Fatayer with Cheese and Spinach

If I’d been asked a few weeks ago what I knew about Lebanese food, I would have said that I didn’t really know anything. It turns out, I’ve been enjoying the flavors of Lebanese cooking for years without even realizing it. I received a review copy of the new book Comptoir Libanais: A Feast of Lebanese-Style Home Cooking by Tony Kitous and Dan Lepard and started learning a thing or two about this wonderful food. Kitous opened the London restaurants Comptoir Libanais to share Lebanese culture through the food, the look and feel of the dining rooms, and the design of every item seen throughout. He set out to create “something that wasn’t pretentious but inviting, simple, and that had something for everyone.” I’d love to visit one or several of the locations. A mix of mezze dishes like Tabbouleh, Fattoush, Labneh with Black Olives and Mint, Sambusak turnovers, and Falafel might be found on the tables. Some of my favorite ingredients like halloumi and feta cheeses, pomegranate seeds and pomegranate molasses, and sumac and za’atar figure prominently in many of the recipes. I can’t wait for ripe, summer tomatoes to use in the Comptoir Tomato and Halloumi Salad and zucchini to turn into crispy fritters. So far, I’ve tried the Bulgur Salad with Peas and Mint which is a good choice for winter since it’s topped with pomegranate seeds and can be made with frozen peas. Like classic tabbouleh, this salad is as much or more so about the mint and parsley as it is the bulgur. Next, I tried the Fatayer with Cheese and Spinach which are filled, savory pastries. They’re made with Sambusak Pastry that’s like pizza dough minus the yeast. The dough is very easy to work with, and it’s used for a few different recipes in the book. 

To start, water, flour, olive oil, honey, and salt were stirred together in a bowl. It was set aside to rest for about 10 minutes, and then it was kneaded until smooth. The dough easily goes from ragged to smooth while kneading. At this point, the dough can be refrigerated until you’re ready to make the pastries, or it needs to be set aside for an hour to rest before using. Next, spinach was cooked in olive oil until wilted and then drained, cooled, and squeezed to remove excess moisture. The cooked spinach was chopped and then combined with toasted chopped walnuts and pomegranate molasses. The dough was divided into small pieces, and I aimed for 20 pieces which was the number this recipe was intended to make. The dough pieces were rolled into balls and left on an oiled plate. One piece of dough at a time was rolled into a circle, and a spoonful of spinach filling was placed in the center. The edges of the dough circle were rubbed with water, and the dough was pinched up around the filling forming three points with the center left open. Once all the dough circles were filled and crimped, the cheese was added on top. I used a mix of grated halloumi and crumbled feta. The cheese mixture was spooned into the opening of each pastry, and then they were topped with black onion, or nigella, seeds. The pastries baked for about 30 minutes until golden and crisp on the edges. 

As an option, mozzarella can be used in place of the halloumi. That would have made the filling more melty and gooey in a delicious way, but I can never resist the salty flavor of halloumi. These little savory pastries were crunchy with crisp edges on the outside and the nuts in the filling. The pomegranate molasses added just the right amount of tanginess and interest. Like all of the dishes in the book, this was perfect for sharing with a group or serving at a party. And, since the Breakfast chapter has caught my eye, it might be time to plan a brunch party.

Fatayer with Cheese and Spinach 
Recipes reprinted with publisher’s permission from Comptoir Libanais: A Feast of Lebanese-Style Home Cooking by Tony Kitous and Dan Lepard. Copyright © Tony Kitous and Dan Lepard, 2013. Published on November 19, 2014 by The Overlook Press, Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc. www.overlookpress.com. All rights reserved. 

Fatayer are usually triangular-shaped pastries, either sealed at the top or left open. Sealing the edges of the pastry at the top protects the filling so it’s perfect or you can leave the top open the way we do at Comptoir and pinch the edges of the filled fatayer to form a triangular shape as in the photo here. If you sprinkle a deep layer of cheese on top before baking, any filling underneath is protected from the heat of the oven, allowing the pastry to be crisp but the filling soft. 

Makes about 20 small fatayer 

1 recipe Sambusak Pastry 
flour or oil, for rolling the dough 

for the filling: 
2 tbsp olive oil 
1 pound (500g) baby spinach 
1/2 cup (50g) walnuts, chopped 
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses 
5 ounces (150g) halloumi or mozzarella, drained and grated or finely chopped 
5 ounces (150g) feta cheese, crumbled 
small bunch fresh mint, leaves only, chopped 
black onion (nigella) seeds or za’atar, to finish 

Start by preparing and resting your dough (see p. 82). Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan/gas 4). Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Make the filling by heating the olive oil in a large frying pan until smoking hot, then add the spinach and fry quickly until it just begins to wilt. Tip the spinach into a colander and set aside to cool, then squeeze the cooked spinach as hard as you can to remove the liquid. Chop the spinach, then place it in a bowl with the walnuts and pomegranate molasses, and mix well. 

Chop the dough into small pieces, about the size of an unshelled walnut, then shape these into balls and set aside to rest on an oiled plate, covered, for 15 minutes (this makes rolling easier). Roll out each dough ball on a lightly floured or oiled surface to about 3 inches (8cm) wide. Place a heaping teaspoon of the spinach filling in the center of one, then with the tips of your fingers rub a little water around the bare edges of the dough. At 3 equal points, pull the dough up 1/2 to 3/4 inch (1 to 2cm) and pinch the dough together to seal — you should have created a protruding edge around the filling. 

Spread the cheese over the filling, then top with a pinch of mint, sprinkle with the black onion seeds or za’atar, and place on the lined baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, then bake for about 30 minutes, until crisp and golden, rotating the baking sheets if one batch looks like it is browning more quickly.

Sambusak or fatayer pastry 
Little pastries filled with a variety of ingredients, from chopped herbs and soft cheese to meat, walnuts, or chicken, can be found throughout the Arab world, under different names. These cheeky little savory parcels have a delicious filling tucked inside and can be served either hot or cold. They freeze well, and because they’re so small they can be reheated easily. You want a flour that produces a dough that stretches easily, and bread flour will do that. However, this can make the pastries a little tough and not as tender as the ones we have at Comptoir. If you want to experiment, use half bread flour and half all-purpose flour or half Italian pasta flour, as this will give a more tender result. 

Makes 12 ounces (350g) dough 

1/2 cup (125ml) warm water 
1 1/2 cups (200g) bread flour, plus extra for kneading 
1 1/2 tbsp (25ml) olive oil 
1 tbsp superfine sugar or clear honey 
1 tsp salt 

Pour the water into a bowl, then add the flour, olive oil, sugar or honey, and salt and mix everything together well. Aim for a firm-ish dough, adding more water or flour to get the texture you want. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set aside for 10 minutes, and then lightly knead the dough. Return it to the bowl, cover again, then set aside for about 1 hour at room temperature and it’s ready to use. If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you chill it at this point, then leave it at room temperature for 1 hour before shaping. 

Some basic tips for making the best pastries: roll the dough very thin, otherwise you end up with too much pastry surrounding the filling. I use a little flour, as oil sometimes stops the edges from sealing firmly, but figure out what works best for you. The dough will keep well in the fridge for a few days, and gets easier to roll, but it will change color and go slightly gray. This is just the flour oxidizing and it won’t affect the flavor. You can also freeze the dough. Simply thaw it and return it to room temperature before using.

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Peach and Radish Salad with French Feta and Almonds

It’s not often that the first word I’d use to describe a collection of chefs’ recipes is “practical,” but that’s just what came to mind as I started reading a review copy I received of The Chefs Collaborative Cookbook. The Chefs Collaborative is a group of chefs, food professionals, and producers who have been fostering sustainable cooking through advocacy and education for 20 years. They inspire others to “embrace seasonality, preserve diversity and traditional practices, and support local economies.” The book is a collection of dishes from the member chefs that take you through the seasons with vegetables and fruits, meat and poultry, fish and seafood, and dairy and eggs. The recipes immediately seemed practical because of the many suggestions throughout for making use of what’s in season at the same time, what you may be growing yourself or finding at your farmers’ markets, or what you may have on hand to use as substitutes. There are ideas for using as much of harvested plants as possible like by saving your chard stems for a gratin, pickling watermelon rind, and adding squash leaves to a curry. I like those kinds of reminders especially when the end results look so delicious in the photos. There are also great bits of information throughout the book about reducing waste, choosing well as you shop, and cooking with different sustainably-produced ingredients. The Rainbow Chard Stem Gratin is from Chef Monica Pope; the Broccoli Hushpuppies made with broccoli stems comes from John and Julie Stehling; the beautiful Grilled Eggplant with Roasted Red Pepper and Black Olive Salad is by Nora Pouillon; Southwest Heritage Bean Soup using heirloom beans is from Kim Muller; and Chestnut Waffles with Roasted Apples and Cream is by Jennifer McCoy. It’s exciting to see a book full of such smart ideas, making use of sustainable ingredients so well, and bringing together interesting flavors. At the height of peach season, I love adding them to as many meals as I can, so I was delighted to see the Peach and Radish Salad with French Feta and Almonds by Michael Schwartz. That was my first stop in the book. 

To make the salad, red onion was thinly sliced on a Benriner mandoline and then left to soak in cold water to take off some sharpness and to make them extra crisp. I also sliced the radishes on the mandolin and soaked them in cold water. The peaches were pitted and cut into thin wedges. An easy vinaigrette was made with champagne vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. The drained vegetables, peach wedges, and some chopped basil were tossed with the vinaigrette and placed on platter. The salad was topped with crumbled feta, more chiffonade of basil, and toasted almonds. 

It’s a crunchy, savory, tangy, and sweet kind of salad, and I loved the mix of flavors. It was a perfect match for some grilled, Gulf shrimp. I’m deciding what to make next and thinking about the Farmstead Cheese Strata with Roasted Tomato Wine Butter. There’s also a Vanilla Carrot Cream Tart that I can’t wait to taste. There’s a lot to like about this book, and I predict its pages will be food-splattered from frequent use. 

Peach and Radish Salad with French Feta and Almonds 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from The Chefs Collaborative Cookbook by Chefs Collaborative and Ellen Jackson published by The Taunton Press in 2013. 

Michael Schwartz, Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink | Miami, Florida 

French feta cheese is typically made with sheep milk and tends to be milder and creamier than Greek feta. Its understated flavor nicely complements the sweetness of the peaches and the bright, peppery notes of the basil and radishes. Cheesemakers across the country are making a wide range of sheep milk cheeses, including French-style feta. Look for your own local source. 

Serves 6 

1/2 small red onion 
3 to 4 Easter Egg or French Breakfast radishes 
4 or 5 ripe peaches (about 2 pounds) 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn 
1 cup French feta cheese, crumbled 
1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted 

Thinly slice the onions on a mandoline or with a very sharp knife. You should end up with about 1⁄4 cup. Fill a small bowl with cold water and a few ice cubes and soak the onions for 5 minutes; this mellows the sharp bite typical of raw onions and makes them crisp. Drain the onions and pat dry with paper towels. Thinly slice the radishes on the mandoline. 

Halve and pit the peaches. Cut each half into quarters and slice the quarters into thin wedges. Combine the oil and vinegar in a bowl with some salt and black pepper and whisk to combine. Add the peaches, onions, radishes, and basil, tossing gently to evenly coat the ingredients. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired. 

Divide the salad equally among six plates and top with the crumbled feta and toasted almonds. 

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Carrot Pancakes with Hummus and Feta Salad

I keep a pretty close watch on new cookbooks that are published, but once in a while something slips by me. The hard cover version of The Modern Vegetarian by Maria Elia came out in 2009, and I didn’t realize what I was missing until the new paperback just appeared late last year. I received a review copy, and started making up for lost time. The book is full of pretty dishes with great flavors that are fun to serve. The Dukkah-Rolled Soft-Boiled Eggs with Chickpea puree served on crostini would be a showstopper at a party. The Chile and Rosemary Eggplant Parcels are stuffed with buffalo mozzarella and nestled into a mash that mixes more eggplant with potatoes. Elia makes suggestions throughout the book for substituting various vegetables and herbs depending on the season. I couldn’t wait to try the Capri Lemon Pasta with mascarpone and parmesan cream sauce, but rather than using peas, fava beans, and asparagus, I made it with spinach. It was delightful. There’s also a chapter full of sweets with stunning things to make like Stuffed Fig Pastries with Honey and Nuts and Cafe Latte Ice Cream with shards of Coffee Tuilles. Before I get too distracted by the desserts, I need to tell you about these Carrot Pancakes. The spicy, little cakes are made with chickpea flour and grated carrots and are topped with a carrot hummus and a fresh tangle of sprouts with sliced almonds, orange chunks, and feta. 

This is the kind of dish that can easily be done in stages. The carrot hummus can be made a day or two in advance, and the pancakes can be mixed and formed and refrigerated until you’re ready to cook them. The feta salad is optional if you’d rather just serve the pancakes with the humus, or you could even sprinkle the hummus with crumbled feta by itself rather than make the salad. I started by making the hummus. I chopped some carrots into small pieces and boiled them until tender. The carrot pieces were drained and added to the blender with olive oil, rinsed and drained canned chickpeas, some chopped garlic, lemon juice, tahini, ground cumin, and salt and pepper. The mixture was blended until smooth, and I added just a bit of water for a softer consistency. With the hummus done, I moved on to the pancakes. Grated carrots were mixed with finely chopped onion, green chile, and I used one red chile as well, crushed cumin and fennel seeds, ground coriander, chopped cilantro, baking powder, chickpea flour, semolina, salt, and some water. Olive oil was heated in a skillet, and the thick batter was spooned into it in little cakes which cooked for a few minutes on each side. The recipe is written for making four to six cakes, but I made smaller cakes. For the salad, a dressing was whisked together with sherry vinegar, water, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon, and minced garlic. A mix of watercress, shiso, and sprouts is suggested, but I used pea shoots, onion sprouts, and cilantro leaves. Those were tossed together with chopped, segmented orange slices, sliced almonds, and crumbled feta. The dressing was added, and the salad crowned the dollop of hummus on each carrot pancake. 

There was a lot to like about this from the crispy, little pancakes to the pretty color of the hummus with carrots and the mix of added flavor from the salad on top. I would have enjoyed each of the three parts separately, but all together, they made a special dish. With so many interesting flavor combinations and ways to adapt the recipes for what’s in season, I’ll be reaching for this book often. 

Carrot Pancakes with Hummus and Feta Salad 
Recipe reprinted with publisher's permission from The Modern Vegetarian.

This recipe is perfect as a light lunch, snack or starter. It also makes great party canapés, as it can be prepared in advance. The salad is entirely optional. 

serves 4–6 

For the pancakes 
1 1/2 cups / 150g carrots, grated 
1 small onion, finely chopped 
2 green chillies, seeded and finely chopped 
2 teaspoons cumin seeds 
1 teaspoon fennel seeds 
2 teaspoons ground coriander 
2 tablespoons chopped coriander 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 cup / 100g chickpea flour (or besan or gram flour) 
1/4 cup / 50g semolina 
2 teaspoons salt 
2/3 - 3/4 cup / 150–200ml water 
3 tablespoons olive oil, for frying 

For the hummus 
6 large / 400g carrots, peeled 
4 tablespoons olive oil 
pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1 1/4 cups / 200g chickpeas, cooked (canned will do) 
1 garlic clove, finely chopped 
juice of half a lemon 
2 tablespoons tahini 
1 teaspoon ground cumin 

For the salad 
a bunch of watercress, thick stems removed 
1 orange, peel and pith removed, cut into segments 
1 bunch shiso (or any micro) sprouts 
1 bunch coriander sprouts (or coriander leaf) 
12 mint leaves, torn 
1 1/2 cups / 50g alfalfa sprouts 
1/4 cup / 25g sliced almonds, toasted 
pinch of ground cinnamon 
1/3 cup / 50g feta cheese, crumbled 

For the dressing 
5 teaspoons / 25ml sherry vinegar 
5 teaspoons / 25ml water 
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 
pinch of sugar 
1 garlic clove, crushed 

 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. To make the pancakes, mix all the ingredients, except the olive oil, together to form a thick batter. Heat the oil in a small non-stick frying pan until hot, then spoon in about a quarter of the batter and fry until golden on both sides. Repeat with the remaining mixture to make 4–6 pancakes in total. Leave to drain on a wire rack, and then keep warm in the oven. 

Cut the carrots into thin slices, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting tin, add 200ml water and roast for 20–30 minutes until softened. While still hot, put them in a blender with the remaining ingredients and whizz to a smooth puree, adding a little water if too thick. Season again if necessary and refrigerate until needed. If you prefer, you can boil the carrots instead; just cook until tender and follow the recipe as above. 

To make the salad, mix all of the salad ingredients and toss together well. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and season to taste. To assemble the dish, reheat the pancakes in a warm oven, place on individual plates and top with the carrot hummus. Dress the salad with the sherry dressing and place on top of the hummus. 

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Scuttlebutt Sandwich with Pickled Beets and Hard-Boiled Egg

The list of restaurants I’d like to visit in Brooklyn keeps growing, and I just added one more to it. Saltie is a sandwich shop that specializes in putting classic combinations of things that might not have been thought of as sandwiches before between pieces of bread. They rely on local and seasonal ingredients and make their breads, mayonnaise, vinaigrettes, pickles, yogurt, sweets, and soups from scratch. The new book from the shop is Saltie: A Cookbook, and I received a review copy. The recipes include the focaccia and naan they use for sandwiches as well as all the condiments, pickles, and other items they prepare. A few of the sandwiches that jumped out at me were the Curried Rabbit which is a play on Welsh rarebit with cheddar, curried mayonnaise, apple salad, and currant pickle; the Spanish Armada with potato tortilla and pimenton aioli; and the Henry Hudson with fried green tomatoes, bacon, mayonnaise, and fresh basil. Then, from the Soups section, there’s a Cauliflower, Leek, and Gruyere Soup and a Curried Squash and Red Lentil Soup I want to try. There are also salads with greens, grains, and bread in some cases. Every dish offers a fresh, savory mix of things you know will taste great together. For instance, I already had a thing for the combination of beets and hard-boiled eggs. So, the Scuttlebutt sandwich had to be my first stop in the book. It’s built on freshly-baked focaccia and layered with pimenton aioli, feta, and black olives. I couldn’t wait to taste it.

First, I followed the recipe from the book for focaccia with an easy, no-knead process. The dough was mixed, then transferred to an oiled bowl, and then refrigerated for anywhere from eight hours to two days. The dough was spread on a baking sheet and left to come to room temperature before being dimpled, sprinkled with salt, and baked. Up next, I made the pimenton aioli. As usual, I’m not capable of making a mayonnaise or aioli in a food processor or blender. I only seem to have luck with a hand mixer. I eventually got a good emulsion. A day in advance, I roasted and pickled some beets, and the pickled beets will last in the refrigerator for up to two months. For the hard-boiled eggs, the authors offer an interesting technique. They suggest poking a hole in the big end of each egg with a thumbtack. The tack should be twisted into the shell and pushed all the way in until the flat part of the tack touches the shell and then removed. Then, the eggs were placed in boiling water and left for ten minutes before being transferred to ice water. I was using very fresh, local eggs, and the shells did come off more easily than they usually do. So, I’ve been repeating this for all the eggs I’ve boiled since. To make the sandwich, the focaccia was cut into squares and sliced in half horizontally. On the cut sides, the pimenton aioli was spread on each piece. Then, sliced hard-boiled egg was added followed by a mix of black olives, capers, herbs, sliced green onion, and sliced radishes. I added the sliced pickled beets last with sliced feta.

This was one of those deliciously messy sandwiches in which everything wants to squish out the sides and you try to keep things intact since you don’t want to lose a single bit of it. You could give up and attack it with a fork and knife, but where’s the fun in that? Until I can plan a food tour of Brooklyn, I’ll keep sampling more things from this book.

Scuttlebutt
Hard-boiled egg, pimentón aioli, feta, black olive, capers, fresh herbs, pickled beets
Recipe re-printed with publisher's permission from Saltie: A Cookbook.

“I’m English, and the Scuttlebutt is really a sandwich my sister used to make for me of salad on white bread with salad cream. . . . It’s obviously tweaked a bit, but when we said, ‘Oh, we’re going to make sandwiches; what was your favorite sandwich?’ I’d say I had this really awesome sandwich of hard- boiled eggs and whatever was in the fridge—a Dagwood Bumstead. It was really delicious.” —RC

Makes 1 Sandwich

There is so much to say about the Scuttlebutt. It really has earned its gossipy title. It’s the sandwich that is most likely to change, as the ingredients rotate with the seasons and with what’s in the refrigerator. In summer, it has tomatoes and arugula; in winter, squash and a chiffonade of Tuscan kale. There is a rotating cast of pickles, the most popular being the beet. Some people order the Scuttlebutt as “the sandwich with the beets,” which never fails to disappoint when those particular pickles are off the menu. The staple ingredients remain pimentón aioli, hard-boiled egg, feta, capers, and olives. The rest is a free-for-all that for some can end in tears. The Scuttlebutt makes people emotional. It is an exercise in impermanence.

1 sandwich-size piece of Focaccia (see separate recipe)
2 tablespoons Pimentón Aioli
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon pitted oil-cured olives, chopped
1/2 tablespoon capers
1/4 cup Fresh Herb Mix
2 tablespoons chopped pickles, ideally Pickled Beets (see separate recipe)
1 radish, thinly sliced (optional but nice)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 ounce sheep’s milk feta

Cut the focaccia in half horizontally and put on a plate, cutsides up. Spread both cut sides with aioli. Arrange the egg slices evenly on the bottom half of the bread. Set aside.

In a bowl, toss the olives, capers, herbs, pickles, and radish (if using) with just enough olive oil to coat lightly. Mound the salad on top of the egg. If you can, slice the feta and arrange on top of the salad. If you can’t get a nice even slice of feta, you can either crumble it on top of the salad (although it will tend to roll off the top of pile), or you can toss the feta with the salad. Quickly replace the top of the bread before the sandwich falls apart, pressing gently to help it hold together, and serve right away.

Focaccia

Focaccia is the bread that we use for most of the sandwiches at Saltie. The reasons for choosing this soft-but-chewy Italian yeast bread were equally pragmatic and delicious. We considered what we could reasonably produce and decided a bread that we could make on a baking sheet would be much more economical in terms of time and space than one that required more individual attention. As has been the case with many of our choices at Saltie, landing on focaccia at first may have seemed the solution to how to do something in the best and most efficient way, but it quickly became the fact-of-the-matter only possible choice that it is today. Now I can’t imagine life without focaccia. Its fluffy, oily welcome greets me daily.

Enough for 8-10 sandwiches

6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing and drizzling
Coarse sea salt

Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the warm water to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated and a sticky dough forms (no kneading required). Pour the 1/4 cup olive oil into a 6-quart plastic food container with a tight-fitting lid (see Note). Transfer the focaccia dough to the plastic container, turn to coat, and cover tightly. Place in the refrigerator to rise for at least 8 hours or for up to 2 days.

When you’re ready to bake, oil an 18-by-13-inch baking sheet. Remove the focaccia dough from the refrigerator and transfer to the prepared pan. Using your hands spread the dough out on the prepared pan much as possible, adding oil to the dough as needed to keep it from sticking. Place the dough in a warm place and let rise until about doubled in bulk. The rising time will vary considerably depending on the season. (In the summer, it may take only 20 minutes for the dough to warm up and rise; in the winter it can take an hour or more.)

When the dough is ready, it should be room temperature, spread out on the sheet, and fluffy feeling. Pat down the focaccia to an even thickness of about 1 inch on the baking sheet tray and begin to make indentations in the dough with your fingertips. Dimple the entire dough and then drizzle the whole thing again with olive oil. Sprinkle the entire surface of the focaccia evenly with sea salt.

Bake, rotating once front to back, until the top is uniformly golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, then slide out of the pan. Use the same day.

Note : This easy recipe calls for a large plastic food-storage container, about a 6-quart capacity, with a tight-fitting lid. Otherwise, you can use a large mixing bowl and cover the dough with plastic wrap. Unfortunately, focaccia suffers a rapid and significant deterioration in quality after the first day. It is also impossible to make bread crumbs with focaccia. Ideally, bake and eat focaccia on the same day. If there is some left over, wrap it tightly in plastic and store at room temperature for one day more. Day-old focaccia is delicious in soup.

Pickled Beets

These are the pickles that have caused our customers to ask for the Scuttlebutt not by name but as “the sandwich with the beets on it.” People love beets! Go figure. Here’s what they are talking about.

Makes 2 Quarts

2 bunches beets (about 10 beets, or 5 pounds total weight), scrubbed and trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups red wine vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 whole star anise, broken up
8 whole allspice berries

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the beets in a roasting pan. Add just enough water to the pan to evenly cover the bottom. Salt the beets and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and roast until tender when pierced with a knife, about an hour, depending on the size. Let cool until you can handle them, then peel the beets, slipping the skins off with your fingers or a kitchen towel and using a paring knife where they stick. Cut into slices 1/4 inch thick and put in a large, heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and spices and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. When the sugar and salt have dissolved, pour the pickle over the beets. Let the pickles cool at room temperature and then put them into a plastic or glass container, cover, and refrigerate. The pickled beets will be ready to eat the next day and will keep for up to 2 months.

Variation: Pickled Red Onions
Follow the main recipe, substituting 4 large red onions, thinly sliced, for the beets.

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Grilled Aubergine with Creamed Feta

I like eggplant and have liked it for a long time, but I don’t think I really got what eggplant is all about until a few years ago. I used to saute it or roast it or puree the cooked flesh, and ya, it was good. But, eggplant can be better than just good. The wonders of eggplant have been best described by Nigel Slater in Tender Vol. 1. If only that book had been available back when I first started cooking eggplant, I would have had a better understanding of the vegetable from the beginning. I highly recommend it for anyone in need of vegetable understanding or inspiration. First, he uses the term aubergine for eggplant which is so much prettier sounding, and I wish it would take off here in the States. Then, he fondly mentions the different varieties and their shapes, sizes, and colors. He writes of the ivory ones: “their pale skins blushed with lilac or rose as if someone had taken an artist’s brush to them.” He goes on to poetically discuss cooking aubergines: “The aubergine is at its most sensuous in a haze of olive oil and garlic, onion and sultanas, pine kernels, yoghurt and fresh mint. The fragrance is beguiling, sumptuous, heady. The flesh of Solanum melongena loves the muskier spices such as cumin and saffron, the piercing sharpness of pomegranate seeds, the faintest breath of rosewater. But nothing does quite so much for it as being grilled over charcoal. Smoke seeps into the spongy flesh, lending a note of intrigue and exposing an altogether darker undertone.” Now, that’s what eggplant is about. When a nice, big aubergine appeared in our CSA box, it was most certainly going to be cooked over charcoal.

There are eighteen recipes for aubergines in this section of the book, and every one of them sounds lovely. I was already determined to grill mine, and creamed feta sounded perfect with it. The aubergine was cut into thick slices which were sprinkled with salt and left to stand for up to an hour. Nigel does mention that salting isn’t really necessary to remove bitterness in the varieties of aubergine that are common these days, but salting does tighten up the surface of the cut pieces. After being salted, rinsed, and dried, the pieces absorb less oil. The slices were brushed with olive oil and then grilled for a few minutes per side until completely tender and just slightly charred in spots. The creamed feta was a mix of sheep’s yogurt, crumbled feta, and chopped parsley and mint. To serve, the grilled aubergine slices were drizzled with olive oil and topped with the creamed feta. I added a pinch or two of crushed red pepper for garnish.

By grilling over high heat, the texture of the slices was barely crisp and charred from the grates on the surface and completely yielding inside. A little smoky flavor is indeed a fabulous quality in an aubergine dish, and it paired well with the herby, tangy, savory creamed feta. Now, I’m wondering if I really know all the other vegetables out there as well as I should.

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Roasted Shrimp with Feta

It happened again. I was watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa, oddly enough it was one I hadn’t seen before, and as usual, right away, I was compelled to make the thing that she had just made. She was preparing lunch for a friend. There was sauteed fennel and a splash of white wine and a little Pernod, diced tomatoes, shrimp, feta, and breadcrumbs. Things were sauteed on top of the stove for a few minutes, and then the dish went in the oven for just enough time for the shrimp to cook through and the breadcrumbs to brown. She brought it to the table in the pan straight from the oven. It was easy and fun. I had to do this. The recipe is on the Food Network site, and it’s also in her book Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? In that same episode, she and her friend also made an incredible-looking salted caramel ice cream for dessert. I’m not sure why, but that recipe is nowhere to be found on the web site or in her book, or I would have made that too. [Update: Thanks to a commenter, the recipe was found. It's on the Barefoot Contessa site. Wish I would have thought to look there!] But, back to the shrimp. I made this for dinner the next night. The shrimp, fennel, and tomatoes were scooped onto plates and served with bread for dipping into the sauce exactly as Ina had served it. It was casual, great for summer, couldn't have been easier, and tasted like it should have involved much more effort than it actually did.

This goes quickly, so you'll want to have all the ingredients prepped and ready. First, diced fennel was sauteed in olive oil, and then minced garlic was added. White wine was used to deglaze the pan, and then canned, diced tomato, tomato paste, and some oregano were added followed by just a tablespoon of Pernod. It really does add nice, anise flavor with just that small amount. This mixture was left to simmer for about fifteen minutes before the shelled and deveined shrimp were set on top. Crumbled feta was strewn about the pan, and then a mix of breadcrumbs, parsley, and lemon zest was sprinkled on top. The saute pan went into a 400 degree F oven for fifteen minutes, and then it was served with lemon wedges and bread.

I don't think I've ever made a Barefoot Contessa dish I didn't like. Sure, sometimes a disconcerting amount of butter is involved, but not in this case. Here, the shrimp and fennel were fresh and light with just a little richness from the feta. With some toasted sourdough bread on the side, this meal was as easy, fun, and casual as it looked like it would be.

Quinoa Salad with Dried Iranian Lime

It was last June when I first learned about dried limes. There was a story in the NY Times about their use in cuisine from Iran and Iraq, exactly how they’re used both whole and ground, and their unique, complex flavor of citrus with a slight funky edge. I immediately called Phoenicia, our nearby Middle Eastern market, learned they did have dried limes for sale, and ran straight there to get them. Dried limes are just that, whole, dehydrated, sun-dried limes. You should wash them before using them. Then, you can either pierce them and drop them whole into soups or beans as they cook, or you can chop them and then grind them in a spice grinder or coffee mill. If you grind the chopped pieces, you should shake the ground lime through a sieve to remove any large, hard bits. I tried two of the recipes from the NY Times article, the lentil salad and the broiled shrimp, but I never got around to mentioning them here. I recall that for the lentil dish, the dried limes were pierced and placed in the pot with the lentils while they cooked. The flavor they imparted was very subtle, and if I hadn’t known I’d used the dried limes I don’t think I would have picked out their flavor in the dish. For the shrimp, a paste was made with ground dried lime, other spices, and olive oil, and that paste was used as a rub on the shrimp. In that dish, the flavor from the limes was present, interesting, and enjoyable. I intended to try that again and grill the shrimp rather than broil it, but I just never got to it. All of this explains why I was so eager to try this quinoa salad from the book Plenty. I already had dried limes in my pantry, and I couldn’t wait to use them again.

There are a several great-looking mixed grain salads in that book. Here, quinoa, wild rice, and basmati rice were mixed with roasted chunks of sweet potato, herbs, sliced green onions, and feta. I had just received sweet potatoes and green onions from Farmhouse Delivery, so I was set. I bought Canadian Lake wild rice, which is a long variety that requires about 55 minutes to cook. I cooked it in a large saucepan with plenty of extra water, and added the basmati rice after about 15 minutes of simmering. When the two grains were cooked, they were drained and placed in a large mixing bowl. Meanwhile, sweet potatoes were peeled, chopped into cubes and roasted with a coating of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. For the last 10 minutes of roasting time, the quinoa was cooked in simmering water, and then it was drained and added to the rices. Dried limes were chopped, ground, and sieved, and two tablespoons were used in the salad. Last, olive oil was heated in a small skillet, sliced garlic was added followed by chopped sage and oregano, and I was lucky to still have some sage and oregano in my herb garden after our cold spell. The oil with garlic and herbs was poured over the grain mixture followed by the roasted sweet potatoes and the oil left on the baking sheet, the sliced green onion, a little lemon juice, some shredded mint, the ground dried lime, and cubes of feta. Everything was carefully mixed so as not to break up the sweet potato or feta.

This was such a pleasant mix of nutty, chewy grains, and the garlic, onion, and herbs hit all the right flavor notes. The dried lime with its concentrated citrus was well-matched with the sweet potato and feta. You could easily add more of one thing or less of another here, but I wouldn’t change a thing next time I make this. It was a meal of a salad, and since it makes a nice, large quantity, it will be several meals. I’m already looking forward to the next one for lunch.

Orzo, Sun-dried Tomato, and Walnut Salad with Feta

I finally picked Poor Girl Gourmet out of my to-read stack. I received a review copy a while ago and had been hearing good things about it. The book is by Amy McCoy, and her blog is also called Poor Girl Gourmet. What we have here is a food lover who had become accustomed to spending a lot on groceries each week. When the economy hit a snag, she needed to scale back her grocery budget but wasn’t willing to compromise on quality. By sticking to a list, not splurging on expensive items, and reducing the amount of meat purchased, McCoy was able to cut her food bill in half. This book includes recipes for dishes that fit her new approach to shopping and cooking, and the good news is that it’s not all boiled bulgur wheat dinners. The book is full of really good, fresh, and flavorful meals that are all under $15 and serve four. In the soups and salads chapter in addition to the salad I’m showing here, there’s a summer romaine and corn salad with chicken and lime corn cream dressing. In entrees, you’ll find kale lasagne with walnut pesto, chicken in cider gravy, and roasted chicken with spicy orange sauce. There are also vegetables and sides, bakery and desserts, and a chapter called splurges for special occasions. There’s a simplicity to the recipes in that fewer ingredients make for less expensive dishes, but that also allows you to appreciate each item that is used. For instance, I decided to make the orzo salad with sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts, and as I read the recipe, I thought about adding basil or a little garlic or maybe some fresh tomatoes too. I think adding any of those things would have muddied the nice balance of what was already there.

To make the salad, orzo was cooked and drained and then transferred to a serving bowl. Olive oil, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, the dry kind not in oil, chopped toasted walnuts, crumbled feta, and chopped fresh oregano were added. I have lots of oregano in my herb garden, so that ingredient was free for me. The pasta salad was to be served on top of a bed of lettuce, but I’ve shown it in a bowl by itself in these photos. In the back of the book, there’s a chapter on wines which includes information about finding value buys in less well-known varietals. I learned about negroamaro, which is from Puglia, and I brought home a bottle of a rose version of it to enjoy with this meal. It was dark as far as roses go, not sweet, and a nice, chilled wine for summer.

Sun-dried tomatoes do their umami magic in this salad, and with the oregano, a happy blend of flavors happens. The crunchy walnuts were just right, and the feta brought some salty bite. This was a great dish, and I’m already eyeing a few more to try from the book. I liked that this book presented how to cook with fresh ingredients in an economical way that wasn’t about giving up on any of what you enjoy most in your meals. It’s about finding an affordable mix of good, basic ingredients, stretching gourmet items, and growing what you can or buying seasonal produce locally. That’s a great plan for any budget.

Tabbouleh, Tzatziki, and Watermelon Salad

We had a great fourth of July holiday weekend. We spent a lot of time outside, we had a lot of fun, but mostly, we ate a lot of food. I had several things in mind that I wanted to try, and I managed to put them together into one big feast of a meal on Sunday night. My original inspiration for the meal came from the cucumbers that were included in our CSA pick up. I love chopped cucumbers simply tossed into a green salad, but these were destined for something more interesting. I’m not sure of the varieties of cucumbers we received, but one was long, skinny, and striped. As soon as I saw it, I started thinking about tzatziki and how I had never made it myself. I flipped to the recipe in the Barefoot Contessa Parties! book, and right there on the preceding page is the tabbouleh recipe. I had also just seen some fantastic-looking watermelon salads on both Kopiaste and Kalofagas, and I decided to put these ideas together along with some pita, feta, hummus, good olives, and grilled kabobs. I wanted to make homemade pita but ran out of time. One of these days, I’ll try making it myself. As long as I’m confessing, I bought the hummus already made as well. There were just too many other fun things to do this weekend, but all the parts came together for a meal that left me wishing I could keep eating for several hours in a row.

Early in the day, I marinated chicken in lemon juice and zest, olive oil, garlic, and oregano. I also started the tzatziki by grating the cucumber and leaving it in a sieve over a bowl in the refrigerator for a few hours. Ina’s recipe suggests that the yogurt also be strained, but I used thick, Greek yogurt and skipped that step. To complete the tzatziki, the strained cucumber was combined with yogurt, sour cream, minced garlic, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, fresh dill, salt, and pepper. The tabbouleh is also a good dish to prepare in advance so the flavors can form a mutually respectful union, and I have actually made the recipe from this book before. First, bulgur wheat was covered with boiling water, and lemon juice, olive oil, and salt were added. That was left for an hour while green onions, fresh mint, parsley, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes were chopped. After the bulgur had absorbed the water, the other ingredients were incorporated, and it was placed in the refrigerator until ready to be served.

We had green bell peppers, onions, and yellow squash also from our CSA, so those were included on the kabobs with the chicken. While the kabobs were on the grill, I sauteed sliced haloumi in olive oil for the watermelon salad. I used basil because my mint has succumbed to the heat, and I forgot to save some of the store-bought mint I used in the tabbouleh for this salad. I also completely forgot about the red onion that should have been added to the salad, but it worked out ok. Actually, this simple salad of watermelon chunks, browned haloumi, basil, and olive oil was one of the single most delicious things I’ve eaten lately. I can’t stop talking about it, and I highly suggest everyone give it a try.

The watermelon salad was definitely the star of the evening, every bite inspired nodding and smiling, but the table was loaded with delicious things. The kabobs were made even better with the tzatziki, the tabbouleh was cool, fresh, and crunchy, and the sharp, sheep feta and mix of olives were tasty accessories on the platter. I’m now wondering why I had never made tzatziki before, but I’ll certainly be making it again. The cucumber, dill-flavored, creamy goodness pairs so well with lemon-marinated chicken. At the end of the meal, we were beyond stuffed, and we were saddened that we’d reached a point at which not one more bite could be taken. Luckily though, with leftovers, we can enjoy it all again.

Greens with Red Beans, Cilantro, and Feta Cheese

I just returned from the Wednesday Farmers’ Market where I pick up our CSA share every other week, so I’m in the right frame of mind to tell you a little about Local Flavors by Deborah Madison. For this book, she visited farmers’ markets all across the US, including Hawaii, to see the differences from place to place. The chapters are, for the most part, organized by season starting with early spring and proceeding through fall. So, the first chapter’s recipes highlight what you’re likely to find at markets at the beginning of the year. There are stories strewn about that tell of Madison’s visits to various markets and the farmers she met. She offers suggestions for substitutions for regional things that might not be found in all areas of the country or that become available at different times. The real goal of the book is to encourage support of local farmers, to explain the value of fresh, local food, and to inspire the home cook to make good and delicious use of locally grown food. As luck would have it, Russ Parsons of the LA Times wrote about cooking with farmers’ market produce today too. He wrote about improvising with what you find and suggested "Cooking from the farmers’ market is a bit like playing jazz."

Last week, I mentioned having a lot of greens on hand, and when I saw this recipe in the book I knew it would be a great way to use some of them. It’s listed in the book as redbor kale with red beans, cilantro, and feta cheese. I had spinach and what I think was broccoli greens, and any kind of greens would be good here. One of the interesting points that Madison makes in the book is that by buying at farmers’ markets, you have the chance to get the same vegetables at multiple stages. When a planting needs to be thinned, the greens may be cut and sold earlier in the season. When the vegetable is growing, you may be able to buy small versions of it, and then you’ll later see the mature state for sale. I’m not sure if the greens were offered because of thinning or not, but it’s interesting to think about the growing season and being involved in it in some small way. So, I had planned this for dinner the other night, and while out picking up the feta, I found some Texas-grown corn. I love fresh corn. I had an inkling that it might be a nice addition to this dish, and adding another locally grown item definitely seemed to be in the spirit of the book.

I cheated a little and used canned beans, so I skipped the part of the recipe about cooking red beans. I also skipped the part about boiling the greens because I find it so much simpler, and more flavorful, to saute them. So, I cleaned and chopped the greens, sauteed them with finely chopped onion and the last of my homegrown cilantro, and then I added some water and the rinsed and drained canned beans. I cut kernels from two ears of fresh corn and added that as well. This was left to simmer for about 10 minutes, and then I served it with brown rice and a nicely pungent sheep’s feta crumbled on top. I like greens with beans, and the cilantro added nice flavor. But, and I really don’t mean to pat myself on the back here because I’d rather pat the person’s back who grew the corn, that fresh corn made the dish. I highly recommend seeking out the freshest, local corn and greens you can find when they’re available and giving this a try.

If you’re curious about what’s available at the Austin Farmers’ Market at this time of year, today my CSA pick up included: zucchini big and small, baby yellow summer squash, onions, red beets with gorgeous greens, baby leeks, orange carrots with leafy tops, watermelon radishes, tiny, baby green cabbages, and a red cabbage. Also at the market, there were some first of season tomatoes, and a some tomatoes that had been greenhouse grown, cucumbers, green beans, some other summer squashes, arugula, and potatoes. Other vendors offer locally made cheeses, grass-fed beef, bison, lamb, chicken, and eggs, and I know I’m probably forgetting several other things like the delicious-looking bread. For dinner tonight, I’m going to blanch some of those perfect green beans and then toss them in a leek vinaigrette with chopped cucumber and tomato. That’s getting topped with leftover sheep’s feta.

Sliced Spring Salad with Avocado and Feta

Have you read A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg yet? The book is moving and touching and funny, and I couldn’t put it down once I started it. Her stories describe times with her father, time spent in Paris, and meeting and falling for her now husband. All of which involved food in one way or another, and each story includes a recipe or two. And, about the food, I have several post-its marking pages of things I intend to make. The first of those to be tried was the sliced spring salad. I had some radishes and cilantro from Hands of the Earth Farm, and the weather’s been warm and muggy and just right for a crisp salad.

To begin the preparation, the red wine vinegar and Dijon vinaigrette was made in a small bowl. Then, there’s a description of the order in which the vegetables should be sliced based on the speed at which they oxidize. I should mention that the writing of the recipes is as well-done as that of the stories in that they are both clearly of the same voice. I won’t ruin it by quoting it here. The radishes were sliced first, then radicchio, followed by endive. Those were tossed in a large bowl with cilantro leaves and some of the vinaigrette to taste. Last, the avocado was sliced and placed on top, and the salad was sprinkled with French feta. It was quick and easy to assemble, and the most time-consuming part was probably picking the leaves off the cilantro stems.

It was a colorful, fresh combination that was perfect with some simply grilled chicken. The radicchio and endive were crunchy and flavorful, the radishes added a peppery note, and the buttery avocado was delicious with the cilantro. French feta is a little milder than Greek, and it worked very well here. As noted in the recipe, goat cheese would also be good. It was a winner that we’ll definitely have again. Up next from this book could be meatballs with pine nuts, or slow-roasted tomato pesto, or custard-filled corn bread, or caramelized cauliflower with salsa verde. So many post-its.