30172467
Sunday is Valentine’s Day. Edward and I always dine in and splurge on the ingredients for one fine meal. We usually enjoy dinner on our coffee table beside a roaring fire.
More often than not, we watch a movie. At 8 on Valentine’s evening, Turner Classic Movies will air “Casablanca,” one of my favorite films. Ingrid Bergman is luminous, Bogey is Bogey and Paul Henreid orders “two Cointreaus, please,” as he and Bergman take their seats near Sam the piano player at Rick’s.
I’ve seen “Casablanca” so many times I know the script by heart. I don’t wish to give away the ending because I know at least one person who has never seen this masterpiece.
Since it’s set in Morocco, I’m thinking about preparing a Lamb Tagine. A tagine, which I think of as the national dish of Morocco, is a stew prepared in a cone-shaped earthenware vessel. I don’t own one, but Le Creuset manufactures them. You can prepare a tagine in a pot. Couscous serves as a nest for the stew.
Dinner will begin with cool, salty Oysters with Mignonette Sauce. Your fishmonger will open them for you if you are not up to the task. Just make sure he or she retains the liquid and the shells.
Gravlax, the marvelous Scandinavian cured salmon, must stay in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours. Buy a nice, fatty side of wild salmon for this appetizer.
I found a number of recipes for tagines in Claudia Roden’s “The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.” If you are not familiar with her work, go to the store and purchase her books. Roden was born in Cairo and has lived in Paris and London. Her “The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York” is, to me, the definitive book on Jewish cooking. It was nominated Cookbook of the Year by the James Beard Foundation.
Champagne or a crisp Pinot Gris drinks beautifully with oysters and gravlax and a rich Cabernet Sauvignon will hold up to the lamb.
■ Oysters with Mignonette Sauce ■
Ingredients:
24 oysters, shucked
1/2 cup of sherry vinegar
1 small shallot, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Place the oysters on a large platter filled with crushed ice or kosher salt.
Whisk the remaining ingredients in a small bowl well.
Keep the oysters and sauce refrigerated until ready to serve.
Serves two to four.
■ Gravlax ■
Ingredients:
1 3-pound center-cut wild salmon, halved lengthwise
2 large bunches of fresh dill
1/4 cup each of kosher salt and sugar
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Pumpernickel
Softened butter
Directions:
Place half of the fish, skin side down, in a deep glass dish. Spread the dill over it. Sprinkle on the salt and sugar. Top with the other half of the fish, skin side on top. Cover with foil and weight by placing a cutting board and several cans on top. Refrigerate at least 48 hours. Turn the salmon and baste with the juices every 12 hours.
To serve, remove the fish from the marinade. Scrape off the dill and pat dry. Slice the salmon thinly on a diagonal. Serve with lemon.
Spread the softened butter on the bread.
Serves eight.
Note from Phyllis: When weighting the dish, use three 1-pound cans on top of the board. If you have two 28-ounce cans of tomatoes in the pantry, use them.
I like to have leftover gravlax on hand for lunch or brunch.
■ Lamb Tagine with Artichokes and Fava Beans ■
Ingredients:
2-pound lamb shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 onions, sliced
4 tablespoons of butter or vegetable oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon of saffron
3 10-ounce packages of frozen artichokes, defrosted
2 10-ounce packages of frozen fava beans, defrosted
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro leaves
Couscous, cooked according to package directions
Directions:
Cook the lamb, onions, butter or oil, salt, pepper, ginger and saffron in a 4-ounce pot, for about five minutes. Turn the lamb and cover with water. Simmer, covered, for 90 minutes, or until the lamb is very tender. Add water if it becomes too dry. Remove the lid and reduce the sauce at the end of cooking time.
Add the artichokes, fava beans and lemon juice and cook for 10 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender. Add the cilantro and cook for about two minutes more.
Serve with the Couscous.
Serves four.
Note from Phyllis: Since Roden lives in London, the package sizes are different. I’ve adjusted them to American sizes. Finding frozen fava beans can be difficult, but you can substitute edamame for the fava beans.
30172472
30172457
