Yesterday morning I woke up to much cooler weather than I was expecting and thought it would be a perfect day to try the Braised Short Ribs with Vanilla Glazed Carrots from Ana Sortuns Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. I didnt have time to go to a butcher so I ended up buying two packages of ribs from my local grocery. I managed to get four meaty ribs out of it which was perfect as there is just DH and I and leftovers are not crucial to have on hand (one high fat meal a week is enough for me).
Overall, I liked the recipe a lot, the directions were great and it was a snap to put together. As the meat was braising and the sauce was reducing I had time to tend to other things. The only changes I made were that I halved all the braising ingredients and cooked the ribs for a little over two hours but could have cooked them for a little less time. Much to my dogs delight the bones detached from the meat during the braising process and after the bones cooled they were happy that they didnt have to wait for us to eat our dinner to get their treats. I also made the Vanilla Glazed Carrots that accompanied the recipe along with a pot of brown basmati rice. As an added bonus all three dishes smelled incredibly aromatic as they cooked.
The ribs tasted wonderful, they were tender and meaty. The balance of sweet and sour was just right and the tamarind really added a lot to the dish. The carrots were great too; they are a nice version of traditional glazed carrots. The recipe called for adding lemon juice at the end, I felt it added a brightness that was a nice contrast to other more earthy flavors. Id like to try this recipe with acorn squash in the fall; I think it would be amazing. DH thought that the sauce for the ribs was a little overpowering. Although I thought it was fine I saw his point. I initially chose to make half the braising ingredients in fear of not having enough liquid to braise in. I should have quartered the amount of ingredients and used a smaller pan or supplemented some of the liquid with a little stock or water. On the other hand, I may have reduced the sauce a little too much for his liking. Regardless, he liked it a lot and had seconds. I also think a nice Syrah or Zinfandel would be great with the ribs and it might cut a little of the sweetness and richness of the ribs and balance it out.
I omitted the most important part in my long, long report, the braising sauce had carrots, garlic, onion, bayleaf, white wine, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and tamarind paste. The Vanilla Bean Glazed Carrots had butter, Vanilla bean, lemon and Carrots of course and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Thank you for this report. I love Ana Sortun's cooking at Oleana and have been eyeing Spice for a while, undecided as to whether I should buy it or not. Oleana's tamarind-glazed beef is simply wonderful.
Have you tried anything else in the book yet? Is it worth getting?
I bought the book awhile ago and have been enjoying just reading it, I am only now starting to test the recipes. I have made one other dish so far, the Ground Beef Pistachio Kabobs. They were very good too and easy to put together (if you have a kitchen aid mixer or food processor). I recommend buying it if you want to recreate the food that she serves at her restaurant. It's really neat to read about the signature dishes at Oleana and her obvious love for their development and execution. It is a good book to have on hand should you want to explore different spices and herbs. A lot of the ingredients she uses crop up in other cuisines. I don't recommend the book if you want a definitive book about Mediterrenean cooking or if you don't have access to the ingredients. It is kind of specialized you might want to check the library to see if they have a copy. I promise to post more results as I work my way through the book.
Thanks Tracy. I have way too many cookbooks already including a shelf of Paula Wolfert and Claudia Roden's books so I have many references on classic Mediterranean cooking. And in Boston we have access to several groceries which specialize in Middle Eastern foods. Ana Sortun used to lead tours! I like Sortun's creative twists on the standards - her spinach falafel and trout spanakopita are simply stunning.
I'll ask our library to see if they can get me a copy, and watch out for more of your reports. But it sounds like this book is going on my wish list.
There is a nice article in the NY Times about her cookbook. A few recipes are given. One for Cremolata, another for flat bread with chicken and roasted peppers. They both sound delicious
I decided to pick up a copy of her book based on the NY Times article. It just sounded so different from most of my other cookbooks. At first glance, most of the recipes didn't sound that appealing, but after reading through them, I ended up writing down quite a large number to try. Some of her salad-type recipes sound delicious.
I fel;t the same way after reading about her book.
I love the Middle Eastern influence, but find Paula Wolfert's Moroccan Cookbook fascinating reading, but overly complicated.
I am always looking for new ways to use the ingredients like Rose Water, Orange Flower Water, Zatar etc. I live near a great store, SAHADI'S in Brooklyn that has it all at great prices. I am pretty sure they have a catalog and ship.
Has anyone tried this substituting maybe a brisket or pot roast? We recently had dinner at Oleana for the first time and am thinking we may need to move closer to Cambridge (NJ is a bit far) - what a fantastic meal! We tried the Sultan's Surprise, Beef with Tamarind and it was amazing. I am thinking of trying this recipe but subbing out the cut of meat...anyone try this? Everything we had at Oleana was wonderful, can't say enough good things.
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