Leek-Meat Stew with Egg-Lemon Sauce -- (Terbiyeli Etli Pirasa)

I did not grow up eating leeks, but once I tasted this dish in Turkey, I became an instant fan. Now with leeks coming in fresh in the garden is an excellent time to make this stew, which is a meal in itself.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups boneless lamb shoulder or shank (or ground beef) (250 g)
• 1 medium onion (75 g)
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter (20 g)
• 1 1/4 cups water (300 g)
• 2 tsp sea salt (12 g)
• 6 medium leeks (1.5 kg)
• 1 egg (50 g)
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (20 g)

Directions:

Cut meat into 2 1/2 cm (1 inch) cubes. Combine with finely chopped onion. Brown in butter for 8-10 minutes; drain.

Add water and salt. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is tender.

Remove unwanted parts of leeks. Cut into 2 1/2 - 3 cm (1 - 1 1/4 inch) long chunks. Add to simmering meat, mixing thoroughly. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until leek is tender. Reduce heat.

Combine well beaten egg and lemon juice, blending thoroughly. Stir in simmering mixture gradually, mixing well. Remove from heat. Serve hot.


Cultural Notes:
This dish is cooked in the Aegean, Marmara and Black Sea regions in winter and served for lunch or supper as a main dish with pilaf and hosaf or yogurt.

This recipe is from Samples from Turkish Cuisine by Ayse Baysal.

Garlic in Olive Oil

Here's a great idea I got from Donna Gates' Body Ecology Diet.

If you're like me, and always cooking with both garlic and olive oil, you spend a lot of time every day peeling and pressing fresh garlic. I don't like to buy those little jars of already crushed garlic in the grocery stores, because I just don't feel they're as fresh, and sometimes they contain preservatives.

But you can make ahead of time your own version of garlic olive oil so that you will always have on hand crshed garlic when you're ready to cook. And it's extremely easy to do with a stick blender.

Ingredients:

2 bulbs garlic (whole bulbs, not just cloves)
2 cups olive oil

Directions:

Peel your garlic bulbs and place in the bottom of a wide-mouth quart jar. Place your stick blender on top of the cloves and process until creamy.

Pour the olive oil on top of the processed garlic, and again using the stick blender, process until garlic and oil are well-blended.

Cover your jar and keep in a handy place by the stove ready for use.

I'm not sure how long this will keep, as I use mine up before it goes bad. Also, I found a 6-cup coffee carafe with a wide mouth, lid and spout at my local thrift store that is perfect for making and storing my garlic olive oil. Having that spout really helps with pouring.

Lebanese Garlic Sauce

Some good friends of ours are Lebanese. I find the Lebanese cooking, not surprisingly, very similar to Turkish.  One thing we both seem to love is lots of garlic!

Here's a great recipe from Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health by Nancy Harmon Jenkins -- a fabulous cookbook!

This garlic sauce, toum bi zeit or garlic with oil, is a Lebanese version of aioli minus the eggs. Zahle, a town on the Damascus Road at the edge of the great central Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, was once famous for the quality of its grilled chcken. Travelers en route to Damascus or to the impressive Roman ruins at Baalbek always scheduled a stop at a roadside restaurant in Zahle for grilled or roasted chicken served with toum bi zeit. This is also a critical ingredient in my favorite Beirut street food, a humble chicken sandwich made on small loaves of French bread and glorified with a thick smear of toum bi zeit. It is as delicious with grilled, poached, or roasted fish as it is with chicken.

This is for people who truly adore garlic.

Ingredients:

• 6 garlic cloves, coarsely choppd
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  
• 1 1-inch slice of counry-style bread (whole-grain), crusts removed
  
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 3 tablespoons boiling water
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions: Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic with the salt until you have a very smooth paste. Tear the bread into chunks and place them in a bowl. Cover with warm water, then squeeze the bread as dry as you can. Add the bread to the garlic, a little at a time, and continue pounding to get a smooth paste. Now, using the pestle, stir in the olive oil, 1 tablespoon after another, and then the boiling water, 1 tablespoon after another. Stir in the lemon juice. You should have a smooth, thick paste. Serve in a bowl to accompany chicken, fish, or steamed vegetables. Makes 1/2 cup, enough for 8 servings