Pistachio Butter Chicken Balls

      We arrived in Amman, Jordan at 9:30 pm a few weeks ago. It had the right smell, a hint of cardamom somewhere underneath the predictably hypnotic scent of jasmine, the right juxtaposition of white limestone against red tile roofs, the right feel to the translucent air.  The traffic was appropriately jarring and the revived memories firing.  We were back in our home of 12 years and we were exhilarated and exhausted.  This trip tweaking decades-old memories, piqued our every sense as well.  Exhausted though we were, we could not ignore the sense of taste and hurried at that late dining hour to Fakr Al-Din's, an enchanting restaurant in an old Arab house in the 1st Circle section of Amman.  Proper, black-suited waiters with pleasant "Ahlan Wa Sahlans", led us to our table, garnished with an edible, whole veggie salad garden centerpiece, and the garlic sauce and sumac that rendered it sublime!

      Chicken balls, a Fakr Al-Din's speciality - perhaps invention -  was a surprise years ago when we first applied fork to crunchy chicken shell.  The resulting eruption of melted butter from its core was a surprise but the velvety mild, pistachio mixture lolled milky on our tongues. One is a serving and only on occasion at that.  It had been eight years since we had sampled one but with my successful experimentation at its creation, it won't be that long again!

Pistachio Butter Chicken Balls

1 ½ pounds ground chicken breast

1 egg

1 cup ground pistachios

¾ cup room-temperature butter

2 tab. minced parsley

2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

-In food processor, grind shelled pistachio nuts until fine.  Measure out 2/3 cups of the ground pistachios and return to processor with butter then process for about 1 minute. Chill mixture for 30 minutes.  Form mixture into balls about the size of a small walnut.  Chill butter balls until ready to use.

-In food processor, combine chicken, egg, 1/3 cup ground pistachios, ¼ cup panko bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Process until well blended.  Chill mixture for at least 1 hour.

-To form balls, take 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling. Working with damp hands, hold a butter ball in one hand and mold the chicken mixture evenly around the butter, sealing completely.  Roll chicken ball in hands to create a smooth ball. (You will need to re-dampen your hands every other ball.) 

-Roll chicken balls in panko crumbs, pressing crumbs firmly into the chicken layer to coat evenly and completely.  Freeze chicken balls several hours or overnight.  (Can be kept for up to a month in the freezer in a plastic bag or sealed plastic container.)

-Pour about 3 inches of vegetable oil into a small pot.  Heat over medium-high heat for several minutes until the surface of the oil is shimmering.  Add the frozen chicken balls and cook stirring frequently for 5 minutes until deep golden all over.  (Be sure the oil is not too hot.  The balls should take at least 5 minutes to cook to ensure the chicken is cooked through.  If you hear the oil start to splatter, butter is leaking out from the balls and you should remove that ball immediately.)  Allow to cool 5 – 10 minutes then serve.

-Makes 12 – 14 Chicken Balls.

Make balls of pistachio butter and mix

chicken mixture and chill both.

Wrap chicken mixture thinly

 around pistachio butter balls

and shape into smooth ball.

Roll balls in panko crumbs,

pushing to make crumbs adhere.

Place balls on baking sheet and freeze

  until solid, 6-8 hours or overnight.

North African Chicken Ragout

Chicken Ragout

         Not to be outdone by the far reaching tentacles of British Imperialism, the French dabbled in the fertile soils of North Africa a century ago and upon withdrawing it’s cultivating hand, left behind patisseries, baguettes and ragouts which Tunisians decided were impositions they would happily embrace.  In order to de-colonize and adapt those frou-frou flavors, rustify the subtle tomato with a robust and piquant character, more in culinary stride with the earthy Berber tradition, tabil and harissa jumped into the mix and “Voila” or (in Arabic) – it became a mélange of flavors, not unlike the local dialect itself, where the reply to "Bonjour" became "Bonjouraine" - roughly meaning "hello back at you" - an Arabic construction.  

       Ragout, from the French "to revive the taste", does just that.  Recipes are many and varied, generally implying meat cooked in a thick, well-seasoned sauce.  Ragout Aux Poulet et Petits Pois is a simple, hearty dish, the piquant local spices tickling the tomato sauce to where you want to sop every last swipe from the bottom of the bowl with your French baquette. Peas sweeten the sauce of flavors so rich you almost want to swim along with them in the dish!  

Ragout Aux Poulet Et Petits Pois
1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, slivered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole chicken, skinned and cut into pieces
         (chicken on the bone makes sauce more flavorful)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tab. salt
1 1/2 tab. tabil (see bottom of blog for recipe)
         (or 1 tab. ground coriander, 1 tsp. ground caraway,
           and 1 tsp. ground cumin)
2 green peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch slivers
         (mild or hot depending on individual preference)
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tsp. sugar
1 tab. harissa (more if you like it hot)
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
dash of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 cup finely minced flat-leaf parsley

-Saute chicken pieces in large saucepan in oil, with onion, salt and  pepper until chicken is browned on all sides and onion is soft.  Add garlic, tabil (or coriander and cumin), harissa, water, chicken broth, cayenne pepper, and sugar.  Cook ragout uncovered over medium-low heat for 30 - 45 minutes until chicken is tender.  Stir occasionally.  Add peas and green pepper and simmer an additional 10 minutes.  Toss in parsley last 5 minutes of cooking time. Serve in large open soup bowls with crusty French bread.  Serves 6 - 8.

Tajin Malsouka (Tunisian Quiche)

Tajin Malsouka  

        Proud to share my Tunisian culinary triumph with my mentors, I proclaimed one day that I had made tajin but I had not used the prescribed parsley, as “the cupboard was bare”. I was told in no uncertain terms, that I had not made “Tajin” – an important lesson in my tutorial. Parsley is not simply an accent. It is a star ingredient! In repentance of my err, I have not neglected parsley since, being grateful that I can employ the busy fingers of my children in picking the leaves form the bitter stems – my “Parsley Pickers” extraordinaire.

       Akin to the Moroccan version in name only, Tunisian Tajin more accurately resembles a quiche of potatoes, chicken, swiss cheese….and oh, parsley! Americans use bread, Mexicans the tortilla, Asians the eggroll wrapper, to encase whatever lovelies are in want of a blanket. Tunisians use malsouka, a paper thin water/flour pastry, similar to a crepe, most notably used in the national pastry brik – another day, another entry. Malsouka sheets provide a delicate, crunchy casing for meat, fish, and vegetables as well as sweet, nutty fillings.

Tajin Malsouka

2 cups shredded cooked chicken  

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced                    

1 cup cubed cooked potato

1 large onion, chopped                    

½ cup chopped parsley

2 eggs                                                   

2 dozen lumpia/malsouka wrappers or filo pastry

½ cup butter                                         

salt and pepper to taste

-Saute onion and garlic in 2 tab. oil until transparent.  Stir in chicken.  Beat  eggs and add to chicken mixture. Cook and scramble over medium heat until egg is cooked.  Cool mixture.  Stir in salt and pepper, cheese, potato and parsley.  Salt and pepper to taste.

-If using filo pastry, melt butter.  Place 2 sheets of filo on a buttered pizza pan and brush with melted butter.  Place another 2 sheets on top in a pinwheel effect and brush with butter.  Continue brushing and layering until you have used 8 sheets.  Place the chicken mixture on top. 

-Fold the overlapping filo over the top of the filling.  Place 2 sheets of filo over the top and brush with butter.  Continue to layer buttered filo over the top in the same pinwheel effect until you have used 8 sheets.  Tuck the overhanging edges under the pie to form a neat round parcel.  Brush well with the remaining butter. 

 

- (If using lumpia or malsouka wrappers, place 1 wrapper at a time in bottom of  buttered 10 inch pie plate.  Butter and continue layering wrappers until 6 sheets are layered.  Mound filling in center of layered pastry.  Cover the top with 6 more wrappers, buttering each one.  Tuck the edges in around the edges of the pie.)

-Bake the pie for 40-45 minutes until golden.  Let sit 10 minutes before cutting into pie shaped or square pieces.  Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges.