Kibbe Nayya

My girlfriend Paula is a fabulous cook. Let her loose in the kitchen with a lemon and a sprig of mint and she can make a Lebanese feast. In her family, Kibbe Nayya is made the same day the lamb is slaughtered. There's no cooking in this recipe. "Nayya" means raw. Eat at your own risk!

1 shoulder of lamb (about 1 kg/2 lb of meat)
4 green onions
Handful each fresh mint and basil
2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp each mace, cinnamon, and cumin
1 cup cracked wheat (called ‘burghul’ in Lebanon)
Olive oil for drizzling
Lots of thin green onions and extra mint leaves
Pita bread

Put the lamb (minus the bone), onions, mint, and basil through a meat grinder. Mix in the spices. Cover the cracked wheat with hot water and let stand ten minutes, until softened (or follow package instructions). Drain well. Mix the cracked wheat into the meat mixture and knead as you would bread dough, adding a drop of water from time to time, until the mixture is silky smooth.

Taste and add more spices to suite your palate. Paula says salt and pepper are the most important spices; the others should be evident but subdued.

Spread the lamb mixture into a flat serving bowl. Using a finger, run three furrows the length of the lamb. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil into the furrows. Garnish the edges of the bowl with thin green onions and fresh mint leaves. To eat, scoop the Kibbe Nayya with a chunk of pita bread, top it with a green onion and a mint leaf, and pop it into your mouth.

Familiar Flavours Far From Home: Shashlik

Imagine if you had to solve a word puzzle before you could eat. But the puzzle is in a different language and a strange alphabet. That was the challenge of ordering dinner in Izmail, Ukraine, a small historic city on the Danube River near the border of Moldova.

My husband and I had just arrived in Ukraine, travelling down a country road full of potholes, the creaky old bus zigging and zagging while the onboard television blared a popular music show, the performers singing a familiar Beatles tune, slightly altered, All You Need is Peace. After a day of travel, we were hungry.

In Izmail, the only restaurant that appeared to be open was on the main drag, a popular place full of well-dressed millennials sipping cocktails and raising a din of conversation, of which I understood not a word.

At the table beside us was a young couple on a date. Behind us, a group of clean cut young men (perhaps soldiers) with a bottle of vodka on the table between them. The dance floor was empty (the DJ arrived later) and, playing on a giant screen, music videos of beautiful models in tropical locales.

Our waiter didn't speak a word of English and neither did his menu. It looked Greek to me. Literally. Prior to Ukraine, we had travelled in Greece, where I became somewhat adept at reading Cyrillic letters. The Cyrillic alphabets of Greece and Ukraine are close enough that I opened the menu and began sounding out the offerings. But even though I could pronounce it, I had no idea what it meant.

You might be surprised to know that restaurants in Ukraine often don't serve Ukrainian food, or what we here on the prairies know and love as the foods of our Ukrainian ancestors. Vareniki, holubtsi, kutia, babka and borshch – these are familiar foods in Ukrainian homes, but when people go out to eat, they're happy to dine from the smorgasbord of the world. Ethnic restaurants are as familiar in Ukraine as anywhere.

Working my way through the menu, I suddenly came upon a word I understood: Карьонара. Carbonara. Below it was вологнесе or Bolognese. Italian!! Both were delicious.

In Odessa, we ate several meals in a sweet French bistro and in Kherson, we enjoyed grilled skewers of meat in an outdoor Georgian grill (that's the former Soviet republic of Georgia, not the U.S. state). In Kiev we ate paninis from vendor on the street.

The grilled meat was called шашлік, which I recognized instantly. It's shashlik, a familiar food among descendants of Russian and East Ukrainian immigrants, also known here on the Canadian prairies as shishliki. In the Old Country it's common to add lemon juice, but since lemons were impossible to find on the prairies more than a century ago, local versions tend not to use it.

Old timers will tell you a secret to making good shishliki is to mix it with your hands, so don't be afraid to put a little elbow grease into it.

Shishliki
Traditionally it's made with lamb, but pork and chicken are good, too.

2 lbs meat (1 kg), cut in 2 inch cubes
Salt and pepper
1 big onion, sliced

Put meat in a bowl. Sprinkle generously with salt (a good teaspoon) and pepper. With your hands, rub the seasoning into the meat. Mix in onion. Cover and refrigerate 3–7 days, turning the meat once a day. Thread meat onto skewers. Grill over hot coals or BBQ.

(This article first appeared in Grainews.)

Prairie Kitchens - Shishliki

The Doukhobors who settled in Saskatchewan were vegetarians. Wink wink.

They became pacifists and vegetarians in Russia based on the principles of their spiritual leader Peter Verigin and his idol, the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. However, not all eschewed meat, and for that we can be grateful because it gave us one of the most unique regional foods in our province: shishliki.

Shishliki is an old Russian recipe of marinated and grilled lamb. It's a specialty around Yorkton, Kamsack and Canora, where it's popular at weddings, summer barbeques, community events and family reunions.

Traditionally, there are just three ingredients – lamb, onion and salt. Lemon may be added as a tenderizer if the meat is tough, but it is unlikely the first prairie Doukhobors ever saw a lemon or could afford one if they did.

Among the 7,500 Doukhobors who came to Canada in 1899 was the Zbeetnoff family, whose descendant Michelle (Zbeetnoff) Hughes of Norquay is publisher of Prairies North magazine. Even though she was raised in the bosom of her mother's Ukrainian family, she still makes the shishliki and piroshky (fruit pies) of her Russian Doukhobor grandmother.

"I want my children to be familiar with the old recipes because it's part of their heritage," she says. "Back then, it was subsistence living. Everything they had was by the hard work of their own hands."

And in this recipe, the hands are still at work. No spoon allowed! Pork or chicken may be substituted for the lamb.

Shishliki
2 lbs lamb (1 kg)
Salt
Pepper (optional)
1 big onion, sliced

Cut meat in 2-inch cubes. In a bowl, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, if using. With your hands, rub the seasoning into the meat. Mix in onion. Cover and refrigerate 3–7 days, turning the meat once a day. Thread meat onto skewers and grill.

Note: If you're feeding a crowd, use 50 lbs of meat, 20 lbs of onions, 1/2 cup salt and 1/4 cup pepper.

(This article first appeared in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.)

Easter Lamb has Risen (from the freezer)

Efforts to eat my way to the bottom of the freezer revealed a lost and lonely package of lamb shanks. Good timing, as lamb has long been associated with Easter. Shanks are a tough and lean cut of meat, perfect for a long, slow braise. Read my food column in the Star Phoenix.

This lamb was raised on a farm at Langham, a breed called Katahdin, which has mild tasting meat. The farmer sells her lambs in the spring by the half or whole, cut and wrapped. For those who don't have the desire or space to purchase lamb in bulk, you can also buy Katahdin lamb from Pine View Farms. My husband loved this dish:

Braised Lamb Shanks
3 tbsp canola oil

4 lamb shanks

2 large onions, chopped

5 large carrots, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

2 big potatoes, diced

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1/4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp crushed dry oregano

1/2 cup red wine (opt)

2 cups crushed tomatoes

2 cups water

Note about chopping vegetables: cut the carrots and potatoes into pieces about the same size as the chickpeas. There will be approximately two cups of each vegetable.

In an ovenproof pot with a lid, heat 2 tbsp of canola oil on the stove on medium high. Salt and pepper the lamb. Brown the lamb on all sides and remove from the pot. Turn down the heat and warm the remaining tbsp of oil. Stir in the onions and carrots, cooking until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, potatoes, chickpeas, rosemary and oregano. Sprinkle the vegetables generously with salt and pepper. Cook another few minutes.

Turn up the heat to medium high. Pour in the red wine and bubble until the liquid is almost gone. Nestle the lamb shanks into the vegetables. Pour on the crushed tomatoes and water. Cover the pot and bake in the oven at 325F for 2 1/2 hours. Taste the broth, adding more salt or pepper if needed.

To serve, two options: place a lamb shank on each plate and scoop on the vegetables or remove the meat from the bone, break into small pieces and stir back into the pot. If using this latter serving suggestion, you can economize and make this recipe with just two lamb shanks.

Terra Madre Day in Saskatchewan

Yesterday, December 10, is Terra Madre Day -- A time to celebrate the local bounty around the world. So, last night in Saskatoon, we made a thoroughly local meal:

Ravioli filled with lamb and chanterelle mushrooms.

I make the pasta dough and fillings and my husband puts them together.

 

(Lamb from a local farmer; chanterelle mushrooms from the northern forest frozen in season; dried herbs -- sage, rosemary and oregano -- from my garden.

The pasta was made with eggs purchased at the sawmill at Rosthern, a product of the owner's sons.)

Ravioli filled with beet greens and ricotta cheese in

a sage butter sauce.

(Beet greens and from my garden sauteed and frozen in season; sage freshly picked from under two feet of snow!)

Maple Walnut ice cream

(Cream from a local farmer; maple syrup tapped near Kamsack)

 Extras for another meal!



Shishliki on the Lamb

So there I was, dashing along Hwy #5 to Kamsack, when I spied a sign for shishliki. So, I turned in. It was a sheep farm and the shishliki was made by the farmer. Who could resist? I bought a few packages before heading on my way.

Shishliki is marinated lamb or pork done in a style that was brought to Saskatchewan by immigrants from Russia. It's a popular delicacy in the Canora-Yorkton area. In fact, Sat., June 25 is Shishliki Day in Veregin.

I made shishliki once myself using venison and this recipe from the old Time-Life Foods of the World series. Darn good...

Spring - Here's Proof!

The young lambs are frolicking on the farm of Mark and Lynn Lane near Regina. Catch the action on this you-tube video from the farm. Check out all the farm's organic offerings on the website of FarmGateFoods.

Soup Week 14 - Lamb and Three Lentil

This week's soup is Lamb and Three Lentil - brown, green and little red lentils. All grown in Saskatchewan, of course.

Technique:
Chop one onion, several cloves of garlic and a few carrots. Saute on medium low in a couple big glugs of canola oil until soft. While cooking, stir in dried crumbled sage and thyme.

Add the lentils - about two cups in total, maybe a bit more. Turn up the heat to medium. Stir lentils so they're well coated with onins and oil until they're shiney and starting to stick to the bottom of the pot.

Add a meaty lamb bone. Cover generously with water (I used homemade lamb broth). Boil, then turn heat down to a simmer for an hour to more. Skim the foam off the top a couple of times. Add more water as it cooks down. After a good simmer, turn off the heat and cool soup down. Remove the lamb; pull the meat off the bone, cut into small pieces and put the meat back into the soup.

Reheat the soup. Flavour with salt and pepper to you taste. Yummm.

Finally, herbs from the garden - CHICKPEA TOMATO SALAD

Supper was a mix of fresh and dried herbs. I picked the tiniest handful of mint, parsley and cilantro in my garden. However, I marinated the lamb with a blend of dried Greek herbs from Deb's of La Ronge. It's a flavourful mixture that comes in regular and law-salt. It was a gift, so I don't know where to buy it. If you're interested, you'll find Deb's contact info here.

Chickpea Tomato Salad

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained

3 green onions, sliced

1 garlic clove, chopped finely

2 tomatoes, chopped

8 slices of cucumber, quartered

2 tbsp herbs (parsley, mint, cilantro)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbso fresh-squeezed lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything well before dinner so the flavours blend.

Lebanese feast - KIBBI NAYEH

My girlfriend Paula came to visit from Calgary and we cooked a feast together. Paula is of Lebanese heritage and she cooks instinctively, without recipes. The great thing is, a Lebanese feast can be prepared with foods produced in Saskatchewan. We needed very few ‘imported’ foods like lemons, olives and cheese. The most amazing dish was Kibbi Nayeh, raw ground lamb with crushed wheat.

Here’s the full menu:

Mezze (appetizers) each on individual plates: sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, warm fava beans, black olives, hummus, halloum cheese, plain Mediterranean yogurt and Kibbi Nayeh, with fresh homemade pita bread.

Main: grilled lamb kabobs, chicken baked with ta'ratoul (olive oil, garlic, salt and lemon juice), cooked Kibbi and a tomato salad.

Dessert: pears in honey and mint.

KIBBI NAYEH
Start with the freshest (or fresh frozen) lamb. In Paula’s family, Kibbi Nayeh is made on the same day the lamb is slaughtered. We made it with organic Saskatchewan lamb (raised by the Richardson sisters) which was frozen shortly after slaughter.

1 shoulder of lamb, freshly ground (about 2 pounds)
4 green onions
Handful of fresh mint
Handful of fresh basil
2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp mace, cinnamon and cumin
1 cup cracked wheat (called ‘burghul’ in Lebanon)

Put the onions, mint and basil through the meat grinder, and mix into the ground lamb along with the spices. Cover the cracked wheat with water and let stand 10 minutes, until softened. Drain well. Mix the cracked wheat and the meat mixture, and knead as you would bread dough, adding a drop of water from time to time, until the mixture is smooth. Taste the mixture and add more spice to suite your taste. Paula says salt and pepper are the most important spices; the others should be evident but more subdued.

To serve, place the lamb mixture into a flat serving bowl. Using a finger, run three furrows the length of the lamb. Drizzle olive oil into the furrows. Garnish the dish with thin green onions and fresh mint. To eat, spoon the Kibbi Nayeh onto pita bread and top it with a green onion and a mint leaf.

For the cooked version of Kibbi – after kneading the mixture, press it into a square cake pan. Slice it into diamond shapes. Make a hole in the centre and pour on olive oil to cover the meat. Bake at 450F for 20-30 minutes. To serve, slice along the diamond-shaped marks and arrange on a warm plate, garnished with springs of mint.

Middle Eastern Flavours - SFEEHA

Sfeeha doesn't sound very Saskatchewan, does it? But all the main ingredients in the Middle Eastern meat pie are available locally. Lamb from a local farmer. (You can substitute beef.) Vegetables from the Saskatoon Farmers' Market. Dried red pepper from my garden. This dish satisfies my two daily objectives: to eat locally and to eat something picked by my own hand. I served it with Fattoush, a fabulous Middle Eastern salad. (See recipe at 2 May 07)

I adapted this recipe for Sfeeha from Time Life Foods of the World, which I picked up last week at the giant Symphony second-hand book sale. I'm sure I'll be trying more authentic Middle Eastern recipes from this little book.

2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 pound ground lamb
1 large tomato
¼ cup finely chopped green pepper
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
¼ cup lemon juice
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp dried red pepper, crushed
Dash cinnamon
1 tsp salt and pepper to taste
Pizza dough

In a skillet, heat the oil on medium high. When the surface of the oil shimmers, add the pine nuts and stir until they brown. Remove from heat. Put the pine nuts into a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the dough) and stir together. Work this mixture with your hands to a smooth and fluffy consistency. (I used the Kitchen Aid with paddle attachment – much quicker and cleaner.)

Form the dough into 8 balls about the size of a large egg. Using your fingers, press each ball into a flat round. Divide the lamb mixture onto the 8 rounds of dough and spread evenly with your fingers. Drizzle with more olive oil, if you like. Bake in 400 F oven for about 25 minutes, until the dough is toasty brown. Serve warm.

Leftover Easter dinner - SHEPHERD'S PIE

Last week, I was on CBC radio talking about lamb. I promised to post any new lamb recipe that I tried over the Easter holiday, so here it is below.

But first, a few good things to know about Saskatchewan lamb: There are about 1000 farmers raising lamb in Saskatchewan. Most of it is sold as Canadian lamb. (About 12% of Canadian lamb is from Saskatchewan.) If you want to be sure of getting Saskatchewan lamb, you should shop at a local butcher who buys direct from a farmer, or buy from the farmer yourself. For names of farmers who sell directly to customers, contact the Sheep Development Board at 306-933-5200.

For Easter dinner, we invited our friends Ramesh and Karen for roast lamb. You’ll find that recipe posted on 15 Feb. 2007. (The lamb came from the organic Lily and Rose farm at Lemberg, thanks to my buddie Annette Stebner, the farmer’s sister.) The roast was delicious however, the Shepherd’s Pie I made the next day with the leftovers was even better.

SHEPHERD'S PIE
Drippings from the roast
1 small onion, chopped
4-5 small carrots, chopped
2 tbsp flour
2 cups of cooked meat, cut in small pieces
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1½ cups beef or chicken stock
1 ½ cups frozen peas
2 lbs. cooked potatoes
½ cup half-and-half cream
A few dabs of butter

Heat the drippings from the roast, adding one cup of water. Cook the onions and carrots in the liquid until soft and the liquid is reduced by half. Add the flour, stirring it in well. Add the meat, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir well. Turn up the heat and add the stock. Bring to a boil then turn down and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the frozen peas. Cook for another 15 minutes, until the sauce is dark and thick. Meanwhile, mash the cooked potatoes with the half-and-half and a bit of butter. Pour the lamb mixture into a casserole dish. Top with the mashed potatoes and dot with butter. Bake 375F for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling.

Young spring lamb - MOUSSAKA

We bought half a lamb from a local farmer, which I picked up yesterday, and made this moussaka for supper tonight. Moussaka is a Greek tradition and I imagine there are as many recipes as there are cooks. This recipe is adapted from the Foods of the World: Middle Eastern Cooking (published by Time Life in 1969).

3 medium-sized eggplants (about 3 pounds in total) peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices. (If the eggplant is young and fresh, you don’t need to peel it.)
Salt
1 cup flour
1-2 cups olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 lb lean ground lamb
1 small can of tomatoes (or 1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped)
1 small can tomato paste
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt and some fresh pepper
6 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Besamel Sauce (see below)

Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and lay the slices side by side on paper towels. Weigh them down with a platter or casserole. After 20-30 minutes, wipe the moisture off the eggplant with a paper towel.

In a wide skillet, heat 1/2 cup of olive oil on fairly high heat until it shimmers. Dip the eggplant slices into the flour, shake off the excess and, a few slices at a time, cook in the hot oil, a minute or two on each side. Transfer to paper towels. Add more oil to the skillet as needed.

When the eggplant is cooked, add another 1/2 cup olive oil to the skillet and fry the onions until they are soft and coloured. Stir in the lamb, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add everything else except the cheese, cooking briskly until the moisture is gone and the mixture is thick. Taste it for seasoning and adjust to your taste.

Saltsa Besamel
2 cups milk
1 tbsp butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
dash of nutmeg

In a saucepan, heat 1 1/2 cups milk with the butter until little bubbles form. Remove from heat. In another saucepan, beat the eggs with 1/2 cup milk, flour, salt and nutmeg until smooth. Place this saucepan over medium heat and, stirring constantly, slowly pour in the warm milk. Cook, stirring, until the sauce come to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat.

Set oven to 325F. In a broad casserole dish, layer half the eggplant. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp of cheese. Spoon in all the lamb. Arrange the rest of the eggplant on top. Sprinkle on 2 tbsp of cheese. Pour on the besamel, smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. Raise the heat to 400 F and bake 15 minutes, until the besamel is toasty brown. Let the moussaka rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving it.

Valentine's Day Dinner - LEG OF LAMB

I like to cook a 'red' dinner for Valentine's Day. This year, it was a berry red dinner. We had roast leg of lamb with lingonberry sauce, wild rice and dried cherry salad, and for dessert, lingonberry pastry pinwheels. For the wild rice salad, see 20 November 2006. For the lingonberry pastry pinwheels, see 19 February 2007. For the lamb, I used the only fresh herb I had on hand - a pot of rosemary on my windowsill. Fortunately, it goes very well with lamb.

ROSEMARY LEG OF LAMB
Using a mortar and pestle, smash together 1 clove of garlic, 1 tsp salt and a handful of fresh rosemary. Add some olive oil to make a smooth paste. Using a sharp knife, cut down along the bone on both ends of the roast. Push some of the rosemary mixture into the gap, and spread the remainder over the roast. Squeeze half a lemon over top. Finally, throw on some more fresh rosemary if you've got it. Heat the oven to 400F and warm your roasting pot in the oven. When hot, coat the bottom with olive oil and set in the roast. Roast until done, turning once. (My 5-lb roast took about 1 hour 15 minutes to cook.)