Elena at the cutting board with the wifey and her red wine. Manti prep is 'chop-chop' intensive. we had 3-4 choppers going at a time. chopping concluded the team shifted to dumpling stuffing.
technically Elena's here as a client, a horse buyer. this is her second visit and she's becoming a good friend and active participant in the kitchen. her command of the english language seems tentative at first. so it was a blast doing dinner prep having little idea of what we were making...
Elena half times it in Vancouver and Moscow. that's how she rolls. night before our Manti party she sat at the counter with a mound of flour, added egg/water/salt without measuring, rolled out a mound of dough, wrapped it up in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge.( i'm the dough guy armed with the digital scale and a calculator) we all roll differently in the kitchen.
next day i come home from work to discover lamb steaks, beef, and 5 big red onions at the ready. fine 'chop-chop' (Elena's term as she delegated) on the onion was pretty straight forward. the meat cut was more interesting as she stressed it was important to cut cross grain 1/4 flaps of flesh, then lay them on their side and score, then turn 90' and slice 1/4 strips, then turn another 90' and cut into 1/4 morsels. onions, meat into big pot. Elena ground a bunch of caraway seeds in the mortar and then asked for curry but i couldn't find it. so she made a few trips to the pantry (and maybe added coriander?) as guests arrived. salt and pepper of course then we stuffed a shit load of dumplings and steamed for 20 minutes.
next day i come home from work to discover lamb steaks, beef, and 5 big red onions at the ready. fine 'chop-chop' (Elena's term as she delegated) on the onion was pretty straight forward. the meat cut was more interesting as she stressed it was important to cut cross grain 1/4 flaps of flesh, then lay them on their side and score, then turn 90' and slice 1/4 strips, then turn another 90' and cut into 1/4 morsels. onions, meat into big pot. Elena ground a bunch of caraway seeds in the mortar and then asked for curry but i couldn't find it. so she made a few trips to the pantry (and maybe added coriander?) as guests arrived. salt and pepper of course then we stuffed a shit load of dumplings and steamed for 20 minutes.
salad, dumplings, wine and 3 very different dips for the dumplings. shit-oh-dear those dumplings are wicked delicious. the seasonings suggested mint but there wasn't any. one great dip was a dish of sour cream and a jar of horseradish used in tandem. another, our fav vinegar Kressi with chopped chives. and my personal favorite, vietnamese dipping sauce.
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