Aushak

This was a really unique recipe that I spotted in Ruth Reichl’s memoir about her New York Times restaurant critic years. The book, by the way, is great. I loved that she included reprints of some of her more famous reviews and she is a very fluid and vivid writer. The book ends with her taking the editor position at Gourmet though, which is sad as I truly miss Gourmet. Bon Appetit is just not the same.

The recipe is Afghan and it is truly fantastic. I’ve never eaten Afghan food, nor spotted it on too many food blogs, and this is a terrible omission. This is a fabulous dish – spicy, but comforting, filling but not too heavy, and most importantly, beyond delicious. I made some large adjustments to the recipe, perhaps making it less authentically Afghan, but I put the original ingredients in parenthesis. And now am on a hunt for a good Afghan restaurant and more recipes, so I’m taking suggestions.

A final note, this recipe is a bit complicated. But it makes a healthy amount of food, so there will be plenty of leftovers, and I think it is one of those recipes that once you make it a few times and get the hang of it, things will roll more quickly.

Aushak
Adapted from Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
Meat Sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 lbs ground pork sausage meat (beef. I used the pork because I still had ground sausage meat to use up, and I found that since it was already spiced, it made the dish that much more flavorful)
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons cumin (coriander. I didn’t have coriander, so I used cumin)
3 teaspoons nutmeg (mace. I didn’t have mace, but I read that nutmeg is similar)
2 teaspoons dried ginger (freshly grated ginger)
4 cups beef stock (water)
8 tablespoons tomato paste
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper

Yogurt Sauce
4 cups Greek yogurt, preferably full fat
4 tablespoons minced garlic (this makes a garlicky sauce. Add less if you would prefer a slightly less garlicky taste)
2 teaspoon salt
Dill, roughly chopped, to taste.

Leek Dumplings
2 cups of leeks, white and light green parts, washed, sliced into narrow rounds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground cayenne red pepper (red pepper flakes)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
30-40 wonton wrappers, hopefully round, but square are fine
1 tablespoon chopped dill

First, make the meat sauce:
Heat oil in a heavy dutch oven. Add onions and cook for about 5-8 minutes until glassy. Add the ground sausage meat, garlic, cumin and ginger and cook, stirring until meat is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.

Add beef stock and cook on medium high heat until reduced by half. This definitely took awhile, as this is a lot of meat and stock. Once it is reduced, add tomato paste and season with salt. Simmer on low heat until ready to serve. The consistency should resemble a Bolognese sauce – thick and meaty, but still plenty of liquid.

Next, make the yogurt sauce:
In a medium bowl, blend yogurt, garlic, salt and dill. Set aside.

Finally, make the dumplings
In a medium bowl, combine chopped leeks, salt, pepper, red pepper and garlic. Toss to mix. Pour into a medium pan and cook over medium heat until leeks are softened, about 5-7 minutes. Once the leeks are cooked, remove from heat and return to bowl.

Lay a wonton wrapper on flat surface and brush edges with water. Spoon 1 teaspoon of leek mix on it, fold in half and press to make a semi-circle, or fold into triangles, making sure it is sealed. Set onto a lightly floured board or plate. Repeat until you have made about 5 dumplings per serving.

Heat salted water in a large pasta boiling pot. When boiling, turn down heat slightly, and add dumplings. Cook for about 3 minutes, until translucent. Gently fish out dumplings with a large spoon or a wok strainer, if you have one. Do not use a pasta stirrer, as the prongs will pierce the dumplings, and they are very fragile!

Finally, assemble the dish:
Spoon a healthy dose of the meat sauce into a bowl, top with 3-5 dumplings per person and finally top off with a dallop of garlic. Add a spring of fresh dill as a garnish.

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