May 06, 2016

More Persian food, Penzeys, and Yekta, a new-to-me, great market

May 06, 2016/ Em-i-lis

I recently ran out of Aleppo pepper and have felt a vague sense of unease since. Whole Foods doesn't carry it, so for years Williams-Sonoma has been my source. Now they've gone and stopped stocking this marvelous, brick-red spice. Penzeys to the rescue!

Do y'all know Penzeys Spices? They have a good website and also a number of brick-and-mortar stores, they support environmental and civil liberties causes, and they carry a wide variety of dried herbs, spices, extracts and proprietary spice blends. For orders north of $30, shipping is free and prompt.

For one or two bags of Aleppo pepper though, a trip to the store closest me is required, and while I sort of hate driving up Wisconsin Ave to Rockville, it is a chain-store shopper's paradise. Last Sunday after swimming, because my Aleppo-unease was growing mightier, I took the kids to Penzeys with me. The only thing I struck out on was dried rose petals which I wanted for several of the Persian recipes in Food of Life I've been salivating over.

"You know, you should try Yekta's. It's a Persian market just down the Pike," said a Penzeys employee.

I hightailed it out of there so fast, I nearly left the kids behind.

Yekta Market and Kabobi are adjoining structures in the same lot as Oliver's favorite place, Party City. The restaurant faces Rockville Pike while the market looks at the side parking area. I was in heaven immediately upon stepping inside as vats of nuts, bins of dried berries and racks laden with all kinds of tahini, rice, couscous, tea, herbs and spices, breads and sweets greeted me warmly. There are also refrigerated, freezer and deli sections.

Suffice it to say that we left with much more than a bag of dried rose petals.

Yesterday, after enjoying a Cinco de Mayo lunch of tacos and then making more for the boys' dinner, I pulled out the beef short ribs I'd purchased earlier this week (I adore short ribs), and started browning them while considering a Persian-inspired braise.

I decided to use onions and carrots, red wine and beef broth, a hefty amount of advieh (a Persian spice blend that includes cumin, coriander, nutmeg, cardamom, and dried rose petals; mace and turmeric are sometimes added too.), pomegranate molasses, pomegranate arils, salt and pepper. After sauteeing the onions and carrots and then letting them stew in the red wine as it reduced, I added everything else, covered the pot and let things cook for about three hours.

Short ribs cannot be rushed if you want tender meat. The rib should slip out on its own, and three hours is usually the sweet spot for that. It is worth the wait because during a long, low braise, the gravy gets awfully flavorful!

Just before serving dinner, I used some of the braising liquid to cook the couscous, a gorgeous, fine-grain, whole wheat version I bought at Yekta. I also quickly broiled some asparagus that I'd drizzled with lemon and olive oil and made a caprese with sumac to give it a middle-eastern twist.

If I say so myself, dinner was sublime. I only wish I'd made something for dessert!

May 18, 2015

Short Ribs & Pie

May 18, 2015/ Em-i-lis

I woke up yesterday morning with a serious hankering for braised short ribs. Beef short ribs, slowly cooked in a medium oven until the flat bones slip out on their own.

For a once-vegetarian, committed for so many years, the simple pleasure I take in the hollow sound made by clapping loosed ribs together surprises me every time. I am both amused and taken aback; just what happened to render me able to embrace meat again?

Pregnancy and childbirth, surely. But after that immediate bloodlust was sated, my carnivorous appetite remained. Since, I've educated myself about eating meat responsibly and humanely, and I still don't eat baby animals or offal.

short ribs: waiting to be browned, and definitely so

Short ribs are, quite possibly, my favorite cut of red meat. I love the way they remain firm but in a falling apart by the very strand sort of way. The flavor is spectacular but not so strong that it can't accommodate various seasonings.

My preferred recipe for short ribs is this ragu from a Food52 cook. She serves it atop polenta, but I never do, not least because T is not a corn-product kind of guy. Cornbread, grits, cornmeal in most ways...it's not his bag. So, I spoon this ragu atop pappardelle, made with eggs please, and then grate Parmesan generously over the top.

The recipe takes a while but, like my meatballs, is worth every minute of labor. Make the whole amount, or double it, and you've got plenty for a crowd or your freezer. And your house will smell to the nines, so make sure someone comes over to inhale deeply and sigh contentedly.

I always intend to make a green salad to go alongside. Half the time I do, but the rest of the time I forget or am too tired to carry through with the plan. No problem. Do or do not.

A fruit pie is the perfect finish for a hearty meal like this one. Strawberry-rhubarb is nice because its tang (and, if you make it, my salty, oil-based crust) counters and cuts the richness of the beef and noodles. Its color is also a nice compliment to the earth tones of all you just downed.