Spice (27 page)

4 cups fresh cranberry beans or 2 cups dried cranberry beans, soaked overnight in 6 cups water and drained

1 small Spanish onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and finely chopped

1 rib celery, peeled and finely chopped

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 teaspoons garlic, peeled, smashed, and minced (about 4 large cloves)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

10 plum tomatoes, peeled and seeded (see page 104)

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon crushed, dried mint

1.
Bring the beans to a boil with 8 cups of water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the beans for 35 to 40 minutes for dried beans or 20 to 25 minutes for fresh beans, until they are tender. Drain.

2.
In a large, deep-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat, sauté the onion, carrot, green pepper, celery, bay leaf, and cinnamon in the olive oil, for about 10 minutes, stirring, until the onions are soft and translucent.

3.
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and add the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes, pressing down on the tomatoes and stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are soft and jamlike.

4.
Stir in the beans and simmer for another 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and coated the beans.

5.
Season with salt and pepper and cool. Stir in the lemon juice and mint and serve warm, cold, or room temperature. The beans are even better the next day, as the flavors have time to marry.

Pumpkin Borek

Borek
is a savory pie made with puff pastry, phyllo, or yufka dough and filled with vegetables, cheese, or meat. It’s made throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Armenia, and I have even eaten Serbian borek. Turkish cheese borek is my favorite. Like a good lasagna or dumplings, the edges are thin and crispy and the filling is airy and soft.

When making borek, I prefer to use yufka dough, which is similar to a very thin flour tortilla. I find that puff pastry is too thick, and phyllo dough is too thin and crispy because of the cornstarch it contains. Yufka dough is available online at www.istanbulsupermarket.com.

Pumpkin borek is superb with a bitter green salad in the late fall, when pumpkins are in season. I like to use Long Island cheese pumpkins, an heirloom variety with dense, deep orange flesh.

This dish is outstanding paired with Bardalino, a light-bodied northern Italian red.

M
AKES ONE 10-İNCH BOREK TO SERVE
8

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter, melted

½ onion, finely chopped (about ¾ cup)

2 teaspoons garlic, peeled, smashed, and minced (about 2 large cloves)

½ teaspoon Middle Eastern Five-Spice (page 109)

1 small sugar pumpkin or Long Island cheese pumpkin (weighing about 6 pounds)

1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for oiling sheet

Salt and pepper to taste

3 whole eggs

3 ½ large sheets of yufka dough, cut in half, making six 12-inch squares (see page 343)

3 balls fresh mozzarella (a little more than a pound)

3 egg yolks

¼ cup flour

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
To make the pumpkin purée, cut the pumpkin into large chunks and bake on a lightly oiled heavy baking sheet for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender.

3.
When the pumpkin is cool, remove the skin and purée it in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4.
Brush a 10-inch deep-sided baking dish with some melted butter.

5.
In a small skillet over medium heat, cook the onion, garlic, and five-spice in olive oil for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Set aside.

6.
Place the pumpkin purée, milk, and the onion mixture in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and purée until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

7.
Add the eggs and the rest of the melted butter and purée again, until smooth and creamy.

8.
Lay a piece of yufka dough in a 10-inch pan so that the sides of the pastry reach up the sides of the pan. Tear the yufka that hangs over the edge of the pan off with your fingers, so that the yufka is even with the side of the dish. If you have smaller sheets of yufka, you can overlap them.

9.
Spread ½ cup of the pumpkin filling over the yufka dough and then top it with another layer of yufka. Spread on another ½ cup of the pumpkin filling.

10.
Break up one of the mozzarella balls and distribute it evenly over the pumpkin mixture and top with another layer of yufka. Spread on another ½-cup layer of pumpkin and cover with a layer of yufka.

11.
Spread on another ½-cup layer of pumpkin mixture. Break up another ball of mozzarella and distribute it evenly over the pumpkin mixture, topping it off with another layer of yufka. Top the yufka with another ½-cup layer of pumpkin and any remaining mozzarella. Top this with another layer of yufka.

12.
You will now have 5 layers of pumpkin and 3 layers with cheese.

13.
Mix the remaining pumpkin (about ½ cup) with the egg yolks and flour and pour this mixture onto the top layer.

14.
Cut into the borek, almost all the way to the bottom, making 8 even sections, so that the pumpkin and egg can soak into the cracks. Press on the pie with your hands to encourage absorption. Let the borek stand and soak for 20 minutes.

15.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the pie is puffy and golden brown on the top and serve warm.

Swiss Chard Dolmas with Ayfer’s Rice

This recipe is inspired by my friend Ayfer Unsal, who introduced me to the glorious food of her hometown, Gaziantep, in the southeastern part of Turkey. The dried mint, the sweet and hot peppers, and the notes of allspice and cinnamon are the flavors of Gaziantep, famous for its lamb kebobs and baklavas. I became smitten with Ayfer and her friends; they make rice and Swiss chard that absolutely bursts with flavor.

I use a red pepper paste from Turkey that is similar to a concentrated tomato paste but is made with sweet and hot peppers. If you take the trouble to find it, it could become a staple condiment in your pantry. It’s available in most Middle Eastern markets or online at www.tohum.com.

Serve these dolmas hot or at room temperature with lemon. Ayfer presents them with little sour plums, native to her area.

M
AKES 20 DOLMAS TO SERVE 10

¼ cup salt plus more to taste

20 to 25 leaves (about 3 bunches) green Swiss chard, washed and stems removed and reserved 1/3 cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons for drizzling

1 cup finely chopped Swiss chard stems

2 small Spanish onions, peeled and finely chopped

4 teaspoons garlic, peeled, smashed, and minced (about 4 large cloves)

1 ½ teaspoons red pepper paste or ½ red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and finely chopped

1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon dried mint

1 teaspoon Aleppo chilies

¾ teaspoon Middle Eastern Five-Spice (page 109)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups medium-grain rice or Spanish rice (risotto is too starchy and long grain is not starchy enough)

Pepper to taste

Yogurt

1.
In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Add ¼ cup of salt, enough so that the water tastes salty.

2.
Drop the Swiss chard leaves into the boiling water and bring the water back to a simmer. Simmer the chard for 2 minutes, stirring once to make sure all the leaves are cooking evenly. The leaves should be bright green and tender but not too soft or falling apart.