Libyan Spicy Pumpkin Dip

 Subrata - about 45 minutes west of Tripoli - August 2012

 Subrata - I went out by Taxi and was the only "tourist" on the site.

 The amphitheatre in Subrata

Leptis Magna - about 2 hours East of Tripoli

I spent 3 months in Libya this year – mostly in Tripoli, but I also had a chance to visit both Subrata and Leptis Magna. (Magnificent.)  This Libyan pumpkin dip is not a dish I had when I was there. The recipe comes from Marlena Spieler, Jewish Cooking. London: Hermes House, 2003. It is a dish I make frequently for parties.

 Mashing the pumpkin

The dip - serve with crackers

 

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

5-8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1½ pound pumpkin, peeled and diced

1-2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ - ½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ - ½ teaspoon curry powder

3 ounces chopped canned tomatoes or diced fresh tomatoes

1-2 tablespoons tomato paste

½ - 1 Jalapeno or Serrano chilli, chopped, or cayenne pepper, to taste

pinch of sugar, if needed

juice of half a lemon, or to taste

salt

2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

• Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and half of the garlic and fry until softened.
• Add the pumpkin, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, until half-tender.
• Add the spices to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes, chilli, sugar and salt and cook over a medium heat until the liquid has evaporated.
• When the pumpkin is tender, mash to a coarse purée.
• Add the remaining garlic and taste for seasoning.
• Stir in the lemon juice to taste.
• Serve at room temperature, sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander.

Variation: Use butternut squash or any other winter squash in place of the pumpkin.

Spaghetti Bolognese (Italian)

This has been such a staple of my household for so many years, I hardly think of how I make it. Today (because I got really nice ground beef from “Fatman”, the best butcher in my area of Kabul), I made it for my colleagues in UNHCR Guesthouse Echo – not the purist recipe, but extremely tasty.

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 medium sized onions, also chopped fine

1 kilo lean ground beef

10 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tin (approx.15 ounces) tomatoes, chopped or whole

1 – 1½ cups tomato sauce

4-6 tablespoons tomato paste

1 green or red sweet bell pepper (chopped fine)

½  - ¾ cup chopped mushrooms

1 tablespoon dried basil (or a bunch of fresh basil leaves, shredded)

1 tablespoon dried thyme (or a bunch of fresh thyme, chopped fine)

1 tablespoon dried oregano (or a bunch of fresh oregano, chopped fine)

(Alternatively, instead of basil, thyme and oregano, you can use “herbes de province” – 2-3 tablespoons)

1-2 bay leaves

½ hot dry red pepper

Sea salt

Lemon pepper and/or freshly ground black pepper

1 glass red wine

Spaghetti, spaghettini or tagliatelle (1 pound box)

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

• Over a medium hot fire, stir fry the garlic in the olive oil, being careful not to burn it. 
•  Add the onion, and sauté until soft (1-2 minutes)
• Add the mushrooms and green/red sweet pepper and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
• Turn up the heat to high and add the ground beef, and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is well browned.
• Add the herbs and stir fry for another minute or two.
• Add the fresh chopped tomatoes and mix well with the meat.
• Add the tinned tomatoes and mix well.
• Add the tomato paste, and mix well.
• Add the red wine, turn the fire to medium and continue to stir so everything is well mixed
• Add salt and pepper.
• You have to taste and see if you are happy with the combination of flavours. You might want to add more herbs, more hot pepper, more tomato paste, or salt or black pepper.
• Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for an hour or longer. Make sure the sauce is not drying out or burning. You might need to a little water, or more wine.
• serve over spaghetti, spaghettini, or tagliatelli cooked al dente, with Parmesan cheese.

That is my recipe. However, on the web, I found the following recipe for the “perfect Bolognese” – from TheTelegraph,  Saturday 18 May 2013.

Serves four people

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 rashers of streaky 'pancetta' bacon, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 carrots, chopped

Stick of celery

1kilogram / 2¼ pounds lean minced beef

2 large glasses of red wine

2 x 400 gram cans chopped tomatoes

2 fresh or dried bay leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

800 grams -1 kilogram / 1¾-2¼ pounds dried tagliatelle

freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve 

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and fry the bacon until golden over a medium heat. 
• Add the onions and garlic, frying until softened. 
• Increase the heat and add the minced beef. Fry it until it has browned. 
• Pour in the wine and boil until it has reduced in volume by about a third. 
• Reduce the temperature and stir in the tomatoes and celery. 
• Cover with a lid and simmer over a gentle heat for 1-1½ hours until it is rich and thickened, stirring occasionally. 
• Cook the tagliatelle in plenty of boiling salted water.
• Drain and divide between plates. Sprinkle a little parmesan over the pasta before adding a good ladleful of the sauce. 
• Finish with a further scattering of cheese and a twist of black pepper.

Khoresh Fessenjan (or Khoresht Fesenjaan) - Iranian

Probably my favourite Iranian dish. This is a sauce made from nuts and pomegranate paste that is served over meat or chicken. I had it several times when I was first in Tehran for the Asian regional meeting for the World Conference Against Racism in 2001, and then again when I visited Iran in 2008. The sauce is a dark brown and not particularly pretty to look at but the taste is heavenly.  The basic recipe was given to me by my daughter-in-law’s father, and I make this very frequently.

1 pound walnuts, finely ground

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons, finely chopped onion

Approximately 1 cup pomegranate paste

salt and pepper to taste

• In a large heavy frying pan or pot, melt the butter and sauté the onions.
• Add the ground nuts and continue to sauté (2-3 minutes) till the nuts have absorbed the fat.
• Add 3 cups hot water.
• Cover and simmer over low fire for 30 minutes. Much of the water should boil away so you have a mixture that has the consistency of a thin porridge.
• Add the pomegranate paste and stir well over low fire.
• If the sauce is not sweet enough for your taste, add up to a half cup of sugar and stir well to dissolve. (Whether you need sugar or not depends on the kind of pomegranate paste you have. Some mixtures have the sugar added in and are like a thick smooth sauce. Other mixtures are pure pomegranate. The sauce should be tart but not sour.)
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve hot over roast chicken with rice. This can also be served over meat balls made from ground beef.

Pomegranate paste in a shop on the Caspian sea - 2008.

An alternative sauce if you have pomegranate juice and not paste. Serve it over roast chicken.

l large onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons margarine

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

2 cups walnuts, finely chopped

3½ cups water

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup fresh pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon sugar (if needed)

• Sauté the onions in the margarine until golden brown.
• Add the tomato sauce and sauté for a few more minutes.
• Add the walnuts and sauté over medium heat for an additional 5 minutes, stirring constantly to being careful not to burn the walnuts.
• Add the water, seasoning, lemon juice and pomegranate juice.
• Cover and cook on a low fire for about 35 minutes.
• Taste the sauce and add sugar if it is a little sour.
• Pour sauce over roast chicken and simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Serve with white rice.

Beet Borani - Chunky Beet and Fresh Mint Dip (Iranian)

Adapted from a recipe published by Chatelaine in 2007.

Makes 2½ cups (625 ml)

1 cup (250 ml) Balkan-style plain yoghurt  

2 large beets

1 green onion

1 small bunch mint

2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Generous pinches of salt and pepper

• Line a sieve with cheesecloth or a new reusable kitchen cloth. (First rinse with water and then squeeze out as much liquid as possible.) 
• Place sieve over a bowl and scrape yoghurt on top of cloth. Lightly cover and leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The longer you let the yoghurt drain, the thicker the yoghurt cheese will be. 
• Discard liquid in bowl. Yoghurt cheese should measure about ½ cup (125 ml).
• Slice all but 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of green tops from unpeeled beets and discard. 
• Place beets in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to medium. Simmer, partially covered, until beets are fork-tender, from 30 to 40 minutes. 
• Meanwhile coarsely slice green onion. 
• Measure out about ¼ cup (50 ml) mint leaves.
• When beets are very tender, drain well. Then rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle. 
• Slice off the root ends and peel beets. 
• Finely chop 1 beet and set aside. 
• Coarsely chop remaining beet and place in a food processor. 
• Add onion, ¼ cup (50 ml) mint leaves, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. 
• Whirl until coarsely puréed. 
• Add yoghurt and whirl until mixed. 
• Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. 
• Scrape into a bowl. Stir in remaining beet. 
• If not serving right away, refrigerate up to a day.
• Turn dip into a serving bowl.
• Stack several mint leaves on top of one another and thinly shred. Scatter over dip.
• Serve pita wedges for dipping.