Witchy Kitchen

Tag: garlic

  • Once, Twice, Thrice Baked Garlic and Lemon Potatoes

    Once, Twice, Thrice Baked Garlic and Lemon Potatoes

    Timecrimes is a twisty, turny, time-traveling thriller written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo (who also costars in the film as the young scientist). The Spanish film stars Karra Elejalde as Hector, a loving yet somewhat bumbling husband who becomes entangled in a time loop. As time progresses, and then repeats, he desperately tries to both force the outcome and evade mounting misfortune.

    Often time travel films are both intriguing yet infuriating in that they leave questions, paradoxes and holes, yet this one manages to keep the story focused and neat. It’s satisfying both as a narrative that conscientiously wraps up all its loose ends, but also as a character study of how Hector evolves as a person, paradoxically (it’s time travel, of course) in the matter of a few hours. And a few hours. And a few hours.

    A note, whilst cooking I realized that this recipe itself has some light spoilers…though not overt, eat at your own risk!

    When thinking up a recipe, I started philosophizing about my oven as a time machine. Materials go in, and emerge transformed. Playing with the input and settings can change the outcome. Countless weeknights I have thrown in veggies to roast, how many times, one or a hundred, time is a flat circle, it’s all the same. And oh how I wish I could go back in time when I forget things a little too long (Who among us has not burnt things to a crisp? Who?). This recipe puts raw materials into the machine three times, and they emerge the same, yet changed – and delicious!

    Twice-baked potatoes are the standard, but please consider thrice baked potatoes. The extra step yields extra crispy potato skins beyond what you can achieve through two trips through the time machine, and they perfectly complement the texture of the rich, creamy filling. As for the filling, I always love to incorporate local flavor to reference a film, and this one is no different. It’s a Spanish profile, flavored with lemon, parsley, and a full head of luscious roasted garlic. Though Spain has no shortage of iconic potato dishes (patatas bravas, Spanish tortilla, and world-famous roasted potatoes), this is a fun spin.

    Additionally the garnishes add some time traveling flair. Potato 1 is unadulterated. Potato 2 is draped in roasted carrot bandages. And Potato 3, sprinkled with smoked paprika, looks a little worse for the wear but is probably the best of all.

    Garlic and Lemon Thrice Baked Potatoes

    • 3 large russet potatoes
    • 1 large carrot
    • 1 head garlic
    • 1 shallot
    • olive oil
    • sea salt
    • large handful Italian parsley, finely chopped
    • zest of 1 lemon
    • 5 tablespoons sour cream
    • smoked paprika

    Roast the potatoes by your desired method – since you are going to crisp up the skin, either oven or microwave is fine. Cool and set aside.

    Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°;. Thinly slice the carrot into long strips with a mandolin. Toss with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Cut the top third off the head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap in aluminum foil. Cut the shallot into chunks, toss with olive oil and sea salt, and place in a small oven safe dish (I used a pie plate).

    Put all vegetables in the oven and bake until golden (stir the shallot occasionally). The carrots will be done first (15 minutes or so), the shallot next (20-25 minutes), and the garlic last (45 minutes or so). Set the carrot aside, finely chop the shallot, and when the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze it out of the papers. Cut the roasted potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the insides into a large bowl. Arrange the skins skin-side up on a baking rack on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. Return to the 400°; oven and cook until golden.

    While the skins are cooking, mash the potato with shallot, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, sour cream and salt to taste. Mix well, but don’t overmix. Take the skins out of the oven, flip, and fill them evenly with filling. Return to the oven and bake until golden brown. Leave two of the potatoes plain, drape two of the potatoes with roasted carrot strips, and garnish the remaining two with smoked paprika.

    First published on Nightmare on Film Street.

  • Linguine with Clam Sauce

    Linguine with Clam Sauce

    You are in my blood. I cant help it. We can’t be anywhere except together.

    Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block is a glittery glam fairy tale, full of enchanting characters living deliciously on a sparkling sun-soaked LA backdrop. Though it views the world through neon pink colored glasses, it sensitively takes on some very real issues. I loved this and the rest of the Dangerous Angels books as a young adult, and adored revisiting it for our podcast.

    Illustration by Jill Lydon

    Weetzie, her boyfriend Secret Agent Lover Man, her best friend Dirk and his partner Duck, and babies Cherokee and Witch Baby, make a beautiful if unconventional family. Toward the end of the novel, after ups and downs and all being said and done, there is a lovely dinner scene with everyone around a table, with Weetzie feeling perfectly content with her chosen family.

    And what’s the dish? Linguine with Clam Sauce, a classic family dinner. I believe on the podcast I said old school, because it feels like in the days before carb aversion and when Italian was “exotic,” everyone’s idea of a fancy dinner was pasta. (But isn’t classic a classier way to say that?) It’s elegantly simple, exactly the type of thing My Secret Agent Lover Man would be making. It’s the type of food that makes you feel warm and safe, surrounded by the people you love, comfort food with style – because Weetzie never does anything without style.

    Linguine with Clam Sauce

    Adapted from Anne Burrell’s Linguine with White Clam Sauce

    • 1 pound clams (I used steamer, next time will probably use littleneck)
    • 1 pound linguini
    • sea salt or kosher salt
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 5 cloves garlic, sliced
    • Good pinch red chili flakes
    • 1/2 cup dry white wine
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • handful finely chopped parsley, grated parmesan, olive oil and lemon wedges for garnish

    Clean your clams well. I have heard if you soak them in a bowl in the fridge with a couple spoonfuls of flour it will help get all the grit out – I don’t think this is true? But I tried it anyway.

    Heat a pot of well-salted water, and cook your linguine to even less than al dente (it will finish in the sauce). If you are some sort of time wizard, you can try to coordinate finishing cooking your linguini with finishing your sauce, so you can directly transfer it to the pot, but I just reserve a mugful of the starchy cooking liquid before draining the pasta. Don’t rinse, the starch will help the sauce stick to the pasta.

    Meanwhile, rinse your clams and have them ready. In a pot with a cover (or a wok, as I did), heat olive oil on medium high and add garlic. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until garlic is golden (being careful not to burn). Add white wine and another half cup of water and bring to a boil. Throw in your clams and cover the pot or wok.

    After two minutes they should be steamed open – remove clams and reduce liquid to more than half. Reduce heat to medium and add in the butter and stir to make a silky sauce. Using tongs or forks, toss your pasta in the sauce, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid if necessary. When the linguine is thoroughly coated and cooked, transfer to a large plate, arrange the clams around the edge, and top with finely chopped parsley, grated parmesan, and drizzles of olive oil. Serve with lemon wedges.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Episode 15: WEETZIE BAT in which Diana and Carrie discuss the slinkster cool world of Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block, including classic LA eateries, ubiquitous avocados, “fancy” family meals, questionable burrito contents, and strawberry sundaes with marshmallow topping.

  • Leg of Lamb with Mint Pesto

    Leg of Lamb with Mint Pesto

    Twin Peaks is weird, wonderful, and absolutely full of food. Beyond the iconic cherry pie and damn fine coffee, characters are constantly cooking, eating, and waxing poetic about their favorite meals.

    It’s so full of brilliant food scenes and mentions in fact, that I have a full Twin Peaks Archive of recipes and food recaps.

    Second-tier wacky character and his nutty shenanigan Jerry Horne is the source of several good food moments. In one particular one, he bursts into Ben’s office, swinging a huge leg of lamb, gifted by the lovely Icelandic Heba. “Garlic, a little mint, that’s rotisserie heaven!”

    I’d never cooked a leg of lamb, or even a beef roast (gaping hole in my repertoire I just discovered and closed, bam), so I looked to The Kitchn for guidance. It assured me that this is one of the easiest cuts, hard to mess up if you follow the guidelines. I adjusted the cooking time since my leg was smaller; where says to cook for an hour, I did mine 45 minutes.

    It came out perfectly cooked. Thanks to the Kitchn and creepy, amusing Jerry Horne, we enjoyed it, we even enjoyed this recipe along with a mint pesto a couple years ago for Christmas Eve dinner!

    Leg of Lamb with Mint Pesto

    From The Kitchn’s How to Roast a Leg of Lamb

    For the lamb

    • 3 pound, bone-in leg of lamb
    • salt & pepper
    • 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped (I could have chopped it a little more finely)
    • Fresh or dried herbs, such as mint or rosemary. I used about a teaspoon of dried mint

    Trim as much fat as you want – I removed the thick layer of fat (the fell) which has a strong muttony flavor, but I wasn’t very thorough about trimming the rest.

    An hour before cooking, take lamb out of the fridge to allow to come to room temperature (I also left mine uncovered, I think by drying out a little it helps it to form a crust?) Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in a large roasting pan.

    Heat the broiler, move a rack close to the top, and broil the leg for 5 minutes on each side. Remove from oven and lower the heat to 325° and move the rack to the middle of the oven. Cover lamb with chopped garlic and herbs, and tent with foil. Once the oven has reached the right temperature, cook for 45 minutes and begin checking the temperature. I cooked mine to 340° (it will keep cooking once you remove it from the oven) for medium rare.

    Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Carve by cutting slices perpendicular to the bone, then cutting off the bone.

    For the mint pesto

    • 1 bunch fresh mint
    • 4 ounces blanched almonds
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • salt & pepper
    • 1/4 cup+ olive oil
    • squirt of lemon juice

    In a food processor, combine mint, almonds, garlic, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in olive oil to make a paste. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Before serving, freshen it up with a squirt of lemon juice.

    We ate this on Christmas Eve as sandwiches – whole wheat bun, mayo, mint pesto, slices of lamb, slice of tomato – I think Cooper would have liked it as well!

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Episode 5: TWIN PEAKS, in which Carrie and Diana discuss quirky characters (mostly Jerry, he’s the best), meatloaf, giant ice cream cones, soup of the day, The Great Northern’s interesting clientele, awkward family dinners and inappropriate jokes. Join us for a slice of cherry pie and some damn good coffee.

  • Orc Rock Mushroom Soup with Corn and Coconut Cream

    Better late than never for #BattleChefBuffet, Fandom Foodies theme of the (last) month, hosted by the awesome Victoria at Pixelated Provisions – that’s right it’s Battle Chef Brigade!

    I haven’t gotten a chance to play the Trinket Studio developed/Adult Swim published game yet, although the kids got a Switch for Christmas so we plan to in the near future – just as soon as our Zelda: Breath of the Wild obsession quells! However, the game looks delightful and innovative and full of intriguing dishes…and…oh, what’s this???

    Onion Chopping Ninja Chef has challenged me to a Quarry Cap cook off! Orc smash!! Weird orc horn!! Pew pew pew pew!!

    We both received pics of the dishes; she made Mina (the human’s) Quarry Cap dish, which you can find on her site – and full disclosure, it looks delicious and I fully plan on trying her recipe with the leftover wood ear mushrooms I have from my dish.

    Her choice to use wood ear mushrooms (or, as I got mine at the Korean market, they are labeled somewhat less charmingly as “black fungus”) was a smart choice to acheive the striking color of the dish, so I decided to use them in mine as well. My dish is Thrash (the orc’s) Quarry Cap soup. I regularly make a sherried cream of mushroom soup, Western style, but decided to try the same dish with a more Asian profile, and was happy with the kickass punch-you-in-the-mouth result!

    Orc Rock Mushroom Soup with Corn and Coconut Cream

    For the mushroom soup

    • x ounces dried wood ear mushrooms
    • 4 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced
    • 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
    • Vegetable oil
    • 1 small bunch green onions, whites and greens divided, sliced
    • 3 garlic cloves, grated
    • 1 inch ginger, grated
    • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 1/4 cup shaoxing wine (substitute dry sherry or white wine)
    • 4 cups vegetable broth
    • Salt to taste

    To rehydrate the wood ear mushrooms, pour a cup of boiling water over them and let them steep for at least 30 minutes.

    Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil in a wok, and stir fry mushrooms until they release their water and start to color. Add the whites of the green onions, garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Add white pepper and soy sauce and shoaxing wine and cook, stirring, until almost dry. Add vegetable broth.

    Drain and slice wood ear mushrooms (reserving some for garnish, optional), and add to the wok. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree in a blender and return to the hot pot to heat through. Check for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

    For the corn and coconut cream

    • 1 can coconut milk
    • 2 ears white corn (reserve some kernels for garnish)
    • Pinch salt

    In a small sauce pan, heat coconut milk and add ears of corn. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove ears, slice of kernels and place in a blender with the coconut milk. Puree and return to the pot to heat through.

    To serve, pour soup into bowls and drizzle with a generous swirl of the coconut corn cream. Garnish with mushrooms, corn kernels, and reserved green onion.

    Check out #BattleChefBuffet or the Battle Chef linkup at Pixelated Provisions for everyone’s amazing dishes!

  • Eclipse Pizza

    Eclipse Pizza

    Who should I summon with my pizza?

    It’s finally here!! It’s #Witchtober, hosted by Fiction Food Café. THAT’S RIGHT WITCHES!! Check out the tag for Witchy recipes from fiction all month long.

    The House of the Devil (2009), written and directed by Ti West, is a bit of a haunted house movie, a bit of a slasher, and a bit of witchy movie rolled in to one. What’s otherwise a basic tropey horror movie gets elevated by it’s full 80s style. From the titles to the soundtrack to the camerawork to the feathered hair and Satanic Panic, this movie feels like the cover of a VC Andrews novel and I loved it.

    An eclipse features heavily in the film, being both the occasion for the final ritual as well as inspiration for the special of the day in the pizza parlor that our final girl Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) and her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) have lunch. “Eclipse Pie” is detailed on the chalkboard: white sauce, garlic, tomato, olives and feta. I put together such a pie using a few techniques I’ve collected over the years: those for New York pizza dough, white sauce, and deliciously slow-roasted romas that I make all the time and use for everything (you know, salads, pastas, drawing pentagrams). And voila: pizza fit for a demon.

    Eclipse Pizza

    For the white sauce
    From Serious Eats

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 small onion
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1/4 cup heavy cream
    • 2 sprigs thyme, chopped
    • salt & pepper

    Heat olive oil. In a food processor, blitz together onion and garlic (alternately you can finely chop both), and cook until softened and most of the moisture has evaporated, being careful not to brown. Add heavy cream and thyme and a pinch of salt & pepper, and cook for a few minutes until reduced and thick. Remove from heat.

    For the tomatoes (slices or sauce)

    • 2 pounds roma tomatoes, trimmed and medium sliced lengthwise
    • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
    • olive oil
    • salt & pepper

    Heat oven to 300°. Toss tomatoes and garlic with generous olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread in a single layer in a couple roasting pans or a couple baking sheets. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. They can be used as is, OR if you want to make a sauce for drawing symbols and such, transfer to a food processor and blend with just enough water to get a thick but squirtable consistency. Transfer to a squirt bottle.

    For the pie

    • One New York-style pizza dough (recipe from Serious Eats)
    • white sauce & tomatoes (above)
    • 4 ounces ricotta
    • 4 ounces mozzarella
    • salt & pepper
    • palmful kalamata olives, sliced
    • palmful basil, small chop
    • palmful feta

    Heat oven to 500°

    Grease a pizza peel, stone, or baking sheet, and gently stretch the dough to a 14 inch round. Top with white sauce.

    Mix ricotta and mozzarella, season with salt and pepper, and spread over the pizza. Add olives, basil, feta, and either the whole tomatoes or draw a pentagram (or heart or happy face, whatever).

    Cook for about 15 minutes (start checking at 12) until golden and bubbly. Allow to cool slightly, slice and serve.

    Bonus: Samantha bopping around the spooky house like an 80s music video!

  • Roasted Tomato Soup with Sherry and Cream

    Roasted Tomato Soup with Sherry and Cream

    You are part of me now, and I cannot let you go. After awhile you will forget what you were, and you will begin to love me as I love you.

    The 1983 film The Hunger is a spooky chic take of a vampire story. The cast is amazing: French goddess Catherine Deneuve, the weird and wonderful David Bowie, and smart, sexy Susan Sarandon.

    hunger-poster

    I watched it after I became aware of the myriad references in American Horror Story. In Hotel, Lady Gaga and the other vampires are heavily influenced by The Hunger, from the ankhs to the slicing vs. biting kill technique to the use of Bahaus’s Bela Legosi’s Dead (which you can find on my ever-growing Spooky Shit Spotify Playlist). There’s a reference in Coven too, with Jessica Lang seeking youth from the scientist who does tests on monkeys, and probably even more that I’m not aware of because apparently Ryan Murphy is a huge fan and goes back to this well.

    I loved the movie for its stylishness, twist on the classic vampire lore, and of course the charismatic actors. The sexy AF aspect of vampires is not new but it’s well used here. It’s also quite enjoyable that in a movie about obsession with youth, the hottest scene is between two women who were in their late 30’s/early 40’s at the time (not old by any means, but ancient by Hollywood standards).

    Deneuve’s Miriam begins her seduction of Sarandan’s Sarah with a glass of sherry (another move echoed by Gaga in AHS), which makes an appearance in this sleek and velvety soup. Garlicky too, not a problem as these aren’t your average vampires. It’s an elegant starter for a dinner that ends in blood.

    Roasted Tomato Soup with Sherry and Cream

    • 1 pound roma tomatoes
    • 1 head garlic
    • olive oil
    • salt & pepper
    • 1/4 cup sherry
    • 4 cup chicken broth
    • 1/2 cup heavy cream
    • basil chiffonade for garnish

    Heat oven to 300° and line two baking sheets with parchment. Slice tomatoes to medium thickness, toss with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and lay on baking sheets in a single layer. Meanwhile, slice top off the head of garlic, wrap in foil, and drizzle with olive oil.

    Bake tomatoes and garlic, flipping tomatoes after 30 minutes, then again after another 30 minutes. Bake a final 30 minutes (1 1/2 hours total) until nice and roasty, checking that they don’t burn. Allow the roasted garlic to cool enough to handle, and squeeze out the cloves.

    Put tomatoes and garlic in a soup pot with the sherry, and cook until sherry is reduced. Add half the chicken broth, mix well, and cook for 20 minutes. Cool slightly and puree in a blender. Return to the soup pot (optional, for vampire-worthy soup do it through a mesh strainer), add the rest of the chicken broth and heat through. Check seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Add heavy cream and just heat through, serve hot garnished with basil.

  • Scalloped Turnips

    Scalloped Turnips

    The night is dark, and full of turnips.

    Turnips are a staple of medieval cookery, and can often be used just as new world potatoes, whether sliced, mashed, or cooked into a soup. I recreated a scalloped potato dish I often cook for Thanksgiving using turnips instead, and their slightly sharper flavor worked well!

    The final product was a teensy bit soupy when sliced, as turnips aren’t as starchy as potatoes, but I’m not going to tell you not to make this because it was delicious. Eventually I may try variations, such as adding carrots and/or parsnips, using slightly less cream, or adding cheese (as in these garnished turnips, basically a turnip gratin).

    Scalloped Turnips

    • 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
    • 2-3 sprigs rosemary
    • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
    • 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
    • 3 large turnips (or 6 small)
    • 3 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

    Heat oven to 350°

    Butter a 7×11 baking dish (I know this is an odd size, so others will work). Place the garlic and rosemary along the bottom.

    In a mixing bowl, mix whipping cream, salt, and white pepper.

    Cut turnips into quarters (if they are small, just halves). Using a mandolin, slice a turnip at a time, dip in the whipping cream mixture, and arrange in layers in the baking dish. Sprinkle small butter cubes over the top, and loosely tent the dish with foil.

    Bake for an hour, until turnips are soft and easily pierced. Raise heat to 425° and remove foil. Cook another 15 minutes until top is golden. Rest 15 minutes before serving.

    From Game of Thrones menu Queen in the North

  • Mawmenny

    Mawmenny

    As a lover of both medieval and desi food, I get excited when they collide, as in this dish which is basically a medieval curry. Thanks, Spice Route!

    There are lots of variations, some with chicken, beef, or mutton (or a mixture), some cooked in wine, some in almond milk, some sweetened with sugar and dates, all spiced with cinnamon and cloves. (See this recipe, which sources a few olde receipts). Some were colored red with sandalwood, most garnished with nuts.

    Because of the warm spices and the almonds, I made mine similar to a Mughlai korma, and it turned out rich, fragrant, and lovely.

    As Game of Thrones fare…

    This is the upscale version of bowls of brown – that is if better ingredients were available than stale bread, meat gristle and sewer water! When the hipster noble houses start gentrifying Flea Bottom, you can look for mawmenny establishments to start popping up for sure.

    Note: if you don’t have all the spices, or if you’d rather use beef or chicken than goat, go for it! Medieval chefs are resourceful. This recipe is very versatile, use whatever meat and at least the cinnamon and cloves and you should be good.

    Mawmenny

    • 2 pounds bone-in goat cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (you can also use lamb, beef, or chicken)
    • 1 cup dry red wine
    • 6 cloves garlic, chopped, divided
    • salt & pepper
    • 2 1/2 medium onions
    • 2 inches ginger, peeled and chopped
    • ground spices: 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
    • 4 tablespoons ghee, divided (or you can use half and half butter and oil)
    • whole spices: 1 stick cinnamon, 8 cloves, 2 black cardamoms
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1/4 cup almonds, ground
    • 1/4 cup almonds, slivered

    Marinate meat in wine, 2 cloves garlic, and generously seasoned with salt and pepper, for at least an hour and ideally over night.

    Grind together onions, 4 cloves garlic, ginger, and ground spices. On medium high, heat 3 tablespoons ghee, and cook the onion mixture, stirring frequently at first and constantly at the end, until liquid has evaporated and the mixture has darkened in color. Crank the heat up to high and add whole spices and the meat (along with the marinade), and cook, stirring, until liquid has mostly evaporated and meat is sealed, being careful not to burn. Add sugar, ground almonds and water to just cover, bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is very soft, 2-2 1/2 hours (will be less for chicken, only 20-30 minutes).

    Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry the slivered almonds, stirring gently, until golden. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

    When meat is ready, remove cover, raise heat and thicken up the sauce, stirring frequently. When it’s thick enough, garnish with almonds and serve hot with bread.

    From Game of Thrones menu Queen in the North

  • Mushroom Potato Scotch Eggs | David the Gnome

    Mushroom Potato Scotch Eggs | David the Gnome

    I loved David the Gnome when I was a kid; fantastic creatures in general interested me, but gnomes in particular seemed so sweet and cozy. Affectionate, nice to animals, and with the cutest little houses; I was obsessed with their pretty Nordic carvings and their little beds built straight into the wall.

    mushroom-potato-scotch-eggs-david-the-gnome

    I had all but forgotten the show (based on a book I am now interested to read) until Diana from Fiction-Food Café and Catherine from The Gluttonous Geek started talking about it on Twitter, inspiring a watch-and-cook from all of us!

    Rewatching the show was like snuggling up in a warm blanket of nostalgia. It is exposition heavy in the most charming way: each episode starts with a snippet about the lives of gnomes – the clothes they wear, their houses, and of course the food they eat. Gnomes are very kind, and very environmentally conscious, so all their food is plant-based or else gifted by their animal friends.

    I think we all chose to use mushrooms, which seemed natural as they are forageable in the forest and form magical fairy rings. Mine I used to make scotch eggs – vegetarian of course! In the very first episode the gnomes eat skylark eggs (having no skylark eggs available I used completely mundane chicken eggs) and David, a doctor, helps an ailing goat, so I thought it might be reasonable he was repaid in goat cheese. I also have it on good authority that gnomes are partial to root vegetables, so potato seemed like a good ingredient to tie it all together.

    Mushroom Potato Scotch Eggs

    • 8 hardboiled eggs, peeled
    • 1 large russet potato, peeled and medium diced
    • 6 ounces goat cheese
    • olive oil & butter
    • 1 medium shallot, diced
    • 3 cloves garlic, grated
    • 11-12 ounces mushrooms (I used 8 ounces cremini and 3.2 ounces fresh shitake), finely chopped
    • 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence (or a mix of herbs such as thyme, basil, or parsley)
    • salt & pepper
    • 1/2 cup flour
    • 1 egg, beaten
    • breadcrumbs (optional, I did some with, some without. I seasoned the breadcrumbs with a little salt and fresh thyme)
    • oil to fry

    Put potato in a small saucepan, just cover with water and a good pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Boil until the potato is very soft, then drain and mix with goat cheese and a tablespoon of butter.

    On medium-high heat, warm a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon (or two) butter. Cook shallot and garlic until shallot just starts to turn golden, then add the mushrooms and herbs. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms have released their water and the mixture is mostly dry. Stir into the potato mixture, season to taste, and allow to cool to room temperature.

    On medium to medium high, heat 3/4 inch of oil in a frying pan. Take a palm-sized portions of the potato mixture and form it around each of the eggs (it should be malleable and spread easily). In batches of two, roll each egg in the flour, dusting off any excess, then dip in the egg and coat with breadcrumbs if using. Fry, rolling gently, until they are golden all over, and remove to a paper towel-lined plate. (Any leftover potato mixture you can just form into little disks and fry on each side until golden).

    Serve on a bed of greens or asparagus.

    For more David the Gnome recipes, visit:

    And if you’re inspired to revisit your childhood, the entire series is on YouTube.

  • Margoog

    Margoog

    This is my month to host the MENA Cooking Club; I was excited to volunteer for Qatar because it’s one of the only Middle Eastern countries I’ve actually been to, if only for a layover in Doha on our way to Pakistan. Qatar, may I say your airline is amazing, and extremely accommodating to travelers with babies!

    I had no idea it would be difficult to find Qatari recipes (it’s just Googling, right?), but the recipes I suggested all got rejected, even those straight from a Qatar-based website! There appears to be a lot of misinformation out there (shocking, I know – something on the internet is wrong). And the recipe they decided to use instead says it’s from the Najd region, which is in Saudi Arabia? So who knows 😉

    A little frustrating, but I guess this experience just highlights why Noor’s goal to bring more awareness to Middle Eastern food is valuable. Good job, Noor!

    Anyway, I may be a terrible hostess, but I’m a decent cook, and I love to try new ingredients. This time it was black lemon, which are actually dehydrated limes, and I just loved the flavor they imparted to this dish. I often squirt lemon or lime juice at the end to lighten up a heavy curry; this was the same concept only less sharp, more mellow, the sweet tartness cooked right in. I used three because I didn’t know how strong they would be, and I think it came out well (although I would have liked a fourth for an extra-lemony broth).

    Margoog is traditionally served either poured over thin flatbread (I love the concept of bread soup, see my Spring Ribollita) or else baked with a dough stretched over the top like a pot pie (edit: I misunderstood, it’s actually thin discs of dough that you drop into the hot pot, and they cook in the liquid like dumplings).

    However, I forwent this very important step (blasphemy!) because we’ve just started this low-carb meal plan at home to help my mother-in-law, who is diabetic, get her blood sugar under control. She’s made really good progress, so as much as I would like to make a lovely crust for this fragrant steamy stew (sigh, that sounds like pure comfort food)…I instead added extra vegetables.

    Margoog

    Note: this doesn’t include the dough which is a key part of traditional margoog, if you are interested see this recipe for method

    • 2 pounds bone-in goat, cut by butcher into 1 inch pieces
    • salt & pepper
    • olive oil
    • To flavor the broth: 2 smashed garlic cloves, 1 stick cinnamon, and 3 black lemons, slit
    • 3-4 shallots, sliced
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon coriander
    • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
    • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon kashmiri chili (less spicy, I did this so kids could eat it) or cayenne (more spicy)
    • 1 head cauliflower, cut/broken into florets
    • 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thick chunks
    • 3 zucchini, cut into thick chunks

    Season goat with salt and pepper. In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil and brown the goat on both sides, in two batches, removing the first batch to a plate. When they are all browned, deglaze the pot with a little water, then add the rest of the goat back in, plus garlic, cinnamon and black lemons, and water to just cover. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, covered, for an hour to an hour and a half, until goat is very tender, adding more water when necessary.

    Meanwhile, in another cooking vessel (I used a wok), heat another three tablespoons olive oil. Saute shallots until very golden, being careful not to burn. Add garlic and stir for a minute or two, then add tomatoes, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and kashmiri chili. Cook until tomatoes are broken down, thick and jammy, and most of the liquid has evaporated.

    Combine the goat and tomato mixtures in whichever pot is bigger so you have room for all the veggies (I put the goat into my wok). Add cauliflower and carrot and mix well, adding water so they are not quite covered. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes, then add zucchini and cook, covered, 10 more minutes, until all veggies are tender. Simmer uncovered for about 10 more minutes, until stew has thickened up a little (but still a little brothy).

    Garnish with a little chopped mint (optional) and and serve hot!

    This was lovely, but I am wickedly looking forward to pouring leftovers over naan at my desk lunch tomorrow.