[Sca-cooks] Question re. arab recipe "Samak Madhkhur"

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

From: "Susan Laing" <gleep001 at hotmail.com>
>Thought I'd ask a couple of questions about a fish dish from "Medieval arab
>cookery" before I attempt it :-)
>
>- page 481 "Samak Madhkhur" is.... "raw fish fillets sprinkled with salt and
>spices, rolled up in orange and citron leaves and stored in vinegar until
>you want to fry them"
>
>Citron leaves?? - is this a particular plant or can I substitute something
>like lemon tree leaves?

Yes, the citron tree was known to the Arabs. But i think you can
substitute other fresh citrus leaves.

Digression: The fruit of the citron is often candied and included in
those mixtures of candied fruit cubes to be put into fruit cakes and
such. The fruit of the citron is also used in Jewish ritual - the
etrog. And around here we can buy "Buddha's Hand" citrons which are
interesting looking and smell marvelous - i assume most folks just
get them and use them as table decorations.

>I found the following spice mixture - would this be the one to use? (and how
>*important* would be the inclussion of "Common ash"? - I'm of course
>assuming this is ash from the fire and not ash tree leaves?)
>
>- page 484 "Atraf al-tib was a spice mix. K. Wulsla gives this recipe for it:
>spikenard, betel, laurel leaf, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, cloves, rose hips,
>common ash, long pepper, ginger and pepper"

When i read this "recipe" myself in the book, several thoughts went
through my mind:

(1) perhaps rose buds rather than rose hips? I have seen rose flowers
in a number of recipes, but not rose hips.

(2) sansho instead of common ash? I realize that sansho is prickly
ash rather than common ash, but it *is* used as a seasoning.

Common ash is Fraxinus excelsior which grows in Europe (one website
said south-eastern) and Turkey. Anyone else run across recipes using
it as a flavoring agent? All i could find was info on it as a
medicinal.

Prickly ash is zanthoxylum something or other - in searching the web
i've found a number of different Zanthoxylum species called prickly
ash, among them Z. simulans Hance, Z. ailanthoides Siebold & Zucc.,
Z. piperitum DC., and Z. fagara. This plant produces "Sze Chwan
Pepper".

Sansho, however, is powdered prickly ash leaves. You can find it in
Japanese markets or the "Internat'l" section of your super market (at
least i can find it in my supermarket here in California). Sometimes
it is labeled "Japanese pepper"

http://les.arbres.online.fr/fiches/zanthoxylum.htm
is entirely in French, but has several photographs of the tree and of
branches with "berries" on them. Click on the tree trunk to see a
close of big spikes that grow on it, giving it its name.
Unfortunately, the pictures of the branches overlap each other and
the text...

I also found mention of manna ash, Fraxinus ornus, notable for its
long, white petals, and cultivated in Mediterranean regions for its
sweet gum. So that's another possibility.

>And finally - how long can you keep it stored in the vinegar?  Would it have
>a marinating affect? Would too long an immersion risk the eater to food
>poisoning (I'm thinking storage in the days here) or is simply an overnight
>soaking??

Basically you're making ceviche'. I'd keep it in the fridge, well
covered, and i'd assume it would keep a week or so.

Anahita