A Very Thoughtful Gift

My lovely Israeli friends Jules and Francesca inspired tonights dinner.

Francesca had recently sent me a copy of Iranian Cuisine Kosher (Leevim Vida) which a lovely book detailing traditional Iranian food, in both English and Farsi, with gorgeous photo’s; unfortunately I can’t find any information on the web about it though, so can’t post you a link. 

The Shishlik stood out as an essential to be cooked right away, despite the fact that I couldn’t barbeque it over hot coals as requested in the recipe. Even though they were just simply fried, they were amazing.  I used finely diced lamb and it was so moist, almost crunchy on the outside, delicious.

How did Jules contribute?  Well in a double act with Nigel Slater to be precise.  Nigel had a fabulous sounding recipe for chickpea and spinach gratin in this months Observer Food Monthly and Jules had just sent me a big bag of chickpeas, this just had to be cooked.I didn’t have any spinach left from yesterday so I substituted it for a finely diced red pepper, to add both colour and flavour.   Nigel suggests that this gratin could be a main course, I disagree, I don’t think there is enough depth to it for a whole meal, stunning as a side dish but that’s about as far as it could go.

The Recipes:

Shishlik Kebab:

• For every 2 pounds of meat add 2 grated onions, salt, pepper, turmeric, paprika and 3 tablespoons of oil.

1. Mix the ingredients well together.
2. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. The following day place the meat onto thin metal skewers and barbeque on a low heat.

NB I fried them in a dry frying pan, and they took around 25 minutes to cook through.

Chickpea Gratin:

Serves 4 as main dish

• dried chickpeas – 250g 
• olive oil – 2 tablespoons 
• red onions – 4, peeled and roughly chopped 
• garlic – 2 cloves, thinly sliced 
• flour – 1 tablespoons 
• spinach – 450g 
• vegetable or chicken stock – 250ml 
• crème fraîche – 300g 
• freshly grated Spenwood, Pecorino or Parmesan cheese – 80-90g or a couple of good handfuls 
• soft white breadcrumbs – about 50g, or a handful

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water. Drain and tip them into a deep pan. Cover with fresh water and bring to the boil. Scoop off the froth that rises to the surface, then turn the heat down so that the water simmers merrily. Leave them to cook, watching the water level carefully and topping it up from time to time. When they are tender, after about 45-60 minutes cooking, drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Warm the olive oil in a roasting tin or large cast-iron casserole over a moderate heat, then add the onion and garlic. Leave them to cook, with the occasional stir, until the onion and garlic have softened and taken on a little colour. Expect this to take a good 15 minutes. Stir in the flour.
3. Meanwhile, wash the spinach thoroughly, then, while it is still wet, steam in a covered pan for 2 or 3 minutes until the leaves have relaxed. Drain and squeeze the moisture out.
4. Pour the drained chickpeas, stock and crème fraîche into the onions, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, then turn up the heat and bring almost to the boil. Add the spinach, pulling it into pieces as you go, then stir and tip everything into a large baking dish or roasting tin. Strew with the grated cheese and breadcrumbs then cook for 45 minutes or so until a golden crust has formed.

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