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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Saag Paneer

I love spinach in all its guises—fresh in salads, with a boiled or poached egg and dried potatoes, in soups, and especially in saag paneer, the lovely curry of spinach with homemade cheese. (Apparently saag is any kind of leafy green and palak is more specifically spinach.)

In contrast to most saag paneer/palak paneer recipes I see these days, I don't believe in using frozen spinach or baby spinach for this dish. It needs to cook for a while with some pronounced spices, and for that you need a sturdy spinach. Besides, I  like the greens to retain some of their structure, not to be a green cream. I like the 'wild spinach' that I can get at my Turkish greengrocer. I doubt that it is really wild—it's just robust.

Paneer is easy to make, but I sometimes wonder if it's worth the effort and time it takes to make—it is so bland. In future, I think I might try it with those mini mozzarella balls or some pressed tofu.

Saag Paneer

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 liter whole milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 pound spinach
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves, garlic, peeled and minced
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 chili, minced
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon fenugreek, ground
1 tomato, chopped
2-4 tablespoons cream
1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Method

To make the paneer:
  1. At least eight hours before you want to use it, bring the milk to a boil. When it begins to bubble, add the lemon juice, take it off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. The cheese curds will separate from the whey.
  2. Line a sieve with three layers of cheesecloth and position it over a bowl. Pour the curds and whey through. (You can use the whey in soups or for other cooking purposes.)
  3. Gather the curds in the cheese cloth and twist to get as much moisture out as possible.
  4. Flatten the curds in their cloth into a disk, place on a plate, and put a heavy weight on it. I use a cast iron frying pan. Let it stand in a cool place for 4 to 8 hours. Theoretically the fridge is the best place, but as long as it isn't a really hot day, I think you can get away with it at room temperature. 
  5. When all the moisture is pressed out, use the paneeror refrigerate it.


To make the dish:
  1. Cut the paneer in cubes.
  2. In a non-stick pan, heat the oil and fry the paneer, gently turning it to brown on all sides. 
  3. Sprinkle with garam masala and paprika and set aside.
  4. Wash the spinach. In a large pot, cook it with just the water clinging to it until it wilts. 
  5. Drain, squeeze out the excess water, and chop coarsely.
  6. Puré the onions, garlic, ginger, and pepper in a food processor with about half a cup of water, or reserved whey.
  7. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium high heat, then add the puréed onion mixture. 
  8. Cook, stirring constantly for 10 to 15minutes until the vegetables begin to brown, adding a little more oil if necessary.
  9. Add a bit of oil, then add the cumin, coriander, and fenugreek, letting the spices fry for a minute or so.
  10. Add the spinach, tomato, and cream. Stir, cover, and turn the heat to low. Let cook for about 15 minutes.
  11. Add the paneeer, cover and cook for another 15 minutes. 
  12. Sprinkle with garam masala and serve over rice.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Turkish Lamb Eggplant Stew

I live in a neighbourhood with a lot of Turkish and Moroccan people and that means that there are also lots of grocery store, butchers, bakeries and restaurants catering to them (and the rest of us!). They provide a much better range of produce and meat than the general supermarkets, and you can buy spices in packets instead of little jars. (I still miss the Bulk Store though!)

Occasionally when I don't feel like cooking supper for myself, I pick up an eggplant-lamb stew for take-out from one of Turkish restaurants. However, I do find it too heavy on the oil, so I've been looking for a recipe that I can adjust  to my tastes. This recipe is an amalgam of several that I have found. As is my wont, I've reduced the salt.

Since I'm incapable of making a stew for one, or even two, I make a big pot and freeze it in individual portions.

Turkish Lamb Eggplant Stew

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder, cubed (1-2 inch pieces)
2 large onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 eggplants, diced
2 green bell peppers, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 can tomatoes (12 ounces)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 red pepper, minced
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method

  1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat, and brown the lamb on all sides. You may need to brown in batches.
  2. Take the lamb out, and add the onions and garlic, sauteing for a few minutes until translucent.
  3. Add the the diced eggplants and green peppers, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, as well as the spices, salt and pepper.
  5. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat shreds easily with a fork.
  6. If the stew is too thin, turn the heat to high and cook uncovered for 5 minutes to evaporate some of the liquid.

Serve with rice or crusty bread to sop up the juices.

What to Do with Fresh Figs

You'd think that after living on my own for over 35 years that I would get the hang of cooking for one, I even bought a cookbook called The Pleasures of Cooking for One, which is a pleasant read and has some good sounding recipes, none of which I've made.

So what got into me to purchase a flat of fresh figs, which bruise easily and don't keep well? Of course I ate a few fresh, but that still leaves 14 figs that I had to use up this weekend. Here's what I did.

Fig Compote
This is another fruit recipe from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. The caramelized syrup is very yummy.

1/2 pound fresh figs
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
  1. Preheat the broiler
  2. In a cast iron frying pan, melt the butter, brown sugar, and honey for one minute.
  3. Add the figs and cover them with the syrup.
  4. Put the pan under the broiler for 5 minutes, and stir the mixture occasionally to keep it from burning.
  5. Serve the compote hot over pancakes or porridge.  


Fig Cobbler

I also found a recipe on the internet for a fig cobbler with a cheddar cheese lattice crust, which to me automatically puts it out of the running as a cobbler. I thought the combination of a savoury cheese with the sweetness of the figs might be pleasant, but I was distinctly underwhelmed. I tried to punch it up a bit by adding a smidgen of cayenne pepper to the fruit (which was a nice touch), but the fruit and crust just didn't combine well.


Sunday, September 5, 2010

Sun-dried Tomato Focaccia

My newly acquired cookbook, Good to the Grain is providing lots of fodder for kitchen experiments.  One of my faults in cooking is that I rarely follow a recipe exactly, even the first time I try it, and the focaccia made with spelt flour was no different. I followed the flour proportions, but since I had a couple of old dried sun-dried tomatoes lying about that I wanted to use, I incorporated them into the bread as well, and I used the soaking water in the starter.

I am noticing with a number of recipes in this cookbook that the amount of salt required is too high, at least for my kind of salt and my taste. The author, Kim Boyce, always specifies kosher salt, which is really just coarse salt. The brand she uses is Diamond Crystal, which is less salty than Morton's. Since neither of these brands is available in Amsterdam, I just use coarse sea salt. Either this salt is much saltier than her brand, or my taste buds are accustomed to much less salt. Either way, I am now halving all her recommendations for salt, and that is yielding much better results.

Rather than baking one large bread, I divided the dough into 3 after the first rise, reserving 2/3 of the dough in the fridge for future baking.

Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia

Yield: 3 9-inch round loaves
Source: adapted from Good to the Grain, by Kim Boyce

This produces a flavourful bread with a nice bottom crust. I think the left-over would make excellet bread for panzanella.

Ingredients

2 sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 boiling water

2 teaspoons yeast
pinch of sugar
1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teasoon salt

2-4 tablespoons olive oil for greasing the pan

Method

  1. Soak the tomatoes in boiling water for half an hour until soft and the water cooled down to lukewarm.
  2. Reserve the soaking water and chop the softened tomatoes into small pieces, about the size of currents.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the yeast, sugar, warm water, and reserved tomato water. Let stand 5 minutes until the yeast begins to bloom.
  4. Stir in the olive oil, salt, and flours. Beat vigorously and then turn out onto a floured surface. The dough will be quite soft.
  5. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding up to 1/2 cup of flour to keep the dough from sticking.
  6. Grease the mixing bowl with some olive oil, turn the dough into it and turn it so the whole ball gets covered with oil. Cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm spot to rise until doubled (about 2 hours).
  7. Generously grease 3 9-inch cake tins with olive oil. 
  8. Punch down the dough and gently fold in the chopped soaked tomatoes. Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Using your finger, spread the dough into the cake tins to form round flat loaves. Dimple them with your finger. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for another hour.
  9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the breads for 22-25 minutes. Let the bread cool slightly before serving. 

My New Assistant

I been, 'n gone, 'n done it. I finally broke down and bought a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It is a thing of beauty and I hope it will be a joy forever.

I've been resisting for years because I don't make cakes that often, and I like kneading bread by hand. And it takes up valuable counter space in a small kitchen. I read about all the nifty attachments that turn it into a grater, a grain grinder, a juicer, a vegetable purée-er,  an ice cream maker, a pasta maker. But I've never needed those things before, so why would I need them now? And the cost!

And yet, and yet. Think of all the things I could make that I've never bothered with before. Breads made with unusual flours that I can grind myself, home-made ice cream, pasta filled with vegetable purées.

So I caved, found an online supplier that sold it for way less than cooking stores, and now I'm in love. I love the design, the weight, the power, the sturdiness, the way it's made, and yes, the colour. So far, I've only used it for bread-making, but I really notice that it is giving more loft to the bread.

I've not bought any of the attachments yet, but I will eventually. First I need to bake some more.