Street Food Recipes

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You don’t have to fly halfway around the world to taste all the dishes featured in “The Eight Best Cities for Street Food” (Utne Reader May-June 2009) Here are do-it-yourself recipes for adventurous cooks:

Harira (Morocco)

Makes about 12 cups.

Ingredients:

--1 whole chicken breast, halved

--4 cups chicken broth

--4 cups water

--a 28-to 32-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and puréed coarse

--1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads

--2 medium onions, chopped fine

--2 cups cooked dried chick-peas (recipe follows), or a 19-ounce can, rinsed

--1/2 cup raw long-grain rice

--1/2 cup lentils

--3/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander

--3/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

--dried chick-peas, picked over water

Preparation:

In a heavy kettle (at least 5 quarts) simmer chicken in broth and water 17 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is just cooked through, and transfer chicken with a slotted spoon to a cutting board. Add to kettle tomatoes, saffron, onions, chickpeas, rice, and lentils and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Shred chicken, discarding skin and bones, and stir into soup with salt and pepper to taste. Soup may be prepared 4 days ahead (cool uncovered before chilling covered).

In a bowl soak chickpeas in water to cover by 2 inches overnight or quick-soak (procedure follows) and drain.

To cook dried chickpeas:
In a saucepan combine drained chick-peas and water to cover by 2 inches and simmer, covered partially, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Drain chick-peas.

To make 2 cups cooked chick-peas begin with a scant cup dried.

Just before serving, stir in coriander and parsley.

To quick-soak dried beans
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

In a large saucepan combine dried beans, picked over and rinsed, with triple their volume of cold water. Bring the water to a boil and cook beans, uncovered, over moderate heat 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let beans soak 1 hour.

Boiled Octopus (Sicily)

Makes 4-8 servings

Ingredients:

--An octopus weighing about 2 1/4 pounds

--A medium sized bunch of parsley, finely chopped

--2 cloves garlic

--The juice of a lemon

--Extra virgin olive oil

--Salt and pepper to taste

--Toothpicks

Preparation:

Clean the octopus and rinse it well under running water. Put it in a pot with abundant cold water to cover, and set it on a burner. Figure about 25 minutes per pound, so here you will need to simmer your octopus for an hour; to check for doneness stick the base of a tentacle with a skewer or toothpick. If it penetrates easily the octopus is done. Turn off the heat and let it cool some in the water it boiled in.

While the octopus is boiling, wash and pat dry the parsley, peel the garlic cloves, and mince the parsley with the garlic.

Drain the octopus, cut it onto bite-sized pieces, and arrange them on a serving dish. Sprinkle the minced herbs over the octopus, followed by the lemon juice, and then a drizzle of olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper, stick the pieces with toothpicks, and serve either warm or cool.

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