Flashback Friday - Kofte with Pistachio Sauce

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on November 19, 2012.

You may recall from my recap of Time Machine Chefs back in August that I expressed admiration for chef Silvena Rowe, of the restaurant Quince in London's May Fair Hotel. Her ballsy attitude on the show made me check if she had any cookbooks available in the U.S. - and yes, she does! A couple, actually, and I chose to buy Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume: Cuisine of the Eastern Mediterranean, mostly because I liked the idea of purple citrus. :) While no actual purple citrus were harmed during the reading of that book, by the time I was done with it, I wanted to cook every recipe. I even bought a jar of grape leaves, which I have never used before.

The recipe that stood out most for me was for lamb kofte with pistachio sauce. Kofte are meatballs or small patties made from ground meat, and I just happened to have some ground lamb in the freezer. There were also pistachios and tahini kicking around for the sauce, as well as the last vestiges of our garden's fresh mint and all of the recipe's required spices. (Find the recipe here.)

Toasting and grinding the pistachios was the most difficult and time consuming part of the process. Well, not that either the toasting or the grinding part of the equation was difficult, but cleaning out the coffee grinder that I used for the purpose was not fun. (We have two - one for coffee, one for other stuff.) The sauce ended up tasting more of the tahini than the pistachios, which was a little disappointing, but the kofte were wonderful. I had swapped out the currants in the recipe for dried cherries, and they lent a lovely sweetness to the savory spice- and mint-flavored patties. I also chose to serve some home-made preserved lemons as a garnish, and their juicy salty tang was a perfect accent.

I hope to try other recipes from this book over the coming months and will post my adventures here. In the meantime, do try the recipe for yourself.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Pink Sultan

That's a funny name for a dip, isn't it? Pink Sultan? Perhaps a little pompous? But it's a thing--a yogurt and beet concoction that is a typical Turkish mezze. Traditionally made with labne, a yogurt cheese, the dish can be quite thick, like the one we had at Bosphorus earlier this year.

Labne isn't exactly in every supermarket, and I didn't feel like waiting 24 hours to make my own (nor did I have any cheesecloth), so I just used plain, unstrained, Greek yogurt to turn the dish into a dip for crackers and crudites. One thing that can be found in most supermarkets is plain cooked beets. Use the ones found in the produce section, not in jars in the canned goods aisle. Two 1 1/2" - 2" beets should do the trick for 1 cup of yogurt. Season it up with garlic, a bit of lemon juice, and salt, and you have a tasty and different party snack. And it doesn't even really taste like beets.

If you do find labne, or have the patience to make your own, you can still use the same recipe. The labne will be spreadable rather than dippable, so serve it with some fresh pitas rather than crackers or veg.

Pink Sultan Dip

2 cooked beets, chopped
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
Squeeze lemon juice
Salt to taste

Combine ingredients in a food processor until well-blended. Serve with pita, crackers, or crudites.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Be AMAZING!

Here's an upcoming event for a very worthy group. The $50 per ticket will not only get you some yummy food from places like Clementine and Bosphorous Bistro, you'll also assisting I Am O'Kah with empowering youth toward economic independence.

I Am O’Kah!’s Be AMAZING! Awards Gala May 17 To Support Youth 

Entrepreneurship in Baltimore

Baltimore children and their families who are fighting against socio-economic barriers to success will be beneficiaries of I Am O’Kah! Inc.’s Be AMAZING! Awards Gala and Silent Auction. This Creative Black-Tie preferred celebration will take place Saturday, May 17, from 7:00 to 11:00 PM, at the Maryland Historical Society (201 W Monument St., 21201).

This year’s theme is “Unlock Your Inner Art,” in honor of local champions who have shown their commitment to creativity in their service to the community. With over 300 guests expected, the event will feature live interactive art, music by Marc Avon Evans and VOR Music Group, cocktails and food tastings by Clementine, Tapas Adela, Plates, Diablo Doughnuts, Pho Towson, Bosphorous Bistro, Land of Kush, and Dessert Fantasies as well as a silent auction and guided tours of Maryland Historical Society exhibits.

Hosted by Brandi Proctor of Baltimore's FOX 45 & Walter Maxfield Jones of the Sweet Spot, an awards
presentation will recognize the following honorees for their innovative approach to serving the community:

▪Outstanding Community Leader of the Year - Joseph Manko of Liberty Elementary School
▪Outstanding Woman of the Year - Kate Williams of the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance
▪Outstanding Man of the Year - Teddy Coates of Black Professional Men
▪Outstanding Educator of the Year - Deana Frank of Elijah Cummings Youth Program
▪Outstanding Organization of the Year - Sarah Hemminger of Incentive Mentoring Program
▪Outstanding Artist of the Year - Brian Kirhagis of Brik Art
▪Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year - Taharka Brothers Ice Cream Co.
▪Outstanding Student of the Year – Lindsay Bottos, MICA

Tickets at $50/person and event sponsorships can be purchased online at www.iamokah.eventbrite.com. All event proceeds will benefit I Am O'Kah'!'s Financial Rockstar Academy and the Kahdine Ann DaCosta Scholarship for Excellence in Leadership.

For more information about the Be AMAZING! Awards Gala or I Am O’Kah! Inc., contact the foundation’s executive director, Aisha DaCosta, at 443-468-6402 or aisha@iamokah.org, or visit www.iamokah.org.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Bosphorus Bistro

Several months back, the Minx purchased a Groupon for Bosphorus Bistro. I was curious to check the place out since I had never had Turkish food before and we had been happy with the pizza and sandwiches from their sister restaurant Toss. Also, Bosphorus Bistro is located only about 10 minutes from our home. Bad weather and other commitments prevented us from going for quite a while, but one sunny Saturday, we decided we had to head down York Road and try their wares.

The restaurant is quite dark with strings of lights along the walls to provide a soft glow. We were seated in one of the wood booths along the wall and settled in with the menu. Since our goal at any restaurant is to experience as many different items as possible, we decided to try the mixed mezze platter which allows you to choose four items from the appetizers list. We went with the pink sultan (mainly because the name intrigued us), baba ganoush, kisir, and dolma.

Mixed mezze platter with pink sultan, baba ganoush, kisir, and dolma

The pink sultan was a dip consisting of beets and garlic mixed in labne (yogurt-based cheese). I've never been a fan of beets, but the earthy flavor that normally turns me off seemed mitigated by the garlic and the creamy, tangy labne. I actually found myself enjoying it, especially when scooped onto the fresh pita bread. I'm also not crazy about eggplant, but I'm quite content to devour a well-prepared baba ganoush and the one served at Bosphorus was lemony and slightly smoky. Kisir was new to me: a blend of bulgar wheat, mint, onion, tomato, and pepper. The bulgar wheat gave the dip a hearty, nutty flavor while the other ingredients brought the familiar flavors of the Mediterranean. The tomato especially provided a refreshing brightness. The dolma were dense little packages of rice wrapped in grape leaves. I always love the soft texture of grape leaves.

Lamb Chops

For entrees, I order the lamb chops and Minx ordered the cizbiz kofta. My lamb chops were tender with just the right amount of sear and a fine grilled flavor. Minx's kofta were four savory lamb patties that also had a nice taste of the grill. My chops were herbacious and salty in a good way, while the Minx's cizbiz were well seasoned. Both dishes were served on a bed of buttery rice with mushrooms and a large amount of red and green chopped bell pepper scattered around the edge of the plate.

Cizbiz kofta

For someone who loves rice, I was happy to nom away on the generous portion of slightly sticky rice. However, the large quantity of bell pepper was unnecessary. Both the mushrooms and the peppers were undercooked, existing in that odd textural limbo between not quite crunchy and raw tasting, but not quite soft and sweet either. Minx and I felt that a smaller quantity of vegetables would be fine, especially if they were first finely chopped and/or roasted.

The owner greeted us at the door when we came in and he stopped by during our meal to see how we liked everything. We had a pleasant conversation and he seemed genuinely interested in our feedback about the food and the restaurant. Based on the number of customers who greeted him as they entered the restaurant, it's clear that he is building a clientele of diners who enjoy visiting the restaurant on a regular basis. We are also eager to go back and try some of their other Middle Eastern dishes.

Bosphorus Bistro
5716 York Road
Baltimore, MD 21212
(410) 323-0300





Posted on Minxeats.com.

Kofte with Pistachio Sauce

You may recall from my recap of Time Machine Chefs back in August that I expressed admiration for chef Silvena Rowe, of the restaurant Quince in London's May Fair Hotel. Her ballsy attitude on the show made me check if she had any cookbooks available in the U.S. - and yes, she does! A couple, actually, and I chose to buy Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume: Cuisine of the Eastern Mediterranean, mostly because I liked the idea of purple citrus. :) While no actual purple citrus were harmed during the reading of that book, by the time I was done with it, I wanted to cook every recipe. I even bought a jar of grape leaves, which I have never used before.

The recipe that stood out most for me was for lamb kofte with pistachio sauce. Kofte are meatballs or small patties made from ground meat, and I just happened to have some ground lamb in the freezer. There were also pistachios and tahini kicking around for the sauce, as well as the last vestiges of our garden's fresh mint and all of the recipe's required spices. (Find the recipe here.)

Toasting and grinding the pistachios was the most difficult and time consuming part of the process. Well, not that either the toasting or the grinding part of the equation was difficult, but cleaning out the coffee grinder that I used for the purpose was not fun. (We have two - one for coffee, one for other stuff.) The sauce ended up tasting more of the tahini than the pistachios, which was a little disappointing, but the kofte were wonderful. I had swapped out the currants in the recipe for dried cherries, and they lent a lovely sweetness to the savory spice- and mint-flavored patties. I also chose to serve some home-made preserved lemons as a garnish, and their juicy salty tang was a perfect accent.

I hope to try other recipes from this book over the coming months and will post my adventures here. In the meantime, do try the recipe for yourself.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Cazbar On the Go

Charles Street restaurant Cazbar is now delivering tasty Turkish-style morsels to the masses via their new food truck, Cazbar On the Go. After several weeks of wondering if they'd park near the University of Maryland and actually hang around for more than five minutes (once in a while there'd be a rumor that the truck was outside, but by lunchtime, it had disappeared), I was able to catch it twice in one week. I took the opportunity to try a little bit of everything.

On my first visit to the truck, I tried two of their Turkish "tacos" - literally taco-sized flour tortillas stuffed with your choice of doner or chicken kebab, or felafel.

The chicken taco featured tender chunks of chicken breast with a subtle char-grilled flavor. The doner (couldn't tell if it was beef or lamb or both) was also very tender. Both tacos included a tangy yogurt sauce, chunks of lettuce, and a nice bit of heat. At $2.50 a taco, they make for a cheap - and delicious - lunch.

Not as reasonably-priced is the baklava, at $4 for an order of three man's-thumb-sized pieces. The portion I got was a little soft and soggy, and seemed completely devoid of nuts apart from a hint of green between the layers of pastry. I understand that Turkish baklava features nuts that are coarsely ground, but if there were pistachios in there, they were finely ground.

On another day, I had a honking huge salad - for $6! - topped with doner meat, shredded carrots and red cabbage, two different yogurt-based sauces, AND a tangy vinaigrette. The salad is also available with chicken or felafel.

Not realizing I'd be getting a restaurant-sized dollop (nor that the salad would be so huge), I also ordered a side of creamy baba ganoush. It was served with slices of could-be-fresher bread (as was the salad) on which to spread the eggplant and tahini concoction - I would have preferred pita. The baba ganoush itself was pretty good though.

Overall, everything was generally excellent and, for the most part, reasonably priced, which makes Cazbar On the Go yet another great addition to the roster of food trucks that are cruising downtown Baltimore.


Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.