’Tis the season to preserve the plenty, and Northampton publisher Interlink Books helps you do it with a new book. Called Mouneh — a word derived from the Arabic verb to save — it’s subtitled Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry (ˈ$50). Author Barbara Abdeni Massaad traveled through Lebanon gathering traditional recipes for jams, pickles, cheeses and vinegars. As well as these familiar preserves, she gives directions for unusual things like olive oil soap, orange blossom water and sea salt flavored with rose petals. Though we lack ingredients for these, the many doable recipes plus the stunning pictures of food and people, and the interviews with Lebanese farmers and food entrepreneurs, make this gorgeous book endlessly fascinating.
’Tis also the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, and, like Mouneh, several other recent cookbooks will charm you into the kitchen with stimulating recipes for seasonal foods, tempting illustrations, and bright ideas for upcoming holidays.
Two more from Interlink feature national cuisines: Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes by Ren Behan ($30) and Fast Cook Italian By Gennaro Contaldo ($30).
Behan’s book gives recipes for time-honored Polish fare such as pierogis and pancakes, but often updated with contemporary twists: strawberries in the pierogis for example, apples in the pancakes, or easy duck legs baked with apples and potato rather than the traditional whole roast duck. She has interesting grain recipes too, and often includes gluten-free and dairy-free options.
The recipes in Fast Cook Italian highlight quick classics speeded up with smart ideas. Take lasagna: usually a time-consuming dish to make, but Contaldo’s fast version uses Sardinian crisp bread instead of pasta, and suggests store-bought tomato sauce. His pasta dishes often focus on vegetables — broccoli and sweet potatoes with whole wheat pasta for example — while his desserts center on fruits with chocolate and nuts for something special.
Shaya (New York: Alfred A Knopf, $35) is named after author Alon Shaya’s Israeli restaurant in New Orleans. He also owns an Italian restaurant, so Italian and Israeli recipes anchor his book with additions from American fare. Imagine an Italian pie of blackberries and amaretti, an Israeli shakshuka with sunny eggs; or the felicitous cross-fertilization of Italian ricotta with pesto made with Middle-Eastern dates and southern pecans.
Like Shaya, Mountain Street Memories Six Generations of Food with Family and Friends features family stories. Published by Levellers Press of Amherst ($30), it’s by Mary Koenig Loring of Williamsburg. She offers recipes from herself and relatives illustrated with family photographs. Together they create a vivid picture of her family’s life and travels. This book charts social history by capturing what people — rather than chefs and food writers — actually cook and eat.
The River Café 30 by Ruth Rogers et al (Penguin, $40) takes us back to Italy via the café that began as a canteen thirty years ago, and went on to become one of the must-go-to places in London. Surprisingly for such a famed venue, its simple recipes are well within the range of home cooks. This stylish book beguiles the eye with vivid colors and whimsical illustrations from artist-patrons such as Damien Hirst, Cy Twombly and Ellsworth Kelly.
Other new or soon-to-be published books include one based on a popular Montreal restaurant: Joe Beef Surviving the Apocalypse by David McMillan, Frédéric Morin and Meredith Erickson (Alfred A. Knopf, $45). For people who cook for one there’s Solo A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One by Anita Lo (Alfred A. Knopf, $28.95). And taking the prize for the book with the loveliest title is a collection of Iranian recipes called From The Land of Roses and Nightingales (Interlink, $35).
Rich with new ideas and seductive pictures, all these books make inspiring gifts for yourself and friends.
This recipe from Shaya by Alon Shaya is both unusual and a winner. The author advises using “the best and freshest ricotta you can find.”
A crusty baguette
2 cups lightly packed fresh parsley leaves
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
4 dates, preferably Medjool, pitted and finely chopped
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons best quality balsamic vinegar
1 pound ricotta
Cut the baguette on the bias into ½ inch slices, and arrange them on a baking sheet. Toast at 425 degrees for 6-8 minutes, until they are browning along the edges. Remove and cool slightly.
Combine the parsley, pecans, Parmesan, half a teaspoon of salt, and dates, then stir in the olive oil and vinegar.
Drain the ricotta of any excess water, and season with the remaining half teaspoon of salt. Spread in a rimmed serving dish or bowl, Make a shallow well in the center for the pesto. Don’t be shy — each bite should get a little of the creamy ricotta, bright pesto, and oil.
This recipe for a tasty appetizer or side dish from Mouneh by Barbara Abdeni Massaad. Use canning jars, sterilized by being boiled for 10 minutes before filling. Oil, rather than vinegar, preserves the vegetables. It’s important that they be completely covered.
2.2 pounds fresh lima beans
1.1 pounds red bell peppers (add red hot peppers)
7 ounces walnuts (optional)
2 –3 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
Enough extra virgin olive oil to fill the jars
Wash the lima beans. Drain. Blanch beans with steam through a suspended colander over boiling water in a large pan for 5 minutes or immerse them in boiling water. Tip the beans into a bowl of ice water submerging them briefly. Drain well.
Chop red peppers, walnuts and garlic with a sharp knife. Blend all in a mixing bowl. Add salt to taste.
Pack the mixture tightly in sterilized jars. Add the olive oil. Leave to settle for 10 minutes. Add more of the mixture. This will prevent the beans from floating in the oil. Cover loosely for at least 12 hours. Later twist cap tightly.
Wipe the jars with a damp kitchen towel. Once jars are opened, replenish with olive oil so that the contents are always immersed. Shelf life 6 months.
This River Café 30 recipe calls for beetroots and rocket — English for beets and arugula.
2 ounces salted capers
3¼ pounds whole beets of mixed colors, scrubbed well and rinsed
A bunch of fresh thyme
Garlic cloves, peeled
Juice of 1 lemon
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
10 ounces arugula
Put the capers in a sieve and rinse under cold running water. Leave to soak for 40 minutes then rinse again. Separate the beets into saucepans, keeping those of the same color together. Cover with water and season with sea salt and black pepper. Add a few thyme sprigs and a garlic clove to each pan. Bring to the boil then cook for about 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and allow to cool.
When cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and slice into rounds
Gently mix the sliced beets with the lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil and capers. Serve warm with the arugula.
This recipe for a healthful family meal is from Fast Cook Italian by Gennaro Contaldo. The author notes that you can use regular, rather than whole-wheat, pasta if you prefer.
11 ounces whole-grain penne
sea salt, for the cooking water
14 ounces broccoli florets
9 ounces sweet potato, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus an extra splash
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ fresh red chili pepper, finely chopped
scant 1 cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling, if desired
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and add the pasta, broccoli, and sweet potato. Cook until the broccoli is tender, 4-5 minutes. Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain in a colander. Continue to cook the pasta and sweet potato, until the pasta is al dente, 8-10 minutes (check the instructions on your package).
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the garlic and chili, and sweat for about 30 seconds. Add the drained broccoli and fry, stirring, for 1 minute or so. Remove from the heat and transfer the broccoli mixture to a food processor. Add a further splash of olive oil and the grated Parmesan and blend until smooth.
Return the mixture to the frying pan. Drain the pasta and sweet potato, reserving some of the cooking water. Add to the broccoli mixture, mix well, and heat through, adding a little of the reserved cooking water, if needed. Serve with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan, if desired.
Writing of this Polish teatime treat, Ren Behan says “My children love these. . . When I was growing up we used to eat pancakes with plenty of confectioners’ sugar, but I now prefer to serve them with a little drizzle of maple syrup or agave nectar. You can make these pancakes with a gluten-free flour blend and almond milk.” This recipe is from Wild Honey and Rye.
2 eggs, separated
1 cup self-rising flour, or a gluten-free blend
1 cup whole milk or almond milk
2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 tablespoon sour cream
4 small apples or 2 large apples, peeled, cored, and finely sliced
2 tablespoon vegetable oil, for frying maple syrup or confectioners’ sugar, to serve
In a large bowl, mix together the egg yolks, flour, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Stir in the sour cream.
In a very clean, dry, metal or glass bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Add the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and fold in using a metal spoon. Gently stir in the apple slices.
In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Spoon some of the batter into the pan to make palm-sized pancakes — two or three should fit in the pan without touching. Fry the pancakes on one side for about 2 minutes, until golden brown, then flip over to cook the other side. Transfer to a warmed plate and repeat until you have used up all the batter. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan halfway through.
Serve the pancakes hot, with a drizzle of maple syrup or a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
This recipe is from Mary Koenig Loring, author of Mountain Street Memories. She writes, “These bars are great for a crowd or a party in fall. Everyone loves them.” She also warns to use canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
4 eggs
1 and 2/ 3 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
16-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon cloves
Frosting
3 ounces room temperature cream cheese
1 stick room temperature unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Pinch salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin very well. Combine dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Mix very well. Spoon into ungreased 10 by 15-inch pan with edges and smooth top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tests done with a toothpick. It should come out clean. Cool then frost. Cut into bars. To make the frosting: combine all the frosting ingredients and beat well. Cut into bars for serving.