kitchen essentials — a potent paste

one job i really do not like doing is chopping garlic and it seems i do it often. some weeks, it's almost a daily task as i use it in many things. to get around this menial task, i often make up a jar of either finely minced, or [somewhat] completely puréed, garlic from several bulbs and store it in the freezer for quick use.

the freezer? yes. i got tired of my batches of unpredictable "cyanotic-looking" garlic. depending on several factors, garlic may turn light green or blue in a [safe to eat] chemical reaction. this process usually takes place about 1/2 hour after it has been made, so far as i've noted. freezing your batch prevents this from happening though you have to freeze it right after you've made the paste. while nothing will happen to you if you eat this funky coloured garlic, it doesn't sit well with me — garlic should be white, not green or blue.

storing garlic in oil in the fridge, over long periods of time, can also be "iffy" in that it can harbor bacteria which have the potential to colonize over time. storing the garlic paste in oil in the freezer is safer and does not leave you with a block of ice — the finished paste does not freeze completely solid and is quite amenable to being taken from, and used, on the spot.


garlic paste

a staple item for many kitchens, this easy to make paste can be stored for a good while and save you time while cooking.

ingredients:

2 large bulbs garlic, peeled and cleaned up
kosher salt
olive or vegetable oil [extra V oil is too strong; don't use it]

method:

peel and clean up all the cloves of garlic. slice them in half and remove any germ stems that are growing (the green part in the center); if you have young garlic you won't need to do this.

place the garlic in either a food processor or a sharp bladed blender and process until the garlic is broken up. add 1 to 2 tsp of salt to help it from sticking.

add 1/2 c of oil in 2 additions and process the garlic to the point you like it.

place the garlic mixture in a VERY CLEAN (sterilized) glass jar. add more oil to make a runny type paste. stir with an extremely clean spoon or knife.

note that any water introduced to the paste will potentially spoil the paste, so make sure all is very clean and dry.

store in either the fridge, if you don't mind the garlic turning colour (if it happens), or in the freezer.

the paste will be good for a few months.

summer pita

people often think that pita is only baked in a conventional oven. this really is the furthest from the truth. in ancient days, there were no home ovens as we know them. instead, the pita was cooked on either flat hot surfaces or convex ones, sort of like an inverted wok. pita was, in fact, bread used by people "on the go" and was quick to make, requiring very little processing and waiting in between.

a while back i gave a recipe for making standard pita and the method for how to make it in an oven. this post is to show an alternate method, a more controlled one, for baking the bread as was originally done and which is very feasible in any standard kitchen. it is much like the method for cooking indian roti or chappati breads though it does differ a bit in terms of technique.

this way of "baking" the bread is done especially during summer months when it is way too hot to set an oven to 550 F. the resulting breads are exquisite in that they are silky soft, chewy with a spongy interior and somewhat caramel-y tasting exterior due to the way they are cooked. they keep well for a few days if wrapped properly and are excellent for filling.

note before starting that you really are best using a cast iron pan if you have one as it achieves the proper heat. an indian type "tawah" or griddle pan also gives the same results. you can make these on a griddle pan used for crepes, too. oil is NEVER used to "bake" the pita. you must use a dry pan. also, buttering or applying oil to them after is not necessary as with indian chappati as they become extremely soft on their own.

the breads will puff up on the pan, or at least should, producing steam which will cook the interior of them. they will further "cook" as they rest. key is ensuring you start with a preheated pan and that they have a golden exterior, indicating when to flip them over. if they blacken, your heat is way too high and must be turned down. blackening also makes holes in the breads and prevents them from puffing up.

don't feel badly if they don't all puff up or don't puff up completely. it takes practice and a gentle hand. repetition of making pita is the best teacher. even i, who has made these countless times, do not have 100% each time. rolling the dough properly does make a difference, however.

when cutting the dough into its 8 equal pieces, i find it best to make a sausage shape from the risen dough with very little manipulation and then cutting it into 8 equal portions. once cut, do not make them into another ball. placing them flat on their cut side makes rolling easier and reduces constriction of the gluten. if you do roll them into balls, you will have to wait a bit for the gluten to relax a bit before forming the pita. both methods are correct; i happen to think the former is easier than the latter.

as they cook, one by one, place them stacked in a large tea towel or cloth so that it absorbs the excess steam. do not put them directly in a plastic bag or they will go soggy. once they've cooled, store them in a plastic ziploc type ["cello"] bag. these are great eaten warm :)

so that's it. to make the pita, follow the recipe in pita 101 and then continue here for the pan method.


summer pita
pita cooked in a griddle pan

forget heating the oven to its maximum temperature during the hot months of summer and make your own homemade fresh pita on the stove top. cooked in the matter of a few minutes in a hot griddle pan, you save both energy and extra money on your electric bill. why shvitz?

ingredients*:

look here

*if making for shabbat for hamotzi, omit sugar, salt and oil [sefardi way, otherwise include]; can be made friday morning and used later.

method:

after letting the pita rounds prove for 15 minutes out of the 20 minutes, heat your pan or griddle iron over medium to medium high heat. you may need to adjust after making the first pita bread.

once hot, take your pita round and place it down on the hot pan. be gentle as any rips mean it won't rise properly.

wait until you see approximately 2 bubbles form on the surface after about two minutes or so. do not press down on them or the pita itself like you would normally do for a roti or chappati bread. this will make a hole in the bubbles and make the steam escape. it doesn't bubble up all around so only wait for 2 to 3 big ones.

after several minutes, check underneath the bread with a spatula and see if it has started to brown. if it has, flip it over.

after about a minute or two, you should see signs of the pita rising a bit. take the spatula and start to press down gently on the rising parts to try to pry the rest of the pita to open up and fill with steam. do not dishearten if it doesn't work perfectly. press gently and turn it a bit while you are doing this.

the pita should puff up at this point. if it doesn't, flip it over and try again for a few seconds. if you see steam escaping from a certain spot, cover it with the spatula to prevent it escaping and you should be able to make it puff up more.

once golden brown on each side, place them stacked and covered in a tea towel.

once all cooked, let them rest covered until cooled down. they can, of course, be eat while warm.

enjoy with a sauce like tzadziki or tehina or make a falafel sandwich. perfect for lunches, you can fill them with your favourite things.

next day tip: flatbreads, like pita, are always best the day they are made but will still be good for a day or two later. to revitalize your pita before using or eating, cover them with a dish towel or [absorbent] paper towel and heat in the microwave for 10 - 15 seconds on high, no longer (depending on your microwave). this re-steams them, making your breads soft again. they can also be reheated, wrapped in foil, in an oven; you may need to give them a shpritz of water before wrapping though.

enjoy!

tradition!

earthy, hearty and perfect alongside a roast or brisket, this side dish is one that usually every ashkenazi jewish person remembers from childhood. while it is called kasha and bowties or kasha varnishkes in yiddish, the word kasha is a bit of a misnomer in that the real translation for it is actually cooked cereal or porridge — and one not necessarily from buckwheat.

as with all dishes, variations of this exist but the most popular way to make it is with lots of golden fried onions. often people will add sliced and sautéed mushrooms for added flavour. using chicken stock and schmaltz [chicken fat] makes a big difference when preparing it for a meat meal.

buckwheat groats come in four different granulations from fine to whole and are usually available in larger grocery stores in a box by the wolff company (see previous link). in this version, i used what i had on hand but standardly, people tend to use the medium or coarse grind, never fine. if using the whole grains, it will take longer to cook and be chewier. this is also what i did with all the farfalle/bowties [aka varni(t)shkes] i made earlier on. while few people are going to make their own, using storebought is standard practice — today one can get regular ones or wholewheat. some people also use the mini ones however they have a bit of a different shape.

for the traditional (non-wholegrain) version, look HERE.

kasha and bowties
buckwheat groats and pasta

ingredients:

1 c kasha, medium or whole granulation
1 egg or just the white

2 c stock or water
1 tsp salt, or more to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper

1 or 2 large onions, cut in half & sliced thinly
1 or 2 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)
1 small carton of white mushrooms, sliced (optional)
2 - 3 tbsp oil

1 - 1 1/2 c bowtie pasta, small or regular sized


method:

cook pasta, drain and set aside.

mince the garlic if using, slice the onion(s), and mushrooms (opt.)

crack the egg in a bowl and add the kasha groats. mix well to coat the grains.

over medium heat, in a non-stick pan, cook the kasha for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly and separating the grains as they cook. this is essential. if you omit this, the kasha will be mushy. once cooked, place in a separate bowl or on a plate to cool.

in a fry pan, over medium low heat, place the oil and heat it. add the onion and cook until it is golden brown. near the end, add the minced garlic if using. move to a plate to cool.

if using the mushroom, add them to the same pan and cook until they are softened and have released all their juices. cook until they are no longer watery. add these to the plate with the onion and garlic.

in a fry pan with a lid, place the kasha over medium heat and warm it up in a bit of oil. add the stock and bring it to boil quickly over high heat. place the lid on the mixture and turn the heat to low and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes for the medium grind kasha and up to 25 minutes for the whole grain kasha. the whole grain will be chewier in texture. you may need up to a 1/2 c more water for the whole granulation. i actually cook the whole ones in a pressure cooker to ensure they are soft all the way through (~ 10 to 12 min in PC).

once cooked, add the onions and mushrooms and stir well. add the salt and pepper and stir again. now add the pasta and mix to combine.

serve as a side dish. it goes great with brisket or pot roast type dishes. also great on its own. believe it or not, (kikkoman's) teriyaki sauce adds wonderful flavour to the final dish! try it and see.

enjoy!

summer flavours

with summer almost upon us, the days have warmed up considerably and certainly gotten longer in terms of the number of hours of sunlight we are getting. warmer temperatures also mean eating fare which is both quick and easy to prepare and considerably lighter than that of winter days gone by.

salads and appetizer-type dishes are one of my favourites for this time of year. i enjoy eating dishes that are cold or room temperature to counteract the heat and humidity of my area. of course, i won't pass up a barbeque either.

one appetizer dish i especially like is the greek tzadziki sauce — a cool and creamy mixture of cucumbers, garlic and rich yogurt. making it is a breeze and the flavours seem to improve over the next day or two. i have found over many trials of different versions over the years that the best way to make this is to use seedless [english] cucumbers, a very thick mediterranean yogurt if available, and garlic which has been worked to a paste, enabling you to use less and still get a very strong garlic flavour.

if you cannot get the mediterranean style thick yogurt (8.5% MF), then the next best option is to use a full fat one and drain it for a few hours until it is thick and use as is, or add sour cream. i like the addition of sour cream as it adds a lot to the finished tzadziki.


tzadziki
garlic-laced cucumber & yogurt appetizer

ingredients:

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 c mediterranean style (very thick) yogurt or,
2 1/4 c regular yogurt, drained & 1/3 - 1/2 c sour cream added later
1 large cucumber, peeled and finely grated* (all hard seeds removed)
1 large clove garlic or 2 small ones, worked to a paste with some salt

salt and sugar to taste

final (optional) seasonings:
1 -2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
1 tbsp lemon juice (or vinegar) and 1/8 tsp black pepper

method:

before starting: if not using the mediterranean yogurt, drain the regular yogurt for about about 3 to 4 hours until it has reduced considerably and is very thick. once drained place in a bowl and add the sour cream and refrigerate or leave it as is. the cucumbers will add moisture and loosen it up if you aren't adding any. (it really is better with!)

peel cucumbers and seed them if necessary. the small gelatinous ones are fine to keep. *some versions include unpeeled cucumbers or coarsely grated ones. you'll have to decide how you prefer it — mine is for finely grated and peeled.

grate the cucumbers finely into a bowl. add 1/2 tsp salt and mix it together. place the mixture in a fine sieve and let it drain for about 1/2 hour.

notice that a ton of cucumber juice will be released. discard it.

in the meantime, make a paste of the garlic with a little bit of salt to help break it down. this is best done in with a mortar and pestle.

once the cucumber has drained, rinse it under cold water to get rid of the salt and press it with a spoon to get as much water out as possible.

in a bowl, place the garlic and cucumber and mix together. add the yogurt and mix well.

add salt to taste and a bit of sugar. finally, season with some extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar and pepper. this is optional as not all versions contain it.

refrigerate it for at least 2 to 3 hours but overnight is best.

serve with warm pita and enjoy!

butterflies and bowties

this will be the second part to my earlier post this week about orecchiette pasta. this dough, however, is made with eggs and is the standard [fortified] pasta dough of northern italy. while the dough for the orecchiette can be used as a substitute, the egg rich dough is more yellow due to the yolks and the texture a little different.

the dough, in this case, was used to make farfalle, or little butterflies. these easy to make shapes are also know as bowties and used in a haimishe (home-y) jewish comfort food dish called kasha varnishkes or kasha with bowties. left to sit out over a day or two to dry, if not cooking the same day, the pasta can be stored indefinitely for later use. the fresh ones can also be frozen after sitting out and drying a bit.

admittedly, this shape is a little more work than the orecchiette. the satisfaction you will get from having made your own, though, is well worth the hour or two of effort it takes. it is also a good project to involve kids with as they actually get to see where REAL pasta comes from!

i, again, use a combination of durum semolina and regular all purpose flour for this dough but it can be made with just all purpose or a combination of all purpose and whole wheat. i would only use a 1:1 or 2:1 combination (ap & wholewheat respectively) for a whole wheat version. too much whole wheat flour would make it impossible to roll out by hand.


farfalle or bowtie pasta

ingredients:

1/4 c durum semolina*
3/4 c + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg mixed with 2 tbsp water

-extra flour and water, as needed

*you can omit and use only AP flour or whole wheat

method:

mix flours together with salt.

make a well in center of flour and add egg with water.

beat the egg in the center and slowly incorporate flour.

trying not to break the well until as late as possible, gather up the dough and start kneading.

either add more flour or a bit of water at this point to make a kneadable dough. it really depends on how much the flour absorbs and the humidity in the air.

take note: though some people say it's the opposite, i feel it is better to err on the side of adding too much water than too much flour initially. it is much more difficult to hydrate a dry dough than it is to add more flour to a wetter one.

the dough should be fairly soft yet firm.

cover the dough well and let rest for at least an hour. it can sit for a few hours.

cut the dough into 3 equal pieces. cover the other two pieces to prevent drying out.

on a large, very well-floured board, roll out the dough to about 1/8" thick.

you will need to take your time and flip the dough over quite a few times, rolling and reflouring each time. with practice you will be able to get it quite thin. this is important or the pasta will end up too thick.

roll the dough from north to south and then flip it and roll from east to west to try to expand it as much as possible.

with a fluted cutter (you can also just use a knife), cut around the periphery of the dough close to the edge to make either a rectangle or square. place the scraps with the remaining dough and work them in when you roll the next batch.

now cut the dough into rectangles which are approximately 2 inches by 1 1/4" inches. you can make them the size that you want really but these dimensions make a nice bowtie.

take one of the rectangles and with your two fingers start to push on either side of the 1 1/4" part.

with your pointing finger, on either on the same hand or your other one, place it in temporarily the center and press the edges together tightly, removing your finger!!

do this over and over again until all the farfalle are formed. important note: if drying these, do not close them up too tightly or they won't cook through to the center well. not a good 'mouthfeel' ;P. you want to close them at their centers so they retain their shape.

you can now either cook them or let them dry on a tea towel for a day or two, depending on your weather. flip them over after several hours so they dry on each side.

do not store them unless they are completely dried or they will grow mould.

cooking time depends whether they are fresh or dried. i don't think i need to tell you how to do that! and remember, well-SALTED water!! none of this 1/4 tsp business. 1 to 3 tsp depending on how much water you use.

enjoy!

sunday afternoon entertainment

making your own pasta can be a fun & rewarding afternoon project provided you have a little patience and in the end, something to revel at once you're all done. the only caveat here is that depending upon how much dough you make and how you will form it, it can either end up being a relaxing activity or very tedious. with a larger amount, there is a lot of rolling involved for some shapes. then again, if you have some extra hands helping you, the job goes fairly quickly. something to be mindful of before starting.

i appreciate making pasta myself in that the fresh product cooks in no time compared to the dry store-bought kind and the excess can be dried and stored for later use. if you've never made your own, i'd suggest starting with a small amount of dough to get the hang of it and the next time around going for a larger amount. you can make pasta with the use of a pasta machine if you have one, but making it by hand is not difficult at all. in fact, this recipe is a no-machine one.

while there are countless traditional shapes you can make without the aid of a machine, today's post is for the classic rounded and indented one in the shape of an ear, called orecchiette, a very pugliese type shape. the version i making here is a bit different, shape-wise, in that it is more rustico (rustic). this means, it is a little thicker than the ones you buy at the grocer and the shape is more like a true ear rather than a round disc with thicker edges one commonly sees. when cooked, these "ears" have bite to them and are quite filling. the indentations in them provide a perfect little container to hold the sauce you serve them with.

the dough for the following pasta is composed of 3 flours, some salt and water; no eggs involved here today. its yellow colour comes from durum semolina flour (aka pasta flour or farina di grano duro, easily found at the supermarket) which also provides a denser texture to the finished pasta. sometimes i will just use durum semolina flour, salt and water to make the dough; this is really optional. often the flour used is the harder-to-come-by italian "zero-zero" (00) with a lower protein content than all purpose. to approximate this you can use equal proportions of all purpose and cake flour. of course, just all purpose will work, too.

i'm not really giving exact amounts here, only ratios. you have to experiment. it is easy and you'll not have a problem. so go for it!

oops, a bad blurred photo!
accidentally erased the good one, grr.

orecchiette fresche e semplice
southern italian hand-made eggless pasta

ingredients:

1 part durum semolina (pasta flour)
0.5 part all purpose flour*
0.5 part cake flour*

OR 1 part all purpose flour

OR only durum semolina

salt, to taste

warm water, enough to make a stiff but malleable dough

method:

place the flours and some salt in a bowl and mix it together.

add water little by little and mix until you get a stiff but workable and soft dough. if you add too much water, add a bit more semolina. the softer your final dough is, the more difficult it will be to cut into neat rounds.

knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

cover and let rest for minimum 1 hour. this is essential; do not skip. once rested, the dough will be much easier to work with and much more malleable.

cut the rested dough into 1/3's or 1/4's. take one piece and cover the rest so it doesn't dry out.

flour your board and roll out the dough into a rope about 1/2" to 3/4" thick.

on a well-floured surface, cut the rope into discs which are about 1/8" thick. separate them as you cut.

take one and place it flat on its cut surface making sure it is well floured. with a finger, press into the disc of pasta dough and press and pull towards you.

the dough should form into a little ear. the first ones may not be so perfect; don't worry. it takes a bit of practice. note that the traditional way to do it is to place the disc in the floured palm of one hand and press it with the finger of the opposite hand. some people also use a blunt rounded knife (like a butter knife). it's up to you; i prefer this method.

place them on a floured tea towel to dry out as you form the rest of the orecchiette.

different sizes, big & small ones

once all finished, let them dry for an hour or so.

cook them in well salted water until they are al dente. they will float to the top as an indication they are ready.

these are chewy pasta so they won't be all soft and mushy. taste every few minutes to see if they are cooked enough for you. drain them and serve with your favourite sauce or use them in a salad with tomatoes, basil and ricotta and olive oil, salt and pepper.

enjoy!