Inventing Milanese Dishes - RECIPES
Pizza Hummus
Hummus
Ingredients: white beans, salsa alle noci (walnut sauce), olive oil, garlic, lemon, cumin, salt
Just use precooked beans that come in cans or jars. Put all ingredients into a blender and let them mingle violently until they form a homogeneous body. Salsa alle noci may be replaced by tahini or peanut butter, just to give the mixture a nutty flavour and a richer consistency. Depending on your preferred consistency, you may want to add some water or more beans to the mixture.
Topping
Ingredients: bresaola, tomato, onion, olive oil
Chop tomato and onion into desired shapes and sizes, then stir-fry with some olive oil. Cut bresaola into cubes; set aside while tomato and onion are stir-fried. When onion has softened and tomato begins getting mushy, add in the bresaola. Mix well and set aside.
Dressing
Ingredients: parsley, coriander, scallion, chilli, water, olive oil, salt
Put everything into a blender. Water is optional, depending on how thick you’d like the mixture to be. This is basically a version of zhug (سحاوق).
Treasures of Emerald Hills
Treasures
Ingredients: pumpkin, honey, white vinegar, salt
Cut pumpkin into small cubes and mix with salt. This helps to “cook” the raw pumpkin and create a crunchier texture by drawing out water. After 30 minutes, rinse salted pumpkin with water then mix with honey and a dash of vinegar. Ideally, the pickle time should be at least a day.
Emerald Hills
Ingredients: broccoli, potato, butter, garlic, fish sauce, sesame oil
Boil broccoli and potato, then mash with butter, fish sauce, and sesame oil. Mash with your hands if you’re looking for fun, or use a blender for the thrill. The ideal consistency is a jiggly mixture—too thick to slurp but perfectly lickable.
Flag Noodle
Noodle
Ingredients: maltagliati pasta
Buy a pack of maltagliati pasta. Or make a basic unleavened dough by mixing flour and water, roll into a flat sheet of desired thickness, and cut into rhombus shapes. Cook pasta in boiling water, then dump out the water and set aside.
Broth
Ingredients: chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, star anise, black pepper, salt
Any part of the chicken works, as we’re mainly after the broth and not the meat. Place chicken into a pot of water, preferably before the water boils. Let it boil for about 30 minutes, constantly removing the scum and fat that rise to the top; this helps to make a clear broth. Then add in all remaining ingredients and cook on medium or low heat for 2 hours. Here’s a video of the actual Xinjiang Flag Noodle.
Panda Meal
Lentils
Ingredients: lentils, water, onion, tomato paste, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt
For this dish, red lentils are preferred (though they are actually orange in colour). Red lentils are usually sold with the skin removed, therefore taking a shorter time to cook and resulting in dishes that have a smoother texture. I generally rinse the lentils a few times and let them soak in water, just to further speed up the cooking process. In a pot, stir-fry diced onion until soft. Then add in spices, soaked lentils, and finally tomato paste. Pour in a decent amount of water, mix evenly, and cover the pot. Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes at low heat.
Rice
Ingredients: rice, lamb, onion, ghee, dried lemon, cardamom, cumin, black pepper, salt
Any cut of lamb works, as it is cut into small pieces so tenderness is almost guaranteed. Any other meat such as chicken or beef works as well. Bring water to a boil in a pot, then add in the meat. When the meat firms up, remove from water and rinse under the tap to completely get rid of impurities; this prevents you from ending up with a grey-coloured final dish. Stir-fry onion in the pot with ghee, add in the boiled meat and spices. Then pour in water and cover the pot; let simmer for 1 hour, or until meat is soft and broth has enough flavour. While meat simmers, rinse rice and soak in water. When meat is tender and flavoured, add rice into the pot and stir evenly. You may want to add a little more ghee and water, so the rice does not stick to the bottom. Rice should be cooked in 30 minutes or so.
Sauce
Ingredients: tomato, scallion, coriander, water, garlic, cumin, olive oil, salt
Put everything in the blender. Parsley can be used to replace coriander. This is basically a version of dakkous (الدقوس).
Saffron Drink
Ingredients: water, orange, Earl Grey tea, sugar, saffron
In one cup, place Earl Grey tea, sugar, and saffron, then pour in half a cup of hot water. This creates a concentrated “syrup” for the drink. Squeeze oranges to make juice, then add ice cubes and the previously mentioned syrup; stir well. You may need to add some water or more syrup, depending on your preference.