Cooking Tips, Tricks, Recipes, & Advice

[Thruth]

First time ive ever heard of a barberry

Big in folk healing. A very drought tolerant, hardy plant. Grows nicely in Saskabush. Compact (small to medium). Adds some nice colour to the garden.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Big in folk healing. A very drought tolerant, hardy plant. Grows nicely in Saskabush. Compact (small to medium). Adds some nice colour to the garden.

View attachment 33978

huh. will you look at that. how do they taste?

 

[Thruth]

huh. will you look at that. how do they taste?

Tart/sour. They were used before lemons became a thing back in the day.

 

[fxh]

Big in folk healing.

OK that's enough - count me out

 

[Fwiffo]

They're sour. As with most things in Persian ingredients (lime, yogurt, lemon, pomegranate molasses, etc) but it seems most recipes recommend a bit of sugar when you sautee them.

 

[Fwiffo]

Wanted to do a tuna ragu but will do this instead for the weekend.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Wanted to do a tuna ragu but will do this instead for the weekend.

finally, a normal serving size.

 

[Fwiffo]

finally, a normal serving size.

I'll probably go for something smaller because I'm pairing it with the vegetable Napoleon cake at 2:54 here



And then the left over parsley and watercress will go into a puree soup

 

[Fwiffo]

KHORESH BADEMJAN خورش بادمجان

Find out what makes people fall in love with eggplants. Khoresh Bademjan is an amazing recipe where tender pieces of beef are cooked to perfection with golden...

persianmama.com

I don't have sour grapes so I'm adding the crushed limoo. Waiting for this to cook down right now.

 

[Grand Potentate]

KHORESH BADEMJAN خورش بادمجان

Find out what makes people fall in love with eggplants. Khoresh Bademjan is an amazing recipe where tender pieces of beef are cooked to perfection with golden...

persianmama.com

I don't have sour grapes so I'm adding the crushed limoo. Waiting for this to cook down right now.

Pics required

 

[Fwiffo]

Pics required

Mine?

I think the eggplants disintegrated a bit.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Mine?

I think the eggplants disintegrated a bit.

Yeah yours. Lets see what youre up to.

 

[Fwiffo]

Yeah yours. Lets see what youre up to.

I'm serving it family style so I don't think it looks particularly appealing.

From the top left:

Maast o khiar - cucumber, yogurt, dried mint

Salad shirazi - cucumber, tomato, mint, lemon juice, red onion

Khoresh bademjan - beef, tomato, eggplant stew

I used a Persian smoked rice which is different from the usual longer basmati rice. Saffron. Potato 'tah-deeg'. Slivered almonds and pistachios.

 

[Grand Potentate]

I'm serving it family style so I don't think it looks particularly appealing.

From the top left:

Maast o khiar - cucumber, yogurt, dried mint

Salad shirazi - cucumber, tomato, mint, lemon juice, red onion

Khoresh bademjan - beef, tomato, eggplant stew

I used a Persian smoked rice which is different from the usual longer basmati rice. Saffron. Potato 'tah-deeg'. Slivered almonds and pistachios.


View attachment 34097

that looks fucking delicious

 

[Journeyman]

I'm serving it family style so I don't think it looks particularly appealing.

That all looks great, Fwiff.

Those potatoes look absolutely fantastic.

 

[Fwiffo]

That all looks great, Fwiff.

Those potatoes look absolutely fantastic.

After parboiling the rice I use a thin layer of vegetable oil and water on the bottom of a non stick pot. Then I put the sliced potatoes on and sprinkle some powdered saffron and then the rice with blobs of butter on top. I steam it on low with a cloth around the pot's cover for an hour but in the final 15 minutes move it to medium to do a controlled burn. I find that's easier and more predictable than using yogurt to initiate the burning or to do medium high and then steam it at low.

 

[Journeyman]

So you essentially cover the sliced potatoes with rice, and cook the potatoes and rice together? Or have I misunderstood the description?

 

[Fwiffo]

So you essentially cover the sliced potatoes with rice, and cook the potatoes and rice together? Or have I misunderstood the description?

Tahdig with Potato - My Persian Kitchen

Here we go! Another post about tahdig! So far I have posted about two methods of making tahdig, one is with yogurt and saffron and the other is with ... Read More

www.mypersiankitchen.com

Pictures are easier to understand than words.

Although I make a small mountain when putting the rice back in and make little holes with the handle end of the spatula for the rice to breathe. Then I put blobs of butter on top so they melt and go through the rice and back down to the potatoes.

You can make potato tah deeg, or use bread, or lettuce.

 

[Journeyman]

Ah, so the rice is already parboiled, or partially cooked, when you put it on top of the potatoes? That makes more sense, as I was wondering how there would be enough liquid to cook the rice.

 

[Fwiffo]

Ah, so the rice is already parboiled, or partially cooked, when you put it on top of the potatoes? That makes more sense, as I was wondering how there would be enough liquid to cook the rice.

Yes - parboiled. Then you dump it into a colander and put water on it to stop the cooking and wash off the salt.

 

[QuandoDio]

Tahdig is very popular in Persian cooking as I recall it is essentially burnt rice ( well, the rice version). And people fight over the burnt part. It is tossed with very expensive 'saffron' which I don't quite get.

Not really to my taste but I find the whole wrapped kitchen towel over the lid a relatively unique concept, localised to the ME.

 

[Fwiffo]

Tahdig is very popular in Persian cooking as I recall it is essentially burnt rice ( well, the rice version). And people fight over the burnt part. It is tossed with very expensive 'saffron' which I don't quite get.

Not really to my taste but I find the whole wrapped kitchen towel over the lid a relatively unique concept, localised to the ME.

None more expensive than Persian saffron.

 

[Fwiffo]

I wanted to try this on the weekend. I don't bake so I have to improvise for that last step.

 

[Fwiffo]

All traditional recipes seem to call for ricotta salata though. And of course no child.

 

[Fwiffo]

My attempts at Sicilian tradizione and then reimagined. Cheated a bit because my cheese ingredients failed me and I don't have the bakeware for the lasagne.

 

[Kingstonian]

I wanted to try this on the weekend. I don't bake so I have to improvise for that last step.

I have had a bash at this dish too. Tried different ways of preparing the aubergines removing the peel etc. I don’t stick rigidly to menus though. If there are spare mushrooms or I fancy some olives I add them too.

 

[Kingstonian]

I'm serving it family style so I don't think it looks particularly appealing.

From the top left:

Maast o khiar - cucumber, yogurt, dried mint

Salad shirazi - cucumber, tomato, mint, lemon juice, red onion

Khoresh bademjan - beef, tomato, eggplant stew

I used a Persian smoked rice which is different from the usual longer basmati rice. Saffron. Potato 'tah-deeg'. Slivered almonds and pistachios.


View attachment 34097

Very nice. Looks like a great weekend feast. I don’t know much about Persian food though it may overlap with other Middle Eastern/Turkish cuisines.

 

[Grand Potentate]

View attachment 34134

View attachment 34135

My attempts at Sicilian tradizione and then reimagined. Cheated a bit because my cheese ingredients failed me and I don't have the bakeware for the lasagne.

looks tasty. is it the depth of the photos or are these small tasting size portions?

 

[Kingstonian]

All traditional recipes seem to call for ricotta salata though. And of course no child.

Possibly tastes better if it is delivered in Italian. English is easier as I don’t have to look at subtitles. I just have to put up with talk about eggplants and bay sill. I would happily swap the child for that.

Simple Pastas: Pasta alla Norma Recipe

Learn how to make Ziti with Eggplant and Ricotta. Recipe: http://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/ziti-roasted-eggplant-ricotta-cheese/.Learn more about San Marzano t...

www.youtube.com

Natasha is also good. Short instructions and very upbeat and American production(not Italian though)

 

[Fwiffo]

looks tasty. is it the depth of the photos or are these small tasting size portions?

I bought a 450g bag of rigatoni and used probably a little over 300g. There were two other plates of this size and two lasagna - one of which didn't come out the same way so I didn't photograph it. I set aside the "extra" in a Tupperware so I could have fed one and a half more of this portion. An appetizer portion of pasta is 90g and a meal sized 110g. I don't have a scale so I often make more than I should.

The other thing is I make these for family dinner and the only people in my "social bubble" are my senior citizen parents. They complain about portion sizes and how they have to eat leftovers for days. Never mind I am fat but I'm finally starting to lose weight.

Oh and I took about 10 slices of salami, baked them till they were crispy and blended some ricotta, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice to put on top and then sprinkled some parsley and called it the meat dish.

 

[Fwiffo]

Possibly tastes better if it is delivered in Italian. English is easier as I don’t have to look at subtitles. I just have to put up with talk about eggplants and bay sill. I would happily swap the child for that.

Simple Pastas: Pasta alla Norma Recipe

Learn how to make Ziti with Eggplant and Ricotta. Recipe: http://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/ziti-roasted-eggplant-ricotta-cheese/.Learn more about San Marzano t...

www.youtube.com

Natasha is also good. Short instructions and very upbeat and American production(not Italian though)

I thought Europeans were all about authenticity and tradition.

 

[Fwiffo]

Following the second recipe...but I used penne instead of rigatoni

 

[Fwiffo]

It feels like I "wasted" a buffalo mozzarella ball but it was interesting to try it.

 

[Fwiffo]

Saba Misoni - Chopstick Chronicles

Saba Misoni is a delicious, healthy, and traditional Japanese dish! It's easy and simple to make so it's perfect for a weeknight dinner!

www.chopstickchronicles.com

I have to say I enjoy mackerel better when the fat starts coming out. This one was more like poaching it in a sauce and I felt the burnt fat didn't get to express itself. Also I used white miso - probably looks better with red miso.

 

[Fwiffo]

In the end I used this one but added the cream/milk I saw in Stefan Barbato's YouTube video at the end. I don't have a grinder so hand chopping hanger steak and already diced pancetta with a chef's knife wasn't fun.

 

[QuandoDio]

^^ Why Hanger/onglet with bolognese? A bit of a waste of good outlet.

A tip for chopping your pancetta next time? Refrigerate/ freeze for a short while say 30 mins or so to 'firm' it up and then use your sharp knife as usual and it should make slicing much easier.

 

[Fwiffo]

^^ Why Hanger/onglet with bolognese? A bit of a waste of good outlet.

A tip for chopping your pancetta next time? Refrigerate/ freeze for a short while say 30 mins or so to 'firm' it up and then use your sharp knife as usual and it should make slicing much easier.

Because this pair of chefs said do it. They are the only ones though. I assume that's what "diaphragm" is. At first I thought it was beef lung.

I have an oriental style cleaver my brother gave me but I seem to have misplaced it in the kitchen but cheers for the tip.

 

[QuandoDio]

No, I get that/ you. It is just that traditionally hanger has always been best served after a quick prep, BBQ/ Grill/ sear etc, not for long cooking techniques.

Your chef's/ cooking knife would do but ofc if you have a meat cleaver, knock yourself out

 

[Fwiffo]

Crab boudin in a composed salad

www.sbs.com.au

It looks simple but I have to respect her technique of making precise dumpling looking balls that are similar in shape and size.

 

[Kingstonian]

Wanted to do a tuna ragu but will do this instead for the weekend.

What not even subtitles? I passed an Italian O level exam but the video was not much good to me.