D is for Dinner: December 2011 Archives

The traditional turkey dinner, with stuffing and mashed potatoes, is always nice at this time of year. But on D is for Dinner this week, we're messing with tradition a little.

We're throwing a little turmeric, ginger and saffron into the holidays. And the result is a four-course meal that'll please all the religions at your table.

Chef Aliza Hutmann of Octogon Catering is serving up a menu inspired by the Land of Milk and Honey. She was raised in Israel but her family comes from Morocco, and she joined us to explain how to cook a Christmas meal, holy land style.

Sfenj (Moroccan Donuts)

Yield: 25-30

Ingredients:

1 kilogram (2 pounds) sieved flour
1 teaspoon salt
30 grams (1 ounce) baker's yeast
1-2 cups of lukewarm water 

Procedure: 

Dissolve yeast in a glass of water.
Mix all the ingredients with a glass of lukewarm water and knead thoroughly to produce light, soft, elastic dough. Add a little more water if necessary.
Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for 3 or 4 hours.
Take a little ball of dough in oiled hands. Make a hole in the center and pull it out to form a little crown.
Drop the rings one by one into hot oil.
Serve these fritters hot, dusted with sugar or honey. They are best when eaten immediately.

Briouats Phyllo Triangle filled with chicken, roasted eggplant and almonds 

Serves 9 

Ingredients:
 
Box of Phyllo (18 sheets)
Olive oil or butter 

Filling:
 
2 eggplants
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green chili
350 g chicken breast cut into cubes
1 cup  flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup  chicken stock
1 Tbsp  fresh ginger, grated
1/2 Tbsp  turmeric,
1/2 Tbsp  cinnamon, ground
a few  Saffron threads
Powdered sugar and ground cinnamon for garnish
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup Roasted Almonds or pine nuts 

Procedure:

First, wash and dry the eggplant. The eggplant needs a smoky taste. To achieve this "drill" holes with a paring knife in a whole eggplant
Bake them in the oven at 400F for 30 minutes. Rotate the eggplant once after 15 minutes until it is very soft and looks like it has collapsed. The skin should be scorched and blackened.  Cool the eggplant and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh with a wooden spoon and drain the roasted flesh of any excess bitter liquid  set aside.
For the filling - Sauté sliced onions in butter over low heat in a heavy pan until tender, but not browned. Increase heat slightly and add parsley, stock, salt, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper and saffron. Continue cooking add the cubed chicken continue cooking until chicken is fully cooked.  And until most of the liquid is gone and the contents are a soft, thick mass.  Mixture should be quite dry - just moist enough to hold its shape when compressed.
Lay Phyllo pastry sheets flat and cover with a damp cloth. Remove one sheet at a time (immediately re-covering the rest with the cloth) and brush it with melted clarified butter or olive oil. Fold the sheets in half lengthwise and brush the surface with more clarified butter. Place 2 tablespoons of filling at the bottom of each folded sheet on top put 1 tbs of the flesh eggplant , add a bit of roasted almonds , a little right of center and about half the width of the Phyllo strip up from the bottom. Bring the lower left corner of the sheet over the filling to form a triangle and flatten the filling slightly. Brush with clarified butter and continue brushing with butter and folding - as you would fold a flag - until you reach the end of the sheet.
Lay pastries on a parchment lined sheet pan, brush the tops with butter or olive oil and cover with plastic film to prevent drying. Bake at 375°F for about 12-15 minutes, or until hot and golden. Dust the tops of the triangles lightly with powdered sugar and sprinkle cinnamon over the sugar (in a decorative pattern if you have the patience).

Recipe courtesy of Aliza Hutmann, Octogon Catering 

Photo courtesy of Lois Seigel