Heirloom Tomato Soup a la Provençal

My farmer friend, Bill, brought me about 20 pounds of heirloom tomatoes yesterday. He has an interesting organic farm nearby. 'Make what you can,' he says. This has a wonderful depth of flavour.

I chose the box of yellow tomatoes for this recipe and it is lovely.  I have large red ones called Flin Flons and some small red tomatoes and a few Romas.

This recipe is adapted from one I found in Gourmet 2006.







Heirloom Tomato Soup a la Provençal

    4 lb tomatoes

    1 medium onion, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise (2 cups)

    1 large carrot, coarsely grated

    1 celery rib, finely chopped

    2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

    3 (3- by 1-inch) strips fresh orange zest, finely chopped

    1 teaspoon dried thyme

    1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes

    1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

    2 bay leaves

    2 tablespoons lovage, roughly chopped

    3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    2 cups water

    2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)

    3/4 teaspoon salt

    1/4 teaspoon black pepper

    Pinch crumbled saffron threads

    1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

    1/4 cup wild rice

Cut a shallow X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife. Blanch tomatoes in batches of 2 or 3 in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling water 10 seconds, transferring with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking.

Peel tomatoes, then halve crosswise. Squeeze halves gently, cut sides down, over a sieve set over a bowl to extract seeds and juices, then press on seeds and discard them. Reserve juice and tomatoes.

Cook onions, carrot, celery, garlic, zest, thyme, red-pepper flakes, fennel seeds, and bay leaf in oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes with reserved juice, water, chicken broth, salt, pepper, saffron, wild rice and 1 teaspoon sugar, then simmer, uncovered, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a spoon occasionally, until rice is cooked, 40 minutes. Discard bay leaf and add sugar and salt to taste.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.



Stuffed grape leaves are a part of many cultures including the Syrians, the Turks, the Greeks, the Lebanese, the Albanians, the Israeli's, the Iranians, the Iraqis and the Armenians (just to name a few). Generally speaking the stuffed part could be in zucchinis/courgette, eggplant, tomato or peppers. Really it also extends to stuffing certain types of fish as well. It is suggested that the origin of stuffed grape leaves goes back to the time when Alexander the Great besieged Thebes. It has also been suggested the Byzantines refined and spiced up the recipe and used the leaves of other vines such as hazelnuts and figs.



I decided to use my old favourite recipe.  I love the sweetness from currants and flavour of pinenuts.

Yolantzi Dolmathes (Greece)                             from Time Life Books

Steamed Grape Leaves with Rice, Pine Nut and Currant Stuffing

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup uncooked long or medium grain white rice
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground blakc pepper
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons dried currants
40 preserved grape leaves
2 tablespoons cold water
lemon wedges

In a heavy large skillet, heat  3 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it.  Add the onions and, stirring frequently, cook for 5 minutes, or until they are soft and transparent but not brown.  Add the rice and stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the grains are coated with oil.  Do not let them brown.  Pour in the water, add the salt and a few grindings of pepper and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid.  In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil and in it cook the pine nuts until they are a delicate brown.  Add them to the rice, then sir in the currants.

In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat.  Drop in the grape leaves and immediately turn off the heat.  Let the leaves soak for 1 minute, then drain them in a sieve and plunge them into a bowl or pan of cold water to cool them quickly.  Gently separate the leaves and spread them, dull sides up, on paper towels to drain.

Layer the bottom of a heavy 2 to 3 quart casserole with about 10 of the leaves.  Stuff each of the remaining leaves with about 1 tablespoon of the rice mixture.  Stack the stuffed leaves, side by side and seam sides down, in layers in the casserole and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and the cold water.  Place the casserole over high heat for 3 minutes, reduce the heat to low and simmer, tightly covered, for 50 minutes.  Then uncover and cool to room termperature.

 To serve, arrange the stuffed grape leaves attractively on a platter or individual plates and garnish with lemon wedges.

The February Daring Cooks Challenge - Mezze

I love Mediterranean cooking and I love making mezzes or small plates.  Mezzes would traditionally be served in Lebanon, Greece and Cyprus, Turkey, Serbia, and Albania.

The two requirements for this challenge are to make pita bread and hummus from scratch.  The other items for our mezze is at our own choice.  Sit back and enjoy!

My mezze selections include grilled halloumi cheese with a sprinkle of dried thyme and a squeeze of lemon juice, pickled beets, marinated olives, hummus, roasted marcona almonds, spinach fatayer and meat fatayer, tzatziki and pita bread.  I made my pita bread with 50/50 whole wheat/white flour.

The oven in this house I am sitting is just terrible.  I is supposed to go up to 500F but it keeps shutting down on me.  So the temperature was different for each batch of pitas.  And this is my first try at pita and I don't think it is as simple as it looks.  It is nice to get all puffy but it should deflate and be soft.  Mine was still hard.  Best used for pita chips.


The 2010 February Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

Pita Bread – Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Prep time: 20 minutes to make, 90 minutes to rise and about 45 minutes to cook

2 t regular dry yeast
2 1/2 c lukewarm water
5-6 c all-purpose flour (may use a combination of 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, or a combination of alternative flours for gluten free pita)
1 T table salt
2 T olive oil

Directions:
1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.

2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.

3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).

4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.

5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 - 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn't puff up, don't worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.

Hummus – Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden

Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.  This hummus can be additionally flavoured with 1/3 c roasted red or orange sweet peppers and smoked paprika, carmelized onions or any other combination you would like to dream up.

1 1/2 c dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/310 ml)
2 lemons, juiced
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
a big pinch of salt
4 T tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment)

Directions:
1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Fatayer

A frozen puff pastry or phyllo dough can be substituted for the traditional dough.

• For the Spinach Filling:
• 1/2 pound fresh spinach, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon ground sumac

Preheat over to 425 degrees.

Wash spinach and soak spinach in salted water while you chop vegetables. Rinse spinach and dry thoroughly with paper towel.

Combine and toss filling ingredients.

1. Cut pieces of phyllo pastry into squares about 6 inches square.  Brush one piece with melted butter and then lay another piece over it.  Brush with melted butter.  Continue until you have about 6 pieces.
2. Place a spoonful of the filling mixture in the center of the pastry.
3. Roll up all the edges to form a triangle with the centre open.  Brush with butter.
4. Repeat until you have used all the ingredients.
5. Arrange the meat pies on a greased baking sheet and bake in a 350°F oven for 15 – 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
6. Serve hot or cold.

Kefta

(Middle Eastern spiced meatballs)

Spiced meatballs are common in one form or another from Morocco in the west through the Middle East (kefta or kufta), to Greece (keftedes), Turkey (köfte), Armenia (kyufta), Iran (kufteh, or koofteh) and all the way to India (kofta) in the east. All names for these little balls of wonder derive from the Persian verb kuftan, which means "to grind."

4 to 6 servings, or about 20 meatballs

• Ground lamb or beef, or a mixture of the two -- 2 pounds
• Onion, minced -- 1
• Fresh parsley or mint, finely chopped -- 1/2 bunch
• Ground cumin -- 1 tablespoon
• Cinnamon -- 2 teaspoons
• Allspice (optional) -- 1 teaspoon
• Salt and pepper -- to season
• Oil -- 1/4 cup

1. Place the ground beef or lamb, onion, herbs, spices, salt and pepper in a large bowl and knead together well. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to mingle and make the meat easier to handle.
2. Form the meat mixture into balls, patties or ovals the size of a small egg.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium flame and, working in batches, sauté the meatballs until browned on all sides and cooked through. Browned meatballs can also be finished in a 350ºF oven.
4. Serve as is or in pita bread as a sandwich with tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki: Traditional Yogurt, Cucumber, and Garlic Dip

In Greek: τζατζίκι, pronounced dza-DZEE-kee
Tzatziki is traditionally served as an appetizer and can be left on the table as an accompaniment to foods throughout the meal. The key to great tzatziki is the thick creamy texture that allows it to be eaten alone, as a dip, as a spread, and as a condiment.

• 16 ounces (2 cups) of thick Greek yogurt
• 4 to 10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of diced or grated cucumber (Kirby or "English")
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Prepare all ingredients in advance. Combine oil and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Fold the yogurt in slowly, making sure it mixes completely with the oil. Add the garlic, according to taste, and the cucumber. Stir until evenly distributed. Garnish with a bit of green and serve well chilled.
Yield: about 2 1/2 cups
Add mint or dill: Slight variations include 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh dill and/or fresh mint. Tasty additions!

Grilled Halloumi Cheese

Halloumi is a cheese from Cyprus.  It is very firm and is meant to be grilled so don't worry about it melting all over the place.  You can even grill it on your barbecue.  Marinade the cheese in olive oil and thyme for a few minutes.  Then grill in a hot pan or on the barbecue.  Grill both sides.  When done, remove to a serving plate and squeeze lemon juice over.  Alternatively, you could flame it with a liquor like ouzo.