Rhythms, Roots, Recipes

Ghapama is a whole pumpkin hollowed out, filled with rice, dried fruit, and nuts, and baked until the flesh is spoon tender. In Armenian homes, it appears at Christmas, New Year’s, and weddings, where it is carried to the table whole and cut open in front of the guests—a dish built for an audience. Its place in the culture is sealed by “Hey Jan Ghapama,” the folksong sung as the pumpkin is brought out, as the whole village gathers to share it. The Ghazarian family version leans savory with browned onion, then pulls the sweetness back with barberries and sumac, and softens the pumpkin in a low oven before the long bake.

Ingredients

1 small to medium pumpkin 
9 cups (2.1 L) water 
1 1/4 cups (8 oz/225 g) basmati or other long-grain white rice 
1/3 cup (1 1/4 oz/35 g) dried barberries 
1 cup (4 oz/115 g) slivered almonds 
7 tablespoons (100 g) unsalted butter 
1 large yellow onion (9 oz/255 g), finely chopped 
2 3/4 teaspoons (9 g) kosher salt 
1/3 cup (1 3/4 oz/50 g) golden raisins 
1/3 cup (2 1/4 oz/65 g) dried apricots, cut into slivers 
1/3 cup (1 3/4 oz/50 g) dried sour cherries 
1 teaspoon ground cardamom 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (75 ml) honey 
3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons ground sumac, plus a pinch for the table

Preparation

Set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 300˚ F (150˚ C). Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment.

Create a lid for the pumpkin: cut a circle 4 inches in diameter (depending on the size of the pumpkin) around the stem, angling the blade slightly inward so the lid will rest back in place instead of dropping through.

Remove the seeds and stringy pulp with a large spoon and scrape the walls down to clean flesh. Clean the underside of the lid the same way (you can use a knife for the lid).

Put the empty pumpkin and its lid on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. This is a head start: it softens the walls so the pumpkin and the filling finish together, instead of the rice overcooking while you wait on the flesh. Take it out, let it sit about 10 minutes until you can handle it, and turn the oven up to 340˚ F (170˚ C).

Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in the rice and keep it at a full boil until al dente, roughly 8 minutes. Bite a grain, and you should still feel a hard center. Drain the rice through a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water for about a minute, until the grains are cool and the water runs clear. Leave the strainer sitting over the pot to drain.

Cover the barberries with warm water and let them sit for 10 minutes, then drain and blot them dry. You want them plumped but still puckery, and dry enough that they do not bleed liquid into the filling.
Toast the almonds dry in a large skillet over medium heat until they smell nutty and turn a shade darker, 3 to 4 minute. Remove and set them aside.

In the same skillet, add the butter and bring to medium heat. Add the onion and salt, and cook until soft and lightly colored at the edges. Add the barberries, raisins, apricots, cherries, almonds, cardamom, sumac, and cinnamon. Continue cooking for 2 minutes or until softened. If needed, add some additional butter and water. Scrape mixture into a large bowl.

Add the drained rice to the mixture and fold.

Whisk the honey into any butter that is left in the pan. Add more melted butter if needed. Brush some of the mixture on the inside of the pumpkin and the underside of the lid. Pour the rest over the rice and fold everything together.

Spoon the filling into the pumpkin, pressing lightly as you go, and stop about an inch or two below the rim. Set the lid on and return the pumpkin to the baking sheet.

Bake it again, this time until done: the pumpkin is ready when a paring knife slides through the side wall without resistance and the shell has just begun to settle, 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes. Start checking at the 70-minute mark, since the par-cook shortens things.
Move the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the pumpkin rest for 15 minutes.

Slide the pumpkin onto a large platter using one or two wide spatulas, and lift off the lid. Cut it into eight wedges from the rim straight down, keeping the knife in the flesh and out of the filling, and cut all the way through the base so the wedges will come apart.

Ease the wedges open so they fall outward like petals. Pile the rice in the middle, scraping any that clings to the wedges back onto the mound. Scatter the parsley and a pinch of sumac over the top and bring it to the table.

Armenian manti are tiny open boats of dough, each holding barely a spoonful of spiced lamb, packed shoulder to shoulder in a pan and baked until the edges go brown and brittle. They come out of the oven crisp and are softened at the table under a pour of tomato butter and a spoonful of warm garlic labneh, so that every bite carries something crunchy, something rich, and something sharp. Pinching a few hundred of them is slow work for one person and fast work for a family, which is why manti has always been a dish made around a table with everyone talking. This is the Ghazarian version: heavy on garlic, warmed with Aleppo pepper, and finished with sumac and torn mint.

Ingredients

Dough (or see the note on wonton wrappers) 
3 cups (13 oz/375 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup (180 ml) warm water, plus a splash more if needed

Lamb Filling            
1 pound (450 g) ground lamb, not too lean
1 medium yellow onion (7 oz/200 g), grated and squeezed dry
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped, or 2 tablespoons garlic paste
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mushroom Filling (alternative to lamb) 
1 1/2 pounds (680 g) shiitake caps, stems discarded, or a mix of shiitake and cremini
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion (7 oz/200 g), finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped, or 2 tablespoons garlic paste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

Tomato Butter 
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks/170 g) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red pepper paste
12 ounces (340 g) ripe tomatoes or canned San Marsano tomatoes 
2 teaspoons ground sumac
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Garlic Labneh 
2 cups (16 oz/450 g) labneh
3 garlic cloves, grated to a paste, or 1 tablespoon garlic paste
2 tablespoons tahini
1/2cup chicken or lamb stock, hot
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For Assembling and Finishing
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
Ground sumac
A handful of fresh mint leaves, torn

Preparation

Make the dough: Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl and make a hollow in the middle. Break in the egg, add the oil and the warm water, and stir with a fork until the flour is damp and shaggy. Turn it onto the counter and knead until it firms up into a smooth, stiff ball, 8 to 10 minutes. It should feel tighter than bread dough and give only a little when pressed. Work in another tablespoon of water only if it will not come together.

Wrap the dough and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. This is not optional, as the gluten needs to relax before it will roll thin without fighting back.

Make the lamb filling: Put the lamb, squeezed onion, garlic, parsley, Aleppo pepper, salt, and black pepper in a bowl and work them together with your hands until evenly combined and slightly tacky, about a minute. Do not overwork it. Keep it cold until you are ready to fill.

Or make the mushroom filling: Chop the caps as fine as you can, close to a coarse mince. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high, add the mushrooms, and cook without stirring much until they release their water and the pan goes dry again, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5 minutes more, then stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the parsley, Aleppo pepper, and salt, and taste for seasoning. Spread it on a plate to cool completely before filling.

Shape the manti: Divide the rested dough into four pieces, and keep the ones you are not using covered. On a well-floured counter, roll a piece as thin as you can manage, thin enough to see the shadow of your hand through it. Cut it into 2-inch squares with a knife or pizza wheel.

Put a scant 3/4 teaspoon of filling in the center of each square. Lift two opposite corners and pinch them together over the filling, then pinch the seams down along each side, leaving the two ends open so the dumpling looks like a small boat with the meat showing.

Butter two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes and stand the manti in them side by side, packed tightly enough that they hold one another upright. Repeat with the remaining dough. A pound of filling and this much dough will give you somewhere between 150 and 175 small manti, which is why two pans are better than one crowded one.

Bake: Heat the oven to 375˚ F (190˚ C). Drizzle the melted butter over the manti and bake until the exposed edges are deep golden and crisp and the filling is cooked through, 25 to 35 minutes. Swap the pans between racks halfway through so both brown evenly.

Make the tomato butter: While the manti bake, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the tomato paste and red pepper paste and let them cook in the butter until the color deepens to brick red and the raw edge cooks off, about 2 minutes.

Add the fresh or canned tomatoes and salt and simmer, stirring now and then, until the sauce thickens and the butter separates out and pools red on the surface, 12 to 15 minutes. Pull it off the heat and stir in the sumac. Keep it warm.

Make the labneh: Whisk the labneh, garlic, tahini, and salt together in a small saucepan. Set it over low heat and whisk in the hot stock a little at a time until the sauce is warm and loose enough to spoon but still thick enough to hold its shape, 3 to 4 minutes. Keep the heat gentle and do not let it come near a simmer; labneh will break if it boils. If it does thicken up as it sits, whisk in another splash of stock.

Assemble: Bring the pan of manti to the table hot. Spoon the tomato butter over the top, letting it run down between the dumplings, then spoon the warm labneh over that in loose ribbons rather than a smooth blanket. Scatter sumac and torn mint across the top and serve right away, while the edges are still crisp.

Notes

If you are short on time or the dough is more than you want to take on, one package of wonton wrappers stands in well. The wrappers are thinner than rolled dough and brown faster, so start checking at 20 minutes.

The manti come out of the oven deliberately crisp; the tomato butter and labneh will soften them at the table. If you prefer them tender all the way through, pour a cup of hot stock over the pan as soon as it leaves the oven, cover it for 5 minutes, and let the dumplings drink it before saucing.
Shaping is the long part of this recipe and the best part to do with company. The filled pans hold in the refrigerator overnight, or freeze on a sheet tray and bake straight from frozen with another 10 minutes.

Red pepper paste is sold at Middle Eastern grocery stores. In a pinch, use an extra tablespoon of tomato paste and an extra teaspoon of Aleppo pepper.

Chef and artist Roscoe Hall highlights the flavors of the Lowcountry through this Gullah classic. Although outside temperatures in South Carolina can feel hot as the devil, the name here refers to the spices mixed into the crab meat. Paying homage to the state’s history, this recipe also features ingredients like benne seeds (an heirloom variety of sesame seed) and Carolina Gold rice. As Hall says, “It’s coastal comfort on a plate.”

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 bay leaves 
1 1/4 cups Carolina Gold rice 
1 tablespoon tomato paste 
2 garlic cloves, finely grated 
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper 
Zest of 1 lemon 
Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus additional wedges for serving 
2 to 3 teaspoons Crystal Hot Sauce, or to taste 
1 tablespoon benne seeds, toasted
1 1/2 pounds jumbo lump crab meat, picked over for shells 
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
Kosher salt, to taste

Preparation

Begin by browning the butter. Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, reduce the heat slightly and cook until the milk solids turn a deep golden brown and the butter smells nutty. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and reserve.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, kosher salt, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the rice and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the rice is tender, about 15 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and discard the bay leaves, and gently fold 2 tablespoons of the brown butter into the warm rice. Cover and keep warm.

Next, make the deviled butter. In a small sauté pan, warm 2 tablespoons of the brown butter over medium-low heat. Add the tomato paste and bloom, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the grated garlic. Add the chili powder, smoked paprika, ground ginger, and black pepper, and bloom. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the remaining brown butter. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, hot sauce, and toasted benne seeds.

Place the crab meat in a large skillet over low heat. Spoon about half of the deviled butter over the crab and gently fold until the crab is just warmed through and lightly coated, taking care not to break apart the large pieces.

To serve, spoon the brown butter Carolina Gold rice into shallow bowls. Place crab over the rice and generously spoon the remaining deviled butter over and around the crab so it lightly coats the rice. Finish with sliced chives, an extra sprinkle of toasted benne seeds, freshly cracked black pepper, and lemon wedges on the side.

Chef Roscoe Hall takes you on a journey through the flavors and culture of the South with Gumbo Z'Herbes. Gumbo Z'Herbes gets its name from the French aux herbes, meaning “of greens.” Roscoe’s version uses pork belly for additional flavor and tenderness. Potlikker, also known as pot liquor, contains no spirits. It is the residual juices after cooking the greens. It contains a variety of vitamins and can be used to inject flavor into future recipes.

Ingredients

Pork Belly
1 tablespoon neutral oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless pork belly, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, smashed

Potlikker and Greens
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
8 cups water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 large bunch collard greens
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch turnip greens
1 bunch Swiss chard
1/2 bunch kale
1 small head romaine lettuce
1/2 head green-leaf lettuce
1/2 bunch watercress
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Gumbo
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 cups reserved potlikker
2 cups reserved cooked greens
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon hot sauce, plus more for serving
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Scallions, thinly sliced, for serving

Preparation

Cook the pork belly: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Season the pork belly with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add oil. Add pork belly and sear, turning occasionally, until deeply browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer pork belly to a plate, leaving about 2 tablespoons rendered fat in the pot.

Add the quartered onion and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Return the pork belly to the pot and transfer to the oven, uncovered. Roast until the pork is deeply browned and tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer pork belly to a plate and let rest. Reserve any rendered fat in the Dutch oven.

Make the potlikker: Add water, bay leaves, crushed red pepper, and salt to the Dutch oven with the reserved pork fat and browned bits. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Remove the stems of the collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, Swiss chard, and kale, and roughly chop. Cook in the Dutch oven until the greens are tender, about 20 minutes. Roughly chop romaine, green-leaf lettuce, and watercress, add to greens, and cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

Transfer about 2 cups of the cooked greens to a blender. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the potlikker liquid and blend until completely smooth. Strain the remaining greens, reserving at least 5 cups of the potlikker.

Make the roux: Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add vegetable oil and gradually whisk in flour. Cook, whisking constantly, until the roux is the color of dark chocolate, 20 to 25 minutes.

Add onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Gradually whisk in 5 cups of potlikker. Add Creole seasoning, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the green puree and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Fold in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the remaining cooked greens. Stir in vinegar and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper. The gumbo should be deeply savory with a slightly bitter, vegetal character and a bright finish.

Finish the pork belly: Cut the rested pork belly into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork, cut-side down, until deeply caramelized and crisp, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Serve by ladling the Gumbo Z’Herbes into shallow bowls. Arrange the crisp pork belly over the gumbo.