Aushak

Something different today: Afghan food!

Aushak is an Afghan dumpling. Traditionally, it's filled with a vegetarian filling that's made with green onions and/or leeks, cilantro, and chili pepper. Then, it's served in pools of garlic yogurt sauce and tomato meat sauce. It's a surprising cross between spaghetti and wontons, spiked with enough garlic to raise the dead or slay the undead. Best of all, it's likely to satisfy adventurous and wary eaters alike.

Meat Sauce

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 finely diced onion
• 3 cloves of finely diced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon finely diced fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup of water (you might not need it all)

Sautee onions in olive oil until soft. Add beef, garlic, coriander, mace, and ginger and sautee until cooked. Add 1/2 a cup of water and simmer slowly until the water is reduced by half. Stir in the tomato sauce, add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for five more minutes. Add water if the mix starts to look dry. It should be thicker than spaghetti saucebut still have some moisture to it. Cover and set aside in refrigerator. The meat will absorb the flavors while resting

Yogurt Sauce

• 1 cup Mediterranean style yogurt
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (2-3 cloves)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients, cover, and set aside in refrigerator. You want to use a very thick yogurt for this. I used Trader Joe's Mediterranean Cheese Style Yogurt with the yellow cap. It's thicker than sour cream and has a great mild, slightly cheesy flavor. It's $2 a pint, and you can mix leftovers with a little milk and honey for breakfast. A Greek style yogurt would work well too, or take your favorite plain yogurt and drain it in a cheesecloth to thicken it.

Dumplings

• 1 package wonton wrappers (Dynasty or Hong Kong brands are widely available)
• 2 bunches of green onions, white parts removed and chopped finely
• handful cilantro (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten and mixed with a teaspoon of water

Using the filling very sparingly, I was able to use up almost an entire package of wonton wrappers. If you want to use up the whole bag and make more substantial aushak, I would multiply this recipe by 1.5. Combine all the ingredients except the wrappers and the egg. Let rest for ten minutes, then gently squeeze out the liquid. Put a teaspoon of filling on a wrapper, dab the edges of the wrapper with a thin layer of egg, fold the wrapper onto itself to form a triangle, and press firmly to seal.

The best way to ensure a tight seal is to press down one side of the triangle and then gently roll your palm over the aushak starting with the sealed side and over to the unsealed side. As you roll your palm over the aushak, gently squeeze out the air from around the filling, being careful not to squeeze more liquid out of the filling. Seal the other side of the triangle. Set on a lightly floured baking sheet, and repeat until you run out of filling. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap until ready to cook. You can also freeze the aushak on the tray, then put them all in a zip loc bag in the freezer for a few months.

Boil two quarts of water, slightly salted (a teaspoon or two should do it). Turn the water down to a gently rolling boil, and cook the aushak until transluscent. If you're boiling fresh aushak made with thin wonton skins, it should take only two or three minutes. Frozen aushak will take up to five minutes. To serve, heat the meat sauce but not the yogurt sauce. Drain the cooked aushak and arrange them on a warm plate. Dab all over with both sauces (or make stripes) and serve immediately.

Sides today were simple: cauliflower soup and a salad. Cauliflower soup is made by steaming a head of cauliflower, allowing it to cool slightly, then throwing it in a blender with some good chicken stock. Salt, pepper, and some chives complete the simple soup. This needs some chives for color, but no one's being picky tonight.

I decided to make aushak when reading Ruth Reichl's book Garlic and Sapphires reminded me that I loved aushak at Helmand in San Francisco and really wanted to try making them. I had already decided on the soup and salad, but the carnivore in my brain kept nagging me with an incessant "But there's no meat!" Aushak were just what was needed to keep this meal light while simultaneously making it a full dinner.

To see how my aushak compare, click here and look at the second photo for Helmand's rendition. The book, by the way, is a fun easy read full of amazing descriptions of many of Reichl's meals in New York City.

Oh, and I almost forgot. It's officially summer. Margaritas for everyone!