Its a Wrap

Right.  This is going to be the last "wrap" post for sometime.  There are only so many wraps one can make and it is is time to move on, but before I do, I have to share with you the ultimate kebab - the Chicken Shawarma. 

Now, I know that a Shawarma should really be cooked by alternately stacking strips of fat and pieces of seasoned meat (beef, lamb or marinated chicken) on a stick and roasting it slowly on all sides in front of a flame for several hours.  And I know that that is not entirely practical for the average kitchen but what I am really trying to recreate here is the wrap, stuffed full of aromatically spiced roast meat, lashings of Tahini or Hummus, a juicy tomato, onion and cucumber salad, shredded lettuce and heaps of chilli sauce.  Rightly or wrongly, that's what I want, when I think - Shawarma.  

The first thing you must do is track down some really good Arabic flat bread which is called Khobez.  Do not settle for pitta. I know you can make your own but what I love about knocking up a kebab for dinner is that it is so damn quick and easy.  If you add, making flat bread to the equation, suddenly its not so damn quick and easy, plus a good pitta is easy to make but a really good flatbread is something else.
 

Anyway, find your nearest Arabic shop, be it Lebanese or Turkish, or maybe you have a good Greek or Cypriot shop near by. (Check out my directory). They are all sure to sell good flatbreads or wraps for Kebabs.  Once you have found them, stock up, because they freeze really well and whilst you are there, pick up some Hummus, unless you want to make your own, and some long green pickled chillis, unless you pickle your own, and if you are really lucky or lazy, depending on how you look at it, some Shawarma Total Seasoning, or you can make your own.  There are a billion different recipes for the spice mix but it usually contains a selection of Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Paprika, Sumac, Cardamom, Clove, Cumin and Cayenne Pepper.  It is this unusual, perfumed blend of spices that makes this dish so delicious. Marinate your chicken, leave it overnight and the next day, you can assemble a fantastic meal in a matter of minutes.  A kebab is even great for entertaining.  Everyone just helps themselves. Because everyone likes their kebabs to be just the way they like them. 


I have entered this recipe for Sweet Heat # 5 over at Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops because it is such an effortless recipe to rustle up for friends and goes down great with a couple of beers.



Cheats Chicken Shawarma
The spice mix is not exact.  Experiment and find what you like best. You could use a Baharat blend.

Serves 4
4 Chicken breasts (free-range or organic)
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp.  Paprika
1 tsp. Sumac
1 tsp. Cardamom
1 tsp. Clove
2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp. salt
Olive oil

Trim the chicken breasts and cut in half lenghtways. Coat each piece in spices.  Leave overnight, marinating in the fridge.  Next day, drizzle lightly with olive oil and either barbecue or grill over a high heat.  You can also try roasting the chicken in a very hot oven.  It should only take ten minutes or so to cook as the pieces are quite thin.  Remove from the heat and allow to rest for a few minutes.  Cut into strips on a wooden chopping board.  Serve with plenty of chilli sauce, shredded lettuce, hummus and salad.

Totally Turkish

Wraps are my new answer to a quick dinner.  I know that they are not exactly the cutting edge of cuisine.  A bit old hat.  All the supermarkets have churned out their own versions - Hoi Sin duck wrap, Vietnamese rice paper wrap, Mexican bean wrap - all in loads of packaging, sanitised, chilled, all flavours dumbed down to offend no-one and tasting of nothing.  But I vaguely remembered a time before the supermarket had discovered and killed this particular food trend and I knew they can be great.  So I started experimenting with Fahitas, Shawarmas, Koftes and most recently the good old Shish Kebab. Freshly made and cooked, they take minutes, are really healthy and everybody loves them.  Especially the kids, which means we can all eat together early and I do not have to cook two separate meals in the evening.

It is always fun to serve up a hands on meal, when every one can make up their own particular favourite combination.  Daniel, my son, always opts for maximum salad, lashings of hummus and as little meat as possible.  My daughter, Amelie is completely opposite, going straight for the meat and avoiding anything that resembles a vegetable.  Hugh, the other half, crams as much as humanly possible into one kebab and then drowns the whole thing in chilli sauce.  As for me, my main pleasure is as I said, - one meal, everyone happy.  If you have vegetarians in the family, you could always make some Falafal.

I discovered that The Turkish Food Center had a branch in Croydon which isn't far from me and I was really keen to give it a visit.  I am a bit embarrassed to admit that when I got out of the car in Croydon, I actually felt a little bit nervous.  I have lived in London all my life, but suddenly I felt in unfamiliar territory. No one appeared to speak English. But I reminded myself that this was exactly what my blog is supposed to be about.  Ethnic shops amongst ethnic communities. 

Once inside The Turkish Food Center, I lost myself amongst the aisles of fantastic exotic pulses, spices and nuts.  They have a butchery and a bakery with freshly baked Turkish Breads, biscuits and sweets.  There was a wonderful selection of vegetables, fruit and herbs.  I realised I completely forgotten any fears and that is exactly why it is so important to integrate ourselves. Fear comes from the unknown and that is what breeds prejudice.

On this one street in Croydon, the London Road, minutes away from where some of the worst rioting and looting took place are the most fantastic selection of Indian, Pakistani, West Indian, African, Sri Lankan, Middle Eastern and Caribbean shops, trading, working and living side by side in total harmony.

Lamb Shish Kebab
Obviously Kebabs are best on the barbecue but if you don't have one they are still really good baked in an oven, as hot as it will go for about 10 minutes.

800g leg of lamb
2 peppers, red, yellow, green or orange, cut into chunks
2 red onions, cut into chunks
For the marinade
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli such as cayenne
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp Zahtar

Chop the lamb into chunky cubes, removing any excess fat.

For the marinade: in a large bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl with some salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the meat cubes and toss to coat thoroughly in the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 36 hours.

When ready to cook, preheat a char-grill or barbecue to hot.

Remove the meat from the marinade and thread the cubes onto long or round metal skewers, alternating with chunks of onion, cherry tomatoes and pepper.

Cook the kebabs on the hot char-grill or barbecue for 4-6 minutes on each side. But you can just fry them in a fryingpan.

Serve the kebabs with flatbread and a range of mezze - such as hummus, moutabal, Tabbouleh or Fattoush Salad as accompaniments.

Turkish Kofte Kebabs with Minted Yoghurt

500g minced lamb
1 onion, finely grated
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (less if for kids)
2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander
Juice of one lemon
1 small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Oil for brushing
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the minted yoghurt
200g/7oz Greek natural yoghurt
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Preheat a charcoal barbecue 40 minutes ahead of cooking or a gas barbecue 10 minutes ahead of cooking. If using a cast-iron griddle pan, heat it over a high heat, then lower the heat slightly before cooking.  Cover eight bamboo skewers with cold water and leave them to soak.

Put the minced lamb into a bowl with all of the ingrediants, some salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix together with your hands until bound together.

Divide the mixture into eight and mould it into long sausage shapes around the drained bamboo skewers. 

 For the minted yoghurt, mix the yoghurt with the mint, half a teaspoon of salt and some pepper and set aside.

Brush the kofte generously with oil and lightly oil the bars of the barbecue or griddle. Cook for five minutes, turning occasionally, until browned all over and cooked through.

Domates Salatasi

4 medium really red tomatoes, firm and cut in chunks
2 cucumbers, preferably the small variety, cut in half, de-seeded and chopped 
1 small red onion, very finely chopped
Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 handfull fresh dill, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix everything together.  Spoon over your kebab.

Turkish Food Centers 14 Branches all over London - see directory

A Mean Marinade

Last week I was cooking Tandoori Chicken, because it was the best recipe for marinated barbecued chicken, that I could think of.  This year the supermarket have gone mad for marinades. Supermarkets are permanently on the lookout for new trends. In this way they can spot whatever it is that you like to do, be it barbecuing, growing your own vegetables, making jam or baking cupcakes. Then they repackage it and sell it back to you, at a profit. I hate it.  I don't know why but it almost feels like an invasion of my mind.

Anyway, as summer came with unsubstantiated promises of al fresco eating and barbecues, so the shelves filled up with every marinade ever thought of, from every country in the world. From Argentina to Japan, Morocco to India. Every now and then, I was tempted by some exotic sounding combination, no-doubt lured by some enticing packaging. I momentarily forgot that I could just have easily knocked up whatever marinade it was myself, in about 10 minutes, from ingredients I probably had at home already. Anyway, they were all, without fail, revolting. Too much sugar, too much vinegar, unsubtle flavours, herbs that had become pickled and lost all freshness and zest. So, just to remind myself never to do that again, I have written out a few of my favourite recipes. 

The first is Chimichurri which is a sauce and also used as a marinade for grilled meat. It is originally from Argentina and Uruguay, but is also used in countries as far north as Nicaragua and Mexico.  It is vibrant and fresh with the Paprika adding a smoky note and it works excellently with Steak on the barbecue.  You can use Picante or Dulce Paprika depending on your taste.  I prefer the extra chilli kick.  There is no need to marinade your meat for any length of time.  Just coat your steaks and wait for 10 minutes or so.  The extra marinade can be used as a sauce on the side.

Chermoula is the North African variant for fish. It is almost identical to Chimichurri, but replaces vinegar for lemon juice which is more subtle with delicate fish flavours.  Once again there is no need to marinade for more than 10 minutes.  Just coat and cook.  Never leave fish or meat in a marinade containing salt for any length of time as it will just draw out the juices.



In my opinion, lamb needs nothing more than a combination of olive oil and lemon juice with lots of freshly ground black pepper, loads of Rosemary and garlic.  In this case the meat should be left in the marinade over-night to allow the flavours to penetrate and the lemon acts to tenderise the meat which makes it all the more delicious.  Season with salt just before cooking. 



Finally everyone need a good rib recipe for the barbie season.  I have really battled over the years to find a recipe that I liked.  I found the Chinese one's were often too heavy on the Hoi Sin and the Five Spice (although I do recommend my Char-Siu Pork ) and the American versions, laden with Tomato Ketchup and Malt Vinegar.  So I was delighted to find a fantastic Japanese alternative.  Although this recipe does contain some honey it balances beautifully with the other ingredients. 

A Japanese Barbecue is called a Yakiniku and the meat would be further dipped in a Tare Sauce before eating. Personally I use this marinade to cook ribs which I slow-bake first submerged in marinade for a few hours until the meat is beginning to flake.  I then pour off the excess sauce and reduce it in a pan until you have a sticky, delicious  sauce.  Let the ribs cool before cutting up, so that they don't fall to pieces.  Finally I briefly put them on the barbie until hot and smoky and serve with extra sauce.  You don't have to do this.  It is still delicious served straight from the oven.  Just slow-cook them for even longer.

All of these recipes are dead simple, so there is no need to ever succumb to a marinade in jar ever again.  And with the money that you save you can invest in better meat.  Remember, please try to buy free-range when you can and Organic if possible.  This really is something that is worth the extra money.

Chimichurri Sauce

1 large bunch coriander
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika, sweet or spicy
1 fresh red chilli, roughly chopped or 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 small bunch fresh Oregano
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1  cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Whiz up all ingredients in a liquidiser or with a hand-held blender until smooth.  Season to taste with salt.

Chermoula

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
3/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon sweet or spicy Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 large bunch of Coriander leaves
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon Ras el Hanout (optional)
1-2 tsp salt or to taste

Whiz up all ingredients in a liquidiser or with a hand-held blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Harumi's Barbecue Sauce
from Everyday Harumi: Simple Japanese Food for Family and Friends
by Harumi Kurihara

(Personally I whiz this all up with a hand blender which means you don't have to grate anything.)

100ml red wine
2 tbsp honey
70g caster sugar
200ml soy sauce
1 tbsp miso (any type)
60g apple, grated
60g onion, grated
2 tablespoons garlic, grated
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp ground toasted sesame seeds

Put the red wine in a small pan and bring to a boil. Simmer it over low heat for 1 minute to let the alcohol evaporate. Add the honey, sugar, coarse sugar, soy sauce and miso, mix and boil again. When the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat off. When the mixture has cooled down, add the grated apple, onion, garlic and ginger, sesame oil and ground sesame seeds, and mix together.  The flavour will improve if left overnight.  It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.