Kefta wa Batata (Middle Eastern Meatballs)

It's just fun to say - Kefta wa Batata - and almost as easy to make.  Its rich, biting seasonings represent the spice trademark of Arab meat dishes - Cinnamon and Allspice.  This spice blend is what says "Mmmm..mmm Arab" to my mouth but wanting to keep everything in its appropriate place, we didn't appreciate its insidious conquest of western dishes in Arab countries.  We were outraged when hamburgers spiked with these spices were served to us as western fare, horrified when the first Pizza Hut just down the street added cinnamon sprinklings to pepperoni pizza. The Marriott Hotel was the only one to remain true to the hamburger in Amman in our early days!  Importation is all well and good and we could accept it when Arabs took their version of chili, seasoned with cinnamon and allspice from the Chili House restaurant in Amman to Cincinnati and dubed it as a new taste sensation, but when the Amman Fuddrucker's delicious meaty burgers evolved to something less so, with rice as a side dish instead of fries, we were ready to picket the establishment!  Corporate was not far behind us, and the franchise was whisked away back to the U.S. where the fresh beef tasted of it in all it's unseasoned purity. This particular dish though is happily in the Arab domain and features tender meatballs (kefta), stewed in a tomato sauce with potatoes (batata) and garnished with parsley and a spritz of lemon, and rightly so, cinnamon and allspice.

Kefta wa Batata
1 pound ground beef (or lamb)
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
3/4 cup diced onion
2-3 tab. olive oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
salt & pepper to taste
1 large tomato, diced
2 1/2 cups beef stock or
2 1/2 cups water and 2 beef bouillon cubes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tab. lemon juice
2 red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

-Place ground beef (or lamb), medium onion, cinnamon, allspice,
salt and pepper in food processor.  Process mixture about 30 seconds until meat and onion are smooth.  Form mixture into 1 inch balls, about the size of walnuts.  

-Heat the oil in a medium saucepan.  Add chopped onions and meatballs.  Cook over medium-high heat, turning meatballs gently to brown on all sides.

-Add beef stock or water and boullion cubes to saucepan with tomato paste and potatoes.  Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat, cover and let mixture simmer over low heat until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Remove lid and continue to simmer 10 minutes to allow sauce to reduce.

-Stir parsley and lemon juice into stew.  Serve warm over steamed white rice.

Stuffed Tomatoes

          Are your tomato plants so fertile that your garden practically throws tomatoes at you as you pass by? Do the neighbors close their blinds when they see you coming, with produce basket in hand?  Do more BLT sandwiches elicit a groan from your family diners?  Do you have to tape the freezer door shut to hold all the containers of tomato sauce? If so, it must be harvest time for those possessed of green thumbs!  

          Around the world, the tomato reigns as a member of Garden Royalty, in fact 93% of garden-growing households grow tomatoes, and on average, Americans consume about 24 pounds of tomatoes each year. Following are two versions of stuffed tomatoes: the first is a broccoli-ham filling with rich cheddar and nutty Parmesan cheese accents.  I took a bit of artistic license with the second, an Arab version filled with hashwi, a spicy ground beef, onion and rice mixture, but I'm sure if an Arab cooked stuffed tomatoes, she would do it like this!

Stuffed Tomatoes
6 medium large tomatoes
1 1/2 cup chopped broccoli florets, cooked and drained
1 tab. oil
1/3 cup finely minced fresh onion
1 cup finely chopped ham
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tab. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

-Cut off the stem end of each tomato and with a small paring knife and tablespoon, carefully scoop out the pulp and seeds from each tomato, leaving the outer flesh about 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle each tomato cavity liberally with salt and pepper and place on cookie sheet, cavity side down, over sink or large bowl and allow to drain for about 20 minutes.

-Meantime, heat oil in medium skillet.  Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  In mixing bowl, combine broccoli, cooked onions, ham, mayonnaise, lemon juice salt and pepper to taste, cayenne pepper, cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.  

-Rinse out tomato shells then fill with 1/6 of the broccoli/ham mixture.  Sprinkle tops with bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  

-Place filled tomatoes in ovenproof dish, packed in tightly to keep tomatoes from toppling during baking.  Place in 350 degree preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until topping is browned.  Allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

Cut and scoop out tomato flesh, salt and drain.

1. Fill tomato shells with generous amount of
2. 
   
3. filling and sprinkle with breadcrumbs & Parmesan

Kousa Sahel (Stuffed Squash or Zucchini)

National "Leave a Zucchini on your Neighbor's Doorstep Day" was August 8th. Did you miss it, this opportunity to do something with the unseemly vigorous harvest of your garden?  Or did you ignore your squash until it grew to the size of your baby?

Even if you've managed to stay ahead of the squash production with zucchini bread and stir-frys, don't give them all away.  Hold on to the small, tender ones at least and do as the resourceful Arab cook does. The zucchini or "kousa" indigenous to the Middle East is a fairer variety, in color and texture. The favored size is small,  6-8 inches in length and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The squash are hollowed out with an implement that I call a zucchini corer (amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=zucchini+corer&sprefix=zucchini+corer%2Caps%2C184) but a combination of apple corer and paring knife can effect an approximate result - a hollow tube with seeds removed and the soft pulp scraped out to leave a shell as thin as possible. (The zucchini pulp can star in frittatas or the fritter recipe included below).  Traditionally Kousa are cooked in a large pot among layers of sliced tomato (again, your garden provides!) stuffed eggplant, with chunks of beef or lamb to infuse the kousa with flavor. The technically correct name for this dish is "Kousa Mahshi".  This version, "Kousa Sahel", is richer with a silkiness provided by the frying of the onions and zucchini.  Don't forget the lemon juice in the sauce!  It perks up the whole with a vibrant fresh contrast to the creamy sweetness of the fried onions.

Kousa Sahel (stuffed squash):
12 small zucchini squash                   1 large onion, slivered
1 lb. ground lamb or beef                  oil for frying
¾ cups rice, pre-soaked in water        4 cups fresh tomato sauce or
1 tab. salt                                                  paste to make sauce
1 tsp. pepper                                      juice of 1 lemon
¾ cup chopped parsley                      1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice

-Brown ground meat and season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice. Drain well and set aside.
-Hollow out washed squash.  Mix drained rice with meat and parsley.  If the meat is fatty, you will not need more fat.  If not, add a tab. or two of corn oil to the mixture.  Add salt and pepper.
-Over a large bowl, stuff the squash with filling until it is loosely full to ¼ inch from the top. Lightly fry the squash in oil until the skins are browned and bubbly.
-Meanwhile, brown the onions in oil until brown.  Add the tomato sauce and lemon juice and boil for 10 minutes at a rolling boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer. Carefully lay the squash in the sauce and cook 20-30 minutes.  Cover and stir carefully from time to time.
-To serve, transfer the squash with a slotted spoon on to a platter.  Pour the thickened sauce over the squash and garnish with chopped parsley.

                                          

Mediterranean Tart

Not based on any actual Mediterranean dish, this American creation brings the sun-infused staples of the Mediterranean region together in a delightful, unique summer BBQ dish. The ham would be shunned in any Muslim Mediterranean country but Greeks, Italians and Spaniards partake with gusto, or sabor or whatever it is.  In Israel, farmers are only allowed to raise pigs on imported dirt (so as not to defile holy ground - isn't it nice that Palestinians and Jews are united on one front - their dietary restrictions on pork.)  Living in these pork-free zones, I devised the "pork products bag" for which I bought pork tenderloin, bacon and sausage while on visits to the states, froze them before my flight and packed them together in close quarters in a small carry-on bag.  After a 15 hour flight, the bag was still cold enough to arouse comment but yet escaped confiscation at customs inspections.  The chicken reigns as fowl supreme throughout the world and onions and tomatoes love that Mediterranean sun.  Olives thrive there and phyllo - a pastry delight - is an inspired creation of indigenous cooks.  Even Parmesan cheese by virtue of Italy's "giving the boot" to the heart of the Med, lends the dish authenticity and a nutty "mm-m-m-" accent!

Mediterranean Tart
3 tab. butter
1 medium onion, sliced
3/4 lb. fresh mushrooms
1/2 tsp. thyme
3 tab. flour
1 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cups melted butter
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup cooked cubed chicken breast
1/4 cup cubed ham
1 cup chopped black olives
16 sheets of phyllo pastry
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

-Saute onions in butter until soft.  Add mushrooms and continue cooking until soft. Blend in flour and cook 2-3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock and tomatoes.  Cook until thickened, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients.  Return to heat and simmer 5 minutes longer.  Set aside until needed.

-Brush bottom and sides of 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish with butter.  Place 2 sheets of dough in bottom of dish and brush with butter.  Repeat 7 times more.  Spread meat/vegetable mixture on dough and evenly sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.  Repeat process of laying sheets of phyllo and brushing with butter 8 more times.  Score tart into serving pieces, approximately 3 x 3 inch squares, with sharp, serrated knife. Sprinkle with water amd bake 30 - 40 minutes at 350 degrees, until bubbly and golden brown.

-Let sit for 10 minutes.  Cut through pieces again and serve.

Brush sheets of pastry with butter

Prepare filling of onions, tomatoes, ham & chicken

Place filling on 12 layers of phyllo dough

Score top layers of pastry before baking

Bake until bubbly and golden brown

German Beef Rouladen

        

      Reminiscing of our apartment in Unterwittighausen (my husband made up a song to help us remember how to say it) brings with it two distinct culinary memories.  The first, one I would just as soon forget, involves a lonely Christmas Eve spent with American neighbors and a bland, runny gruel they called dressing. The second, involves an 18-year old German neighbor eager to practice her English.  Her mother had done better by her in the kitchen than that of my American neighbor teaching her a thing or two about flavor. How did she know I was one of the few Americans that was excited to share international kitchen secrets - the locals always seemed to sniff me out!  Rouladen - our first foray, is a beef roulade, or rolled, filled meat.  The required ingredients, round steak, thinly sliced, bacon, onions, mustard and paprika were no problem but when it came to pickles, my mentor couldn't remember the word in English. 

     After a series of hand gestures that sent me, the puzzled yet intrigued student, looking for a baseball bat, she searched through my fridge and pulled pickles out. The beef rolls slowly braised in wine and broth develop rich soothing flavors like the best beef stews, but the paprika and pop of the pickles and mustard declare a Germanic slant. Though I was taught to lay a raw piece of bacon on the pounded beef, I now cook my bacon first and crumble it atop each roulade - to avoid fatty encounters.  Braised to fork tenderness the rolls are served with egg noodles or for the really authentic version, with spaetzle - recipe and discussion at the bottom of the blog.


Beef  Rouladen
8 thinly sliced pieces round steak or beef sliced for stir-fry (pounded to about 8 inches by 4 inches each, 1/4 inch thick)
1/3 cup spicy brown mustard or grey poupon
1 cup slivered onions
1/2 pound bacon, diced, fried until crisp and drained
1 cup chopped dill or kosher pickles
paprika, salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup oil
flour for coating
2 cups beef consome
1 cup red wine
sprig of fresh thyme
1 cup halved button mushrooms, sauted in 2 tab. butter
1/3 cup cream

-Saute onion in 2 tab oil until soft and caramel color, stirring occasionally, over low heat - about 15 minutes.

-Lay each piece round steak on working surface and pound to 1/4 inch thinkness, about 8 inches by 4 inches.  Spread mustard on each slice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and generously with paprika.  Add 1 1/2 tab. chopped pickles and 1 1/2 tab. caramelized onions and 1 1/2 tab. bacon bits at one short end of each piece. 

-Roll meat tightly over the filling and secure with toothpicks or string.  Dip each roll into flour until well coated.

-Heat 1/4 cup oil in dutch oven.  Lay rolls into hot oil and fry, turning, until rolls are brown on all sides. 

-Add consomme and wine  and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cover pot and lower heat to low, or until broth is just simmering.  Stir in 1 sprig fresh thyme. Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until rolls are fork tender. 

-Carefully remove rolls from broth and set aside.  Turn broth to high and cook down until thickened and glossy.  Stir in cream at room temperature.  Add mushrooms.  Adjust seasonings.  Return rolls to broth and gently heat through.

-Serve over egg noodles or spaetlze.  Garnish with fresh pinch of thyme.  Serves 4 - 8

Pound beef very thin, then spread

 with mustard, onion, bacon

paprika and pickle.

Roll tightly from short ends and

secure with string or toothpicks.

Serve rouladen with gravy over spaetzle or egg noodles.

Erdbeerkuchen (German Strawberry Cake)

       The Frankfurt Zoo....baby in a stroller....bright, light day when the air is at such a compatible temperature you don't even notice it and so fused with the aroma of spring, you forget to smell the animals. Popping with a cherry red freshness the strawberries pillowed midst sweetened cream and nestled on a bed of airy sponge cake would not allow refusal at the Zoo cafe!  This German version of strawberry shortcake features berries enrobed with velvety cream as nature must have intended - berries and cream - didn't someone in nursery rhymes feast upon it?  The tedious folding technique required for the sponge cake ensures the airy volume that creates the sponge, which is admittedly of a different nature than shortcake but creates a lighter dessert. A very specific cake pan is required to be truly authentic - similar to a flan pan, it has a fluted edge, with a depression in the center to hold the berries, although you can substitue a flan pan or even a pie plate and simply place the berries on top.  If interested, the obstorte pan can be purchased inexpensively at the following link:  http://www.amazon.com/Zenker-Flan-Tart-Nonstick-11-Inch/dp/B00022447Q/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1344177794&sr=8-12&keywords=torte+pans.

       Erdbeerkuchen is just one variation of the fresh fruit cake. (I was always fascinated by the construction of  German words in which it seems that words we would separate such as Strawberry Shortcake are simply joined together as in Erdbeerkuchen. Here is a long German word champion: Rindfleischetikettierungs which broken down is "beef meat labeling"!) The obstorte (cake) is filled with endless varieties of fruits and medleys.  I wonder how they would write an obstorte filled with raspberries, peaches, kiwi fruit and cherries - raspberrypeachkiwifruitcherrykuchen?

Erdbeerkuchen (German Strawberry Cake)
5 eggs

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup flour

¼ cup cornstarch

1 tsp. baking powder

Dash salt

Grated lemon peel

1 ½ tsp. vanilla 

-Beat egg whites till foamy.  Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until very stiff.  In separate bowl, beat yolks till thick and lemon colored.  Add vanilla and lemon peel to yolks.  Fold yolks into whites.  Fold dry ingredients into egg mixture.  Pour into well greased and floured obstorte pan (cover flat bottom of pan with waxed paper and then grease and flour edges.) Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20  minutes.  Cool slightly and turn out of pan.  Makes 2. 

Strawberry Filling:

3-4 cups whole strawberries

1 cup strawberry jam

1 cup strawberry juice

½ cup orange juice

½ cup sugar

2 tab. lemon juice

4 tab. cornstarch mixed with 2 tab. cold water 

-In medium sauce pan combine strawberry and orange juice with sugar.  Stir in cornstarch mixture and bring to boil over medium heat until thick and clear.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.  Allow to cool about 10 minutes. 

To Assemble:

-Spread top of cool cake with jam and arrange strawberries completely covering the top.  Poor cooled glaze over the berries.  Chill and serve with whipped cream.

Gulasch Suppe (Goulash Soup)

Romantic Road from Giebelstadt to Rothenburg:
The meandering drive through the German countryside, lived up to its name, with wayside stops at the water-filled mote surrounding Bischoffsheim Castle and Weikersheim Castle.  Yes, it was charming, rustic and "uber" romantic to us newlyweds exploring, but I must admit to another love affair -  with gulasch soup and I was continuously on the lookout for the next obliging gasthaus.  Rothenburg, the medieval town which hosts a famous Albrecht Durer carved wooden altarpiece, charming hand-carved wooden Christmas ornaments that still dangle from our Christmas tree and yes, gasthauses.  I never met a gulasch suppe I didn't like.  It inherits its flavors from its bold and lusty Hungarian parent but after immigrating to Germany became thinner and lighter in texture. The paprika spiked broth stays true to its goulash roots with an underlying acidic kick provided by tomatoes and peppers.  A bit of beef reassures us that it comes by its heartiness honestly.  Serve with a crusty country bread (pumpernickel would be most authentic) and be careful with the paprika (easy if it is the hot version - most common brands sold in our markets are sweet paprika.)

                                 

Gulasch Suppe
1 large onion, chopped
2 tab. oil
2 lbs beef chuck, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch
         cubes
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. caraway seed
1 1/2 tab. paprika
3/4 tsp. marjoram, dried
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups beef consomme
1 cup water
1 cup red wine
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 tab. vinegar
chopped parsley for garnish

-Saute onion and beef in oil in large soup pot, stirring 
occasionally, until beef is browned on all sides and 
onion is transparent.  Add garlic, caraway seed, 
salt and pepper, paprika, and marjoram.  

-Cover with beef consomme, water and wine.  Cover 
pot and simmer for 1 hour.

-Add tomato, peppers, potato and vinegar and cook an additional 45 minutes or until beef is very tender.  Taste
for seasoning.  Serve warm with parsley garnish.