Recepten

Halva (Iranian Dessert)

This is almost the Iranian version of flan, but better. This tasty dessert is made with saffron, almonds, and pistachios. A must-try. This can also pe poured into a decorative mold before it has cooled.

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • ½ cup rose water
  • ½ teaspoon saffron
  • 1 tablespoon crushed pistachios
  • 1 tablespoon crushed almonds
Halva, at the background

Instructions

Heat 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden and thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool briefly.

Combine water and sugar in a separate saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Stir in rose water and saffron. Add the flour mixture. Cook and stir until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes at most. Serve halva with crushed pistachios and almonds sprinkled on top.

Remarks

Khoresh-e Fesenjoon (Persian Chicken Stew With Pomegranate and Walnuts)

Fesenjoon hails from the verdant northern Iranian hills and coast, where pomegranate and walnut trees grow. Taking its flavor cues from the land, this stew braises bone-in chicken thighs in a blend of toasted walnuts, pomegranate juice and pomegranate molasses. As the sauce cooks, it thickens and deepens to a shade of dark brown similar to that of mole poblano. You’ll need to thin it out with water to prevent it from becoming overly sticky and syrupy. The sweet and sour flavors of the pomegranate, along with the silky texture the walnuts bring to the stew, make it one of the most elegant dishes in Persian cuisine.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound walnut pieces (about 4 cups)
  • 6 to 8 bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 pounds)
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 cups cold-pressed pomegranate juice
  • ¼ cup good-quality pomegranate molasses, plus more as needed
  • ¼ teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)
  • Pomegranate seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Heat oven to 175 °C. Spread walnuts out on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown inside, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Remove chicken skin and discard or save for another use. In a large bowl, season the chicken with turmeric, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Set a large Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat. When the pot is hot, add oil and carefully lay chicken thighs into the pot in a single layer. It is crucial to leave space between the pieces to allow steam to escape, so brown chicken in batches if necessary. Cook until browned on both sides, flipping halfway through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pot and set aside. Add onion to pot with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes.

In a food processor, grind the cooled walnuts as finely as possible without turning them into a paste. (Alternatively, you can chop the walnuts as finely as possible by hand.) Add 2 cups pomegranate juice and 1/4 cup molasses to the walnuts and continue blending until you have a very smooth paste.

Add the walnut paste and remaining pomegranate juice to the pot. Season with salt and partly cover with a lid. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 2 hours. If the sauce begins to stick, stir in 1/4 cup water. The sauce will thicken and change color as it cooks, turning a deep, dark brown, similar to mole poblano.

Add the saffron, and taste the sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and pomegranate molasses as needed. The sauce should be delightfully sweet and sour, so add up to 2 teaspoons sugar, if needed, if it’s too tart.

Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until chicken is falling off the bone. Keep stirring regularly — the sauce should be thick, but not so thick that it sticks to the bottom of the pot, so add a splash of water as needed to prevent burning. Use a large spoon to skim away any walnut oil that has pooled on top of the stew. Taste and adjust seasoning, transfer to a serving dish and garnish with a sprinkling of fresh pomegranate seeds. Serve hot, with Persian rice, mast-o khiar and salad-e Shirazi if you like.

Remarks

Cuban-Style Black Beans

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • ½ sweet onion, chopped
  • ½ (12 ounce) can light beer
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the garlic in the oil 15 seconds. Stir in the onion and green pepper; cook and stir 10 minutes. Pour in the black beans and beer; simmer until thick, about 15 minutes; garnish with cilantro.

Remarks

Fast Dessert

Ingrediënten

  • 100 grams sliced almonds
  • 1 can dulce de leche (condensed milk)
  • 3 eggs

Bereiding

Cook the can of condensed milk in boiling water for 2 to 3 hours.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites.

Beat the egg yolks and mix together with the “dulce de leche” until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold into cream mixture.

In a skillet, toast the almonds until golden brown.

Place almonds in the bottom of serving cups or bowls. Set aside some of the almonds to top the desserts.

Spoon cream mixture over the almonds and chill until ready to serve. Garnish with reserved almonds.

Opmerkingen

Fish Pie

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1 tbsp. salt
  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 2 tbsp. finely minced canned large sweet peppers
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp. dry white wine
  • 1 egg

Filling

  • 1 cup canned tuna in oil
  • 1/4 cup mayonaise
  • 1 finely minced hard-cooked egg
  • 2 tbsp. finely minced pickles
  • 2 tbsp. finely minced canned large sweet peppers
  • 2 tbsp. finely minced small sweet peppers
  • 2 tbsp. finely minced onion

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Sift flour, salt and baking powder, and add butter, cheese and sweet pepper. Finely mince the resulting mix, and add milk and wine. Stor unitil it is wel blended. Spread this dough on a table previously sprinkled with flour. Mix all the ingredients for the filling and put this mix on top of the dough. Fold the dough to make a fish pie and seal the outer edge by moistening the dough with water and by pressing the edge with a fork. Baste the fish pie with beaten agg and make a few cuts on the dough so the crust does not crack open while baking. Put it in an oiled aluminium baking pan and bake it for about 24 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Remarks

  • Serves: 8
  • Source: Cuban Cuisine, Nitza Villapol, 2002, Instituto Cubano Del Libro, Ciudad de La Habana

Honing-limoen parfait

Ingrediënten

  • 40 gram suiker
  • 4 grote eierdooiers
  • 90 gram honing
  • 2 dl melk
  • 3 dl slagroom
  • rasp van 4 limoenen
  • sap van 3 limoenen

Voor de mangosaus

  • 1 grote mango
  • sap van 1 limoen

Voor de garnering

  • 1 mango
  • zeste van 1 limoen
  • enkele lepels honing

Bereiding

Roer de eierdooiers met de honing en suiker in een kom romig. Breng in een pan de melk de melk aan de kook. Giet de melk al roerend bij het eier-suikermengsel. Verwarm het mengsel au-bain-marie en blijf roeren tot de crème licht aan de lepel blijft hangen. Het mengsel mag echter niet koken. Klop de crème met de mixer luchtig. Voeg tijdens het mixen de limoensap toe. Voeg zo veel sap toe tot het mengsel licht zuur is. Laat het mengsel in de koelkast afkoelen tot het door en door koud is.

Klop de slagroom stijf met de rasp van de limoen en spatel hem vervolgens door de eiercrème. Bekleed een cakevorm met perkamentpapier of plasticfolie, schep het mengsel in de vorm en zet minstens 4 tot 5 uur maar liever gedurende een nacht in de vriezer.

Schil de mango en snijd het vruchtvlees van de pit. Pureer het vruchtvlees met een staafmixer. Roer er op smaak limoensap door.

Neem de parfait uit de diepvries en stort hem op een schaal. Verwijder het papier of plastic en verdeel de parfait in plakjes. Schep de plakjes op voorgekoelde bordjes. Schenk er wat saus bij en garneer met stukjes mango, limoenzeste en wat honing.

Kaasplankje

Ingrediënten

  • 4 soorten kaas (Camambert, roodschimmelkaas, blauwschimmelkaas uit de Jura, geitenkaas omhuld met as)

Walnoten brood

  • 250 g harde bloem
  • 250 g volkorenbloem
  • 200 g walnoten fijngehakt
  • gist
  • water

Bereiding

Van de ingrediënten van het brood een vast deeg gemaakt, 2 maal laten rijzen en 25 minuten gebakken bij 225 °C. Brood geserveerd bij de kaas.