Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Haddock and Clams with Cider

Recipe Source: Goldstein, Joyce.  Savoring Spain & Portugal.  Oxmoor House, Menlo Park, 2000 p. 145

This is the fish recipe I made for the impromptu dinner party I mentioned yesterday.  What attracted me to the recipe was really the apples and the cider.  I've rambled on at length about my love of apples, which becomes particularly pronounced in the fall. The recipe called for hard cider.  I had some hard cider on hand, commercial stuff, but that's not the best kind of cider.  The best kind of cider is the kind that you leave in the back hallway for a while, until it just starts to carbonate.  There isn't a whole lot of alcohol in that kind of cider - you'd have to drink enough of it to cause water intoxication before you could get drunk off it - but it has just the right amount of kick and flavor to liven things up a little.  (Thank you, Dad, for that.)  As it happened, I had some slightly elderly cider of exactly the right kind on hand, and I had exactly enough for the recipe and not a drop more. 

I made a couple of other changes to the recipe.  I used a few more tomatoes than the original called for, because I had them on hand and they're good for you.  I omitted the chile, since one of our guests considers black pepper to be dangerously spicy.  Instead of hake, I used haddock.  I also increased the garlic and reduced the oil, but you probably guessed that already. 

Haddock and Clams with Cider (serves 4; approx. $4.92/serving)

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, crushed

4 ounces flour

5 tomatoes, chopped

2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1 cup apple cider - slightly hardened, for preference

2 large boiling potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 1/2 lb haddock, cut into 4 equal pieces

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

2 lb littleneck clams, scrubbed

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Equipment:

• Large saute pan
• Oven-proof serving dish (I used the bottom of a tagine)
• Large saucepan
• Plate
• Blender

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the large saute pan over medium heat. 
2. Add the onions and garlic.  Saute until the onion is tender.
3. Add the tomatoes, apples and cider.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until the apples are soft.
4. Remove from heat and puree in the blender until smooth.  Set aside.
5. Preheat your oven to 450.
6. Fill the saucepan with water and bring to a boil.
7. Add the potato slices and boil until half cooked.  They should still stick slightly to a fork when tested, but only slightly.  Drain and set aside.
8. Spread the flour on the plate and mix with salt and pepper to taste. 
9. Dredge the haddock pieces in the flour.
10. Heat the remaining oil in the saute pan over high heat. 
11. Fry the fish until lightly browned, turning once.  Evacuate to a plate and set aside.
12. In the same pan, fry the potatoes until golden on both sides. 
13. Transfer the potatoes to the oven-proof serving dish.  Add the clams, fried fish and the sauce from the blender. 
14. Cook 15 minutes in the oven. 
15. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. 

Recipe: Moorish Eggplants

Recipe Source: de Nola, Master Ruperto.  Libro de Cozina.  Vincent F. Cuenca, Trans.  Self-published by the translator in 2001, p. 29. 

In preparation for the class that I'm teaching about Italian Renaissance cookery, I've been making a few dishes from Italian Renaissance cookbooks for our Sunday dinners.  This is one of those dishes, although it may or may not count strictly as "Italian."  The author, Ruperto de Nola, was the chief cook to Fernando I of Naples, who ruled from 1458 - 1494.  This would argue strongly for the recipe being Italian, and that's actually why I chose it.  (Most of the Italian books I have are more Northern Italian in origin, but my own ancestors come from Naples.  I wanted to showcase a part of Italy that is often overlooked by historians.)  However, Fernando's own origins were Catalan, and up until Fernando became king Naples was ruled from Catalonia.  Catalans held many of the important positions in the Neapolitan court and classy dishes were said to be made in the Catalan style.  While Nola was a village in Italy, the earliest editions of the text that we have are in Castilian, not Italian (or Catalan, for that matter) and some of the words used indicate a Valencian origin. 

Whatever.  Even if the origins of this dish are Catalan or Valencian, it was certainly enjoyed in Italy in the period under discussion.  It was also enjoyed by diners at a recent Sunday dinner.  I do tend to make a lot of eggplant when it's in season for Sunday dinners, because it's my friend's favorite vegetable.  One of our guests took me aside recently and said, "Every week I find myself eating eggplant here.  I've always hated eggplant, but you always make eggplant dishes I like!"  That's the nicest compliment.  There weren't many leftovers of this dish.  It served 20, but would serve a smaller number easily. 

What really strikes me about this dish is that "authenticity" is a concern for the author.  Naples was (and is) pretty staunchly Catholic, and medieval Catholicism is not noted for its tolerance of other faiths and creeds.  Nola does recommend using "good bacon" as the cooking fat, but then corrects himself:  "...or with oil that should be sweet, because Moors do not eat bacon..."  The medieval taste in Italy and in Spain was certainly to use bacon, but he acknowledges that it is inappropriate in this dish.  It seems remarkable in its acceptance to me. 

Something else that seems remarkable is the dish's simplicity.  The ingredients, in contrast to many medieval "haute cuisine" dishes, are few and easily obtained.  I skipped a step where it appears as though the eggplants are par-boiled - I can't think of a reason to do so other than removing the bitterness, and salting and draining the eggplant is a better way of doing so than boiling them.  If you can't find verjuice (the juice of unripe grapes), use white wine vinegar.  It's not the same by a long shot, but it serves the same purpose. 

Moorish Eggplants (serves 20; approx. $0.45/serving)

4 eggplants, peeled and diced

Kosher salt

8 tablespoons olive oil

1 carton chicken broth (about 32 oz) (This might have been a little more than necessary.)

2 cups grated pecorino cheese

1 tablespoon (or more to taste) ground coriander

4 egg yolks

4 tablespoons verjuice

Equipment:

• Colander
• Wide, deep saute pan
• Small bowl

1. Place the diced, peeled eggplants in the colander.  Salt generously and let drain at least 1 hour.  Rinse well with cold water before proceeding.
2. Heat the oil in the pan. 
3. Add the eggplants and reduce heat to medium.  "Sweat" the eggplants until browned and softened slightly.
4. Add the chicken broth and the cheese.  Mix well and let cook, stirring often, until the eggplants are very tender. 
5. Add the coriander.  Mix well.
6. Combine the egg yolks and the verjuice in the small bowl.  Beat well, then add to the eggplant mixture. 
7. Stir well and let cook until the sauce is thickened. 
8. Serve warm.  This dish works quite well if prepared in advance and reheated. 

Recipe: Ground Lamb and Barley Paella

Recipe Source (sort of): Casas, Penelope.  Paella.  Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1999 pp. 88 - 9. 

My husband often complains about the fact that I most frequently shop at the most expensive supermarket in the Boston area.  I fully expect those complaints to stop after our Duck Disaster.  If you happen to own a copy of this book, go ahead and grab it off the shelf.  Flip to page 88.  You'll notice that this was intended to be a duck paella.  I couldn't find duck at Whole Foods, so I went to one of the less expensive stores on my way home.  They had duck.  When we opened the package to actually use the duck, the stench was overwhelming.  I was stuck.  What was I going to be able to use?  Well, I had some very nice ground lamb that I'd thawed for another recipe that I wound up halving.  That would do, but what else was I going to do with it?  I added a few spices and decided to go with that. 

I made enough other changes, enough that this really bears no resemblance to the original recipe.  I used a mix of green and black olives I'd bought for another recipe I never made; they'd been lingering in my fridge and I wanted them gone.  I didn't chop them because they still had the pits in.  I didn't have chicken broth readily to hand - I have some locked away somewhere, but I prefer homemade.  Anyway, I used Lemony Vegetable Broth that I'd thawed for another recipe, and filled out the difference with increased amounts of wine.  Speaking of wine, I didn't have any dry sherry, but I had some Chinese shao xing wine.  When I've used some Chinese recipes, they've suggested sherry as a substitute for shao xing wine.  Why should shao xing not be a substitute for sherry?  I omitted the saffron because it's still AWOL, and I omitted the carrot because I don't like it.  I used cilantro in place of the parsley as a matter of personal preference.  I also increased the amount of tomatoes, because our garden is spitting them out like there's no tomorrow and because tomatoes are extremely good for one's health.  

Finally, the biggest change I made was using barley instead of rice.  Someone had left a comment on someone else's blog - I can't remember whose blog, I want to say it was either 5 Star Foodie or One Frugal Foodie, but I could be way off here - about using something like quinoa instead of rice in a specific dish to give more protein and fiber.  (I have absolutely no recollection at all of who left that comment.)  Anyway, it stuck in my head.  When I went to make this dish, I noticed some pearled barley sitting in the Pile O Odd Ingredients That Don't Fit In The Cabinet.  I didn't think quinoa was really appropriate here, but if barley works for risotto why not paella?  The rice varieties in both dishes are similar. 

The result was pretty darned tasty, if I do say so myself.  The barley provided a wonderful texture and a bit more flavor than plain white rice would have done.  The broth-wine combination also worked very well here.  I'm still wishing a plague of frogs on the grocery store where I bought the duck, but ultimately I suspect this might have been better. 

Ground Lamb and Barley Paella (serves 6; approx. $4.08/serving)

1 lb ground lamb

1 onion

5 garlic cloves

5 tomatoes, chopped

1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin

1 bottle white wine, divided

1/2 lb mixed olives

Equipment:

• Very large, deep saute pan or paella pan
• Small saucepan
• Medium saucepan.

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Combine the olives and 6 tablespoons of wine in the small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.  I'm not sure why someone thought of this step, but it definitely altered the flavor of the olives.
3. Combine the broth and the wines in the medium saucepan over low heat.  Keep warm.
4. Heat the oil in the paella pan.
5. Combine the onions, garlic and bell pepper in the pan and saute until softened.
6. Add the spices and the ground lamb.  Break up the lamb with the back of a spoon as you brown it. 
7. Add the barley to the mixture.  Stir well to coat with the pan mixture and cook about a minute.
8. Add the broth mixture and bring to a boil.
9. Add the tomatoes and cilantro.  Cook about five minutes, until the mixture is no longer "soupy" but still has enough liquid to cook the barley.
10. Add the olives and transfer, covered, to the oven.  Bake 15 minutes.
11. Serve.

Recipe: Turkey in Almond Sauce

Recipe Source: Andrews, Colman.  Catalan Cuisine.  The Harvard Common Press, Boston, 1999 pp. 56 - 7

I like turkey.  I'm not talking about deli-meat turkey, I'm not sure what that even is.  I'm talking about proper turkey, meaty and juice and certainly not paper-thin.  It's a great source of lean protein, it tastes great, and it matches well with a variety of other flavors.  I'm not really sure why we relegate it to once or maybe twice a year, at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Personally, I'm going to make even more of an effort to use turkey throughout the year. 

I made a few changes to this particular recipe.  I did not roast the garlic per the instructions.  I wanted the more in-your-face flavor of the raw garlic.  I also used a whole green garlic clove, because I had it and I won't be able to get green garlic for much longer.  I omitted the lard and substituted olive oil, which is very much inauthentic but I just don't use lard.  I used a can of diced tomatoes for the grated tomatoes for convenience.  I used Lemony Vegetable Broth instead of chicken broth, because that's what I had, and I used almond butter instead of almonds because I am Lazy. 

The result was okay.  It wasn't terrific, but it was okay.  The sauce was really tasty, but not at all spicy.  The turkey didn't brown, but it did overcook slightly, making it a little dry.  Fortunately, the sauce covered that up. 

Turkey in Almond Sauce (serves 4; approx. $3.27/serving)

1 bulb green garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/3 lb turkey breast steaks, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained

2 ounces chorizo, skin removed, roughly chopped

1 cup Lemony Vegetable Broth

2 tablespoons smooth almond butter

Equipment:

• Food processor
• Large, shallow saute pan

1. Heat the oil in the pan.
2. Brown the turkey slices in the oil, then evacuate to a plate.
3. In the same pan with the same fat, combine the tomatoes, onion and garlic and cook gently until softened. 
4. Transfer the pan contents to the food processor along with the sausage and puree. 
5. Return the sauce to the pan and add the broth. 
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.  Add the turkey and allow to thoroughly re-heat in the sauce.
7. Serve.

Recipe: Couscous Cooked in Broth

Recipe Source: Ibn Razin.  "Book of the Excellent Table Composed of the Best Foods and the Best Dishes."  13th century AD, probably Murcia.  Published and translated in Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World, by Lilia Zaouali, M. B. DeBevoise trans.  University of California Press, Berkeley, 2007 p. 123

I will be the first to tell you that I simply abhor couscous.  There is a very good and very unappetizing reason for this, and I will spare you the details except to let you know that it involved the gross anatomy lab at a medical school in upstate New York.  However, while I am not alone in my distaste for this frankly inoffensive pasta-like product, I know that I am in the distinct minority.  When I was trying to plan my menu for the big medieval dinner on our camping trip a little while ago, I knew that I needed some sort of starchy dish that would fill people up.  I found this recipe for couscous and decided that it fit most of my needs. 

The original recipe wanted the dish to be served with the meat and vegetables that went into the broth used to cook the couscous.  That really wasn't an option.  I needed the dish to be vegetarian, and there weren't enough vegetables that went into the broth to serve with the couscous.  An alternative version listed in the same recipe suggested eggplant.  I decided to cook some eggplant in the same broth as the couscous and serve it on the side - not everyone likes eggplant.  My friend Laura brought some marinated mushrooms to donate to the spread; some people really liked them with the couscous.  I don't have the recipe for the mushrooms, unfortunately. 

At any rate, this was a fairly tasty dish that was enjoyed by many.  It was also very simple to cook and traveled well. 

Couscous Cooked in Broth (serves 20; approx. $0.70/serving)

2 lb couscous

5 cups Lemony Vegetable Broth, divided

2 eggplant, roughly diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Equipment:

• Saucepan for cooking the couscous
• Saute pan or wok

1. Cook the couscous according to the package instructions, using the vegetable broth instead of water.
2. Heat the oil in the wok. 
3. Add the eggplant and saute until the oil is mostly absorbed. 
4. Add the additional 1 cup broth and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer until the eggplant is softened.
6. Serve with the eggplant on the side, or for a more authentic presentation serve with the eggplant on top of the couscous.

Recipe: Medieval Dumplings "in the Toledo style" (Mujabbana)

Recipe Source: Ibn Razin.  "Book of the Excellent Table Composed of the Best Foods and the Best Dishes."  13th century AD, probably Murcia.  Published and translated in Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World, by Lilia Zaouali, M. B. DeBevoise trans.  University of California Press, Berkeley, 2007 pp. 107 - 8.

This little treat was made for the camping trip I've mentioned before, but I didn't serve it for the big dinner.  I served it just for an intimate dinner of a few friends the night before.  I didn't have to make a medieval dish for this meal, but I wanted to, and frankly this dish looked good to me.  It comes to us from Andalusia, during a period when this region of Spain was pretty solidly Muslim.  According to Zaouali, it bears some resemblance to a modern Tunisian dish.

I used the same recipe and technique that I used for the Ashak recipe I'd posted previously; the ingredients were the same, and both have been described as essentially being "ravioli."  I did, however, double the recipe.  The original recipe called for fresh cheese to be grated; a difficult concept for me to get my head around.  I decided to use pecorino; I had a lot of it on hand, it was more cost-effective than other cheeses I could think of, and it is made of sheep's milk.  (I'm not sure what the breakout between sheep and cows was in Andalusia in the 1200s, but I know that sheep and goats are easier to grow in arid climates than cows are.) 

The original recipe was also a little unclear on the cooking method.  The title of the recipe in this book was "Fried Mujabbanain the Toledo Style."  However, the instructions said to bake the dumplings in the same oven you would use for biscuits.  Well, I tried to fry them in some untoasted sesame oil, but the smoke point of of the sesame oil was not friendly to my smoke detectors.  I decided instead to boil them.  I probably ought to have baked them, but I was concerned about keeping them moist. 

The result was a fairly tasty dish, if I do say so myself.  Despite the use of honey in the sauce, the flavor was not cloyingly sweet.  Once cooked, these traveled well in the cooler and reheated fine in an aluminum roasting pan on top of our Big Green Egg, so I'd definitely say that this is a dish you can make ahead with impunity. 

Medieval Dumplings (Mujabbana) in the Toledo Style (serves 8; approx. $1.49/serving)

2 lb flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs    

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup water

8 ounces grated peccorino cheese

2 tablespoons anise seed

2/3 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 cup honey

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons sugar (I used rose-scented sugar that a friend gave me, but that wasn't specified in the recipe.  Use granulated or turbinado sugar if that's what you have.)

Equipment:

• Saucepan
• Large saucepan with boiling water
• Slotted spoon or skimmer
• Rolling pin
• Pint glass or biscuit cutter
• 2 large bowls

1. Sift the flour and 1 teaspoon salt into the bowl.  Make a well in the center and add the egg and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2. Slowly add 1/2 cup water.  Knead thoroughly to form a smooth dough. 
3. Divide the dough into two balls, cover with a damp cloth and let sit 1 hour.
4. Combine the cheese, anise seed and the cilantro in one of the bowls. 
5. When the dough is ready, roll it out on a lightly floured work surface.  Work in batches here. 
6. Cut out rounds (or whatever) using your chosen cutter.  (In this case I used a floral cookie cutter, which was probably a little silly but whatever.) 
7. Put a small amount of the filling (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon, depending on the size of your dumplings) into the middle of each dumpling and fold in half.  Use your fingers to seal the edges well.  Repeat until all the dumplings have been used.  Only re-roll and re-use scraps once; any more than that and they will become tough.
8. Boil, in batches if necessary, until the dumplings float to the surface.  Use the slotted spoon or skimmer to fish them out of the water and transfer them to your serving vessel. 
9. When all of the ravioli have been cooked, melt the butter and honey in the saucepan. 
10. Mix well and pour over the ravioli.  Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar over the lot and mix well.
11. Serve, or store and reheat later. 

Recipe: Almodrote

Recipe Source: Gitlitz, David M. and Linda Kay Davidson.  A Drizzle of Honey.  St. Martin's Griffin, New York, 1999 pp. 58 - 60

This recipe is unusual for this book in that the recipe itself is not re-created from Inquisition records.  It is synthesized from a number of period sources, to include Nola and Sent Sovi.  This makes it a little easier to read, although the fact that it comes from a secondary source makes me a little nervous about calling it an historical recipe.  Whatever.  It tastes good.  According to the authors, it can be used on a cold salad (as what is essentially a salad dressing), a hot salad (ditto,) or as a hot vegetable (specifically with onions.)   

I made this with the intention of topping a salad with it while I was camping over Memorial Day weekend.  Unfortunately, we never made the salad.  I did taste the sauce before packing it up, though, and I was pleasantly surprised by it.  It was good.  I'd thought with all the egg yolks and cheese that it might be too rich for me, but that didn't turn out to be the case at all.  I did use peccorino for the cheese and extra garlic, but those were the only changes that I really made.  According to the authors, this will keep for a week in the fridge; if you need to thin it out, use cold water. 

Almodrote (makes 2 cups of sauce; approx. $3.31/cup)

4 ounces peccorino cheese, grated

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

6 cloves garlic, crushed

6 hard-boiled egg yolks

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup warm water

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Food processor

1. Mix the cheese and breadcrumbs in the food processor.
2. Add the garlic, making sure that the garlic is thoroughly combined.
3. Add the egg yolks and combine thoroughly.
4. Add the olive oil in a drizzle, with the machine still running.
5. With the machine still running, slowly add the water to the mixture.  Blend to a creamy consistency.
6. Season and serve.

Recipe: Cod with Chipotle Romesco Sauce

Recipe Source (sauce): Andrews, Colman.  Catalan Cuisine: Vivid Flavors from Spain's Mediterranean Coast.  The Harvard Common Press, Boston, 1988 p. 224

Tarragona may be my favorite city in the world.  I was only there for a day and that one day was over a decade ago, but to my recollection it was simply stunning.  I loved the buildings, the smell (really!), the feel of the sunlight on my skin.... there was nothing about that city that I can recall that I did not love.  When I found a recipe for a Tarragona-style romesco sauce in my new (yet old) Catalan cookbook, I jumped at the chance.  I could not wait to make it.  Unfortunately for me, I could simply not find dried ancho chiles.  I did, however, have chipotle chiles in my possession.  Ultimately I decided to stop waiting and make the sauce with the chipotles. 

I didn't make a whole lot of other changes to the sauce.  I used canned, fire-roasted tomatoes from Muir Glen Organics, because at this time of year fresh tomatoes don't have much flavor.  When cooking the cod, I poached it simply in water.  Halfway into the cooking process I added a spoonful of the romesco sauce, just to infuse the fish with the flavors.

We both really enjoyed this dish.  The chipotle may not be perfectly authentic, but it was tasty.  It was a great, light dish for a weeknight.  In case you're wondering, the cucumber was a garnish.  Don't get me wrong - we ate the cucumber, but it was more to use up leftovers from the chicken kisrawiyya than because it was intentional.  The cost per serving doesn't include the cost of the cucumbers.

Cod with Chipotle Romesco Sauce (serves 2; approx. $7.40/serving)

2 cod fillets

1 cup water

3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, roughly chopped

1 serrano chile, roughly chopped

Olive oil

2 canned, fire-roasted tomatoes

10 cloves garlic, crushed

24 almonds, roasted

24 hazelnuts, roasted

2 sprigs parsley, roughly torn

2 slices country bread, fried in olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Pinch kosher salt

Equipment:

• Saute pan
• Food processor

1. Saute the chipotles and the serrano briefly in a little bit of oil, just until the serranos are slightly softened.  Transfer to the food processor.
2. Add the garlic and process to a thick paste.
3. Add the nuts, parsley and fried bread to the mixture and process.
4. Add the tomatoes, salt and a little bit of olive oil.  Process until smooth. 
5. Wipe out the saute pan and add the 1 cup of water. 
6. Bring to a bare simmer and add the fish.
7. When the fish looks halfway done, add a generous dollop of the sauce to the cooking liquid.  Mix as best as you can without breaking up the fish.
8. When the fish is done, remove to a serving dish.  Top with the romesco sauce.  Serve any extra sauce on the side. 

Recipe: Pasta in a Catalan Sauce

Recipe Source: Harris, Vicky and John Newton.  The Food of Spain: A Journey for Food Lovers.  Murdoch Books, Millers Point, 2008 p. 162

Right now, food and cooking are my life.  It's what I do.  It's what I've done for a long time.  I stopped being an accountant because, among other reasons, I kept thinking about food while I was doing it.  Nowadays if I'm counting beans it's because they're going into the soup (or pie, or casserole, or...) However, I also had a life beforeaccountancy.  My undergraduate major was actually archeology.  In order to graduate you had to participate in some sort of department-approved fieldwork, preferably fieldwork on a site run by the department.  My dig was in a very tiny little corner of Catalonia.  It was my first (and only) time in Europe and let me tell you, I fell in love with Catalonia.  I loved the language so much that I bought a Catalan-language novel just so I would be able to see Catalan when I went home.  (No, I still can't read it.)  I loved the landscape.  I loved the people.  I loved the plethora of bookstores on every corner, even in a teensy-weensie little place like where I was.  And, of course, I loved the food.  I even stomached a whole bowl of cabbage soup. 

I don't recall having eaten this particular dish while I was there, but the ingredients look sufficiently "right."  I only made one real change to the recipe.  The original title for the recipe was "Fideos a la Catalana," but "fideos" is a reference to a specific type of pasta.  They're very short little pieces of a thin noodle.  You can use spaghettini and just break it up into pieces, but I didn't have spaghettini either.  Or spaghetti.  Or buccatini.  Or... you get the point.  I tend to like tubular pasta, like rigatoni.  That's what I buy, so that's what I had on hand and that's what I used.  Otherwise, my allergies have had me feeling like the top part of my face is going to explode messily, which means that I was feeling too lousy to be very creative.  Oh - I did skip the passata, which tends to be a little on the pricey side.  Instead, I used one Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomato (I'd opened the can for another recipe the week before and wanted to use up the leftovers anyway) with some juice from the can.  Oh, right, the stock.  I used homemade chicken stock (made from the carcasses of smoked lemony chickens I'd made for another project) for four cups and the last two cups of my Basic Chinese Stock for the rest.  I thought that the pork in the Chinese stock would be a nice if somewhat less authentic touch.  And I reduced the amount of olive oil.  Hmm, I guess I did make a few changes.  Oh well.

The result was... well, the votes are split, which isn't uncommon when there are only two voters!  My husband really liked it.  I wasn't quite as thrilled with it.  To me, it tasted like a pasta sauce that was made by someone who is not Italian (and those of you who share my Italian-American heritage will know exactlywhat I mean by that.)  It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it didn't quite taste like what I thought it should taste like.  I did like the picada - the garlic barely gets cooked at all, which gives it a nice, pure taste.  The dish itself is very, very filling.   

Pasta in a Catalan Sauce (serves 6; approx. $1.98/serving.)

2 tablespoons olive oil

9 ounces boneless pork loin, cut into 1/2" thick slices

1 onion, chopped

1 fire-roasted canned tomato with about 1/2 cup of its juice

1 teaspoon paprika

3 1/2 ounces (about 1 link) hot Italian sausage, thickly sliced

3 1/2 ounces Spanish-style chorizo, sliced

6 cups chicken stock (or part Basic Chinese Stock and part chicken stock, or just Basic Chinese Stock.)

1 pound rigatoni

1/3 cup almonds

4 garlic cloves, roughly crushed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

Equipment:

• Large, wide-bottomed pot
• Mini-prep food processor

1. Heat the oil in the pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the sliced pork and saute until well browned.
3. Add the onion.  Cook 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomato and paprika.  Cook a few more minutes.
5. Add the sausage, chorizo and the stock.  Bring to a boil, add the pasta, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. 
6. Meanwhile, make the picada by combining the last 6 ingredients in the mini-prep and grinding. 
7. When the 15 minutes are up, add the picada to the pot and cook another five minutes.
8. Serve. 

Recipe: Flaones (Cheesy Medieval Turnovers)

Recipe Source: de Nola, Ruperto.  Libro de Cozina.  1529 edition, translated by Vincent F. Cuenca.  Self-published by the translator in 2001, pp. 53 - 4. 

Recently, a good friend of ours was recognized by an organization we're a part of with a major award.  It's probably the second highest award that this society awards, so it was a pretty big deal and we were both very happy for him.  Part of the tradition surrounding this type of award is that the recipient's friends and family throw him a little party before the ceremony.  People come to give advice and congratulations to the recipient.  Since the lines can be kind of long, refreshments are usually provided for the well-wishers. 

I wanted to contribute something toward the refreshments - the recipient has been a friend for a long time and he's a great guy.  Since the gentleman in question is a medieval enthusiast, I wanted to provide something from an historical cookbook.  I also wanted it to be something that people could eat with their hands - space was going to be kind of tight, and I didn't think that it would be easy to use a knife and fork.  I came across this recipe and decided to make it.

Don't let the photo fool you.  They didn't all look this nice.  Quite the opposite, in fact, which is why I also contributed the bacon muffins.  The recipe specifically called for a stiff dough, so I used the traditional Super Secret MacLean Pie Crust that probably came from Southern Living or some such magazine.  (I'm not providing the recipe for the crust because I'm not positive about its origins, so I can't cite it properly.  It also makes me cuss, so use whatever pastry crust works well for you and doesn't make you cuss.  Commercial puff pastry, while I don't think that it's perfectly authentic for the time and place and this particular recipe, would work just fine.)  Anyway, the recipe was a little too stiff for the way I was treating it.  I managed to repair some of the pasties, and when the cheese had cooked and cooled all of them held together just fine.  For those of you who eat a lot of Greek food the base flavor was kind of like a tiropita,  with mint thrown in.  The rosewater barely figured into the taste at all, providing more of a compliment to the mint than anything else. 

I didn't go to the little party ahead of the ceremony.  I was right in assuming that space would be tight.  Furthermore, the awardee is a very popular guy, and which meant a whole lot of people jammed into a very tight space.  I don't do crowds or tight spaces that have other people in them.  So I stayed away, but I'm told that the turnovers went over well. 

Flaones (makes 36 pasties; approx. $0.32/serving)

6 recipes for your favorite pie crust (or 3 double crust recipes)

1 24-oz tub full-fat cottage cheese

8 ounces ricotta

1 tablespoon dried mint flakes

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon rosewater

Equipment:

• Baking sheets
• Large bowl
• Circle mold - I used empty Chinese take-out soup containers, just to give you an idea of size

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the cheeses, mint, eggs, and rosewater in the large bowl.  Mix very well.
3. Roll out your dough.  Using your circle mold or cutter (or soup container) cut out 36 circles. 
4. Take one circle.  Put a spoonful of the cheese mixture into the middle of the circle and fold in half.  Seal.  Alternatively (and my loving husband takes credit for this), cut the circle in half.  Put a spoonful of filling in the middle of one half, top with the other half, and seal.
5. Repeat with the remaining circles.
6. Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until the crust becomes golden. 
7. Serve at room temperature.