Tuscan Inspired Lemon-Rosemary Chicken with Cannellini Beans & Roasted Squash-Arugula Salad

February 22, 2017 nmalekan@gmail.com Comments 1 comment

There is a universal feeling of satisfaction with roasted chicken. The warm aromas that fill the kitchen while it cooks just feel like home. There are endless flavor combinations of vegetables, herbs and spices for roasting chicken – but somehow this Tusccan-inspired lemon and rosemary variation end up on rotation in my kitchen more often than others.

A magical combination married with garlic and olive oil. You can develop deep flavors in this simple recipe. The cannellini beans are creamy and filling, and beautifully absorb the rosemary, garlic + lemon aromas. The kitchen will smell divine too.

Once the salad is made, serve with chicken with a nice glass of white wine. If you’re inspired by the rustic Tuscan flavors, try a nice Vermentino. Tuscany is known mainly for it’s red wines but there are lovely whites as well from the coastal regions known as “La Costa Toscana!” According to the internet, “Vermentino should have an appealing sapidità, a difficult word to translate into English — “sapidity”. Essentially it should leave you wanting another taste, or indeed another glass.”

No arm twisting required here…

Lemon-Rosemary-Garlic Chicken with Cannellini Beans

Ingredients:
8-10 chicken thighs
4 Rosemary sprigs
2 15.5 oz cans of cannellini beans
4 large or 5 small cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 lemons
1 cup white wine or water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon red chili flakes (adjust to desired heat)
salt + pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Wash chicken thighs and pat dry, place in roasting pan
Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon on the chicken
Spread cannellini beans around chicken thighs in pan
Add chopped garlic over beans
Add rosemary sprigs spread across pan
Pour white wine into pan (if you don’t have wine, you can use water)
Squeeze the juice of another 1/2 lemon all over beans
Slice remaining lemon and place wedges in between beans + chicken
Rub top of chicken thighs with olive oil (for crispy goodness) and pour the rest over beans
Season with red chili flakes, salt + pepper
Bake at 375 degrees for approximate 45 min – 1 hour depending on size of chicken thighs

Roasted Squash-Arugula Salad

Ingredients:
3-4 cups arugula (or other green of your choice)
1 avocado, cubed
3 medium Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons fresh chive, chopped
juice of 1-2 lemons
3-4 tablespoons good olive oil
3-4 green squash, chopped
2 small or 1 medium white onion, chopped
salt + pepper to taste

Instructions:
Saute white onions in vegetable oil until translucent.
Saute squash until soft.
Season with salt + pepper, set aside.
Assemble salad ingredients in a bowl adding arugula, chopped tomato, chopped red onion, chopped chives (optional).
Cube 1 avocado and add to salad.
Squeeze lemon juice immediately on avocado so it doesn’t oxidize and turn black.
Add good olive oil and a bit more lemon juice directly on top of salad along with salt + pepper and fold gently to mix ingredients.
Add sauteed squash on top of salad.
Serve with the chicken and buon appetito!

Musical Inspiration:

Andrea Bocelli, Melodramma (Vivere Live in Tuscany)

Baklava

December 29, 2016 nmalekan@gmail.com Comments 4 comments

Like many other traditional foods of the past, the origin of baklava is difficult to narrow down. Every ethnic group with ancestry connected to the Middle East has some claim to this delicious pastry. It seems generally accepted that Baklava was first made by the Assyrians around 8th century B.C.- who layered nuts with unleavened flat bread and drenched with honey.

The type of nuts or syrup ingredients often suggest the origin of the recipe. Syrup with rose water and cardamom is most likely be from Iran or Arab countries. While syrup with cinnamon and cloves is more associated with characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and those of the western part of the Middle East. The Greeks version is often more walnut heavy.

I’ve had them all! Persian, Greek and Turkish baklava are all sumptuous in their own way. The Persian iteration with the saffron + pistachios reminds of my Grandmother. The Greek variety takes me back to a wonderful trip to Mykonos a couple of years ago and the Turkish version echoes the sound of the call to prayer which we I had in the Sultan Ahmed area of the the old city in Istanbul.

In a water-front cafe in Mykonos

At the top of the world in magical Santorini

In Istanbul, the honey on the baklava had a unique flavor, served with a rich cream. It was really enjoyable with tea or Turkish coffee of course!

So I decided to create my own version, taking a bit of inspiration from each culture. What can I say, I like the harmony of honey and nuts and dough. After all, there is a reason in ancient times Baklava was considered the food of the Gods!

My recipe is below. The layering requires a bit of patience and time but the end result is well worth the effort.

Ingredients:

For Baklava:
1 lb. of chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, or pistachios are best, or use a combination of them)
1 lb of phyllo dough
1 cup of butter, melted
1/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon of ground cloves
Finely ground pistachios for garnish

For Syrup:
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of honey
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon Rosewater (optional but adds a wonderful fragrance and subtle sweetness)

Directions:
Lightly grease a 9×13 pan and preheat oven to 350°F.
Thaw phyllo dough.
Roll out the dough and cut in half so the sheets will fit in the pan. Cover with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.
In a food processor, process the nuts until you have small even sized pieces.
Combine with sugar, cinnamon, and cloves, pulse to mix.
In a separate bowl, melt the butter in the microwave or stove-top w/out browning.
Place a sheet of phyllo dough into the tray.
Brush phyllo with melted butter.
Repeat 7 more times until bottom layer is 8 sheets thick, each sheet being “painted” with the butter.
Spoon on a thin layer of the nut mixture.
Cover with two more sheets of phyllo, brushing each one with butter.
Continue to repeat the nut mixture and two buttered sheets of phyllo until the nut mixture is finished.
The top layer should be 8 phyllo sheets thick, each sheet being individually buttered.
Don’t worry if the sheets crinkle up a bit, it’ll add more texture.
Cut into 24 equal sized squares using a sharp knife.
Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown, and edges appear slightly crisp.
While baking, make the syrup:
Combine the cinnamon stick, sugar, lemon juice, rosewater honey, and water in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Remove the cinnamon stick and allow to cool.
8 Spoon the cooled syrup over the hot baklava and let cool for at least 4 hours.
Garnish with some finely crushed pistachios of desired.

Musical Inspiration-

Soap Kills – Cheftak

Green Garden Herb Basmati Rice with Dill, Cilantro, Rosemary & Chive (and an unexpected trip home)

October 31, 2016 nmalekan@gmail.com Comments 2 comments

Rice is the ultimate comfort food. It has been farmed by people for over 10,000 years.

In the Hindi language “Bas” means “aroma” and “Mati” means “full of.” Growing up in a Persian family, that beautifully fragrant and earthy aroma is part of the essential scents of home. The cue of happiness and an eternal symbol of family dinners, celebrations and tradition.

Cooking traditional Persian rice (with crunchy tahdig of course) is truly an art form. For how to create a saffron scented masterpiece check out Persian Mama’s recipe here. For a simpler approach, I use a rice cooker. Not all rice cookers can deliver the crunchy golden goodness, however. Generally the Pars Brand rice cookers do the trick.

In this rendition, I highlight garden herbs using dill, mint, chive and rosemary for an aromatic rice dish guaranteed to feed the soul (nousheh jan...). But really you can use any herbs that you like.

On a recent trip to Philadelphia, we ate at one of the best restaurants on the scene in recent years: Zahav. Here Chef Michael Solomonov beautifully highlights modern Israeli cuisine. I was inspired by his vision, the story behind his culinary ventures and the flavors of the wonderful meal we had that October eve in the city of brotherly love. The menu excited my senses and my palate was dancing, curiously processing the familiar and the new. A colorful melody of flavors, humble, deeply flavorful food that was simply delicious.

What resonated the most were the familiar flavors of my childhood home found in smoky eggplant, coriander, warm bread, the grilled meats and tangy pomegranate. But most notably- in the herbed basmati rice. The Al’Haesh dishes (grilled over coals) are served with a side of basmati rice that was not only delicious, but momentarily took me home. This humble side dish became the center of what all the other plates harmoniously danced around. This beautiful little pot of rice had the power to transform me to another place and time. To the familiar places where we feel safe, comforted and loved. To where I remember being happy. To the quiet corners of memory, to our mother’s cooking and the taste of my grandmother’s love in an old kitchen in Isfahan. Maya Angelou says “I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.” I found myself at home in this beautiful experience, and I hope you do too by trying my basmati rice recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked basmati rice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
1 bunch fresh dill, roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 cups fresh chives, roughly chopped
Handful fresh mint, roughly chopped
Handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
1-2 tablespoons rosemary, finely chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt)

Directions:
Soak rice in cold water for 20-30 minutes.

Rinse rice with water, gently agitating with fingertips. Do this multiple times (3-4) until water runs clear.

Place rice in rice cooker.

Add enough water to cover 1″ above rice (about 2.5 cups).

Add olive oil, onion, all herbs, salt + pepper.

Mix ingredients and turn on rice cooker. Continue to mix ingredients couple of more times in the first 3-4 minutes if cooking so all ingredients are evenly spread throughout.

Let rice cooker do its magic!

Cook rice for approximately 1 – 1 1/2 hours, or until the indicator lets you know the cooking is completed. Timing can vary depending on the size and model.

That’s it! In about an hour you’ll have golden curst!

Once cooking is finished, unplug rice cooker.

Wearing oven mitts, place a platter larger than the rice cooker bowl over the bowl insert.

Lift bowl out and quickly and confidently flip the bowl and platter together.

Lift off the bowl slowly to reveal the Tahdig on top.
(Valiantly demonstrated by my cousin Payam, here).

Serve immediately: Tahdig loses crunch if it sits too long.

If you don’t have a rice cooker, see here for instructions on how to cook in a regular pot.

Musical Inspiration:

The Idan Raichel Project

http://idanraichelproject.com/en/

Istanbul

September 27, 2016 nmalekan@gmail.com Comments 1 comment

Travel has always been a source of inspiration. Experiencing new countries and getting to know them through their food- tiles my memory with a mosaic of color, flavor and nostalgia. During the past year of self discovery, Istanbul provided that for me on a level only second to a journey back to Iran 20 years after my family immigrated from my place of birth. Turkish culture has many parallels to Persian culture and that might explain why one sees many Iranians walking the streets of Istanbul. I heard more Farsi spoken there than I have in Great Neck!

Us Iranians, we are nostalgic people. Nostalgia is a common human sensation, but Persian culture is deeply impacted by the elusive dream of the past. Always distorted, always seen as better times and always yearned for. It protects us from the truth of the present moment and the pain of reality. This distortion is seen as something beautiful, somewhere that will always be better than where we are today. Woody Allen’s film “Midnight in Paris” portrays this sentiment well. Regardless of the decade, there is a constant notion that the “golden age” existed in a past era and the story line follows various characters in the constant quest for better times. However, like the unpredictable future, the past is an idealized version of what we want it to be, not necessarily reality. Memory is fiction. An though at times I struggle with this truth, I still allow myself to relish in the people and places that take me to my idealized history, regardless of its distance from what may have actually happened.

Istanbul was that kind of journey. It was a last minute trip which ended up being one of the most profound travels of my life. To my surprise the food was not great. Aside from the endless spice bazaars from which I bought a zillion colorful powders, the food was bland. The meals were disappointing everywhere, from street-food to high-end restaurants. The kebabs were fatty, the lemons had a strange aftertaste and the Manti was mushy. Besides delicious baklava and coffees, we did not have many memorable meals.

However, despite this unexpected letdown, I was happy to be there. I felt a strong connection to this city, to its people, and to its history. All the sites we visited were beautiful and somewhat ethereal with their echos of the past. I became obsessed with the tile work such as the ones in the Blue Mosque and fell utterly in love with Iznik Turkish Tile. I bought dishes and scarves and coasters with these stunning patterns and even invested in tiles hand painted by a renowned Iznik artist – dedicated to continuing this ancient art form – passed down generation to generation.

This was a magical journey amongst history, minarets, domes, culture and faith. Color and beauty collided in the smoky city where East met West, where inspiration bloomed, where ancient empires once stood and where today, the old and new mingle in beautiful harmony. At the end, a trip to this land ended up being a journey to myself. To understanding myself and to appreciating all aspects of my human experience. From the allure of the past, to the tangible miracle of the present, and the promise of a bright future. The unique combination of them all, ultimately make the Mosaic of Me. The Mosaic of Nazanin. For so long I had struggled with my own East meets West identify conflict- what was I supposed to be? Which was I supposed to be? For the first time, I recognized the beauty of the sum of the parts and the harmony that exists in contrasts. Perhaps this is why the tiles mesmerized me so.

As Azadeh Moaveni says poignantly and beautifully in her memoir “Lipstick Jihad”-

“All our lives were formed against the backdrop of this history, fated to be home nowhere- not completely in America not completely in Iran. For us home was not determined by latitudes and longitudes. It was spacial. This was the modern Iranian experience that bound the diaspora to Iran….. But the bridge between Iran and the past, Iran and the future, between exile and homeland, existed at these tables- in kitchens, in bars, in Tehran or Manhattan- where we forgot about the world outside. [Our culture] had been disfigured, and we carried its scraps in our pockets, and when we assembled, we laid them out, and we were home.”

(My baklava recipe inspired by this trip, here)

Simin Bari- A popular Persian tune sung by a Turkish artist, heard all over cafes in Istanbul

Homemade Falafel with Herb Tahini Sauce and Shirazi Salad

September 25, 2016 nmalekan@gmail.com Comments 4 comments

Falafel! The ultimate Middle Eastern comfort food, the name of which probably comes from the word pilpel (pepper, felfel in Farsi- referring to the shape of a pepper corn) was made in two ways: In Egypt today, from crushed, soaked fava beans and combined with chickpeas or, as Yemenite Jews and the Arabs of Jerusalem did, from chickpeas alone. My version uses chickpeas and herbs and it’s simple and finger lickin’ good!

Note: Add a drizzle of Harisa (a hot sauce paste used in North African cuisine, made from chili peppers, paprika, and olive oil) for an extra kick!

For the Falafel-

Ingredients:
1 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (1 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons flour
Vegetable oil for frying
Pita bread

Directions:
Soak chickpeas overnight in a bowl (covered in 2 inches of cold water) OR use canned chickpeas, washed + drained.
Place chickpeas and onions in the bowl of food processor.
Add the parsley, cilantro, hot pepper flakes, garlic, crushed coriander seeds, cumin.
Process until blended but not pureed.
Sprinkle in baking powder, flour, and pulse.
Add enough flour so you can form a small ball with the dough and it doesn’t sticks to your hands.
Form chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.
Heat 3 inches of oil to 375ºF in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test.
If it falls apart, add a little flour.
Once you have the right consistency, fry about 5 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Let cool on paper towels to capture extra oil.
Stuff half a pita with falafel balls, shirazi salad and drizzle with tahini sauce .

Enjoy the ultimate comfort food!

For the Tahini Sauce-

Ingredients:

Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves (optional)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup well-stirred tahini (sesame paste)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (or better yet both!)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt + pepper to taste

Directions:
Mince garlic, then mash to a paste with sea salt.
Mix garlic paste and remaining ingredients.
Add water or lemon juice to taste and to adjust for desired consistency.

Shirazi Salad

Ingredients:
3 medium Persian cucumbers
1/2 raw red onion
1 large tomato
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lemon
Drizzle with olive oil to preferred taste
Salt + Pepper

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and serve.

***A special thanks to the Kashin Kitchen for hosting the recipe testing of this deelish dish!

Greek Goddess Breakfast

September 23, 2016 Naz Comments 0 Comment

This is how I start my day, everyday. It’s the simplest and possibly one of the most decadent recipe on Basil and Roses.

Enjoy feeling like a Goddess with every spoonful of this creamy yogurt which is well balanced with the crunch of walnut, the juxtaposition of the tang of yogurt with the sweetness of honey, and the thought of knowing you are starting your day on a high nutrition and pleasure note!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole milk Greek Yogurt (Fage is my absolute favorite!)
2 tablespoons honey (clover or lavender honey work well here)
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon black chia seeds
1 teaspoon flaxseed oil

Directions:
Place Greek yogurt of your choice in bowl.
Add chopped walnuts.
Add chia seeds.
Add flaxseed oil.
Drizzle honey of choice.

Note: For fun, you can substitute Membrillo for honey.
Membrillo is Spanish quince paste. I accidentally discovered how well this worked one day when I was our of honey. But having honey in your diet gets you more wellness points so I opt for that most days.