TURKISH DELIGHT

TURKISH DELIGHT, or Mi Borek es Su Borek

One of the real treats for Hillary when we were in Turkey this fall was Su böreği, a cheese-filled Turkish version of noodle kugel.  She even had Katie bring her some from Istanbul.  It’s a basic street food, ubiquitous at all the food shops, and quite delicious.  So, with the kids visiting for Christmas week, I decide that I needed to try and duplicate it.  Here is the recipe.  Our two Turkish food critics both gave it “thumbs up”.

Su böreği

Ingredients:

1 package phyllo pastry (18 pieces), thawed

400 g (14 oz) crumbled real feta cheese

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

¼ cup parsley

A pinch of salt

1 cups milk

1 cup water

Directions:

Combine crumbled feta cheese and chopped parsley

Whisk 3 eggs and a pinch salt

Add vegetable oil and continue beating

Add milk and water

Grease a square baking dish

Place 2 layers of phyllo pastry on the greased baking dish

Cut each phyllo in 4 equal pieces , dip in the sauce and place in the baking tray

When you are done placing half of the phyllo you have, spread the feta-parsley mixture

And continue with the rest of phyllo you have

Finally, cover the top with the 2 layers of phyllo

Pour sauce on the top to wet it

Before you bake, keep in the fridge for around 2 hours

Cut in squares before placing in ovEn

Bake for around 40 minutes on 400 degree F pre-heated oven

FIGS AND CHICKEN "MARRIED-PEOPLE-STYLE"

One of Sherry’s co-workers offered her some fresh figs, which turned out to be about a gallon of them!  She planned to make a lot of the World-Famous Figs, Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Wrapped in Prosciutto, but also thought that the figs would be great mixed with whole wheat couscous (Maftoul is a good substitute), eggplant, chickpeas and spices.  So what to make as a main course?

She decided that the main course should be what I called “Married-People” chicken, because to make it flavorful, you have to “get under the skin” – just like in real life!!  As with all great relationships, this meal came out memorable and yummy.

CHICKEN THIGHS, MP STYLE

1.   Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

3-4 chicken thighs, skin-on

2.   Gently lift the skin away from the thighs, to make a pocket.

1 whole knob, garlic

Olive oil

1 bunch fresh oregano, leaves only

Kosher salt

Hot paprika

1 lemon, thinly sliced

3.   Pulverize the previous 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor. Place under the skin of the thighs, along with thinly sliced pieces of lemon.

1 onion, sliced

Smoked paprika, hot paprika (or just smoked paprika)

½ lb. green olives (preferably Mediterranean)

¼ cup white wine

4.   In a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken thighs, place a layer of the sliced onion.  Place the stuffed thighs on top of the onion layer.  Sprinkle the olives, white wine and paprika over the chicken.  Bake for 1 to 1 ¼ hours, until done.

5.   Serve with Couscous Figs, Eggplant, Chickpeas. Recipe Follows:

Israeli Couscous Salad with Grilled Eggplant and Chickpeas

1 medium sized eggplant, cut into half and thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil

1/3 lb. prosciutto, cut into strips and fried in a saucepan

1 cup whole Wheat Israeli couscous 

1 1/4 cups broth or water, heated to boiling

2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne
pinch of salt

1/4 cup fat free feta
1 can (15 oz) drained chickpeas
small handful pistachios or pine nuts, toasted
1 tsp dried or fresh mint, chopped 

5-10 fresh figs, cut into quarters small bunch fresh mint
olive oil


Heat a grill on high, brush the eggplant slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill on both sides until tender. Set aside.

Saute couscous in 1 Tbsp. Olive oil until toasted, add broth/water, add cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, mint and pinch of salt. Simmer 10 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit until all liquid is absorbed.  Set aside for 3 minutes then use a fork to separate and mix the couscous.

Fry up the prosciutto strips and add them to the salad.
Add in the chickpeas, nuts and figs. Chop the fresh mint and in as well. Toss to mix and finish with a dash of olive oil. Sprinkle feta on top (liberally).  

Arrange the salad on a plate with the grilled eggplant (eggplant can be chopped and mixed in as well) and serve.

SOMETIMES, THE FISH MARKET HAS SURPRISES

Blackened Catfish Fillets

For a city on the coast, San Francisco has surprisingly limited fresh fish selections in conventional supermarkets.  Salmon fillets, pacific snapper, and several “previously frozen” selections (tilapia, tuna, scallops) are the norm, and they seem to change little over time.  Dungeness crab occasionally shows up fresh for a week or two, but that’s it.  Luckily, we are near a couple of Asian markets, and they are bursting with fresh (and recently caught) whole fish and fillets. Several types of bass, cod, snapper, mackerel, salmon, and other exotic fish (Cobia, Idiot’s Cod, Yellowtail) are always available, with other fish changing as the seasons change. This week has fresh sturgeon available, for example.

However, finding fresh fish fillets is a little more difficult, as most of the fish is either whole or cut into steaks.  We love the Swai (Basia), a sweet fairly-firm white fillet that is routinely available, and cook it with a spicy batter, or with capers, wine, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.  But last week, I discovered some freshly-made catfish fillets in the offerings, and decided that we needed to try them.  (As it turned out, the fillets were available only that day!)  Sherry suggested that we dust the fish with a spice mix and “blacken” it.

Blackening fish means to coat the fish with spices, then cook the fish on high heat for a short period of time in a light amount of butter or oil.  I made up the following spice mix, cooked the fillets, and we had an incredibly wonderful meal, with sautéed wilted spinach and garlic.

Spice Mix (you can adjust or omit spices as you wish):

2 Tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. smoked paprika

2 catfish fillets

2 Tbsp. canola oil

Directions:

1.    Put all spices in a bowl, and mix well.

2.    Rinse fillets in cold water.  Pat dry with paper towels.

3.    Rub fillets on both sides with spice mixture.

4.    Heat oil in skillet until very hot

5.    Add fillets.  Cook 2 minutes per side.

6.    Serve.

A SERIES OF FORTUNATE EVENTS, MADE WITH LEMONS

Last week, we were with Hillary in LA, and she took us for lunch to a family-run Greek restaurant in Larchmont.  They served lemon-marinated potato wedges with the lunch, and it was amazing, so of course we decided to try and make some at home.  The recipe calls for marinating the potato pieces in lemon, olive oil, oregano and stock, then roasting it until cooked, followed by 5 minutes of broiling to seal the outside.

I thought that a great main course to accompany the potatoes would be the Zaatar/Sumac/Lemon roasted chicken made popular by Ottolenghi.  I used chicken thighs, although any bone-in chicken pieces will work.  The key to both dishes is to marinate them in the refrigerator in Ziploc bags for several hours.  Zaatar is basically thyme, sesame seeds and salt mixed together, so if you can’t find Zaatar, make up your own.  The cooked lemon slices in the chicken also go well with the dish. 

We prepared the marinades and dishes in the morning, then went off to see the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco.  This is a convenient dish to make in the morning, and have it ready to go for dinner.

Enjoy!

ROAST CHICKEN WITH SUMAC, ZA’ATAR, AND LEMON

by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

Ingredients

·         4 chicken thighs, with bone

·         1 red onion, thinly sliced or chopped

·         4 cloves garlic, crushed 

·         4 tbsp olive oil

·         1 1/2 tsp ground allspice 

·         1 tsp ground cinnamon 

·         1 tbsp sumac

·         1 lemon, thinly sliced 

·         1 cup chicken stock or water 

·         1 1/2 tsp salt

·         1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 

·         4 tbsp za'atar (available at Middle East markets, or mix thyme, sesame seeds and salt)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the onions, garlic, olive oil, spices, lemon, stock, salt, and pepper. Leave in the fridge to marinate for a few hours or overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Transfer the chicken and its marinade to a casserole dish, large enough to accommodate all the chicken pieces lying flat and spaced well apart. They should be skin side up. Sprinkle the za'atar over the chicken and onions and put the pan in the oven. Roast for 40-50 minutes, until the chicken is colored and just cooked through.

3. Transfer the hot chicken and onions to a serving plate and serve.  You can sprinkle on more za'atar and sumac, if you like. 

4. Try serving the chicken with warm pita bread and a garlicky yogurt sauce, made by mixing Greek yogurt with crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

ELLINIKOS LEMONI PATATAS (GREEK LEMON POTATOES)

Ingredients

·          4 yukon gold or 3 regular potatoes, peeled

·          1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

·          1/3 cup olive oil

·          2 garlic cloves, minced

·          1 teaspoon dried oregano

·          1/2 teaspoon sea salt

·          1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

·          1 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth or 2 cups lamb stock

Directions

1. Peel potatoes and cut them in half (from medium size potatoes, quarter if large).
2. Combine all other ingredients in a gallon size Ziploc bag, and shake to combine.
3. Put all of the potatoes in the bag and let marinate for 2 hours or more.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Put the potatoes and marinade in a large casserole, preferably a glass Pyrex dish, approximately 13 x 9 x 3 oval.
6. Roast for 1hr 10min, turning occasionally.
7. There should be plenty of sauce left over after roasting.
8. You can put these under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp them up if you prefer.