An Edible Mosaic. Faith Gorsky
more water than the amount of rice i’m using. Then bring the rice up to a boil, cover the pot, and turn it down to very low. Let the rice cook until it’s tender but not mushy and all the water is absorbed (this takes about 10 minutes) without opening the lid; at this point turn off the heat and let the rice sit for 15 minutes. Uncover the rice, fluff it with a fork, and revel in its perfection.
Preparing Chicken: Most chicken recipes in this book require use of a whole chicken; this is generally the best bargain, and what is most commonly used in the Middle East. For most recipes, the chicken must first be butchered. To do so, remove the innards, giblets, head, and neck (most chickens can be purchased this way from the grocery store). Cut out the chicken’s backbone by first cutting down one side of it and then down the other; quarter the chicken so you have 2 breasts and 2 thigh/leg pieces, and then cut each breast into 2 pieces, leaving the wing attached. You will end up with 6 pieces total; if you prefer, you can also separate the leg and thigh so you end up with 8 pieces total. Cut away the wing tips and excess fat, leaving the skin on; rinse the chicken and pat it dry. The next step—soaking or brining—is optional but highly recommend. Brining chicken yields juicier, tenderer, and more flavorful result, and it also helps to refresh the meat, removing any “fishy” smells. To brine a whole chicken, butcher the chicken as described above, then put it into a large, non-reactive bowl. Add 1 tablespoon non-iodized salt, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and 4 cups (1 liter) of lukewarm water to a large measuring cup with a pour spout; stir to dissolve, then cool to room temperature. Pour the liquid over the chicken, and then add enough cold water to cover, transfer to the fridge and soak 4 hours (or up to 2 days). Once it’s done soaking, rinse the chicken thoroughly under cold running water, pat dry, and proceed with the recipe. Now for cooking the chicken…typically in Middle Eastern cooking, when chicken is served with a meal containing a sauce and/or rice dish, like Roast Chicken with Rice and Vegetable Soup on page 90 or Baked Chicken with Red Rice Pilaf on page 96, the chicken is first boiled until fully cooked, and then deep-fried to crisp the skin. The one benefit I can see of this method is that you end up with homemade chicken stock as a by-product of boiling the chicken; however, since good quality stock or even stock cubes are commonly available at grocery stores, I prefer a simpler, one-step method that I think results in juicier, more flavorful chicken: roasting! to roast, preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C) and arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Rub the top with a little olive oil, yogurt, and/or spices (each recipe will specify the quantities) and roast until the juices run clear when poked with a sharp knife, about 50 to 60 minutes. Once roasted, if you want the chicken to have more color, you can broil it for a couple of minutes. (My mother-in-law has recently started using a slightly different method: boiling the chicken as normal, but then placing the chicken in a shallow dish, rubbing the top with a little yogurt, and broiling it until it gets a little color. I think this method is pretty ingenious, but I still prefer the flavor and texture of chicken that has been roasted.) in the end, you can cook the chicken whatever way is easiest for you.
Putting Together Maza Platters: Maza can have several different meanings, but in this book i’m referring to a variety of different dishes on small plates, served together on one large platter. Usually food served this way is rustically eaten off the tray either with your hands or with flatbread for scooping. This style of eating is common for smaller meals (i.e., breakfast and dinner), and is also used to serve appetizers before lunch (which is the largest meal of the day) or as a snack. So, what goes on a maza platter? it can be anything you like! Breakfast platters may contain eggs (cooked any way), fresh herbs, sliced tomato and/or cucumber, Yogurt Cheese (page 73), Sesame Fudge (page 119), a variety of olives, olive oil, thyme Spice Mix (page 29), flatbread, and tea. For maza platters served at other times of the day, leftovers are perfect and vegetable dishes are abundant; i’ve seen many a maza with fried eggplant, like the eggplant made in Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Parsley Dressing on page 53 or a small dish of Okra with tomatoes in a Fragrant Sauce on page 55 or Spiced Green Beans with tomatoes on page 59. In general, maza platters don’t include meat, unless it’s leftovers that had meat, or occasionally a can of tuna, a tin of sardines, or a bit of sliced luncheon meat, such as mortadella or basterma.
Clockwise From twelve O’clock: Olive Oil, Fresh Mint Leaves, Flatbread, Yogurt Cheese (page 73), Assorted Olives, Chopped tomato, and Fresh Green Onion (Scallion); thyme Spice Mix (page 29) and Sliced Cucumber in the center
Clockwise From two O’clock: Romaine Lettuce, Baby tomatoes, Flatbread, tuna Fish, and Lemon wedges (center)
Using a Pressure Cooker: these days most of us are so busy that kitchen shortcuts have become indispensible; even my mother-in-law in Syria (a traditionalist in the kitchen) frequently uses a pressure cooker to save time. A pressure cooker is a special pot with an airtight lid and a vent or pressure release valve (newer models have more safety features and slightly fancier lids). So how does a pressure cooker speed up cooking? Food and liquid are put into the pressure cooker and the lid is sealed on top; the pot is then placed on a heat source. Once the liquid boils, the steam that would normally escape has nowhere to go since the pressure cooker’s lid is airtight; instead, the steam remains trapped and causes the pressure inside the pot to increase. As the pressure increases, so does the temperature at which the liquid boils, allowing foods to cook more quickly (foods cooked under pressure typically cook in about one-third of the time). In Middle Eastern cooking, foods with long simmering times (such as meat, beans, etc.) are well suited for pressure-cooking. (Note: Make sure to thoroughly read the manufacturer’s instructions before getting started.)
Coffee the Middle Eastern Way:
what is commonly known as turkish Coffee (Qaweh turkiyeh) is drunk all day long in the Middle East; it’s what you wake up to, what you drink as an afternoon pick-me-up, and what you serve to guests. (For more information, see turkish Coffee, page 139.) traditional Arabic coffee (called Qaweh Arabi or Qaweh Mourra) is generally reserved for a few special occasions, such as holidays, weddings, and funerals. Green coffee beans are roasted in a pan over a fire and then coarsely ground with cardamom using a large brass mortar and pestle. Water and the ground coffee are added to the pot used for making Arabic Coffee (see Middle Eastern Coffee Pot, page 16), and then placed on the fire to brew. Once the coffee boils, it is typically left to simmer for around 10 minutes, and then it’s removed from the heat and steeped for about another 10 minutes. At this point, other spices such as cloves may be added, but sugar and milk are never added. Dates may or may not be offered along with the coffee. A small amount of coffee—usually just enough to cover the bottom of the cup—is poured into a small cup without a handle called a finjan (which is about the same size as a demitasse cup). (A small but important note, coffee should be poured from a pot held in the left hand into a cup held in the right; it should always be drunk from the right hand.) Guests are served in the order of their importance and then the host serves himself last. Empty cups are handed back to the host; if the cup is shaken, it signifies to the host that the drinker is finished. If the cup isn’t shaken when it’s handed back, it signifies that the drinker would like more coffee. The first time I had this coffee was at a restaurant in Syria; I was quite surprised at its bitterness. I asked a friend about the coffee’s bitterness and he told me that it isn’t a matter of liking Arabic coffee. He said that in Middle Eastern culture, it’s just something you know you’ll taste a couple times a year.
Basic Cooking Tools
Glancing through the list of cooking tools, you'll notice that some are very traditional (mortar and pestle) and others are for today's modern kitchen (think food processor!). Modern kitchen tools and appliances are by no means necessities (that is, if time is not of the essence), since cooking tasks can always be done by hand the traditional way … but these amenities sure do make our lives easier. And on the flip side,