Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Quince Jam (Morabba-ye Beh)

Recipe Source: Shaida, Margaret.  The Legendary Cuisine of Persia.  Interlink Books, New York, 2002 p. 229

I couldn't believe how hard it was to find quinces!  In my head, they're a fall staple, although they weren't something that we ate when I was a kid.  I've got a ton of recipes that call for quince - Greek pastries, Persian stews, and jams.  I really didn't expect to have a problem when I decided to make some quince preserves as part of my Christmas project, but when I went to the store to find them there wasn't even a space for them.  I went to four different supermarkets on the South Shore in search of them, to no avail.  I finally had to drive up to Wilson Farms in Lexington to find them, and once I was there I bought as many as I could get into my basket.  After all, they keep for a good long time and getting anywhere north of Boston from anywhere south of Boston is a major hassle.  I didn't want to have to do it again.

At any rate, this was the first of the quince jams I made.  I was strongly encouraged to make the jam in a copper pot, for the color.  It sounded like a great plan, but there was one problem: I don't have a proper copper pot.  I was tempted to run out and buy one, but the thought of spending that kind of money right now just for the color of one dish seemed ridiculous even to me.  I'm pretty pleased with the color as it is, anyway.  The flavor is mild but distinctive, with a very delicate cardamom scent.  I didn't make any other changes, besides doubling the recipe. 

Morabba-ye Beh (makes 7 8-oz jars of jam; approx. cost per serving not available)

8 large quinces

8 cups sugar

2 quarts water

8 whole cardamoms

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Stock pot
• Boiling water canner with rack and tongs
• Ladle
• 7 8-oz mason jars, with lids and bands

1. Halve and seed the quinces, then slice very, very thinly.  Don't bother peeling them. 
2. Combine the sugar, water and quinces in the saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the quinces are tender and transparent.  This should take about an hour and a half at least.
3. Bring back up to the boil, uncover, and cook until the gelling point is reached.
4. Meanwhile, put the jars, bands and lids in the stock pot.  Fill with water and heat that water to 180 degrees.
5. Fill the boiling water canner with water and heat that water to 180 degrees.  An instant-read thermometer would be very useful here. 
6. When the jam is ready and the jars are properly heated, use the ladle to fill each jar with about 1/2" head room. 
7. Cap the jars with the lids and tighten the bands to fingertip-tightness.
8. Lower into the boiling water canner.  Bring the canner to a rolling boil, then cover and process 30 minutes. 
9. Cool. 

Recipe: Fava Beans in Sour Sauce with Hazelnuts

Recipe Source: Anonymous.  The Treasure of Useful Advice for the Composition of a Varied Table.  Thirteenth century AD, probably Egyptian.  Published by Lilia Zaouali in Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World, M. B. DeBevoise trans., University of California Press, Berkeley, 2007 p. 66.

Medieval cuisine in the Middle East involved a whole family of dishes that were intended to be served at room temperature or cold.  I've generally seen this type of dish transliterated as barida.  I don't know if that term is still used or if that family of dishes survives in modern Arab cuisine.  Anyway, I find this type of dish to be really amazingly convenient.  I can bring it and serve it at parties et cetera without worrying about reheating it.  This was onebarida that I brought to a kind of potluck lunch some good friends were giving up in New Hampshire. 

As is usual with medieval recipes, I've had to redact it from the typical medieval format ("take some of this, do that with it.  Add normal spices.") to a format that is useful for modern home cooks.  I used olive oil for "oil of good quality" because I know that they did use it in period and in that region and because it's my usual oil of choice.  The vinegar I used was a chardonnay vinegar; I had it on hand, it was of decent quality, and it wouldn't overpower the spices used in the rest of the dish.  I'm not sure that white wine was consumed in this time and place; a red wine vinegar may be equally or even more appropriate.  For the spice mix, I took a list of common combinations for the spice mix atraf tib that was given by the author, compared it to what I had on hand (some of the ingredients are not used for culinary purposes anymore), and mixed some up.  I used cilantro in place of the mint and rue; my husband is allergic to mint and rue is considered inappropriate for culinary use in most contexts now. 

This dish serves 6 as a side dish or appetizer.  You can probably serve 4 as a vegan main course, if you've a mind to.   

Fava Beans in Sour Sauce with Hazelnuts (serves 6; approx. $1.12/serving)

12 ounces dried fava beans, soaked overnight and skinned

1/3 cup tahini

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup chardonnay vinegar

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

1 teaspoon powdered cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 bay leaf

1 teaspoon spikenard

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 bunch parsley

1/4 bunch cilantro

Pinch saffron

Equipment:

• Large bowl
• Small bowl
• Saucepan

1. Put the skinned fava beans in the saucepan and add water to cover. 
2. Bring to a boil, add the saffron, and cook until tender.  I'll be surprised if this takes ten minutes.
3. Mix the tahini, olive oil, vinegar and spices (except the saffron) in the small bowl.  Blend thoroughly.
4. Drain the fava beans and add them to the large bowl.
5. Add the spice and tahini mixture.
6. Add the hazelnuts.
7. Finely chop the cilantro and parsley together.  Add it to the large bowl.
8. Mix well and serve at room temperature. 

Recipe: Garlic Pie

Recipe Source: 

Translation of Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco (14th/15th c.)  (Anonimo Veneziano)

Translated 2003 to January 2005 CE by Helewyse de Birkestad, OL  (MKA Louise Smithson) from the transcription of  Ludovico Frati (ed.): Libro di cucina del secolo XIV. Livorno 1899 prepared and made available online by Thomas Gloning.
Last updated March 28th 2005.

You may use/ distribute this version for non-profit use only (scholarly, private use) provided that this header is included.  Contact me by email at helewyse@yahoo.com.  You can find the original translation, and I highly recommend that you do, here.

 

This is the fourth and final in my series of medieval savory pies.  It was also probably one of the two most popular, which should tell you two things: that it was really good, and that this group will have no problem at all with vampires.  As you already know, I needed to make up the fat content of the pies to cover the omission of lard, and I really succeeded with this pie.  When I was putting them into production, the fat melted onto the floor of the oven.  This created a lot of acrid, stinky, kind of repulsive smoke.  I was kind of at a loss for what to do - I didn't have enough time to completely re-do the pies.  However, what I did have was my Big Green Egg.  I set it up for indirect heat, let it rip and I will never, ever cook a double-crusted pie indoors again.  I do mean ever.  The color that the crust took on was only surpassed by the wood-smoke flavor that comes with using hardwood lump charcoal. 

 

As for the filling (likewise tinged by the flavor of the smoke), I found myself faced with a dilemma.  The original recipe said to boil the garlic.  It did not specify water, and that's good.  I was afraid that boiling in water would leech away too much of the garlicky goodness, leaving me with something very much like the cheese and onion pie.  While the onion pie was good, we already had four of those.  I happened to remember a technique I found in an Italian cooking magazine years ago in which the garlic was boiled in milk.  This softened the garlic and mellowed its bite, while retaining the garlic flavor.  I actually went out and bought real milk for the occasion; I'm not sure if soy milk would have the right chemical properties for the job, and soy isn't really period for this part of the world anyway.  If you do try it with soy, or with goat or sheep milk for that matter, please let me know how it turned out. 

 

Garlic Pie (serves 8; approx. $1.29/serving)

4 heads of garlic, cloves peeled

1 cup full-fat cottage cheese, drained

5 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup raisins, plumped (optional)

1/4 teaspoon saffron dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 double pie crust of your choice

1/2 cup feta cheese

Equipment:

• 9" pie plate
• Small saucepan
• Colander
• Mini-prep food processor
• Large mixing bowl.
• Big Green Egg (optional)

1. Roll out your pie crusts in the plastic bags and refrigerate.
2. Put the peeled cloves of garlic into the saucepan and cover with milk.
3. Bring the milk to a boil over medium-low heat.  Watch it carefully; you really, really don't want it to scald. 
4. Boil gently until the garlic is soft.  Drain the garlic in the colander.
5. Transfer the garlic to the food processor and puree.
6. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  If you're using the Big Green Egg, set the Egg up for indirect heat.  Use a drip pan or a piece of tin foil to catch any fat that drips away.  Heat the Egg to between 400 and 425 degrees. 
7. In the mixing bowl, beat the eggs well.
8. Add the spices and mix well.
9. Add the cheeses and mix well.
10. Add the garlic and mix well. 
11. Add the raisins, if using, and mix to coat.
12. Line the pie plate with one of the crusts.  Fill the pie with the filling and top with the second crust.  Seal it well and cut a small hole in the top to allow steam to escape. 
13. Brush the top with either a milk or egg wash, if desired. 
14. Bake until the crust is set and golden.  In the oven for the test run, this took 40 minutes.  In the Egg, this took between 25 and 30 minutes. 
15. Serve, or allow to cool and serve at room temperature. 

Technorati Tags: Medieval recipes,renaissance recipes,pie,pastry,Big Green Egg recipe,garlic,Tall Tales and War Stories event,recipe,vegetarian recipe

Recipe: Onion (or Scallion) Tart

Recipe Source: 

Translation of Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco (14th/15th c.)  (Anonimo Veneziano)

Translated 2003 to January 2005 CE by Helewyse de Birkestad, OL  (MKA Louise Smithson) from the transcription of  Ludovico Frati (ed.): Libro di cucina del secolo XIV. Livorno 1899 prepared and made available online by Thomas Gloning.
Last updated March 28th 2005.

You may use/ distribute this version for non-profit use only (scholarly, private use) provided that this header is included.  Contact me by email at helewyse@yahoo.com.  You can find the original translation, and I highly recommend that you do, here.

 

This is the third of four savory pies I made for an event last week, although I would say it was second in terms of popularity.  This is kind of funny, because it was my least favorite of the four personally.  It kind of reminded me of a Greek savory cheese and onion pie that I am likewise not overly thrilled about.  That's not to say that I didn't like the pie at all - quite the opposite.  I just personally prefer my savory pies to have a little more "oomph" than this.  It tasted like cheese and egg, which was really the intent. 

 

When we did the recipe testing, this came out very, very watery.  This would have been near disastrous at the event, because people were walking around with these things in some very nice outfits indeed.  One of the taste testers was able to identify the source of the excess water - the onions - and to recommend a very good technique for getting rid of it.  I'm including it here.  In case you're wondering about the "or Scallion" part, the recipe allowed for either, but I decided to use onions because I had a lot of them on hand and they were a lot cheaper than scallions.  If you're not on a budget send some cash my way - er, go ahead and use the scallions, they'll taste great. 

 

Onion Tart (serves 8; approx. $1.52/serving)

1 double pie crust of your choice

2 cups cottage cheese, drained

5 eggs, beaten

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon saffron dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

2 onions, finely chopped (I used Empire sweets, which I chose because they are grown in Upstate New York and that's where I'm from.  Any large onion should do, although New York onions are best.)

Equipment:

• 9" pie plate
• Colander
• Cloth dishtowel
• Saucepan
• Large mixing bowl

1. Roll out the pie crusts and return them to the refrigerator flat.
2. Put the onions in the saucepan and fill with water to cover. 
3. Bring the saucepan to a boil.  Boil the onions until translucent.  I promise you that this will not destroy the flavor of the onions. 
4. When the onions are translucent, drain them in the colander. 
5. When the onions are cool enough to touch (you can speed this up by hosing them down with cold water), carefully turn them out into the middle of the dishtowel.  I spread the dish towel over a plate, put the plate over the colander and inverted them. 
6. Carefully ensure that the onion bits are completely encased in the dishtowel, then wring the dishtowel.  This will squeeze out a whole lot of water.  Keep doing this until you've reached the point of diminishing returns and return to the colander. 
7. Preheat the oven to 425. 
8. In the mixing bowl, beat the eggs well.
9. Add the cheeses and mix well.
10. Season to taste with salt and pepper - go light on the salt because the feta will already be salty. 
11. Add the saffron and mix well.
12. Add the onions and mix well.
13. Line the bottom of the pie plate with one of your flat crusts. 
14. Fill the crust with the mixture. 
15. Top the pie with the second crust.  Seal the edges and cut a small hole in the center of the pie to allow steam to escape. 
16. Paint the crust with a little milk if desired and bake until the crust is golden and solid.  This took 40 minutes in my oven. 
17. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold. 

Technorati Tags: Medieval recipes,renaissance recipes,Italian food,savory pies,pie,pastry,cheese,onions,eggs,saffron,Tall Tales and War Stories event,recipe,vegetarian recipe

Recipe: A Perfect and Good Mushroom Tart

Recipe Source:

Translation of Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco (14th/15th c.)  (Anonimo Veneziano)

Translated 2003 to January 2005 CE by Helewyse de Birkestad, OL  (MKA Louise Smithson) from the transcription of  Ludovico Frati (ed.): Libro di cucina del secolo XIV. Livorno 1899 prepared and made available online by Thomas Gloning.
Last updated March 28th 2005.

You may use/ distribute this version for non-profit use only (scholarly, private use) provided that this header is included.  Contact me by email at helewyse@yahoo.com.  You can find the original translation, and I highly recommend that you do, here.

 

Last weekend I was asked to prepare some savory tarts and pies for a gathering of about 100 people.  This sounds like a daunting task, but really, I enjoyed it.  I'm very fond of the cook in charge, I liked the idea of the pies, and it gave me the opportunity to experiment with different pie crusts.  When I was redacting the recipes (taking them from the medieval "take some of these and do this with them" to the modern "take 1 lb mushrooms...." ) I decided to test to see which pie crust recipe was the most efficient - got the best results for the least labor.  Now, just for giggles, I decided that one of the experimental crusts was going to be the vaunted MacLean Pie Crust, which I got from my paternal grandmother.  (I suspect it came from a magazine like Southern Living or something like that, but I can't prove it.  Besides, it was handed down properly: furtively, written in a somewhat shaky hand, on a yellowed index card, with just the ingredients listed.  So it counts as a Super Secret Family Recipe.)  I haven't made the MacLean in years, because it's amazingly bad for you (shortening, butter AND egg!) and because trying to roll out the crust used to make me curse and swear like a sailor.  Honestly, it used to sound like the whole Merchant Marine was camped out inside my kitchen.  But when I did the experimental crusts, guess which one worked best?  Yes, the MacLean was the most consistent.  So that's the one I used.  I haven't gotten permission to post it here, and I kind of like having a Super Secret Family Recipe (even if the provenance is really unknown), and anyway, it doesn't matter.  Use whatever kind of double-crust recipe you think best and it will be a wonderful thing. 

 

Now, those of you who have gone to the original translation may be looking at my redaction below and saying, "Wait a minute.  The Anonymous Venetian said to use lard.  Where, I say where, is the lard?"  Well, frankly, there isn't any.  A discussion with the head cook resulted in our determining that there would be way too many people eating that night with dietary restrictions against pork, or who just wouldn't eat anything with the word "lard" in the ingredient list.  So we left it out.  On the other hand, we needed to stay true to the recipe's original "clog-your-arteries" kind of feel, so we had to make up the fat.  That's why you don't see lard, but don't go thinking that this recipe is low fat.  It is, however, amazingly tasty, and I highly recommend your serving it some chilly fall night.  Out of all of the pies we served that day, the mushroom was by far the most popular.  I'm sure you can get the cost per serving down if you buy in bulk; the cost was done from the redaction not the actual production pie. 

 

A Perfect and Good Mushroom Tart (serves 8; approximate cost per serving $1.15)

1 double pie crust of your choice

1 lb Baby Bella mushrooms, quartered

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

1 teaspoon powdered coriander

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 lb feta cheese, crumbled

1 cup full-fat cottage cheese (don't be tempted to use low-fat), drained

Kosher salt to taste

1/4 cup milk (optional)

Equipment:

• 9" pie plate
• Skillet or wok
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Rolling pin

1. Roll out your dough in separate plastic bags and leave flat in the refrigerator.
2. Melt the butter in the skillet.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. 
4. Remove from heat and set aside. 
5. In the mixing bowl, beat the eggs.
6. Add the cheeses and spices and mix well. 
7. Add the mushrooms and mix well, making sure to coat the mushrooms. 
8. Season with kosher salt to taste.  Use a conservative hand here; the feta should be somewhat salty in itself. 
9. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
10. Line the bottom of the pie plate with one of the crusts.
11. Fill the pie with the contents of the mixing bowl. 
12. Top the pie with the second bag.  Seal the edges carefully and be sure to cut a small hole in the center for steam to escape. 
13. Brush the crust with a little milk, if desired.
14. Bake at 425 until golden and solid, about 40 minutes in my oven.  It will probably take less time in yours. 
15. Serve! 

Technorati Tags: Medieval recipe,Venetian recipe,Italian food,recipe,vegetarian recipe,mushrooms,pie,Tall Tales and War Stories event

Recipe: Beet Bread

Recipe Source: Shapter, Jennie.  Bread Machine.  Anness Publishing, London, 2002 p. 163

 

I know that I posted yesterday about beets: how I'm making a large quantity of medieval pies that called for beet greens, which is leaving me with a large quantity of beets.  I dislike beets, although it isn't the pathological hatred I have toward cabbage.  I served the salad at dinner on Sunday night and mentioned that we were going to be eating beets every night for at least a week, when my husband (who is a very bright man) said, "Don't you need to bake bread for this thing too?"  Oh, yes, that's right.  Bread for 100.  The only catch?  I've never baked bread before in my life!  When I admitted that this was the case, he raced out to the library, grabbed this book and found this recipe.  "There you go," he said.  It seemed like a great solution.... until the next night, when he was away on business and I had to try to figure out how to bake bread by myself. 

 

Here's the thing.  I needed to change a couple of things, to include the very technique used.  So there I am, using a new recipe, trying to create something completely unlike anything I'd ever made before, while changing the recipe, making enough of the things to feed a large crowd, while also trying to work on the multitude of pie.  No problem, right?  Well, actually.... right.  Once I got over the initial terror of using yeast, it wasn't that bad!  I managed to get enough beets for 10 loaves, which means I only need to come up with 13 more loaves of bread or so.  Not too bad!  The only thing is that well, this bread tastes an awful lot like beets.  Cooked beets.  Which I don't like.  Fortunately, I can feed it to other people who hopefully don't have an aversion to cooked beets.  This allows me to avoid eating something I don't like while simultaneously not wasting food.  Yay!  At any rate, I'm entering this bread into the World Bread Day blogging event. 

 

Beet Bread (makes 1 loaf; approx. cost per serving not available)

3/4 cup warm (not hot) water

1 1/2 cups grated raw beets

4 1/2 cups unbleached flour (varies)

2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter; the original called for butter)

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon rapid-rise active dry yeast

Equipment:

• Stand mixer.  I also used a food processor to grate the beets, but you could do it by hand. 
• Cookie sheet or bread pan or pizza pan - something to go in the oven that you can put a loaf of bread on.

1. In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the water, sugar and oil.
2. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the bowl and give it a little shake. 
3. Wait for the yeast to "wake up."  You'll know that the yeast is ready because of the froth on top of the water.  It looks kind of gross but trust me, you need it.
4. Fit your mixer with the bread hook. 
5. Add the beets to the mix in the stand mixer. 
6. Sprinkle 1/2 to 3/4 of the flour over the top of the mix, making sure to cover the beet mixture completely.
7. Using a very low speed, mix the dough thoroughly.  If the dough seems too dry, add a little water (1 tablespoon at a time.)  If the dough seems too sticky, add a little flour.  You'll know it's ready when it forms a ball around the dough hook and doesn't stick to your hands.  This is IMPORTANT!
8. Increase the speed by 1 increment and knead for four minutes.
9. Turn off the stand mixer, cover, and let rise until doubled in size.  This should take about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. 
10. Punch down the dough to remove the air pockets.  Remove it from the bowl and place the dough on a cookie sheet, pizza pan or bread pan. 
11. Shape the dough into the type of loaf you want, cover and let it sit for about half an hour. 
12. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 
13. Bake the bread 25 - 30 minutes.  You'll know it's done when it sounds hollow when you tap on it. 
14. Allow it to cool until you're comfortable eating it. 

Technorati Tags: Bread,recipe,beets,vegetable bread,baking

Recipe: Honey Whole Wheat Bread (Guest Post from Fearless Grill)

Recipe Source: Betty Crocker’s Best Bread Machine Cookbook. Macmillan, New York, 1999 p. 58

I got a craving for homemade bread the other day, and wanted to make something I hadn’t tried before. We were having soup for dinner, so the bread needed to have a good flavor, but not something too complex that would interfere with the taste of the soup if we used it to soak up the broth. I had received this cookbook as a gift a few years ago, but hadn’t ever gotten around to making anything from it, and after flipping through it, decided to try the honey whole wheat bread.

I didn’t make any major changes to the ingredients in the recipe, although I substituted olive oil for shortening, since we didn’t have any shortening around. I did change the technique used – this book is a bread machine cookbook, but I decided to use my stand mixer to make the bread instead. In addition, I decided to cook the bread in my Big Green Egg, rather than in the oven since I like the slightly smoky brick oven flavor provided by the Egg. This would come out just fine in the oven though.

I was really happy with the way this bread turned out. There was a nice flavor from the whole wheat flour, and a really noticeable honey flavor without it being too sweet. It was nice by itself, and made a great accompaniment to our soup. One note – as the recipe was written, the dough came out too wet. I had to add a decent amount of bread flour to the dough to firm it up to the point I was happy with the consistency. This may have been because of my olive oil substitution, but if you try and make this, I’d suggest starting with slightly less than the 1.5 cups of water called for by the author.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread (makes 1 loaf. Approx. Cost Per Serving Not Available)

1 ½ cups warm water

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 ¼ cups bread flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons dried milk

1 teaspoon rapid rise dry yeast

1) Mix the water, honey, olive oil, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer. Allow to sit until yeast proofs (yeast activity forms a quantity of bubbles on the surface of the liquid), about 5-10 minutes

2) Add 1 ¼ cups of the bread flour, 1 cup of the wheat flour, the salt, and the dried milk to the bowl. Mix at a low speed using your dough hook – I used speed 2 on my Cuisinart stand mixer – until the ingredients are mixed. Continue to add the remaining flour – 1 cup each of bread and wheat flour - , a little at a time, until the dough has reached the right consistency, at which point it will form a ball on the dough hook.

3) Increase the speed to the next setting and let the dough knead for 4 minutes.

4) Check the consistency of the dough. It should feel firm, and mostly dry. If it is too soft/wet, turn the mixer back on and add bread flour, a little at a time, till the consistency is correct. If it is too try, add water, a small amount at a time, until the dough comes together.

5) Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for at least an hour to 90 minutes, or until approximately doubled in size.

6) ‘Punch down’ the dough to remove any large air pockets that may have built up.

7) Transfer the dough to an appropriate pan – I used a 12” round ceramic bread pan. You could also use a pizza pan or a shallow cake pan. Shape the dough to fit in the pan.

8) Cover, and let rise in a warm place for at least another half hour.

9) Preheat your cooking appliance of choice to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. I used my Big Green Egg set up for indirect cooking.

10) Using a sharp knife, cut slits across the top of the dough, about 1 inch apart. This will give the finished bread a nice look.

11) Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

12) This can be served warm or cold. It never got a chance to cool here.

Technorati Tags: recipe,Betty Crocker recipes,bread,Big Green Egg recipes