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Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant
Award-winning duo Honey & Co present delicious Middle Eastern dishes to cook over fire or grill.
Join Sarit and Itamar on a journey filled with flavor and fire as they visit their favorite cities collecting recipes, stories, and the best of culinary culture along the way. Organized into five ingredient-led chapters (Fruit and Vegetables; Fish and Seafood; Chicken and Other Birds; Lamb, Beef and Pork; and Bread and other unmissables), it couldn’t be easier to create a simple mouth-watering meal for two or a joyful feast for friends and family. The book also includes five city features on Alexandria, Egypt; Amman, Jordan; Acre, Israel; Izmir, Turkey; and Thessaloniki, Greece; all bursting with culinary inspiration.
Join Sarit and Itamar on a journey filled with flavor and fire as they visit their favorite cities collecting recipes, stories, and the best of culinary culture along the way. Organized into five ingredient-led chapters (Fruit and Vegetables; Fish and Seafood; Chicken and Other Birds; Lamb, Beef and Pork; and Bread and other unmissables), it couldn’t be easier to create a simple mouth-watering meal for two or a joyful feast for friends and family. The book also includes five city features on Alexandria, Egypt; Amman, Jordan; Acre, Israel; Izmir, Turkey; and Thessaloniki, Greece; all bursting with culinary inspiration.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published May 25, 2021
24 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 11, 2021
Dieses Buch ist das September-Buch in Jamies Cookbook Club, und erst dachte ich, das sei ja nun mal gar nichts für mich. Nicht nur, dass wir keinen Grill haben, wir grillieren auch nicht gerne. Aber viele Rezepte haben einen Zusatz, wie man das Gericht auch in der heimischen Küche gut hinbekommt.
Als ich das Buch dann öffnete, war ich sofort hin und weg. Vor allem die einzelnen Texteinschübe habe ich sehr gerne gelesen. Darin erzählt das Ehepaar davon, wie sie überall im Nahen Osten Gerichte und Rezepte entdecken, dabei Menschen und Kulturen kennenlernen. So erhalten die dargestellten Gerichte alle einen persönlichen Touch.
Während die Fleisch- und Fischkapitel nicht so meins waren, habe ich praktisch jede Seite in der Abteilung Gemüse markiert. Die erste Idee ist bereits ausprobiert und für wirklich gut befunden worden. Bald gibt es dann auch das nächste Rezept aus dem Buch.
Natürlich richtet sich dieses Werk vor allem an Leute mit Grill und Garten, oder jene, die gerne raus in die Natur gehen und über offenem Feuer kochen. Aber auch Daheimgebliebene können die unterschiedlichsten neuen Gerichte entdecken.
Die Anforderungen sind unterschiedlich hoch, sodas jeder Leser selbst entscheiden muss, welche Rezepte im Rahmen des Möglichen liegen. Aber für mich war nur schon die Lektüre mit den Hintergrundgeschichten lesenswert, auch wenn ich nichts daraus gekocht hätte.
Dass das Buch also mit leckeren Ideen daherkommt, die wir bei uns so noch gar nicht kennen, macht das Ganze gleich doppelt lohnenswert. Ich freue mich übrigens schon auf meinen Kohlrabi.
Als ich das Buch dann öffnete, war ich sofort hin und weg. Vor allem die einzelnen Texteinschübe habe ich sehr gerne gelesen. Darin erzählt das Ehepaar davon, wie sie überall im Nahen Osten Gerichte und Rezepte entdecken, dabei Menschen und Kulturen kennenlernen. So erhalten die dargestellten Gerichte alle einen persönlichen Touch.
Während die Fleisch- und Fischkapitel nicht so meins waren, habe ich praktisch jede Seite in der Abteilung Gemüse markiert. Die erste Idee ist bereits ausprobiert und für wirklich gut befunden worden. Bald gibt es dann auch das nächste Rezept aus dem Buch.
Natürlich richtet sich dieses Werk vor allem an Leute mit Grill und Garten, oder jene, die gerne raus in die Natur gehen und über offenem Feuer kochen. Aber auch Daheimgebliebene können die unterschiedlichsten neuen Gerichte entdecken.
Die Anforderungen sind unterschiedlich hoch, sodas jeder Leser selbst entscheiden muss, welche Rezepte im Rahmen des Möglichen liegen. Aber für mich war nur schon die Lektüre mit den Hintergrundgeschichten lesenswert, auch wenn ich nichts daraus gekocht hätte.
Dass das Buch also mit leckeren Ideen daherkommt, die wir bei uns so noch gar nicht kennen, macht das Ganze gleich doppelt lohnenswert. Ich freue mich übrigens schon auf meinen Kohlrabi.
November 25, 2021
This is beautifully written with lovely introductions to each of the chapters that are filled with the most tantalizing recipes for pretty much everything imaginable - from fruits and vegetables, to meats, to breads, to even a few desserts. The only thing wrong with the book is that we read it in November, when it's dark and cold. We cannot wait until spring when we can fire up the barbecue again, without fear of freezing to death as we wait for our food to cook.
(Sarit Packer does offer methods for how to cook each dish - except one - without a barbecue. But we just know that everything will taste better with at least a little smoke.)
The final chapter is entitled "Bread & Unmissables", starting with essential spice mixtures including Sarit Packer's Baharat and Ras el Hanout mixtures.
One of the "more complex breads" recipes is for "Honey & Smoke Moroccan inspired sourdough rolls". Included is their recipe for creating a sourdough starter. Did I say there was only one thing wrong with the book? Oops. Here is another thing. Anyone wanting to make these rolls would be well-advised to follow a less prodigal person's recipe for creating the starter. (Jane Mason or Michelle Eshkeri's recipes spring to mind. Jane Mason's recipe creates a viable starter in just 5 days and uses a total of 250 grams of flour. Without suggesting to discard any of it....) Sarit Packer's sourdough starter recipe begins with soaking organic grapes in water for 3 days at room tempertare, straining it, and then stirring in 500 grams of flour! She then says to discard half of the mixture before adding another 500 grams of flour. This may not seem like a tremendous amount of flour at first. But multiply it with the number of days that parts of the starter are discarded, and more flour added. In total, she calls for 2kg flour before even beginning to make bread with that starter. There is also the added discouraging cautionary note at the beginning of the recipe.
What a shame! Making a sourdough starter and/or sourdough bread is hardly rocket science.... Before the invention of commercial yeast in the late 19th century, people had been baking beautiful sourdough bread for centuries.
But. The rest of the sourdough buns recipe looks wonderful. As do the flatbreads included in the chapter.
Bookmarked recipes
Almost every single one
++++++++++++++++
One of the really intriguing ingredients is "urfa pepper". Surprisingly, there is no explanation. Thank goodness for the internet!
(Sarit Packer does offer methods for how to cook each dish - except one - without a barbecue. But we just know that everything will taste better with at least a little smoke.)
The final chapter is entitled "Bread & Unmissables", starting with essential spice mixtures including Sarit Packer's Baharat and Ras el Hanout mixtures.
After the spices come a few recipes for bread, a staple in meals all around the Mediterranean. You will find a basic flatbread along with some variations, all of which are best grilled over the fire, plus a couple of fuller, softer-textured, more complex breads that will make almost any meal into a celebration.
One of the "more complex breads" recipes is for "Honey & Smoke Moroccan inspired sourdough rolls". Included is their recipe for creating a sourdough starter. Did I say there was only one thing wrong with the book? Oops. Here is another thing. Anyone wanting to make these rolls would be well-advised to follow a less prodigal person's recipe for creating the starter. (Jane Mason or Michelle Eshkeri's recipes spring to mind. Jane Mason's recipe creates a viable starter in just 5 days and uses a total of 250 grams of flour. Without suggesting to discard any of it....) Sarit Packer's sourdough starter recipe begins with soaking organic grapes in water for 3 days at room tempertare, straining it, and then stirring in 500 grams of flour! She then says to discard half of the mixture before adding another 500 grams of flour. This may not seem like a tremendous amount of flour at first. But multiply it with the number of days that parts of the starter are discarded, and more flour added. In total, she calls for 2kg flour before even beginning to make bread with that starter. There is also the added discouraging cautionary note at the beginning of the recipe.
Be warned: you will need a sourdough starter, which can take a couple of weeks (and isn't always successful), and shaping the very soft dough can be a source of heartache too.
What a shame! Making a sourdough starter and/or sourdough bread is hardly rocket science.... Before the invention of commercial yeast in the late 19th century, people had been baking beautiful sourdough bread for centuries.
But. The rest of the sourdough buns recipe looks wonderful. As do the flatbreads included in the chapter.
Bookmarked recipes
Almost every single one
++++++++++++++++
One of the really intriguing ingredients is "urfa pepper". Surprisingly, there is no explanation. Thank goodness for the internet!
A dark reddish-purple color smoky chile pepper from Urfa, Turkey. The chiles are harvested, dried, then ground. The ground pepper provides just a moderate amount of heat and is used with meats and salads.
[- Gourmet Sleuth | Urfa biber (https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredi...)]
~ ~ ~ ~
Urfa biber, also called urfa pepper or isot pepper, is a salty, spicy, deep maroon Turkish chile pepper sold in flakes. Urfa refers to the region where the pepper is grown, and biber means pepper in Turkish. [...] Originates in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border;
Flavor profile: Spicy, salty, smoky, with notes of chocolate and tobacco
[- Vidya Rao, The SpruceEats | What Is Urfa Biber? (https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is...)]
~ ~ ~ ~
Turkey has an interesting and quite unique variant of dried paprika powder called isot, which is made from slowly oven-dried paprika fruits with a dash of salt; it is very dark brown, almost black, and shows a somewhat mature, almost fermented taste.
[- Gernot Katzer, Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages | Paprika (Capsicum annuum L.) (http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com...)]
August 11, 2023
I checked this cookbook out at my library because I recently read Honey & Co. at Home (by the same authors) and really liked it. Chasing Smoke continues their approach to cooking with tempting recipes and alluring photography. The stories explaining the evolution of recipes and their lives in general are interesting. Included are adaptations for indoor execution of the recipes and lots of helpful information.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews