Desert Candy حلويات الصحراء

Spiced Seeded Cabbage

2013-06-10T14:46:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for your lovely well wishes! We had an amazing trip to California, but I'm going to wait to tell you about that because I think it's time we got back to some cooking! I have to say, I didn't miss my kitchen one bit while we were on our 3 week vacation, but it's nice to be back. It's a good thing I had a break too, since our workplace cafeteria is closed for five (five!!) weeks, so I'm making all our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners at home now. Oy.

I love a good vegetable dish. Vegetables to me are so much fun to cook - they're challenging, you have to add in texture and dimension and the oomph that meat gives to a dish. I like the seasonality, the care taken in preparation, that vegetable cooking brings. Just when I think that X is my go-to favorite way to cook eggplant, I come across Y, and my whole world is changed.

I was nodding in agreement when I read Luisa's post about a head of cabbage being a meal in itself. It's a philosophy I've long stood-by. Whether braised with apples and cider vinegar, flash-cooked with hot pepper and black bean sauce in a wok, shredded and added to a slaw, cabbage is my jam. So, when I cam across this new technique for a spicy cabbage that takes just minutes to prep, well obviously I was on board.

This recipe is great - I love the crunch and mix of flavors of all those whole spices, the easy and fast preparation. This is a great side dish to a pork chop or some grilled chicken, but it's also great on its own or with a fried egg on top.

Spiced Seeded Cabbage
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey.

half a large head of green cabbage
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 medium onion, peeled and cut lengthwise into fine half rings
1 teaspoon salt
smidge cayenne pepper or hot sauce
squeeze of lemon juice
1 teaspoon garam masala

1. Cut the cabbage lengthwise into very fine, long shreds. Discard any thick inner core. A bread knife or chef's knife is ideal for this.
2. Place oil in a wok over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the cumin, fennel, and sesame seeds. As soon as the sesame seeds begin to pop, put in the onion. Stir and fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until the onion has browned a bit.
3. Put in the cabbage. Stir and fry for about 6 minutes or until the cabbage has browned somewhat. Put in the salt, garam masala, and cayenne. Turn down the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring now and then, for another 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions appear caramelized and soft. Note: you may need to do this in a couple batches.
4. Add the lemon juice, stir, and taste for seasoning. Serve warm.

And then we had a wedding.

2013-06-02T12:43:00.000-05:00

We did! We flew all the way from Algeria to New York and had a wedding. I still can't believe we pulled it off, that it wasn't just one long dream, that all those people showed up and ate cheese and danced their socks off. I would very much like to go back and repeat the whole thing all over again, only in very slow motion, so that I could nestle myself into every little corner of the whole weekend.

I was never one of those girls who had a dream image of what their wedding would look like, perhaps a fleeting image here or there, but as I've grown up places and their meaning to me have changed. If circumstances could have been different, perhaps it would have been in a big backyard somewhere, with flowers picked by our friends and homemade pie for dessert. A little bit crafty, but not over-the-top burlap cliche. But the reality was we live in Algeria, and our friends live all over the world. I thought, briefly, that a kind of home-grown wedding wouldn't have been right without my mother, but the truth is no wedding would be, or was, complete without her.

So New York, my home for so long, Paul's grad school years, was right in so many ways. On the Thursday before the wedding we went out to the site to look things over, and there, in the bright sunlight between the bridges, I was shocked at how beautiful it was.

Paul and I debated having a wedding at all, after all it's quite expensive and neither of us are terribly traditional. But the thing that swayed me was the memory of my mother telling me about her wedding to my father, that despite the fact that the marriage did not last very long, she was so glad to have had the party. She always reminded me that it was the last time her whole family was together, that in the subsequent Christmases since one family member always missed one holiday or another, and five years later my grandfather died, and that was it. The last time they had been together. Clearly my mother told me that story enough times that it stuck, because how could I not have a wedding after that?

So we told everyone we worked with that the reason we were having a wedding was to see all the people we loved together in one place. And it was true. The wedding, to me, wasn't really about us, after all if you're willing to move to Algeria with someone I don't think there's too much question of marriage cold-feet. It was about getting to spend time with people we don't get to see very often, and my only regret is that we didn't get to see more of everyone.

Logistically, of course, a wedding is a bit like putting on a show, and I have to say I'm not bad at that myself. I also believe that my time is valuable to me, and that there are some things worth hiring professionals for. We were lucky to work with the awesomest wedding planner (florist/stationer/coordinator/extraordinaire) around, the nicest caterers, the raddest photographer, and of course some great family and friends who helped usher, errand, escort, and fulfill necessary odd tasks, such as sharpening seventy #2 pencils.

Having planned everything from abroad, while I certainly had a picture in my head of what it would look like, we didn't know how things would turn out. Would the room be pretty? Would the food be good? Would it rain? Would people dance? And I have to say, every single element turned out better than we even imagined it could. From the absolutely gorgeous space (again: see awesome wedding planner), to the perfect weather, the joy at seeing so many people coming to the ceremony site. The food shocked us at how delicious it was (food was actually one of the things that we didn't pay much attention to during the wedding planning), including the most tender brisket I have ever had, and pecan pie so good that when we did our "pie cutting" I actually exclaimed, "this is amazing." There were so many other fun elements that we didn't even know would happen, like all the random Brooklynites in the park that day that got to "attend" our ceremony, the spontaneous and perfectly executed electric slide on the dance floor, Paul's dad dancing, conducting our wedding rehearsal on the street in front of the Bowery Hotel, the ice cream sandwich truck we hired for the end of the night, etc.

At the end of it all, I could not be more lucky. Lucky to share such an amazing weekend with so many special people, lucky to have a job where I get to travel all over the world so that I can come back to America and appreciate all that it is, lucky to be able to go on 3 weeks of vacation. But mostly lucky to have a husband who is sitting in the other room playing Bach on his cello while I write.

Snapshots courtesy of awesome friends and family.

Reading Material

2013-05-30T11:11:00.002-05:00

For some long flights ahead. I highly recommend the latest Lucky Peach, great interviews, funny writing, good recipes, and the graphics for their apocalyptic-theme are awesome. Kinfolk is too hiperstery for me to subscribe to, but splurging on pretty magazines is one of my travel treats.

Good Greens Salad

2013-05-20T06:22:00.000-05:00

This salad came from a craving for a good green salad, something with a mix of crunchy elements (scallions, fennel), buttery things (avocado, pine nuts), lots of herbs and bold flavors (my homegrown mizuna!). Basically, I went to the market and bought anything green that looked good, and the result was delicious. The quantities here are reminiscent of the way I think most of us cook at home, a bit of this, a pinch of that. You could scale this up for a larger crowd.

Good Greens Salad

2 handfuls small sharp lettuces like mizuna or baby arugula
1 large avocado
1 large fennel bulb, bottom trimmed
a few fennel fronds
1 handful cilantro
1 handful parsley
a few sprigs mint
3 scallions
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and salt, for dressing

1. Trim the large center core from the bottom of the fennel bulb. Slice the fennel bulb very thinly on a mandoline, then place the fennel in a medium bowl. Chop the fennel fronds, cilantro, parsley, and mint and add to the bowl. Slice the scallions, both white and green parts, on the bias and add to the bowl. Dice the avocado, add to the bowl. Add in the lettuce. Drizzle the lemon, olive oil, and salt over the bowl and toss everything to combine. Toast the pine nuts and add to the bowl with the sesame seeds, toss to combine. Serve.

What We've Been Cooking

2013-05-15T06:03:00.000-05:00

We are off to America - the first time in nearly a year, I fear I may have culture shock - for a much needed vacation. Over the past month or so, our cooking hasn't been too exciting. Revisiting old favorites, lots of vegetables dishes, enjoying spring fava beans, making up recipes for banana cookies. Paul made a delicious chicken with grapes and apples from Claudia Roden's The Food of Spain. Here are some snapshots of what we've been up to.

Making this classic orange-almond cake for a party. (Stencil from Martha Stewart, and yes it's Christmas themed in May, I know.)

Growing lettuce

Making hummus

Julia Child's Zucchini Tian - who knew zucchini juice was so green!

Brunch - Spinach and smoked bacon frittata, orange/mint salad, (unpictured) Algerian baghir pancakes with honey butter

Making Pie! An old favorite.

Local spring strawberries marinated in honey and vanilla bean paste!

Paris Recommendations Vol. XII

2013-05-10T05:28:00.000-05:00

Paris. It is the city I probably know best of any foreign city, but I will admit I can at times find it exhausting. I'm not sure why exactly, maybe because we were there with a list of errands to complete (yes, when you live in Algiers, sometime you run errands in Paris over the weekend), but on this trip Paris just wore me out. I took only 3 photos, a record low. Don't get me wrong - walking around, eating delicious food, stopping in cafes, shoe shopping, it was a great change of pace. But mentally, I wasn't really in vacation mode. Luckily for you, reader, we discovered a few new places along the way to share here.

Also, I found my street!

Verot Charcuterie
This place immediately caught me eye, with its pickled pigs ears and jellied pigs feet and most beautiful vegetable terrines in the window. It's a tiny place with a take-out section on one side and charcuterie on the other. I brought back an assortment of these tiny bite-sized saucissons that nearly caused a riot in my office. Close to the Luxembourg Gardens and would make a good pre-picnic stop.

E. Dehillerin
A cook in Paris really can't not go to this place. When my mother was a student in France, she bought a whole set of copper pots and pans from here. A couple years ago I had them retinned and they are as good as new, now almost 50 years later. I stopped in for some flexi-pan molds and grapefruit spoons.

Bones
Paul ate here in March - small plates with a set menu, light, fresh contemporary cooking, and not expensive. You have to book far ahead and call the day-of to confirm.

Rose Bakery
Good shopping has really extended up into the Northern Marais, we started at this classic Brit-owned place with brunch and some cookies to go.

Also, a Parisian friend asked us for rec's for a Moroccan place in Paris, if anyone know of one please let us know!

On Eating in Algiers

2013-04-30T16:39:00.000-05:00

We were driving home two weeks ago when I noticed that all the flags on our route home were at half-mast and that every single radio station was playing Quranic mourning recitations. Concerned, I flipped the radio around until I found a news break where I was able to discern that a former President had died. Subsequently, eight days of national mourning were announced, which meant eight days of no music allowed on the radio, no dance concerts at the arts center. And if I'm going to be frank here- some old guy who was President for a few months decades ago, decamped to Switzerland nearly as many years ago, dies, and I get to practice my Quranic Arabic every morning on my commute? What a bizarre place. I thought I should write about some of Algiers' quirks, but we'll stick to food in this forum. I thought we'd start with eating out (or not, as you may figure by the end of this post).

There is not much of a restaurant culture here. During the civil war in the nineties, which one has to remind oneself is not that long ago since any physical damage to the city has long since been whitewashed over, restaurants were big targets for bombings. As little as ten years ago eating out was considered a dangerous proposition. As such, many restaurants here are done in true speak-easy style - knock on a darkened door, go up to the second floor, and you might find some delicious food and a cold beer. Other restaurants are tucked into hidden corners, down dimly lit allies or in the woods behind the Martyr's monument. Everything is word of mouth, and obviously finding these places can be a challenge. Even then, the selection of good restaurants can be limited.

As for street food, whatever is available in Algiers is pretty limited, only available in certain areas, and most things close up by 6 pm. I've heard there are more options in other cities like Oran. There's lots of "fast food" places, which serve omelets (never have I met a people so obsessed by eggs), sandwiches, salads, and pizza. The sandwiches will almost certainly contain french fries and mayonnaise, and a local favorite is the "sandwich complet viande" which involves scrambled eggs, ground beef, and fries stuffed into french bread. This is a variation on the "plat complet viande" which involves a plate with two ground beef patties, two fried eggs, a salad (often with lettuce and grated beets), and fries.

The other kind of fast food places are little grill stands, where you'll see skewers of the tiniest pieces of meat displayed out front. The skewers often contain things like liver with cubes of fat, or other offal-type cuts. Other streets foods involve croissants and pastries, and m'hjab, an Algerian bread stuffed with spicy tomato sauce (check out this video of mhjab being made, look at how easily the guy can stretch the dough so thinly). Schwarma is also available but is frankly not very good and is often made with that Algerian favorite- turkey. Boureks, the Algerian version of spring rolls, seem like an obvious street food but I know of only one place that runs such a business.

Another oddity of Algiers (as if there weren't enough already), is that despite the overwhelming number of local bread varieties, there are very few actual bread bakeries. Having lived in Syria where there was a bakery rolling pita off the conveyor belt at nearly every corner, I find this baffling. It seems the local subsidized baguettes are trucked in twice daily to your little superette, and then any other breads seem to be made by the shop owner's grandma, or by some other mystery source, which means quality varies greatly from store to store. There are bakeries for pastries but not nearly as many for bread. This would explain why when the other day we were driving and Paul spotted a bakery with the sign "pain traditional" I literally stopped the car in the middle of whirling traffic, pulled onto the side walk to park, and headed over. Once inside, and it was a tiny entryway with trays of freshly baked kesra bread, I gasped at Paul, "they make bread here!"

Towards the end of our time here, I'm planning to do a series of posts on where to actually eat (and visit real bakeries!) in Algiers. As you can imagine, we have quite a bit of recon to do, but hopefully you'll stay tuned.

Tahini Rye Cookies

2013-04-19T12:26:00.000-05:00

Tahini rye cookies! I mean, yes, right?! There's something so exciting about them, you can't help but picture the exclamation points (tahini! rye! cookies!) when you see them. All the goodness of nut butter and deep flavor of rye and buttery shortbread rolled into one.

Tahini is surprisingly hard to find in Algeria, where it's not a common ingredient. One of the fancier import groceries sells it, which is good, because tahini is a huge staple in our household. I like to think of tahini as the more versatile cousin to peanut butter, slipping easily between salad dressings, to baba ghanoush to sweets like halva. In Syria mothers spread flat bread with tahini and swirl it with grape molasses (dibs al-ainab), the Arab cousin of PB&J, tucked into every kids' backpack.

Tahini functions in these cookies much like peanut butter would, adding nutty flavor and a nice crumble. I love baking with rye, I think it adds just the right amount of depth to baked goods (the next time you're baking bread try substituting a small amount of the white flour for rye flour and you'll see). These cookies take literally 10 minutes to stir together, contain no eggs, and are ready in no time. Just in time for you to start saying Tahini! Rye! Cookies!

Tahini Rye Cookies
In order to measure the tahini, I recommend adding the two tablespoons of creme fraiche to your measuring cup first, then add in the tahini until you reach 1/2 cup. If you want to weigh your flour mixture the total weight should be about 260 grams.

150 grams (2/3 cup) sugar
140 grams (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup minus 2 tablespoons tahini
splash of vanilla extract (about 1/2 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons creme fraiche (can also use heavy cream)
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup rye flour
pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare greased or lined cookie sheets. Mix the all purpose and rye flours and salt in a small bowl.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, I use a fork to do this, but you can also use a stand mixer. The mixture should be well combined and lightened in color. Stir in the vanilla extract. Stir in the tahini and creme fraiche. Working in batches, stir in the flour mixture until the dough comes together nicely.
3. Using your hands, roll the cookies into small balls (about 1 inch diameter or 20 grams) and place on the baking sheets. Press the cookies down with the tines of a fork to make crisscross marks. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until just barely golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Butter Lettuce, Orange, and Pistachio Salad

2013-04-14T16:37:00.000-05:00

Paul and I have a disagreement about pepper. Paul thinks pepper should go on everything, like salt. I think salt should go on everything, but that pepper is optional. If you know the two of us at all, you will know that this disagreement can be virulent at times.

Salt, I say, goes on everything, heck, we even have a biological imperative to eat the stuff. Pepper goes on a lot of things, but similarly, I put cumin in a lot of things, and garlic, and ginger, but not in everything. For me, meat always gets salt and pepper. With fish, if it is more delicate, I may go for only salt and lemon. Vegetables will depend totally on how I'm cooking them.

Long ago my mother and I went to Rome, in the cold of January, and her biggest take away from the trip was, "I haven't been using enough pepper in my cooking!" It was true, my mother had basically stopped using pepper, but the more important take away for me was that Roman cuisine - the very stripped back, simple ingredient simple preparation kind of cooking, benefited greatly from that sprinkling of good salt and the fresh cracked pepper. I think of a shaved raw artichoke salad, anointed with percorino romano, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

This salad, for me, is the kind of thing where pepper really works. Butter lettuce with a simple creme fraiche dressing, the last of the winter's navel oranges, and some pistachios. The first time I made this, since we were only having salad for dinner, I dressed it up with some torn prosciutto, a perfect salty foil to the sweet oranges. The next time, for lunch, I tossed in some of the fava beans I was shelling. Both variations, with a crack of black pepper, are excellent.

Butter Lettuce, Orange, and Pistachio Salad
The recipe makes more dressing than you probably need, which will come in handy for when you make the salad again.

1 large head of butter lettuce, washed and dried and leaves roughly torn
2 navel oranges
1/4 cup pistachios (preferably blanched), toasted and chopped
1 cup fava beans OR 4 oz of prosciutto, torn
1/2 cup creme fraiche
salt, pepper

1. Slice away the peel of the oranges, then, working over a bowl, supreme the oranges, setting aside the orange segments and catching the juice in a bowl.
2. Whisk the creme fraiche and a pinch of salt in with the orange juice to form a dressing.
3. Place lettuce leaves in a bowl and toss with a small amount of the dressing to coat. sprinkle salt over lettuce and toss again. Arrange the orange segments, pistachios, and prosciutto or favas over the lettuce. Drizzle a bit more of the dressing over top. Sprinkle salt and crack pepper over the salad. Serve.

Apple Honey Swirl Challah

2013-04-09T11:42:00.000-05:00

I would be lying if I said I'd never been on a diet. I think every woman would. But whenever I've felt like I needed to cut back a bit, I've always done it by simple things like smaller portions, snacking less, focusing on fruits and vegetables, getting up and going for walks around the office, exercising. My point is, I've never been on a named diet, no Atkins, no South Beach, no grapefruit diet, no veganism.

As someone who has never gone on an elimination diet, I will admit I am fascinated by them. Wait so you can eat tons of sausage but not an apple? Your entire diet has no dairy or legumes? I cannot imagine an existence without wonderful plain yogurt but I can bet it would be sad. We have several friends who have recently gone paleo, which judging by the participants vocal advocation of it, is like the timeshare of diets.

Basically, I eat a little bit of everything. I don't believe in the low carb craze, but I do think it's a good reminder to look carefully at what you consume every day. I am careful about not eating too many wheat-based things, just like I'm careful about not eating too much red meat, or too much tuna, or too many beets. I almost never eat pasta. I try to eat different colors everyday, reds, browns, oranges, blues, purples, greens. I should point here that red wine is a nice filler for your purple food group.

This is all a very long-handed way of saying I've been making less bread recently. And cakes and cookies too. But for Easter I wanted to make a challah bread for Paul (it's a bit of a tradition), and I had the last bits of some apple butter brought over from the States to use up. This dough is a breeze, and the olive oil and salt make it particularly delicious and easy to work with. Luckily Paul has no qualms about carbs, because he ate the whole thing.

Apple Honey Swirl Challah
I originally did not include cinnamon in the filling, but your mind just expects a cinnamon flavor coming from those dark swirls, so I've added it here. Adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

1 packet active dry yeast
5 tablespoons honey
2/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for the bowl
2 eggs for the bread, 1 egg for the egg wash
2 teaspoons sea salt
4 cups flour, plus more for kneading as necessary
1 cup apple butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In the bottom of a large bowl combine the yeast, 1 drip of the honey, and the warm water. Let stand until the yeast mixture bubbles, 5-10 minutes. Add in the remainder of the honey, the olive oil, and the eggs and whisk well. Switch to a wooden spoon, and gently begin add in the floor one cup at a time. Halfway through, or after you've added 2 cups of flour, add the salt, then continue adding the flour. The dough should come together in a sticky mass.
2. Flour your hands and knead the dough vigorously for 5-10 minutes, until very smooth and elastic, adding more flour if needed. You can turn this out onto a board to knead, or you can be lazy like me and just knead it in your bowl. Rub the bowl liberally with olive oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 375 F. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and divide in half. Roll one half out into a rough long rectangle, oval shape. Spread the apple butter generously over the dough, stopping short of the edge. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon over top and smooth it into the apple butter with a knife. Roll up the dough into a long log and set aside. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
4. Gently stretch out each of your dough logs until very long, but don't let the dough break. Cut each log in half so you have 4 dough logs. Arrange the logs in a cross, two logs vertical, two horizontal, with the legs interwoven where they meet. Take each of the "under" logs and jump it over the log to its left. Repeat this jumping until you run out of dough and have a weird-octopus shaped things. Tuck all the ends of the dough under the center.
5. Transfer your loaf to a lined or greased baking sheet. Cover with an inverted large bowl and let rise 45 minutes to one hour. After rising, beat the remaining egg in a bowl and brush all over the dough. Bake the dough for 35-40 minutes, until well browned on top. Let cool on a rack before slicing.

Thai-Inspired Lettuce-Wrap Dinner Party

2013-04-05T17:46:00.000-05:00

This dinner party was inspired by my spontaneous purchase of a fresh coconut in the market, the challenges of opening said coconut, and the determination to do something delicious with the results. Given that coconut suggests Asian food, a cuisine I have relatively little experience with, I turned to our trusty "Hot, Sour Salty, Sweet" cookbook. Nearly every recipe here was inspired by this cookbook, I even consulted it for how to saute my peanuts, though none of the recipes were meant to be combined together in such a way. I'm old-fashioned like that, I still think cookbooks beat the internet when it comes to really learning about a cuisine.

Originally, I made some sauteed eggplant and rice on the side, figuring that guests or picky eaters who didn't want lettuce wraps could simply make themselves a more traditional plate of rice, eggplant, and chicken if they wanted. However, we mainly ended up adding the rice and eggplant to the wraps, using the rice to soak up the delicious chili sauce and the eggplant for a vegetarian wrap. Don't be put off be the long multi-day instructions, this really is easy to pull together.

Thai-Inspired Lettuce Wrap Party
Lettuce Leaves (we used butter lettuce) - separated, washed, and chilled
Chopped Toasted Peanuts
Sweet-Sour Chili Sauce
Chopped Green Onions, white and green parts
Cilantro and Mint Leaves
Pickled Carrots and Turnips
Sauteed Beef with Coconut (recipe follows)
Chicken Thighs Stewed in Coconut Milk (totally made this one up)

Optional Additions:
Sauteed Eggplant Rounds
Rice

Game Plan:
(This game plan is flexible, you could shift it out to three days ahead, our do all your prep over the weekend for a weeknight dinner party.)

Two days ahead: do all grocery shopping. Make your pickled carrots/turnips, and the sweet-sour chili sauce. Wash lettuce leaves and place them in paper-towel lined tupperware in the fridge. Total time about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

One day ahead: make the chicken in coconut milk, and prep your nuts and chopped herbs, placing them in their serving bowls and covered with plastic wrap. Total time about 1 1/2 hours (mainly the chicken stewing).

Day of party: Make the sauteed beef. If making, saute the eggplant rounds (I drizzle my eggplant rounds with some of the sweet-sour-chili sauce) and make the rice. Assemble all the components on your table and serve!

On the playlist: Keep You - Wild Belle, From Nowhere - Dan Croll, Overdrawn - White Sea, Viva La Vida - 2Cellos, Ghir Enta - Souad Messi, Hope of Lifetime - Milk Carton Kids

Beef with Coconut
The best use I've found for ground beef since hamburgers.

1 bunch scallions, white and green parts sliced
1/2 kilo freshly ground beef
oil, salt
1 tablespoon curry powder, the best you can get
1 cup freshly grated coconut or dried unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized saute pan. Saute the scallions until softened and starting to be translucent. Add in the beef, season heavily with salt and add the curry powder. Saute, breaking the beef up into bits. Just before the beef is done, stir in the coconut and mix well. When beef is done, remove to a serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce

2013-03-30T03:17:00.002-05:00

My fridge is littered with little containers of this and that. It's a reusable glass jar and tupperware minefield in there. First there's the accoutrements - 3 kinds of homemade pickles, 2 kinds of olives, preserved lemons, green harissa, red harissa, capers, Spanish white anchovies, and more. There's the tiniest serving of leftover roast carrots, grilled peppers, a swipe of hummus, a bit of grilled skirt steak that Paul can toss into a sandwich. Suffice it to say, I hate wasting food. That little tiny portion leftover from dinner? It's a perfect snack! The 3 olives left in the jar, I can use them in a salad!

My weird hoarding tendencies aside, I like to keep a lot of good sauces and condiments in the fridge because they make putting together a flavorful meal simple and fast. Got a batch of Momofuku's ginger-scallion sauce in the fridge? Boil some soba noodles and fry an egg and a delicious meal is made. Some boring grilled eggplant is perked up with a bit of tahini sauce.

This sweet and sour sauce, which I discovered in the margins of a cookbook, is one of those things that you see on the table of Vietnamese restaurants and always assume that it's some magical complex concoction. In fact, it takes about five minutes to make using things you probably have in your pantry. Frankly, you could put this stuff on just about anything (grilled chicken, a sandwich, some battered and fried shrimp, coconut fried rice, you get the idea here). Yet another staple to add to the jars in the fridge.

Spring is coming!

Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce
Adapted from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet.

1/2 cup rice vinegar, or a mixture of half cider vinegar, half white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, swirl the pan, ensuring that all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Store in fridge.

Roasted Pepper, Blood Orange, and Olive Salad

2013-03-23T15:15:00.000-05:00

I really love weeknight cooking. When I first started cooking seriously, I used to try to replicate restaurant dishes, to make fancy preparations and desserts straight out of Pierre Herme. But since then, as I've grown and matured in other parts of my life, I've found that making a good meal at home, whether for a small group of friends, or just for the two of us, is the cooking I really love. That even a simple roast chicken, with some good gratin potatoes and a green salad, can be my favorite kind of cooking. Or an easy pepper salad alongside some quinoa and lamb chops.

This easy salad takes a page from both classic Moroccan and Algerian cooking, both of which love orange-based and grilled-pepper-based salads. We got some pretty good jarred roasted red peppers the other day - the kind that are firm and not slimy - and they made this salad really easy. Blood oranges are not a must for this salad, regular oranges will do just fine.

Roasted Pepper, Blood Orange, and Olive Salad

3 roasted red peppers, jarred or freshly roasted and peeled
2 blood oranges or one large navel orange
a handful of black olives, pitted and chopped
olive oil, salt
chopped cilantro and parsley for topping

1. Slice peppers lengthwise and arrange on a platter.
2. Supreme oranges, working over a bowl to catch the juices. Arrange oranges over peppers. Sprinkle olives over top.
3. Whisk a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt in with the orange juice you caught in the bowl. Pour dressing over top, sprinkle with herbs. Serve.

Lemon-Thyme Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts

2013-03-18T15:48:00.001-05:00

I know, chicken breasts, right? Quite possibly the world's most boring ingredient. Ubiquitous, often dry, reminiscent of diets. But, truth be told, I only started eating chicken itself a few years ago. I wasn't vegetarian, I just wasn't really into chicken. Until one day, as if some genetic switch had flipped on, I discovered the joy of a good Sunday-night roast chicken. The smell so familiar from my childhood was now actually tempting and pleasant to me. After that, I discovered braised chicken thighs, and only now, at almost 30 (30!) years old, have I started eating chicken breasts.

The secret here is a technique called butter basting. Essentially as the chicken is cooking, you tilt the pan and gently spoon the butter in the pan over the top of the chicken breasts repeatedly. This is a great technique for any quick sauteed meat or fish dish. I finish the chicken in the oven, and then you can serve it as is, or it's also great cut up over a salad. Our current favorite salad includes chicken, lettuce, avocado, freshly shaved coconut, and thinly sliced kumquats with a chili dressing. It is by far the best use of kumquats I've come across, and Paul has even named it the "Chili CLACK salad."

Lemon-Thyme Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts
I did not give precise cooking times here because this is really something you need to do by feel. Chicken breasts can vary greatly in terms of size, and the type of pan and amount of heat your stove gives off can make a big difference, therefore you have to use your instincts.

2 chicken breasts
1 lemon, halved
olive oil, salt, pepper
1 tablespoon butter
a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves separated (dried can work too)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. If you have a convection setting turn that on.
2. Place chicken breasts in a shallow bowl. Squeeze one half of the lemon over the top. Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of chicken. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
3. Preheat a glug of olive oil in a medium sized saute pan. Add in the butter and swirl it around as it foams, the pan should be hot. Place chicken breasts top-side down in the pan, sprinkle half the thyme over top. Turn heat to medium and cook until nicely browned on one side, gently tilting the pan and spooning the butter over top of the chicken numerous times throughout. Flip the chicken breasts over, sprinkle remaining thyme over top, and cook another 3-5 minutes spooning butter over top a few times, until browned on the second side.
4. Slide the chicken into the oven and cook until chicken is done. On most chicken breasts there is naturally a sort of flap or indent along the center, and you can just peak in there to make sure it's not pink. Place chicken on plates, drizzle any remaining pan sauce over top. Serve with lemon wedges.

What We Brought Home from the Market

2013-03-08T07:29:00.001-05:00

Someone commented recently that I should post more pictures of Algiers here, and while I would like to take more photos of Algiers, a recent news story came to mind. A young man was here as part of a delegation, something to do with preserving the old buildings of Algiers, and he was out taking a photo of an historic building when police came up and began questioning him. The foreigner was detained by the police for a day before the matter was sorted out and he was released. (For French speakers, this story was in Tout Sur Algerie). So, unfortunately, I'm not very brave about taking photos.

Until I am confident enough to take photos of the markets here, I thought I would share some pictures of what we brought home from the market this week. As usual, I went a little overboard at Premier Mai. We got some usual things like pumpkin, frisee lettuce, swiss chard and the like. Here are some of the more uniquely Algerian items we picked up.

Desert Truffles - lots of vendors had these, and while I'd seen them before in Syria I'd never bought one. These truffles occur in the desert where lightning strikes and when just the right amount of other magical elements occur. They are somewhat potato-like and I have a couple recipes for tagines with them. (Bedouins apparently call them the potatoes of thunder.)

Lamb's Liver - Yes, I bought this huge liver, and let's just say it was not cheap. At my last physical exam I was told I had severe B12-deficiency anemia, so since then I take supplements and try to eat liver on occasion. I particularly like a quick saute of chicken liver with pomegranate molasses and lots of caramelized onions. Lamb's liver is new to me, I admit I have no idea what I'm going to do with this thing.

Green Pepper Dip and Pickled Cauliflower - The guy at the market told me the name of the green pepper dip but I have already forgotten it (mshay, shmay? oy, Algerian dialect is so weird). It is quite common, and is sort of a cousin to felfel. A lot of people mix in some green olives when they serve this with kesra bread as an appetizer.

Turkey Merguez - We love the local merguez here, it is fantastic, but also rather artery-clogging. I had never seen any other sausage here, and I'm excited to try this turkey version. It smells deliciously of garlic.

Spices - I needed some ginger but of course couldn't resist getting some other things as well. I got the tagine spice mix and some piment fort, which I have been warned is extremely spicy.

Quinces and Little Asian Pears - It's the end of the season for quince, so I thought I'd make some more to have for dessert this week.

I'd never seen these peppers in the market, but the red ones are the ones used to make harissa. So of course I had to buy them.

Some date filled semolina cakes to take to the office.

Quick Pickled Carrots and Turnips

2013-03-05T15:17:00.002-05:00

A little while ago I listened to an interview with Sander Katz about probiotic and fermented foods. Given that I am a champion consumer of yogurt, I am also a strong believer in its healing power as a cure for traveler's stomach ailments. (Side note: knock on wood we have not had a single episode of such thing in Algiers, which I'm amazed by. Though it's possible I got every possible virus and bacteria in two years in Syria.) Anyway, it's possible all my favorite foods - bread, coffee, yogurt, stinky cheese - are fermented foods.

And of course pickles. My favorite kinds of pickles are those made with really crunchy vegetables - carrots, turnips, radishes, and especially cauliflower. I really like to put pickled carrots into sandwiches, or just to nibble on before dinner. This recipe was inspired by one in Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet.

Quick Pickled Carrots and Turnips

1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut into batons
1/2 lb turnips, peeled and cut into batons
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup rice vinegar (white vinegar can work too)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch grains of paradise or black peppercorns

1. Place carrots and turnips into glass jars. Place remaining ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once the salt and sugar have dissolved, shut off the heat, let the pan sit to cool for 4-5 minutes (it will still be warm). Pour the warm brine mixture over the carrots and turnips. Seal the jars. Let sit on the counter until cooled to room temperature, then store in the fridge.
2. Can be eaten after a few hours, but I find best at the 2-3 day mark. Keeps for a long time.

Friday Link Love

2013-03-01T09:28:00.004-05:00

The rainy season persists in Algiers, not a day goes by without a lovely mix of five-minute bursts of rain, or persistent hail/snow/sleet, wind, and 40-degree temperatures. I was lucky to escape to Egypt for a bit of sun and some time to fill up on hummus (seemingly non-existant in Algeria). I bought a big box of dates at the market and have been eating them, filled with peanut butter, chopped into my yogurt, pretty much nonstop. I have some recipes floating about waiting to be posted here, but in the meantime, here's a few things that have caught my eye.

Bram Cookware - beautiful clay vessels, many North African made items (Egyptian bean pots! Tunisian tagines! Cazuelas!)

Paul is eyeing this for his next pie-venture - Chocolate Chess Pie

If only I could get dark greens here, this would be a great use of local ingredients - Rapini with Harissa and Preserved Lemon

Oma & Bella - in our movie queue

Friday night tune - Cayucas, High School Lover

Roast Cabbage Wedges with Mustard-Preserved Lemon Dressing

2013-02-22T11:16:00.001-05:00

This recipe started from my frustration with another recipe that we recently made for dinner. Paul had wanted to make this cabbage with sausage recipe, using our local merguez sausages, and I took the extremely rare step of actually following a recipe to the letter. I am a terrible recipe follower - I tinker, I tweak, if I'm out of one thing I'm happy to substitute for another. Sometimes I change a recipe because I know a better technique, or because I'm trying to be healthier, but most of the time it's simply because I prefer things done certain ways. I like roasted carrots better than boiled, I'm partial to slicing my onions very thinly when caramelizing them, etc.

The dinner recipe was delicious, but it irked me that the recipe had you blanch wedges of cabbage. Instead of the beautiful picture of perfect cabbage wedges, as I predicted my cabbage wedges all drifted into disparate pieces while blanching, landing in a tumble on the plate. As I was puzzling over how to present cabbage in lovely shaped wedges, I thought of roasting them. Roasting cabbage had never occured to me before, but it's great. The outer edges curl up and crisp like those oh-so-popular kale chips, while the center cooks until just barely soft and tender. Top with a vinaigrette and they're a nice side dish to whatever else you're having with dinner.

Roast Cabbage Wedges with Mustard-Preserved Lemon Dressing
A bit of shaved pecorino cheese and some chopped chives on top would be a nice way to dress this dish up a bit.

Cabbage:
1 small head of green cabbage (any variety), sliced into medium wedges with the core still attached
olive oil, salt, and pepper
Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 preserved lemon, chopped
1 teaspoon capers

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Rub baking sheet with oil, place cabbage wedges on top, and drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the cabbage for 20-30 minutes, until the outer leaves are slightly blackened and the inner core is tender when poked with a knife. Use your judgement, it may take more or less time depending on the size of your cabbage..
2. Meanwhile whisk together all the dressing ingredients. When ready to serve, place the cabbage wedges on a plate and spoon the dressing over top.

In the Midnight Kitchen

2013-02-05T12:47:00.000-05:00

with Warm Yogurt Soup with Freekiah and Herbs

Gingerbread Cookies

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Paul's Pear Frangipane Tart

Often I don't document the things we make at night, sometimes because I take terrible pictures in the dark, other times because it's the end of a long workday and I'm tired and just throwing something together. Cooking here in Algiers is not just a hobby but a necessity. Other than pizza, schwarma, omelets, and ice cream, take-out or pre-prepared food of any kind is almost non-existant here. Which is why you might find me padding around the kitchen late at night, sliding some bread out of the oven or making cookies, or prepping lettuce for a salad the next day. I'm probably wearing my workout clothes from earlier in the evening and a big pair of hand-knit socks and listening to one of my favorite podcasts.

It's been a while since I've written about yogurt soups and yogurt-based sauces, but they seem to have had a bit of a resurgence on the interwebs. I still believe that to make true yogurt sauce you stabilize the yogurt and let it come to a full boil (see here for more). However, stabilizing and then lightly heating the yogurt works nicely too and is a bit less stressful. A warm yogurt soup is super-simple and comforting on a cold winter evening. You literally whisk together the yogurt ingredients in a pot, and then heat them to steaming - that's it for the yogurt base. Then I like to put in whatever I have lying around the fridge - like leftover rice or wheatberries from a previous dinner, some chickpeas or beans, perhaps some vegetables. Add in plenty of chopped herbs, a drizzle of good olive oil, and dinner is served. You can dress it up by infusing your olive oil with saffron or spices.

Warm Yogurt Soup with Freekiah and Herbs
Plain yogurt varies in thickness, so use your judgement when adding the broth to the soup. If the soup is still very thick you may want to go with 2 cups of broth. If your broth is very salty go easy on any added salt. Freekiah is available in Middle Eastern groceries, wheatberries make a nice substitute.

3 cups plain yogurt (preferably not fat-free)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 egg white
1 cup cooked freekiah (cracked green wheat)
1 1/2 cups chickpeas
1 cup of chopped mixed herbs (any mix of parsley, cilantro, mint, chives, fennel fronds, etc)
1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth (or water)
salt and pepper
pinch of saffron
olive oil for drizzling

1. Place the broth, cooked freekiah, chickpeas, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a pot, and place over low heat, you just want to warm the mixture.
2. Whisk together the yogurt, cornstarch, and egg white in a pot off of the heat. Whisk until well combined. Place the pot on the heat at medium heat. Stirring occasionally let the mixture heat until it is very warm and steaming, but does not boil.
3. Gently stir in the chickpea and freekiah mixture with the broth. Stir everything together over low heat until very warm again. Add in the herbs and stir well.Season with salt and peper
4. Ladle the soup into bowls. Crumble a pinch of saffron over top and drizzle with olive oil. Serve warm, with good crusty bread.

Algerian Cookies: Griwich

2013-02-02T05:01:00.001-05:00

The little bodega near our house, where we often pick up milk and yogurt and drain cleaner (local plumbing lacks some basic construction concepts), carries boxes of cookies made from a local bakery. There are your classic Arab cookies - the dome-shaped shortbread gharabiya, the semolina cookies sandwiched with date paste (makroud), European linzer cookies, and some more local varieties.

This local cookie is called griwich, and is made of a simple semolina dough which is cut in a series of strips, twisted around, deep fried, and then coated in honey. I don't usually like the fried and syruped cookies, things like Syrian awameh and those Indian gulab jamun, they are always too heavy to my taste. However these are surprisingly light and manage to keep a good crispiness even when stored for a few days. You can see them being made here - they also sell little plastic cookie cutters to cut the griwich shape.

The Blue Doors

2013-01-23T15:54:00.002-05:00

As you can imagine, recent events in Algeria mean we're a little bit consumed with other things at the moment. These are some photos I snapped on New Year's Eve in Sidi Fredj, just outside Algiers. This morning we had snow on the ground, and are ending the day with fireworks for the Prophet's (PBUH) birthday. Things are never predictable around here.

Cabbage, Apricot, Walnut Salad

2013-01-15T17:21:00.000-05:00

Admittedly, this is something I made in the last few days as we were going out of town, an attempt to use up the odds and ends in the fridge. I had no intention to post this here, but it turned out to be pretty darn good, and an easy healthy thing to take for lunch. I tend to make a lot of grain salads like this one as they keep well and are satisfying and easy.

I have noticed that whenever I buy a head of red cabbage it seems to multiply exponentially. First, I use half of it to make my favorite braised red cabbage, the slivers filling up my large cast iron skillet as they cook down. Then, I use some of it to make a salad, or to saute quickly and serve alongside some chicken or fish. But every time I look into the vegetable bin, it's still there, taunting me. How have I not used this all up yet?!?!

If you have the same red cabbage problem I do, then this salad may be an answer. Also, blitzing it in the food processor is a nice way to chop it quickly, for whatever dish you're trying to dispatch it with. Two things you should be warned about this salad, one it has that sulfurous cabbage smell. so if that bothers you, then this might not be the salad for you. Second, be generous with the dressing, as it needs quite a bit to keep it moist.

Cabbage, Apricot, Walnut Salad

2 cups cooked couscous (or bulgur or quinoa)
1/4 of a small head of red cabbage (use 1/8 of a large head)
1 cup of whole dried apricots
1/2 cup walnut pieces or toasted hazelnuts
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch allspice
salt, pepper
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil

1. Chop the apricots into small pieces. Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet and set aside.
2. Roughly chop the cabbage, then place in a food processor and pulse until chopped into very small bits.
3. Combine couscous/bulgur, red cabbage, apricots, toasted walnuts, cilantro, parsley in a bowl. Add the cinnamon and allspice and season well with salt and pepper. Pour over the lemon juice and olive oil, tossing to coat. I usually eyeball the olive oil, but if you need a measurement I'd go with about 1/4 cup (this salad tends to need more oil then you think otherwise it verges on dry). Taste for seasoning, serve.

Questions

2013-01-11T17:10:00.002-05:00

How come I can buy the world's largest butternut squash, but I can only buy these teeny tiny containers of yogurt? What if I want to make a recipe that calls for 2 cups of yogurt, why then yes, it's totally normal to buy 20 tiny containers from the store. Of course.

Algeria, so many questions.

Why do you only ever sell purple onions? How come we only ever, ever see white onions during Ramadan, and then they miraculously disappear. Are white onions so much harder to grow than purple onions?

How come for months I could buy labne in the stores here and now, ever since the December, no one in the entire country has labne.

And why, why, is it impossible to buy bread after 5 pm? I know you all like your bread and all, but apparently unlike everyone else in this country, I don't leave work to go to the bakery in the middle of the day.

I suppose I should stop asking questions and go back to eating my delicious local oranges now.

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

2013-01-05T05:18:00.001-05:00

Happy 2013 everyone! I'm not one for New Year's resolutions - who is, I always wonder. Smokers who make the same resolutions year after year? But after the excesses of the holidays (let's just say a lot of mince pies and sticky toffee pudding were had in London), a reminder to eat simpler and lighter is always nice. Upon our return home I've already made three kinds of soup, and I have several more on my list.

As much as we enjoy Algerian flatbreads, it's nice to have a proper sandwich bread around the house too. Something to make toast with - in my opinion "things on toast" is a whole category of perfect meals for one. Also for the eponymous sandwiches and grilled cheese of course. What are you making this new year?

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread
The dough will appear almost too much for your loaf pan - just pile it on in there. This is inspired by a recipe from Good to The Grain, if you don't have graham flour just use 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat.

1 package yeast, or 1 teaspoon instant yeast
3 tablespoons molasses
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup graham flour
2 cups bread flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1. Place the yeast, molasses, and warm water in a large bowl. If using regular yeast, let the mixture stand until the yeast blooms, about 5 minutes. If using instant yeast you can proceed immediately.
2. Slowly add the whole wheat, graham, and bread flour, stirring with a wood spoon. Add the butter, salt, and oats and stir vigorously with the spoon. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes covered with a damp towel.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until smooth and cohesive. Grease a bowl with butter or oil, then place the dough in the bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise for one hour.
4. Grease a loaf pan with butter and pre-heat the oven to 400 F. Punch down the dough, pushing the bubble out, then scrape up the dough and transfer it, as neatly as possible, into the brepared loaf pan. Cover again with a damp towel and let rise until dough is puffed above the edge of the pan, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Bake the dough for about 40 minutes, until the top of the loaf is very dark brown, like the color of molasses. The dough should sound hollow when tapped on top. Gently remove the bread from the pan and let cool on a rack at least 2 hours before slicing (this allows the crumb to firm up and the flavor to develop).

Pumpkin and Chickpea Salad with Tahini

2012-12-28T05:30:00.000-05:00

This is one of those recipes that I make all the time and somehow manage to never put on the blog. However, recently several people have asked me for the recipe, and since I was already cooking with pumpkin and chickpeas recently, I can finally share it here.

This originally came from the second Moro Cookbook, (where we just had lunch last week) but I've been making it so long that it's transformed into it's own sort of thing. Sometimes I make it with only tahini sauce, whereas other times I layer the dish with both tahini sauce and yogurt. Other time I change up the vegetables, making this with fried eggplant rounds or sauteed spinach. Someone commented to me recently that the eggplant version reminded them of fetteh with eggplant, only lighter and not so glopped with yogurt (don't get me wrong, I love fetteh, but sometimes something more elegant is in order). This is a really great thing to feed a crowd and looks beautiful on a buffet table or as part of a dinner party.

Pumpkin and Chickpea Salad with Tahini
Pumpkin can sometimes be watery, and if you think that may be the case with yours, I like to deep fry instead of roast the pumpkin. The measurements given are just a rough guideline, you can make as much or as little as you want. See below for several variations on this salad.

2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cups of 1/2-inch cubed pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt to taste
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
chopped cilantro and parsley for serving
1 small container plain yogurt (optional)
For tahini sauce:
1/2 cup tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
pinch salt

1. Mix the tahini, lemon, and salt in a bowl. The mixture should get very thick. Slowly add water to the mixture until it reaches a pourable consistency again. (If you accidentally add too much water, pop it in the fridge and it will thicken up again.)
2. Preheat the oven 400 F. Toss the cubed pumpkin with olive oil to coat, and cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Spread the pumpkin out onto a baking sheet and roast until just tender. About 15-20 minutes with a regular oven and less if using convection. The pumpkin should be just tender when poked with a knife.
3. While the pumpkin is cooking, place the chickpeas in a saucepan with a pinch of salt and place them over medium heat, just to warm them up a bit.
4. Artfully arrange the chickpeas and pumpkin in a serving dish. If I am making a particularly large quantity of this dish, I will drizzle a layer of tahini sauce and yogurt over the dish when I'm about half way through, then pile on the remaining pumpkin and chickpea.
5. Using a spoon, drizzle the tahini sauce generously over the dish, then drizzle some of the yogurt over if using. Top with the pine nuts and sprinkle with herbs. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Eggplant and Chickpea Salad: Substitute sliced eggplant rounds for pumpkin. Salt the eggplant rounds, let sit twenty minutes, pat eggplant dry then fry the rounds in a large saucepan in an inch of oil until browned and tender. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle the eggplant with Aleppo pepper then proceed with the recipe as usual. You'll definitely want the yogurt here.

Try another variation with roasted cauliflower. Or make it with sauteed spinach. If you want to dress this up, try adding pomegranate seeds or dried fruit (currants, golden raisins).