Daring Cooks November Challenge: Cooking with Tea

I know I've been gone far too long and I know life can seem particularly challenging without exciting recipes and images of delicious foods to get you by, but I'm back and I have a whole slew of new posts lined up to get your little hearts racing! You didn't think I would forget to tell you (and more importantly, to *show* you) all the delicious culinary treats I encountered in Turkey, did you? Of course not, gentle reader. Of course not.

But before we can get to that, we have to take care of business. Daring Cooks business. I took a little hiatus from the group while I was in Chicago because life was simply too hectic to keep up with it. Things  have slowed down enough that I'm back at it now, so you can look forward to checking out all the exciting things the Daring Cooks are whipping up here each month.

Our November challenge was cooking with tea, and we had three possible recipes to choose from tofu noodle soup (made with green tea), beef braised in rooibos tea, or Chinese tea eggs. Since checking out Toki Underground, a delicious Ramen restaurant in DC, I have been really into light, broth-y soups. The tofu noodle soup, made with green tea, was right up my ally. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor that the Japanese sencha I used added to my soup. The flavor of the tea is really nicely balanced by the other fresh, bright flavors of the soup--ginger, miso, sesame, scallion. If you would like to try cooking with tea, this recipe is a great introduction. Be sure to check out the blog of the Daring Cooks' host this month, Sarah of Simply Cooked. 

Green Tea, Tofu, and Noodle Soup
from Simply Cooked
serves 4

4 green tea teabags, or 1½ tablespoons (22½ ml) (3 gm) green tea leaves
1¼ inches (3 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
5 oz (140 gm) thick or thin egg noodles
10 oz (280 gm) firm tofu, drained and cubed
5 oz (140 gm) bok choy or spring greens, shredded
1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) light soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (1 oz) (30 gm) red or white miso paste
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) sesame oil
6 scallions (also called spring onion or green onion), trimmed and sliced
a handful of shiso (Japanese basil or perilla) or mustard cress, or other micro greens, to garnish

Place 6 cup (1½ litre) water in a pan with the green tea bags or leaves and the ginger slices. Heat until the water is just below boiling and bubbles start to form.
Remove the pan from the heat and let it steep for four minutes.
Remove the tea bags or strain the liquid to remove the tea leaves. Return the ginger slices to the liquid and reserve.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package instructions in a separate pan.
Return the tea liquid to the heat and add the tofu, bok choy or greens, and the soy sauce. Heat gently for five minutes, until hot all through.
Scoop out some liquid to a small bowl and mix in the miso paste. Then return the liquid to the pan.
Add the sesame oil and scallions. Spoon into bowls and garnish with the shiso, cress, or greens.

On Vacation/Hiatus

Dear Readers,

I'm off to Turkey for three weeks so the blog may be a little quiet for a while. But don't fret! I'll be back with tantalizing photos and stories of all my culinary exploits. I promise. 

Love,

Sara

Thomas Keller's Simple Roast Chicken

Roast chicken is one of my favorite things to make for dinner. It's simple, easy, and oh so delicious. In my humble opinion, no other cooking technique keeps the chicken so moist and flavorful (possible exception: fried chicken). Plus, nothing is as minimally labor intensive as rinsing, drying, buttering, and salting a bird. That's it. End of story. What could be easier?

As much as I make roast chicken, however, I don't have one particular recipe that I return to again and again. Anxious to find the best combination of flavors, I've tried many different recipes. Idris's mother, Ilhan, slathers her chicken with butter before salting--delicious. I've also made roast chicken with just olive oil--also delicious. Other recipes have been less successful. Ina Garten's Engagement Chicken, for example? Way too lemony! (And that's coming from an Iranian! If you didn't know, Iranians love all things sour.)

In my several years in the blogosphere, I've stumbled upon Thomas Keller's simple recipe for roast chicken many times, but I've always been a little skeptical. No butter? No oil? Just salt, pepper, and thyme? It seemed too simple to be true. But then again, when was the last time a recipe from Thomas Keller let you down? As a side note, if you haven't tried his creamed corn, you need to make that a priority. 

Dear readers, while my skepticism may or may not have been warranted, I was happily wrong. This recipe produced the most crisp, flavorful chicken skin I have ever tasted. The chicken stayed moist and perfect on the inside, while the outside browned up beautifully. If you are a roast chicken lover like me and have not yet tried Thomas Keller's recipe, it's time to give it a whirl!

Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken Recipe
from Melanie Dunea's My Last Supper)
serves 2

1 2-3 lb farm-raised chicken
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp minced thyme (optional)
unsalted butter, to taste
dijon mustard, to taste

Preheat the oven to 450F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird.

Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs are tied close to the body, and the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.

Next, salt the chicken with about 1 tbsp of salt - I like to rain the salt over the bird so it has a nice, uniform coating that will results in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin. When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.

Place the chicken in a saute pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone - I don't baste it, I don't add butter, you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast for about 45 to 50 minutes, until the juices run clear. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if desired, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oyster, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded there, and give the other to the person I'm cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip - until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook's reward.

Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each half. The preparation is not meat to be super elegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but you'll finish with your fingers because it's so good.

Fesenjan (Iranian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew)

Can someone out there please make me feel better about myself by sharing that you too are addicted to the Next Food Network Star? I don't know if it's my fantasy of one day having my own cooking show, or my love of screaming at the television when the contestants screw up something basic, but I am hooked. This season there is a feisty Iranian contestant, Penny Davidi, who always manages to stir up some Persian pride within me. I didn't realize quite how strongly I felt about it until she was eliminated this past week (despite the judges telling her she made the best food week after week) and I was seriously angry. Reading people's comments about her elimination on Twitter made me realize how excited the American public was about having a new potential link to Iranian food. 

All this made me disappointed in myself for so rarely posting recipes for Iranian dishes on this blog. It's partially because I don't make Iranian food very frequently (as it can be quite labor intensive!) and partially because so many Iranian stews don't end up look so beautiful (remember this one?). 

During my childhood, I refused to even try fesenjan. I was totally put off by it's less-than-appetizing appearance and insisted it must be gross. Only in adulthood, when I finally got around to actually tasting it did I fall totally in love with this traditional Iranian stew. The tart pomegranate, the nuttiness of the walnuts, the sweet from the little bit of sugar, the sour from the lemon--it literally bursts with flavor. When I tried making fesenjan myself, I was amazed at how easy it was. Give this recipe a whirl and taste its unique, delicious tanginess yourself!

Fesenjan

serves 6

1 large yellow onion, chopped finely

4 cups (16 oz) walnuts 

1 can pumpkin*

8 pieces chicken, bone-in

2-4 cups pomegranate juice (or a few tablespoons of robe anaar (pomegranate concentrate) and water)

1 lemon
a pinch of Iranian saffron

3-5 tablespoons sugar

In a food processor (or with a mortar and pestle, or with a ziplock bag and a rolling pin), ground the walnuts for a minute or two until the walnuts are completely ground, some of their oil starts releasing, and their consistency is like peanut butter.

In a pan, caramelize the onions. They should develop a nice color but keep the heat low enough so they are soft, not crunchy. Add the chicken to the pan and brown the outside for a couple minutes on each side. 

When the chicken is browned, add the onions and the chicken your stockpot (if you don't have one, you can do this over the stove on low heat in a pot). Add the walnuts, pumpkin, and enough pomegranate juice to cover the chicken. 

Turn your stockpot to low and let the stew cook for at least an hour up to ten hours. I usually leave it overnight.**

Take the chicken out of the stockpot, and put it on a plate to cool. Once cooled, use your hands to remove the bones and shred the chicken meat. Then add it back to the stew. Add salt, pepper, the juice of one lemon, and a pinch of saffron (Iranian, not Spanish if you can get it) to the stew. Next add the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon, tasting to reach your preferred level of sweetness. Some people like their fesenjan very sweet, and others prefer it to be more tart. With mine, I try to reach a balance between the sweet, sour, and tart so that it is not too much of either. After adding the sugar, you're done!

Serve with white or brown rice.

*Pumpkin is not a traditional component of fesenjoon, but my mom adds it for extra flavor and heft. You could also use 3 or 4 carrots, pureed, or omit this part all together.

**When my mom first taught my this recipe, I couldn't believe that the chicken wouldn't become dry and rubbery after all that time cooking, but the stew liquid keeps it tender and moist. 

A Springtime Dinner with Lottie + Doof + Floriole

As my time in Chicago winds to a close, I am all the more grateful for all the wonderful meals and experiences I've had here. Last night is a perfect example. I attended an incredible, spring-themed dinner hosted by Lottie + Doof and Floriole. The food was delicious, and I finally got to meet Tim, of Lottie + Doof, who I plan on coercing into being my lifelong friend.

Molly, my beautiful date for the evening (and Tim in the background!).

 Me, Tim, and Molly. I cannot stress how much fun it was to finally meet someone whose blog I have been reading *forever*! Tim, you are even better in real life.

A beer cocktail made with a rhubarb basil syrup by Jo Snow. Molly graciously agreed to drink mine, but they made me a lovely mixture of the simple syrup and seltzer which was pretty darn yummy. 

Snacks! Olives (of my favorite variety: large, green, and buttery), thyme-y popcorn, and fried onion-y peanuts.

Lemon ricotta ravioli with spicy asparagus. Ladies and gentlemen, we need to start applying pressure on Tim to share this recipe...PRONTO. The asparagus was crunchy and dressed in the most lovely, spicy, tangy sauce. All of this was, of course, perfectly complemented by the soft, creamy ricotta filling of the ravioli.

Sorrel soup with a poached egg and chive flowers. I had no idea what to expect, as I've never had anything made with sorrel before, but it was quite delicious. The soup was slightly bitter (I like that sort of thing, especially when greens are concerned) and also quite creamy and smooth in texture. The poached egg added a nice contrast in flavor, especially when the yolk spilled into the soup--ah, delicious!

Cheesecake with roasted strawberries and rhubarb hibiscus sorbet with graham crumble. This whole thing was delicious! The strawberries were soft and the flavor was intensified by the roasting––overall making them a great partner to the creamy, tangy cheesecake. But the star of this show was definitely the rhubarb hibiscus sorbet. It was super flavorful and a nice ice cold counterpart to the cheesecake.

All in all, it was a fabulous dinner. If you happen to be in Chicago next time Tim and Floriole partner up, I suggest you check it out. Your happily full tummy will thank you.

Norouz Chez Moi

Welcome to the year 1390, y'all! You didn't think I had forgotten about my annual Norouz post, did you? In 2008, we celebrated with a Dorie Greenspan cake, made Norouz-appropriate with the addition of fig jam and ground walnuts. In 2009, we celebrated Norouz abroad with traditional sabzi polo mahi. Alright, so maybe I forgot all about it in 2010...minor detail. I don't have any recipes to post, but I wanted to post these photos of our festivities and the traditional foods prepared by my mother. Enjoy!

sabzi polo, herbed rice made with a mixture of parsley, cilantro, chives, and dill

the mahi (fish) component of sabzi polo mahi, local rockfish  

kuku, an herbed frittata made with the leftover sabzi

 our haft-sin: sib (apple), sumac, senjed (dried oleaster fruit), sir (garlic), serkeh (vinegar),  sabzeh (sprouted lentils), and sonbol (hyacinth) 

Orange and Green Olive Salad

As you may or may not know, I am a serious salad lover. I can easily consume mounds and mounds of salad greens, dressed only with yummy olive oil and salt. My average weeknight salad always contains arugula and whatever nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans) and seeds (sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds) I have around, plus some sort of crumbly cheese (feta or goat). Occasionally more raw vegetables get worked into the mix. Ultimately salad preparation is a pretty spontaneous, haphazard process for me. Occasionally though, I stumble upon a salad recipe that looks too good not to try. This blood orange, green olive salad from Food52 definitely fits the bill.

I used my current favorite variety of green olives, whose name I can't remember, but they are a brighter green than most green olives, large, and very buttery in flavor. Honestly though, this salad would probably be delicious with any variety you manage to find. The tanginess of the orange pairs really nicely with the briny olives, and the onions and arugula provide some extra crunch. Try it out!

Orange, Green Olive Salad
modified (i.e. simplified) from Food52

serves 4

a bed of arugula for each plate (maybe about 5 oz of arugula total?)
4 blood oranges (I used cara cara oranges which are more pinkish, but equally bright in flavor. I would also try this with grapefruit.)
1/4 small onion
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons quality olive oil
8 to 10 green olives, pitted and torn into quarters

As they point out over at Food52, this salad is fantastic because it can be easily assembled right on the plate. I started with a bed of arugula, and dressed that with some of the olive oil, vinegar, and coarsely ground salt and pepper.

Next peel the oranges and cut off as much of the pith as possible. Cut into slices 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick. Layer the slices over the arugula.

Thinly slice the onion and top the salad with the onion slivers and the olives. Top with more olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.