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Autumn brings a plethora of new books just in time for holiday giving. I recently received two disparate works by a couple of celebrated cookbook authors.
Madhur Jaffrey, the Julia Child of Indian cuisine, will teach you the essentials of Indian ingredients in “At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.” Joan Nathan, an authority on international Jewish cuisine, takes readers on a tour of France with “Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France: 200 Recipes and Their Stories.”
Jaffrey’s book is a soup-to-nuts delight with full-color photographs. Recipes for appetizers, snacks and soups are followed by fish and seafood, eggs and poultry, lamb, pork and beef, vegetables, dal — defined as dried beans, legumes and split peas — rice and other grains, relishes and drinks and desserts. A chapter on spices, seasonings, oils and techniques will help any beginner who wants to master simple and flavorful Indian dishes.
From exotic Asia we travel to La Belle, France and learn the many centuries long deep-rooted history of Jewish cuisine. Nathan’s book is more than just recipes. She includes interviews and stories with people she met and dined with during the more than five years of research and traveling.
She interviewed men and women in Paris, Alsace, the southwest, Provence, the Côte d’Azur, the Loire Valley and Burgundy. French Jews have roots in both the Sephardic and Ashkenazic traditions. They come from Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe.
This hard-to-put-down book includes a sampling of French Jewish menus for holidays and all seasons, as well as a glossary of terms and ingredients.
I recommend you buy several copies of these books as gifts, as well as copies for yourself.
Okra-Swiss Chard Soup from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of olive or Canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
4 ounces (about 25) of green beans, trimmed and coarsely cut up
25 smallish fresh Okra, trimmed at the top and bottom and cut into one-third-inch pieces
1 pound of Swiss chard, chopped, stems and all
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
4-1/2 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of coconut milk from a well-shaken can
Salt, to taste
Directions:
Pour the oil into a large pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the onions, carrots, beans and okra. Sauté for five minutes. Add the chard, cumin and cayenne. Sauté for another two minutes. Add half of the stock, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for about 25 minutes.
Put the soup in a blender and blend in as many batches as necessary. Return to the large pan. Add the remaining stock to thin the soup, as well as the coconut milk. Stir to mix and taste for salt, adding as much as you need. Heat before serving.
Serves six.
Honey-Coated Baked n Chicken with Preserved Lemon from Quiches, Kugels and Couscous by Joan Nathan
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 onions, peeled and cut into rings
2 4-pound chickens, each cut into 8 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup of acacia or other flavorful honey
3 cups of white wine
4 whole preserved lemons, cut into 12 slices each (recipe follows)
1 handful of black pitted Nicoise olives
1 handful of chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan and fry the onions until golden. Spoon them into a 9-by-13-inch casserole.
Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper. Brown them in the same pan. Place the pieces, skin side up, on top of the onions in the casserole. Smear a little honey on the chicken.
Pour the wine and remaining honey into a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce by half and pour over the chicken. Scatter the lemon slices and olives around the chicken.
Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving.
Serves six to eight.
Note from Phyllis: This is a classic Moroccan dish which according to Nathan, symbolizes the new France.
Preserved Lemons
Ingredients:
8 lemons, ends removed, cut each one lengthwise into quarters, but not through the opposite side.
1/2 cup of kosher salt
1 cup of fresh lemon juice, plus more if necessary
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Directions:
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the salt into the cut sides of each lemon.
Put the lemons in a large jar (it’s fine if you have to squeeze them in, because they will shrink). Cover completely with the lemon juice. Let sit for a day.
The next day, if they are not covered with the lemon juice, pour a thin film of the oil over the lemons. This will help keep them sealed while they preserve. Put the jar in the refrigerator and allow to cure for two to three weeks. Before using, scrape off the pulp if desired.
Note from Phyllis: Nathan recommends you shorten the curing process by about two weeks by freezing the lemons for a few days after cutting them. Defrost and cure as above in salt and lemon. SPR
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