Meat Stuffed Eggplant (Garni Yarikh)

This is another Bottom of the Pot recipe. It was perfect comfort food to me on this cooler, summer day. I have been attending a virtual training about complex trauma the past several days, specifically around narcissism and how it underlies all of the destructive things we do: loving the image we have of ourselves, and hating what is really there. It is a bit, um, intense. So comfort food seems pretty nice! 

*Also nice was my walk yesterday evening in the warm wind just after sunset, passing two little girls in hijabs singing out really loudly towards the lake as they trailed behind their dad. They were singing a song from Moana, which I watched a month or two ago and loved, about the light on the sea being blinding and calling them. I found the whole scene such a delight.

I love roasted eggplant, and this recipe really takes it to a whole new level. Author Naz Deravian says that Garni Yarikh is Turkish for "split belly," referring to the eggplant. Her words about this dish are more enticing than any I could come up with: "This is the kind of dish that seduces and beckons as silky eggplant collapses into well-browned and delicately spiced meat, all simmering over a rich tomato-based sauce." I was won over by Naz (meaning to buy her cookbook) after hearing her read her mom's poetry and witnessing her emotion about it. Persians and poetry, man. Talk about seduce and beckon!

For this recipe, I also got to use all garden produce except the onion. My garlic is now officially cured, and I selected some nice big bulbs for this recipe. This year, I grew a few different varieties of eggplant, and harvested several of these thinner long ones in the last week or so, which are ideal for this recipe. I also have a handful of palm sized ones, and I was a little short, so I used one of those too. 

Incidentally, while doing my garden plot rotation of refilling the water barrels last week, I saw that someone is growing okra. I have never seen okra grow before, and I found it so stunning I had to go back and look at it again. Next year: Okra!

Split eggplant, oiled and ready to roast

Serves 4-6

• 6 Italian or baby eggplants (about 2 pounds)
• 1/2 C olive oil, divided
• 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• kosher salt
• 1 pound ground beef
• 6 T tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch parsley, tough stems trimmed, chopped
• 1/2 c cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel the eggplant in stripes, with the stem and cap on. Leaving 1" on the top and bottom, cut a shallow split lengthwise in the belly of the eggplant, without piercing through, stopping about 1" from the bottom. Place the eggplant in a large bowl and drizzle a little olive oil in each slit, and sprinkle generously with salt. Rub olive oil all over the rest of the eggplant, and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, until fork-tender. Set aside to cool.

While the eggplant roasts, prepare the filling. Bring a kettle of water to a boil and keep it at a simmer. In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over med-low heat. Add the garlic and cook very gently, constantly stirring until slightly softened, but taking care it doesn't take on any color, about 5 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a small bowl and set aside. Using the garlicky oil in the pan, turn the heat up to medium and add the onions. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt, turn up to med high, add the meat, and brown for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook with the meat for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the spices plus 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Give a stir and add 1/2 c water from the kettle. Reduce the heat to med-low and cook until the meat is cooked through and all the flavors come to life, about 5 minutes.Taste and make delicious. Remove from heat and stir in the garlic and parsley.

Eggplant boats

With a fork, gently push the eggplant flesh to either side, making room for the filling, and sprinkle with a little more salt. Fill each eggplant with about 2 T of the filling, depending on the eggplant size. You will have filling left over in the pan. Place the pan back on the stove over med heat, add the cherry tomatoes and 1/2 cup more water from the kettle. Give a stir, and bring to a good simmer. Taste and add more salt or spices as needed. Gently nestle the eggplant boats in the sauce, spoon a little sauce over the eggplant, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until the tomatoes collapse and release their juices, and the eggplant is completely tender and everything is luscious, 35-45 minutes. Garnish with parlsey and serve.

Post simmering, eggplants all nestled in with the sauce.

Sumac Tea

My recent days have been busy! And they have been hot, which means less cooking and more salads. I am preparing to go wild ricing for the first time soon, and have been busy making a push pole and knockers and assembling the appropriate materials. On my way home from Fleet Farm, I remembered a big sumac stand by the river, so I stopped to gather some. It is definitely later than optimal - you can see that some of the red has washed away in the rains of proceeding weeks. The sumac spice is actually the hair/fibers on the berries, which are what make the clumps so fire red. From what I have read, you want to look for the time when the sumac is bright red, before any big rains. It is usually later July to September during a time of high heat. (Note that there is a poison sumac variety but it has white berries, so you will not be confused.) To harvest, cut the berry cluster at the base - collect several clusters.

I am drying some of the berry clusters (above) in an attempt at making the spice, and I also made Sumac tea. It is delicious! Sumac is very high in vitamin C and used for all kinds of medicinal purposes by indigenous people for a long time. The tea is a nice lime flavor, earning it a nickname of "Indian lemonade" - especially if you add a bit of honey or maple syrup.

Place 3-4 clumps of sumac in a large jar (I used a 2 quart jar) and cover with cold water. Leave to sit for several hours to a couple of days. Some people suggest putting it out in the sun like sun tea, others say the counter is fine - I just left mine on the counter because it was later in the day when I began the process. Strain out the berries/clumps with a strainer or cheesecloth and drink. Yum!

I forgot to take a photo until after I already drank some. So the jar is partially empty - ha!

Mixed Bean Salad

This week I paged through my Jerusalem cookbook for some inspirations, and landed on this lovely yellow and green bean salad that includes lots of garden herbs and capers. It was delicious and would make a really great salad to bring to some kind of potluck event because in addition to being tasty and herbacious, it looks really good and is best served at room temp. 

My general go-to for green beans is to steam them, coat them in butter, salt and nutritional yeast, and eat. This was a bit fussier, which I found pleasant. My mom sat at the table and prepared the herbs and green beans while I chopped the peppers, dried the capers, and boiled the beans for the appropriate number of minutes before "refreshing" them in ice water. (My mom is also working on a puzzle, which you can see in the corner of the photo. These are good activities for someone who cannot put weight on one leg and is currently confined to my 600 square foot house due to stairs at each door!)

Bean salad along with open faced BLT on my tiny pieces of Teff sourdough toast!

I followed this recipe pretty closely, except the following: I did not want to turn on the oven, so rather than roast the red peppers I sauteed them on the stove top; I used my garden peppers, which were 2 banana peppers and 1 mini red pepper that was a bit spicy; I did not have green onions and instead dug up green onion too-big bulbs from the garden and chopped those up. :)

Serves 4

• 10 oz yellow beans, trimmed (if unavailable, double the green bean amt)
• 10 oz green beans, trimmed
• 2 red peppers cut into 1/4" strips
• 3 T olive oil, plus 1 tsp for the peppers
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 6 T capers, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/3 c tarragon, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 c chervil leaves, or a mix of dill and parsley (I had the latter)
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pan with plenty of water to a boil and add the yellow beans. After 1 minute add the green beans and cook another 4 minutes, until cooked through but still crunchy. Refresh under ice-cold water, drain, pat dry, and place in a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, toss the peppers in 1 tsp olive oil and saute on a cast iron skillet until tender, about 5 minutes. Add to the bowl with the cooked beans.

Heat the 3 T olive oil in the skillet, or a small saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds; add the capers and fry another 15 seconds. Add the cumin and coriander seeds and fry another 15 seconds. The garlic should have turned golden by now. (If, like me, you used a cast iron, these times are too short and the garlic is not yet golden. That took a lot longer.) Remove from the heat and pour contents over the beans. Toss and add the onions, herbs, lemon zest, a 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper. Serve, or keep refrigerated for up to a day. Bring back to room temp before serving.

Cucumber Tomato Raita

I can't keep up with the garden cucumbers, but I am trying. And in keeping with the recent post theme of late - I made this kheera ka raita. It would be great with any of my previous posts (for liver curry or Indian spiced Kohlrabi), and is also just damn good on its own. This is the best raita I have ever had, and I don't really know why. It was SO good! 

The recipe is from Saveur, and I didn't change it other than I only had ground cumin (so didn't heat seeds or grind them, saving some steps and still turning out tasty), and I used a jalapeno because that is what i had. I have been out of onions for some days, so am digging up the remaining green onion bulbs in the garden to inch me along til I get to the store! I also used my mom's homemade yogurt, which might be one of the reasons this was so good. Her yogurt is not super thick - a good regular whole milk plain yogurt. Not the super creamy greek yogurt - which ordinarily is my preference. My mom and I ate this with leftover chicken, rice, and some beet greens with peas that I sauteed in ghee and spices that turned out weird but good. *I thought the raita was just a tad salty, which is rare for me because I am usually a salt fiend. Next time I might try a little less than 2 teaspoons.

Raita with rice and leftover chicken and my veggie concoction!

Raita - yields 2 cups

• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped small
• ¹⁄₂ small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups plain, full fat yogurt
• ¹⁄₂ cup minced mint
• 2 small green Indian chiles, or 1 serrano, stemmed and minced
• 1 large plum tomato, chopped small 

Toss cucumber, onion, and salt in a colander set over bowl; let drain 5–10 minutes, then squeeze dry. Heat an 8" skillet over medium-high; cook cumin until seeds pop, 1–2 minutes; grind in a spice grinder into a powder. Whisk yogurt and reserved cumin in a bowl until smooth. Stir in reserved cucumber mixture, the mint, chiles, and tomato. Chill up to 4 days. 

Indian Liver Curry

My mom is staying with me following surgery where she needs to be on one level for bedroom/bathroom/kitchen access. All went well enough, but she has low hemoglobin. So liver seemed like a good idea. I flagged this recipe awhile back, and I had some lamb liver in the freezer. It turned out nicely, despite my lack of cilantro. The curry was really tasty, and the liver flavor to me seemed so unexpected in this context. I got the recipe from a food blogger doing a liver experiment (to cultivate a love for liver). She reports getting the recipe from the EasyFoodSmith blogger, whose food blog looks worth exploring. Of all my liver recipes, this is probably the fussiest, and the most aromatic. It was really good with rice.

Indian Liver Curry, 4 servings

• 1 lb liver (lamb, mutton or calf)
• 3-4 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 large onions
• 1 tsp generous ginger garlic paste
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tomatoes
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• two green chillies, whole
• rice
• fresh cilantro

1. Boil water and add diced (small size- an inch and a half to max two inch) liver. Cook for approx a minute and then drain water and wash with fresh water. Keep aside. *This is theoretically to decrease "liver taste" which I don't mind. Feel free to skip this step and just add liver to cook at the end if you are already a liver lover. :)
   
2. Heat oil and the garam masala, it will become fragrant. Then add onions and fry till they become golden brown. Add half a cup of water, the ginger garlic paste, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cumin seeds. Cook till water evaporates and the masala turns aromatic and somewhat brownish in color. Add tomatoes and salt to taste, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and cook til tomatoes become mushed and release oil at the edges of the masala.
3. Add liver, two green chillies, whole, and water. Cook till liver is done (you want it just a little pink in the middle, which can happen quickly with these small pieces). Sprinkle a little garam masala once the curry is done and serve with rice or roti. Adjust the amount and thickness of curry by adding more water if required.

Indian-spiced Kohlrabi

My aunt told me that my grandmother always cooked kohlrabi - she never ate it raw. I have thus far been the opposite, so tonight I decided to try cooking it. Twice this week I wanted some kind of starchy vegetable to eat with dinner - so many cukes and tomatoes and greens that I wanted to diverge. I ate sunchokes earlier, and tonight I made this. It is based off of a youtube video from a very lovely person who records the cooking process. Here is my understanding of what he did - the water was the most confusing part in that he doesn't specify how much and I was balancing enough water to cook the kohlrabi but not so much that it would not cook off. *I have never had Panch Phoron - Indian 5 spice blend. I did not have all seeds, so made due with some powders. It was good, and I will use again!

I found the cooked kohlrabi tender, and a bit more bland. Germans use it a lot in stew, which would be quite good I think, and would be an excellent substitute for potatoes if you are wanting to be keto or low carb. I like it best raw - so far - but this was a fun experiment that tasted good. It would be best with some other Indian dishes, and maybe some Dosa, which I hope to make in the coming weeks! It also has lots of vitamin C and fiber.

Indian-spiced cooked Kohlrabi

• 1 T olive oil (or coconut oil)
• 1 tsp Panch Phoron spice mix (see below)
• 2 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 1" pieces 
  
• 1+ tsp salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp red chili pepper
• 1 chili pepper, sliced (opt)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1" piece ginger, minced 

Heat oil in a saucepan on med heat. When it is hot, add Panch Phoron until the mustard seed pops - just a few seconds. Add kohlrabi pieces and 1/3 c water (or so). Bring water to boil, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice to make sure all pieces cook evenly.

While kohlrabi is cooking, mix garlic and ginger into a paste with a mortar and pestle (or if you are me and without that tool, in a stoneware small bowl with the end of a rolling pin).  

Once kohlrabi are tender, remove lid. Add spices, salt, ginger-garlic paste, and chili pepper if using. Cook until water is gone - another 5 minutes or so. Serve!

Panch Phoron spice: mix the following:

• 1 T cumin seeds
• 1 T fennel seeds
• 1 T fenugreek seeds
• 1 T nigella, or black cumin seeds
• 1 T black or brown mustard seeds
  

Eggplant and Tomato Kookoo

I was out of town the past week, and prior to my drive north I made this dish to bring on the road. It turned out delicious - both fresh and hot from the oven, and eaten the next day. It would be a great dish for brunch, and I especially enjoyed it with some plain yogurt on top. Kookoo are Iranian style frittatas - and as Naz Deravian says, are more about the filling than the eggs. Typically one ingredient will be the star, though in this case it is two: the eggplant and the tomatoes. This is another Bottom of the Pot recipe, and I used all garden produce and herbs. I didn't have capers (I am going to try making some with milkweed pods, if they aren't too big yet), so I used some diced up pickled green tomatoes instead.

Serves 4-8

• 2 large long eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds) 
• 1/4 c plus 1 T olive oil
• salt
• 6 large eggs
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste
• Leaves from 1 stem tarragon, minced (plus more leaves for garnish)
• 1 T capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
• Black pepper
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 4 med tomatoes (about 1 lb 6 oz), sliced into 1/4" rounds
• Fresh herbs to garnish: mint, basil, cilantro, tarragon
• Yogurt for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl toss eggplant with 1.4 c olive oil and 3/4 tsp salt. Divide eggplant slices on two baking sheets and lay out in a single layer. Roast for 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Remove from oven and set aside. Lower oven heat to 400 degrees.

While the eggplant roasts, add the eggs, garlic, tarragon, capers, 2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper to the same bowl you used for the eggplant. Beat well to combine and set aside.

Heat a 10 or 12" cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the butter and remaining Tablespoon of olive oil. As soon as the butter sizzles place one layer of tomatoes in the pan. It's okay if they overlap slightly. Sprinkle the tomatoes lightly with salt and layer with eggplant slices. Repeat with another layer of tomatoes (sprinkled with salt) and one more layer of eggplant. Pour the egg batter over the whole thing and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until the kookoo has set and the edges are slightly browned.

Set aside to cool slightly. Garnish with whatever fresh herbs you have on hand, and slice into wedges or squares. Serve with a dollop of yogurt.

Bonus vacation picture: Moose! All week I ate thimbleberries like this moose ate river grass - steady, ongoing, and with pauses to breathe. :)

Braised Lamb Shanks

After watching the Persian episode of Taste the Nation some weeks ago, I was inspired to buy Naz Deravian's cookbook Bottom of the Pot. This weekend I made several recipes out of it for some Eid feasting on Saturday. They were all delicious, though the star of the show was the lamb shanks. They were actually similar to the roasted goat leg I've made before, in less time and requiring less oven space and a more reasonable sized cooking vessel. So they may usurp goat leg for future holiday feasting.

I was especially excited that these recipes all make use of a variety of herbs that are plentiful in my garden right now. The full menu for the day also included a tomato-cucumber salad, quinoa with fava beans and feta, a beet yogurt dip (which was amazing), and pan friend sumac cauliflower, which I will likely post after I harvest some sumac later this summer. Not only was the lamb tender - falling off the bone when you pulled at it with your fork, with a subtle orange and lime flavor that melted in your mouth, but the broth at the end was spectacular - and collagen-rich and good for you to boot. We drank the broth in small bowls after eating, which my friend reported is traditional back home in Ethiopia, and which I recommend. I made this recipe as is, except I had rose wine instead of white, and no saffron or orange blossom water.

Parlsey, Cilantro, Basil, Mint and Dill

Braised Lamb Shanks, serves 4-6

3 1/2 pounds lamb shanks (3-4 shanks), fat trimmed

1 tsp ground turmeric

salt and black pepper

3 T olive oil

3 T white wine

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 T tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp Advieh spice blend (recipe below)

Zest and juice of 1 large lime

Zest and juice of 1 large orange

1/4 tsp saffron, steeped in 2 T hot water and 1 1/4 tsp orange blossom water

Fresh green herbs (I used parsley & mint)

Directions:

1. Place the lamb in a large bowl. Season well with the turmeric and salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, or at least 2. Bring back to room temp 30 minutes before cooking.

2. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over med-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, brown the shanks on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. You might have to do this in batches so as to not overcrowd the pot. The shanks will release from the pot once ready, be patient, don't force it. Set the shanks aside on a baking sheet (or back in the bowl, as I did).

3. Add the wine, scraping up any stuck-on bits and pieces, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and sprinkle with salt and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and Advieh, and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Take care not to burn the tomato paste. Add both the orange and lime zest and juice, saffron-orange blossom water, 2 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Give a quick stir and place the shanks back in the pot. Pour in 1 c of water, bring up to a gentle boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the shanks are tender, 2-3 hours. (Alternatively you could also transfer the pot to a 350 degree oven and cook for 2-3 hours).

4. Once in awhile check to make sure there is enough juice, if not add a little more water. Remove the shanks and place them on a serving platter. With a spoon, skim any fat off the sauce (or not?!) - taste the sauce and add more salt/pepper or a squeeze of lime if necessary. Pour the sauce over the shanks, garnish with herbs, and serve.

Advieh spice blend

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground dried rose petals (I skipped these)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Mix together and store in a spice jar. Use in stews, soups, or on meat. It smells delicious.