Chicken with Carmelized Sumac Onions, Preserved Lemons and Israeli Couscous

My newest cookbook is Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi. It's visually stunning and, as I already love Mediterranean cooking, it provides a lot of great inspiration to try out new spices. I will enjoy it in the coming months.

In this case, I was inspired to use sumac, while using a couple of pantry items like Israeli couscous and preserved lemons, when I came across this recipe at Food52.

The recipe calls for leaving oil in the pan after browning the chicken. You can do this, but it will leave you with really unctuous couscous. We enjoyed that, but if I prepare this again, I'd wipe out the pan and cut back the oil quantities by half.

I made some rice with peas and cumin seeds and served warmed pita bread.

Mangia!

Chicken with Carmelized Sumac Onions, Preserved Lemons and Israeli Couscous

Food 52

2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken (I used some lovely big chicken legs, with drumsticks attached to the thighs)

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste

2 teaspoons grapeseed oil (or another high-heat oil, like peanut)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium to large yellow onions, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled then mashed or pressed

3 teaspoons sumac

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons allspice

2 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon

1 cup pearled (Israeli) couscous

1 1/2 cups chicken broth, plus more as needed

Sprinkle the chicken with the 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Set a Dutch oven or braisier over medium-high heat, pour in the grapeseed oil, and when hot, brown the chicken pieces really well. Then, remove and set them aside but don’t rinse out the pan.

Reduce the burner to medium and let the pot cool down for a couple minutes. Then add the olive oil to the pot, along with the onions, garlic, and an additional 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Caramelize the onions, stirring occasionally and adding some of the chicken broth if the pan gets dry.

Preheat the oven to 400° F. While the onions are cooking, combine the sumac with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, cinnamon, and allspice. When the onions have caramelized, sprinkle three-quarters of the spice mixture over them and stir well to combine. Add the chopped preserved lemon and stir to combine. Sprinkle rest of spice mixture over the reserved chicken and then nestle the pieces into the onions.

Make a well in the center of the chicken-onion pile and pour in the uncooked Israeli couscous. Add the chicken broth, cover the pot tightly, and cook in the oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional five minutes. Taste and season with more salt if need be. Serve warm.

Taking A Break From Beef - The Other White Meat - Hoisin Pork Stir Fry With Mushrooms and Spring Onions

There were lovely big spring onions at the store. I picked up several along with regular green onions for a veggie platter, and we ended up in a check out line with a clerk who was very confused by the "green onions on steroids". After unsuccessfully looking for a code for a few minutes (I told her what they were, and spring onions was how they were labeled in Produce), she rang them up as regular green onions. Score! And no, I do not feel bad about this. The Kroger Company has made a lot of money off me over the years.

I had some BOGO pork tenderloin in the deep freeze, so it seemed like stir fry time! We had been having a lot of beef over the holidays so it was nice to change things up a bit. But still...meat.

I went with a variation on my typical Asian stir fry sauce/marinade, this version using hoisin sauce. I am still working my way through a big bag of dried mixed mushrooms, so I threw those in as well. Serve with rice.

Mangia!

Hoisin Pork Stir Fry With Mushrooms and Spring Onions

1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, sliced into pieces 3 inches by 1 to 1 1/2 inches
2 large red bell peppers, sliced into 3/4 inch wide slices crosswise
1 pound assorted wild mushrooms, or a couple of handfuls of assorted dried mushrooms, chopped roughly (I used a stir fry blend I have on hand of shiitakes, woodear, oyster and chanterelles. Reconstitute for 30 minutes in very hot water to cover)
8 large spring onions, cut into 2 inch pieces with a few inches of green part
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
8 ounces water chestnuts
2 tablespoons peanut oil.

Marinade
6 ounces hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 inch by 4 inch piece fresh ginger, minced

Combine marinade ingredients, reserve 1/4 cup and toss pork with it. Marinate overnight or at least 2 to 3 hours.

Heat the oil over high heat in a wok or large deep saute pan. Add peppers, mushrooms and onions and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the pork and the garlic and continue stir frying for about 5 minutes or until pork is cooked but still faintly pink in the middle. Add remaining marinade and water chestnuts and stir to combine.

Martha Rose Shulman's Tuscan Farro and Bean Soup

Here's another Martha Rose dish, this time using farro. Farro and barley are similar, but barley is much more common and easier to find. I recently made an Amazon "run" to pick up unusual ingredients and farro was among the items. Preserved lemons was another thing, along with sumac, which I have never used, and more pomegranate molasses. More on those later.

This seemed like a healthy dish to have after the excesses of the holiday season. Plus, I had a need to use up a ton of baby carrots and celery sticks leftover from veggie plates.We had gone through just enough stuff in the fridge to make room for soaking overnight.

This hit the spot on a chilly night, along with some fresh garlic bread. Mangia!


Tuscan Farro and Bean Soup
Martha Rose Shulman

1 ½ cups red beans, kidney beans, pintos or borlottis, rinsed and picked over for stones

¾ cup farro, rinsed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

¼ cup diced pancetta (optional)

1 large onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced (more to taste)

1 bouquet garni with a few sprigs each of parsley and thyme, a bay leaf and a Parmesan rind

1 small carrot, peeled and diced

1 small stalk celery, diced

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cut in half lengthwise, cleaned and sliced thin

 Salt

6 sage leaves, chopped, plus more for serving

1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with juice

1 tablespoon tomato paste (I went heavy on this, using more like 3 tablespoons)

 Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

 Freshly grated Parmesan for serving

Combine beans and farro in a bowl and cover with 1 1/2 quarts water. Soak for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot or casserole over medium heat and add half the pancetta, if using, and half the onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes, and stir in half the garlic. Cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add beans and farro, along with the soaking water. Add another 1 1/2 quarts water and bouquet garni and bring to a gentle boil. Skim foam, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet and add pancetta. (If not using pancetta, add the remaining onion and the carrot, celery and leeks now.) Cook, stirring often, until pancetta releases some of its fat. Add the remaining onion, and carrot, celery and leeks. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, 5 to 8 minutes.

Stir in the remaining garlic and the sage. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, add the tomatoes and juice, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, until tomatoes have cooked down slightly and the mixture is very fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir into the beans and farro and mix well.

Add the tomato paste and salt to taste. (You will need a generous amount.) Continue to simmer 30 to 45 minutes, or until beans and farro are very tender and the soup thick, almost creamy. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt. Remove bouquet garni.

Stir in the parsley and additional chopped sage if desired. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan over each bowl.

Lamb Meatball and Barley Stew /Mediterranean Salad With Prosciutto and Pomegranate

We're still in pomegranate season! I was looking for something to serve with a ground lamb dish, to use up a package from the freezer. I had decided on a meatball stew with yummy, chewy barley. I adore barley. It's tender yet substantial, giving your teeth something to bite into, thus elevating it among most grains in my opinion. I do like quinoa, and farro is close in texture and so trendy now, but to me, nothing beats good old fashioned humble barley.

The meatballs have some mint in them so they are similar to the version I make to go along with chopped Greek salad. I am still harvesting from The Colonel's garden, using mint and parsley for these recipes.

The salad uses pomegranate seeds, but also fennel. Fennel is a great veggie. It can go raw in a salad, or chopped into a relish with olives to go along side meat, or take a nice long saute in some fragrant butter to make an unctuous side. The prosciutto adds a hearty meatiness that just blends nicely with the fennel and seeds. 

I served with sourdough. Mangia!

Bubbling away

Lamb Meatball and Barley Stew

Adapted from Food.com

1 1⁄2 lbs ground lamb

1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

1⁄2 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used panko)

1 egg

1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 celery ribs, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup pearl barley

1⁄2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 lemon, juice and zest of

In a large Dutch oven, combine lamb, mint, bread crumbs, egg, and pepper. Using your hands, mix ingredients together well.

Form into 1 ½ inch meatballs and set aside on waxed paper.

In the same pan, combine the chicken broth, kidney beans, tomatoes and their liquid, carrot, turnip, celery, garlic and barley. Stir to mix.

Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Carefully add meatballs. Cover and simmer 1 ½ hours.

Stir in parsley, lemon juice and zest. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Mediterranean Salad with Prosciutto and Pomegranate

Bon Appetit

2 cups very thinly sliced fennel bulb

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

6 cups arugula (about 4 ounces)

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 3-ounce packages thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into strips

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Toss fennel and 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Combine arugula, green onions, mint, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in large bowl; toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide greens among plates. Top with fennel, then drape with prosciutto. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over.