Rhubarb Stew or Khoresht Reevaas

It is spring here and Irish rhubarb has hit the shops. All winter I have been waiting to make Khoresht Reevaas or Rhubarb Stew. In April I posted a recipe for Khoresh Baddemjaan (Eggplant Stew). This stew is almost the same, just make with rhubarb not eggplant.
Rhubarb Stew or Khoresht Reevaas
severs 4
1 chopped onion
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 cup of stewing meat (lamb or beef)
1/4 cup yellow split lentils
1 tsp tomato paste
1 dried lime
salt, pepper, hot pepper
1 tsp mint
1 tsp parlsey
3 stalks rhubarb

In a pot over med heat brown the onion in the oil and turmeric. Add the stewing meat and seal. Add the yellow lentils. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Stir in the tomato paste, drop in the dried lime*, salt, pepper, herbs and hot pepper if you like. Its a good idea to cut the lime in half. Put on the lowest heat and let stew 2 to 8 hours. Just make sure it doesn't dry out.
*Note if you do not have dried lime and or you don't like sour then you can leave out the dried lime as the rhubarb is sour.

Cut the rhubarb in 1 1/2 inch sticks. Drop into the stew for the last 5 min, so they soften but don't turn into a string mess.
I've made this stew 2 times this month, 1 beef and 1 lamb. It has a light fresh taste which is perfect for spring. We had our with rice.

Raspberry Pavlova

The weather has been all blue skys (with no plains) and sun. If this isn't Irish summer than I don't know what is. It may be a bit early for raspberries but I was in to mood, so I made a raspberry pavlova.
Raspberry Pavlova
severs 6
6 eggs whites
6 Tbs sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup cream
1 Tbs powered sugar
bit of dark chocolate
Pre-heat oven to 300f or 150c. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Whip the egg whites (can add 1/8 tsp of cream of tarter if you have it). Slowly whip in the sugar one Tbs at a time. The egg whites will be glossy and stiff. Spoon the whites on to the baking paper and make one big circle. Bake for 50 min or until the top starts to brown. Turn the oven off but leave the pavlova in the oven until cooled (an hour).

Whip the cream with the powered sugar. Add a few crushed raspberries to the cream, mix and spread on top the cooled pavlova. Plop the rest of the raspberries on top and finish with shredded dark chocolate.

This recipe is really soft marshmallowy, not hard and crunchie.

Buckwheat Crepes with Shawn's Applesauce

I like to eat whole buckwheat raw or even sprouted. Unlike wheat or rice it is soft and easy to eat uncooked. But this morning I felt like having crepes so I popped some buckwheat into my food processor to make flour.
Crepes are so easy to make. There are tons of recipes out but 1 egg, 1 cup milk, and 1 cup flour always works for me.

Buckwheat Crepes with Shawn's Applesauce
Severs 2 (6 crepes)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup buckwheat flour
2 Tbs oil
4 small apples
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 Tbs plain yogurt (optional)

Buckwheat Crepes
Mix the egg and milk together. Add the buckwheat flour and stir well. In a non-stick pan on med heat add 1 tsp of oil and pour 1/6 of the batter. Tilt the pan to spread the batter. Flip when the bubbles have popped and the crepe is pulling away from the pan. Cook for 20-30 sec before removing. Repeat with the rest of that batter.

Shawn's Applesauce
Peal and chop the apples and put in a small pot. Cover with water. Add the cinnamon and cloves and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 min until most of the water is gone and the apples are falling apart. Remove the spices and mash.

Fill the Crepes with the applesauce and top with plain yogurt.

Pear and Grapefruit Glazed Chicken

This recipe for pear and grapefruit glazed chicken has the 4 out to 5 taste I love the most. Sweet, salty, spicy, and sour. The 5th taste is chocolate, but I guess you can't have everything.
Pear and Grapefruit Glazed Chicken
for one small or med (free rage Irish) Chicken
2 large (4 small) soft pears pealed, cored and chopped
1 large grapefruit (juice for glaze, peal for inside the chicken)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use Korean soup sauce which is lighter)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp of dried Korean hot pepper
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 chicken

Place the pears, grapefruit juice, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, spices and herbs in a small pot. Add water to cover the pears and bing to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for 30min (or watch the pot and let boil for 15 min). The pears should be very soft and easy to mash and half of the water gone. Take off the heat, let cool and mash/blend.
Turn your oven on 220c or the hottest it will go!
Wash the chicken and place the jucied grapefruit peel inside the chicken. Place the Chicken in an oven safe pan and glaze. Clover with foil and bake for 2 hours, turning and basting every 30min. Chicken is done when the skin is dark, juices are clear and the meat is almost falling off the bone.
Saeid loves this chicken and I think its great too. We had our yummy chicken with German potato dumplings.

Pomegranate Salad

I love fall! Figs, dates and pomegranates. It used to take me forever to peel pomegranates, but then I learned the Iranian way.
Cut a thin strip off the top and bottom. Should be able to see a tinny bit of fruit. Score around the fruit making four parts. Pull apart over a bowl. Then pop out the rest the seeds.

Done in record time. For pomegranate salad add salt and eat with a spoon.

Local Strawberries

No its not spring here, but the Irish strawberries are still going strong.

Figs

Look what I am not going to cook for dinner! I already had one and it was perfect.