[Sca-cooks] Modern Moroccan & Medieval Andalusian - 1/2

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Modern Moroccan & Medieval Andalusian Feast
PART TWO


Remainder of BAWARID
PRESERVED LEMONS
MAIN COURSE
DESSERT

------------------------------------------

Mirkas/Merguez - Lamb Sausages

ORIGINAL
13th C. Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook
Translated by Charles Perry, with assistance from a number of SCAdians...

Recipe for Mirkas

It is as nutritious as meatballs* (banadiq) and quick to digest,
since the pounding ripens it and makes it quick to digest, and it is
good nutrition. First get some meat from the leg or shoulder of a
lamb and pound it until it becomes like meatballs. Knead it in a
bowl, mixing in some oil and some murri naqi, pepper, coriander seed,
lavender, and cinnamon. Then add three quarters as much of fat, which
should not be pounded, as it would melt while frying, but chopped up
with a knife or beaten on a cutting board. Using the instrument made
for stuffing, stuff it in the washed gut, tied with thread to make
sausages, small or large. Then fry them with some fresh oil, and when
it is done, and browned, make a sauce of vinegar and oil and use it
while hot. Some people make the sauce with the juice of cilantro and
mint and some pounded onion. Some cook it in a pot with oil and
vinegar, some make it rahibi with onion and lots of oil until it is
fried and browned. It is good whichever of these methods you use.

ANAHITA'S VERSION

2-1/2 lb. ground lamb
(Oil - oops, i neglected to add a little to the ground meat)
1/2 c. murri
1 tsp. ground white pepper
2 Tb. ground coriander seed
1 Tb. lavender buds
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. salt - not called for but needed
12 cloves garlic, pounded - modern Moroccan recipes call for this, so
i added it
(FAT 1.875 lb =1 lb & 14 oz = 1-7/8 lb)
(Washed sausage casings - this is tricky, because most available i've
found are pig intestines - and you shouldn't be using these for
Muslim food - try a halal butcher or a kosher butcher for alternates)
(Oil for frying)
red wine vinegar

A. The day or evening before you will cook these, buy the fresh meat
and season it.

1.  Wash your hands and scrub under your nails BEFORE starting -
especially scrub under your nails.
2. Get all ingredients together on the counter. You do not want to be
looking for them after you get raw meat all over your hands.
3. Measure out the ingredients into small bowls - the murri in one,
the pounded garlic in another, and the various spices and herbs in a
third. You do not want to be handling them after you get raw meat all
over your hands.
4. Knead seasonings little by little into meat by hand, tearing up
the meat, and moving it around so the seasonings are well
distributed. Making sure it's fairly evenly distributed takes some
effort.
NOTE: Oops, i forget to knead in a little oil... i'd use olive here.
5. Wash your hands well, and scrub under fingernails - there will be
meaty bits under there and you REALLY need to get them out.
6. Cover bowl of seasoned meat tightly and put it in the 'fridge,
letting it stay there a couple hours.
7. Pan cook a small spoonful to test seasonings.
8. Taste it and adjust seasonings in raw meat as desired. I added
more garlic and more salt than in my first run (the amounts above are
adjusted to reflect this), but you may want to adjust further.
9. Cover and refrigerate over night.
NOTE: I did not add the chopped fat. If i'd been stuffing sausage
casings, i would have. Maybe next time...

B. The day of the meal

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cover with aluminum foil the bottom of a large flat baking sheet
with low sides. Sides are important. In case your lamb is fatty, you
don't want hot grease pouring off a sideless cookie sheet into the
bottom of your oven and possibly onto your gas flame and causing a
fire...
3. Take the covered container of meat out of the refrigerator.
4. Again, wash hands and scrub under fingernails well.
5. In your hands, roll a few tablespoons of meat into a long narrow
shape, something like a breakfast sausage in dimensions - around
3-1/2 inches long and 3/4 of an inch in diameter. These don't have to
be exact. I wanted them small so they'd cook through and evenly and
fairly quickly.
6. As you shape each one, place it on the prepared baking sheet,
making sure they are evenly spaced. I made twenty of the little guys.
7. Put the pan in the oven and bake until done. I didn't really watch
the time, but they will become fragrant as they cook. I suspect it
took about 15 minutes. I took one out, and broke it in half and it
was cooked through, but i didn't notice the elapsed time. A tiny bit
pink inside is probably ok if you like them like that.
NOTE: I did not fry them in oil. Maybe next time...
8. Remove from the baking pan onto a flat serving dish and serve hot
sprinkled WELL with red wine vinegar (the kind with no added herbs),
or with sauce as desired.

NOTE: I didn't make a separate sauce. I had a lot going on as solo cook.
I think the sauce in the original recipe of pounded fresh cilantro
and fresh mint and onion with vinegar would be quite good with this.


Spiced Green Olives
Modern Moroccan

olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise
1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. whole fennel seeds
1 tsp. harissa - hot chili paste
1 lb. cracked green olives

Heat a little olive oil and cook garlic briefly on low heat until
just soft, then remove garlic to bowl.
Wipe out pan to remove oil, and dry roast one kind of spice seed at a
time on medium heat, stirring constantly, until just fragrant. Do not
let darken.
As each is cooked, pour into bowl with garlic.
Stir harissa into seeds and garlic.
Toss well with olives so they are well coated.
Let stand several days so seasonings are absorbed.


Black Olives with Preserved Lemon and Zaatar
Modern Moroccan

1 lb. crinkled black olives
several slices of preserved lemon
zaatar herb (without sumak, salt, or sesame) - or use equal parts of
marjoram and thyme and half as much oregano

Wash olives and drain.
Halve lemon slices.
Toss olives with zaatar and lemon slices.
Let stand several days before serving.

---------------------

Preserved Lemons
An essential ingredient in Moroccan cuisine.

blemish free ripe lemons
coarse salt, as needed
water
sterilized glass canning jars and lids

Wash lemons and dry with fresh clean towel

Cut the lemons.
Each book i consulted said to cut the lemons a different way
-- Cross-cut lemon from bud end to stem end, but don't cut all the
way through, so they open like a flower.
-- Cut deeply into four sides of the lemon and slice up and down, so
lemons are cut through, but held together at both bud and stem ends -
don't cut apart.
-- Cut from bud end to stem end, then rotate and cut from stem end to
bud end 90 degrees from first cut.

Stuff as much salt as you can into openings in the lemon.
Put the lemon into a sterilized glass jar.
Continue until all the lemons are cut, salted, and in the jar.

Some say to sprinkle in more salt.
Some say to add a bit of fresh lemon juice.

Cover with water
-- Some say it should be boiling water
-- Some say cold water
-- Some say it should cover lemons completely
-- Some say it should leave a little bit exposed at the top

All agree that you put on the lid and refrigerate for 2 to 3 weeks
before using.

One book says if you need them quickly, put lemon wedges in the
freezer until well and truly frozen.
Then sprinkle with salt and put in a sterile jar, cover, and refrigerate.
You'll have something usable in about 3 days.
------------------------------------------

MAIN COURSE

Couscous
Thumiyya - Garlic Chicken
Tagine bil Kok - Lamb with Prunes
Isfanakh Mutajjan - Fried Spinach

-------
Couscous
Modern and Medieval

Normally couscous is tossed with butter then steamed over the cooking
meat. I just used packaged couscous, and cooked according to package
directions. I added a little vegetable broth to the water so the
couscous would have a bit more flavor. When it was done, i tossed the
couscous with a little olive oil - i couldn't use butter as some
attendees had dairy allergies.


Thumiyya
Garlic Chicken

ORIGINAL
13th C. Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook
Translated by Charles Perry, with assistance from a number of SCAdians...

Take a plump hen and take out what is inside it, clean that and leave
aside. Then take four uqiyas of peeled garlic and pound them until
they are like brains, and mix with what comes out of the interior of
the chicken. Fry it in enough oil to cover, until the smell of the
garlic comes out. Mix this with the chicken in a clean pot with salt,
pepper, cinnamon, lavender, ginger, cloves, saffron, peeled almonds,
both pounded and whole, and a little murri naqi. Seal the pot with
dough, place it in the oven and leave it until it is done. Then take
it out and open the pot, pour its contents in a clean dish and an
aromatic scent will come forth from it and perfume the area. This
chicken was made for the Sayyid Abu al-Hasan and much appreciated.

[one uqiya is about one modern ounce]

ANAHITA'S VERSION

1-1/4 cup blanched almonds
4 ounces garlic cloves
3 Tb. olive oil
4 lb chicken pieces - i prefer breasts and thighs
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
2 tsp. powdered cinnamon
2 tsp. lavender flowers
1 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. powdered cloves
generous pinch saffon, crumbled
1-1/2 Tb. murri

1. Grind 1/2 cup almonds. Leave the remaining 3/4 cup whole.
2. Puree garlic
3. Heat oil, cook garlic on low heat until just fragrant, stirring
often. Do not let burn.
4. Add chicken and coat with garlic.
5. Add all remaining ingredients.
6. Cover pot and cook on medium-low fire until done, about 45 minutes.
7. Uncover occasionally and stir. Add a little water if it is sticking.
8. When done, pour into serving dish.


Tagine bil Kok
Meat with Prunes
Modern Moroccan

Some recipes call for lamb, some for beef. I compromised and used
half lamb and half beef

2 lb. lamb, cut for stew
1 Tb. ground coriander seed
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. saffron
2 onions, chopped
12 cloves garlic, peeled
2 lb. beef, cut for stew
1-1/2 cups pitted prunes
1 to 2 Tb. honey
1 Tb. sesame seeds
1/4 c. chopped flat leaf Italian parsley
1 tsp. orange flower water

Put beef in a stew pot with all ingredients up to lamb.
Cook for 1 to 1-1/2 hours
Add lamb and cook until tender, about 1 hour.
Add prunes and cook 15 min.
Stir in honey. If prunes are tender, just warm through. If prunes are
still a bit tough, cook 15 more min.
Roast sesame seeds in a dry pan on low-medium heat until they begin
to pop. Remove from heat.
Put stew in serving dish and sprinkle with parsley, orange flower
water, and sesame seeds


Isfanakh Mutajjan
Fried Spinach

Yes, this is a Medieval Abbasid dish - but in Morocco in Dec. 2000 -
Jan. 2001, i was served virtually this dish, without the cinnamon.

al-Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes)
by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Karim al-Katib al-Baghdadi
13th century

ORIGINAL
Take spinach, cut off the [lower] roots, and wash: then boil lightly
in salt and water and dry. Heat sesame-oil, drop in the spinach, and
stir until fragrant. Chop up a little garlic, and add. Sprinkle with
fine-ground cumin, coriander seed, and cinnamon: then remove.

2 12-oz. pkgs frozen chopped spinach
1/3 c. sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. powdered cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper

Heat oil in skillet, add spinach, and cook on medium or medium-low
heat until thawed, and most water cooked off.
Push spinach to one side of pan, add garlic to clear side and cook until  soft.
Add remaining ingredients and stir into spinach, until well mixed.

---------------------

DESSERT

Figs stuffed with almond paste in orange juice

Medieval Near Eastern and modern Moroccan recipes call for stuffing
dried fruit with almond paste.
And one modern Moroccan cook serves dried dates simmered in fresh
orange juice. So i did both.

20 Dried White Figs
almond paste
rose water
fresh orange juice

The figs were packaged by a large commercial company, the kind that
are rather soft. There are also dried white figs that are very much
dried. If you use this kind, you should completely cover them with
water and soak them overnight until soft.

Knead about 1/2 cup of almond paste with a capful of Lebanese
rosewater (if you have another kind of rose water, adjust the
quantity to suit it)

Slit each fig down one side.
Stuff it with almond paste.
Set figs slit side up in a small saucepan.
Gently add orange juice so that almond paste remains above the top of
the liquid
Heat on medium heat until tiny bubbles form at the side of the pan,
then reduce the fire to low, and cook for 10 minutes, or until figs
have absorbed some juice.

Put figs in serving dish, slit side up, and pour in orange juice.
Allow to cool slightly.
Serve.

You can substitute orange flower water for rose water.