Culture Kitchen: Jordan

Hi all! Thank you to everyone who tuned into our Culture Kitchen event for the month of June, featuring a recipe from Jordan. Our guest chef Omar walked us through how to cook Maqluba, or ‏صحة وعافية in Arabic. Maqluba translates into English as “upside down,” which is one of the defining characteristics of this dish. The ingredients and recipe can be found below.

The dish consists of meat, rice, and fried vegetables placed in a pot which is flipped upside down when served. This dish is very important and cooked in many family gatherings in Jordan. Sometimes people can cook it with chicken, meat, or even just vegetables and rice depending on preference.

Ingredients

Main Dish

• 1 head Cauliflower

• 1 Yellow Onion

• 2 Large potatoes or 3-Medium potatoes

• 2 eggplants

• 1 small bag of white rice preferably long grain

• 1 chicken breast per person

• 1 48 oz bottle of Canola Oil

• 1 Small bottle of chicken broth

Seasoning

• Salt

• Pepper

• All Spice

• Dried mint

• Cumin

• Bay Leaves

• Knot Cube Bouillon Chicken Cube

Side Salad

• 1-2 cucumbers

• Whole milk yogurt

• 1 pick of a garlic clove

Steps

1. First wash the white rice and let it sit in warm water.

2. Then wash the chicken breast, sear it, and add it to a pot of water. Let it boil with the bay leaves and a small cinnamon stick (optional) for 12 -18 minutes.

3. After cutting all the vegetables up, including the potatoes into cubes, the cauliflower into smaller stems and eggplant just across the entire way into circles.

4. Heat up the oil and fry all the vegetables. Let them sit on a rack to drain excess oil.

5. Fry the boiled chicken breast until golden.

6. Once all the above steps are complete you can start layering all the items above, starting with the chicken, then the vegetables; first goes the eggplant, then the potatoes, and then the cauliflower.

7. Mix all the required seasonings in a cup with a small amount of warm water, usually for every cup of white rice use 1 teaspoon of allspice, cumin, pepper, and half a cube of Knorr Cube Bouillon Chicken Cube. For the salt, it depends on the quantity of vegetables, rice, and personal preference.

8. Finally, follow the directions on the rice packet for adding water, then add an extra half cup for the vegetables and chicken.

9. Bring to boil then cover and let it simmer until the rice is fully cooked.

10. Finally, turn off the heat and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Flip your pot onto a flat serving tray/pizza tray/flat plate to enjoy the dish. The best way to do this is to lay the flat surface on top of the pot, and then grab the handles of the pot and flat surface to flip in one smooth motion. It should be served upside down as referring to the name of the dish.

11. For the salad, cut the cucumber into small cubes, then mix the yogurt, cucumber, a little bit of garlic (or to taste), 1 tablespoon of lemon, a splash of salt and dried mint leaves and mix everything together. The ratio of yogurt to cucumbers should be 2:1.

12. Enjoy! Or for the equivalent of Bon appétit in Arabic: شهية طيبة

Culture Kitchen: Romania

Hi all! Thank you to those who joined us for our last Culture Kitchen! This past Monday we had the pleasure of featuring a guest chef from Romania. Alina walked us through how to make White Bean Dip, also known as Fasole Batuta in Romanian. The dip is very simple and uses low-cost ingredients, but the outcome is both creamy and delicious. The caramelized onion topping adds a touch of sweetness that perfectly compliments the flavor of the beans.

You can find the complete recipe below.

As Alina explained during the demonstration, many of the traditional dishes from Romania feature seasonal, low-cost ingredients. While under communist rule by Russia, the country experienced many food shortages, specifically with regards to bread/starch. Beans were more accessible, which is why this dish became a staple for many families. It is also nutritious, and can be made with basic kitchen tools such as a fork or a whisk.

Once again, thank you to Alina for sharing this dish and its history with us. We truly learned an incredible amount about Romanian culture while working together to make this delicious dip. If you want to learn another dish from around the world, make sure to keep an eye out for our next Culture Kitchen event coming up in May!

Ingredients

• 3 ¼ cups white beans (cannellini or white northern), uncooked or cooked

• 1-2 bay leaves (if cooking the beans)

• ½ onion (if cooking the beans)

• 1 onion, sliced into thin rings

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or more as desired

• 2-3 garlic cloves to taste, grated

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon sugar (brown or white)

• Fine salt

• Sea salt

• Water

• Sweet or smoked paprika to taste (optional)

Steps

If your beans are from the can/already cooked, skip to step 5. You can save some of the canned water to adjust the dip's consistency if desired.

1. Rinse beans a few times; soak them for at least 8 hours or overnight.

2. Cook beans

3. Pressure cooker method. Rinse beans, place them in the pressure cooker along with ½ onion and bay leaves, put in a generous amount of water to cover the beans, follow the instructions in the owner manual for your particular model of pressure cooker for cooking beans.

4. Stove method. Rinse beans, place in a large pot or Dutch oven, cover with plenty of water, add the ½ onion and the bay leaves, bring to a boil. Cook for approximately 1 hour or until beans are soft. Cooking time will depend on the size and age of beans.

5. Drain beans but keep approximately ½ cup of the cooking water which you can use to bring them to the desired consistency. You may end up not using it if you like the consistency the beans pureed with oil.

6. Discard the onion and bay leaves.

7. Let the beans cool slightly, place them in a food processor (or a bowl if using a blender/hand mixer/whisk/fork) with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

8. Add the grated garlic and process/blend until smooth. Add more cooking oil, a tablespoon or so at a time until you get to the consistency of soft mashed potatoes or hummus. You can also add some of the reserved bean water if desired.

9. Add salt to taste.

For the caramelized onions:

1. Heat about 1/3 cup of oil in a large non stick pan. Add the onions and cook gently for 8-10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

2. When the onions are golden, add the tomato paste, sugar, paprika and stir until well combined and slightly caramelized. Taste and add more paprika or salt if you’d like.

3. Transfer the beans to a bowl or a serving platter and top with the onions.

Enjoy!!!

Culture Kitchen: Argentina

Hi everyone! Thank you to those who were able to join us last Friday while we learned how to make Empanadas from our guest chef Pamela! Pamela is from Argentina and grew up in the region of Salta. Her recipe is unique to this region and is often made for large gatherings with family and friends— if you have anyone that wants to learn how to make empanadas, now's the time to round them up! While this recipe does take some work, it is well worth it. Not only did we get to learn how to make the repulgues (twists) that characterize the dish, but you also create delicious, hand-held crescents that can be filled with the ingredients of your choice.

The full recipe can be found below.

As mentioned above, the filling can be completely customized to your preference. The recipe below features beef, but the ones we made during the event were vegetarian and they were phenomenal! Some popular ingredients are chicken, cheese, corn, olives, squash, and carrots.

If you do decide to make them (or made them with us during the March event), please let us know by sharing your thoughts or any photos you have! Thank you again to those that joined, and a special thank you to Pamela for the time she took to teach us the recipe. Keep an eye out for our next event in April, where we will be featuring a guest chef from Romania!

Empanadas Salteñas

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of meat (in one piece preferred), or ground meat

• 0.6 lbs of onions

• 0.6 lbs of bell pepper (preferably red or green)

• 1 lb of potatoes

• 3 eggs, hard-boiled

• Green onion (a little)

• Flour (1 lb)

• Salt

• Cumin

• White Pepper

• Paprika

• Butter or margarine (0.5 lbs)

• Oil to fry (canola)

Steps

1. Cut the meat into small pieces and cook it in a pan with a small amount of water for approximately 20-30 minutes. Cooking time will depend on how small the meat was cut. Do not let the broth dry completely.

2. Cut the onions and bell pepper into small pieces. Fry them in a large skillet with some oil.

3. Cut the potatoes into very small cubes and boil them until they are almost done. You do not want them to be so soft that they can be smushed easily between two fingers. Drain the potatoes and set aside.

4. Mix the cooked meat with the fried onions and bell pepper. Then, add the cooked potatoes and season with cumin, paprika, salt, and white pepper to your liking.

5. Add the diced boiled eggs and the chopped green onion into the mixture. Turn off heat and set mixture aside while preparing the dough.

To Prepare the Dough

1. Prepare a small bowl with about a cup of hot water mixed with some salt.

2. Add the flour to a large bowl. Mix in the butter, adding a tablespoon of the salted water at a time until the dough reaches the desired consistency. The dough should not be sticky; it should be smooth, firm, and cohesive. If you add too much water, you can add more flour to balance it out.

3. Knead everything together for a couple of minutes to a smooth dough.

4. Divide the dough into two logs and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for about 5 minutes.

5. Cut each log into small discs. Using a rolling pin, roll out each disc until they become flat, thin circles. The rolled discs should be pretty thin and slightly larger than the size of one's palm.

Assembly

1. Fill each disc of dough with a spoon or two of the prepared filling. Fold the dough in half to form a half-moon shape and press the edges in firmly between your thumb and index finger. There should be an edge of dough extending from where the filling stops to the actual end of the dough.

2. Once sealed, start at one of the corners of the empanada and fold the edge up and out, using your fingers to twist and curl until you reach the other side of the empanada. These twists are called "repulgues". Example: https://youtu.be/7yBvsJgYdYo?t=145

3. Continue making repulgues until you are out of dough/filling. The repulgues can be frozen and fried/baked later on as well.

4. To Fry: Add about a half inch of oil to a pan or skillet on medium heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, you can add a small piece of dough to the oil to see if it starts frying; if it does, your oil is ready.

5. Fry each empanada for about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown, flipping with a fork or tongs.

6. Remove cooked empanadas from oil and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

7. To Bake: Preheat oven to 350° (400° for Flagstaff altitude). Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. No flipping is required.

8. Enjoy!!!!