Mafaldine with Chicken and Basil Pecorino Romano Creme

     Basil creme sauce is not a traditional Italian pasta sauce.  There are very few cream pasta sauces made in Italy.Even Italian American restaurants do not offer more than a couple of cream sauce pastas.  Cream sauces for pasta are more of an American or French style of serving pasta.  In the 1980's and the 1990's basil creme pastas were very popular.
     A basil cream for pasta usually has some Italian cheese in the sauce.  Parmesan is the most popular cheese for this sauce.  Pecorino romano cheese is also a very nice choice.  Pecorino romano is ewes milk cheese.
     Fresh basil is the best choice for this sauce.  Dried basil is not have enough green color to be a featured as a main ingredient.
     Mafaldine pasta was named after an Italian princess.  Her life came to a very tragic end during WWII.  Mafaldine is a long thin ruffled ribbon pasta and it has a very appealing look on a plate.
   
     Mafaldine with Chicken and Basil Pecorino Romano Creme:
     Cook 1 portion of mafaldine pasta in boiling water over high heat, till it becomes al dente.  While the pasta is cooking, the sauce can be made!
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
     Add 4 ounces of thin sliced raw boneless chicken breast.
     Saute the chicken, till it becomes halfway done.
     Add 1 minced garlic clove.
     Add 2 teaspoons of minced shallot.
     Saute till the garlic turns a golden color.
     Add 3 ounces of dry white wine.
     Simmer and reduce the wine, till it is nearly evaporated.
     Add 3/4 of cream.
     Add 3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh basil.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     When the cream starts to simmer and reduce, add 1/4 cup of freshly grated pecorino romano cheese while constantly stirring.
     Stir the sauce, till the cheese melts into the sauce.
     Simmer and reduce the pasta sauce, till it becomes a medium thin sauce consistency.
     Keep the sauce warm over very low heat.
     The mafaldine pasta should be cooked al dente by this time!
     Drain the water off of the pasta.
     Add the pasta to the sauce in the saute pan.
     Toss the pasta, chicken and sauce together.
     Use a long tine carving fork to place the pasta on a plate.
     Spoon any excess sauce or chicken pieces over the pasta.
     Sprinkle a little bit of finely grated pecorino romano cheese over the pasta.
     Garnish the pasta with a small basil sprig.
    
     Delicious, warm and friendly tasting!  This is a very simple cream pasta sauce that has a very nice flavor.  Just make enough sauce to coat the chicken and pasta.  Pasta should never be flooded with sauce.  This is an easy tasty pasta entree that only takes about ten minutes to make.  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna

Za'atar Chicken Tenders and Pickled Ginger Honey Slaw Hot Dog Bun Snack Sandwich!

A trendy Arabic style chicken tender gourmet hot dog bun sandwich!
  
     There is no shortage of great flavor on this little snack sandwich!  Za'atar spice mix has been popular since the days of ancient Egypt.  Za'atar is commonly used as a topping on khubz arabi (pita bread).  Za'atar spice mix is also used on chicken.  The toasted sesame and Arabic spice flavors of za'atar spiced chicken are perfect for a snack sandwich.  Za'atar spice mix is available at middle eastern, Persian and Arabic markets.
     Regular cole slaw would not be a good choice for this recipe.  The light flavor of a pickled ginger honey slaw is a perfect match with the flavor of za'atar chicken.
  
     Pickled Ginger Honey Cole Slaw:
     Place 1 cup of very thin sliced napa cabbage in a mixing bowl.
     Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped green bell pepper.
     Add a little bit of very thin sliced carrot strips for color.
     Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped roasted red bell pepper.
     Add 2 tablespoons of very thin sliced pickled ginger strips.  (Sliced sushi style pickled ginger is perfect for this recipe.)
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 1 tablespoon of honey.
     Add 1 tablespoon of goat milk yogurt.
     Thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
     Set the slaw aside.
  
     Za'atar Chicken Tenders:
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 1 tablespoon of blended olive oil.
     Add 2 chicken tenders.
     Season with sea salt.
     Lightly saute the chicken tenders on both sides, till they are nearly half way cooked.
     Remove the pan from the heat.
     Sprinkle a little bit of virgin olive oil over the chicken.
     Sprinkle a generous amount of za'atar spice mix over the chicken.  (Pre-mix za'atar is available in middle eastern markets.)
     Place the saute pan with the za'atar chicken into a 350º oven.
     Roast the chicken tenders, till they become fully cooked and till the za'atar spice becomes aromatic and lightly toasted.
  
     Za'atar Chicken Tenders and Pickled Ginger Honey Slaw Hot Dog Bun Snack Sandwich:
     Warm 1 poppyseed hot dog bun in the oven.
     Place the bun on a plate.
     Spread the pickled ginger honey slaw over the open hot dog bun.
     Place the za'atar chicken fingers in the slaw.
     Garnish the plate with a Persian pickled wild cucumber and a parsley sprig.
  
     I really cannot describe how good this trendy sandwich tastes!  The pickled ginger honey slaw is slightly sweet with a very nice light ginger flavor.  The roasted red pepper adds to the slaw's appeal.  The complex za'atar spice mix has such a nice old traditional comfortable flavor.  This is a very nice tasting trendy hot dog bun snack sandwich!  Yum!  ...  Shawna

Buffalo Chicken Tenders and Cole Slaw on a Poppyseed Bun

More spicy fun food!
    
     Gourmet hot dog bun snack sandwiches have been popular for a few years.  You can be as creative as you wish, when making these kinds of sandwiches.  Two classic flavors that go well together are cole slaw and buffalo chicken.
     Buffalo chicken wings were named after the city where they were created, Buffalo New York.  The original buffalo wing sauce was quite simple.  I make several different kings of wing sauces, including the original buffalo wing sauce.
     The original buffalo wing sauce was made with Durkee's Hot Sauce which is marketed as Frank's Red Hot.  You can adjust the spicy chile pepper heat to your personal taste by using bottled mild cayenne pepper sauce for a medium hot buffalo sauce or use a habanero sauce for an extremely spicy sauce.  I like spicy, so I made the chicken in the pictures with with habanero hot sauce.
    
     Buffalo Wing Sauce:
     This recipe makes enough sauce for 3 to 4 sandwiches!  This buffalo wing sauce is close to the original recipe.  The original recipe was basically just butter and Frank's Red Hot.  I lived with people from Buffalo for one year, so Buffalo style food was what they bragged about every chance they had.  Buffalo New York style food is worth bragging up!  
     Ever since the original buffalo wing recipe was created, cooks have been modifying the recipe.  This is a standard bar style buffalo wing sauce recipe.  Honey and ketchup or BBQ sauce adds a gentle depth of flavor and it helps the sauce to cling to the wings.  Cattlemen's BBQ sauce is what most bars and restaurants use for this wing sauce.  Cattlemen's is a Kansas City style BBQ sauce.  
     Place 1/2 cup of Frank's Red Hot sauce in a small mixing bowl.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of honey.
     Add 1 pinch of cayenne pepper.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of ketchup or BBQ sauce.
     Add 3 tablespoons of melted butter.
     Mix the ingredients together.
     Set the sauce aside.
    
     Napa Cole Slaw:
     Place 1 cup of very thin sliced Napa cabbage in a mixing bowl.
     Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped onion.
     Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped green bell pepper.
     Add a few very thin sliced carrot slivers for color.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 1 small pinch of ground celery seed.
     Add 1 teaspoon of sugar.
     Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of rice vinegar.
     Add 1 tablespoon of milk.
     Add 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise.
     Thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
     Note:  The cabbage and vegetables should only be coated with the thin cole slaw dressing and not be flooded with the dressing.  Any excess dressing will remain in the bowl.
     Set the cole slaw aside.
    
     Buffalo Chicken Tenders:
     Dredge 2 large chicken tenders in flour that is seasoned with sea salt and black pepper.
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
     Add the floured chicken tenders.
     Pan fry the chicken tenders, till they become golden brown on both sides and till they become fully cooked.
     Place the pan fried chicken tenders in a mixing bowl.
     Add just enough of the buffalo wing sauce to coat the chicken tenders.
     Toss the chicken tenders with the sauce, till they are completely coated.
     Warm a poppyseed hot dog bun in an oven.
     Spread the coleslaw on the open hot dog bun.
     Place the buffalo chicken tenders on the cole slaw.
     Place the snack sandwich on a plate.
     Garnish the plate with parsley sprigs and a pickled okra spear.
    
     This is a very tasty snack sandwich that is great for a weekend afternoon.  Hot dog bun sandwiches are easy to eat.  The cole slaw is a simple standard recipe and it gives cooling relief for the spicy buffalo chicken heat.  Delicious!  ...  Shawna

Miso Soup with Shrimp Lotus Tofu and Shiitake

     Miso soup has such a nice healthy flavor.  Many people in Japan start their day with a bowl of miso soup.  When I eat miso soup, it is usually my breakfast.  The benefits of having miso soup instead of a regular "greasy spoon diner" style breakfast are obvious.  Less grease, a lighter feeling in the tummy and healthy ingredients are good reasons for a hot bowl of miso soup in the morning.
     I made a 5 minute dashi broth with wakame seaweed and shaved dried bonito flakes for this soup.  Kombu seaweed is the most popular seaweed for miso soup, because is has a sweet flavor and it is loaded with MSG.  Wakame seaweed is more savory than kombu and many people prefer wakame in a dashi broth.  Bonito is in the tuna family of fish.  Dried bonito flakes have a very mild agreeable umami flavor.  I left the shrimp unshelled with the heads on for this soup.  Many people enjoy the tasty orange colored shrimp fats that are behind the shrimp head.  Lotus root is one of my favorite vegetables.  Lotus is starchy like a potato and it remains crisp after boiling.

     This recipe makes 1 serving of soup!
    
     Wakame Katsuobushi Dashi:
     Boil 2 3/4 cups of water in a sauce pot over medium high heat.
     Add 3 tablespoons of shaved dried bonito flakes.  (Katsuobushi)
     Add 2 tablespoons of chopped salt packed rinsed wakame seaweed.
     Boil the broth for 5 minutes.
     Pour the broth through a strainer into a second sauce pot.
     Discard the wakame and bonito flakes.
   
     Miso Soup with Shrimp Lotus Tofu and Shiitake:
     Place the sauce pot with the dashi broth over medium heat.
     Add 1/2 of minced a garlic clove.
     Add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger paste.
     Add 4 thin slices of lotus root to the broth.
     Add 1 thin sliced medium size shiitake mushroom.
     Add 1/4 teaspoon of soy sauce.
     Add 3 drops of sesame oil.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Simmer the dashi broth till the lotus root just starts to become tender and the shiitake mushrooms become fully cooked.
     Add 2 whole shrimp with the heads attached.
     Simmer till the shrimp become fully cooked.
     Reduce the temperature to medium low heat.
     Add 2 tablespoons of red miso paste while stirring.
     Simmer and stir, till the miso combines with the broth.
     Pour the soup into a large bowl.
     Add 3 ounces of cube shaped pieces of soft tofu.
     Add 2 snow peas that are cut into thin slivers.
     Add 3 thin slices of green jalapeno pepper.
     Add 6 cilantro leaves.
     Add sprinkle a few thin bias slices of green onion on the soup.
     Try to expose a lotus root slice and the shrimp near the surface of the soup.
    
     The wakame seaweed is loaded with nutrients and it has traces of iodine.  Any broth that is made with seaweed is very attractive for its preventative medicine value.  The shrimp are cooked tender and they are fun to snack on while sipping on this soup.  Yummy!  ...  Shawna

Lamb Kafta Sliders on Khubz Arabi

Gourmet sliders!  Slider mania is far from over!
  
     So many great chefs have created gourmet slider entrees in recent years.  I have posted some exceptionally nice slider recipes at this food site.  I have used several different kinds of meat, wild game and fish to make my slider recipes.  Steam buns and home made Italian slider rolls is what I have used for buns so far.
     Middle eastern Kafta is perfect for a slider!  There are many ways to spell kafta, but most of the recipes have similar ingredients.  I posted an Algerian style kafta a few days ago that was made with ground beef.  Lamb is a popular meat for making kafta.  These lamb kafta sliders have an unforgettably good flavor!
     Khubz Arabi is also known as pita bread or pocket bread.  Khubz arabi was the first choice of bread for these kafta sliders.
     The kaftah spice mixture can be bought pre-made at a Persian or Arabic market.  I like the pre-made kaftah spice mix, because it has the correct proportions of spices and it costs less than buying all the necessary spices separately.  Spices that are bought at an Arabic market are always very fresh and aromatic.
  
     Kaftah Spice Mixture:
     It is much cheaper to buy kaftah spice mix pre-made and it is a very accurate pre-mixed spice mixture.  In case there is no middle eastern markets in your area, then this basic kaftah spice mix recipe can be used.
     Here is the basic proportions for a kaftah spice mix:
     2 parts cinnamon
     1 part allspice
     1 part cumin
     1 part coriander
     1 part mild red chile powder
     1/2 part black pepper
     1/4 part mace
     A small portion of finely ground toasted sesame seed is optional.
     Sea salt is sometimes added, but the salt is traditionally used as a separate seasoning and is not part of a kaftah spice mix.
     Simply mix the dry kaftah spice mix ingredients together.
     By using proportions for the recipe, you can make a small batch or a large batch of the kaftah spice mix.  Any leftover kaftah spice mix can be saved for later recipes.
  
     Lamb Kafta Sliders:
     Place 6 ounces ground lamb in a mixing bowl.
     Add 1 minced clove of garlic.
     Add 1 tablespoon of finely minced onion.
     Add sea salt.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of kaftah spice mixture.
     Thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
     Divide the lamb kafta mixture into 3 equal portions.
     Use a 2 1/2" wide steel ring mold to form 3 lamb kafta slider patties.
     Heat a cast iron skillet or saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of blended olive oil.
     Add the 3 lamb kafta slider patties.
     Pan fry the kafta patties on both sides, till they become fully cooked and brown in color.  Be sure to flip the patties a few times, so they cook evenly.
     Place the cooked kafta patties on a wire screen roasting rack to drain off any excess grease.
     Cut medium size warm pita bread (khubz arabi) into pie shaped thirds or fourths.  The pita bread pieces need to be just slightly larger than the kafta slider patties.
     Use your fingers to open the pita bread.
     Place a thin slice of plum tomato in each pita slice.
     Place the sliders on the tomato in each pita slice.
     Set the sliders on a plate.
     Garnish the plate with a parsley sprig, a pickled wild cucumber and a pickled mild red chile pepper.
  
     Delicious!  The flavor and aroma of lamb kafta is captivating.  These are some great tasting gourmet Arabic style lamb sliders!  Yum!  ...  Shawna      

Linguettini and Chicken with Tomato Herb Sauce

     Pasta sauces like tomato herb sauce were very popular in the 1980's.  For customers, an appealing and "easy to identify" name of a pasta entree that is easy to pronounce was nice.  Pasta creations of all kinds were a trend during that era.  Previously to the 1980's, it seemed that an Italian restaurant was the only place that a good plate of pasta could be found.  French chefs and California chefs went absolutely nuts creating non traditional pasta entrees during the 1980's.  Haute cuisine gourmet ravioli creations became a favorite item for French chefs.
     During the mid 1980's I was working in a French cafe with a French chef who had taught culinary arts in two chef schools in France.  The cafe was located in a wealthy retirement area in Florida.  The cafe hosted fashion shows a few days during week.  Most of our clientele was senior citizen ladies and shoppers who wanted lunch.  A crowd like that does not want difficult to pronounce foreign language items on a menu or overly complicated cuisine.  When the chef wrote the menu for the cafe, all the items on the menu were written in plain English.  The French chef put no pastas on the menu.  I was the sous chef at the cafe and I was responsible for the lunch specials du jour.  I ran a pasta as one of my du jour offerings nearly every day.  I had a lot of Italian pasta experience, but serving Italian pasta in a French cafe is frowned upon, so I cooked pasta creations that had a french flair.
     That little French cafe's food was highly rated until the billionaire owner's assets were frozen in one of the biggest stock market scandals of all time!  One of our regular customers was a retired French chef who was the personal chef of the president of France.  He loved our food and I later worked for that chef!
     We only used fresh herbs in that cafe, so I had access to plenty of great flavor.  One of the most popular non traditional pasta sauces in the 1980's was a tomato herb sauce that was made with white wine.  That sauce appealed to many people.  Chicken is considered to be non traditional in Italian pastas, but American Italian restaurants usually offer one token chicken entree.  In the 1980's, chicken was looked upon as the healthy choice of food on a menu.
     As a chef, I liked tomato herb sauce because it gave me an opportunity to sell all the fresh herbs that may have been over stocked.  I am a great judge of knowing when it is necessary to create an entree to sell slow moving or overstocked food items.  The day before the fresh herbs started to wilt, I would sell this pasta to clear our inventory of perishable fresh herbs, so we could order new fresh herbs.  As you know, fresh herbs only stay fresh for a few days.  In restaurants and at home, it is a terrible waste to throw spoiled uncooked food in the trash.  Fresh herbs are usually sold in bunches, and it does take a few recipes to use up a fresh bunch of herbs.
      Last week, I bought three necessary bunches of herbs for some fusion and Thai recipes that I posted in my blog.  The same week, a fellow food writer wrote about always throwing fresh herbs that had turned black into the trash.  She wrote about drying those herbs as an alternative.  Well, I definitely had an overstock of fresh herbs in my refrigerator this week.  I thought to myself, "These are fresh herbs, why in the world would I want to dry them out?"  My response to that food writers ill teaching was to post a few recipes in my blog that require a tremendous amount of fresh herbs.  The Persian Kookoo Sabzi was a nice recipe that required a lot of fresh green herbs just like this pasta recipe.
     I did not have all the fresh herbs that I used to make this sauce in the past, so I added a few dried herbs that I had on hand, so the flavor would be correct.  The object was to cook the overstocked fresh herbs that were on hand and not to buy more fresh herbs to complete the recipe.  If you only have access to dried herbs, then this sauce will turn out fine too.  Fresh herbs always have a "crisper" flavor, but some herbs, like oregano, are better when dried.
     When making this entree, the pasta can be boiled while the sauce is simmering.  The pasta and sauce take about the same amount of time to cook, if good imported Italian canned San Marzano tomatoes are used.  San Marzano tomatoes require very little cooking time.  Tomato herb sauce is not Italian, but the cooking techniques should follow Italian tomato sauce making rules.  Tomato herb sauce is an American and French style tomato sauce.
    
     Tomato Herb Sauce Recipe:
     Fresh peeled and seeded overripe fresh tomatoes are a good choice for this recipe, but today's gassed GMO tomatoes do not ripen like old fashioned natural tomatoes.  I personally do not like GMO products at all, because they pose a health risk.  Italy and most european countries have banned GMO vegetables.  Imported Italian canned San Marzano tomatoes are the best tomatoes that money can buy.  Whole or crushed San Marzano tomatoes are fine for this recipe.
     Place 1 1/2 cups of imported Italian whole peeled and seeded San Marzano tomatoes that are packed in their own juices in a mixing bowl.  Be sure to add a portion of the thick juice from the can.
     Crush the tomatoes by hand.
     Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat.
     Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
     Add 6 ounces of small bite size pieces of boneless chicken breast filet.
     Gently saute the chicken pieces, till they become fully cooked and lightly caramelized.
     Add 1 minced garlic clove.
     Add 1 tablespoon of minced onion.
     Saute till the onions turn clear in color.
     Add the reserved crushed San Marzano tomatoes and their juices.
     Add these finely chopped fresh or dried herbs:
     - 1 teaspoon of minced basil
     - 1 teaspoon of minced cilantro
     - 1 pinch of ground sage
     - 2 pinches of marjoram
     - 1 pinch of oregano
     - 1 pinch of dill weed
     - 1 pinch of tarragon
     - 1 teaspoon of chives
     - 1 pinch of thyme
     - 2 pinches of minced Italian parsley.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 1/2 cup dry white wine.  (I used a French white burgundy chablis.  I only cook with a wine that I would drink!)
     Add 1/3 cup of chicken stock.
     Note:  Now is the time to start cooking the pasta.  Cook 1 portion of linguettini pasta in boiling water over high heat, till the pasta becomes al dente.
     Bring the sauce to a gentle boil.
     Reduce the temperature to low heat.
     Simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a medium thin tomato sauce consistency.
     Keep the sauce warm over very low heat.
     Drain the water off of the pasta when it becomes al dente.
     Add the portion of al dente cooked linguettini pasta to the sauce.
     Toss the sauce and pasta together.
     Use a long straight tine carving fork to twist and coil the pasta as you pick the pasta up from the pan.
     Place the coiled pasta across a plate.
     Most of the chicken and excess sauce will remain in the pan when using this coiling pasta presentation method, so spoon the excess sauce and chicken over the pasta.
     Note:  The Italian cardinal pasta rule still applies!  Make only enough sauce to flavor the pasta and not flood the pasta with sauce!
     Sprinkle a little bit of grated romano cheese over the pasta.
     Garnish the pasta with a small basil sprig.
    
     Delicious and healthy!  This simple pasta recipe has such a great flavor.  The white wine combines with the tomatoes and herbs to create a very nice aroma and flavor.  The flavor of the sauce is perfect with chicken.  Linguettini, linguini or fettucini are the best pastas to use for this recipe.  Coiling long pasta adds a professional looking touch to the pasta presentation and it builds height.
     The mixture of herbs for the sauce is a personal choice.  Use a wide variety of herbs.  Chervil is nice in the herb mixture too.  The herb mixture in the recipe was the same as what I used to make this pasta at the French cafe.
     Yum!  Bon Appetite!  ...  Shawna                    

Portuguese Garbanzo and Chorizo Soup

     This Portuguese style soup is one of the best tasting bean soups that there is!  The flavor of the chorizo sausage is thoroughly infused in the broth and beans.  Dried or canned garbanzo beans can be used to make this soup.  Canned garbanzo beans still need quite a bit of simmering time to make them soft enough to become part of the broth.  The longer this soup simmers, the thicker the broth gets.
     This same soup is made in Spain.  There are many sausage and garbanzo soup versions in Spain and  Portugal.   I learned this soup a long time ago while working at a Florida bayside Swiss restaurant.  The chef was from Switzerland and the owner was from Portugal.  The owner of the restaurant was quite good at cooking traditional food from his home country.  When we ran this soup as a soup du jour, the owner cooked this soup.  The Swiss chef would laugh and say that he could not cook this soup any better than the owner could.  I watched this soup being cooked a few times and remembered how simply the soup was made.  Some soups do not require any special techniques.
      I later served this fine soup in cafes and pubs.  Customers love this soup!  One taste of this mildly spiced garbanzo bean soup and you will see why!
    
     Portuguese Garbanzo and Chorizo Soup Recipe:
     This recipe makes 1 large serving or 2 small servings!
     Simmer 10 ounces of cooked dried garbanzo beans or canned garbanzo beans in water over low heat, till they just start to become very tender.
     Drain off half of the water.
     Add enough pork broth to cover the beans with 2" of extra liquid.
     Add 2 tablespoons of chopped smoked bacon.  (The smoked bacon acts as a fat and it does not need to be cooked first.)
     Add 1 bay leaf.
     Cover the pot.
     Continue to simmer the soup till the beans become very tender.
     Mash at least half of the garbanzo beans in the pot with a potato masher.
     Add 1/3 cup of diced carrot.
     Add 1/4 cup of diced celery.
     Add 1/3 cup of diced onion.
     Add 1/3 cup of diced bell pepper.
     Add 1 minced garlic clove.
     Cover the pot and continue to simmer the soup, till the vegetables become tender.
     Add 1 peeled and seeded diced plum tomato.
     Add 4 to 6 ounces of thick sliced cooked chorizo sausage.
     Add 2 pinches of thyme.
     Add 2 pinches of oregano.
     Add 1 pinch of cayenne pepper.
     Add 2 pinches of paprika.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Gently simmer the soup, till the flavors meld and till the crushed garbanzo beans become smooth and till they thicken the broth.
     Stir the soup occasionally.
     Add 1/2 of a minced green onion.
     Simmer for 5 more minutes.
     Remove the bay leaf.
     Ladle the soup into a bowl.
     Garnish with an Italian parsley sprig.
    
     The aroma of this soup is warm and comforting!  The herbs, spices and vegetables add a very nice flavor to the garbanzo beans.  The spicy chorizo sausage is perfectly suited for the flavor of the garbanzo beans.  This is a great chilly weather soup!  Yum!  ...  Shawna  

Kookoo Sabzi

Persian herbed eggs!
  
     This is a very nice breakfast egg recipe.  This recipe is very simple to make.  You can make a fancier version of this kookoo sabzi by adding chopped dried barberries, raisons or dates.  The combination of herbs in this recipe is very comfortable for breakfast.
     There are several different ways to spell kookoo.  I posted an eggplant kuku recipe a few weeks ago.  A kookoo sabzi is considered to be perfect when it has a bright green color.  As you can see in the photos, it does take a lot of freshly chopped herbs to make a kookoo sabzi green.  It is very important to not allow the kookoo to brown in the oven.
     I made this kookoo sabzi with only 2 eggs and it is very thin.  You can make a kookoo sabzi thicker if you wish too.  Just double or triple the recipe, then cook the kookoo sabzi in a cast iron skillet.  Serve a thick kookoo sabzi in the skillet at the table and then cut portions.
  
     Kookoo Sabzi Recipe:
     Place 2 raw eggs in a mixing bowl.
     Add 3 pinches of turmeric.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Whisk the egg mixture, till it becomes well blended.
     Finely chop 1/4 cup each of these fresh green herbs and green onions:
     - Italian parsley
     - dill weed
     - cilantro
     - green onion tops
     You should have 1 handful of finely chopped herbs when this step is completed.
     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium low/low heat.
     Add 3 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add the finely chopped herb mixture.
     Gently wilt and saute the herbs.  Do not brown the herbs or cook them for too long. 
     Place the wilted herbs into the egg mixure in the mixing bowl.  (If you chose to add soaked dried fruit, then this is the time to add the fruit.)
     Whisk the ingredients together.
     Heat a non-stick saute pan on medium/medium low heat.
     Add 3 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add the wilted herb and egg mixture.
     Even the edges of the kookoo, but do not scramble the eggs.
     When the eggs begin to cook firm on the bottom, place the pan in a 350º oven.
     After a few minutes the eggs on top of the kookoo sabzi should be cooked firm but not browned.  (If you cook a thicker kookoo sabzi you will need to cover the pan while baking.)
     Slide the kookoo sabzi onto a plate.
     The kookoo sabzi can be garnished with a dollop of yogurt or chopped dried fruit or left plain.
  
     Delicious!  This is a very tasty combination of herbs that is different than the herb mixture for an Italian fresh herb frittata.  The kookoo is very aromatic and very satisfying!  Yum!  ...  Shawna