redacted recipes

Pancakes on Parade: Pajeon or Korean Fish and Vegetable Cakes

 

"Flapjacks, crêpes, pajeon, dosa, blini, tortillas, crespelle, jian bing, pikelets, ataif, blintzes, bánh cuốn, palačinka, injera …the varieties are as endless as the cooks who prepare them and the countries they hail from."

So wrote Susan, of The Well-Seasoned Cook, in her Pancakes on Parade announcement. A call for pancakes, any kind of pancakes, is hard to resist and so was deciding what sort of pancakes to make.

I was able to rule out traditional American breakfast pancakes right away, having been traumatized by sogginess as a child. I still won't eat them, and I shy away from syrup, as well (syrup + big thick pancake = soggy), though I do love a nice crispy waffle with jam on top. I could go on about my childhood trauma, but I'll spare you and just get to pancakes I do like.

I love savory pancakes of all sorts and particularly Korean jeon (or jun). Jeon are pancake-like dishes made from a sturdy batter of flour, eggs, water and a little oil. Different fillings result in different dishes, and include scallions, shellfish, white fish, meats and all sorts of vegetables.  Even though the name of the dish changes with each type of filling used, most people just call any Korean pancake pa jun (or pajeon) which is actually the well-known version made with scallions.

Pajeon are large pancakes made in a skillet, requiring cooking on both sides. Although the batter is very sturdy, they can be a little tricky to flip if you've really loaded them up with filling. You can watch Mark Bittman prepare them here, and see the recipe I adapted here.

Korean Fish and Vegetable Pancakes
adapted from Mark Bittman in The New York Times
Serves 4 - 6 as an appetizer and 3 for a main meal

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil, more as needed
1 1/2 cups water
5 scallions, green parts only, cut into 3-inch lengths and sliced lengthwise
20 chives or 5 chopped scallions
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 small yellow or green squash, trimmed and julienned
1/2 pound firm white fish, cooked and flaked
1 tablespoon rice or white vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon hot pepper oil
3 - 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, eggs and oil with the water until a smooth batter is formed. Stir in the scallion greens, chives, carrots, squash and fish.

Heat the oil in an 8- inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Ladle in about a quarter of the batter and spread it out evenly into a circle. If the batter seems too thick you can thin it with a little more water for the next ones. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the bottom is browned, about 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.  As the pancakes are finished you can drain the on paper towels, and place in a warm oven to keep hot.

Make the dipping sauce by mixing together the vinegar, sesame oil, hot pepper oil, soy sauce and sugar.

Cut pancakes into small triangles and serve with dipping sauce.

Onion Kulcha

 

This has really been the month of flatbreads for me and I have more coming soon! When I made Za'atar Bread, karyn of HotPotato threatened to move in with me if I ever made Onion Kulcha. So naturally I had to try it, though I did warn her she'd have to sleep on the couch. I found this wonderful tutorial on Northern Indian Breads at eGullet, complete with very helpful photos, and followed the recipe given almost exactly.

As with the lahmajouns and za'atar bread, making kulcha added an elemental rhythm to my day, though I noticed real differences in the behaviour of the naan dough--it was much more elastic and stretchy when I was rolling it out. I was interested to see that it was leavened with baking powder instead of yeast, too (though I did find a very few recipes calling for yeast and time to proof the dough). The end result had that wonderful chewy texture you experience when you order naan in a good Indian restaurant. They were quite nice the next day, too, but absolutely fabulous right out of the oven. Kulcha really should not be made ahead.

Onion Kulcha
Monica Bhide and Chef Sudhir Seth, from the Northern Indian Breads tutorial at eGullet
makes 8 onion kulchas

Prepare the Naan Dough:

½ cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yogurt
1 egg
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (for baking tray)

Whisk together the milk, sugar, water, yogurt and egg.

Place the flour, salt and baking powder in a large shallow bowl. Mix well.

Pour the liquid onto the flour and begin to knead. Continue kneading until you have a soft dough. If you need more liquid, add a few tablespoons of warm water. Knead for at least 10 minutes, or until you have a soft dough that is not sticky. Oil the dough, cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm place for 1½ - 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling:

2 small red onions, finely chopped
1small hot chili pepper, minced
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons melted butter or clarified butter
2 teaspoons cilantro, minced for garnish
small boiled potato, grated (optional)

Squeeze out all the water from the chopped onions. If the onions still appear to be watery, add a small boiled grated potato to your filling. In a mixing bowl combine all the filling to form a lumpy consistency. Set aside until the dough has risen and is ready to form into kulchas.

Assembling the Onion Kulchas:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and lightly oil two baking sheets.

Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 8 equal portions. Take one portion of the dough and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands, flattening the ball. Place it on the floured surface and roll it out into a circle about 6 inches in diameter.

Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center and bring the sides up and together, pinching them to seal and form a ball (at this point I advise you to go and look at the excellent photos in the tutorial). Flatten lightly. Dust very lightly with flour. Roll again about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.

Dip your fingers in water and moisten the surface of the kulcha very lightly. Sprinkle with a few minced cilantro leaves. Continue until you have made 8 kulchas (four per baking sheet).

Place the kulchas in the oven for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve hot.

Za'atar Bread

Well, I seem to be on a roll here with Middle Eastern flatbreads.  I enjoyed making lahmajouns so much that I decided to tackle another favorite-- flatbread with za'atar and olive oil.

Za'atar originates in the Middle East (I won't invite any controversy by claiming to know where), and can be loosely described as a mixture of herbs, including thyme, marjoram and oregano. The mixture is popular in Lebanon, Turkey, Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Israel and North Africa and within the Armenian diaspora.

There is a lot of debate about what za'atar actually is. Some claim that the word za'atar refers to local herbs belonging to the mint family, such as thyme, marjoram and oregano; some maintain that za'atar is simply a mixture of herbs and spices; while others swear that za'atar is a specific herb now in danger of extinction and illegal to harvest.

While many za'atar recipes call for sumac (red za'atar), the essentials of za'atar are the blended herbs (green za'atar). Whatever the blend, za'atar is used to spice meats and vegetables or mixed with olive oil to make a spread (baked on a dough base for the Middle-Eastern equivalent of a miniature pizza) and can also sprinkled on labneh (yogurt that has been drained until it becomes a tangy, creamy cheese).

I like it on bread and this is the recipe for za'atar I used (I didn't have sumac in the house and just skipped it and called it green za'atar):

Za'atar

2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons basil
2 tablespoons ground thyme
1 teaspoon whole thyme
2 teaspoons savory
2 teaspoons ground marjoram
1/2 teaspoons whole dry marjoram
1-2 tablespoons sumac berries, crushed
1/4-1/2 cup unhulled, toasted sesame seeds, ground coarsely
1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

Grind or crush the sesame seeds first and then crush the sumac (separate from the sesame seeds). Then crush everything together with a pestle or the back of a spoon, or put it into a zipper plastic baggie, press out the air, seal, and roll over it with a rolling pin until the desired mix and texture is achieved. It should be a little coarse with the sesame seeds still recognizable-- so don't try to achieve a fine powder.

Flatbread with Za'atar

This recipe is from Mediterranean Street Food by Anissa Helou and makes a thicker, more pliable round of flatbread than the recipe I used for lahmajoun.

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast mixed with 1/4 cup of tepid water
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour + more for kneading
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons za'atar mixed with 1/4 - 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Work the oil into the flour with your fingers, then add the yeast water and mix until the mixture begins to come together. Add another 1/4 cup water gradually, mixing with your hand until the mixture cleans the bowl and has come together into a slightly sticky dough. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour if needed, then cover with an inverted bowl and let rest 15 minutes.

Knead the dough, dusting with as little flour as possible, until it is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Shape into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Cover with a towel and let rest 15 minutes.

Preheat a nonstick skillet over moderate heat. Preheat a broiler as well.

With a rolling pin, flatten a ball of dough into a round about 1/8-inch thick, flouring as needed. Dimple the dough with your fingertips to prevent the topping from running off during cooking. Transfer the round to the skillet and spread with a quarter of the za'atar and oil mixture. Cook until the bottom is crisp and lightly golden, about 3 minutes, then brown the surface under the broiler. Transfer to a rack. Repeat with the remaining dough. Serve hot or warm.

Note: this bread is really nice and I will be making it in larger batches without the topping (just flipping it right in the cast-iron skillet to brown both sides) to use throughout the week.

Lahmajoun

I Ask My Grandmother If We Can Make Lahmajoun
by Gregory Djanikian

Sure, she says, why not,
we buy the ground lamb from the market
we buy parsley, fresh tomatoes, garlic
we cut, press, dice, mix
make the yeasty dough
the night before, kneading it
until our knuckles feel the hardness
of river beds or rocks in the desert

Please follow the link and read the entire poem. Then consider making lahmajoun. Make sure you've got a full day with nothing else to do but use your hands in the kitchen.

When my son was small I used to drop him off at his family day care home every morning. His caretaker, Irene, would greet us at the door and offer coffee, if I had the time. Once in a great while she would hand me a small box filled with a stack of her lahmajouns. This was always an occasion of great rejoicing. I remember the very first time she offered me one, still warm from the oven. I had never tasted anything like it and immediately became hooked. I found places in the city that sold them, but they were never as good as Irene's.

Last week, decades after that first taste, I decided it was high time I learned to make them myself. I'm quite pleased with them. They don't taste exactly as I remember Irene's, but they're close.

Lahmajouns are not difficult, but they do take quite a chunk out of the day, as you can only bake at most 3 or 4 at a time in a regular-sized oven. Given that a single person can easily eat that many, you need to be prepared to bake them in shifts throughout the day and to reheat them later.

Don't be discouraged by the first few batches. There is a ryhthm to making lahmajoun and I got better and better at rolling out the dough and spreading the filling over each circle as the day progressed.   

Lahmajoun

Prepare the filling:

Make this a day ahead so that the flavors can meld.

Brown one pound  ground lean lamb

In the meantime, prep the the rest of the ingedients (I tossed everything but the tomatoes, tomato paste and spices into my food processor for an instant fine dice)

1 1/2 cup yellow onion chopped fine
1/2 cup green bell pepper chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of fresh sweet basil chopped
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Allspice, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Add the diced veggies and herbs to the lamb and saute until the onions and peppers begin to soften. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, spices and salt and pepper. Refrigerate overnight.

Make the bread dough:

5 cups flour
1 pkg. dry yeast dissolved in 1 cup warm water with a pinch of sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegeatble oil
1/2 cup warm water

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. To the yeast add the salt, oil and another 1/2 cup of water. Stir well and pour over the flour. Mix well and pour out onto a floured board, knead until smooth and elastic. If it feels too dry, wet your hands and keep kneading. Place in an oiled bowl, and coat the top with a thin film of oil. Cover and let rise until doubled (1-2 hrs depending on inside temperature). When doubled in size punch the dough down and divide into about 24 balls of equal size. Roll each into a circle about 6" in diameter. This took a while to perfect and it's important to shape each little piece of dough into a circle before you roll it. The finished circles should be quite thin and should feel smooth and almost like heavy satin. Don't obsess with perfection here-- you'll get the hang of it as you get to the last of the dough.

Assemble the lahmajouns:

Remove the topping from the fridge just before you start to roll the circles and let it come to room temperature. Taste it and adjust the seasonings. It should taste somewhat spicy and I added more cumin at this point.

In batches, place the rolled circles on a cookie sheet and spread the topping to the edges pressing down gently but firmly. The layer of topping should be quite thin. Bake in a preheated 500 F oven on the lowest rack for  about 8 - 10 minutes or until dough just starts to turn color. Remove and place on a wire rack, placing two together (one up and the other facing down) until all dough and filling is used up. Keep them lightly covered with towel to keep from drying out. You can stack about a dozen this way.

Cool, refrigerate or freeze (wrapped in foil). To reheat, remove from the foil and place in a moderately hot oven, one up and one down, like they were stacked, directly on the rack for about 3 - 4 minutes.

This is my entry for best of 2007. I had thought I'd enter my Apple Cambozola Tarts but I must say that the process of making the lahmajouns on the Sunday before Christmas and the taste of them when I served them for dinner, was the most enjoyable cooking experience of the year for me. And, too, I found the marvelous poem quite by accident which only heightened the pleasure I found in the day-long rhythmic process of making lahmajouns.

Late in year, but defintely my favorite for the year.

Bad Teeth and Lousy Food Addendum: The Perfect Chip

This is just a quick postscript to my recent piece about fish and chips. I used to cook chips at home a lot when I lived in the UK and, without wanting to flatter myself (because we Brits are far too modest for that sort of thing), my home-cooked chips were always extremely popular with friends. I cooked them with fish (of course) but also with steak, with eggs, with fondue bourguignon, with pies and with all sorts of things I probably shouldn't have.

Cooking a classic chip is very easy as long as you get a small number of details right. Firstly, you need a proper chip pan. There is no substitute: get one, and get a large one. It needs to be large because chip pans are dangerous. You must never fill them more than about a third full of oil or fat. Chip pan fires are notorious and nasty. They happen when a pan is overfilled or the fat/oil is allowed to get too hot. I have seen one first-hand and, whilst undeniably spectacular, they are extremely fierce and - as you might expect from combustion involving a significant quantity of burning oil - likely to result in the loss of your house. But don't let this put you off, just be careful!

Your chip pan is a simple round steel pan with a wire basket and lid. I use a fairly heavy vegetable or corn oil: light oils such as sunflower are too thin for the job, and to use olive oil would be sheer blithering madness. You need an oil that has a high natural cooking temperature. Fill your pan about a third full and put it over a medium-to-high heat. It will probably need about four or five minutes to reach a suitable temperature (obviously depending on size) but I shall give you a simple test for that. Never, ever leave a heating chip pan unattended. Please. Trust me on this. While it's heating up you can chip your potatoes, which should be of a large white variety such as King Edwards. Do not use waxy types or the results will be grim. Generally, if it bakes well, it will probably chip well.

Perfect Chips

Peel your spuds and cut them into slices about 1cm thick. Cut those slices  into chips of the same thickness. Test the oil by dipping the end of a chip into it. If it starts to sizzle nicely (but not too violently) as soon as you dip, all systems are go. Take the basket out of the oil and fill it (not more than half full) with chips. Carefully lower it into the hot oil and watch the level while you do so, and for at least a minute afterwards. The oil should foam and sizzle quite vigorously as you lower the chips into it but if it gets within an inch of the top of the pan lift the basket out immediately and either lower the heat and wait a bit or just keep carefully and slowly dunking the basket until you can keep all the chips submerged without the oil threatening to ride up and spill over. If your chips are at all wet this will make the oil misbehave badly (vapourising water in hot oil is a dodgy business). Fresh-cut potatoes have a certain amount of natural moisture in them so you must expect an initial degree of liveliness: the trick is to watch it and adjust until most of the moisture has evaporated. At this point the sizzling will settle and you can put the lid on and relax. But do keep an eye on things.

In about five minutes or so your chips should be golden and slightly crisp on the outside, and soft and yielding on the inside. Hoist the basket out of the oil and test one (careful! They will be HOT!) If all is good, turn off the heat and dump the chips into a bowl lined with absorbent paper. Salt them if you are that way inclined (I'm not, but many are), give them a shake and serve. Malt vinegar is, in my view, the only essential condiment.

I've been making chips for so long that it seems as easy as breathing to me but you might need to experiment at first to get the oil temperature and cooking time right. If the oil is too hot when you start, the chips will be overcooked (or burnt) on the outside and not cooked through, which is horrible. If the temperature is too low they will be limp and soggy , which is differently but equally unpleasant. A few trials will make sure you avoid these rookie errors and that you're soon turning out only the most perfect, golden, scrumptious chips.

(Previously) Bad Teeth and Lousy Food: Piece and Six

(Next) Bad Teeth and Lousy Food: The Mighty Yorkshire Pud

Savory Toasted Almonds

Several times a month one of us stops by the Bedford Cheese Shop on the way home. We love this place. When we're not sure what we want the staff will feed us slices until we've narrowed it down. Often they hand us samples to try just for the hell of it. Generally we pick three cheeses, grab some pate or black forest ham, cornichons, bread and then whatever else we think we'll want (sugar plums? black cherries in balsamic syrup?). I always check to see if they have the lemon ricotta cake on hand.

Back at the apartment we arrange our treats on a large board, select a bottle of wine, put some music on and dig in. I try make sure we have something a little sweet (chutney or slices of pear and apple) and something savory and salty to compliment the wine and cheeses.

Lately I've been toasting almonds with whatever fresh herbs I have on hand-- usually rosemary or thyme or sage. They're irresistable and try as I might to serve just a few at a time, I confess breaking into them at all hours.

Savory Toasted Almonds

1 tablespoon of fresh chopped savory herbs (rosemary or thyme are favorites)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or more, if you're feeling spicey)
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cups whole almonds (unblanched are best, but I've been known to grab a container of blanched peeled almonds and it's fine)

Preheat the oven to 400F. In a large bowl combine the almonds and the canola oil, tossing with clean hands. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with canola oil (I just use my hands after tossing the almonds and oil together).

Transfer the almonds to the baking sheet, spreading them evenly across the surface and place the sheet into the oven. Toast them for about 8 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Shake the pan a couple of times to keep them from scorching.

While the almonds are toasting combine the rest of the ingredients in a large shallow bowl. Remove the toasted almonds from the oven and add them to the seasoning mixture, stirring to coat them thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve warm or at room temperature. In theory the almonds can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. They never last that long in my house.