meat » Kavey Eats

Joselito Jamon, The World’s Best Acorn-Fed Iberico Ham

16 Jun 2013 2 Responses »

Jun 162013

Joselito is described as the best jamón Ibérico de bellota in the world.

That’s quite a claim, isn’t it? The best. In the world.

Made in Salamanca, in the North West of Spain, by José Gómez Joselito, the current CEO of a family business founded by his great grandfather over a hundred years ago, Joselito ham is made from acorn-fed Iberian pigs and cured 100% naturally, in the traditional way. The pigs roam Joselito’s holm and cork oak forest pastures, feeding on grass and acorns. The nature of the breed, combined with their natural diet and the ability to exercise freely result in a wonderful marbling of intramuscular fat, which in turn results in jamon that is meltingly soft and intensely flavoured.

The world’s best chefs and food critics line up to sing it’s praises and include it in their menus:

“Joselito ham is unique, perfect. A constant inspiration to all who love the cuisine.” Ferran Adrià, chef
“Joselito ham is the world’s most wonderful and it is Joselito as a person.” Juan Mari Arzak, chef
“Joselito has perfected the curing, aging to produce the most exquisite ham.” Heston Blumenthal, chef
“The taste of Spain, the king of ham”. Testsuya Wakuda, chef
“Joselito ham is Spain’s greatest culinary treasure and one of the finest natural products of the world. Trying Joselito is a unique and unforgettable experience”. Robert Parker, writer
“Joselito ham is the finest of its kind.” Daniel Bouloud, chef
“Subtle scent that awakens our kitchen, murmurs are silenced by a unique flavour that fills the palate.” Mario and Oscar Pedro Manuel Perez, chefs
“Joselito, your name and ham are a jewel of Spanish cuisine.” Hilario Arbelaitz, chef
“A slice of Joselito Gran Reserva is like taking a walk through paradise.” Rafael Garcia Santos, food critic
“Joselito is undoubtedly the product that best presents the culinary culture of our country. The rigor, quality, professionalism and passion.” Quique da Costa, chef
“Joselito is for me the best portrait of a traditional Spanish artisan product.” Nils Henkel, chef

But, to my shame, I didn’t know any of this when I accepted a kind offer from Jamoteca to send me some Joselito samples. Their introductory email did tell me the product was the most renowned ham in Spain but, used to the hyperbole of PRs, I didn’t pay much heed to that. What came through clearly was their belief in the quality of this product and their enthusiasm for me to assess it for myself.

When the package arrived, I gazed at the beautiful fuchsia-pink of the ham, admired the creamy fat, saw how it glistened. I opened the Jamon Gran Reserva first. The aroma was wonderful, sweeter than other hams I’ve encountered. The texture was, as the oft-used cliché goes, as soft as silk and as pliable as fabric too.

One bite. That’s all it took for me to realise instantly, that this was easily the best ham I’d ever tasted in my life. I don’t have the writing skills to convey to you just how magical a combination of taste and texture this product has. Rich, intense, vivid, meltingly soft, savoury and yet sweet….

The chorizo was next, with its heady scent of smoke and paprika. Like the Jamon Gran Reserva it was simply amazing.

Only after savouring every sliver did I turn to the internet and realise what a special treat I’d been given, how renowned was the product I’d enjoyed so much, and that far better palates than mine really had deemed it the best in the world.

On other days, we enjoyed the Lomo (tenderloin) and the Paleta (shoulder) Gran Reserva and these were wonderful too.

Of course, quality such as this does not come cheap. A selection of five 100 gram packs of sliced ham, including the four I tried plus salchichón) is available from the Jamoteca website for €62 plus another €20 in delivery costs. At today’s exchange rate, that’s approximately £70. They are dispatched directly from the Guijuelo warehouse and should take 3-4 working days to arrive. If you had asked me before I’d tasted them whether I would ever spend £70 on 500 grams of ham, I’d have laughed, dismissively. Now I’ve tasted the products, I realise I actually might.

In the mean time, for those wondering what to get me for my birthday, here’s another one to add to the list!

Kavey Eats received review samples of Joselito products courtesy of Jamoteca.

Braised Hoisin & Beer Beef Short Ribs

07 Apr 2013 11 Responses »

Apr 072013

I’ve never cooked beef short ribs before. I’m not sure if I’ve even eaten them before but I think I may have. Certainly I’ve seen much talk about them being a great value cut that benefits from long slow cooking such as a braise.

My beef short ribs came from The Ginger Pig, and I asked them to cut them in half, through the bone for me so that when I cut between the bones, I was left with smaller, more manageable pieces.

Trying to narrow down recipes, I found many appealing ones on the web including Barbecued Beef Ribs & Molasses Bourbon Sauce, Coffee-Marinated Bison Short Ribs (which I figured would translate well to beef ribs), Cherry Balsamic Short Ribs, Stout-Braised Short Ribs and Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs. I even contemplated adjusting this recipe for Dr Pepper Pork Ribs, but figured best to use a recipe intended for my cut of meat, at least the first time.

The recipe that called to me most strongly was this Braised Hoisin Beer Short Ribs by Dave Lieberman, posted on the Food Network.

Although the total cooking time is nearly 4 hours, the prep is fairly quick and easy and the ingredients list is short and simple. The original recipe calls for rice wine vinegar but as it’s only a small amount, I substituted cider vinegar which I already had in stock.

The recipe worked well, and we enjoyed it. The meat was tender and falling off the bone and the sauce was nicely balanced,. Although the beer didn’t really come through, it probably did its job of tempering the hoisin. But I’m not yet sold on beef short ribs. I think many of the recipes I’ve found could be made with ox cheeks, which I adore and are the same price per kilo or cheaper.

Braised Hoisin & Beer Beef Short Ribs

Adapted from Food Network

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1.5 kilos beef short ribs, cut into approximately 10 pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 to 12 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
340 ml mild beer
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
240 ml hoisin sauce

Method

Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large heavy casserole dish with a lid. Brown the ribs on all sides, in batches if necessary. Remove the ribs. If you have more than a couple of tablespoons of oil and rendered fat, pour away any excess before continuing.

Lower the heat to medium and fry the garlic and ginger for 2-3 minutes.

Return the ribs to the dish. Pour the beer and vinegar over them.

Once the liquid has reached a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 2.5 hours.
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.

Pour the hoisin sauce over the ribs, transfer the dish to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Remove the ribs from the sauce. Strain excess fat from the sauce, if necessary, and serve the sauce over the ribs.

Serve with mashed potatoes and green vegetables.

Do you have any favourite recipes for beef short ribs to share?

Organic Welsh Lamb from Graig Farm: Garam Masala Marinated Lamb Loin Chops

24 Mar 2013 1 Response »

Mar 242013

With ever rising populations and land pressure, I’m not being controversial when I state that we need to reduce the amount of meat in our diets and increase the volume of grain and vegetables we eat.

But for those of us who love eating meat, this is easier said than done.

There are two ways to do this: the first is to use smaller portions of meat in each meal, such as a 50 grams of bacon used to give flavour and texture to a pasta dish or a fresh vegetable salad with a handful of leftover roast chicken or a stroganoff with lots of mushrooms and only a little steak; the second way is to balance a couple of meat-heavy meals a week with several vegetarian ones. I tend to waiver between these, and don’t eat as many vegetarian meals as I should, which is a shame as I adore tofu and enjoy cooking our home-grown vegetables.

If you opt for the second approach then, budget permitting, it makes a lot of sense to enjoy the best quality meat you can afford – a little of the good stuff rather than a lot of the mediocre.

In a recent article in the Guardian, Alex Renton says:

Lamb is a green dream: the most gentle, ecologically, of all the farmed meats we eat. There is no animal more naturally-raised – it’s all free range and the feed just grows at their feet. Sheep don’t need water in the vast quantities cattle require and farming them is in itself a form of recycling: they graze hills and marginal land, recovering nutrients from poor grass and weeds other livestock won’t eat.

The land that will support one cow and calf can take as many as seven ewes and their lambs. And the grassy downs of modern England look as they do largely because of grazing sheep.

The lamb we produce in Britain is spectacularly good. Our climate seems well suited, both in terms of landscape and weather and the resulting meat is a delight.

A couple of months ago, I was sent a selection box of organic Welsh lamb by Graig Farm. Based in Mochdre in Montgomeryshire, the farm has been run by the Rees family since the 1940’s and has been certified as organic since 1999. Jonathan Rees is committed to producing great food “without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, growth promoting drugs, routine use of antibiotics, and the large amount of additives often used in ‘non-organic’ methods”. Their sheep and cattle graze in grass, clover and herb pastures and their pigs are able to forage in the woods. Ten years ago, they built a processing plant on site, and do all the butchery and processing themselves at the farm.

Delivery was straightforward. The meat was neatly packed in a large polystyrene box and kept nicely cooled with ice packs, however I’d have preferred more ecologically-friendly packaging options such as the British sheep-wool insulation that Paganum use.

My box contained 2 half lamb legs, 2 lamb leg steaks, 4 lamb loin chops, 1 boned & rolled lamb shoulder, 2 lamb chump chops and 1 rack of lamb, all organic, of course. This box is priced at £89.

People often dismiss spending the extra on organic with complaints that organic produce tastes no difference to non-organic. In many cases, that’s true. But there are a host of other reasons to consider organic, including the environmental impact of pesticides and fertilisers, the fact that organic farms are far friendlier to wildlife and, on a more selfish note, the vastly reduced use of additives. And farmers who can’t resort to the easy option of pumping their animals full of drugs focus much more strongly on keeping them healthy by more natural means. That added care and attention often does make itself evident in the taste. Of course, there are regulated controls on feed too, which also have an impact on the final product.

Every cut of Graig Farm lamb we’ve eaten has been absolutely superb. The meat is tender but not mushy, the flavour is sweet and rich, and there’s enough fat running through to keep the meat moist as it cooks. I really could not be happier with the quality of the meat.

For the lamb loin chops, I made a very simple marinade and then cooked the chops in a hot oven for about 25 minutes.

Garam Masala Marinated Lamb Loin Chops

For the marinade, I first combined 4 bay leaves, a piece of cinnamon bark about an inch wide and long, 1 brown cardamom pod and a couple of small green ones, 6 peppercorns and 3 cloves. These were powdered using a spice grinder and then mixed into approximately two cups of full fat yoghurt. I marinated the chops for a couple of hours before cooking.

Discount Code

Try Graig Farm organic Welsh lamb (or any other meat such as beef and pork) for yourself with a special discount code for Kavey Eats readers:

KAV222

The code gives you 20% off orders over £50 and also includes free delivery. It’s valid until June 30th 2013 and can be used three times per household. Of course, you can pass the code on to friends and family, if they’d like to place an order for themselves.

If you haven’t decided what to have for your Easter Sunday roast, get an order in fast for a superb joint of lamb. The boned rolled shoulder was gorgeous roasted with garlic and rosemary, and the leftovers made wonderful hoisin lettuce wraps and a delicious ragu with pasta.

Kavey Eats received a sample box of organic lamb from Graig Farm.

Bacon Banana Cookies from The Great Hog Cookbook

02 Jan 2012 5 Responses »

Jan 022012

Chatting to the UK arm of US publisher Rizzoli about titles I might like to review, the pull of the pig drew me towards The Whole Hog Cookbook. Promising “chops, loin, shoulder, bacon and all that good stuff”, author Libbie Summers draws on childhood memories of her grandparents’ hog farm together with “modern sensibilities [that] lend new twists to beloved dishes”.

As the front flap declares, “the best way to honor an animal like the pig is to appreciate every part”.

The book starts with an introduction to the strengths and characteristics of various heritage breeds of pig before sharing recipes divided into chapters for loin, Boston shoulder, bacon, spare ribs, picnic shoulder, leg, offal and slices.

The names of these cuts remind you immediately that the book is an American one, though there are plenty of websites online that will help you translate the names of cuts to their UK equivalents.

That said, the recipes themselves take inspiration from all around the world, including Hangover Irish Crubeens, Spaghetti alla Carbonara (made with guanciale) and Pork Osso Buco, Serrano Ham Croquettes and Rioja Potatoes, Summers’ Aunt Setsuko’s Ham Fried Rice, Crispy Thai Pork Belly, West Indian Pork Roti, Cuban Pork Roast… Someone needs to tell Summers, though, that the “scotch” in scotch eggs doesn’t mean they’re Scottish, as she’s called them!

And of course, there are many American-inspired recipes, gleaned from all across the country and adapted and refined by Summers. I’m tempted by lots of them, including Prodigal Chocolate Pig (a moist chocolate cake featuring bacon and rum), Buttery Potted Ham, Sweet Tea-Brined Pork Roast, Grilled Summer Corn Soup, her grandma Lula Mae’s Double Cola-Braised Pork Shoulder, Citrus Sugar Rubbed Ribs, Southern Peanut Soup, Savoury Mushroom and Bacon Bread Pudding…

Summers also provides a number of recipes for side dishes and condiments such as Clementine Prosecco Marmalade, Buttermilk Biscuits, Stout Mustard, Lemon Mint Mashed Potatoes, Creole Mayo, Moon Gate Bacon Jam, Lemon Thyme Custard, Applesauce, Hot Guava Dipping Sauce, Banana Chutney, Butt-Kickin’ Ketchup…

I think I might leave the Hot Peppered Pickled Pig’s Feet for someone more adventurous though!

I’ve already taken inspiration from Summers’ South Cackalacky Spare Ribs recipe, though I created my own recipe for the Cackalacky sauce, I used Summers’ rib rub, on beef instead of pork. And I’d never have heard of Cackalacky if not for the book.

Intrigued by two baking recipes, the husband’s disdainfully raised eyebrows at the thought of sweet scones ruled out the Rosemary Bacon Scones (which also feature white chocolate), so I decided to make the Bacon Banana Cookies instead.

Immediately, I was confronted with the other weakness of the book (from my British point of view) – it’s use of cup measures instead of weights/ volumes.

Whilst a cup of sugar is quick and simple, a cup of peanut butter is much more of a pain.

Luckily, Summers doesn’t drive me to complete distraction and mostly lists ingredients such as fruit and vegetables more rationally with numbers of carrots or bananas, though she occasionally refers to onions by cup after peeling and dicing, which surely depends on how small I dice and gives me little guidance on how much to purchase in the first place.

I realise cups are easier for those who grew up with them, and one gets better at estimating how much to buy with experience, but it strikes me as a dreadfully inaccurate way of measuring for many ingredients and makes it difficult when purchasing unfamiliar ingredients.

image from the book; my cookies

Bacon Banana Cookies

Ingredients
1.5 cups all purpose flour (plain flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
0.25 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
0.25 teaspoon kosher salt (large grained salt, a little like sea salt)
0.5 cup / 1 stick unsalted butter (113 grams)
1.25 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 bananas, mashed
0.5 pound bacon, cooked crisp, chopped (225 grams)

Method

Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, half teaspoon of the ground cinnamon and the salt.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until they are fully incorporated.

Beat in the vanilla.

Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture.

Then stir in the mashed bananas, beating well after each addition.

Fold in the bacon.
Stir together the remaining quarter cup sugar and the remaining cinnamon and set aside.

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart.

Sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar and bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly browned.

Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for 5 to 7 days.

Note: I missed the instruction to separate out some of the sugar and ground cinnamon to sprinkle onto the cookies before baking, so they were mixed into the dough along with the rest.

So what did we think?

Pete wasn’t convinced by the flavour combination of banana and bacon – he didn’t dislike it but didn’t particular fall for it either. But I loved it! I’d probably up the amount of bacon a touch more actually, to bring it out even more.

Where we both agreed was on the texture – far more bread or cake like than what we expect from a cookie.

Worst of all, although the recipe advises that the cookies will keep for 5-7 days, after less than 24 hours in a plastic box (into which they were placed only after they had completely cooled down for a few hours) they were already a little soggy!

Sadly, I can’t recommend this recipe as it stands, however, I liked the flavours enough to want to find a successful version.

(I might try it as a loaf of banana bread though, as I think that would work).

If you have any advice on how to bring banana and bacon together in a cookie that has a texture more like the traditional slightly chewy centred American cookie, please let me know!

Libbie Summers’ The Whole Hog Cookbook is currently available from Amazon for £13.97 (RRP £19.95).

Kavey’s Cackalacky Roast Rib of Beef

21 Dec 2011 17 Responses »

Dec 212011

When I was invited to take part in the Grey Poupon cooking challenge, I immediately remembered the intriguing recipe for Cackalacky Spare Ribs that I’d read in my recently acquired book, The Whole Hog Cookbook by Libbie Summers.

As Grey Poupon was originally an American-owned brand (born back in 1777) Cackalacky seemed doubly appropriate. (These days Grey Poupon UK is a separate entity, their mustard still produced in Dijon, the spiritual home of mustard).

With Google at my fingertips, I quickly learned that Cackalacky is a nickname for Carolina, USA and for many things originating in the two states, North and South, though the origins of the word are a mystery.

In food terms, Cackalacky is a condiment variously described as a “hot mustard sauce”, a “mustard BBQ sauce” or simply a “spice sauce”. Recipes vary hugely, but what they all have at their core is the use of yellow mustard. Many recipes also include sweet potato; for acidity there’s a choice of cider vinegar or lime juice; for sweetness some recipes turn to molasses, others to honey and still others to brown sugar; some add onions and garlic, some don’t; and then there’s a whole range of spices.

Although I took the book as my original inspiration, I had some way to go in developing my own recipe.

For a start, I wanted to switch from pork spare ribs to beautiful British beef. I decided on a bone in rib of Hereford beef, to be roasted whole. This was first rubbed with a sugar spice mix based on Summers’ rib rub, a few hours before cooking. I also took her advice to baste the beef with some of my Cackalacky sauce five minutes before the end of its cooking time.

However, when it came to the recipe for Cackalacky sauce, I struck out on my own, taking elements from several very varied recipes I found, and hoping my own creation would work. Instead of sweet potato, I decided to use apples, still seasonal in the UK. Of course, Grey Poupon mustard would have a starring role. And I decided on my own combination and amounts of sugar, honey, herbs, spices and vinegar.

I recently enjoyed a lovely potato and parsnip mash when eating out, and felt the soft, sweet and earthy flavours would be perfect against the spiced beef and sweet-sour mustard sauce. Again, very seasonal for a British winter.

Lastly, one of my favourite winter greens, some Savoy cabbage, just shredded and lightly boiled.

I’m not very experienced at developing my own recipes, it’s something I’m still very nervous about. So I was truly delighted when my Cackalacky and accompaniments came together beautifully. This is definitely a recipe I’ll make again.

Feel free to try this with other meats too – my swap from pork ribs to a roasting joint of beef worked really well.

Kavey’s Cackalacky Roast Rib of Beef

Ingredients
Bone in rib of beef
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dark muscovado sugar
1 cup Cackalacky sauce (see below)

Note: My rib of beef was a single rib join weighing 1.3 kilos. Adjust volumes of spice rub if your joint is significantly larger or smaller.

Combine sugar and spice ingredients thoroughly and rub into the surface of the meat. Use your hands!

Leave the meat in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Roast the meat according to your preferred temperature and times and the size of the joint. Set your alarm for 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.I tried a new method, pre-heating the oven to 230 C, cooking the beef at that temperature for 15 minutes and then turning down to 190 C for the rest of the cooking time. However, the result was cooked more than we prefer, and next time we’ll stick to our normal temperatures and times, for medium rare.

Five minutes before the beef is due to finish cooking, take it out of the oven and baste generously on all surfaces with Cackalacky sauce. Return to the oven.

After the final five minutes, remove from the oven, cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 10-20 minutes.

Kavey’s Cackalacky BBQ Sauce

Ingredients
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 teaspoon cooking oil
6 tablespoons dark muscovado sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
4 heaped tablespoons Grey Poupon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Note: As I was combining elements from several different recipes to create my own, I wasn’t sure how much sauce to make. I initially made exactly half the above amount, realising as soon as I’d finished that I hadn’t made enough to both baste the beef and serve as a condiment. I immediately made the recipe again, exactly the same way. The amounts above are for the total volume I made.

Heat the cooking oil in a pan and add the diced apples. Cook until the apples start to take on a little colour.

Add the dark muscovado sugar and stir on a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and coats the apples.

Add the cider vinegar and water and bring to a simmer.

After a few minutes test the softness of the apples. I used a potato masher to break them down more quickly.

Add the oregano, thyme, black pepper and cayenne pepper and stir, then cover and cook on a medium heat.

Once the apples have softened completely, stir in the mustard.

Add the honey and mix in well.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and blitz until smooth.
Season with salt and check for taste. At this stage, you could adjust sweetness or acidity by adding a little honey or vinegar, if you wish. I was happy with the taste, so didn’t adjust mine.

Parsnip & Potato Puree

Ingredients
Equal quantities of potatoes and parsnips, by weight
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
A splash of double cream, to loosen

Peel and chop the potatoes and parsnips and boil till soft.
Transfer to a food processor.
Add salt and pepper and a splash of cream.

Blitz until smooth. Adjust seasoning and add more cream if required.

Although the beef was cooked medium-well rather than my intended medium-rare, the quality of the beef meant it was still delicious and I loved the combination of flavours from the spice rub and the Cackalacky sauce. The mellow sweetness of the parsnip and potato puree worked very well against the sharp mustardy flavours. And the cabbage, carefully not overcooked, gave a lovely freshness and crunch to the plate.

This is very different to anything else in my normal cooking repertoire but has been a fun and successful exploration. If you try making it yourself, do let me know how you get on!

Malouf: New Middle Eastern Food

30 Nov 2011 7 Responses »

Nov 302011

Given how much I adored Saraban, I was really excited about getting my hands on the latest title from Greg & Lucky Malouf: New Middle Eastern Food.

Whilst I was immediately taken by many of the recipes, one major problem with the book revealed itself very early on:

The typography and page layout may look modern and attractive but made the book very hard to read. With the exception of the recipe title and ingredients, the introduction and method are printed in pale grey on white paper. Combined with the small text size, this really had me struggling. I’ve not had this problem with any other recipe book, so it’s not a case of deteriorating eyesight.

Flicking through the book on the sofa, I tried to lift the book closer to my eyes, but it’s large size and weight made that impractical.

I can only suggest reading this one at the table, and making use of a sturdy book stand when in the kitchen. Or perhaps investing in a pair of magnifying reading glasses!

Reading problems aside, what about the book?

Whereas their previous books (Arabesque, Moorish, Saha, Turquoise and Saraban) are as much about sharing their journeys and creating, in words and pictures, a vivid mental image of the regions, peoples and traditions they experienced, this latest title is much more focused on food.

What you’ll find here is a compendium of over 300 Middle Eastern recipes, many of which have appeared in the Maloufs’ other books. There are also plenty of new recipes for fans who already have a Malouf library. I particularly like the larder section at the back which is a veritable encyclopaedia of recipes for spice blends and spice pastes, dressings, pickles, relishes, jams and preserves.

As is the Malouf style, the recipes in the book are not slavishly authentic but adapted to suit the modern global market which allows many of us to incorporate ingredients from all around the world into our cooking. So a recipe for a zucchini omelette includes provolone cheese, and a confit date ice cream uses Kahlua. As Greg explains in his introduction:

“My food would not be about reinventing classics – and nor, really, would it be about tradition. Instead, I was bursting with ideas for a new kind of Middle Eastern food: subjective and personal interpretations, yes, but dishes that would absolutely capture the essence of the Middle East, but express it in a fresher, more inventive – and even, perhaps, a more Western – manner.”

We chose to make two recipes: lamb kifta tagine with eggs and my favourite, kukiye sabzi (a soft herb omelette), which we’d made once before, as the recipe is also in Saraban, . By the way, the spectacular Persian Baked Yoghurt Rice with Chicken (Tahcheen-e morgh) that we so enjoyed previously is also included in this book.

Lamb Kifta Tagine With Eggs

This dish can best be described as lamb meatballs in a tomato-based sauce, with eggs baked on top.

Meatball ingredients
500 grams lamb, finely minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
Sauce ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 x 400 grams tinned tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Other ingredients
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
6 free-range eggs
(optional) baby radish leaves and sage flowers to garnish

Note: We halved all amounts, above.
Note: We used regular salt instead of sea salt (since it was being used in a cooked dish).
Note: We used vegetable cooking oil instead of olive oil (for the same reason).
Note: We used chopped tinned tomatoes and included all the juices.

Method

To make meatballs, thoroughly mix all the ingredients, except for the oil, and with wet hands, form into walnut-sized balls. Heat the oil and brown the meatballs all over. Drain well on paper towel.

For the sauce, heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole dish and lightly sauté the onions and garlic until they are translucent. Add the tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste and stir well. Then add the water, stir again and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer the sauce, uncovered, for about thirty minutes, or until it has reduced to a very thick gravy.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and continue cooking for a further 8 minutes. Stir in the parsley and coriander. Carefully break the eggs into the sauce, cover the pan with a lid and cook until the eggs are just set, which will take about 5 minutes.

Serve at once, straight from the pot.

Malouf suggests liberally garnishing with radish leaves and flowers, and serving with plenty of Arabic flatbread to mop up the runny egg yolks. Alternatively, he proposes accompanying the tagine with a dish of plain buttered couscous and a dollop of thick natural yoghurt.
He also adds a note that those who enjoy a more piquant dish may add one finely chopped bullet chilli whilst sautéing the onion and garlic.

We really enjoyed the dish, though found it a lot like a North Indian tomato-based curry in flavour. Reducing the volume of coriander leaves would probably alleviate this.

(Kuku-ye Sabzi) Soft Herb Omelette

Ingredients
2 tablespoons barberries, stems removed
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup chopped dill sprigs
1/2 cup snipped chives
50 ml olive oil
6-free range eggs
(optional) 2 tablespoons saffron liquid (a few strands of saffron soaked in a couple of tablespoons of boiling water)
1 tablespoon self-raising flour
(optional) 1/3 cup fenugreek leaves or 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Note: we omitted the barberries, saffron liquid and fenugreek.
Note: We halved all amounts, above.

Method

The first time we made this, we used a small frying pan, which was better suited to the halved amounts. The second time, we used a much larger pan, which resulted in a flatter finished omelette with raised sides, reminiscent of a Yorkshire pudding. Both tasted great and had a good texture, but the one made in the smaller pan was more in line with what the dish should look like.

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Soak the barberries in cold water for 2 minutes, then drain and dry. Toss the herbs together and use paper towel or a clean tea towel to pat out as much moisture as you can.
Pour the oil into a non-stick oven-proof frying pan and heat in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and saffron liquid, if using, until frothy. Whisk in the flour, fenugreek, salt and pepper, followed by the herbs and barberries.

Pour the egg mixture into the hot oil. Cover the pan with a lid or foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until nearly set. Remove the cover and cook for a further 15 minutes to brown the surface.

Cut into wedges and serve hot from the pan. Alternatively, drain on paper towel and cut into wedges when cold. Cold omelette is particularly good as a sandwich filling.

This dish became a favourite of mine at the now closed Aqua restaurant in North Finchley, so it’s great to have a simple, delicious recipe to make it at home.

With thanks to Hardie Grant for the review copy.

Published by Hardie Grant, New Middle Eastern Food by Greg & Lucy Malouf is currently available from Amazon for £19.84 (RRP £30).

Stew! Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Balsamic Vinegar (+ Competition)

19 Nov 2011 34 Responses »

Nov 192011

New cook books are great. New cookbooks I won by following the author on twitter are even better, especially as I hadn’t even realised there was a competition running!

I’m a real fan of a good stew. Hearty and comforting, full of warmth and good flavours and often made from inexpensive ingredients. What’s not to like?

Genevieve Taylor feels the same way and shares a wide range of recipes in her book Stew! released earlier this year.

Particularly appealing to those wanting inspiring yet frugal recipes, it didn’t take me long to decide which recipe to try first, though I have a feeling we’ll be trying quite a few through the cold winter months to come.

The recipe for lamb shanks with red wine and balsamic vinegar was very straightforward and the results were absolutely delicious. And it was just as frugal as promised, making use of a small pair of lamb shanks from Donald Russell, an inexpensive but perfectly drinkable red wine from Aldi, and an inexpensive bottle of balsamic vinegar from Waitrose.

This is definitely a recipe we’ll make again!

Enter my competition, below, to win your own copy of Stew!

Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients
2 tablespoons plain flour
4-6 lamb shanks (or 1 kilo ox cheeks, see note below recipe)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
4 red onions, cut into wedges through the root
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
375 ml red wine
150 ml balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Note: We had 2 lamb shanks, so halved all amounts in the recipe above.
Note: We used regular vegetable oil in place of olive oil.

Method

Season the flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper. On a large plate dust the lamb shanks with the seasoned flour and toss to coat all over.

Heat the cooking oil in a heavy-based pan, with a lid, and brown the lamb shanks on all sides. This will take a good few minutes so don’t rush it as the flavour will be greatly improved if the shanks are well browned. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, add the onions and allow to soften and colour a little at the edges. Then add the garlic and rosemary and cook for just a minute.

Return the lamb shanks to the pan and pour over the red wine and balsamic vinegar.

Bring up to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook very slowly for 2 – 2.5 hours. You want the lamb to be so soft it is coming away from the bone. Turn the shanks every now and then to baste them in the juices.

Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve with herby mash potatoes.

Delicious…

Edit: The following week, I made this recipe again substituting a ox cheeks for the lamb shanks and it worked beautifully. I used a kilo of ox cheeks and the full amounts of everything else. I also allowed an extra hour for cooking, covered and then an additional half an hour uncovered to reduce the sauce a little further at the end. It was absolutely fantastic, just like the lamb shanks.

Win!

If that lovely recipe whet your appetite, why not enter my competition to win a copy of this marvellous book for yourself?

How to enter

You can enter the competition in 4 ways.
Please leave a separate comment on this post for entries 1 – 3. A separate comment is not needed for entry 4.

Entry 1 – Answer the question
Leave a comment below, answering the following question:
Which vinegar gives its distinctive flavour to the lamb shank stew I cooked from Genevieve’s book?

Entry 2 – Become a Facebook fan of Kavey Eats
Go to the Kavey Eats Facebook page and click on the Like button. Leave a comment below once you’ve done so. If you’re already a Facebook fan, just say so in your comment. Please include your Facebook name.

Entry 3 – Follow Kavey on Twitter
Click through and follow @KaveyF on Twitter and leave a comment below once you’ve done so. If you already follow me, just say so in your comment. Please include your Twitter name.

Entry 4 – Tweet
Tweet the (exact) sentence below:
I’d love to win a copy of Stew! by Genevieve Taylor from www.kaveyeats.com #KaveyEatsStew

Rules & Details

The deadline for entries is midnight GMT Saturday 26 November 2011.
One entry per method per person.
The winner will be selected from all valid entries using a random number generator.
The prize includes delivery, and can be delivered to UK mainland addresses only.
The prize cannot be redeemed for cash.
The prize is offered and will be delivered directly by Absolute Press.
The winner will be notified by email or twitter asked to provide a delivery address. If no response is received by the end of November 2011, the prize will be forfeit and a new winner will be picked and contacted.

*If you don’t have a secondary email address already and are nervous about sharing your main email address on the internet, why not set up a new free email account on hotmail, gmail or yahoo, that you can use to enter competitions like this?

Making Cheese Vareniki and Meat Pelmeni (Russian Dumplings)

10 Nov 2011 12 Responses »

Nov 102011

When twitter friend Sabrina saw my plea for authentic recipes for Russian pelmeni she kindly offered to loan me her copy of a charming Russian cookery book called Please To The Table. Written by Anya Von Bremzen and John Welchman, the book includes 400 recipes from the former Soviet Union, “from the Baltics to Uzbekistan”.

Why the urge to make dumplings?

Because Pete and I had happily decided upon a voddie and dumplings evening with our good friends, Stephen and Chaundra. As part of her undergraduate studies Chaundra spent a happy six months living in St Petersburg and has been back again since then. Both she and Stephen are big fans of vodka and dumplings!

Chaundra took on the role of vodka master and Pete “volunteered” to make the dumplings. I’ll be posting the results of our blind vodka tasting in a later post, but for now here are the dumplings!

Both the cheese-filled vareniki and the meat pelmeni came out rather well indeed. We ate them with copious amounts of sour cream and hearty Russian salads. And vodka!

happiness is plenty of vareniki

Cheese Vareniki

Vareniki are dumplings made of a simple pasta dough, which in Please to the Table, is called a noodle dough. They can be filled with almost anything including cheese, fruit and vegetables.

We didn’t count how many dumplings Pete made but the dough and filling recipes state that these amounts should make 50 to 55 vareniki.

Ingredients

1 large egg white, lightly beaten
For the dough
2 cups plain flour, plus extra for rolling
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
7-8 tablespoons water
salt
For the filling
2 cups farmer’s cheese (see note, below)
1 large egg yolk
salt to taste (see note, below)

Note: A quick Google revealed that farmer’s cheese is a very simple, young and unripened curd cheese – it is like a firmer version of cottage cheese, with more of the liquids pressed out of it. We found a Devonshire-made soft curd cheese from Langage Farm that was perfect.

Note: for a sweet cheese filling, omit the salt and add 3 tablespoons sugar.

Method

To make the filling, simply combine the filling ingredients and mix thoroughly.
To make the dough: in a food processor blend the flour and salt, and with the motor running, add the egg yolks and oil through the feed tube, and then the water, in a slow steady stream until the dough forms a ball around the blade.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. Then cover with a linen or cotton cloth and let stand for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough in half and shape into two balls. Keep one ball covered with the towel whilst working the other.

On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to a very thin sheet, about 1/16 inch thick, making sure it doesn’t tear. With a round cookie cutter, cut out circles about 3 inches in diameter. Gather the scraps into a ball and set aside, covered.

Have a bowl with the egg white by you. Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the middle of each circle. Brush the edges with the egg white. Fold the dough over the filling to form a semi-circle and press the edges firmly together with the tines of a fork to seal. Place the vareniki as they are made onto a lightly floured baking sheet, about an inch apart and keep covered with a damp cloth.
When you have finished the first batch, roll out the second ball and make a second batch. Add the leftover scraps of dough to the scraps from the first batch, knead into a ball and roll out for a final batch of vareniki.
We made the dumplings at home and then transported them to our friends’ house where we cooked and served them.
In a large pot, bring lightly salted water to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium, so that the water simmers, and carefully lower a batch of vareniki into the water. (We cooked in batches of 8 as this is how many fitted comfortably inside our largest pan).
Boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. When they rise to the surface, they are cooked through, in 6-7 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, carefully remove the vareniki to a colander, drain them thoroughly and serve, hot.

Note: The recipe suggests tossing the cooked vareniki in 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter before serving, which we omitted.

(Meat) Pelmeni

Unlike vareniki which seem to be made with a wide range of fillings, pelmeni are most commonly filled with meat. Traditionally, they are made by the hundreds and stored outside (where the temperatures are below freezing) throughout the long Siberian winters.

Some Russians like to brag about how many they can eat in a single sitting!

Pelmeni can be served in beef or chicken broth or fried in butter. Traditional accompaniments are sour cream and white vinegar.

We didn’t count how many dumplings Pete made but the dough and filling recipes state that these amounts should make approximately 100. Pete halved the recipe amounts below.

Ingredients

1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Salt, to taste, for cooking the pelmeni
For the dough
3 cups sifted unbleached plain flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup cold water
For the filling
3/4 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
2 medium-size onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup crushed ice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

To make the filling, simply combine the filling ingredients and mix thoroughly.
To make the dough: in a food processor blend the flour and salt, and with the motor running, add the egg through the feed tube, and then the water, in a slow steady stream until the dough forms a ball around the blade.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. Then cover with a linen or cotton cloth and let stand for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough in half and shape into two balls. Keep one ball covered with the towel whilst working the other.

On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to a very thin sheet, about 1/16 inch thick, making sure it doesn’t tear. With a round cookie cutter, cut out circles about 2 inches in diameter. Gather the scraps into a ball and set aside, covered.

Have a bowl with the egg white by you. Place a scant teaspoon of the filling in the middle of each circle. Brush the edges with the egg white.

The original recipe suggests folding the dough over the filling to form a semi-circle, as for the vareniki, however as you can see from the photos, Pete opted not to fold the circles but instead topped them with a second circle of dough, and pressed the edges firmly together with the tines of a fork to seal. This shape better matches the wonderful pelmeni we’ve enjoyed at Bob Bob Ricard over the last couple of years.
The original instructions suggest making one dumpling and cooking it in boiling water, to check for seasoning, before going on to make the rest, but Pete didn’t bother with this.
Place the pelmeni as they are made onto a lightly floured baking sheet, about an inch apart.
At this point, pelmeni are usually frozen. To freeze, cover the baking sheet with aluminium foil or plastic wrap and place in the freezer until they are completely frozen and then transfer the pelmeni to a plastic bag or box.
To cook: in a large pot, bring lightly salted water to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium, so that the water simmers, and carefully lower a batch of pelmeni into the water. (We cooked in batches of 8 as this is how many fitted comfortably inside our largest pan).
Boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. When they rise to the surface, they are cooked through, in about 8 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, carefully remove the pelmeni to a colander, drain them thoroughly and serve, hot.

Note: We served them straight away, with lots of sour cream and a little white vinegar. However, the recipe suggests tossing the cooked pelmeni in 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter before serving. It is also traditional to fry them in butter after they’ve been boiled, which Stephen and Chaundra did with the leftovers, the next day.

Please to the Table is no longer in print, but second hand copies can be found in the Amazon marketplace.

Valentine Warner’s Carne Con Chile

03 Nov 2011 14 Responses »

Nov 032011

Although I like Valentine Warner’s approach to food and cooking, I have mixed feelings about his telly programmes, mostly stemming from his incessant winking and innuendos (which are no doubt charming in person but don’t translate via TV).

I actually had to switch off when he referred to mini lavender meringues as “fairy tits”, though friends would say it’s just the kind of mildly naughty nickname I tend to give things myself.

But his book, The Good Table, is another thing entirely, and I found it charming from the get-go.

As Warner tells us in the introduction, the table of the title refers to the sturdy, worn and much loved kitchen table that is at the heart of the home – the table at which we prepare food, sit and eat. He goes on to talk about how sharing food and drink is not simply a matter of practicality but a deep display of affection and love. This may sound a little trite, but it comes across as genuine and heartfelt.

Unlike a number of cookery books I’ve encountered in recent months, The Good Table has lots of recipes that appeal to me; an unusually high number, actually, judging by the sheer volume of ripped-up scrap-paper bookmarks I’ve inserted.

There are a number of international dishes, mostly ones we know already know well here in the UK such as moussaka, paella, gnocchi and breaded veal. And there are plenty of British recipes such as Cumberland sauce, Pickled onion, steak & ale pudding, Chicken stew & dumplings, Eggs in aspic and Rhubarb & stem ginger fool.

What this feels like is a large personal collection of what Warner likes to cook at home, recipes he’s collected, tweaked and perfected over time. I am tempted by Pot partridges with savoy cabbage & cider, Pickled herrings, Sweetcorn soup, Gourd with cheese, Ceps & apples in puff pastry, Autumn macaroni with button mushrooms, onions, pancetta, hazelnuts & Fontina cheese and Floating islands with espresso caramel sauce to name just a few.

Those expecting a range of innovative ideas may be disappointed but if you fancy a bit of comfort cooking and eating, you will likely find plenty to your taste.

The recipe introductions are warm and personal (but, thankfully, winkless) and many of them made me smile.

Valentine Warner’s Carne Con Chile

We were lo0king for a recipe which would suit some boneless shin of beef we were sent by Donald Russell and include one or more of the range of dried chillis we were sent by Capsicana. This carne con chile recipe fit the bill perfectly, and I like the twist on the traditional name of chilli con carne.

I’ve rewritten the method, below, as Warner is rather verbose and I wanted to add some comments in of my own, too.

Ingredients
5 ancho chiles
200 ml hot water
4 tablespoons cider vinegar or lime juice
4 chipotle chiles (smoked jalapenos)
40 grams lard
2 medium red onions, finely chopped
a fistful of coriander stalks, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
0.5 teaspoon ground cloves
1 level teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 small garlic cloves, finely sliced
500 grams beef tomatoes (about 2 or 3)
2 teaspoons soft light brown sugar
1.5 teaspoons flaked sea salt
1 kg chuck steak, cut into very large square chunks
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
150 ml sour cream (to serve)

Note: We halved the amounts of everything, to match our half kilo of boneless beef shin, which we substituted for the chuck steak.
Note: We used a mix of different varieties of tomatoes, home grown, fresh from the garden but none being beef tomatoes.

Method

Warner’s first instruction is to dry fry chopped ancho chiles over a medium-low heat. He advises being attentive to avoid burning and suggests about 5 minutes to change the colour from red to tobacco. Our ancho poblano chiles were already dried and a rich dark brown, almost black colour. They already had a lovely smell as we chopped them; the heady aroma they released with less than a minute’s toasting in the pan, was delightful.

After dry-frying the ancho chiles, remove pan from the heat and pour over the water and vinegar or lime juice. Also add the crumbled or finely chopped chipotle chiles. Leave to soak for half an hour.
Preheat oven to 150 C.
Melt the lard in a heavy casserole dish and fry the onions, coriander stalks, spices and oregano over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden and soft. Add the garlic for the last minute or two. Remove from the heat.

Warner suggests peeling the tomatoes (using the scoring skin and boiling water method) but since the sauce mix is sieved later, this step seems unnecessary. We left our skins on and seeds in.
Put chopped tomatoes plus the chiles and soaking liquid into a blender and blitz until smooth.

Sieve the blended liquid through a clean sieve and return to the blender, adding the cooked onion, garlic, spices and coriander mix. Blitz.

But the beef into the empty casserole dish and pour over the chile sauce and stir well.

Cook in the oven for 2 hours until very soft and tender.

Transfer the dish to the hob over a low heat and stir in the cocoa powder. Cook gently for a couple of minutes. Stir in the sour cream and serve.

Though not a particularly attractive finished dish, it is absolutely delicious. We enjoyed ours with tortillas, raw red onion and more sour cream.

We were accidentally a little too generous with the coriander stalks, which meant the finished dish veered a touch towards an Indian curry but the flavours were superb and the gentle smokey heat of the chiles came through beautifully. Next time, we’ll probably not stir any of the sour cream in, but serve only on the side.

This is good, hearty cooking and I look forward to enjoying other recipes from the book soon.

With thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Valentine Warner’s The Good Table, published by Mitchell Beazley, is currently available from Amazon.co.uk for £14.85 (hardback). RRP is £25.

Churrascaria de Rodizio at Rodizio Rico

05 Sep 2011 10 Responses »

Sep 052011

I still remember the awe I felt, aged 15 and travelling around South America with my parents and sister, when I discovered the existence of a type of restaurant in which you could help yourself to from an expansive hot and cold buffet, before returning to your table, where handsome waiters would bring skewers of meat and shining sharp swords, to carve hot grilled meat onto your plate. Wonderful, delicious meat of all kinds, cooked just as you like it, brought to your table hot from the grill. Again and again and again! Until you were finally conceded defeat and turned your personal stop go counter to red to indicate you could take no more.

Churrascarias, as Brazilian steakhouses are called, are named for the charcoal barbeques on which the meat is cooked. And charging a fixed price, then bringing food to the customers at their tables until they signify they’ve had enough, is known as rodizio. That name may derive from the Portuguese for rotation (rotação), in reference to the continuous circling of waiters coming to the tables, but there’s no direct translation into English.

Luckily, we don’t really need a translation, as the churrascaria de rodizio is gaining in popularity in London and it surely won’t be long before everyone knows just what that means!

Having had a disappointing London churrascaria de rodizio experience earlier this year, I was a bit nervous when I accepted an invitation from Rodizio Rico to visit their newest location down in Fulham Broadway.

But I had a wonderful evening enjoying a really wide range of expertly cooked meats, some very reasonably priced cocktails (£6-7.50) and a tasty selection from their buffet. By the time they brought out some desserts for us to share, few of us could squeeze in more than a mouthful!

For unlimited ‘prime cuts’ churrascaria and buffet, the price is just £23.50, which I think is incredibly good value.

The quality of the buffet items was pretty good, though I felt it was a little limited in scale. It did feature a number of authentic Brazilian favourites though, including pork scratchings and breaded rice balls. I’ve been told that the buffet at the Angel Islington branch is better, so I’ll be heading in that direction soon.

The meats were very good indeed.

I’ve only pictured a few of the meat skewers above but we were also brought platters of ribs, ands steak, many different cuts of beef and lamb, plump chicken wings, tasty chewy chicken hearts (these are one of my favourites so was very happy to see them here) and even a huge joint of meat stuffed with cheese that oozed out through slits in the surface.

Apparently, the churrascaria de rodizio is also called espeto corrido in some parts of Brazil, which translates as “continuous skewers” and that’s exactly what we experienced! Fresh skewers came out so often that I found myself turning my counter to Stop on numerous occasions.

Even the desserts were authentic, with lots of condensed milk and sticky sweet chocolate.

I really liked the experience at Rodizio Rico. Food was excellent and authentic too; service quick, efficient and friendly and it would be very hard to beat on value. For me, it’s particularly well suited to dining with a big gang of carnivorous friends.

There are currently four branches at Westbourne Grove, Islington, the O2 and Fulham Broadway.

Kavey Eats dined as a guest of Rodizio Rico.

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Stew! Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Balsamic Vinegar (+ Competition)

Making Cheese Vareniki and Meat Pelmeni (Russian Dumplings)

Valentine Warner’s Carne Con Chile

Churrascaria de Rodizio at Rodizio Rico

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