Leeks in Olive Oil

market booty

I have just staggered back flushed with success from the weekly market here in my immediate area of Selami Çeşme, and behold my booty. Now, I defy anybody not to feel inspired just by looking at that. There is a kilo of spinach, roots and all, in the plastic bag which I will prepare for tonight; next to it, a marul lettuce and some beautiful rocket. I see the tomatoes are becoming those standard greenhouse ones but I had one for lunch and it tasted fine. The little cucumbers are just how they should be: crisp and crunchy. I broke my own rule with the figs:  I know the season is finished but I just couldn’t resist them, and then I bought them from a stall I never usually use.  Fatal. Usually one can choose one’s own produce but these figs were too far away for me to do so.  As a result, the  stallholder slipped in a couple of duds. Live and learn. The plums are fabulous and the grapes – well, just look at them! I couldn’t resist the beetroots either. The little bags are dried mint, peppercorns, and kuş üzüm, the dried little currants for use in pilafs. You can buy as little as you like which is very handy with herbs and spices.  It is a good idea to have a look at those on your own shelves from time to time and chuck out the ones that have been there rather too long: they lose their oomph over time.

I didn’t buy leeks as I bought some just the other day: the first ones of the season, actually. Here is what I did with them: zeytinyağlı pırasa, a very typical olive oil dish for this time of year and one of my favourites.   Very healthy and tasty. You will notice that for a change there are no onions included in the ingredients. This is because leeks themselves belong to the onion family so no need for more.

                                                                           Ingredients

Serves 6

1 kg leeks/pırasa

2 carrots

1 tbsp rice, washed

4 lumps of sugar

½ cup olive oil

Juice of  ½ lemon

2 cups hot water

1 tbsp salt

cutting on the diagonal

Method

§  First cut off all the dark green, leafy bits of the leeks and discard. Wash the remaining part well and slice on the diagonal. Put the slices in a bowl and cover with cold water along with the lemon juice.  If you followed Jenny’s tip, simply take your carrots out of the fridge and slice in a similar way.Otherwise, trim , peel, and wash as usual before slicing in diagonals.

§  In a pan, gently heat the oil and stir in the carrots. Cook for 3 – 4 mins.



cooking everything together



§  Add leeks, rice, lump sugar, and salt and mix together. Add the 2 cups hot water. Cover the pan  with a lid and cook on a low heat for 50 mins.

§  Let cool before transferring to a serving dish. Remember that a shallow one is more typical.

                             Extra lemon juice may be passed round as it goes well with leeks.

Tip

1.       All these olive oil dishes or meze are always served cold. It is only when there is meat in them that they are served  hot. Go easy on the rice: if you add too much, it turns into a glutinous mess.



2.       Note the size of these Turkish leeks. I seem to remember that the ones available in the UK are a different breed and are much bigger. That’s fine but wash very carefully as grit can be entrenched in the leaves, and make sure your slices aren’t too thick. I slice the leeks first and then wash, just to be safe.

3.       I learnt most of these dishes by osmosis really.  Well, a combination of my lovely mother-in-law and An American Cook in Turkey. For a long, long time, there were no good Turkish cookbooks available and obviously no internet.  But in the interests of this blog I have been checking with actual Turkish recipes. This one comes from Modern Türk Mutfağı by Alev Kaman, an excellent Turkish cook book.





Butter Cheese Cake

Melihat isi kulkas ternyata masih ada satu pak creamcheese ....mau dibikin cheese cake yang doyan cuman aku dan suami tapi gak mungkin juga tetep dibikin secara kita berdua musti diet untuk makanan seperti ini demi kesehatan......akhirnya buka buku resep kok ada resep akhirnya dari baca beberapa resep aneka kudapan cream cheese ini akhirnya aku putuskan untuk bikin "Butter Cheese Cake " saja dengan utak atik resep sana sini akhirnya jadi deh....cobain deh bikinnya mudah kok dan cepat pula.

Butter Cheese Cake
By. Nilamsari

Bahan :

60 gr tepung terigu
40 gr susu bubuk
20 gr maizena
100 gr gula pasir
4 butir kuning telur
3 butir putih telur
1sdt elmusifier
250 gr cream cheese
75 gr margarine / mentega

Cara membuat :

Ayak bahan kering kecuali gula kemudian kocok mentega dan cream cheese hingga lembut sisihkan. Kemudian kocok gula dan telur,elmusifier hingga mengembang dan kental. Campur adonan telur ini dengan tepung dan mentega secara bergantian dan aduk hingga rata.
Oven hingga matang kurleb dengan suhu 180 DC selama 35 menit.

Seared Foie Gras with Peaches and Red Onion Compote

  

  
Sometimes, the best part of cooking isn't the cooking, or even the tasting, it's the laughing.  Yes, taking on a gourmet menu with intricate sauces and foreign ingredients will force you to grow as a craftsman.  Tasting dishes in their new and succulent combinations will allow you to grow your palette.  But, cooking also allows you to grow your relationships.  In some ways, the food doesn't matter, it's about the human connections you share and foster.  On the other hand, cooking special food and serving it in a special setting shows people that they are important to you, and that new and exciting experiences can occur together.  So it was when I hosted a dinner party with friends and colleagues.  The food was great, all recipes from the San Francisco chef Gary Danko.  The ingredients were over the top.  I believe one should never eat foie gras more than once a year.  But the most rewarding part for me was hearing the laughter, the uproarious, lusty, throaty laughing emanating from the dining room as I plated dishes, the cheers and by now running jokes as we progressed through the courses.  
     
That was the reason I prepared the dish below, and the several recipes which will follow in future posts.  The picture above is from a dish served at the restaurant (mine of course looked exactly the same ;) ), and the recipe came from the Gary Danko online site.  On the dinner party preparation, to avoid feeling more like a harried line cook than a host, think about preparation timing and what can be made in advance.  Here, I made the onion compote the day before and reheated it when the guests took their seats.  The sauce I made in the morning and rewarmed it starting in the evening before the guests arrived.  And the peaches I prepared in the afternoon, and rewarmed them in the same pan as was used to sear the foie gras as I plated the compote and foie gras.  Serves 6.
    
Ingredients:
3 lbs red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp butter
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp dried thyme
4 tbsp honey
1 tbsp shallot, minced
2 tbsp cognac
1 cup + 3 tbsp orange muscat dessert wine, such as Essensia
4 tbsp honey
4 tsp sherry vinegar
2 cups veal stock
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large peaches, pealed and cut into wedges
1 lb foie gras sliced into finger-width slices
baby mixed greens
     
Directions:
Prepare the compote by melting the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions, chicken stock, vinegar, thyme, honey and salt.  Stir occasionally, turning down the heat if needed to avoid browning the onions.  Cook until the onions are cooked down and finally are caramelized, perhaps 30 minutes.  Add more stock if needed as the onions reduce.  Prepare the sauce in a saucepan over high heat, combine the shallot, cognac, wine, honey, vinegar, and veal stock.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer until reduced by half.  Strain and season to taste, keeping warm in the pan until needed.  Prepare the peaches by heating a non-stick saute pan over medium high heat with 2 tbsp olive oil.  Sear the peaches until golden-brown on both sides, a few minutes each side.  Remove to a bowl.  Prepare the foie gras with a saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the foie gras and sear until golden brown.  Take care to not over cook the foie gras, which will cause it to melt and start loosing its shape.  Remove rendered fat from the pan with a paper towel if needed.  Turn the foie gras and press down if needed to achieve a sear on the other side.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Return the peaches to the pan and rewarm.  Plate by first laying down a portion of the compote, then laying 5 or 6 of the peach slices next to each other beside the compote.  Lay a piece of foie gras partially on both.  Place a small portion of the greens beside the compote, opposite the peaches.  Spoon sauce an top of the foie gras and peaches.  Serve.
     

Challenge!

People. For the last few weeks I've been making blueberry muffins (these blueberry muffins) and then eating them EVERY DAY. I love these blueberry muffins. I brought a whole batch TO FRANCE so as not to miss a day of these blueberry muffins.* They have opened the world of breakfast baking. I need more muffin recipes!



* full disclosure: I have been sick this month (like actually ill with a chronic condition) and these muffins were the only thing I could eat in the mornings without losing my ladylike charm and grace. I credit these muffins to my recovery so I may be a bit psychologically addicted to muffins now.

Mei Undokai

25 September 2010, sabtu

Udah seminggu setelah ortu gw balik ke Indo, skolah Mei ada festival olah raga, Undokai namanya. Sayang banget, telat seminggu aja, jadinya Popo n Kungkung ga bisa liat cucunya olah raga..yaa...padahal Mei terpilih ikutan relly lari di kelasnya lhooo..

Pagi pagi jam 6an suami uda pergi ke skolahnya buat pesen tempat, gelar tiker buat nonton festivalnya. Jam 6.30 gerbang skolahnya baru dibuka buat orangtua yang mo ambil tempat, busettt suami bilang, yang ngantri ada kale mpe 60 oranggg...wow..untung masih kebagian tempat walaupun bukan di depan banget.

Jam 7.30an, suami jemput mertua ce, dia mo liat cucunya juga..pagi2 gw da sibuk2 bikin onigiri buat makan siang..untung deh, mertua ce mao bikin lauknya..jadi ga repot2 banget..bagi2 tugas..hehe..

Jam 9..mulai deh festivalnya..biasa deh ada acara kata2 pembukaan dari kepala sekolahnya, sampe nyanyi bersama lagu kebangsaannya, Kimigayo, hehe, ternyata sama dengan Indo, kita nyanyinya harus sambil berdiri, tapi ga pake tangan hormat segala siii...

Acaranya padat meriah, dari senam bersama, lomba lari, dance, estafet, mpe relly lari. Acaranya mpe jam 3 sore, di tengah2 ada istirahat makan siang bawa bento masing2. Ada yang makan di hallnya, ada yg makan gelar tiker disitu. Untungnya kita gelar tiker ga di depan2 banget, soalnya pas banget kena matahari terik, walaupun di atasnya di pasang tenda.

Acara penutupan oleh anak kelas 6, senam akrobatik..meriah juga n uda pada capee..teler. Mei seneng coz dia dapet nomor 1 pas program relly nya...

2 Oktober 2010, sabtu

Undokai yochien, undokai bekas kindergarden dia, Mei dapat undangan special buat datang n ikutan festival, ikutan relly lagi..hehe, dapat no 1 ...ga tau kenapa gw juga heran, kok dia bisa ya lari cepet banget??? apa karena kurus, jadi ringan kale ya?? hehee