Sephardic Chicken and Rice Croquettes

From the Evening Herald - 30th April 2009

Jewish Passover celebrations last week sent me back to Claudia Roden’s Book of Jewish Food, as much a cultural history as a cookbook.

When most of us think of Jewish food we think of Woody Allen films and New York Jewish jokes about chopped liver, matzo balls and gefilte fish.

Roden’s book does indeed have many recipes from the Ashkenazi (European) world but the book is most interesting when it explores the cooking of Sephardic Jews.

Sephardic originally meant those Jews that had lived in Spain under the Moors but now signifies the Jewish diaspora with roots in the Mediterranean, Middle East, India and Africa.

Jewish dietary laws apply to both cuisines but Ashkenazi food is standardised while Sephardic food varies from country to country and even family to family, depending on their origins.

The main differences are based on climate and ingredients. The Ashkenazi world with its cold damp winters used lots of animal fats, meat, salted fish, potatoes and onions.

The Sephardic world is hot, and their cooking is lighter using olive oil, rice, aubergines, peppers and spices.

Roden’s recipe below is from the Baghdadi community in India, so called because most are of Iraqi descent and mix Indian flavours to the Iraqi and Syrian dishes they brought with them when they settled in India in the 19th century.

Risotto rice works best for this dish but you could also use pudding rice.

Baghdadi Chicken and Rice Croquettes
125g round rice (e.g. Arborio), 250g Chicken Fillets, 1 garlic clove, 1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, ½ tsp garam masala (or curry powder), ½ tsp turmeric, 4 tbs chopped parsley. Oil for deep frying.

Boil the rice in salted water for 15 minutes only, then drain. Mince the chicken to a paste in a food processor and then add the other ingredients, including the cooked rice, and blend until fully mixed.

Oil your hands as the mix is sticky. Take walnut-sized lumps and roll into fingers 5-6cm long. Deep fry in hot oil for c.5 minutes until golden.

Serve with salad, dips and relishes such as Mango Chutney and Raita (natural yoghurt mixed with chopped fresh mint, grated cucumber and lemon juice).

Easter Chocolate

My helpers for this Article are pictured above: Catherine, Grellan and Belle.

Easter means chocolate, too much chocolate. (From Today's Evening Herald - 16/4/09)

In our house Easter eggs and various chocolate bars hang around for weeks after Easter (guzzling) Sunday.

Melting the chocolate with whatever else is left over is a good way to rid the house of this waist stretcher and get the kids interested in cooking.

Cover marshmallows or plain biscuits with chocolate, dip strawberries or grapes, make rice crispie cakes, spread on pancakes, pour on ice cream, or simply use your finger to dip and lick..

Melting cheap milk chocolate as found in the average Easter egg is more difficult due to the lower (or non-existent) cocoa solids so proceed slowly.

Break the chocolate into a small bowl with a couple of spoons of fresh cream (or milk) and place over a saucepan of hot water on low heat. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water (less important for dark chocolate) and that the chocolate melts slowly. Gradually add more chocolate and stir all the time.

Short bursts in a microwave set to medium (fifteen seconds, remove and stir, repeat and repeat) can also work.

Most chocolate bars such as mars and toblerone melt well, a bashed up crunchie or twix will add texture, and smarties or m&ms add colour.

If the chocolate splits and goes grainy you can rescue it by gradually adding the grainy mix to a small amount of hot milk on a very low heat and stirring vigourously.

Biscuits (for dipping or coating)

Ingredients: 350g plain flour, 140g caster sugar, 170g unsalted butter (chilled and chopped), 1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, pinch of salt.

Sift the flour into a bowl or food processor, add the caster sugar and butter and mix well until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg, vanilla and salt to a cup, whisk with a fork and add to the biscuit mix. Work the dough lightly until firm; add a teaspoon of water if the mixture is too dry. Roll into a ball, cover in cling film and refrigerate for 30 min.

Roll out the mix on a floured board until the dough is 2-4mm thick, cut into shapes, transfer to a baking tray and bake at 140C/gas 3 for 15 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack and then decorate with melted chocolate and smarties.

Tortilla Espagnole

Penelope Cruz winning her Oscar last month sent me back to her last great performance in the wonderful Pedro Almodovar film Volver where her character accidentally ends up running a restaurant (having hidden a dead body in their freezer – trust me it makes sense in the movie). In the film she cooks Tortilla and other classic Spanish dishes.

A Spanish tortilla is simply a potato omelet and is no relation to the Mexican tortilla. Tortilla is impossible to avoid in Spain, no matter the region; every family home, pub or restaurant will have their own version.

Most Spaniards believe it should be kept simple with just potatoes, onions, eggs and a little salt, but don’t be afraid to experiment.
Optional ingredients include fresh herbs, paprika, chopped tomato, red or green peppers, Chorizo, cooked ham, mushrooms etc. Try not to overload the omelet however, as potato and egg are the stars of the dish.
The quick and dirty version is to fry some chopped cold (cooked) potatoes with some onions, add some beaten eggs and cook as you would any omelet. However for best results cook the potatoes from scratch as in the recipe below.
Spanish Omelet
Gently heat 100ml of Spanish Olive Oil in a small frying pan (7-8 inches). Peel and slice 200g medium potatoes and cook in the olive oil until soft, turning occasionally (this may take up to 25 minutes).
Once the potatoes are almost cooked add a large sliced onion and cook until translucent.
Add 6 very fresh eggs to a bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper and whisk with a fork. Remove the potatoes and onions from the pan with a slotted spoon and mix well with the eggs. Remove half the oil from the pan to a cup and turn heat to high for 30 seconds. Pour the eggs and potatoes onto the pan, reduce the heat and cook gently until the omelet has set and is golden underneath.
Place a large plate on top of the pan and flip out the omelet. Add the remaining oil to the pan, heat until sizzling, and slide in the omelet to cook the other side. Remove when golden underneath and eat hot or at room temperature with a glass of young Tempranillo.

Scoil Mologa Food and Wine Matching Masterclass

Scroll to the bottom of the next post for links to recipes for Orange cake and smoked salmon quiche.

Wines from last night's tasting were as follows -
Crement de la Loire, Chateau de Putille, bought from the producer for €6.40. They are based about 45 minutes from Nantes near Angers in a small village called La Pommeraye.
Food - Romanian Pork Sausages bought in Troyes Butcher on Moore St.
- Smoked Salmon and Dill Quiche. recipe at the bottom of the next posting.

Santa Rita Reserva Sauv. Blanc, Casablanca Valley, Chile – 13.50 in Dunnes
Penne with chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce

St Halletts Poachers Blend White, Barossa Valley, Australia – 64% Semillon 23% Sauvignon Blanc and 13% Riesling
Served with Egg Fried Rice

Sangre de Toro Torres 10.70 in Dunnes
Garnacha and Carinena (Grenache and Carignan)
Tortilla Espagnole - Spanish Omelette

Parallel 45 Cotes du Rhone Paul Jaboulet
Rare Steak - tanins and steak go particularly well together

Santa Rita Medalla Real Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Cous Cous with Merguez Sausages and Preserved Lemon

Anjou Coteaux de la Loire, Chateau de Putille, Chenin Blanc Moelleux
Orange Cake
White Chocolate

Bonnezeaux Domaine des Petits Quarts 2001

On Phylloxera I mentioned the following book
Phylloxera: How Wine Was Saved for the World by Christy Campbell
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phylloxera-How-Wine-Saved-World/dp/0007115369