It started around the 10th Century, a collection of recipes from the court of ninth-century Baghdad authored and put into a recipe book Kitab al-Tabikh. Interesting is that much of the ‘familiar’ food eaten in The Levant today bears no resemblance to recipes in the book.
So it was great excitement that sight of a random post on Instagram recently, by the Chef and Author Bethany Kehdy attracted my attention. The opportunity to sign up to a zoom cookery lesson and create some historically significant dishes was too much of a temptation and within a few minutes It was booked.
I know Bethany, I have her two cook books and we met in London a few years back when she ran a popup at a restaurant called Jago, in fact she was my inspiration to start this food blog several years ago and explore food in more detail, moving away from the conventional, dipping into the unfamiliar which has been a thoroughly satisfying journey so far.
So, a two hour ‘Zoom’ session was the plan, three recipes to tantalise the taste buds, and some culinary education on the way, Saturday was going to be very wet so a perfect excuse to spend some valuable time in the kitchen, with hopefully some tasty results to satisfy the appetite, and sharing the experience with global ‘foodies’.
Bread is a staple of the Levant, and so it made sense to come up with something to go with the dishes we were going to prepare. First thing Saturday the Mixer was loaded with a dough hook and a simple flat bread produced, yes, I know I could/should have done it by hand but I was simultaneously getting the ingredients ready (mise en place), so unusual for a man, multitasking!
We were going to make a Borani to start with, an appetiser made with either Spinach or Chard, soft Labneh and an assortment of aromats to add extra flavour, the dish would be topped off with halved, pickled grapes, yum.
I have never made Labneh before, the joining instructions we received several days before gave some alternatives, but I decided I wanted to make the ‘real deal’, which was a simple process. Yoghurt, Salt, Mix, Muslin cloth, hang over bowl in Fridge to drain the moisture. I started this on Thursday afternoon and it was ready for Saturday, delicious.
The Swiss chard and Grape Borani was very tasty with the Bread, fragrant, and crunchy with the addition of some chopped Walnuts. So that was the appetiser, what next?
If I said ‘Candied Beetroot’, what would you be thinking? My interpretation was slightly off the mark! I have been in the mobile telecoms industry for a long time. I can remember the ‘start’ of social media, and times before when you used a stamp or carrier pigeon to communicate. The miracle of communications, the internet and social media meant that I was ‘talking’ with Bethany (in Dubai, where she is based at the moment), within seconds and my mis-understanding clarified just as quickly!
Candied Beetroot Maqluba, or in my case Burgundy Beetroot was great fun to make. Layered Rice, with optional flaked Mackerel and beautiful earthy (not candied/sugared) Beetroot was delicious. I have seen this particular dish on YouTube, turned out in ceremony as its looks quite impressive when on the plate, the white and yellow Rice, and, rich and indulgent Beetroot, again another very tasty dish. This is one one of the recipes originating in the Kitab al-Tabikh cook book, the word Maqluba means ‘upside-down’.
Anyone think Aubergine is boring, if so this beauty will definitely change your mind, and its name is somewhat intriguing, ‘Lady Buran’s Sticky Badhinjan Fingers’! Its kind of sweet, sour, spicy, earthy, deliciousness and takes your mouth on a journey of tastes you will never forget.
Having been sent the ingredients and their alternatives I had decided I wanted to try and use the authentic ones like Argan Oil, Verjuice and Pomegranate Molasses, the latter I already had in the cupboard. For the Verjuice I went a bit ‘off piste’, and found something called Ab Ghorreh which is similar but actually Middle-Eastern. I checked with Bethany (Instant Messaging is just so useful), and was advised it was fine, but not to use so much as it was a bit more sour than Verjuice.
What fun we all had, Zoom did its job despite the audience being in two different American States, the UK and Dubai, and two hours of cooking chatting, questions the result was, well you can see for yourself, taste wise, it was delicious and now I have some more historic and unusual cuisine in the portfolio.
Bethany was very patient, frequently checking where we all were, answering queries on the various stages we had to go through to produce three, to be honest extremely impressive looking dishes, fit for any party, banquet, or in my case, cooked for a loved one.
I would highly recommend trying to get on one of these cookery lessons, they are about 2 hours long and great value for money, I enjoyed it so much I have already booked the next one!
As usual, I paid full price, was not offered anything and this Is just an honest view of my experience, great fun and more culinary experience to use in the future.
I have not updated this blog for a long time, obvious reasons with the mad world we are living in I have been distracted but apart from another session with Bethany on Saturday, I am attending Jericho Kitchen in Oxford (hopefully if rules don’t change), at the end of the month to do an Indian Street Food Course.
……………………………………..Until Next Time……Keep Safe……………………………….
I have been taking a break from the blog and cooking in general to recharge the culinary batteries, and try and seek new inspiration from a number of foodie sources including books, cookery competitions on T.V. and researching produce and concepts.
This dish is inspired by an entry in the book 
Our family LOVES game, especially Partridge and a recent trip to our local meat supplier 
The work was planned to start on a Friday evening, but due to over running work wise I started on the Saturday morning, I have done some butchery over the years so the sectioning was done pretty quickly and I soon had a pile of breasts and legs which were placed in a dish with Garlic (about 3 chopped cloves), Juniper Berries (about 10, crushed), Maldon Salt (2 Tablespoons) and 
The carcass’s were placed in a roasting dish, treated with Olive oil, Fresh Thyme and Maldon Sea Salt, before placing in a 160 degree (fan) over for about 2 hours to cook. After 75 minutes I put a halved red Onion in as the birds finished roasting.
Once the roasting was complete, the carcass’s were put in a large pot along with the aromats and about 5 litres of water. I looked at the recipe for guidance as to flavours, it used Chicken Stock so I added some dried Porcini Mushrooms, Tomatoes, the roast Onion, Peppercorns, Star Anise and a 
First thing on the following Sunday morning I was up early and got the Partridge Breasts and Legs cooking, after washing off the Salt and marinade ingredients, at about 115-120 degrees, in plain oil. Ovens differ so you want to see the ‘occasional’ bubble rising to the surface and may need to adjust the above temperature a bit.
I let the meat cool down in the Oil for about an hour before removing, covering and sticking in the fridge whilst other stages were completed. The original recipe called for a layer of ‘Catalan Spinach’, which needed some Pine Nuts to be roasted and coated in Smoked Paprika, which only took a few minutes. There was also a Sweet/Sharp component made from some currants, steeped in warm Sherry Vinegar and Brandy until plump.
The stock was just the base for the intense and complex flavoured sauce that the Confit meat was going to be added to. Caramelised Onions and various other flavours were added to a pan and cooked down before adding some of the stock, which was then left to simmer for about an hour or so! If you want the recipe then the book NOPI is where to get it from , it’s a great investment for any keen cook. I used the recipe as a guide as I wasn’t using Chicken, so missed some of the stages that were not needed.
The second layer of the Pastilla was the “Catalan Spinach’, a creamy cooked down delicious combination of the Pine Nuts and Currants, Garlic along with Spinach and Double Cream. You need to ensure the mix is not too wet, otherwise the final result may make the dish soggy. 
So, we have sectioned some Partridge, Roast the carcass’s and made a tasty stock, salted and marinaded the Legs and Breasts, and then done the confit treatment. Prepared the various ingredients for the Catalan Spinach and started to make the final sauce for the meat. Give yourself a MASSIVE pat on the back and SMILE, I certainly did!!
Again I did not follow the recipe and strained the sauce, then reduced it added salt and kept tasting until I felt it was rich and velvety. I picked the meat off the legs and pulled the breast apart into small pieces and then added the sauce to coat, not drench the meat.
We are almost done, and now its Filo time! I have two ‘favourite’ pan’s, from 
I used about 8 sheets of Filo for the size of pan I was using, overlapping each time to create overhangs that could be played back over, and then filled with the Partridge layer, you can see from the picture above that the mixture is not too wet, but the meat is well coated nonetheless. The Spinach layer was added on top of this.
Finally, lay a sheet in the middle of the Pastilla and gentle tuck the sides all around your pan, as you can see above. Your tucking in a blanket before gently bring the outer layers back over the top, brushing Ghee on each layer as its sealed, and you should end up with something similar to the picture below. Give yourself ANOTHER pat on the back!
Breaking down the dish into various stages slightly simplifies the cooking but it’s still a challenging dish to make and to be honest, I was pretty tired after what was a 2 day cooking event! I made things more difficult but choosing to use a Partridge Confit and kept double checking the processes to make sure nothing was missed, and where adjustments were made, everything was on track. The Pastilla needs to cook in the over for about 45 mins to 1 hour.
Pastilla is a Sweet/Savoury dish so needs finishing with a coating of icing sugar after it has been turned out of the pan (so the bottom is on the top). What was it like, my chief taster was very sceptical and was not sure that it was going to be any good, dead wrong, it was absolutely delicious and quite a surprise. We had some Harissa roasted Butternut Squash and a Cous Cous Salad with Feta, Pomegranate and Herbs and felt very satisfied.
So here is my Confit Partridge Pastilla, yes its a bit of work but break into stages and even I managed it, take a leap of faith and have a go yourself.
January has been very difficult, Flu has been the significant event and I think I have seen Floyd cooking in India, The Far East, France, Italy and South Africa to name but a few! There is a common thread in many of the recipes he shows, the 
To shape the Pie I used one of those White Enamel tins, lined with some cling film after I had rubbed some oil over the surface, the Pastry was then laid into the dish on the film, add the (cooled) filling and cover. The Pie can then be (gently) lifted out, inverted and the edges sealed with a fork, It worked a treat as you can see above adding an Egg Wash to brown before cooking.
Stuffed Mediterranean Vegetables are another one of those dishes that can be ergh, nice or amazing. I’ve done them a few times but decided to see what could be done with some refinement and playing with flavours. Previously I have only done a Pepper version as they are easy, just cut the top off and bake with a filling, job done.
Let’s introduce the Aubergine into the recipe and look at the process of baking and using the centre as part of the stuffing. I used the paring (small) knife to gently cut around the edge of the Aubergine about 1 cm in, you can see in the top right picture, then carefully cutting a criss-cross pattern using the larger knife, remembering the shape and altering the depth as you cut, the middle is deeper than the edge! 
Brushing liberally with Olive or Rapeseed Oil and seasoning with Salt and Pepper they were baked for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees. I turned them over flat side down and gave them another 15 minutes after another brushing of Oil as the top did not seem cooked, you can see the final result below. You then need to carefully scrape out the cooked centre and chop, ready to add to the filling later.
So we now start with the Mirepoix again, this time I swapped an Onion for a large Shallot, which is a bit sweeter. Add the Lamb and brown, some Garlic to taste, the chopped Aubergine, some Tomato Paste. Going for a Middle Eastern angle further enhancements included Rose Harissa, Coriander, Cumin and Preserved Lemon finely sliced and some chopped Mint and Coriander Leaf. Texture came with some toasted Pine Nuts.
The lamb mixture can then be used to fill the hollowed out Aubergine and in my case Red Pepper’s with the tops and pith/seeds removed, then baked in the over for about 35-40 minutes. 
Served with some Greek Yoghurt with added Rose Harissa and chopped Mint its absolutely delicious and worthy of any dinner table as you can see below.
A new book came through the letterbox and hit the floor over Christmas, 
Firstly, a baked Potato which I always start by piercing all over with a fork, and then rubbing butter all over the skin to ensure a crisp finish, followed by a sprinkling of Sea Salt.
I had some red Romano Peppers in the Organic Veg Box so started to think about a nice Piquant Sauce to make, so popped one in the oven to roast for about 15 minutes, this makes removing the hard indigestible skin easy and heightens their sweetness.
A couple of pieces Cod had been removed from the Freezer earlier and popped in the Microwave to cook, not ideal but time meant that it was the easiest thing to do and as the Fish was going to be mixed with Potato it was the way I went on this occasion. Once cooked it was mixed in with the scooped out potato and Ras-Al-Hanut spice added along with Salt and Pepper to season.
Once the Mirepoix/Pepper/Tomato mix was cooked it went into the Ninja processor and got a good whiz as you can seen above.
The Potato Skins were fried to make them crispy again, and then filled with the Potato?fish mixture before being topped with the Breadcrumbs/Cheese and going in the oven to finish. The sweet (piquant is more appropriate) Pepper Sauce was gently warmed on the hob and we were soon ready to serve.
So what started out as a John Waite dish (which I do intent to make), turned out as my own version with a quite spicy Sweet Pepper Sauce, with the crispy Potato and Fish filled skins it tasted delicious.
After marinating, the Lamb is browned in a frying pan in some olive oil, and put into a dish with 250 mls of HOT Vegetable Stock mixed with 2 tsp of tomato puree then into a 130 deg (centigrade) fan oven for 2 1/2 – 3 hours! I covered mine with tinfoil for the first couple of hours, and removed the foil allowing the stock to reduce for the last hour or so. You will need to keep and eye on it and stir from time to time to make sure things don’t dry out.
The 1 day session was awesome, we all learnt loads and despite my fears of piping and making a complete fool of myself, the end results were really very good (according to wife and family who can consume more sugar in a day than I can in a month)! Some of the end product are pictured above, I managed a couple all day!
I am not sure how the Lime managed to get into the picture earlier, you need to add Lemon Juice to taste, a good squeeze or two and for salt, I used some 
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I sometimes think of Bejewelling as similar to tempering a Dhal! You have a base of Rice or Grains (or Lentils in the case of Dhal), and add some punchy fresh flavours at the last minute. So a minute or so before you are going to serve up, add the other 1/4 thinly sliced Preserved Lemon, the other Garlic Clove, Grated, and the toasted Nuts and Barberries, you are just warning them all through at the last minute. Finally stir in a handful of fresh coriander leaf, finely chopped and a good drizzle of Pomegranate Molasses.
Julian Rolfe 