We are back in Mediterranean region with second helping from The Country Cooking of Greece (Chronicle Books, September 2012) by Diane Kochilas.

First serving from this book was Roasted Red Pepper Saganaki, a Greek mezze.

Lamb Baked in Yogurt from Florina, Yiaourtotapsi Florinis

Serves 4 to 6

In northern Greece all sorts of meats—from chicken to savory meatballs to lamb and goat—are cooked in sauces based on the local delicious, thick, strained sheep’s milk yogurt. This dish comes from the traditional cooking of the Vlachs, at one time an itinerant shepherd tribe, and is sometimes called vlachiko.

2 tbsp extra-virgin Greek olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 lb/455 g boneless leg of lamb or goat, cut into 2-in/5-cm chunks
4 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup basmati or another long-grain rice
1/2 cup/120 ml dry white wine
1 cup/240 ml water
Salt and pepper
2 large eggs
2 cups/480 ml thick Greek yogurt
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
3 tbsp grated kefalotyri cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C/gas 4.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, wide pan over medium-high heat and brown the lamb pieces, turning to color them evenly. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few minutes to soften. Add the rice and pour in the wine and water. Cover, bring to boil, and reduce to a simmer. As soon as the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, season the contents of the pot with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until foamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt and flour. Whisk the eggs into the yogurt mixture and stir in the chopped mint. Season lightly with a little salt.

Spread out the lamb mixture in a casserole dish with a lid or divide evenly between individual ramekins, about 3 in/7.5 cm deep. Spread the yogurt mixture evenly over the meat. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, until the yogurt is set and lightly browned on top. Cover and cook for another 45 minutes, or until the lamb is tender. If using ramekins, check after 25 minutes. Ten minutes before removing from the oven, sprinkle, if desired, with grated kefalotyri cheese. Serve immediately.

(* Recipe reproduced with permission of the publisher from 'The Country Cooking of Greece' by Diane Kochilas- Chronicle Books, September 2012- Photos by Vassilis Stenos- all rights reserved)

After sharing Lamb Tongue and Tomato Stew from The Lebanese Kitchen (Phaidon Press, October 2012) by Salma Hage, here's a recipe for Election Day 2012.

Thought I would post it a day prior to it so you have time to gather the ingredients.

Shish Barak

From The Lebanese Kitchen (November 2012; $49.95; Hardcover)

Preparation time: 40-45 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Generous 2 cups (18 fl oz/500 ml) plain (natural) yogurt
1 egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup (2 oz/50 g) cold cooked rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley and mint, to serve

For the dough:

2 cups (8 oz/225 g) all-purpose (plain) flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the filling:

1 teaspoon olive oil
6 oz/175 g ground (minced) lamb
1 onion, finely diced
4 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
¼ teaspoon seven spices seasoning
Salt and pepper

Instructions:

First make the dough. Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl, add the oil and scant ½ cup (312 fl oz/100 m) water, and mix to a smooth soft dough. Wrap in plastic wrap (clingfilm) and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Make the filling. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the lamb, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes until evenly browned. Reduce the heat, add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until softened. Add
the pine nuts, mint, and seven spices seasoning and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, and let cool completely. To make the packages, roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to 1/8 inch/2 mm thick and stamp out 25 circles with a 3 ¼ inch/8 cm cutter. Take a circle and flatten it even more with your fingers. Add 1 teaspoon of the lamb mixture and fold over the edges to form packages.
Make sure no air is trapped inside the packages, otherwise they will break when boiled Repeat this until all the dough has been used. Put the yogurt and generous 2 cups (18 fl oz/500 ml) water into a large saucepan, add the egg, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Carefully add the parcels and cooked rice, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a small skillet or frying pan, add the garlic cloves, and cook, stirring frequently, for a few minutes until lightly golden. Add to the pan of packages. Serve immediately garnished with chopped parsley and mint 

(* Recipe from 'The Lebanese Kitchen' by Salma Hage- Phaidon Press, October 22, 2012- reproduced with permission of the publisher, all rights reserved)

October is one of these months when books (mostly cookbooks) keep landing in my mailbox and I am trying without much success to keep up.

2 big heavy tomes are part of this week's wave.

First of these books that make a thud when you drop tham is The Lebanese Kitchen (Phaidon Press, October 2012) by Salma Hage.

With 500 recipes showcasing cooking styles from the all regions of the country and not just cosmopolitan Beirut, The Lebanese Kitchen is natural follow up to 10 Do's and Dont's of Beirut we published recently.

Lamb Tongue and Tomato Stew 

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 hours
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 ¾ lb/800 g lamb tongue
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
3 tablespoons tomato paste (purée)
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon seven spices seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
Lebanese bread, to serve

Instructions:

Put the tongue, bay leaves, and salt into a large pan, pour in boiling water to cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 4 ½ hours or until the tongue is very tender. Remove the pan from the heat, then drain the tongue and let cool. Carefully peel off the skin from the tongue and discard. Cut the meat into chunks. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Add the meat, tomato paste (purée), basil, and all the spices and stir well. Pour in boiling water to cover and bring back a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 20 minutes until the tomato sauce has reduced and thickened. Serve immediately with Lebanese bread.

(* Recipe from 'The Lebanese Kitchen' by Salma Hage- Phaidon Press, October 22, 2012- reproduced with permission of the publisher)

In my helping of Spring recipes, i have so far served a cocktail and a salad, today something more substantial from A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis (Artisan Books, 2010).

Shoulder of Spring Lamb Recipe

True spring lamb is not easily found here, as most American lamb (sourced from New Zealand) is raised to a larger size. But some good butchers carry or can order it, and a few excellent American farms now specialize in young pastured lamb. Otherwise, ask your butcher for the smallest lamb shoulder roasts possible. Tender young spring lamb is best cooked almost medium, with a crisp roasty exterior. I’m crazy about pale green flageolet beans, a classic lamb accompaniment. Their wonderful nutty flavor pairs well, too, with olive oil and thyme.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds dried flageolet beans (about 3 cups)

1 large onion, quartered

1 bay leaf

A few unpeeled garlic cloves, plus 4 garlic cloves sliced

Thyme sprigs

Salt and pepper

2 boneless spring lamb shoulders, about 3 pounds each, tied into roasts

Rosemary sprigs

Fruity olive oil

2 cups dry white wine,
such as Sauvignon Blanc

1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley

Olive Relish (*see below)

Pick over the flageolet beans and rinse them well. Set them to boil in a large heavy pot with enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Add the onion, bay leaf, unpeeled garlic, and a large thyme sprig. When the water boils, turn the flame to low and let the beans simmer gently until quite tender, about 1 hour if they are from a recent crop, longer if not.

Once the beans are done, stir a good spoonful of salt into the cooking liquid, and let the beans cool in their broth. The beans can be cooked early in the day, or even a day ahead and refrigerated.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Season the lamb roasts with salt and pepper. Insert the slices of garlic in the loose flesh on the underside of the roasts. Lay a few rosemary and thyme sprigs in the bottom of a roasting pan. Set the lamb on top.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the lamb. Pour the white wine into the pan.

Roast the lamb for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the exterior is nicely browned and the internal temperature reads 130°F. Remove the lamb to a platter, cover loosely, and let it rest.

Scrape up the juices from the bottom of the roasting pan with a wooden spoon, taking care to dissolve the caramelized brown bits clinging here and there. Pour the pan juices through a fine-meshed strainer into a small saucepan. Skim off any surface fat, and reheat the pan juices just before serving.

Drain the flageolets, reserving their liquid, and put them in a shallow pan. Season them with salt and pepper, a little chopped thyme, and a good splash of fruity olive oil. Add a cup of the bean broth and reheat the beans gently.

Chop the parsley and slice the lamb.

Pour the flageolets onto a warmed platter and arrange the lamb slices over the beans. Spoon some of the warm pan juices over the lamb. Scatter the parsley over everything and serve. Pass the olive relish, thinned with pan juices if you like.       

*Olive Relish

A wonderful condiment to have on hand, perfect with the roast lamb, this relish can also enhance grilled fish or roast chicken, or liven up a sandwich or a pizza. Well covered, it will keep for a week in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

1 cup oil-cured Moroccan olives, pitted

1 cup Niçoise olives, pitted

2 teaspoons capers, well rinsed

2 small garlic cloves, smashed to a paste with a little salt

Finely chopped zest of half a small lemon

Juice of 1 small lemon

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

2 anchovy fillets, well rinsed and chopped (optional)

About 3/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

Pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes (optional)

Put the olives, capers, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, anchovies, if using, and 1/2 cup olive oil in a blender or food processor and grind to a paste. Make the texture of the relish to your preference—rough or smooth. Pulsing the ingredients makes it rough; for a smoother texture, let the machine run for a few minutes. (For a more rustic version, hand-chop the ingredients.)

Scrape the olive relish into a small bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding pepper—or a little cayenne or red pepper flakes —as desired and salt if necessary. Thin with a little more olive oil to loosen the paste. Makes about 2 cups relish.

(*Excerpted from A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis (Artisan Books). Copyright 2010. Photographs by Christopher Hirsheimer)

After heading to Yunnan province with Dai Banana Leaf Fish dish from Feeding the Dragon 'a culinary travelogue through China with recipes' (Andrews McMeel Publishing) by siblings Mary Kate and Nathan Tate today we head to Xinjiang with another recipe for Lunar New Year.

Laghman Noodles with Tomato Sauce

In the reflection of the cracked mirror hanging in a blue tiled frame on the wall, the shop clerk flutters about the room behind me lightly picking up silk scarves—deep reds, cheery eggplant, ice blue, golden hues, and patterns as varied as camouflage and polka dots. She returns, this time with a light brown scarf that she assures me is in fashion this summer. Wrapping my head and tying a knot below my chin, she looks at my reflection in the mirror with me. “You look like very Uighur girl,” she says, smiling.

Most Uighur women in the conservative Muslim city of Kashgar wear head coverings. While in town, I wore one too, and Nate and I with our Western features actually blended in. Some people even mistook us for locals and started up conversations with us in Uighur. This was a first in our travels in China. We slipped into noodle shops unnoticed at lunchtime and dinnertime, as everyday folks just coming to eat.

The ubiquitous Xinjiang laghman noodles that we ate in these shops are topped with stewed tomatoes and peppers swimming in a wonderful tomato sauce. Traditionally, the noodles in this dish are hand pulled and extremely difficult to make, involving stretching dough by hand into long cords. We recommend using the much easier Hand-Torn Noodles or buying fresh round noodles, which have a similar taste.

Serves 4

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
8 ounces boneless lamb, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (28-ounce) can peeled tomatoes with juice, coarsely chopped
2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped into 11/2-inch squares
5 green onions, white parts only, chopped into 1-inch lengths
1 tablespoon Chili Oil (recipe follows)
1 pound Hand-Torn Noodles (recipe follows) or fresh round noodles
Handful of fresh cilantro leaves

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Drop in the garlic, onion, lamb, and 1 teaspoon of the salt and stir-fry for about 8 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and their juice, the peppers, green onions, and chili oil. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until the peppers are tender. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the Hand-Torn Noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until they are tender. If using fresh round noodles, cook until al dente. Drain well and divide them among 4 serving plates. Top the noodles with the sauce, scatter with the cilantro leaves, and serve.

Chili Oil
Makes 1 cup
1 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 tablespoons crushed red chile flakes
Heat the peanut oil and sesame oil in a wok over medium heat until a piece of a chile sizzles when added to the oil but doesn’t turn black. Remove the wok from the heat and stir in the chile flakes. Let the oil cool to room temperature, and then strain through a wire strainer or cheesecloth. The oil will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

If you decide to try your hand makind this dish with hand-torn noodles you will need their recipe. Let us know and we will be happy to oblige.

(* From Feeding the Dragon: A Culinary Travelogue Through China with Recipes by Nate and Mary Kate Tate/Andrews McMeel Publishing)

To each day its roast is the motto of Rotis (Melville House Publishing, October 2011 for U.S edition) by Stephane Reynaud.

Illustrations including cover by TABAS from Marseille adds a light touch to this guide to roasting every which way.

Rotis opens with 2 guides on 'How to tie a roast beef' and 'How to tie a chicken'.

It closes with 'Et avec tout ca?' (With all that) a chapter on side dishes and garnishes with seasonal options.

Fall selection includes 'Pumpkin with Chestnuts', timely for Thanksgiving. 'Autumn Fruits and Vegetables' (Apples, Pears, Onions and Fennel) has a nice touch to it.

I hope to have a chance to catch up with the author soon and share our conversation with you.

Mercredi c'est Roti de Volaille  (Wednesday, it's Roasted Bird), yet I chose Samedi ca rotit pour de l'Agneau (Saturday, lamb is roast) to give you a taste of Rotis.

Épaule en cocotte de foin, LAMB SHOULDER IN A BED OF STRAW

Ingredients:

1 boned lamb shoulder
7 oz (200 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
3 French shallots
2–3 rosemary sprigs
3 bay leaves
10. fl oz (300 ml) cider
3. oz (100 g) butter
chemical-free straw

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 315°F (160°C).

Combine the flour with some water to make a smooth and pliable dough.

Heat the olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish. Add the lamb shoulder and brown on all sides over high
heat until it is well caramelized. Add the garlic cloves, shallots, rosemary and bay leaves. Deglaze with
the cider. Add the butter and mix in with the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

Surround the lamb with straw. Cover the dish and seal it with the dough so that it is airtight. Bake in the
oven for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Remove the roast from the oven and transfer the lamb to a serving plate. Strain the cooking juices
through a sieve and pour over the shoulder.

(*Reprinted with permission from Rôtis by Stéphane Reynaud, Melville House 2011...Photo by Frederic Lucano)