The Hungry Turk

Fishy Business

Here is the dilemma I face a few times per week: I get so hungry that I could eat a whole cow but at the same time I am too lazy to open the fridge door, let alone cook. Add to this the fact that a simple green salad or some pasta topped with yogurt (yes, the combination is actually palatable) just seems too mundane to provide enough pleasure and enjoyment to my senses to keep them quiet until the next meal. The outcome of this  poisonous concoction is that I find myself sitting at our kitchen table staring into the void, getting only hungrier and hungrier.

Frankly, this is a far from ideal situation. As my beloved soon-to-be-husband would attest, during such intense moments of decision making, I get cranky, unreceptive, borderline rude... not quite the woman you would like to marry, really.

It does take some effort and strong will to snap out of such a grim mood, but once those shameful moments are over, I’m on fire again! Well somewhat. I still have to satisfy the time pressure caused by the hunger issue and the strong demands pressed upon by my taste buds.

Solution? Some aluminum foil.

And some fish (preferably a white fleshed fish - not too bland, like cod, nor too fishy, like salmon).

Fish and vegetables, augmented with a nutty mushroom flavour and a hint of white wine, all packed in a little aluminum steam chamber...

I sound like a menu from a restaurant with way too many Michelin stars but, this recipe will outshine anything on that menu, I promise!

Try it, love it and then thank my mom!

No more dilemmas...

 
Tilapia with Dried Mushrooms, Cherry Tomatoes and Baby Spinach

Serves 2


2 tilapia fillets (about ½lb. each)
Handful of dried mushrooms (any type, even better if you find a mix)
¾ cup packed baby spinach
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
3 tablespoons dry white wine (can be replaced with the mushroom soaking water)
Olive oil
Ground black pepper
Salt

Transfer the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling hot water. Soak until the mushrooms are tender (the time depends on the type of dried mushrooms you  are using). Strain the water and set the mushrooms aside. If not using wine, don’t discard the water, it’s a very flavourful substitute. Heat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Cut out two sheets of aluminum foil, about one foot (30cm) each. Lightly brush the middle of one of the sheets with olive oil and place the fish on top. Layer half of the spinach, half the of the soaked mushrooms and half of the cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with half of the chopped chives. Drizzle with half of the wine (or the soaking water of the mushrooms), some olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. To package your fish, bring the long ends of your aluminum together and roll/fold them together like a paper bag, leaving enough space for the steam to do its magic. Finally roll/fold the open ends of the foil towards the middle to seal off your package.

Repeat this for the second fish fillet using the rest of the ingredients and aluminum foil.

Place the two packages on a baking tray and bake in the heated oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with a simple green salad and the most versatile potato salad.

Pumpkin Challenge - Part 1

In a few days it’s Canadian Thanksgiving, a holiday that traditionally celebrates the end of a bountiful harvest. This day also brings families together around a table honoured by a stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes and loads of pumpkin pie. Over the next ten days The Hungry Turk will participate in the celebrations with two dessert recipes, which will give the good old pumpkin pie a run for its money.

The first recipe is a traditional Turkish one. As a kid, I didn’t have a sweet tooth and wasn’t a huge fan of pumpkin. But I eventually grew up, and my appreciation of this humble vegetable emerged as the years passed. As long as you have a big sharp knife and some muscle power, you will enjoy this recipe more than anything as it doesn’t involve any labouring over a pie crust.

In Turkey, pumpkin is sold fresh, usually by a vendor who stations his cart at a street corner. He cuts, de-seeds and peels the orange monsters so that you don’t have to do it yourself and risk major injury.

Unfortunately for my poor little self, there are no pumpkin vendors at my street corner here in Montreal. I live in the West, remember, and who in these modern days struggles with a whole pumpkin when you can go to the store and buy it in a can!

So I had to resort to my own resources. But to limit the risk of injury and avoid eating pumpkin everyday for the next month, I bought a small, almost miniature, pumpkin (see picture from previous blog entry). I have never seen such small pumpkins in Turkey and I have to admit that I wasn’t quite sure whether they were ornamental or for cooking.

First, with the help of a sharp chef’s knife, I cut the stem off. I then stabbed the pumpkin   from the top with my big knife and worked my way down on one side. I repeated the same procedure for the other side (starting at the same point on the top) and split open my pumpkin. I used a spoon to de-seed the pumpkin and kept the seeds (see note below). I then quartered each half, and cut each quarter in half (ending up with 16 small pumpkin pieces).

The part that I thought was going to be the most difficult to execute turned out to be the easiest: peeling. I’m useless when it comes to peeling vegetables with a knife and almost always resort to the use of a peeler. This time, however, I thought that my peeler couldn’t handle the tough pumpkin skin, so I started off with a knife. After 5 minutes of desperate battle, I decided to try the peeler. And it worked like a wonder!! So my advice: Don’t try to be a hero, use a peeler!

Turkish Style Poached Pumpkin Dessert (Kabak Tatlısı)

Serves 5


1 small pumpkin (about 3 lb), cut, de-seeded and peeled
1 cup sugar
2 cloves   
Squeeze of lemon juice
½ cup crushed walnuts

Transfer the pumpkin pieces in a large pot and cover with sugar. Cover the top and set it  aside for at least 3 hours, until the juices from the pumpkin come out. Add the cloves and a quick squeeze of lemon juice. Turn the heat to medium and simmer, covered, until the pumpkins turn a darker shade of orange and the juice thickens into a syrup, about 30 minutes. Do check the pot frequently to avoid the pumpkins from sticking to the bottom.

Transfer the pumpkins into a serving plate and pour the syrup on top. To finish off, sprinkle with the crushed walnuts.

Note: Don’t waste the pumpkin seeds, they are great in nut mixes or on their own. Separate the seeds them from the pulp, rinse them well and spread on a kitchen towel to dry completely (takes about a 2 hours). Transfer the seeds into a small container, mix in half a teaspoon of vegetable oil and half a teaspoon of salt. Close the container and shake it untill all the seeds are covered with the salt and oil mixture. Pre-heat your over at 250°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and bake/toast your pumpkin seeds for about 1 hour.

The Harvest Disco Party

Oh pretty little pumpkins, don't let those sly frogs seduce you into a pot during the afterparty!!!

Pasta Night - Again?

As I started my marathon training about five months ago I never thought that I’d get bored of having to eat pasta at least a few times a week. The prospect of getting to try out different pasta recipes was definitely exciting, especially at a time when I had just started my own food blog. Little did I know!

I did get to try many different recipes but as I was making most of them for the first time, they needed adjustment before they were blog worthy. Don’t get me wrong, they were very tasty, it’s just that they weren’t always, erm, photogenic. And the thought of cooking the same food over and over again for the sake of its photographic quality was not appealing.

And in all honesty, I did get bored of eating pasta every Friday night to load up on carbs before my Saturday morning long runs. At times, I got so uninspired and bored of it that I could no longer bother to come up with a new recipe and resorted to the Turkish national fail-safe sauce: yogurt. I know that it sounds bizarre to mix pasta and yogurt, but believe me with a little drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt, it’s enough to make any plain pasta (or as a matter of fact rice) palatable.

Having said all this, I still have two weeks of training before my marathon in San Francisco and whether I like it or not, I have to gulp down all the pasta I can. As I was pondering how to break the monotony of my Friday nights, a very unexpected source of inspiration came to my help. A good friend of mine and a fan of the now defunct Gourmet Magazine brought to my attention that the publishers (Condé Nast) were issuing a special edition of the famous foodie magazine on quick meal fixes. I bought the magazine without a second thought, and there it was, my personal light at the end of the tunnel: Rigatoni with Marinara Sauce and Ricotta!!

We all know how well tomatoes and pasta go together (especially if you add some garlic and a few basil leaves). I do sometimes find, however, that the tomato sauce can  be slightly too acidic, especially when using canned tomatoes (and I have no intentions of using fresh tomatoes in sauces past August). So adding ricotta cheese to the ensemble sounded like a great idea.

It sure was as delicious as it was simple to make. Now, I just have to keep my inspiration going for two more weeks, after which I can tell “see ya later” to pasta dishes for a little while.

And please, Condé Nast, I promise I will renew my subscription every year and, if necessary, get additional subscriptions for all my extended family. Please bring the Gourmet Magazine back!

Rigatoni with Marinara Sauce and Ricotta (from Gourmet Quick Kitchen Fall 2010 edition)

Serves 4


1 28-oz can of whole tomatoes in juice, chopped and half the juice from the can reserved
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Pinch of hot red-pepper flakes (more to the taste)
5 - 6 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 pack (1lb or 450gr) rigatoni
1 cup ricotta
Grated Pecorino Romano to taste
Olive oil
Salt according to taste

Cook the garlic and red-pepper flakes in about one table spoon of olive oil until garlic starts turning golden. Add the chopped tomatoes and reserved juice and cook until the sauce starts thickening, about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook until it’s “al dante”. At this point stir the basil leaves into the tomato sauce and in a large bowl mix together the pasta and the sauce. Serve with ricotta cheese and grated Pecorino Romano.