Riffin on Tiffin - Homemade Keema Mattar

Now that the summer of the burger is over, it seems like pizza will be the new food proving grounds in Philly kitchens. Cruising by Starr's new Stella tonight and seeing the packed crowds of happy diners munching down on thin-crust pizza got me in the mood to recall one of our pizza experiments at home.

Recent favorites of ours are Tiffin's pizza offerings. The Indian twist on thin crust was right up our alley...and considering our near addiction to lamb, the Keema Mattar pizza, a minced lamb and pesto pizza pictured above, seemed like the perfect redux for home.

SuperFresh had a leg of lamb on sale last week for under $15, so I portioned it out into a shank, a roast and then minced the scraps up for the Keema Mattar topping.

The minced meat was simply seasoned and seared...I added a little dry mint to the meat as it finished, just to make sure that the flavor came through.

The pesto was a blend of mint and parsley, with a clove of garlic.

I didn't have time to pound out some pizza dough and then let it rise, so I used two pieces of lavash bread for the crust, brushed in olive oil and slathered in a greek yogurt and ricotta mix. These went into a 500 degree oven for a quick crisp.

Once the crust had firmed up, I just sprinkled on some peas and minced lamb to coat.

The end result wasn't even close to Tiffin's (the pesto was too minty and when it mixed with the ricotta it tasted "like toothpaste" quipped Elizabeth) . Next time, I'll probably not cheap out on the dough by going pre-made, use less topping and spread it around a bit more and most definitely go easier on the mint, maybe blending in some spinach with the pesto instead of parsley.

Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart

Spurred on by the success of her last experiment and the ever-growing mountain of cherry tomatoes being pushed out by the Sweet 100 plants, Elizabeth decided to make a Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart (link to recipe) to go along with a rack of lamb we were having for dinner.

To make the tart visually interesting, she threw in a few different tomato varieties that we had picked up at the farmer's market. One of my favorties was the Black Cherry Tomatoes from Savoie Organic Farms; these were a little firmer fleshed and have a deeper, less tart taste than your typical cherry.

Oiled and seasoned with some salt, pepper and Early Italian Purple Garlic from the market, these went into a 400 degree oven to roast away. After about 30 minutes, they were cooled off and the liquid they were released was drained off to use in a marinade for the lamb.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth made the tart shell using your standard pie-crust kind of recipe...cold cubed butter, pulsed in the food processor with flour & dash of salt, then a little bit of cold water & dash of lemon juice mixed in...she left the cornmeal out of that the recipe called for.

The dough went into a little tapas pan and then into the oven until golden brown; it was left to cool alongside the tomatoes.

Next, she mixed together equal parts goat cheese and thick Greek Yogurt (we use Fage 0% Fat), mashing in a little nub of leftover ricotta salata to add some saltiness. She left out the mustard and instead simply spread the cheese across the now-cool tart crust.

Next, time to load it up with tomatoes!

The tart went back into the oven for a brief time to warm through and get all the flavors to marry, then out it came, sprinked with fresh thyme.

Here's the final result, served alongside a slice of lamb. This tart was a little heavier on the tomato than the example from the recipe, but when it's being served alongside lamb rack, the tart cherries, creamy goat cheese and crispy tart crust was a perfect match to the juicy lamb, served rare.

Zucchini Blossom & Squash Gratin w/ Grilled Leg of Lamb & Tomato Vinegar Slaw

Our four little zucchini plants have thrown down the gauntlet and are pumping out blossoms at a record rate, leaving us scrambling for unique ways to cook them up. These things are the rabbits of the culinary niche-gardening world...Elizabeth gathered up 4 more this morning to go along with the 8 already in our fridge from this weekend...total count is 31 blossoms in the last 3 1/2 weeks.

Elizabeth adapted one of her signature recipes (Squash Mini Casseroles - follow the link) to incorporate the blossoms.

She chopped the older blossoms up into quarters and sauteed them along with the yellow squash, them blended the veg saute into a mix of panko bread cumbs, greek yogurt & a smidgen of goat cheese.

She had the idea to crispy fry some blossoms and place them atop a finished & browned gratin.

We dusted the blossom in some seasoned rice flour then dipped them into a 375 degree canola oil bath.

I had to hold the blossom lightly to shape the blossom & keep the leaves from spreading open in the fryer, but the end result yielded beautifully crispy blossoms for garnishing the mini squash casserole with.

To accompany the squash we purchased 2 lbs. of butterflied leg of lamb from Whole Foods; it was on sale at 6.99 per lb., which made for a perfect grilled accompaniment to the casseroles...plus, there would be plenty of leftovers.

Here's the final result of the grilling...char-grilled exterior, pinky medium-rare center.

I scored the meat on both sides, marinated this hunk of lamb in some salt, pepper, garlic & lemon juice for 1/2 hour and then threw it meat side down on a blazing hot grill to char, before flipping it over, fat-side down, and cooking for another 20-30 minutes on indirect heat.

After the center registered 135, I pulled the lamb off the grill, plucked a handful of thyme from the garden and threw it atop the lamb as it was tented in some foil to rest for 10 minutes.

To accompany the lamb, we made a tomato & red onion slaw, spiced with salt, pepper, mint & cumin, drenched in olive oil & red wine vinegar and allowed to steep in the fridge while the lamb cooked on the grill. The minty cool and bracingly tart tomato & onion salad worked well to softened the strong char-grill of the lamb.

Effie's is...Iffy?

With all the attention that Cypriot BYOB Kanella has been getting in Washington Square West, we thought it would only be fair to try out Effie's, an unassuming Greek BYOB just a few blocks away. Effie's has a reputation for courtyard seating and decent standards, like octopus and lamb, so we stopped in on a Wednesday to sample the offerings.

They were a little jammed up and grabbing a courtyard table, which seemed relatvely easy for 8:30PM on a Wednesday, was out of the question. As we waited to be seated in a two-top along Pine Street we amused ourselves watching the cooks tackling orders while grill-smoke pouring out of the tiny open kitchen.



The first course of calamari was perfectly done. This was some of the best calamari we've had in a long time; if you've read some of our other reviews, you know that we use calamari as the baseline for judging how much care and attention a kitchen puts into the food.

At first glance, it should be an easy dish to make...pull it from a prep dish, batter/bread and deep fry, then serve...but so many kitchens really blow this one, through bad pre-made ingredient, poorly mixed or seasoned coating or due to innatentively over cooking the calamari into fried rubber bands...oh let me count the ways that you can ruin thee.

Effie's calamari was a perfect balance of light, crispy coating, just salty & seasoned enough with tender squid rings beneath. Served still warm, this was a sign of good things to come.



The sampler platter was a decent smattering of bulgar stuffed grape leaves, an eggplant dip, soem hummus, cheese and peppers...consistency of the dips were smooth and flavors pronounced...a well-done, if not basic, appetizer. Served with pita points, a decent way to pass the evening over a glass of wine.



Mains brought both great grilling and gritty greens. The lamb rack was perfectly seasoned & grilled, albeit a little on the medium side of medium rare. Resting on a bed of mac & cheese orzo, this was Greek comfort food...except for the sand.

The dish was ruined with the ring of gritty greens that had not been throughly washed...my wife's first bite into them yeilded that 'tween the teeth crunch that kills your appetite...she asked me to try another piece to see if it was a fluke, but after one or two more bites from different bunches of greens the slack-luster prep was apparent. She picked her way around the sides while enjoying the lamb.



I ordered Lamb Lemonato, the lemon potato and lamb dish...basically cubed, grilled lamb & roasted potatos drenched in an lemon-oil sauce. The potatos were hit or miss due to their irregular sizes...some over-cooked & withered, other larger chunks on the edge of doneness, an occasional well-roasted wedge...Seems like short-cut prep strikes again.

The lamb mostly appeared in small scraps and was a little gristly..however, those sizeable chunks that could be found amongst the potatos were decently seasoned and cooked...I found myself digging through the cubes of spud in search of those few remaining lamb chunks that were hiding shadows of my plate created by the al fresco street lighting.

Final verdict? Great place for appetizers. They had actually 86'd two of the apps we wanted to try (tomato tart and the grilled octupus, a favrotie from what I can gather), so we may be back to try those and get some more calamari.

We're staying away from the entrees though...seemed like the poor prep went by unnoticed by the chef making it to the plate. Those sides sabotaged what could've been some great lamb dishes.

Most of the other customers leaving seemed happy though, so maybe it was just a fluke or that fact that we ordered at the end of a busy shift and were left picking through our entrees looking for the delicatable bits...but Effie's stuck us as Iffy's.

S&H Kebab House for Lunch

It's no secret that the S&H Kebab House, on P'Unk just off South St., has opened to rave reviews for the grilled skewers & all around well-done Turkish food.



It was a gorgeous summer day when we decided to have lunch at S&H...the part of P'Unk isn't heavily traveled, so you can actually enjoy your meal w/o the car exhaust.



Plus, for $8 you get plenty of satisfying food...both a platter and an accompanying salad or appetizer.

We started with the Tabbouleh salad & the Haydari, a dip made with yogurt, garlic, dill and walnut pieces. The Tabbouleh was well seasoned and full of veggies...diced red pepper, scallions, tomato & parsley. The Haydari, slathered over warmed pita slices, was addictive...the yogurt+dill is a familiar flavor, but the walnut pieces gave the spread a pleasing bite.



The main attraction for us was the news that the lamb kebabs were char-grilled...here's a close-up of the Sis Kebap, marinated lamb cubes. Each platter came with grilled pepppers & tomato, two kinds of rice( a spiced short-grain rice and a buttery medium grain) and a slaw of cabbage & carrot.



The lamb Doner combines hearty char-grilled lamb flavor in delicately sliced portions. The balance of marinated meat flavors and accompanying veg made for a great summer lunch.
Although the desserts looked just as summer-ready, we were stuffed.

As we lunched, passers-by commented to one another about S&H, either pointing out that they had eaten there or needed to drop in soon.

Pastry-Wrapped Lamb Lollipops w/ Shitake & Salsify Hash

Ok, I didn't quite get the best angle in this thing, but what you're supposed to be looking at are a pair of pastry-wrapped lamb chops resting on a bed of Shitake mushroom and salsify.

The chops we did like any other night...seasoned & seared on all sides, then wrapped in pastry sheets that have had herb de provence pressed into the dough. Popped into a 375 oven until 140-145 degrees in the center, these little guys are like flaky, meaty lollipops...reminds me of an upscale corndog.

The real star of this dish was the mushroom & salisfy saute.



We were in Reading Terminal Market and found some great organic watercress and some fresh Shitake mushrooms from the Fair Farm stand, then we spotted some cigar-like salsify root at another veggie stand. The salsify is called the "Oyster Plant" because it has an oyster like taste, with a tinge of sweetness, like a white yam.

We peeled and cut the salsify into biased wafers, chopped the mushrooms and commenced to cooking.



I had bought some ground lamb, which I mashed into tiny bits and then browned in some olive oil, along with a dash of some mushroom dust I bought at the Spice Corner; this is quickly becoming my crutch for creating instant gravy-like heartiness in a dish.

Next, the salsify goes in to begin cooking down...I've never cooked this before, but it resembles carrots in the way it sweated off...finally the mushrooms and a splash of water to deglaze any of the lamb bits.


Here's yet another bad angle on what turned out to be a decent dish...I should've bought another 3 or 4 salsify roots to keep experimenting with the mushroom/salsify combo.