This is my own version of the Iranian treat, zereschk polo. It's not much more complicated than regular rice and remarkably tasty considering how easy it is.
Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati rice, cooked according to instructions
1 T. butter
1/4 cup dried barberries (zareshk)
1/8 cup dried cherries (optional; you could also just use 1/3 cup barberries)
2 T. pomegranate syrup
1 small pinch cloves
2 large pinches cinnamon
2 large pinches cumin
Directions:
1. Melt butter in a frying pan, then turn heat to low.
2. Add barberries, cherries, pomegranate syrup, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin, and cook on low, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
3. Add barberry mixture to cooked rice, cover and let sit until ready to serve.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Cheese Bourekas / Apple Turnovers
Wow, so I guess I haven't updated in awhile. I'd like to say it's because I've been too lazy to update but mostly I've been too lazy to cook! Ah, well.
Anyway, today I made a delicious flaky dough that could conceivably be stuffed with anything; I made apple turnovers and kind of cheese bourekas with it, and it was fabulous with both savory and sweet (based off of a recipe from the King Arthur cookbook). These pastries are serious people pleasers (and with this much butter, no wonder!)
The crust is actually pretty simple, although it has a few steps and looks kind of complicated. Like I said, you can stuff these with just about anything, but the two stuffings I made today were REALLY good, so here they are!
DOUGH:
2 sticks (1/2 lb.) butter, frozen
1 cup flour (for the dough, you'll also need a lot more)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream
6-8 T. water
1. Whisk together flour, almond meal, salt, and baking powder, and place bowl in the freezer.
2. Coat your fingers and the butter with flour and grate it with a cheese grater (in the larger holes)
3. Toss the flour mixture and butter shavings together until evenly mixed and place back in the freezer
4. Stir together sour cream and 6 T. water
5. Fold the sour cream and flour/butter mixture together using a rubber spatula until a cohesive dough forms (if there are a lot of crumbs left, add more water until it forms together).
6. Divide dough in half. Flour both the dough and your hands well, then form dough into a 6 X 6 inch rectangle. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Do the same to the other half.
7. After about 30 minutes in the freezer, take dough out and heavily flour it on both sides. Roll into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle, then, holding the shorter edges, fold in third into itself like you're stuffing a letter in an envelope. (Obviously you do this and the following steps to both halves of the dough; be sure to keep the one you are not working with in the freezer).
8. Roll the dough out again into a 5 x 12 inch rectangle, then fold again in thirds into itself like a letter.
9. You should now have a 5 x 4 inch rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and place back into the freezer while you make your fillings (or about 30 minutes).
10. Preheat the oven to 425.
CHEESE BOUREKAS FILLING (you can make this however you want, feel free to add or omit as you like):
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
(any other cheese you have lying around the house, if you like)
1 egg
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
3-4 oz. frozen spinach
salt and pepper to taste
black caraway seeds (optional, but good!)
olive oil for cooking
1. Saute onion in olive oil until becoming slightly transparent.
2. Add frozen spinach and saute until unfrozen; salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together ricotta, feta, egg, and black caraway seeds (and any other cheese you'd like; I added a sprinkle of cheddar and mozarella) until consistent.
4. Add the cooled spinach mixture to the ricotta, and refrigerate until your dough/ the oven is ready.
APPLE FILLING (again, add or omit ingredients as you see fit)
4 small apples, or 3 large ones (I used gala), peeled, cored, and diced
zest of 1 lemon
2 T. butter
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 pinch cloves, 2 pinches dried ginger (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. almond extract (optional)
1. Saute all ingredients together in a frying pan on medium-high heat until apples are tender but not mushy (about 8-10 minutes).
2. Set aside and allow to cool.
PUTTING IT ALTOGETHER:
You'll need: 1 cup water, sesame seeds/black caraway seeds for sprinkling, cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling
1. Remove 1 square of dough from the freezer, and roll into a 10 x 16 inch rectangle.
2. Divide the dough into 8 squares (you may need to roll each piece out so it actually IS a square!)
3. Place a good-sized dollop of cheese boureka filling in the center of the dough square, then use your finger to wet 2 adjacent edges of the dough (so it will stick) and fold over to form a triangle. Use a fork to press down on the edges.
4. Repeat for the rest of the boureka filling. Place on parchment paper, then brush each boureka with water and sprinkle sesame/black caraway seeds on top. Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
5. Now take the other half of the dough from the freezer and do the same for the apple filling, except when you put it on the parchment paper you will sprinkle it with sugar and a pinch of cinnamon on each turnover, and again cook for 20 minutes.
Anyway, today I made a delicious flaky dough that could conceivably be stuffed with anything; I made apple turnovers and kind of cheese bourekas with it, and it was fabulous with both savory and sweet (based off of a recipe from the King Arthur cookbook). These pastries are serious people pleasers (and with this much butter, no wonder!)
The crust is actually pretty simple, although it has a few steps and looks kind of complicated. Like I said, you can stuff these with just about anything, but the two stuffings I made today were REALLY good, so here they are!
DOUGH:
2 sticks (1/2 lb.) butter, frozen
1 cup flour (for the dough, you'll also need a lot more)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream
6-8 T. water
1. Whisk together flour, almond meal, salt, and baking powder, and place bowl in the freezer.
2. Coat your fingers and the butter with flour and grate it with a cheese grater (in the larger holes)
3. Toss the flour mixture and butter shavings together until evenly mixed and place back in the freezer
4. Stir together sour cream and 6 T. water
5. Fold the sour cream and flour/butter mixture together using a rubber spatula until a cohesive dough forms (if there are a lot of crumbs left, add more water until it forms together).
6. Divide dough in half. Flour both the dough and your hands well, then form dough into a 6 X 6 inch rectangle. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Do the same to the other half.
7. After about 30 minutes in the freezer, take dough out and heavily flour it on both sides. Roll into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle, then, holding the shorter edges, fold in third into itself like you're stuffing a letter in an envelope. (Obviously you do this and the following steps to both halves of the dough; be sure to keep the one you are not working with in the freezer).
8. Roll the dough out again into a 5 x 12 inch rectangle, then fold again in thirds into itself like a letter.
9. You should now have a 5 x 4 inch rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and place back into the freezer while you make your fillings (or about 30 minutes).
10. Preheat the oven to 425.
CHEESE BOUREKAS FILLING (you can make this however you want, feel free to add or omit as you like):
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
(any other cheese you have lying around the house, if you like)
1 egg
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
3-4 oz. frozen spinach
salt and pepper to taste
black caraway seeds (optional, but good!)
olive oil for cooking
1. Saute onion in olive oil until becoming slightly transparent.
2. Add frozen spinach and saute until unfrozen; salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together ricotta, feta, egg, and black caraway seeds (and any other cheese you'd like; I added a sprinkle of cheddar and mozarella) until consistent.
4. Add the cooled spinach mixture to the ricotta, and refrigerate until your dough/ the oven is ready.
APPLE FILLING (again, add or omit ingredients as you see fit)
4 small apples, or 3 large ones (I used gala), peeled, cored, and diced
zest of 1 lemon
2 T. butter
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 pinch cloves, 2 pinches dried ginger (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. almond extract (optional)
1. Saute all ingredients together in a frying pan on medium-high heat until apples are tender but not mushy (about 8-10 minutes).
2. Set aside and allow to cool.
PUTTING IT ALTOGETHER:
You'll need: 1 cup water, sesame seeds/black caraway seeds for sprinkling, cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling
1. Remove 1 square of dough from the freezer, and roll into a 10 x 16 inch rectangle.
2. Divide the dough into 8 squares (you may need to roll each piece out so it actually IS a square!)
3. Place a good-sized dollop of cheese boureka filling in the center of the dough square, then use your finger to wet 2 adjacent edges of the dough (so it will stick) and fold over to form a triangle. Use a fork to press down on the edges.
4. Repeat for the rest of the boureka filling. Place on parchment paper, then brush each boureka with water and sprinkle sesame/black caraway seeds on top. Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
5. Now take the other half of the dough from the freezer and do the same for the apple filling, except when you put it on the parchment paper you will sprinkle it with sugar and a pinch of cinnamon on each turnover, and again cook for 20 minutes.
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