Stuffed Artichokes

Stuffed Artichokes - Mediterranean

Not a recipe this time... just a log of something I whipped up that turned out better than expected.  Stuffing was ground pork, onion, mint, lemon, feta, and panko.  Artichoke was grilled then stuffed and baked.  YUM!

Goulash ala Hops

Hello!  It's been far too long since I've made an installment.  Did you miss me?  I've been working on contract in Florida and I'm glad to return to Portland.  It's harvest time and time to play around in the kitchen!

Freshly harvested Cascade Hops

I consider myself an adventurous foodie and I'm always looking for new things to try in the kitchen. Hops are in season here in Oregon and a friend of mine raised a crop off from a first-year start obtained early this spring.  Aren't they pretty?

Hops are not what you think of as something to eat and are more commonly used as a bittering agent in the production of beer.  Since one of my favorite types of beer is an extremely hoppy IPA it got me thinking about how it might translate as a flavoring in food preparation.  I decided to experiment.  I'll tell you now that you DON'T want to eat one of these flowers raw.  They are indescribably bitter.  I did a couple experimental dishes and this is what I've learned.

My first experiment was a batch of chicken and dumplings.  I wanted something fairly simple to make tasting the hops easier.  I was worried they might get lost if I seasoned too heavily.  That was a mistake.  I added five or so hop buds to the stew as it simmered.  The dish picked up a distinct hop flavor - pleasant at first, but as the stew reduced the buds started to deteriorate and broke apart making them irretrievable.  Biting into one of these chunks was not pleasant.  That being said it did impart a nice flavor - bitter, but pleasant.  The leftovers were gross.  Hops sitting overnight in the dish made it inedible as the flavors melded and the bitterness increased.  Lesson learned - use it, but use moderation and remove them when you get what you want from them.  Much in the way Bay leaves are used in soup.  One interesting thing I noticed was the meat didn't pick up the bitterness the way the liquid components did.  In future experiments I'll experiment using them as a component for a brine.

This led me to get thinking more about the hop flavor and what I like to pair with a strong IPA.  Mexican and Indian cuisines were what first came to mind but my cupboard was bare for such dishes.  I had sweet paprika, chicken breasts, chicken stock, yellow onions, mushrooms, garlic, and celery.  A Goulash was born!  Apologies for not having a picture of the plated finished dish... it was so delicious we ate it all!

Ingredients:
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1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 large chicken breasts (trimmed and cut into 1" chunks
~
2 T olive oil
3 med yellow onions (sliced thin pole to pole)
3 T sweet paprika
2 fresh cascade hops
1/2 t ground cumin
1/8 t ground ginger
1/8 t ground cinnamon
6 large cremini mushrooms (cut in eighths - I prefer big chunks)
2 ribs celery (diced)
3-5 cloves garlic (sliced)
pinch salt
2 cups chicken stock

Method:

1.  In a large bowl combine flour, salt and black pepper.  Pat chicken chunks dry and add to bowl.  Toss chicken to coat all sides evenly with flour mixture.  Remove chicken from excess flour mixture and set aside.

2.  In a large saute pan heat oil over med-hi til a small piece of onion sizzles on contact.  Add remaining onion to pan and saute to coat onions evenly with oil.  Immediately add paprika, hops, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon, stirring to coat everything and mix the spices evenly.  Continue saute until onions begin to release their moistue and have had time to caramelize a bit.  You want the mixture to caramelize but not get too dry.  Add the mushrooms, celery, garlic, and a pinch of salt.  Again, toss to coat everything evenly and return to heat.

3.  When the mushrooms begin to release their liquids, add the chicken stock.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to simmer.  Add the floured chicken chunks and stir to coat.  Simmer gently for 10 min and remove the hops.  Continue to simmer until chicken is done and liquids have reduced to the desired consistency.  (Thicken with beurre-manie if needed).

This is great served over rice and paired with wilted greens.  Although this is chicken the paprika makes a nice pairing with a bold red wine.

A Buckwheat Pita

My gripe with many commercial pitas is they lack both flavor and texture.  In my opinion, additives in bread to improve their shelf life really take a toll on flavor.  I had fresh baked pitas two weeks ago as part of my school curriculum and they were a marked improvement both in flavor and texture.

This weekend as I was looking for a weekend project, I happened upon a package of Buckwheat flour hiding on my cupboard shelf.  I love the sweet, nutty, earthiness Buckwheat adds to things.  I was already underway on a fresh batch of Baba Ganouj and Hummus so I needed something to go with them.  Instead of making a trip to the store and choking down another commercial imposter of a pita I decided to make Buckwheat Pitas!

Buckwheat pitas with Hummus and Baba Ganouj

This is a first run attempt so I was nervous about how much buckwheat flour to use.  In looking at other recipes, percentages and ratios were all over the board.  I settled on a simple recipe, trusted my instincts and replaced a full third of the AP flour weight with buckwheat flour.  The results weren't perfect, but looked and tasted great!  These are very soft "pocket" pitas with a pronounced Buckwheat flavor.  The robust nutty flavor stands well against the strong flavors of Hummus and Baba Ganouj.

Yields 8 pitas


Ingredients:
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2.25t active dry yeast
0.25C warm water
a drop of honey

~
10oz AP Flour (plus more as "kneaded")
5oz buckwheat flour
1T granulated sugar
1.5t kosher salt
~
2T olive oil
1.25C-1.5C water (room temp)

Method:

1. Activate the yeast:  Dissolve yeast in warm water and add a drop of honey.  Let sit at room temperature for about 10 min.  When a head of bubbles forms over the water - the yeast is active.
2. Combine: Sift together flours and sugar into a mixing bowl.  Add kosher salt and stir to distribute evenly.  Form a well in the center.  Add the yeast mixture, olive oil, and about half the water.  Use a bowl scraper or wooden spoon to combine the ingredients.  The amount of water will vary (you may not need to incorporate all the water.  or you may need to add more).  Combine all ingredients adjusting water content as needed until the dough forms a ball.
3. Knead: On a floured surface knead the dough about 10 min (use ap flour).   Keep adding a dusting of ap flour to the kneading surface and hands to prevent sticking.  Finished dough should be monolithic, smooth, and only slightly sticky. 
4. Fermentation:  Coat a bowl with spray oil or olive oil.  Form the dough into a ball.  Set dough in oiled bowl and turn over to coat all sides of dough.  Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise to about double. 
5. Preheat oven and cooking surface to 400F.  Some day...I'll have a stone...until then, I use an inverted aluminum baking sheet. The cooking surface should always be preheated.  These pitas hold so much moisture that I did not "steam" the oven before hand.  If you want to go for it!
6. Form, proof, bake:  Divide the dough into eight equal portions (mine were each 3.6oz).  Form each portion into a ball and roll out into circles on a floured surface using a floured rolling-pin to a thickness of about 1/8 or 1/4 inch.  to proof, let dough rest in a warm place until tacky (about 5 min - I use the top of my warm stove).  In my oven I do two at a time.  Place proofed pita on hot surface in hot oven and bake until puffy (about 5 min.).  I like my pitas soft so if you prefer crisp just leave them in a bit longer.
7. Let them cool on a wire rack or eat them hot.  To store, let them cool completely and store in parchment (plastic will make them gluey).

Notes:
The pockets formed but aren't as uniform as I had hoped.  One of my gripes on commercial pitas is they have a tendency to be tough...these are almost too soft.  Flavor and texture wise they are a real pleasure for dipping and they smell GREAT when they cook.  I'm considering adding 1/8t baking soda in hopes of enhancing the formation of the "pocket".  Also in the next batch I think I'll try reducing buckwheat to 4oz and using 11oz AP flour.