Love For Liver, Part II: Chicken Livers With Pomegranate Molasses

This weekend chicken livers were on sale at Kroger, which means they cost a cheek-slappingly low 90 cents(!) instead of $1.42. Seriously, when was the last time you could buy a pound of meat that provides 487% of your RDA of iron for less than a dollar?

Syrian Foodie in London claims this recipe is for one of his very favorites, and after preparing it, I'm happy to say now it's one of mine, too. Its success is due to the rich balance of butter, booze, and fruity sweetness. Btw, if you can't find ghee at your local supermarket (check the foreign foods section), you can clarify butter yourself.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound chicken livers

• 1 tablespoon ghee

• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

• 3.5 ounces of red wine

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon cold butter

Directions

1.  Pan fry the chicken livers in ghee until they are brown on the outside.

2. Add molasses, red wine, salt, and pepper.

3. Cook livers one or two minutes more, just until tender.

4. Remove livers and reduce sauce by a quarter.  

5. Add  cold butter to sauce and mix thoroughly. Pour on top of livers and serve with bread or rice.

Love For Liver, Part I: Kebdeh Mtajaneh

One of my many culinary-writing goals is to compose a cookbook comprising only recipes for liver (from all different animals).  People who discount the edible potential of this organ due to its metallic taste (easily masked or eradicated through proper preparation) are missing out not only on a terrific offal experience but also on an incredibly cheap powerhouse source of nutrients.

I spend a lot of time reading Syrian Foodie in London for inspiration, so when I came across not one but TWO recipes involving liver, I was extremely excited. And, remarkably, I had all the ingredients on hand already save the liver itself.

Like Syrian Foodie in London, I substituted chicken livers for the more traditional lamb livers due to the former's availability. But next pass I will try the latter if I can track some down.  Recipe below is slightly adapted from the original.

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken livers

• 2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic

• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander

• 1 red chili (chopped)

• Salt

• Pepper

• Lemon

Directions

1. Pat chicken livers completely dry with paper towel.

2. Remove any gristle. Or not. (I like the little fatty bits.)

3. Heat olive on medium heat in a wide saucepan.

4. Add liver, garlic, and chili. Cook for about 6-8 minutes until livers show just a smidge of pink.

5. Add coriander, some salt and pepper, then cook until livers are just brown (about 2 more minutes). You want the livers to be tender, so don't overcook.

6. Garnish with more coriander and squeeze of lemon.

I ate this liver with some popcorn and a nice Chardonnay. 

Recipe: (Just) Mutubal

Last June I made  mutubal shawandar, which despite its garish color exacerbated by my bad food photography, was light, lovely, and incredibly refreshing in the height of the humid season.

This week I embarked on a brief vegan challenge with my favorite masshole Zach and therefore was limited in what Syrian recipes I could test. Not that there's any dearth of vegetable-heavy dishes in that country's culinary canon, for as in many Western nations, Syrians use meat more often for garnish and flavoring rather than as the main event. 

Mutubal is as simple to make as mutubal shawandar as the former swaps out beets for roasted eggplant. It should be noted that eggplants are not in season. It should also be noted that I do not care because I LOVE EGGPLANT AND NO ONE WILL STOP ME FROM EATING IT. This is basically me:

Mucho credit to Cousin Phil at Deviant Art.

But I otherwise I really try to eat what's in season, I swear. Here is a short and sweet recipe for mutubal, adapted from FashionEdible.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups roasted eggplant (chopped)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons tahini
1/2 cup plain yogurt (or silken tofu if you're on a vegan challenge)
1/2 lemon (juiced)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Slice eggplant into discs no thicker than one half inch.

3. Coat each disc liberally with salt and arrange them so they line the insides of a colander.

4. "Sweat" eggplant slices for approximately 15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.

5.  Arrange eggplant on foil-lined baking sheet and spritz with olive oil spray. Roast in oven for 20-30 minutes.

6. Remove eggplant from oven and chop into cube-size pieces.

7. Combine eggplant with garlic, tahini, yogurt, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Pulse into smooth.

8. Garnish with olive oil.

Kemeh: Desert Truffles...And That's One "S"

Oh, if it were possible to meander safely through the Syrian desert with a pig. 

In a few months it will be truffle season and I'm not talking the sweet cocoa kind but rather terfeziaceae, a species of mushroom common to hot, dry regions of the Middle East and Mediterranean.

Naturally brain-washed by V-day advertising, I had originally intended to do a search on the double "s" variety. Thanks to my broken laptop keyboard, I acquired new-found knowledge of desert truffles from resources like this terrific NYT article and the ever-informed Syrian Foodie. I now have a new favorite fungus even if I haven't actually tasted it. Apparently, the flavor of kemeh is heartier and less delicate than that of European truffles.

HAVE YOU SEEN ME?

Mrs. Google suggests that Tazah Foods makes a canned variety that is available stateside. Hit me up if you spot them in any Houston markets. I'll be on the lookout.

Muhammara For the Win!

1. Guacamole meet your Middle Eastern match: Muhammara.  Although not strictly Syrian, Muhammara seemed particularly appropriate to make for the Superbowl since that's the one day each year when consuming nothing but dip and chips for dinner is practically your patriotic duty.

You know what's also your patriotic duty? Welcoming immigrants and refugees. Because I'm willing to bet your great-great-grandma was one. But I digress.

Muhammara is extremely easy to make if you're luck enough to have a food processor. If you're not, little birds on the interwebs tell me that a mortar and pestle and a blender can also help, too. 

The recipe below (slightly adapted) is from the New York Times:

Ingredients

• 1 large roasted red bell pepper, chopped

• 1/2 cup chopped onions

• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 3 teaspoons pomegranate molasses

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/2 cup walnuts

• 5 tablespoons bread crumbs (or cracker crumbs, in a pinch)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together pepper, scallions, lemon juice, cumin, salt, 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and walnuts (but save 2 or 3 for garnish!).

2. Add mixture to food processor and purée until smooth.

3. Add bread crumbs and pulse again. Season to taste with salt and red pepper flakes. 

4. Transfer to a bowl. Use a tablespoon to make a small well in the center. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes into the well. Garnish with remaining walnuts.

Recipe: Mutabal Shawandar

I didn't have time this weekend to make anything complicated, but in truth even if I did have the extra hours, the excessively hot temperatures had me craving simple, cold foods.  Although at some point, I must try my hand at basic hummus, I was drawn to this recipe for its potential to yield a healthful cool dip robust in flavor as well as color. 

EXTREME BEET GARLIC CLOSE-UP

Syrian Cooking's ingredient list (garlic, canned or fresh beets, tahini, olive oil) is straight-forward as are the directions. I would add only that if you used canned beets, especially beet strings, the boiling process is not necessary. 

What is imperative is ample olive oil for creaminess and quality tahini, which provides wonderful nutty notes that balance the sweet botanical flavor of the beets and the tangy garlic.

I am not ashamed to say I ate much of my product with a spoon; however, pita toasts are probably more dignified.

Recipe: Hashweh

I know, I know, it's been fo'evah since I last posted. Although Bridey has been very busy at work and with writing projects, that is no excuse.  I began 2016 on a mission to explore the world of Syrian cuisine and I have barely made a dent in my itinerary.  So, this summer I am recommitting myself to eating, cooking, and researching Syrian food, with a special focus on Damascene dining. To that end, last night I attempted to make Hashweh, also known as 'rice stuffing.' Multiple Middle Eastern countries offer different renditions of this dish, but  there are certain components (ground lamb, medium- to long-grain rice, nuts, dried fruit, cinnamon, onion) common to most versions. 

Nothing that involves pistachios or raisins could be bad.

A while back Aussie Beef & Lamb gifted me with some generous cuts, which I used for an auspicious family gathering.  The last part of their present was a package of ground lamb, which the lazy cook in me was tempted just to use to make burgers with feta and mint sauce.  However, ambitious Bridey took over and decided to make Hashweh.  The recipe below is modified from that developed by Suzy at The Mediterranean Dish.   I used white onions instead of red and pistachios instead of almonds because for whatever reason I couldn't find slivered almonds (time crunch, couldn't handle advanced knife skills) at Randalls.  I blame their absence on Trump, because, well, these days I blame everything on Trump. Moving on.

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups medium grain rice
• Olive oil
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1¾ tsp allspice, divided
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¾ tsp ground cloves, divided
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon, divided
• salt and pepper
• ½ cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• ⅓-1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• ⅓-1/2 cup pistachios
• ½ cup dark raisins

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak the rice in cold water for 20 minutes. Drain well.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy cooking pot. Add chopped onions in the oil on medium-high heat. Add the ground  lamb and cook 7 minutes.
3.  Add seasonings:  1¼ tsp allspice, 1 tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, salt and pepper. Toss together to combine, and cook until the meat is fully browned (8-10 minutes).
4. Drain from fat, leaving the meat in the same pot.
5. Top the meat with the rice. Add the remainder of the allspice, ground cloves and cinnamon. Add 2½ cups of water to cover the rice.
6. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil and allow liquid to reduce significantly.
7. Turn the heat to low and cover. Cook for 15 minutes or until moisture has completely been absorbed. Remove from heat.
8. Place a large serving platter on the opening of the rice pot and carefully flip the pot contents onto the platter so that the meat layer is on top of the rice.
9. Garnish with parsley, toasted pine nuts, pistachios, and raisins.

Don't skimp on the spices.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of using high quality spices in the preparation of this dish; also, for those like me who enjoy the type of winter-y sweetness that comes from cinnamon, add a whole stick.

Technically, Hashweh is a side dish, but technically so is macaroni and cheese, nothing prevents me from eating that as my main course. 

Jerusalem Halal Market

High off a fabulous first visit to A Sweet Factory, I trudged an arduous 20 feet to Jerusalem Halal Market.  I was greeted with tons of canned, fresh, and frozen Middle Easter products (pomegranate syrup! baba ganoush! samosa! maamoul!) plus tons of basic dry good ingredients.

I'll take 3 of each.

I picked some stuffed grape leaves, baba ganoush (is there really one official transliterated spelling?), and orange blossom water. I could have bought 1000 more things, but let's wait until I win the PowerBall. 

Supermarket prayer room.

Erm, perhaps you say, I go to Phoenicia for such things. Well, that's all well and good, and I have nothing against Phoenicia, especially the Westheimer location  

BUT JHM's prices are much lower and they have a prayer room. I observed many patrons stopping in to, I can only assume, mediate or perform salah. It was quaint, stunning, and endearing all at once. 

Among the patrons chattering in Urdu and Arabic, many clothed in hijabs, I stood out in my arguably ridiculous weekend uniform of sweat pants and a Disney hoodie. Nevertheless, I assisted readily by a friendly clerk and the checkout employee even waived the credit card minimum.

I really like this place.