Monday, June 4, 2018

A Quick Chic pea fix plus getting in a jam

More on the theme of warm weather instant gratification from my chickpea collection plus making apricot jam, faster and fresher than you think.

Portuguese salt cod and chickpea salad
 serves 4 as a light summer salad

2 cans chickpeas, drained, rinsed and drained
 (4 cups)1 quart water
1/2 pound dry salt cod, soaked in various changes of cold water for 16 to 24 hours in the refrigerator
1 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp good quality olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp coarse sea salt or to taste
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped or cut in wedges for garnish
1/2 tsp paprika
black olives for color garnish if you like
 *OPTIONAL: to make this more substantial, you can boil 3 med potatoes, cool and quarter them.

Remove the salt cod from its soaking water and rinse. In a medium pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the cod. Cover for 15 - 20 minutes, then drain. Set aside until cool.
Shred the cod, discarding skin or bones. Put it in a serving bowl with the chickpeas, onion, and garlic—plus the potatoes if you are using them.
In a small bowl, whisk oil and vinegar. Add parsley and salt, if needed. Pour the dressing over the chickpeas and toss softly.
Garnish with cooked eggs, black olives and a sprinkling of paprika. This can be served hot, cold, or at room temperature.


Moroccan Rice, Lentil and Chickpea Salad with dried fruits

serves at least 4
1 c rice
1/4 c raisins
2 tbsp currants
3 tbsp brown lentils
1 tbsp yellow split peas
8 dried apricots, chopped
2/3 c cooked chickpeas, drained
4 scallions. chopped
1 cup chopped spinach
1/2 c whole roasted almonds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
For the dressing:
3 tbsp orange juice
1/4 c olive oil
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp orange flower water
1/4 tsp orange rind

Cook the rice with the raisins, currants, brown lentils and split peas. When it's done, drain excess liquid. Stir in the apricots, chickpeas, scallions, spinach, almonds, salt and pepper to your taste.
Make the dressing by whisking together all ingredients. Pour over the salad. Garnish with cilantro leaves
NOTE: If you want to serve this cold, cool the lentil mix before adding the apricots et al.

Hot Buttered Turkish Hummus
A little something different, from central Turkey. I've published baked hummus with yogurt. This one is all butter from dairy country. What's missing is tahini.



2 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained with liquid reserved
2 garlic cloves, minced or mushed through a garlic press
8 tbsp butter (one stick), cut in small pieces
¼ c good quality olive oil
1 lemon, juice only
Two tsp. ground cumin (plus a sprinkle for garnish)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp pine nuts

In a small sauté pan, over med/low heat melt 1 tbsp butter. When it foams, add the garlic and gently cook until it’s soft. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 350º.
In a food processor, combine chickpeas, 6 tbsp butter, lemon juice and cumin. Pour in the olive oil as you begin to blend. If more liquid is needed to make a smooth, soft paste, use some of the water from the chickpea cans. Blend until everything is very smooth and creamy. You can’t really overdo it but do give it at least 3 minutes. Stop the processing and taste. Season with salt and pepper.
With rubber spatula, transfer the hummus to a small ovenproof pie dish. Smooth to a level layer. Dot the top with the last tbsp. of butter, cut into pieces and the pine nuts. Sprinkle with a bit more ground cumin.
Bake at 350º until the butter on top has melted and the hummus is hot all the way through—5-8 minutes..
Serve hot with pita or flat bread, raw vegetables, black olives, tomato cucumber salad, etc

Catalan Chickpea Salad
This is a summery version of the traditional chickpea chorizo stews the Catalans are noted for.
serves 2-4


1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ red onion, finely sliced into half moons
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
½ lb chorizo, cut into bite sized cubes
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp sherry
1 tbsp water
1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tomato, finely diced

In a medium frying pan over a medium heat, heat the oil.  Add sliced onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. Add chorizo and bay leaf, reduce heat to low and sauté for 5 minutes. Pour in sherry and water and let bubble a minute to burn off the alcohol. Add chickpeas and pine nuts and heat through so the flavors combine.  Taste and add salt. Let the dish cool slightly, then add the chopped tomato and mix well.  Serve warm, sprinkled with plenty of freshly ground pepper.

AND NOW A WORD with a few pictures ABOUT MAKING APRICOT JAM
because apricots are at high tide on the West Coast and flooding our markets in the East.
 I like to use turbinado or brown sugar in my jams to give a depth to the flavor and I can use less. I rigorously use much less sugar than commercial instructions advise; they call for huge quantities of white sugar because that's actually the long term preservative.  To compensate for much less sugar, I use small jars. Once open I keep them in the fridge where they will last up to 1 month.  I also use fresh lime juice because it brightens the fruit taste but also because, think ceviche, lime juice is a bacteria killer and thus preservative. Those two ingredients are in most of my jams. (I do not use commercial pectin.) What varies is the fruit and the spice for it. I give you a choice here to cater to your personal taste.

2 lbs apricots
1 1/2 c turbinado or light brown sugar  
1 lime, juice only
1/4 tsp spice: ground ginger, ground cardamom, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon--have it your way.  These spices enhance apricots.

5-6  4 oz canning jars with lids and rings (the jars and rings can be recycled but not the lids)


Put the canning jars in a wide tall pot and cover them with at least 2" of water. Bring the water to a boil, then drop heat to simmer. This sterilizes the jars. You need to put the jam into hot jars. 

Wash and half the apricots. Remove the pits and cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces.  Put them (you can do this as you cut) in a very large saucepan or a med/lg cooking pot. Add 1/4 c water and bring to a boil. This is a secret way to cancel out the skins so you don't have to peel the fruit. Boil 2 minutes. Add the sugar, lime juice and spices, stirring to blend.
Over med/high heat bring the jam to a boil, stirring occasionally but don't leave the pot. Best with a long handled spoon and a pot holder mitt on the hand stirring  as the hot jam will eventually splash upwards.  Keep going until the pot contents start to bubble and swell upward. Stir that down immediately.  Reduce heat to medium and continue stirring--if foam forms on top skim it off as that's excess sugar-- until the mixture thickens into jam. You'll know it's there two ways: push the spoon across the bottom of the pot and if the jam parts so you see the actual pot bottom, it's done OR put some on the spoon, raise the spoon toward the top of the pot and turn it sideways so the jam slides off. If it sticks to the spoon and doesn't run off like liquid, it's done.  Start to jam should be under 30 minutes.

Remove the jars from the water to the counter top and have the lids and metal rings handy. Dip a ladle into the boiling water where the jars were to sterilize it. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4" at the top. Shake the jars or press down on the jam to avoid air holes. Seal the jars with new lids and then the screw caps. Return the jars to the boiling water, turn up the heat to get active boiling and boil the jars 10 minutes to seal them. Using tongs remove the jars to a cool surface and wait for the popping sound that indicates they're sealed.  Clean up. When the jars are cool, remove the screw rings and test that the lids really are tightly sealed by poking gently. Put back the rings and label the jars and there you are: apricot jam!

 

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