This cookbook will be kid friendly (as I will be trying everything out on my friends and family), as well as allergen friendly. My younger siblings have an extensive list of allergies (and I am allergic to dairy) so I have experience changing recipes to fit our needs. Ideally, it will also be a wide range of recipes from all around the world.
What you can do...send me family favorite recipes (all kinds are welcome! I will do the work of converting them to being allergen friendly, so don't let that scare you off!); quotes on/about peace, food, hospitality, and/or community that have touched you; stories from your lives and families; and anything else you think would be good for this project!
I will of course be crediting everyone who helps! If your family recipe comes directly from a cookbook...thats OK! just send me the name of the cookbook so that I can credit it as well!
What a fantastic idea! I love this! I've come to love many dishes from a variety of ethnic sources. I'll pass along some of my favorite.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Are your actually alergic to dairy, or lactose intolerant? I'm the latter, but find I can handle most cheese and yogurt very well, as the lactose is mostly gone.
Thank you! I look forward to them!
ReplyDeleteFor a while I was able to handle cheese and yogurt but now even anything with even the slightest hint of dairy (casein, lactic acid, lactose, etc...) makes me ill. My younger siblings are the same.
I've been playing with Middle Eastern flavors lately. I've found the spices used create a wonderful sensation that you just don't get with western cooking. Until now, cinnamon was reserved for toast, or to be included in sweet baked goods.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, I bought a spice mix in a local Middle Eastern shop and did some online research to find a dish to build around it. The mix looked like an incredible combination of flavors, and I knew it would be delicious. I picked out the Kabseh Spices mix from Lebanon Valley.
This wonderful spice mix contains: dried lemon, cinnamon, cardamom, galingal, coriander, cumin, cloves and black pepper. The only flavor I wasn't familiar with is galingal. I've since learned that it's a chiefly oriental spice from the rhizome of a plant related to, but not tasting like, ginger. I'll have to try this on it's own and let you know what I think. These spices need a little fat in order to be carried properly to your taste buds, so if you wish to make this dish low-fat or fat free, you'll need to increase the amount of spices used. I've also found that the high elevation of Albuquerque seems to subdue the flavor of spices in general.
Kabseh is a stewed meat dish mainly from the Saudi Arabian area where it's also known as kabsa, and is considered a national dish. In Bahrain and Kuwait it's known as majboos. You'll find it as Machboos in the United Arab Emirates, but here it's made with different spices.
Note: a serano chili is about 2 inches long and about a quarter inch in diameter and are fairly hot. If you can't find them, a jalapeno chili pepper will probably make a good substitute.
On to the recipe....
3 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin not required)
1 1/2 lbs meat, boned, diced (lamb is preferred, but chicken thighs are also great)
1 - large onion, diced
1 - clove garlic, smashed and diced
1 - 14oz can diced tomatos, juice included
1/4 cup yogurt (low-fat or regular)
1 - serano chili pepper, seeded, finely diced (leave in seeds for more heat) (optional)
4 teaspoons kabseh spice powder
1 cup water
salt (to taste)
1 cup Basmati rice (or 3 cups prepared)
Saute the onion in the olive oil until transparent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the spices and allow to bloom in the oil for a minute. Add your meat and continue to saute until the meat is lightly browned on all sides.
In the meantime, put your tomatoes into a food processor and mix until smooth. (You can add the chili to this if you want to avoid getting it on your hands while dicing) I also added some carrot at this point, just to up the vegetable content. The carrot disintigrates into the dish and the sweetness blends nicely with the sweetness of the tomato.
Add the tomato, yogurt, chili, salt and water to the meat mixture. Go easy on the salt at this point, as the sauce will reduce and concentrate the flavors.
Simmer until the meat is tender. For chicken this will be a half hour to 45 minutes. For lamb leg plan on 2 hours. Other meats will vary, depending on the type of meat and the cut. The tomato and water will reduce considerably during this time. Add more water or stock if neccesary to avoid drying out and scorching.
Now you have a choice. You can add more water (to make 2 cups of liquid), then add the rice and continue to cook for another 20-25 minutes, or you can spoon the dish as-is on top of already prepared rice.
Top with some good olives (not those black things from a can that go on the ends of your fingers) and water cress.
Enjoy!
Make food, not war. :-)
ReplyDeleteAre you using a service or program like Fundcraft for this, or just editing, compiling and printing it yourself? It is an online cookbook or an actual printed cookbook?
I'll post some recipes for you!
John- Thank you very much! I look forward to trying this recipe! It looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLesley- I am editing, compiling and probably having the UNM copy center print it for me- but I have not figured it out yet!
Ideally, it will be a printed cookbook but it may turn out to be online to start and later turn into a printed one.
Thank you! I look forward to reading and tasting your recipes!