Mint recipes.

Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 10:15:39 EST
To: The Culinary Herbs & Spices List <HERBS.HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
From: Esther Czekalski <E.Czekalski.M.BULL.COM>
Subject: Fowarded: Mint Recipes

Hello all,

This was a posting to the foodwine mailing list from Leslie and I thought people here would be interested in the recipes, too. They look wonderful.

From: Leslie <duncan.ISYS.CA>
Subject: Re: Mint
To: Discussion List for Food and Wine <FOODWINE.CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Date: 5/20/96 11:20 PM

I like mint in Middle-Eastern salads. Tabouleh & Fattoush both use up a lot of mint & taste great.

Tabouleh (also see parsley: tabouleh)
¾ cup bulgur (cracked wheat) medium or fine.
¾ cup water
2 large bunches parsley
large bunch mint
4 green onions
juice of 2 lemons
1 ½ teasp. salt
¼ cup olive oil
2 large, ripe tomatoes
(Note to Chileheads: we usually add about 3 chopped Habs, & a teasp. of Tabasco to this salad.)

Place cracked wheat and water in a large bowl and set aside to soak for one hour.

Meanwhile stem off the parsley, mint and onions and wash thoroughly. Chop very fine.

Squeeze cracked wheat between the hands to remove excess water. Return to the bowl and add the greens. Add lemon juice, salt and olive oil, adjusting the amounts to your liking. Sometimes two or three tastings are called for until the right balance is acquired. Dice one tomato and add it to the salad. Slice the second tomato to use in decorating the dish.

You may want to serve Tabouleh on a bed of lettuce.

Tabouleh is usually scooped or spooned onto Romaine lettuce leaves and then eaten. I find this a bit messy, so I prefer eating it with a spoon.

Makes 4-6 servings. From Nadia Farah's Cooking the Middle Eastern Way.

Fattoush (Middle Eastern bread salad)

2 large stale pita breads, torn into 1 in. pieces
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 lb ripe tomatoes (about 3) seeded and cut into ½ inch cubes
6 green onions, cut into ¼ inch slices
1 green bell pepper, cut into ½ inch cubes
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
⅓ cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
2 large cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the torn pita on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake until dry, 10-15 minutes. Cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, green pepper, parsley, & mint.

Wisk together the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss this dressing with the vegetables. Toss in the bread. Spread on a serving platter, serves 6-8.

Salatat Laban (Yogurt Salad)
2 cups natural yogurt
½ large cucumber, finely diced
2 teasp. mint finely chopped
salt
¼ clove garlic, crushed

Add the other ingredients to yogurt. Stir until smooth. This is a refreshing salad on hot days, & a nice accompaniment to sandwiches. Makes 4 small servings.


From: Sara Anne Corrigan <SaraAnneC.AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: mint syrup

I make a mint syrup from a recipe in "Savannah Style" -- a Junior League cookbook from that fine Southern City. This recipe is used as the basis for mint juleps. But I can't see why it wouldn't work in other applications.

You need 4 cups water, 3 cups granulated sugar and "leaves from 17 to 20 long mint stalks" (I use about 4 cups of lightly packed leaves).

Bring the sugar and water to a boil and simmer several minutes so sugar is completely dissolved, then stir in mint. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep at room temperature for at least 8 hours (I usually go 24 ).

Refrigerate or freeze, as desired.


From: "Mary E. Hall" <IOMA2.AOL.COM>

I have transcribed the following for you from "A Miscellany by Cariadoc & Elizabeth" (a privately published volume about the middle ages for 'living history' afficionados). I have also seen (not yet tried) an equivalent recipe for a raspberry-vinegar drink. Emme

Sekanjabin.
Dissolve 4 cups sugar in 2-½ cups of water. When it comes to a boil, add 1 cup wine vinegar. Simmer ½ hour. Add a handful of mint, remove from fire, let cool. Dilute the resulting syrup to taste with ice water (5 to 10 parts water to 1 part syrup.) The syrup stores without refrigeration.

Note: This is the only recipe in the Miscellany based on a modern source: A Book of Middle Eastern Food, by Claudia Roden. Sekanjabin is a [pre-1600] drink; it is mentioned in the Fihrist of al-Nadim, which was written in the tenth century. The only [pre-1600] recipe I have found for it (in the Andalusian cookbook) is called "Sekanjabin Simple" and omits the mint. It is one of a large variety of similar drinks described in that cookbook--flavored syrups intended to be diluted in either hot or cold water before drinking.


Culinary herb FAQ: http://www.henriettes-herb.com/faqs/culi-2-9-mint.html