Here's how it goes; when it is raining, the only respectable thing to do (after enjoying the outdoors in proper attire, or in improper attire if you are in the mood/that type of person) is to go inside, put on something comfortable, and eat a bowl of something. With that goal in mind, I made my way to the finish line.
1. Appetizer: Thick, chewy, eggy dough is filled and rolled and filled and rolled with spinach, cheese and a smokey meat. Flaky exterior, chewy, dense interior -- evet, lutfen!
Maybe I'll put a sunny side up quail egg on the other half tomorrow morning... Sorry if that was obnoxious, but we are out of normal eggs. And quail eggs have beautiful shells and are v. cute.
2. Main attraction: Manti. that is pronounced "mon-tugh", because that "i" should not have a dot on it, therefore altering its pronounciation. Regardless, these little dumpling/ravioli-esque treasures come in many varieties throughout Turkey/Central Asia/Armenia/Kazakhstan, etc, popular with nomads and warriors much like myself. Filled with spiced meat (in my case), or pumpkin, or more, these guys are ... well, imagine having 3 little dumplings in your mouth at once.
So I bought some dried ones at the local gourmet grocery, and found their traditional recipe online which happens to be quite simple and fairly hot-plate possible; boil the manti, top them with a garlic yogurt sauce, and then a simple tomato sauce. Taking some liberties with the recipe, as usual, I ended up here.
Conceptually, this dish breaks the world figure skating record (excluding Kim Yu-Na). But not on this skating rink; the meat wasn't lively enough and I didn't have butter for the tomato sauce, butter is usually better. But I still got the satisfaction one seeks from a warm bowl of starch with some other stuff along for the ride. And the nice thing about yogurt instead of some heavy cheese concoction is that you can actually function afterward.
There was a salad as well but its already too predictable; white cheese, corn, parsley, spices... and sage tea to wind down the night...
So this guy instead.
1. Appetizer: Thick, chewy, eggy dough is filled and rolled and filled and rolled with spinach, cheese and a smokey meat. Flaky exterior, chewy, dense interior -- evet, lutfen!
Maybe I'll put a sunny side up quail egg on the other half tomorrow morning... Sorry if that was obnoxious, but we are out of normal eggs. And quail eggs have beautiful shells and are v. cute.
2. Main attraction: Manti. that is pronounced "mon-tugh", because that "i" should not have a dot on it, therefore altering its pronounciation. Regardless, these little dumpling/ravioli-esque treasures come in many varieties throughout Turkey/Central Asia/Armenia/Kazakhstan, etc, popular with nomads and warriors much like myself. Filled with spiced meat (in my case), or pumpkin, or more, these guys are ... well, imagine having 3 little dumplings in your mouth at once.
So I bought some dried ones at the local gourmet grocery, and found their traditional recipe online which happens to be quite simple and fairly hot-plate possible; boil the manti, top them with a garlic yogurt sauce, and then a simple tomato sauce. Taking some liberties with the recipe, as usual, I ended up here.
Conceptually, this dish breaks the world figure skating record (excluding Kim Yu-Na). But not on this skating rink; the meat wasn't lively enough and I didn't have butter for the tomato sauce, butter is usually better. But I still got the satisfaction one seeks from a warm bowl of starch with some other stuff along for the ride. And the nice thing about yogurt instead of some heavy cheese concoction is that you can actually function afterward.
There was a salad as well but its already too predictable; white cheese, corn, parsley, spices... and sage tea to wind down the night...
So this guy instead.
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