Ukrainian Salted Herbs for Winter

Ukraine has been on my mind lately, so I could not avoid temptation when this book, Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules, crossed my path in a bookstore recently.

ISBN 978-1-68188-570-4

It had me sold on the "Fermenting, pickling, and preserving" chapter.  But the other chapters that cover breakfasts, broths, breads, vegetables, meats, and desserts also offer intriguing recipes.

They aren't all necessarily historic recipes, meaning very old.  They are cultural, with any history they contain coming from previous generations of Ukrainians making tasty food from what they could grow or otherwise obtain.  (But that is really what historical means!)  

Some are more "modern" recipes invented recently, like the "Tomato and mulberry salad" that looks so tempting:  mulberries, tomatoes, red onions, and fresh basil all brought together with an oil and vinegar dressing. (I have a mulberry tree!)

The pictures are wonderful, and the stories Ms. Hercules tells of her experiences in Ukraine make the entire book a treat to read.

My garden has an abundance of basil and chives right now, so I was drawn to the recipe on page 60, "Salted herbs for winter."  Ms. Hercules says 

[E]very summer, my grandmother would preserve fresh herbs in salt:  although they lost their vibrant color and became mildly fermented in the process, they were delicious.  ... these salted herbs would most often be used as a base for the soup of greens that is normally cooked in spring. ... My grandmother would also add the rinsed herbs to other soups and stews.

Salted herbs for winter

8 ounces herbs and greens, such as dill, parsley, green onions, sorrel, and wild garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt

4 oz basil, 4 oz chives, crushed sea salt

Finely chop all the herbs and mix them together.  Put a layer of herbs in the base of a sterilized 12-ounce jar with a lid and sprinkle over some of the salt.  Now add another layer of herbs and more salt, pressing the herbs down with your hand.  Keep alternating these layers until you run out of herbs and salt, packing them in tightly as you go.

Cover with a lid and leave at room temperature for 2-3 days (you might want to push the herbs down a little further on the second day).  Once a layer of liquid has formed at the top, move the jar to the cellar or fridge, where the salted herbs will keep for several months.

The herbs will be quite salty, so use them in small amounts as a seasoning or give them a quick rinse first.

My Notes

I mixed my herbs before finely chopping them, as you can see in the picture above.  The quantity you see is in a 14 cup container.  I estimate the unchopped herbs would measure about 9 cups.  They were weighed after rinsing.

Then I took handfuls of herbs and chopped them.  Some were very fine and some were more coarse; this did not bother me.  What I imagined was how I would feel if I were eating food with this - did I want a big piece of basil in my mouth?  Well, probably not, but I wouldn't mind the size pieces I was getting.

As finely chopped as I wanted them, on the left.  I love my ulu knife.

Once the herbs were ready, I started packing the sterilized jar.  The wooden tool (a muddler) you see below worked well for packing the herbs down, since my hand didn't fit in the jar.

The herbs and salt didn't fill the jar.  I put on the lid but I used a fermenting insert just because I had one and wanted to use it.

Assembly completed.

The jar went on the counter, the calendar was marked, and I waited.

On the second day, I pressed the herbs down as suggested.  They compacted down to about half their previous height in the jar.  I noticed they were wetter, although there was not a lot of liquid in the jar.

Day 2

They looked about the same on Day 3.  There wasn't much liquid at all, and a tiny patch of fuzzy mold showed up on the surface, which I removed.  The jar went into the refrigerator then.

The Verdict

This is a mixture of basil and chive leaves, neither of which are very juicy.  I was not surprised that the salt didn't draw out much liquid.  I thought about adding a little boiled and cooled water to the mix, but decided against it for this experiment, although I might do it later just to help preserve them.

I took a small taste.  They were definitely salty, but the basil and chive flavors were still present.  In fact, I got a sensation of mint, too, which I assume is from the basil.  It was a good burst of salty, herbal flavoring.

My first use was to put them in an omelet.  The filling was herbs, black olives, and cheddar cheese.

Close up view of the herbs.

Quantity used for a 6 egg omelet.

Plus some on top.

I cautioned my guest tasters not to put salt or pepper on the omelet before tasting it.  They agreed it did not need any more seasoning than it had.

The proportions of herbs to filling, and filling to egg wrap were right, and the combination of olives, cheese, and herbs was a good one.  The omelet was well-received, and I was happy with it.  I found the herbs to be a convenient way to season the mixture in that it was simple to take the herbs out of the jar and put them into the eggs:  most of the work had already been done.

Success!

I can see these as a condiment -- set out on the table in a small bowl with a spoon.  They could be stirred into a soup or stew as a flavor boost.  Each person could choose an amount that matches their taste preferences.

Or the herbs could be mixed with gravy or mayonnaise to act as a sauce or dressing.  How about mixing them with softened butter and spread on toast or melted over hot vegetables?  

They are much more interesting than using the same herbs but dried.  I want to try different herb blends.

Pear and Fig Jam - a Pinedo recipe

My fig tree is producing this year -- not the huge amounts I read about for people with mature fig trees, because mine has been on my property for only about 6 years.  But it is making enough to make me happy.  I love fresh figs!  The variety I have is Violet de Bordeaux, which is a semi-dwarf, and its figs are purple.  They are also so sweet and flavorful, they are like eating candy.

This morning I picked all the ripe fruits I could reach.  That gave me about 3 pounds of fruit, with more on the way.  Breakfast was greatly enhanced by consuming fresh figs!

I decided to check out my translation of Encarnacion Pinedo's book, The Spanish Cook, to see if there were any fig recipes I wanted to use.  I chose her Pear and Fig Jam on page 162.

My Redaction

1 pound granulated sugar

2 cups water

2 pounds Bartlett pears; peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces

1 pound fresh figs; stemmed and chopped

I forgot to peel the pear for the picture.  That was done afterwards.

Mmmmmm!

Mix the sugar and water well, and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for one minute.

Add the pears, bring to a boil, the reduce the heat and allow them to simmer for two hours.

Add the chopped figs.  Cook until the jam thickens or the temperature reaches 210 degrees F.

Put into canning jars, cool, then refrigerate.  Makes 3 to 4 cups.

My Notes

Preparing the fruit was easy and straightforward.

Chopped pears

Pears and syrup

Brought to a boil, then simmered

After two hours of simmering

I was surprised that the pears hadn't disintegrated with all that cooking.  They appeared candied, and they tasted that way, too, but they were very soft.

The recipe did not specify to peel the figs, so I chopped them and hoped for the best.

Chopped figs

Jams are usually cooked until they reach 220 degrees F.  I tried to get this mixture to that temperature, but it seemed to be thickening too much without achieving it.  I was worried I was making the jam too hard.  At best, I got it to 215 degrees.

What I did was keep it cooking over a low heat (about 3 out of a scale of 10), stirring and checking the temperature every five to ten minutes.  Sometimes I took out a spoonful and let it cool to check for thickness.  Stirring seemed a good idea; only a little of the jam stuck to the bottom of the pan, and that was at the very end of the cooking.

The Verdict

After the jam chilled overnight, my guest taster and I tried it.

It was very firm, as you can see on the spoon.  It was a little spreadable but not as soft as I normally think of with jam.  I don't think it was too firm, but could have been cooked less.

The color was a rich burgundy; very pretty.

The flavor was amazing:  both the pear and fig came through.  The seeds added a nice crunch.  It was sweet but not too sweet.  I think I got the sugar content just right.

The pear pieces were still mostly as pieces -- I was right, they were candied and stood out as slightly more chewy than the rest of the jam.  I liked it, even though I wasn't sure at first.  My guest taster agreed that the chewy pear was surprising but not bad.

Success!

I had a new guest taster, SD, try it without being told what it was or what was in it.  She felt it was too sweet -- so if you think it might be for you, I would reduce the sugar by up to half, but use the same amount of water.  SD also thought the texture was interesting -- the firm bits caught her attention.  I think she was surprised to find out that it was from pears and that they were candied.

What my usual guest taster and I both really enjoyed was the bright flavor of the fruit, and that it wasn't overwhelmed with the sugar.  When I read the recipe, I thought spices would be a good addition, but now I believe they would not let the fruit flavor shine through.  If I was making a big batch of this for canning, I might add some candied ginger or a splash of lemon or lime juice to some of the jars.

SD agreed with this -- she felt the mixture would be improved with some acidity, like a little apple cider vinegar, and with some spices like pepper to make it more savory.  I liked her suggestion, and wondered if adding nuts, too, to make it more like a chutney.

She had imagined how she would use this spread and thought it would pair nicely with pork or chicken, or with cream cheese or brie on crackers.

I have only a little experience cooking jams the "usual" way, that is by cooking the fruit and adding sugar to it.  I have even less experience starting with a syrup and cooking the fruit in it.  I believe that when starting with syrup, achieving a lower temperature is better than the standard 220 degrees.  

I looked up more advice in the internet.  Several websites suggest cooking until the mixture thickens slightly.  Others say to watch for when the mixture changes from a foamy, roiling boil to a more sedate bubbling without changing the heat under it.  There were times when I was watching the cooking that I thought it was done -- and that was around 210 degrees.  

Corn Pudding

My friend AD shared this family favorite recipe with me as part of a "send me one of yours and I'll send you one of mine" recipe swap.  She says, "This a new family favorite dish that has become a fall/Thanksgiving staple for us."

When someone raves about a recipe and recognizes that it is so good the family wants to have it every year for a holiday special, I know it needs to be put into my blog to keep it available for years to come.  Also, I love corn in many forms, so I knew I had to do this.

It is made with fresh corn, scraped off the cob on a grater, and I have no idea if it will be good with canned corn.  I waited to make it until I had fresh corn.  

Corn Pudding (4 to 6 servings)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

I think I should have husked and cleaned the corn before putting the buttered pan in the oven.

Cut butter into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F with the dish inside to melt the butter.

Use a box grater to grate the corn kernels into a large mixing bowl.  Combine the corn with sugar, cream, flour, and salt.  Lightly beat the eggs and add to the corn mixture.

When the oven is heated, carefully pour the melted butter into the corn mixture and combine with a few swift strokes.

Pour the mixture into the buttered baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 60 - 70 minutes.  It is done when a golden crust forms and the interior has set.

My Notes

I don't have an 8 x 8 glass baking dish, so I used my 6 x 10 1/2 dish, whose volume is very close to the 8 x 8's.  

I do not own a box grater so I used my flat grater.  Now I appreciate the value of the box grater, because the corn spattered a lot while grating.  After some practice, I managed to keep it off my shirt (mostly) and in the bowl (mostly).  

I estimate about 2 cups of juicy corn gratings, but I didn't measure it.

Sprinkling the sugar and the flour across the top seemed to minimize clumping.

Corn, salt, sugar, flour, cream

I had salted butter only so I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the mixture.

The butter was browned and a sizzling when the pan came out of the oven.  It took more than a "few" swift strokes, but I think I incorporated the hot butter into the batter well.

It smelled so good while it was baking!

The Verdict

It baked for 60 minutes.  A golden crust had formed and the middle had set.

After it cooled for about 10 minutes, I served it up.

The butter did a good job of keeping the pudding from sticking to the pan.

The pudding was very delicate and light in texture.  Very much like custard, but a bit heavier.  The crust was a little chewy, particularly on the edges.  It held together well and I ate it with a spoon.

The corn flavor came shining through.  I loved it!  The salt quantity was just right.  It was not too sweet, so that was also just right.

My guest taster and I both had a some in a bowl as dinner, as it was too hot of an evening to eat much more.  He had two servings.

This would be a perfect side dish for any roast meat or hearty stew.  

If it were bumped up with bacon bits and caramelized onions, it could be a main dish.  You would need to use a bigger pan.

Success!  I can see why AD's family wants it as a regular holiday special dish.  It is easy enough to make that I could see it being made more often than that, especially in the summer when fresh corn is abundant.

Thanks, AD!

Harvey Girl Special Little Thin Orange Pancakes

**See the bottom of this post for an update!

My most favorite guest taster, WB, has quite a collection of books relating to trains:  their history, their construction, the personalities that influenced their expansion, and much more.  He is the reason my cookbook collection has train-related recipes.  

The other day I was looking at one of his books about one of those personalities:  Fred Harvey, restauranteur extraordinaire.  

Image credit

I think this picture shows a man of pleasant character; he is someone I would like to meet.

Click here to see his article in Wikipedia:

Fred Harvey is credited with creating the first restaurant chain in the United States. He was also a leader in promoting tourism in the American Southwest in the late 19th century. Fred Harvey and his employees successfully brought new higher standards of both civility and dining to a region widely regarded in the era as "the Wild West."

The restaurant chain was the Fred Harvey Company, and was comprised primarily of "Harvey Houses", eating places associated and coordinated with the railroads.  He created it because "Harvey traveled frequently while working for the railroads and found himself deeply dissatisfied with the food served to travelers."

Along with good food and reasonable prices, 

Harvey also gained a boost in business with his incorporation of the "Harvey Girl". He hired women between the ages of 18 and 30 and did not permit them to marry until they had put in a full year of work. Harvey Girls resided in housing adjacent to the restaurants, where they were supervised by the most senior Girl, who enforced curfews and chaperoned male visits. Roughly 5000 Harvey Girls moved out West to work and ultimately marry.

My guest taster had this book in his collection:

No ISBN to be had...

Written by James David Henderson, Meals by Fred Harvey was first published in 1969.  This is a reprinting from 1985.  It chronicles the accomplishments of Mr. Harvey from his arrival in the United States through his development of his company.  It includes correspondence, menus, poetry about the Harvey Girls, and lists of all the businesses associated with the company.  There are also photographs of buildings and china patterns the company used.

What caught my attention was two pages of recipes, found in the photograph section, pages "n" and "o".  There are six recipes listed:  Braised Duck Cumberland, Curry of Lamb, Harvey Girl Special Little Thin Orange Pancakes, Chicken Cacciatore, Lobster Americaine, and Guacamole Monterey.

My orange tree is loaded with fruit so I was inspired to recreate the pancake recipe, from page "n".

Harvey Girl Special Little Thin Orange Pancakes

1/4 cup diced orange sections and juice (1/2 orange)

1 teaspoon grated orange peel (1/2 orange)

1 cup pancake mix

1 cup orange juice (about)

Combine all ingredients.  Bake small pancakes on hot griddle, using 1 tablespoon batter for each pancake.  Serve with maple syrup, honey or jelly.  Yield:  12 servings, 3 (2 3/4-inch diameter) pancakes per serving.

Fred Harvey Restaurants
St. Louis Union Station
Henry Stovall

Don't judge the premade biscuit mix...

My Notes

It took four oranges at about the size you see in the picture to make one cup of juice (about).  The pancake mix called for milk, so I decided to use the canned milk in my cupboard instead of buying fresh.

The griddle was preheated over a low fire on the stove.

First I mixed up the pancake batter, with 8 ounces of milk, 2 eggs, and 2 cups of the premade mix.  Once that was hydrating, I got the zest from the orange.  Yes, it took about 1/2 orange to get the 1 teaspoon zest.

Then I found it took two oranges to get 1/4 cup of diced orange sections.  I cut them fairly small because I thought that thin pancakes would not want thick chunks of orange in them.  Here is what I had:

Note that I had two cups of batter, not one.

Next, I put all the orange components into the batter.  At that point I realized I was supposed to use only half of the batter I had mixed up, but it was too late to change direction.  I decided to keep going and to see how this ratio would taste.

The pancake batter was very thick before I added the orange juice.  I thought it was thinned out by the orange juice to just right.  

After stirring the mixture well, I let it sit while I greased the griddle with a tiny amount of butter and turned up the fire to about 3 on a scale of 10.  I noticed the batter was getting bubbly when I was ready to make the pancakes.

I estimated a tablespoon of batter for each pancake, instead of measuring.  I aimed for small pancakes, 2 to 3 inches in diameter.

Maybe not so many at once.

The diced orange sections were distinguishable chunks but didn't seem to cause a problem with pouring the batter or cooking the pancakes.

The fire under the griddle should have been around 3 1/2 or 4 instead of 3 to get even cooking, but level 3 worked for the first few batches.  I noticed the pancakes were ready to turn when they looked orange and dry on the surface.

Turn them!

After some experimenting with the fire level, I got some good coloring on the pancakes.

Dark but not burnt

Honestly, not burnt!

The Verdict

We had them with butter and our choice of maple syrup or cinnamon sugar.  I tried both toppings, but not both together.

They were little.  They were thin.  They were orangey!  

Really, the pancakes were tasty.  The orange flavor came shining through, and the bits of orange section were a nice texture change as well as a little burst of orange juice flavor when I bit into them.  My guest taster and I thoroughly enjoyed them.  We did not limit ourselves to a serving of three pancakes, though.  

I liked them with the toppings, and just with butter, and, when the extras were cooling off, just plain.  The orange flavor was dominant and just right.  

I have to wonder how strong the orange flavor would be had I not inadvertently doubled the amount of pancake batter.  I also wonder how thin the batter would have been, and how that would have affected the texture of the pancakes.  Well, I still have a little canned milk left over.  Perhaps I should try again.

I deem it a success!  Worth making again, especially for a break in the "usual" pancake routine.

Update, 2024:  I realized that I had misinterpreted the recipe in that I started with pancake batter when I should have used pancake mix that was rehydrated with orange juice.  I tried it again and the pancakes were even better.  Be sure to cut the orange into tiny pieces since these pancakes are so thin.

Lamb Stew with Apricots from 13th Century Syria

My garden this year is producing rainbow chard.  This makes the squirrels very happy!  They eat the leafy green parts, leaving me the bare rib.  At least they don't eat all the leafy parts -- I do get some.  But those bare ribs got me thinking about recipes that ask for just the ribs, and that led me to Charles Perry's wonderful book, Scents and Flavors, A Syrian Cookbook.

ISBN 978-1-4798-5628-2

There were several candidates that looked tasty, so I made a list of their ingredients and visited my local farmers market.  When I saw how lovely the fresh apricots were, I know which recipe I wanted to make.  It is on page 139, and is recipe number 6.134.

Section on apricots, two recipes

The first recipe

Boil fresh apricots until they fall apart and thicken while boiling with a piece of bread or a handful of pounded rice.  Strain and put into a pot.  Add pieces of fat meat and leave on the fire until half done.  Add ribs of chard, mint, whole onions, and whole unpeeled heads of garlic.  Make large meatballs with rice, crushed chickpeas, and pepper.  Leave in the pan until the meat is fully cooked and falling apart, then ladle out.  If it isn't sour enough, add lemon juice.

My Redaction

2 pounds lamb shoulder

1 lb 10 oz fresh apricots (or more!)

13 ounces small onions

1 head garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 oz rice, ground

1/2 cup garbanzo beans (chickpeas) from a can, rinsed and drained

5 oz chard ribs

1/2 oz uncooked rice for the meatballs

1 sprig mint

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt to taste

My Notes

Pit the apricots and slice them into eighths.  Put them into a saucepan with 2 cups water.  Mix in the ground rice.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and allow to barely simmer until the apricots have fallen apart and the mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally.  This took two hours because I had it simmering very slowly.

Push the mixture through a sieve and discard the skins that didn't go through.  Return the mixture to the pan.

Here's where I had to make an interpretation:  The recipe calls for fat meat and for meatballs.  Were they two separate ingredients?  Or was I supposed to use the fat meat to make the meatballs?  I decided to use the meat to make the meatballs.  I think it would be fine to have them as two separate ingredients, too.

Put the lamb into the pureed apricots then slowly simmer.  I let it simmer for 10 minutes and then turned the pieces and let them simmer for another 10 minutes.  I noticed the meat's juices were mixing with the puree.  

I left the meat in big pieces, cut up only enough to fit in the pan.

Remove the lamb, cut the meat away the bones, and chop the meat coarsely.  I used a food processor.

This looked like it was cooked "half done."

Chopped!

Pound the garbanzo beans until they are mostly broken up and like a paste.  Mix that paste into the lamb, along with the pepper and whole rice.

Chickpeas before.

Chickpeas after pounding, then fluffed with a fork.

Form meatballs that are about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter.  (They were very moist.)  Set aside.

Clean the onions by cutting off the ends and removing the outer skin.  

Clean the head of garlic.  I had trouble getting the dirt off the root end, so I decided to break apart the head and use unpeeled cloves.

Chop the chard into 1 inch pieces.

Remove the leaves from the mint sprig and finely chop them.

Onions, chard, and mint are ready for the pan!

Mix the mint into the puree.  Stir in the chard and then add the whole onions and garlic cloves.

Carefully place the meatballs into the pan.  I had to push the onions around to make room for them and to make sure they were surrounded by sauce.

Cover the pan and slowly simmer for about an hour.  I stirred it after 15 minutes and believe that was a mistake because some of the meatballs fell apart.  At the end of the hour, all the meatballs had fallen apart.  I decided that was not a problem.  

When I tasted it, I decided it needed a splash of lemon juice to make it more sour.  I estimate I added about 1 tablespoon, at the very most.  I also added a little salt.

The Verdict

I served this stew with some white rice and a watermelon salad that had mint, lime juice, olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar over the top.

There were no meatballs -- the meat was disbursed throughout the sauce.  Since I had chopped the meat coarsely, the pieces were visible and did not melt into the sauce.  I liked the way it looked.

The onions appeared to be cooked through.  I could not see the garlic cloves.

I loved the flavor!  It was subtle; you should not think it was bland.  I thought it was well-balanced.  None of the supporting flavors stood out or dominated, and there was a definite lamb flavor.  But when I focused on what I was eating, I could get the hint of apricot.

The onions cut apart easily and were cooked through, so were very mild.  Having to cut them made for a texture and activity change while eating, which was welcome.  I could choose to either cut them into pieces and mix the pieces into the stew in my bowl, or eat chunks of onion.  I did both, and liked it.

The garlic was interesting.  The cloves were cooked all the way through, so they were also mild, with just enough of a garlic burst to make it interesting.  However, my guest taster and I did not like having to pull the skins out of our mouths when we encountered them.  I think if I had been comfortable in putting the whole head of garlic into the stew, I would have removed it once the cooking was done and no one would have gotten it in a spoonful.  Perhaps the peeled cloves could have been served as a spread on bread or added to the stew as a garnish? 

It was an enjoyable meal.  My guest taster had three servings!  The watermelon salad was a refreshing, sweet-and-sour accompaniment, and we included a nice pinot noir.  

Success!

If I were to do this again (and my guest taster says I should), I think I would use at least double the amount of apricots.  It would be nice to have that flavor stand out more.  I would also use more mint, so I got its distinctive tang on my tongue while eating.  I would not want to shift the balance of flavors too much, as the subtle blend was very good.  

It would be fun to try the option of having both meat and meatballs.  I suspect that was the original intent.  The meatballs would be a good visual aspect and make the eating experience more interesting.  I think the pepper would have a chance to stand out more.

I also think I would try pearl onions, although I didn't mind the onions I used in this attempt.  

I might also start with dried garbanzo beans and pound them to a powder.  I suspect this would help bind the meatballs to keep them from falling apart.

Leftovers:  I reheated the stew and the rice, served them side-by-side, but this time I drizzled some pomegranate molasses over the top of the stew.  It was an excellent addition, adding more sweet and sour to the overall flavor balance.