Category: Gluten free

Dowjic–A Soup For All Seasons

I was supposed to be getting directions to The History Theatre in St. Paul.  However, a link on the theatre web site to nearby restaurants caught my eye, and suddenly I was reading about “a great and mighty Kurdish tribe called the Babanis.”  Five hours later we were at Babani’s Kurdish Restaurant on St. Peter Street in St. Paul.   Everything we tried was delicious.

For a first course Jerri ordered Babani’s version of tabouli salad made with couscous rather than bulgur, and I tried Dowjic, a chicken rice soup described as having a tangy bite that “has traditionally kept many a Kurdish traveler from wondering too far from home.”  I didn’t get a taste of the tabouli, but when Jerri sampled the dowjic, she said, “This is really good.”  And then, “You should try to make this.”

So I searched the web, found some recipes and experimented with them until I had a version that we thought was as good or even better than that wonderful soup we first had at Babani’s.   Chicken and rice soup is wonderful on a cold winter day, but lemon, basil and yogurt make dowjic a light and refreshing soup for all seasons.  Here is how to make it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 chicken bouillon cube
Black pepper
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
Water
1 quart chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked rice
Juice of 1 to 1 1/2 lemons (about 3 T)
1 egg
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T finely chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried crushed basil

PROCEDURE:

Put the chicken breast in a saucepan with enough water to cover the meat.  Add the bouillon cube and a dash of black pepper.  Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer slowly for 9 to 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and allow the meat to finish poaching in the hot liquid for another 10 minutes while you are starting the soup.  Remove the chicken to a plate to cool and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

In a large pan or pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil, then add the rice and lemon juice. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes. With a fork or wire whisk, beat the egg until lemon colored in a medium size bowl and then beat in the yogurt.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, very slowly add one cup of the simmering stock to the yogurt, whisking constantly to prevent the yogurt and egg from curdling.  Whisk the yogurt mixture into the  broth.

Add the chicken, salt and basil.  Stirring frequently, heat the soup over low heat until it is steaming, but do not boil. Taste and add a little more lemon juice or salt if needed.

NOTE.  When I squeeze a lemon for this soup, I remove the seeds but leave the pulp in the juice.  About 3 tablespoons suits our taste, but you may want a little more or less. In an emergency, you can use reconstituted juice.   This soup is great for lunch too!

Onions on the Grill

Late July but it’s forty-five degrees and raining. It feels like snow is on the way. Even the bears have taken cover. We are huddling around a fire in front of a primitive cabin on an island in the Gulf of Alaska. For a fire pit someone long ago hauled rocks up from the shore. There is a blackened grill balanced on the rocks, and on the grill are six aluminum foil packages looking like giant Hershey’s Kisses. Chuck is roasting onions.

When we were making the list of things to buy for that fishing trip to Alaska oh so many years ago, Chuck, the camp chef, (not me) included five pounds of onions. As the new guy in the group, I asked whether five pounds might be more than we needed. The gang told me that we needed at least that many. “Chuck is a genius with onions. You’ll see.” And I did.

Here is how Chuck cooked onions on the grill on Afognak Island.

INGREDIENTS:

Onions (about 3 inches in diameter are best)
Butter
Seasoned salt

PROCEDURE:

Plan on one onion for each hungry fisherman. Cut off the tops and bottoms and peel the outer layer from each onion. Make two right angle cuts in the top of each onion; don’t cut the onion in quarters, but cut deeply enough that you can open the top of the onion about a half inch. Put about two teaspoons of butter in the opening and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Wrap the onions in aluminum foil, finishing off the wrap by twisting it into a “handle” on top. Set on the grill over moderate heat. Cook about 20 minutes.

NOTES: If you have used enough aluminum foil, you will end up with onions that look like big Hershey’s Kisses. We like onions on the grill when we have hamburgers or steaks. I put the onions over the edge of the coals about ten minutes before starting the meat and use the “handles” to rotate the onions so they cook without burning. Larger onions need to cook longer.