A Spicy Delicious Lamb Recipe

I am not posting so often meaty recipes, but lately, I've fall in love with lamb and its rich texture and tastes, therefore, it was a great experiment to test a couple of delicious spicy matches. As usual, the mixture between sweet and savory is one of my favorite combinations, therefore, expect a lot of unusual matches in this recipe. Unfortunatelly, for various - very serious reasons - I did not keep any picture of the ready meal...As for now, you should believe my genuine words.

Ingredients

450 gr. lamb

100 ml. lime juice

50 gr. grated ginger

150 ml. honey

2 tablespoon Ras el Hanout spices from Spice Kitchen UK, part of the Brand Ambassador Programme

50 ml. walnut oil

9 medium-sized walnut cloves

150 ml. red wine

Directions

Rub the lime and the ginger on both side of the meat. It will help to diminish the unpleasant lamb smell which is obvious especially when the meat was deeply frosten before being used. Rub the honey on both sides and the Ras el Hanout spices. 

In a pan, add the red wine, the walnut oil and the cloves.

Heat the oven at 250C.

Turn the meat on both sides every 45 minutes. If you want it throughout, it will last at least 2h30 until perfectly ready.

As lamb is a bit difficult kind of meat, you better eat it warm, shortly after preparing it. After heating and reheating for a couple of times, the meat will most likely have the texture of a plastic sponge (unfortunatelly).

As a side dish, roasted potatoes with rosmarin, plus a fresh tomatoes and cucumber salad will be a very good choice. A glass of red wine with an aromated fruity texture is the best match, with add-on to the wine-soaked meat.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hrs.

Bon Appétit!

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What is Tamarind and How Can you Use it?

Pods of tamarind in my Berlin Asian store

The disadvantage of growing up not only in a house where food was the least priority - we had books, after all, lots of them - but also the traditional tastes were very simple - garlic was part of (almost) everything so it didn't count as a 'spice' and adding chilli or pepper to a dish was a great cooking achievement (did I say my mom actually never used salt in the kichen) - was that I had a very long way acknowledging basic spices and flavors. While some were debating about what kind of Oriental spices are suited for the lamb, I was slowly exploring various peppers and trying to understand how much salt I shall add to a soup to make it really tasty. 

As usual, I was able to use this relative disadvantage as an opportunity to better explore a flavor and therefore to set the basics for my own knowledge about foods and their hidden qualities that a good spice can perfectly outline. 

During my journey, besides the Middle Eastern flavors, I fell in love with Asian food. The combinations of exotic fruits, the freshness of vegetables and the sour-sweet variations are fascinating and probably correspond to by complex, curious personality. 

However, the more I am exploring the Asian stores, cookbooks and venues, the more I realize how much I still have to learn and test. Tamarind, is one of those products I am focused right now, that I am working hard to get to know.

Tamarind, the 'date' of India

A native fruit from Africa, particularly Sudan, but also growing in India, Pakistan or the tropical regions with a high popularity in South America and Mexico, tamarind has at the first sight the consistency of the date. The pulp inside the pod looks a bit like and biten raw it has a special sweet taste that justifies its name of 'date of India'. 

Unless you find them raw in their natural environment, it is usually found as pressed, the result of boiling the pulp, which has a nutty sweet taste. The young fruit has a completely different taste, sour, with a predominant acid note. It can be also dried and turned into a spice.

What you can do with tamarind: some hot chilli bonbons

The tamarind can be used in different cooking ways. Mostly for chutneys in India, in the Thai cuisine it is a constant ingredient for pad thai or seafood dishes, but also to add a sweet note to meats - especially lamb or duck which is so well suited for a variety of complex, complementary tastes. A very unusual discovery was a box full of bonbons made of a mixture of tamarind to which an explosive mixture of very hot chilli, salt and pepper was added. It simply exploded into your mouth and I strongly recommend to have it alone, at home, without sharing it with your kids. In my Asian store I also spotted a tamarind-based drink, which is a bit naturally sparkling. 

My challenge for the next weeks is to try at least one savory and one sweet dish using tamarind. As for now, I am looking for proper recipes and inspiration...A foodie story to be continued very soon.

Full in vitamins too

Tamarind has also a high concentration of nutrients, especially Magnesium and Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Vitamin B1, B2 and B3. If consummed long term, it may have some positive effects on the immunity system, but such issues are normally determined by the individual's health/medical condition. It is also said to have a good effect on heart health and circulation, anti-inflammatory effects and help improve digestion. 

Something (more) unusual about tamarind

As you may know already, I am pretty interested in keeping my old silver family treasures in a good shape, therefore I was pleasantly surprised to discover that due to its relatively high level of acidity, it can be also used as a metal polish. It is a chemical-free solution, easy and does not affect the metal, as it might happen when you use vinegar or baking soda. Spread the tamarind on the surface of the cooper or bronze object and massage it throughouthly. The stains will be removed fast and your kitchen ware or decorative objects will regain their original healthy shining.

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3 Ways to Use Your Sumac Spices

If you are having a tasty visit to any of the genuine Middle Eastern - especially Persian - restaurants, you may find on the table in addition to salt and pepper, also a reddish powder. It is sumac, made of red berries and sprinkled over a variety of foods, from salads to lamb, chicken and fish. It has a fruity salty taste, which may create a good balance by the marinade and add a fresh note to the hummus or fattoush. 

Part of my mission of brand ambassador for the multi-awarded Spice Kitchen UK, I included sumac as part of my list of favorite spices. Exciting adventure, as before that, I only shyly tried sumac in restaurants but never experienced its texture and flavor on my own.

Therefore, my first encouter involved learning how to use it in some easy, classical combinations, but as soon as I got a strong foot on the spicy ground, I moved forward creating one unique - and unusual - recipe. 

Here are my three ways to use sumac in the kitchen. And it is just the beginning, as I feel bold enough to try even more creative recipes. Wait and see until the end of the post...

Summer salad

Summer was amazingly long in my part of the world, which allowed me - when I was not relaxing in the countryside - to create a couple of healthy recipes. I substituted salt with sumac which added even more freshness and a special taste to the salad. My favorite variant that I will keep doing it regardless of the season involved: finely chopped cucumber, canned corn, and finely chopped small tomatoes. The amount of sumac is on taste, but I personally added 1/4 teaspoon. No oil, no balsamico. Just those veggies and the fresh touch of sumac.

Rice

If you grew up with rice - which I didn't - you don't need to read cooking books to learn how to properly boil it or what spices to add. I did the hard way - and don't regret it - which also involved that I needed a lot of time to properly learn how to prepare and use basic cooking ingredients, such as rice. My favorite combination involved jasmin rice with a generous sprinkle of sumac on the top. To be served as a separate meal, or in combination with chicken or fish. As I usually find rice bland and tasteless - the water among the meals - sumac is a welcomed diversion which makes me reconsider the flavor qualities of the rice.

Banana smoothie with tahini and sumac on the top (yes, you've read it right!) 

And now, the exciting recipe is finally coming, after writing what an experienced cook will rightfully call 'platitudes'. This latest combination I tried - over and over again - this weekend and I confirm it is so tasty that my guests convinced me that I definitely need to share the recipe as well. It also uses an ingredient which is so popular nowadays - tahini, especially in addition to sweets. I've personally found it a very special smoothie, with an unforgettable taste. 

Ingredients:

400 ml. canned coconut milk

2 1/2 big size banana, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon tehina

1 teaspoon brown sugar or honey - if you want some extra sweetness

1/4 teaspoon sumac

Directions

In the blender, add the coconut milk, the banana, tehina and sugar. Mix them well at moderate speed for maximum 3 minutes. Pour into glasses, add the sumac on top and let it to rest in the fridge, at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: 3

Disclaimer: Spices offered by Spice Kitchen UK for review, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

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Baked Quinces, East European Style

One of the very few meals that I associate with childhood are quinces. Baked quinces, to be more specific. Every autumn, someone from my family, getting smaller and smaller with each year, used to prepare a tasty, spice-infused meal based on quinces. Very hard fruits with a very complicated texture and taste - not so sour but not sweet either - baked in an aromated sauce whose preparation was filling the air with various smells and aromas. Not the fruits I might love, but nevertheless the fruits reminding me of childhood. For years I tried to find them back and it is not that easy in Berlin, unless you are lucky to have a Russian or a Turkish store near by. Three years ago, I've found some, took them in my hands and smell them, with the same dedication as some might smell and look at the esrog on Sukkot. Actually, in the old country, the custom was to have them in the house near this beautiful autumn Jewish holiday. Only this year I've decided with all my mind and body to search for a simple recipe which might suit my visual and olfactive memories.

The escape came from the acclaimed book by Olia Hercules, Mamushka featuring Ukrainian and East European cuisine. (Actually, a couple of days ago, I've discover a similar recipe in a cooking book dedicated to the Middle East so maybe there is more history to this recipe that I thought). I was personally a bit disappointed as I was expecting some more childhood recipes, but maybe it is because the Ukrainian-, Russian speaking focus. However, my beloved baked quinces were there, waiting for me to prepare. 

As usual, my recipe is an adaptation, as ingredients as juniper berries - it might sound strange to you, as it did to me initially, but if you ever tasted gin, you need to know that those small purple berries do give to that drink most of the taste - were not easy to find, and replaced cinnamon stick with powder. I used a bourbon vanilla bean which was not the best choice in terms of taste. For the star anise I preferred the powder. The ingredients of the syrup are very important as they should smoothly come along with the taste of the quince, which, as I mentioned before, is one of a kind.

As a first time try, I was happy with the result, but I am more than sure that it can be done much better. 

Before you start, be sure that you have around 3 hours available for the entire preparation and baking process. 

Ingredients

3 medium sized quinces, almost 750 gr.

100 gr. brown sugar - instead of the white recommended in the original recipe

2 tablespoon cinnamon powder

1 1/2 tablespoon star anise

1 bourbon vanilla bean

around 500 ml. water

Directions

Before starting, warm the oven at around 160C. 

For the syrup, in a pan, add the sugar, 350 ml. water, spices and put to boil, while stirring slowly for around 15 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved.

Meanwhile, wash and cut the quinces into slices. Be sure you clean the core for the seeds, and the ends. You may need a very strong and sharp knife, as the raw quince has a hard texture.

Add the quinces into the syrup pan and boil it covered for around one hour in the oven at 250C. I added around 150 ml. water to be sure that the quinces are covered in syrup. Every 15 minutes I moved the quinces on sides to be sure that all parts are well covered. After one hour, take the cover and keep boiling it, with the 15 minutes checking. 

Ready to be served warm. 

My favorite part about it: how the aromated spices invaded the air and perfumed the house for at least half of the day.  

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: around 3 hours

Serves: 6

Bon Appétit!

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