Red Sea Food Store

recommendation

35 Marshall St,
Nicolson Square,
Edinburgh, EH8 9BJ
0131 662 6555

Khalid, the (halal) butcher is a proper butcher, and the fridge contains olives, pickles (mixed vegeatables), mish (yoghurt laced with nigella, fenugreek and other spices), khobs (flat round bread), and other goodies. Well worth a visit!

The butcher makes his own merguez. They are good. He will prepare a crown roast of lamb, and he will bone and stuff a chicken or a chicken supreme. This makes the recipe simple, and reduces the task of carving to mere slicing.

Much of the other stock is tinned—varied, exotic and good, but tinned. Don't let this put you off!

A simple lunch for two

Take one boned, stuffed chicken supreme (the two breasts, still connected, breast-bone removed). Top and tail a couple of small red onions, halve them top-to-bottom. Rub the chicken and the cut surfaces of the onions with olive oil, dust with freshly-ground black pepper, and salt to taste. Place chicken and onions in an oven-proof dish, all skin-side-up. Roast 40 minutes in a fairly hot (190 °C 375 °F) oven. Allow the chicken to rest 10 minutes. Remove the onion skins, carve slices right across the chicken. Serve with rice, bread, or roast potatoes, the juices from the chicken and a salad.

Confit de Canard

Tesco has a special on duck legs: four legs for £3!

The recipe for Confit de Canard is simple. Here is a brief outline:

Rub the flesh and skin of each leg with a dry marinade of salt, herbs and spices. Leave covered in a cool place for 24-48 hours.

Sear the duck in a hot oven until nicely brown, then pack it in a casserole. Bake in its own fat, long and slow. The confit, cooled in the fat, can be kept for several days, or used immediately.

To serve, remove the meat from the fat, and brown briefly in a hot oven. The skin will be crisp and brown; the flesh tender, rich and succulent.

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Yufka chicken pie

Yufka is a paper-thin Turkish pastry used for borek, baklava, and other treats. If you can't find yufka, filo pastry makes an acceptable substitute. Filo is thinner, and raw, while yufka is slightly thicker, cooked, and easier to handle.

Sweat finely chopped onions in butter slowly. Poach a whole chicken until just cooked, in a snugly-fitting covered pan, with the onions and enough water to cover.

While the chicken cools, reduce the stock, then use it to make one or two cups of thick sauce velouté. Flavour with pepper and cinnamon.

Remove the meat from the chicken (don't forget the"oysters"), cut it into bite-sized chunks. Spread the sauce in a pie dish and add the chicken.

Melt plenty of butter. Brush the sheets of yufka with butter and lay them, one-by-one, slightly crumpled, over the chicken.

Bake in a moderate oven until golden.