KITCHEN TABLE
EXPLORE THE WORLD WITH YOUR TASTE BUDS
The story of the world’s most famous trade routes, retold through recipes by Anna Ansari in Silk Roads (DK, $48)
NO-WASTE BEET BORANI IRANIAN YOGHURT DIP
Image credit: Silk Roads by Anna Ansari.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, very thinly sliced into half-moons
200g beet leaves and stalks, leaves roughly chopped, stalks finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp dried mint
250g cooked beets, coarsely grated
1½ cups (375g) Greek yogurt
½ tsp fine sea salt
Zest and juice of 1 lime
To serve (optional)
Pistachios
Flaky sea salt
Mint leaves
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, reduce the heat to low, add the onion, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add the beet stalks, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the dried mint. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent any burning. Add the beet leaves and cook for 3-5 minutes more, or until the leaves are soft and wilted. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, combine the grated cooked beets with the yogurt, salt, lime juice, and half the lime zest. Stir to mix well. When the onion and beet greens mixture is cool, add this to the bowl and stir to mix everything together before moving the bowl to the refrigerator Chill for at least 1 hour so the flavours can come together.
Just before serving, sprinkle the borani with the last of the dried mint and lime zest. If you like, top it off with some pistachios and flaky sea salt, and garnish with some fresh mint leaves.
DA PAN JI UYGHUR “BIG PLATE CHICKEN”
Image credit: Silk Roads by Anna Ansari.
3 tbsp neutral oil
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1kg chicken legs and/or thighs, preferably skin-on, bone-in
½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 star anise
10-15 dried chilies of your choosing (the amount you use will depend on their heat level and your heat tolerance)
½ tsp ground white pepper
½ cinnamon stick
1 tbsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
3 fat garlic cloves, minced
1 mild red or green chili, sliced into rings
2-4 green onions, chopped, whites and greens separated
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp fine sea salt
3 bell peppers (colour of your choosing), cut into 1¼ in chunks
1kg potatoes (I suggest using Yukon Gold), well washed or peeled and cut into ¾ inch rounds
In a large pot for which you have a lid, heat the oil over high heat. Add the sugar to the oil and whisk it until it dissolves. Add your chicken to the sugary oil, making sure you don’t overcrowd the pan, and brown it on all sides. You can tell the meat has been properly browned and is ready to switch sides when it releases easily from the pan. For me, this process takes about 2 minutes per side. Once browned, remove your chicken and set it aside on a plate. You may need to do this in batches.
Reduce the heat to medium, then add the dried spices and bay leaves to the pan and fry for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the ginger, garlic, fresh chili, and green onion whites, along with your soy sauce, tomato paste, and salt. Stir well.
Return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices released. Stir to coat the chicken, then add 2½ cups (600ml) water. Bring the mixture to a boil before covering the pot with its lid and reducing the heat to low
Leave to simmer for 15 minutes before adding the peppers, potatoes, and an additional 150ml water. Stir to mix and then cook, covered, over medium heat for another 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove the pot from the heat, add the green onion greens, stir through, and eat greedily.
NOT-YOUR-AVERAGE-COUNTRY-FAIR-FUNNEL-CAKES
Image credit: Silk Roads by Anna Ansari.
1½ cups plus 2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 cup 2% milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ tsp almond extract
6½ cups neutral oil, for deep-frying
Honey, for drizzling
Pistachio powder, for dusting (purchased, or make your own by grinding pistachio nibs in a food processor/spice grinder)
Edible dried rose petals, for sprinkling
In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and almond extract until well mixed and completely smooth.
Carefully transfer your funnel cake batter into a squeeze bottle or pastry bag with a resealable tip. I do this with a funnel and a ladle
Pour the oil into a medium straight-sided sauté pan over medium heat. Heat the oil to 375°F (190°C). This heating-up process may take up to 10 minutes, but it’s important, you do not want to fry in oil that is either too cool or too hot. Like Goldilocks, you want just the right temperature.
Once the oil is ready, use your squeeze bottle or pastry bag to drizzle the batter into the hot oil, swirling, overlapping, and crisscrossing it so that it won’t fall to pieces when you take it out. Work quickly, stopping once you’ve created a two to three-layer deep circular lattice. This should take seconds.
Fry the cake for 2 minutes, or until light golden, then carefully flip and fry 1-2 minutes on the other side until similarly golden.
Remove the funnel cake from the oil and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool for 30 seconds before moving it to a serving plate.
Immediately drizzle the cake generously with honey, give it a nice dusting of pistachio powder, and sprinkle it with a few dried rose petals. Repeat until you’ve used up all your batter.
Silk Roads by Anna Ansari is published by DK, $48.