Go with the Grains

            Couscous, quinoa, bulgur…No, I have not joined a New Age dance community to chase the winter blahs. Rather I’m exploring the culinary possibilities of these ancient grains that recently have come again to the attention of foodies everywhere. Suddenly in chic restaurants you may find your lamb chop on a bed of quinoa where previously it may have been lentils, a shrimp ragout served on a bed of couscous, where previously it might have been polenta and bulgur wheat is cropping up in a variety of Mediterranean dishes such as kibbeh with ground lamb and not just tabouleh.

            Couscous is a long time Mediterranean staple from western North Africa to southern France.  It is actually derived from crushed unground semolina wheat, just like other pasta, but undergoes further cycles of moistening and steaming before it ends up on our plates. It is steamed, never boiled and stirred, or the product is likely to be a gluey mush.  Couscous prepared ‘properly’ would be steamed over a pot of simmering stew or in a couscousière for nearly an hour, spread out to slightly dry, then returned to steam for another 30 minutes to finally yield a dry-steaming serving, when stirred with a fork.

Fortunately for the modern cook, Moroccan or fine couscous, roughly the size 3 times cornmeal, requires very little effort. You simply bring to boil 1 cup of water or broth with 1 Tblsp. butter, salt to taste, stir in 1 cup of couscous, cover, remove from heat, allow to sit for 5 minutes, fluff lightly with a fork and serve. It may not have the ultimate flavor of the long steamed version, but since couscous like grits has little flavor itself, the success of your meal is going to depend on the topping or other flavoring agents you add, such as parmesan, dried currants and pine nuts or even chopped sun dried tomatoes. My favorite topping is mushrooms, sautéed with chopped onion for 15 minutes, stir in 1 Tblsp. lemon juice and chopped soppressata or other spicy sausage. ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes.  When heated through,  sprinkle with 1-2 Tblsp. flour, slowly stir in 1 cup of beef broth and cook with stirring until thickened. Serve ragout on top of couscous.

There are two other types of couscous, Israeli or pearl couscous, which is about the size of peppercorns and Lebanese, the size of small peas. Both of these require more preparation and can be cooked like rice or as risotto on very low heat.

Quinoa, like potatoes, originated in the Peruvian Andes. It is a pseudo-cereal since it does not belong to grasses and unlike cereals it contains the essential amino acid lysine and is high in protein content.  Like other members of the Amaranth family it bears large seed clusters. It’s closest relatives are beets and spinach. The seed is processed to remove the bitter saponin coat, so the seed needs to be rinsed before cooking.  To cook, simply rinse and drain 1 cup of quinoa, add to 1 ½ cups cold water, ¼ tsp. salt, bring to boil, turn down the heat and cook for 15 minutes.  The seed produces a slightly crunchy dish, looking a bit like large couscous and can be used as a side dish for meat or vegetables.  It makes a hearty salad with 1 cup drained and rinsed black beans, chopped red pepper, 5 chopped scallions, and a lime-cumin vinaigrette (2 Tblsp. lime juice, 1 tsp. red wine vinegar, ½ tsp. ground roasted cumin, salt and pepper to taste, 1 Tblsp. olive oil).

Bulgur wheat is a natural whole grain cereal that is cracked and partially processed to shorten cooking time. A staple of Mediterranean diet, it is now estimated by archaeologists that early Neolithic Bulgarians may have used this cooking method as early as 5730 BC, as found in grain excavations. Bronze age fragmented cereal and grain has been found also in Northern Greece. In current use the fine grain bulgur cooks in about 5 minutes and is used in kibbe preparations with ground lamb. Medium is used in tabbouleh after soaking 1 cup bulgur with 2 cups boiling water, draining off excess before stirring in: 1/3 cup lemon juice, 3 Tblsp. light olive oil, 1 tsp. wine vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 cup chopped parsley, ¼ cup chopped mint, 2 chopped tomatoes, 3 chopped scallions with green tops. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow blending of flavors before serving.

Coarse bulgur adds it’s nutty flavor in soups, stews, salads and pilafs. At our house we sometimes use it as a delicious hot breakfast cereal, instead of oatmeal. Simply bring 2 cups of water to boil with ½ tsp. of salt, stir in 1 cup of bulgur and cook slowly with occasional stirring for 15 minutes.

Exploring these cyclical discoveries by new/old food trends has been a fascinating learning experience and a delicious way to chase the winter blahs!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

Good Bread

            Having had the pleasure to contemplate a brimming basket of croissants and freshly cut real French baguette this past week on my breakfast table, I naturally started to think about the special appeal of bread in it’s various forms and flavors. Not to mislead anyone, this did not happen in Paris, which can be quite dreary this time of the year, but rather on St. Martin in the French West Indies. The weather there is balmy, with direct flights from Paris, but not alas from Waldoboro Maine. Nevertheless, it provided a pleasant January interlude, before returning home in time for some more snow.

            But back to good bread!  We have all heard that bread is the staff of life and when we enter a home filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread we inhale deeply in full agreement with that statement, cliché or not. And yet, it is amazing the various forms and flavors that can be created from such basics as flour water and yeast. My favorite breads usually come in some crusty version of wheat, white, rye or multigrain. Here in midcoast Maine we have an amazing array of small and large bakeries that seem to compete with each other for variety of flavors. The large Borealis and Atlantic bakeries offer their distinctive brands in wide selection including long crusty French and wheat baguettes . Others, like Black Crow specialize in crusty round loaves that bring back memories of Tuscany.

            Further south, Brunswick boasts of Wild Oats bakery.  During a visit to the Brunswick Farmers market, which continues throughout winter indoors in the Fort Andross Mill Building, we discovered the enterprising organic ZU bakery. The huge eye catching 4 pound loaves of rye or multigrain bread would feel at home in any European market.  Mr Olins, the baker uses traditional French baking methods with certified organic whole grains that are milled just prior to mixing the dough.  Leavening with a natural starter and the unprocessed sea salt lend the bread a wonderfully complex flavor and long keeping qualities.

            Such flavorful breads can make great sandwiches or accompaniments to soups and salads and yet when fresh can be eaten with just unsalted butter to bring out all the subtle flavors of good bread. A poignant story comes to mind of survivors celebrating the arrival of spring after the bloody war in Bosnia.  They were able to grow radishes in their window boxes and savored this harbinger of spring and hope with buttered black bread with fresh radish slices.

            And then there is that special form of bread that has gained immense popularity, the bagel! Their popularity has unfortunately resulted in supersizing, usually without maintaining the chewy texture and special flavor. The assiago bagels from Pannera are delicious, but we have searched smaller bakeries for the chewy qualities with flavor. Close by Village Bakery in Waldoboro has usually a limited supply. Rockland has an aptly named Hole in the Wall Bagel Bakery, where I’m happy to munch on both sesame and sundried tomato bagels. The preferred accompaniment to bagels being cream cheese and smoked salmon, in Maine can even classify as a locovore meal.  In summer, I like to be less orthodox and will top the cream cheese with a fresh slice of tomato, an equally colorful and delicious choice.

            Poor Marie Antoinette, she apparently never understood that bread was one of the best things in life.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)