were then scooped (slotted spoon territory) into a roasting dish, already drizzled with some olive oil.
And, to that were added some familiar ingredients: Lemon juice (half a lemon, I used almost a full lemon), a few dessertspoons of the delicious potato cooking liquid, several cloves (around eight, although most recipes suggest something along the lines of four) of minced garlic; a few teaspoons of dried oregano, - I didn't have fresh; fresh rosemary - I stripped a few stems of rosemary of their needles - and, of course, yet more olive oil drizzled over the potatoes. Plus sea salt, and black pepper.
This found its way into a hot oven (180-200C) for over an hour, taken out, and turned and basted after half an hour, whereupon it was returned to the oven, and more liquid can be added (olive oil, potato liquid, lemon juice) if it looks as though it may be running the risk of drying out.
While this lot were roasting, I prepared a green salad (mixed green leaves, purchased on Saturday at one of the organic stalls in the farmers' market) and my own homemade French dressing: Olive oil, red wine vinegar, a dash of Balsamic vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, Dijon mustard (I used a small - dainty - teaspoon, the sort that would not be out of place at afternoon tea served in an opulent 19th century city centre hotel - with not quite a teaspoon of mustard), an unusually small amount (well, today, I had lots and lots of it to hand) of minced garlic, roughly a quarter of a really dainty teaspoon, and a large teaspoon of honey; and I added some chopped flat leaf parsley.
I also - because I was in the mood for it, had the ingredients to hand, and today, for some reason, I quite fancied this sort of cooking, although I do not doubt that this added dish, or element, did not make an appearance at a taverna table somewhere in Greece - prepared some aioli, that is, homemade garlic mayonnaise.
That called for three core ingredients, although there are versions with many more: The three ingredients are egg yolks (free range, organic; today, I used two, sometimes, when feeling very greedy, I have used three), and two very familiar ingredients, olive oil, and - yes, yet again - minced garlic (I contented myself with around four, fat cloves of freshly minced, new season's garlic for the aioli).
Separate (the verb, for this is an instruction) egg yolks and egg whites, and the former are added to a bowl where the minced garlic already awaits, the latter can be kept for some other delight; stir (a fork is fine); then, slowly, very slowly, add - as in drizzle - a trickle of slowly poured olive oil, stirring, and - eventually - whisking. I use a large hand whisk which works wonderfully well. Add some olive oil; whisk and blend; add some more olive oil, pouring in a slow drizzle, whisk and blend; and so on. The mayo will be glossy, rich and a deep (daffodil) yellow, and - when it emulsifies properly - will be almost solid in texture.
Dinner was delicious, and tonight, I shall probably repel vampires.
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Well done and your description was so well-written I could taste it. As someone of Greek origin I say efharisto for the meal description it is quite like my Mom and relatives and dare I say, I would do it.
Ah, thank you very much for your kind words. Very glad you enjoyed it.
How would you prepare it differently? Any tweaks or suggestions that you would recommend? Some recipes suggested cooking the chops (in the oven) with the potatoes, but yesterday, I decided to forego that, and reached for the sauté pan, instead.
Last night, I wished my father could have joined me for dinner; I think he would have thoroughly enjoyed - nay, savoured - his repast, and I would have liked to have given him - and shared with him - a vaguely authentic taste of Greece, and thus, allowed him to revisit the warm and lingering memory of the many Greek holidays he had loved and shared with my mother.
I would not change much. I know Mom prefers cooking in the oven with potatoes whether lamb or chicken (another favourite) and personally I have taken to not peeling potato skins but it depends on the type of potatoes you use.
I do like your preparing a green salad on the side as I think it actually goes better than the traditional Greek salad - for me "Greek" salad being tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions with generous amounts of black olives, feta, oregano and lots of olive oil and lemon juice. But now I can ate that as a meal all on its own with some crusty bread or even no bread if one is watching carbs.
I do like your preparing a green salad on the side as I think it actually goes better than the traditional Greek salad - for me "Greek" salad being tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions with generous amounts of black olives, feta, oregano and lots of olive oil and lemon juice. But now I can ate that as a meal all on its own with some crusty bread or even no bread if one is watching carbs.
Agreed.I would not change much. I know Mom prefers cooking in the oven with potatoes whether lamb or chicken (another favourite) and personally I have taken to not peeling potato skins but it depends on the type of potatoes you use.
I do like your preparing a green salad on the side as I think it actually goes better than the traditional Greek salad - for me "Greek" salad being tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions with generous amounts of black olives, feta, oregano and lots of olive oil and lemon juice. But now I can ate that as a meal all on its own with some crusty bread or even no bread if one is watching carbs.
Actually, I decided not to have the "traditional" Greek salad with this dish, although I did have most of the ingredients to hand, and had deliberately decided last Saturday, when in the farmers' market, not to purchase feta cheese although I did have it in mind to prepare this dish; somehow, feta cheese did not strike me as quite right, in simple "gustatory", or taste terms, with this dish, although I love it on its own, with, yes, of course, some seriously crusty bread.
A cucumber and tomato salad, with chives, French onions, or, the more traditional red onions, with black olives - dressed with olive oil and lemon juice - would have worked very well, agreed, (and I did - and do - have all of the necessary ingredients), but it seemed to me that a green salad - which is what I would normally serve with either roasted chicken, or sautéed fillet steak, worked better here. And I had some lovely tempting greens to hand.
How long does the lamb stay in the oven in your mother's recipe? I would imagine, perhaps not quite as long as the potatoes themselves, perhaps it would be introduced at around the half way stage.
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