Spice (46 page)
Authors: Ana Sortun
Basturma
is a dry-cured beef, meaning that rather than soaking in brine, it is rubbed with dry salt and spices, including fenugreek, chilies, and garlic. Armenians, Turks, Lebanese, and other eastern Mediterranean people eat basturma in paper-thin slices, much like prosciutto (the Italian dry-cured ham) or bresaola (the Italian dry-cured beef).
You can find basturma, also spelled
pastirma,
at a good Middle Eastern or Armenian market, but if you don’t have one near you, try www.tulumba.com; my favorite brand is Ohanyan’s pastirma. I prefer fatty basturma to lean because the texture is softer and the flavor is, of course, better. Most markets will slice basturma to order. When I slice it, I prefer to rub most of the spice mixture off with the back of a knife. The spice mixture is packed on for curing purposes, and there is no need for too much of it, since most of the flavor has already been imparted to the meat.
At Oleana, we serve this dish under the prêt-a-manager (ready to eat) portion of the menu, where we list several options for bread condiments before appetizers. We stuff each little ball of hummus with a butter nugget and then wrap each ball with basturma and bake until warm, serving them sprinkled with fresh chopped tomatoes, black olives, and scallions. Below I include another way of presenting the hummus—as a dip—which is more casual and perfect for cocktail parties.
I recommend plenty of French chardonnay with this dish. If you want to go red, try something earthy and peppery, like a Rhone-style wine or Chianti.
S
ERVES 8 AS AN APPETİZER
2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces, plus 1½ tablespoons
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic (about 1 large clove)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ pound or 16 thin slices basturma
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil or melted butter for garnish
2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped (see page 104)
8 pitted, dry-cured black olives
1 scallion, 1 inch green trimmed from the top, washed, and finely chopped
Torn pieces of crusty French bread or pita bread (cut into wedges, torn, or left whole for guests to tear)
1.
In a medium saucepan, cover the chickpeas in about 8 cups of fresh water. Bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the chickpeas for at least 25 minutes, until very tender. Drain the chickpeas and reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooking liquid.
2.
Before the chickpeas cool down, purée them in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, with the 1 stick of the butter, ½ cup olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, reserved cooking liquid, cumin, and salt and pepper, until very smooth and creamy. It may take 3 to 4 minutes, depending on how sharp your blade is.
3.
Let the hummus sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes and then cool it in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes. This makes it easier to shape and stuff with butter.
4.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
5.
Cut the 1½ tablespoons of butter into 8 equal, small cubes or rectangles.
6.
Scoop the hummus into 16 balls, about 2 tablespoons each. Roll the hummus into nice rounds and put your finger in the bottom of each ball to make a pocket for the butter bit.
7.
Stuff a butter bit into the bottom of each hummus ball and seal it by pushing the hummus around it. You may need to roll it between your hands again to reshape the ball. Press each ball a little so it flattens slightly.
8.
Wrap a piece of basturma around each hummus ball and place them, with the seam side of the basturma down, onto a heavy baking sheet.
9.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until warm.
10.
Drizzle a little of the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil over each and then top each with tomatoes and an olive.
11.
Sprinkle with scallions and serve immediately with the bread.
Dip Variation
After you’ve puréed the hummus, place it in a small round casserole or baking dish, but don’t chill it. Using a rubber spatula, spread it in a smooth, even layer. Top the casserole with the chopped bits of butter and lay the slices of basturma in a round pinwheel pattern, laying each slice from the center to the edge. Each center slice may overlap a bit.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until warm, and then sprinkle the top with chopped tomatoes, scallions, and olive. Serve as a dip with crusty French bread or pita bread.
Deviled Eggs with Tuna and Black Olives
These deviled eggs are a twist on traditional Spanish tapas. I was inspired by a trip to San Sebastian in the Basque country, where the tapas bars were full of fun, creative snacks: lots of grilled or toasted breads with artichoke or tomato toppings, miniature vegetable tarts, shrimps in garlic, and croquettes. And they stuffed their eggs with anchovies, olives, tuna, and sweet red peppers. If you haven’t had a deviled egg for a while, it’s time to try this recipe.
We serve these eggs under the
prêt-a-manger
section of Oleana’s menu as a bread condiment and something to consider before an appetizer. If I ever took them off our menu, the customers would protest. They work perfectly for lunch with a green salad or as hors d’oeuvres at a cocktail party.
M
AKES
16
PİECES TO SERVE
8
FOR LUNCH OR
16
AS HORS D’OEUVRES
8 eggs
1 cup finely chopped fresh tuna (about 8 ounces)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus another 2 teaspoons for garnish
1 scallion, finely minced
½ cup peeled and minced celery
¼ teaspoon curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup thick mayonnaise, preferably homemade (see page 50 for Lemon Aioli and leave out the garlic)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about ¼ lemon)
8 black olives, pitted and finely chopped
1 plum tomato, halved, seeded, and chopped
1.
Carefully place the eggs in a medium saucepan and cover them with warm water by a couple of inches. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 8 minutes.
2.
Place the whole pan in the sink and run cold water over the eggs until they are cool, about 5 minutes. Drain the water off the eggs and set them aside.
3.
In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, sauté the tuna in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil with the scallion, celery, curry powder, and salt and pepper until the tuna is just cooked, 3 to 4 minutes.
4.
Drain the tuna mixture through a sieve to rid it of excess juices. Allow the tuna to cool for 10 minutes.
5.
Finely chop the tuna mixture and refrigerate it while preparing the eggs.
6.
Peel the eggs and slice them in half, lengthwise. Remove the yolk from each egg and place yolks into a small mixing bowl.
7.
Cut a small sliver off of the bottom of each egg white so that the egg can sit on a plate or platter without wobbling. Add the egg-white slivers to the egg yolks.
8.
Mash the egg yolks and slivers of whites with a fork until they are powdered and in fine pieces.
9.
Stir in the tuna, mayonnaise, parsley, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
10.
Season each of the egg whites with a little salt and pepper and place a heaping spoonful of tuna into the center of each, dividing the tuna mixture evenly. Top each egg with a pinch of olive and tomato and drizzle them all with a little olive oil.
11.
Serve with crusty French bread. You can prepare the eggs and tuna the day before and assemble and garnish them before serving.