Pastille (Israeli pastry) with chicken and caramelised onions

Israeli cuisine is something completely new to me. I've been told that the flavours and dishes are mostly fusion in nature with Arab, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences, and from the very few dishes I've tried from Ottolenghi, I kind of understand the classification. So when i was invited to the Taste of Israel hosted at Restaurant 1701, in the grounds of Britain's oldest synagogue, I really couldn't say no. I was completely intrigued by the food that was going to be served and even more the Israeli wines that were going to be paired with the food. 

The event was designed to raise awareness of Israeli food in the UK and to break down cultural barriers with the power of food and cooking. WIZO, a charitable initiative brought down 3 renowned chefs who put together the Israeli feast for us. They trained at different WIZO supported institutions and I must say they did a fabulous job. 

We were served dishes like pickled mullet with tomato nectar, gourmet lamb kebabs, sea fish medley with za'atar and pickled lemon etc., and they were paired with a selection of really good Israeli wines chosen by expert sommelier John Wriss of Kedem Europe, importer and distributor of kosher wine in the UK. My favourite dish, however ,was the halva cream with strawberries, rose water pistachio and kediff which I cant event begin to explain how amazing it was. In fact my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I did get hold of the recipe, but most of the ingredients were really difficult to source and so I thought of giving the Pastille recipe a go.

The traditional pastille is a sweet and savoury fusion dish, more or less like a puff pastry pie. But it was served like spring rolls at the event and I decided to make them like samosas just for kicks. It tasted great with duck, but I was a bit wary about cooking duck at home and so used chicken instead. It was not the best substitute but not too bad either. The ras-el-hanout spice lends a distinct flavour so try not to avoid it. I was about to buy it from the store when my generous boss offered me a small pack of the spice which her mum had brought down from Tunisia. Now it cant get more authentic like that I'm sure. Ive linked to a recipe which you can try, or most of the supermarkets do stock them. I know Sainsburys does.

Pastille with some hot mint tea is what you need to eat on a cold and windy Winter afternoon.

Recipe adapted from the Wizo UK Dinner menu (makes around 20 to 22 small pastille pockets)

 

Chicken- 500 gms, boneless and finely diced (1 to 2 inch cubes)

Onions- 2, finely chopped

Ras-el-hanout- 1/2 tbsp (follow this recipe to whip up your own)

Chicken stock- 125ml

Coriander leaves- 1/2 cup

Eggs- 3, small

Almonds- 125 gms, blanched and sliced

Tahini- 3 tbsp

Oil- 2 tbsp + enough to fry the pastille

Brik pastry or filo pastry sheets- around 10 to 12 (I used filo pastry)

Flour mixed with water to stick the edges if its brik pastry and melted butter if its filo pastry

Preheat the oven to 170C and roast the almond slices in a baking tray for about 7 to 8 minutes or till they turn a slight shade of brown. You can do this on a skillet as well. Once done remove from tray and keep aside.

While that's sorted, heat oil in a frying pan and saute the onions till they become golden brown.

Add the chicken, season with salt, Ras-el-hanout and fry till brown, by stirring on and off.

Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for about 6 to 8 minutes or till the chicken is completely cooked and almost all of the liquid is absorbed.

Break the eggs into the pan and scramble for a couple of minutes, until the eggs absorb whatever liquid is remaining in the pan and becomes a crumbly scrambled mixture with the chicken. Make sure this doesn't get too dry.

Stir in the roasted almonds and coriander leaves and remove from heat.

Mix in tahini and keep aside to cool completely.

Once cool, you can assemble and fry the pastille.

Spread the filo pastry on a work surface and fold over so you get two layers. To make sure they don't come apart, lightly join together using melted butter.

Put about 2 tsp of filling (don't over fill it) and roll like how you do a samosa. if its too long, slice off the remaining. If you think rolling it like spring rolls is easier, feel free to do that instead.

Heat enough oil in a frying pan and fry the pastille in batches till about golden and crisp.

Drain on kitchen towels and serve with ketchup or chutney.

Notes: Original recipe was made with duck slices. If using duck, follow the exact same procedure and measurements, just that duck may take a little longer to cook.

Its not a spicy dish at all. So if you want some kick, add a slit green chilli while sauteing the chicken

Once rolled in the pastry, it can frozen in an air tight container and can be fried directly from the freezer.

With thanks to WIZO UK for an invite to the Taste of Israel event

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Minced pork and egg fried rice and Cooking with Kikkoman Masterclass

I know...been almost a month since I posted here. I'm not going to give excuses blaming work, weather, this, that etc etc. Instead, I'm going to jump right into it and talk about the 'Cooking with Kikkoman masterclass'  I attended a month back at the fabulous Matsuri St James restaurant. Kikkoman is a leading brand of soy sauce and I regularly use it for all my Asian cooking. We networked over cocktails at the foyer before being escorted into the restaurant and seated around a Teppan table. Bing-yu Lee, Manager for Kikkoman UK gave a talk on Kikkoman- how it is made, how its different from the usual ones and we even did a blind tasting between two different types of soy sauces.

Michelin Starred Chef, Simon Hulstone then took over and demonstrated how to use Kikkoman in a mean broccoli and scallop dish which we all got to taste. After a sushi making demo and a theatrical teppan-yaki meal cooked in front of our eyes we went on to enjoy our meal, full on, paired perfectly with wine.

In our goody bag was a Kikkoman cook book and this fried rice is adapted from that. There are so many easy recipes and even though i made this rice a week after the event, it didn't make it to the blog because I wasn't happy with the pictures. I thought id make it again and take better pictures, but nope, that never happened and so you are gonna have to just believe me when I say the fried rice tasted simply good. Its really really simple to make and you should give it a go.

I went a bit crazy with the stir frying and that's why it looks like tiny grain. Its just that the rice broke while I got carried away. So be careful when you do the final mixing.

Recipe adapted from the Kikkoman cook book (serves 2)

 

Basmati rice- 1 cup

Water- to cook the rice

Oil- 1 tbsp

Minced pork - 300gms

Ginger- 1 1/2 tbsp, peeled and grated

Garlic- 2 tbsp, peeled and finely chopped

Spring onion- 1/4 cup, finely chopped (reserve a few greens for garnish)

Green chilli- 1, finely chopped

Salt and pepper- to season

Kikkoman soy sauce- 2 tbsp

Eggs- 2

Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped (optional)

Cook the rice al dente. Drain and keep aside. Make the rice a day ahead and store in the refrigerator. This would make it drier- perfect for fried rice

Heat the oil in a non stick wok and add the minced pork. Stir fry on high heat till the meat changes colour.

Throw in the ginger, garlic, spring onion and green chilli and fry till the pork is cooked through.

Season with salt and pepper and 1 1/2 tbsp of Kikkoman soy sauce. Mix well and cook till the meat turns a bit brown.

Add the rice and stir fry on high heat continuously.

Whisk together the egg and remaining 1/2 tbsp soy sauce in a bowl.

Move aside a bit of the rice from the wok and add the egg. Scramble a bit, turn off the heat and leave covered for about a minute or two for the eggs to set.

Just before serving, garnish with the remaining spring onion greens and coriander leaves.

Notes: The original recipe called for chicken breasts. If using chicken (around 2 medium), dice them into cubes and do as above.

With thanks to Kikkoman for inviting me to the event and the goody bag.

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