Have the Courage of Your Convictions-when making Brik !

Red Lentil Curry Soup was served with the Brik A'louef (Brik with egg)
I love that Julia Child quote..and it is true! First, I made the Harissa. I toasted the cumin, coriander, and caraway seed and then added some dried mint and then used my old coffee grinder to blend it all up.

I added those to my blended peppers..along with some lemon juice, evoo, preserved lemons, chili powder, and 5 cloves of garlic..and some salt. Good and hot!
My non-traditional Brik mise en place. I cracked one egg in a little bowl per Brik.
My traditional Brik mise en place. Tuna in olive oil is a must! Get the good stuff!
So it's not a triangle...so sue me. My phyllo was not cooperating at all! I must find some Brik! I also want a deep fat fryer if I ever make this again.

I smeared the pastry with the harissa first and then made a well with the ingedients...like when you make your own pasta. I put the egg in the little well and then folded like a mad woman. The phyllo was cracked when I took it out of the package so that was not good...but I went ahead and made some wonderful Brik A'Leouf and I bow down to Marlena Spieler, Betsy McNair, and Eileen Thornton for making it look so darned easy! I am proud to call you my friends...and fellow Brikster's.

It is one of the best things I've ever eaten and I liked the traditional the best. So very good. I even added more harissa on top. I am a spicy woman. I served it with the Red Lentil Curry Soup with some Fage yogurt and cilantro on top. It was a big hit around here!

[please see previous post for ingredient list-photo] Also here is a link that describes the difference between warka or brik, lumpia, and phyllo. OMG..look at this link that shows them actually making the brik dough!!

One Brik at a Time

Traditional Brik (Breek) ingredients...well, except for there is an egg...and salmon isn't usually used. I might try it. I did buy the good tuna in olive oil!
Non-traditional Brik A'Leouf ingredients....again, there is an egg as well.
Soaking chili's in hot water to make harissa..since I couldn't find it at The Nugget. Note..I ended up using way more peppers and put boiling water over them..then plastic wrap on top. Let them stand for 24 hours. Also..I cut tops off first and de-seeded before topping off with the hot water.
My preserved meyer lemons will add a nice touch to the Brik!

So...I get all this stuff and then see that I have to let the Phyllo thaw for 5 frickin' hours! Who knew? So, tomorrow I will be stacking Brik's like a mason. Anyone want to sample??

This is one of Marlena's recipes from Jewish Cooking. My blogger buddy Eileen made it over at her place a while back. It's on the Jewish Menu for American River College's Oak Cafe next week so decided to go nuts with it! I'll post pics and results Thursday evening! Below is a Harissa recipe I found that got 5 star ratings...maybe I'll use it.

This North African condiment is based on a recipe in A Mediterranean Feast by Clifford Wright (William Morrow, 1999).

Source: Saveur

Photo: Andre Baranowski

8 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed
and seeded (about 2 oz.)
8 dried new mexico chiles, stemmed
and seeded (about 1 1⁄2 oz.)
1⁄2 tsp. caraway seeds
1⁄4 tsp. coriander seeds
1⁄4 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. dried mint leaves
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil,
plus more as needed
1 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
5 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Put chiles into a medium bowl, cover with boiling water, and let sit until softened, about 20 minutes. Heat caraway, coriander, and cumin in an 8" skillet over medium heat. Toast spices, swirling skillet constantly, until very fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer spices to a grinder with the mint and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.

2. Drain chiles and transfer to the bowl of a food processor with the ground spices, olive oil, salt, garlic, and lemon juice. Purée, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the paste is very smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a sterilized 1-pint glass jar and fill with oil until ingredients are submerged by 1⁄2". Refrigerate, topping off with more oil after each use. Paste will keep for up to 3 weeks.

MAKES 1 CUP

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #117

The Usual ...my husband loves it

Making Chicken Soup....all I want is the clear broth for the matzo ball pool!
I have started saving chicken fat for schmaltz...for the matzo balls
I tressed the chicken,..to roast for my husband. We stuff it with lemon, rosemary, onion, and thyme...all fresh herbs, We also put lemon and rosemary under the skin!
I make brown rice..and I add veggies from my winter garden.
Crisp chicken skin, tender chicken...fragrant and healthy brown rice.

That's a meal. I put my chicken soup in the frig. I will make matzo balls tomorrow!

Sundays with Marlena Spieler-Ashkenazi Gefilte Fish

Well..you just aren't cooking from Jewish Cooking if you don't get your cuisinart dirty at least a few times while making a recipe! I have loved every single recipe I've made from her book..so far. Well...

Gefilte Fish. It just sounds bad. Sorry. I hear that one must acquire a taste for it. I am not there yet but I know that many people love it sooo much. Gefilte means "stuffed" and back in the day this mixture was stuffed back into the fish before cooking it. My cats went crazy for it!!

I used whitefish and cod fillets

Ingredients: Serves 4

2 1/4 lbs of a mixture of fish fillets (carp, white, cod, haddock, yellow pike)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of cold water
3 tbsp med matzo meal
2 tsp sugar
fish stock to simmer balls in
4 small onions
2 carrots
1-2 pinches of ground cinnamon, salt, and freshly ground pepper.

**common to serve horseradish and beetroot along with this meal

1. Salt fish fillets on a plate and let chill for an hour. After, rinse fish in cool water and add to food processor and blend until ground,.

2. Put that fish into a bowl and add the eggs and mix...gradually add the water. Stir in the matzo meal, then the sugar and seasonings. Beat until light and fluffy...Chill for an hour.

3. Take about a tbsp of the mixture..with wet hands and roll into balls.

4. Bring a lg pot of fish stock to a boil (I bought mine) and then reduce to a simmer and add the fish balls. Simmer for about one hour. If necessary, add more water to the pot to keep balls covered.

5. Add the onions, carrots, cinnamon and a little extra sugar and simmer uncovered for 45-60 minutes.

6. Leave fish to cool slightly then remove from the pot. Serve them warm or cold with the beetroot/horseradish.

Be sure to check out my blogger buddies offerings for Sunday with Marlena Spieler at Just the Two of Us and Sacramento Spice.