On Thursday, we celebrate Thanksgiving, a Christian festival of thanks for the harvest. At the same time, the Muslim world will be celebrating the festival of Eid-al-Fitr, which marks the end of their month of fasting called Ramadan. With the world of Islam now on our doorstep, I thought it fitting to acknowledge our debt to that culture for introducing into our culinary heritage certain foods and cooking techniques. The Arabs of the 7th century a.d., the people of the arid region between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, were predominately traders. Their caravans carried the bounty of the whole Middle Eastern region as well as parts of Africa and Asia. At the time, Baghdad was the center of a luxurious world populated by Syrians, Persians and Turks, as well as the indigenous Arabs. The food of this desert area, which we continue to enjoy to this day, contained citrus fruits, almonds, pistachios, grapes, melons, quinces, figs, eggplant, honey, saffron and other spices. The nomadic tribes contributed dates and laban, a type of yoghurt. Pilafs, lamb dishes and grains like couscous were part of the diet borrowed from African and Asian shores. With Islam's prohibition of pork, the favorite meat of the Middle East region became and remains to this day, lamb and mutton. Spitted whole and cooked over open fires, slowly simmered in stews or threaded on skewers for kabobs, the meat became a staple of the Muslim diet. When we lived in the Middle East, we had many opportunities to attend desert banquets where vast copper trays of succulent roast lamb resting on a bed of rice, were placed before us. Seated on old Persian carpets, we'd reach into the communal pot with our right hands [the left hand must not touch the food] and with some degree of dexterity take a portion of the meat and rice and convey it to our mouths. Often I was the only woman present, a dubious honor in that part of the world. Occasionally, the meat proffered was goat, in which case the gathering was referred to as a "goat grab", the eyeballs and testicles considered to be the choicest morsels. Most of us are familiar with some Middle Eastern dishes, their names are now a part of our culinary vocabulary; hummus, made from chickpeas, tabbouleh from burghul wheat, dolmas, the Greek grape leaf morsel, moussaka, a lamb and eggplant dish, pilafs and sweet, nutty baklavas. I have many favorites that I prepare often such as ground lamb kibbi, a delicious alternative to ground beef patties. I keep a jar of preserved Meyer lemons in my refrigerator for the tasty chermoula sauce, which is excellent with fish or chicken. Lamb Kibbi 2 slices white bread
2 pounds ground lamb
1 cup grated onion
4 minced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1-tablespoon ground cumin
1-tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1-teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cayenne
In a large bowl cover the bread with water, then pour off the water and squeeze the water out of the bread. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and using your hands, knead the mixture until smooth. Divide into 12 portions and with moistened hands, shape into oval patties about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes or up to a day. To cook, brush patties with oil and grill or broil about 6 minutes per side or until browned and firm to the touch. Serve with a yoghurt sauce. Let 1-½ cups plain yoghurt drain in a strainer set over a bowl for 2 hours. Transfer the yoghurt to a bowl and add 1 minced garlic clove that has been lightly browned in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add to the yoghurt and season with a pinch of salt and a sprinkling of cayenne. Preserved Lemons
Wash 6-9 lemons and cut each into 6 sections lengthwise. Pour 1 cup of kosher salt into a deep bowl and mix the salt with the lemon wedges to evenly distribute. Pack the salted into jars, pushing them in so they are tightly packed. Add extra lemon juice to fill the jar if necessary. For the first week, rotate the jars several times a day to dissolve the salt. You can add additional salted lemons as those in the jar soften, to keep them packed. After the first week, place the jars in a dark place for another 2 weeks before using. This might sound tedious, but the results are worth the effort. These will keep in the refrigerator for months. To use, rinse the wedges with cool water, scrape off the pulp and discard it. Chop or slice the rinds thinly and add to chicken or fish recipes. Chermoula Sauce
With mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder, grind fine ½ teaspoon coriander seeds, 12 whole peppercorns, ¼ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, a large pinch of saffron threads, crumbled, ½ teaspoon coarse salt, 1 teaspoon paprika. Combine in a bowl with 1 medium onion, minced, 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, 2 tablespoons minced preserved lemon peel plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander and 1 garlic clove, minced. Excellent as a topping for fish fillets such as snapper. Season the fillets with salt and pepper and top evenly with the chermoula. Chill for 1 hour before baking in an oiled shallow baking dish at 350* for 15 or 20 minutes. |
