Barley Risotto with Kumquats and Feta

This is one of those meals that comes out of doldrums and cabinets. Call it April Showers Risotto. It was made on a recent gray night, when the only bright bulbs were a handful of kumquats on my kitchen counter and a few slack carrots in the crisper. Rainbow-colored carrots, thank gawd.

Madame Fromage had spent the day engaged in listless electronica, answering long-lost emails and staring out the window for ships, mascara from the night before raining under her eyes. You know those days. The catch-up days, the days of feeling caught in between -- between moods and seasons and weather patterns.

Then this sunny voice commanded me forward and said: dig around in the back of the fridge, root around in the cupboards, go to work, Madame Fromage. Get your fingers busy and make the most of the dregs! And so I opened the Chardonnay I'd scowled at for weeks, and I hauled out the bag of barley I had never opened, and I grabbed a handful of this-n-that. I threw it all into a dinged-up pot, and a phoenix emerged.

Let it be known that I fear risotto. I only eat it in restaurants. Recipes for it intimidate me, and so this is not a real risotto but a false risotto -- let there be no pretenses. It could also be called carrots-and-kumquats-boiled-with-grain-into-manna.

Let there be...gold.

The crucial elements here are: good carrots, barley, something in the orange family (zest will do), decent stock, toasted nuts and drop-dead feta. Otherwise, improvise! Go to your cupboards, and matchmake. This is a forgiving enterprise.

Barley Risotto with Kumquats and Feta

1 cup dry barley
3 cups stock (I used packaged organic chicken broth)
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 kumquats, sliced into rounds
1 large onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced or sliced
Toasted slivered almonds
Feta to sprinkle on top

Get out a nice big saucepan that has a lid and toast the barley in a little oil. By toast, I mean, crank up the heat on the oil, then toss in the dry barley, and let it brown a little -- no more than 10 minutes. Then add the stock, wine, rosemary, dried cranberries, and kumquat slices. Bring to a boil, then turn it to low and cover. It will need 1 hour under wraps.

While barley mixture is cooking, saute onion. Add this to barley, along with carrots, after about 45 minutes, so that carrots cook but remain tender, nut mushy. Taste barley for doneness, then dish into bowls and top with feta and toasted almonds.

Serves 4.

A Hookah and Cheese Party

My neighbor David hosted a hookah party on Saturday night. Of course I offered to bring cheese. I knew it would be the perfect excuse to explore the Middle Eastern grocery, Jerusalem, that I walk past every day on Girard Avenue – I ogle the dairy case whenever I buy dates.

One cheese in the cooler has always intrigued me, Labne. This traditional soft cheese is often compared to sour cream, but it’s “kefir cheese” – made by straining kefir, a form of cultured milk not unlike yogurt. I buy Lifeway kefir at the grocery all the time because it’s velvet for the G.I. track. It’s also delicious.

And so I began dreaming. Labne. Honey. Rosewater. Orange zest. Yes, a hookah cheese platter was coming together.

Next, I scoped out a tub of Bulgarian feta, my favorite style of brined cheese. I pictured a layer of hummus covered with a rough’n tumble mix of artichoke hearts, garbanzos, olives, feta, and cilantro.

The dates at Jerusalem were still on the stem. I had to have them. Pack them with a little Stilton, and they would be royal slippers.

I ran home to assemble. In a few hours, a 3-course cheese tasting was ready. All I needed was a pair of bellydance cymbals to ring between bites, but alas, Madame Fromage does not have those.

The party was cozy and warm. Our host greeted us in his fez and held out a pitcher of rose water to wash our hands. We used flat bread to scoop at the two cheese platters and admired David’s collection of electric ashtrays, which glow.

After perfumed lamb, after roasted pumpkin and rice, the hookahs came out. It was a perfect accompaniment to sweet meats and stuffed dates. Who says cheese doesn’t pair with rose tobacco?

Labne with Rose Water and Tangerine Zest

1 carton labne

Buckwheat honey

Rosewater

Tangerine zest

Crushed sesame coated cashews (Trader Joe’s)

Chopped apricots

This recipe is quick to assemble and absolutely delicious. Once you’ve got the ingredients, you can add as much of each item as you like. Just don’t overdo the rose water. A few drops (6-8) is about perfect; otherwise this dish might taste like bathwater.

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Feta Salad

This is essentially a 3-layer dip. You spread hummus around the bottom of a bowl, top it with a marinated artichoke and garbanzo salad, then crumble feta over it and plenty of olive oil. 

1 can garbanzos, rinsed

1 small jar artichoke hearts marinated in oil

1 container plain Sabra hummus, or homemade

olive oil for drizzling

1 heaping teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted

3 scallions, chopped

¼ cup green olives, roughly chopped

3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice

1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes

1 block Bulgarian feta or 1 ½ cup crumbled

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

Zatar or ground sumac (optional)

Toast cumin in a dry skillet until seeds darken in color and a few begin popping. Then, remove from heat and toss with rinsed garbanzos, drained artichoke hearts, scallions, olives, red pepper flakes, and cilantro.

Drizzle mixture with olive oil, about 3 tablespoons, and add red wine vinegar. Stir and add salt and pepper. Make any adjustments – more lemon, more red pepper flakes, etc.

Use a spoon to spread hummus across the bottom of a shallow bowl or high-lipped plate. Spoon salad over it evenly, allowing edges of hummus to show. Tip with crumbled feta, zatar, and a final drizzle of olive oil.

Serve with pita.