Chicken Ghaza

This is a recipe that is inspired by a dish served at a restaurant in my home town. The chef and owner is Palestinian American and his food is delightful. About 30 years ago, I was given the outline of this recipe, and I have made it and modified it. This is my interpretation of it. Although the original was made with chicken breasts, I actually prefer to make it with chicken thighs. 2 1/2 - 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 tablespoon of ground hot chili or cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon flake salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
1/2 cup lemon juice
10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
pomegranate pips to garnish

Mix hot pepper, black pepper, paprika, cumin, cinnamon with half of the garlic. Stir in the lemon juice. Pour over chicken in a large bowl, and cover with plastic. Set aside and marinate at least an hour.

Broil the marinated chicken on high for 15-20 minutes, turning once.

Melt the butter in a frying pan, and add the rest of the garlic to the heated butter. Add the pomegranate juice, wine, and pomegranate molasses to the pan, along with the garlic and butter.

Add the chicken to the sauce and let simmer together for 5 minutes.

Garnish with pomegranate seeds and serve.

H'ejazi Style Ful

You can make this with ful cooked from dry, or from a can, but use the smaller ful beans, rather than the larger ones. This is more how I grew up eating it at home, though my mother didn't either smoke it or add smoked paprika. I use the smoked paprika, rather than charcoal to smoke it, so that is how I make it here. If you have the time and interest to smoke it with charcoal, I'd recommend it, but it's not what I do on an average Wednesday morning. Roasted tomatoes are also a lovely addition.

1/2 cup good olive oil + more to smoke and to serve
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
4 medium tomatoes, chopped (or a large can of chopped/diced tomatoes, with their juices)
2 small to medium chiles, like red serranos, or one green and one red
4 teaspoons flake salt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cans ful mudammas (about 4 cups cooked) with the liquid
1 lit charcoal pellet to smoke (optional)

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add onions. Cook onions until they are wilted and soft. Add tomatoes, chiles, salt and spices. Cook to reduce the liquid a little.

Add the ful with 1/2 cup of the liquid. Mash slightly and mix well with the other ingredients. Cover with the lid and allow to cook for about 20 minutes, checking on it to make sure it doesn't get too dry. If it is too dry, add a little more of the cooking liquid (or liquid from the can) and stir.

If you are smoking the ful: Tear a piece of aluminum foil, fold it in half. Place it directly on the ful. Drizzle a little olive oil in the middle of the foil and immediately place the lit charcoal on the foil. Fold the foil over the charcoal and replace the lid. Let it rest for about 2 minutes, then remove he charcoal and aluminum. Serve in a shallow, rimmed dish, with a heavy drizzle of more olive oil. Serve with chopped or slivered radishes, chopped fresh tomatoes, spears of cucumber, good brined olives, and/or chopped cilantro or parsley and good, hot Arabic bread. You may wish to serve it with shatta, duqqus, sah'awiq, or harissa.

Jordanian Date Rings

Get good date paste or dates, if you can! Saudi dates are the best in the world, so if you can find them, I encourage you to get them (I have a picture of the kind I get at the bottom). The original recipe I found for these were made larger, but I think the proportion of dough to date is better when you make more and smaller rings. You can use saffron instead of turmeric for the color, which will make a lovely flavor, but I like the turmeric. If you have a large enough bread machine, you could make the dough on the dough cycle in that, instead of mixing with a stand mixer or by hand. If you live in a more humid place than our desert, you may need up to 1/2 cup more bread flour than listed here.

4 1/2 – 5 cups bread flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon flake salt
1/3 cup melted sammen or unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup slightly warmed milk
1/2 cup warm water warmed + more water to help seal the dough
Egg wash - 1 egg whisked with 2 teaspoons milk
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Date Filling:
1 pound date paste (or grind up pitted dates in the same quantity)
2 1/2 tablespoons melted sammen or unsalted butter
1 tablespoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Using a stand mixer set to medium, combine 4 1/2 cups of flour with the sugar, yeast, cardamon and turmeric. Switch to stir (or low), and slowly add the melted sammen until combined. Add in the yogurt, vinegar and vanilla, until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down after mixing each one to make sure all ingredients are combined.

Add the warmed milk and water and mix to combine, then remove dough to lightly floured surface. I use the remaining half cup of flour for this, and add a little at a time, as I knead. Knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky, kneading for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft. Do not add too much, or the dough will be too dry.

Shape the dough in a tight ball, and place on a floured surface. Turn a large oiled bowl over it and allow the dough to rise in a warm, dry place for at least an hour or until doubled in size.

While it is rising, mix the date paste well with the sammen, Ceylon cinnamon, and cardamom and set aside.

Once the dough is doubled, remove the bowl and gently push it down with your hand. Allow the dough to rest for about 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 400°F or a convection oven at 375˚F. Line a large baking sheet or two half baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Set a small bowl of water out to be ready to seal the rings. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Divide date paste into 12 equal parts. Roll out each piece of dough on a flat, lightly floured surface, creating a roughly rectangular piece about 1/4 inch thick. Roll each date piece into a long rope that is equal to the length of the rolled out dough. Wet the edged of the dough with water. Place the date rope at the top of your dough, rolling the dough length wise along around the date paste. Pinch the edges of the dough closed. Roll the rings along your floured surface to help it seal.

Join the two edges of the dough, making a circle, using more water to help join the dough. If the edges aren't sealed, they could open while baking. Using a sharp knife or clean kitchen shears, cut equally spaced slits around the outer ring of your dough, only going 1/3 through the ring, starting just next to your circle seal and working your way around. Brush egg wash over each dough ring using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Allow shaped rings to rest for an additional 10 minutes in a warm, dry space.

Bake date rings for 8-10 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown.

Switch to your broiler, browning the tops for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown (watch carefully, as they can go from brown to burned quite quickly). Serve them hot out of the oven or allow to cool on a wire rack and then store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Quince Pie

Living where we live, it is difficult to get the quince to make this at all. However, it is a wonderful pie, and if you can get your hands on some quince, I strongly recommend giving this a try. Save the skins and cores (with the seed pods removed) for making jelly. I'll include a note at the bottom for how to do that. I was able to make both pastries and half recipes of the preserves and jelly with about eight and a half to nine pounds of quince. However, if you can find quince, I'd make the full recipe of the preserves and jelly.

1 recipe Flaky Butter Crust
3 pounds ripe quince, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup tapioca starch
Zest and strained juice of small lemon
2 tablespoons rosewater
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter to top filling

Mix quince, sugar, tapioca starch, lemon zest and juice, rosewater, and vanilla extract or paste in a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Roll out pie crust and line a deep dish pie pan. Fill with the quince filling and dot with the unsalted butter. Cover with the second crust, seal, trim and crimp the edged. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown and crisp, and the filling is bubbling.

Quince Almond Tart

This tart is entirely gluten free, so it is a good choice for serving to people with allergies or sensitivities. You will need a 9 - 10 inch round tart pan for this quantity.

Almond Crust:
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg, lightly beaten

Combine almonds flour and sugar in a medium bowl or food processor. Scatter butter over top, mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and mix until dough gathers into a ball. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Filling:
2 pounds ripe quince, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup tapioca starch
Zest and strained juice of small lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Crumble Topping:
1 cup almond flour
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter

Mix quince, sugar, tapioca starch, lemon zest and juice, rosewater, and vanilla extract or paste in a large bowl.

Stir together crumble topping ingredients and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Press chilled almond tart dough into large, round, tart pan evenly, pressing half way up the sides and making sure there aren't holes on the bottom. Fill with quince filling. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with the crumble topping. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes, until crumble is browned.

Remove from oven and allow to rest so the topping firms up a bit. Serve by itself or with Arabian Nights Chantilly Cream or vanilla ice cream.

Quince Preserves

This is the method my beloved Khallah Fawzia told me when I was in Saudi Arabia. I spent part of my time there making sure I recorded family recipes and family history, so it doesn't end with my generation here in the United States. You can cut this recipe in half easily. To cut it in thirds, use 2 1/4 pounds quince, 4 cups sugar, and a third of all other ingredients. This recipe makes about 8 - 10 pints.

6 2/3 pounds (3 kg) quince (washed, peeled and sliced, then held in lemon water)
10 cups sugar
24 cups of water
2 tablespoons lemon salt (crystallized citric acid)
3 cinnamon sticks
9 cardamom pods
9 whole cloves

Heat sugar with water, lemon salt, cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods. Bring to a boil, and boil rapidly for five minutes. Drain fruit and add to syrup. Heat until it turns pink. Add whole cloves and remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks.

Fill hot, sterilized pint or quart jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims, seal with lid and rings to finger tip tightness. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from canning pot to a rack or towel and allow to rest, undisturbed for 24 hours.

Quince Jelly

This is a method more than a strict recipe. There is so much pectin in quince (and apples and crabapples) that you really don't need to add any to them.

Save quince skins and cores (seed pods removed) from baking or making preserves to make jelly. Bring to a boil with just enough water to cover, cover pan and stew over medium heat until they are very soft, between 45 and 60 minutes, stirring and mashing occasionally. Ladle fruit and juice into a jelly bag hanging from a rack over a bowl let the juice strip until the flow stops a few hours or overnight. Press a tiny bit on the outside to extract liquid that will emerge readily, but not too hard or you have cloudy jelly.

Jelly should be made with 3/4 of a cup of sugar for every cup of juice, stir until all sugar has dissolved, then set pan over high heat. Add the juice of a lemon, strained. Boil rapidly until it passes the jelly test or is approximately 220° about 15 to 25 minutes, maybe longer. Skim off any foam and ladle jelly into hot, sterilized half pint or pint jars leaving a quarter inch to half an inch headspace. Wipe rims, seal with lid and rings to finger tip tightness. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from canning pot to a rack or towel and allow to rest, undisturbed for 24 hours.

Labels: Homemaking, Preserving the Harvest, Recipes, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:27 AM