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Tag: Eastern Europe

Mushroom Ciorba with Caraway and Thyme

Mushroom Ciorba with Caraway and Thyme

Mushroom Ciorba with Caraway and Thyme

 

1 ounce dried wild mushrooms

1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup butter

1 lb. white button or cremini mushrooms, wiped, trimmed, and sliced

1 T. caraway seeds

4 C. vegetable stock

1 cup sauerkraut juice

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 tsp. dried red chili flakes

3 T. sour cream or Balkan-style yogurt

1 egg yolk

1 T. unbleached all-purpose flour

sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

sour cream or yogurt, caraway seeds, and fresh thyme for garnish

 

Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let steep for 10 minutes. Drain mushrooms, reserving liquid. Chop reconstituted mushrooms and set aside. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add caraway seeds and cook for about 1 minute, until they are fragrant. Add sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have released all their moisture and begin to caramelize around the edges. Remove from heat and reserve. In a large saucepan, mix stock, sauerkraut juice, and reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and add the reconstituted dried mushrooms, cooked mushrooms, thyme sprigs (just throw them in whole; the leaves will come away from the branches while cooking), and chili flakes. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Fish out and remove now-leafless thyme branches. Mix together sour cream or yogurt, egg yolk, and flour in a small bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of the soup broth to the yogurt mixture and stir until well blended. Scrape yogurt mixture into soup, stir, and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and a sprinkling of caraway seeds and fresh thyme leaves.

Kofta-Style Chicken Stuffed Peppers with Yogurt Mint Sauce

Kofta-Style Chicken Stuffed Peppers with Yogurt Mint Sauce

Kofta-Style Chicken Stuffed Peppers with Yogurt Mint Sauce

 

1/2 cup whole-grain bulgur

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium chopped yellow onion

4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

3/4 tsp. red chili flakes

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 lb. ground chicken

2 medium diced tomatoes (or one 15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained well)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

6 medium red, yellow, or green bell peppers

For the yogurt sauce:

1 1/2 C. non- or low-fat plain Greek yogurt

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

 

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a medium saucepan bring 1 1/4 C. water to a boil. Add the bulgur and stir. Reduce the heat to medium low so it simmers. Cover the pan and cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Set aside. In a large skillet set over medium-high heat add the olive oil. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, chili flakes, salt, chicken, and tomatoes. Cook just until the chicken is done, breaking it up like taco meat, about 7 minutes. Stir in the cilantro, mint, and cooked bulgur. Remove from heat. Cut the tops off the bell peppers and pull out the seeds and membranes. Set the peppers upright in a baking pan large enough to accommodate them. Divide the filling among the peppers. Set the tops on the peppers. Bake until the peppers are tender and slightly shriveled, but still firm, 30 to 35 minutes.  In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, mint, and kosher salt. Serve peppers warm with yogurt sauce on the side.

Stuffed Armenian Mussels (Midia Dolma)

Stuffed Armenian Mussels (Midia Dolma)

Stuffed Armenian Mussels (Midia Dolma)

36 mussels large mussels (in shells)

1/3 C. olive oil

3 C. yellow onions finely chopped onion

1/2 C. long grain rice uncooked

1/4 C. dried currants

1/4 C. pine nuts

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

salt

2 C. water

1 T. lemon juice

2 lemons cut into wedges for garnish

 

Scrub mussels, loosen (do not separate) shells, and remove beard. Rinse under cold, running water then soak in cold water 1 hour. Meanwhile, sauté onion in olive oil. Remove from heat and stir in rice, currants, nuts, allspice, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. Rinse mussels again under cold, running water. Place 1 T. of filling in each shell. Close tightly and tie with a piece of string. Arrange in layers in a heavy casserole. Add water and lemon juice. Place an inverted plate on top to hold mussels down during cooking. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 1 hour. Uncover and cool to room temperature. Remove mussels from casserole, cut string off and arrange on serving dish. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Caraway Spiced Carrot Salad

Caraway Spiced Carrot Salad

Caraway Spiced Carrot Salad

 

2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut diagonally

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp freshly ground caraway seeds

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

 

Steam the carrots until tender but still retain their shape.   When the carrots are cooked, carefully remove the steaming basket and set aside. Meanwhile,  heat 1 tbsp of olive oil  in a small sauté pan. Add the garlic, ground caraway and parsley. Cook for one minutes stirring constantly until fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the hot carrots to the herb mixture and toss. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and lemon juice and toss again. Transfer to a plate and leave to infuse for at least an hour. Enjoy the salad at room temperature.