Seasonal Recipes

Written by on October 30, 2011 in Food - No comments

Try these recipes using fruit and vegetables that can be found in Baku:

Boiled Leg of Mutton

Ingredients:

1 leg of mutton (around 3.5kg)

2 onions

1 turnip

2 sticks celery

2 leeks

2 bay leaves

1 bunch celery

2 tsp peppercorns

Method:

  1. Trim off some of the surface fat, but not too much.
  2. Place the leg in a pan large enough to hold it. Cover with water.
  3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming off any grey gunge that floats to the surface.
  4. Add all the other ingredients.
  5. Bring back to the boil and simmer for three to three and a half hours, depending on its size and nature.
  6. Now it is ready for the carver’s art, the plate and the sauce.

Roast Quinces

Ingredients:

4 heaped tbsp sugar

500ml water

4 cloves

2 star anise

4 smallish quinces

½ a lemon

4 tbsp maple syrup

Method:

  1. Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
  2. Add the cloves and star anise.
  3.  Peel and halve the quinces and rub them with lemon to stop them browning.
  4. Lower the quinces into the sugar syrup and let them simmer till tender. They may be ready in 25 minutes or perhaps take a little longer, depending on their size and ripeness.
  5. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 5. When they are tender to the point of a knife, lift the quinces out and put them in a shallow baking dish or roasting tin. Take150ml of the cooking liquid, add the maple syrup and, together with the aromatics, pour over the quinces.
  6. Bake for 30 minute or so till very soft and tender. Serve with their cooking juices.

Cinnamon Hazelnut Biscotti

 Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup hazelnuts

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; mix into the egg mixture. Stir in the hazelnuts. Shape dough into two equal logs approximately 12 inches long. Place logs on baking sheet, and flatten out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
  3. Bake for about 30 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden and the center is firm. Remove from oven to cool on the pans. When loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to slice the loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet.
  4. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, turning over once. Cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

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