In Egypt, since the days of the Pharaohs people celebrate the coming of spring with special dishes. It's a day of festivities called Shamm El-Nessim (translated "feeling the breeze"), it's the Monday following Easter Sunday. Everybody goes out to parks, on Nile cruises, basically live outdoors for a day. They eat lots of green leaves: watercress, lettuce, green onions and scallions, green chick peas (on the branches before they are dried, delicious!). I still remember my childhood Shamm El-Nessim, when my aunt Lola would show up early in the morning, her family in tow, carrying her famous Easter braided bread encrusted with colored eggs, and her precious cargo of "Fessikh". Yes, Fessikh is the main delicacy people eat on this day. It's a pickled fish, mainly mullet, heavily salted, and somehow pickled in barrels until it is fully "cooked" or, to be more exact, putrefied and horribly stinky. I once asked my mom, who I know visited one of its most famous factories in Damietta, how it is done. Her answer was short and said it all "You don't wanna know", she said; and I really don't. They can clean it all they want, let it rest in oil and lemon juice until, as they say, it becomes really delicious, but I still don't eat it or even come near it. It's something worthy of Andrew Zimmern and his Bizarre Foods! Really..
So, instead, and to keep with tradition, I use another salted fish:
SMOKED HERRINGS
This is a very easy salted fish to handle. It used to come with the roe complete inside it, but lately, it came without it, but it still is very good. Growing up, people used to grill it before they removed the skin to prepare it, but I find that this way the salt becomes more concentrated and it's not good for you. So I thought of a different way to handle it, to minimize the salt effect, especially that on this day we are going to have a lot of salty dishes. You'll need:
2 or 3 smoked whole herrings
olive oil (or any good oil you prefer)
Lime juice, plus slices of lemon
Boiling water
Put a shallow dish long enough to hold at least one fish whole in your sink. Put the herrings in it and pour some boiling water on them. Let them stand for about 5 minutes. Discard the water and flip the herrings on the other side. Pour some more boiling water on them and let them stand in it for another couple of minutes. Discard the water. Starting from under the head, peel off the skin from the fish. It will come out almost in one piece. Start removing the flesh from the back of the fish, you'll have a good fillet. Remove the rest of the flesh and make sure that you remove any bones you may have in the fillet. Turn the fish and continue removing the flesh. Repeat with the other herrings. Place the herrings in a plastic container, drizzle with oil and lots of lime juice. You may find inside the fish a long buttery sack. Don't throw it away, it's part of the roe sack. You can put it with the herrings in oil and lime juice. Have a taste, it's not bad, it's creamy and not as salty; my mom likes it a lot. You can serve it on the side of the herring dish, and use it later, if you have leftovers. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, cut the fillets in 2 inches slices and arrange in a platter with lemon wedges or slices.
LUPINI
It's a delicious dish to nibble on with drinks. It's very easy to make, but you have to start it at least one week before your event or party. Lupini is a dried bean, the size of a dime or a nickle (depending on the origin of the bean), with rounded corners and in one of them a small opening the shape of an eye (don't get the other lupini bean which is similar to the canellini but bigger, my husband got those once and I used them to bake pies!). Pick the beans to make sure there are no small stones or anything in them. In a large pot, at least 5.5 qt rinse the lupini once or twice. Drain. Cover with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Let stand. Drain the water. You'll notice that the lupini are plump and bright yellow. Transfer the lupini to a bowl big enough to hold them with lots of water. Leave them in water overnight. In the morning change the water and keep the lupini soaking for at least four more days, changing the water everyday. Don't try to taste them before the third day: they will be very bitter.
When the bitterness is completely gone, by day 5 or 6, depending on the kind you've got, drain the lupini, rinse them and drain them completely. Sprinkle with salt, cumin and lemon juice. The basic recipe calls for only salt, but I like them with these additions. They are all to taste. Transfer to a plastic container with lid and refrigerate. It will keep for at least a week or 10 days.. in our house they usually don't last that long !
SPRING PARTY SPREAD
Now that you have prepared two dishes, let me tell you that you don't have to do everything from scratch: there is a lot of things you can buy prepared and you just have to incorporate them into your party spread:
Smoked Salmon: take each slice and roll it loosely to simulate the heart of a rose. Arrange the slices on a platter, either alone, or with some toast. I usually toast whole wheat slices of bread and cut them in triangles. You can sprinkle some chopped red onions or capers on your plate, or keep them on the side in small bowls.
Artichokes: I buy a big jar of artichoke hearts in olive oil, pick them, drain them and arrange them on a platter.
Black and green olives: that's easy, you just have to put your Kalamata olives and your preferred green olives in a nice bowl and make sure that you have something beside it to put the pits in.
White fish salad: remember the salad we made the other day? I made it again and added some dill to it. Delicious!!
Green salad or mixed salad: make the salad of your choice, make it simple, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and if you want to make it fancier add a can of chick peas, drained. Use your favorite dressing, or simply a drizzle of olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper. And you can add a big plate of scallions, watercress and arugula with some lemon wedges on the side.
This year I also added some falafel and boussara, but that's for another blog.
And of course don't forget the colored eggs, that's a must.
Smoked Salmon: take each slice and roll it loosely to simulate the heart of a rose. Arrange the slices on a platter, either alone, or with some toast. I usually toast whole wheat slices of bread and cut them in triangles. You can sprinkle some chopped red onions or capers on your plate, or keep them on the side in small bowls.
Artichokes: I buy a big jar of artichoke hearts in olive oil, pick them, drain them and arrange them on a platter.
Black and green olives: that's easy, you just have to put your Kalamata olives and your preferred green olives in a nice bowl and make sure that you have something beside it to put the pits in.
White fish salad: remember the salad we made the other day? I made it again and added some dill to it. Delicious!!
Green salad or mixed salad: make the salad of your choice, make it simple, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and if you want to make it fancier add a can of chick peas, drained. Use your favorite dressing, or simply a drizzle of olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper. And you can add a big plate of scallions, watercress and arugula with some lemon wedges on the side.
This year I also added some falafel and boussara, but that's for another blog.
And of course don't forget the colored eggs, that's a must.
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