My sister-in-law Nancy Paris put me onto this great new cookbook, The Immigrant Cookbook: Recipes That Make America Great, written by some of America's best immigrant chefs as a deliberate counter to the immigrant-bashing that is rampant in the land. Love the concept. And love the two recipes that I have tried from it so far.
As my first two forays in cooking from the book, I chose a scrumptious appetizer from chef Reem Assil (of Syrian/Palestinian origin), Reem's Muhammra, and a delicious entree from chef Sheldon Simeon (of Filipino origin), Chicken Adobo and Mixed Mushroom Fricassee.
The Muhammra is a dip made with roasted red peppers, walnuts, panko, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, Aleppo pepper, salt and EVO. Garnished with walnuts and pomegranate seeds. I had everything but the red peppers in my Mediterranean-oriented pantry. So I bought some red peppers and roasted them, then blitzed them in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients, then added the garnishes. The recipe is at the bottom of the blog.
Here is the finished dish:
The Adobo is braised chicken with a mixed mushroom topping. I browned chicken drumsticks in sunflower oil, then simmered them in water, soy and apple cider with garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Then I reduced the sauce by half. I quickly sautéed a mix of two oyster mushrooms in olive oil with garlic, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper. I arranged the drumsticks on a platter, topped with sauce, then with the mushrooms. The recipe is at the bottom of the blog.
Here is the finished dish:
I chose this as one of the first dishes to cook from the book because I had picked up the oyster mushrooms from a local grower on Saturday at the Stonnington indoor winter farmers market. In my next blog, you will find more on the Stonnington indoor winter farmers market and a couple of other dishes inspired by my purchases that day.
Reem's Muhammara
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 lb red bell pepper
2 1/2 cups walnut halves
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 T pomegranate molasses
1 T lemon juice
3-4 garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin
1 T Aleppo pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup EVOO
Pomegranate seeds, walnuts, or chopped parley, to garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the peppers on it. Roast until the skins are charred, about 30 minutes, turning them over once or twice. Transfer to a sealable bag or a bowl covered with plastic wrap, and set aside until cool enough to handle. Tear them open, remove the stem and seeds, and peel the skins. [NOTE: I have always cut red peppers in half, stemmed and seeded them, then broiled them skin side up till charred. This way of baking them whole takes longer, but was easier in some ways, and resulted in a moister pepper.]
Working in batches, if necessary, combine the walnuts and breadcrumbs in a food processor, and process to a cornmeal-like texture. Add the roasted peppers, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, Aleppo pepper, and salt, and pulse until smooth, turning off the machine and scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time.
With the processor running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until the oil is completely incorporated, Taste and salt, if needed.
Garnish as desired and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Chicken Adobo and Mixed Mushroom Fricasse
INGREDIENTS
2 T canola oil (I used sunflower oil)
8 chicken drumsticks, about 2 lb
8 garlic cloves
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp whole black peppercorn
2 bay leaves
MUSHROOMS
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 cups (3 1/2 oz) mixed fresh mushrooms, sliced or cut into bite-size pieces
4 garlic cloves, smashed
4 thyme sprigs
2 T fresh Italian parsley
Salt
Ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Heat a large nonreactive sautee pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, and evenly brown the chicken on all sides, about 5 minutes (it took me longer). Add the garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaves and 1 cup water. Bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, over low heat for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over, replace the lid, and continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes.
Remove the lid, increase the heat to high, and return the sauce to a boil. Boil until the sauce has reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes (it didn't take that long for me), basting the chicken occasionally.
Heat a separate saute pan over high heat. Add the olive oil, followed by the mushrooms, garlic, and thyme. Saute for 1 minute, or until tender. Add the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
Place chicken on a large platter and top with the sauce, Spoon the mushrooms over the top.