round. You can bake them in a preheated 425°F oven for 4 to 5 minutes on a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone.
Sweet Pepper Variation
When peaches are out of season, sweet peppers make a delicious variation to this recipe. Roast 2 bell peppers (see page 97). Top each baked lamejun with two strips of pepper.
Presentation Variation
If you’ve used lavash, place each lamejun in a 4-to 5-inch round casserole dish (such as a cazuela or a gratin dish), letting the sides hang over the top. Press the lamejun so that the middle is flat on the bottom. Drizzle each lamejun with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and bake for about 12 minutes until crisp and the chicken mixture is cooked through. Remove from the casserole dish, and you have a unique bowl-shaped lamejun. Continue with step 10.
ROASTING SWEET PEPPERS
Preheat the oven to 400°F and place red bell peppers on a lightly oiled heavy baking sheet. Roast the peppers for about 8 minutes or until they collapse. Remove them from the baking sheet and place them in a small bowl covered with plastic. Allow to steam for about 5 minutes, and then peel off the skin. Split the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and the stem. Cut each pepper into pieces and season the strips with salt and pepper to taste.
To Roast Peppers Over an Open Flame
Place each pepper directly on the burner over a medium gas flame. Cook the peppers until their skin is completely black and charred and flakes off easily, for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the peppers from the burner and place them in a small mixing bowl covered with plastic. Allow the peppers to steam for about 5 minutes, and then peel off the skin. Split the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and stem. Cut each pepper into pieces and season the pieces with salt and pepper to taste. Do not rinse the peppers to peel off the charred skin. Pull the black skin off using your fingers or scrape it with the back of a knife. Rinsing washes away natural oils and flavor.
Beef Shish Kebobs with Sumac Onions and Parsley Butter
In Turkish, shish means skewer and kebob means grilled meat. This simple recipe introduces an addictive condiment for grilled meat: onions sliced very thinly and tossed with a generous amount of sumac. The sumac pickles the onion a few minutes after tossing. Sumac onions are the perfect pickle for all grilled meats.
Try to find fresh pita bread delivered daily to the market. It makes a difference. Good Middle Eastern markets receive bread daily. Look for the thinnest pita possible. If the bread seems a bit thick or a little stale, brush it with water and olive oil and soften it on the grill before cooking the shish kebob.
In Turkey, flatbreads serve a purpose. In the United States, we are served bread before our meal as though it’s a snack while we wait for our food to arrive. In many Arabic countries, the bread is often skipped throughout the mezze course and is served where it is most important: with the meat course. The bread is placed on a platter or plate and topped with the meat after it is cooked, so that as the meat rests, the juices soak into the bread. Flatbreads like lavash or very thin pitas (or pides) dry out very quickly if left in the open air for a short amount of time. You can reconstitute dried-out flatbreads by spraying them with the fine mist from a pump water bottle or by rubbing them with wet hands.
I like to use sirloin for kebobs. A less expensive alternative is top round, but it is not quite as tender as sirloin. The parsley butter is a classic combination of garlic and parsley.
Serve these kebobs with a spicy and smoky French syrah from Cote Rotie or Hermitage in the Rhone Valley.
S ERVES 6
3 pounds sirloin strip, fat trimmed and cut into twenty-four 1-to 1½-inch cubes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano, preferably wild, crushed with your fingers into powder
1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems removed, washed and dried
1½ sticks unsalted
Sweet Pepper Variation
When peaches are out of season, sweet peppers make a delicious variation to this recipe. Roast 2 bell peppers (see page 97). Top each baked lamejun with two strips of pepper.
Presentation Variation
If you’ve used lavash, place each lamejun in a 4-to 5-inch round casserole dish (such as a cazuela or a gratin dish), letting the sides hang over the top. Press the lamejun so that the middle is flat on the bottom. Drizzle each lamejun with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and bake for about 12 minutes until crisp and the chicken mixture is cooked through. Remove from the casserole dish, and you have a unique bowl-shaped lamejun. Continue with step 10.
ROASTING SWEET PEPPERS
Preheat the oven to 400°F and place red bell peppers on a lightly oiled heavy baking sheet. Roast the peppers for about 8 minutes or until they collapse. Remove them from the baking sheet and place them in a small bowl covered with plastic. Allow to steam for about 5 minutes, and then peel off the skin. Split the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and the stem. Cut each pepper into pieces and season the strips with salt and pepper to taste.
To Roast Peppers Over an Open Flame
Place each pepper directly on the burner over a medium gas flame. Cook the peppers until their skin is completely black and charred and flakes off easily, for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the peppers from the burner and place them in a small mixing bowl covered with plastic. Allow the peppers to steam for about 5 minutes, and then peel off the skin. Split the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and stem. Cut each pepper into pieces and season the pieces with salt and pepper to taste. Do not rinse the peppers to peel off the charred skin. Pull the black skin off using your fingers or scrape it with the back of a knife. Rinsing washes away natural oils and flavor.
Beef Shish Kebobs with Sumac Onions and Parsley Butter
In Turkish, shish means skewer and kebob means grilled meat. This simple recipe introduces an addictive condiment for grilled meat: onions sliced very thinly and tossed with a generous amount of sumac. The sumac pickles the onion a few minutes after tossing. Sumac onions are the perfect pickle for all grilled meats.
Try to find fresh pita bread delivered daily to the market. It makes a difference. Good Middle Eastern markets receive bread daily. Look for the thinnest pita possible. If the bread seems a bit thick or a little stale, brush it with water and olive oil and soften it on the grill before cooking the shish kebob.
In Turkey, flatbreads serve a purpose. In the United States, we are served bread before our meal as though it’s a snack while we wait for our food to arrive. In many Arabic countries, the bread is often skipped throughout the mezze course and is served where it is most important: with the meat course. The bread is placed on a platter or plate and topped with the meat after it is cooked, so that as the meat rests, the juices soak into the bread. Flatbreads like lavash or very thin pitas (or pides) dry out very quickly if left in the open air for a short amount of time. You can reconstitute dried-out flatbreads by spraying them with the fine mist from a pump water bottle or by rubbing them with wet hands.
I like to use sirloin for kebobs. A less expensive alternative is top round, but it is not quite as tender as sirloin. The parsley butter is a classic combination of garlic and parsley.
Serve these kebobs with a spicy and smoky French syrah from Cote Rotie or Hermitage in the Rhone Valley.
S ERVES 6
3 pounds sirloin strip, fat trimmed and cut into twenty-four 1-to 1½-inch cubes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano, preferably wild, crushed with your fingers into powder
1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems removed, washed and dried
1½ sticks unsalted
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