Sunday, June 22, 2008

Homemade Halifax Donairs

I have posted about Halifax donairs before.
From what I've been able to gather over the past ten years, the Halifax donair is a strange Lebanese sub-genre of middle-eastern flatbread with sliced meat, descended from gyros. The meat tends to be a little spicier, the pita is a lot greasier, and a sweet milky sauce is used instead of a tangy tzatziki sauce.
My husband pines for donairs more than he pines for the fresh seafood from back home, so when we came across some fresh ground lamb at the St. Norbert Farmer's Market last weekend the wheels started turning. (Not that Halifax donair shops actually still use lamb. But it was our inspiration, nonetheless.)


We mixed the lamb equally with ground (grass fed) beef, also purchased at the market. The recipe I found on the internet gave specific instructions on mixing the spices with the meat:

Place the ground beef in a large bowl, and use your hands to blend in the spice mixture. If you want the smooth texture of meat that you see in a real donair shop, you must do this in a steel mixing bowl and on a sturdy surface. Pick up the meat, and throw it down with force about 20 times, kneading it after each throw.

Jeff took these instructions a step further and increased the meat force by throwing the meat up in the air and then slamming it down into the bowl. A very impressive performance.

The meat was truly exciting to mix, but the sauce really is the magic part of the meal - it's really what sets apart the Halifax donair apart from the rest of the crowd. And here's how to make it, again courtesy of Dash's Donair recipe. Add some sugar and garlic powder to a can of evaporated milk. Slowly mix in vinegar, a table spoon at a time. The vinegar will curdle the milk and thicken the sauce. Sweet goopy goodness.


Now fry your pita until it's soft, pile on the sliced meat, tomatoes and onions, and load on the sauce... and you've got yourself a reasonable facsimile of a Halifax donair.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup

A recipe for Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup (Canh Chua):


1. Steam three lobsters in a large pot partially filled with water, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves. You may choose to do this on an occasion like... say, Mother's Day. Your mother will think it is all about treats for her, and you can let her think that the lobster was planned for her delight alone. This will increase the likelihood of pleasant thoughts by your mother toward you. There is nothing wrong with this. Reserve the steaming water.



2. You may choose to serve the lobster with a baked potato and some freshly steamed asparagus. You may choose to garnish your baked potato with chives freshly cut from your garden and drizzle your lobster in melted butter. If you are my husband, you will put lots of garlic in your melted butter.


3. Upon completion of your meal, remove all shells and place them back into the reserved lobster-steaming water. Simmer, and then simmer some more. You will now have some lobster stock, that although somewhat weak, will enhance the flavour of your hot and sour soup immeasurably.

4. Now, the soup!

Use some of the hot broth to soften a large chunk of tamarind paste. Strain the liquid into the soup and discard the pits. Add a can of pineapple chunks with the juices. Add some mushrooms, fresh bean sprouts, diced tomatoes, leeks and what ever else you would like to include. Add fish sauce and hot chili paste to taste.

Garnish with fresh cilantro, mint or basil, and you have supper.