Because I’ve come home from my travels feeling restless and stuck I have been struck with a yen to try crazy different things in the kitchen. If I’m too broke to actually travel everywhere I want to right now I will have to do it via my kitchen. So on the menu this week for us was white bean, spinach, tomatillo enchiladas, corn and courgette agnolotti, mock chicken and dumplings and Egyptian koshari (or koshary, whichever you prefer). We have made three out of the four so far and they have been EPIC. Turns out if you put all of your passion and frustration into one outlet it can yield beautiful results.
In this episode of vegfork I will share with you our koshari recipe. I first had this dish from a portable little food cart here in Clarkston. They had a meaty and a veg version and I remember being pleased that it didn’t seem a big deal at all for me to ask for a veg version. I now know that it’s a bit of a bastardization that they offered a meaty version at all, the tradition for this dish in Egypt is vegetarian all the way babe.
What is koshari exactly? It’s a carb on carb protein-y delicious Egyptian street food. The spice mixture used is called Baharat. It is a middle eastern spice blend of 7 spices that is heavy on cumin and black pepper but includes a lot of tasty other spices like paprika, coriander, etc.
The more you make this dish the more you should play around with your very own baharat blend. The dish itself consists of a foundation of rice, lentils and fideo (a small, thin vermicelli-like noodle) followed by a layer of macaroni, a layer of a spiced tomato sauce, a layer of vinegar-y chickpeas and topped with crispy fried onions. Weird right? AND DELICIOUS. I made tons and ended up giving a lot of it away because I just want people to try the amazing unexpected tastiness of this carb-fest (if you’re a fad-loving carb hater you ain’t on the right blog). I think with this recent cold weather it offers a perfect blend of heartiness and spicy warmth. Hope you like it as much as we do.
Koshari
Makes about 6 servings
For the foundation:
- 1/4 cup brown lentils (or half a tin)
- med white rice, 1 cup
- cumin, 1 tbsp
- fideo, 1/2 cup (you can often find this in the spanish section of your grocery store. If you cant find it, chop up some angel hair pasta)
- water, 2.5 cups
- olive oil, 1 tbsp
- s+p
For the tomato sauce:
- tomato paste, 4 tbsp
- one 14oz can of whole tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- a fourth of an onion, diced small
- olive oil, 1 tbsp
- cayenne, 1/4 tsp
- coriander, 1/4 tsp
- cumin, 1/2 tsp
- turmeric, 1/4 tsp
- a pinch of paprika
- a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
- black pepper, 1/4 tsp
- 1 bay leaf
The other stuff:
- macaroni, 1 cup
- 1/4 tbsp nutmeg
- chickpeas, 1 14oz tin
- garlic, 1 clove pressed
- red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp
- either batter and fry your own onions or get some french’s fried onions, to top
This dish, though it has many parts, is very simple to make. First, rinse and boil your lentils for 2 mins, leave covered for an hour. If you are feeling lazy and dont want to deal with soaking beans (like me most of the time), just mix in half a tin of brown lentils with the rice when its done, I have tried it both ways and I think they both taste great. Boil up some water and cook up that macaroni, when drained and finished add in a nob of butter and a healthy grating of fresh nutmeg and then put to the side.
Second, pop your rice, fideo, and lentils in a medium saucepan with come cumin and black pepper. Sautee for 5. Add water. Bring to boil then cover and take down to low heat. Cook until done. Put to the side. Sautee onion, garlic, and spices in a skillet for a few minutes, add tomatoes and paste and let hang out on low for at least 15 mins. Put aside. Toss your chickpeas in red wine vinegar and a pressed garlic clove. Assemble as so: one decent layer of rice, lentil mixture, a thinner layer of macaroni, drizzle over your tomato sauce, top with chickpeas and fried onions. FINI
