KAMUT® (kah-MOOT) is the manufacturer and brand name of a Khorasan wheat that is available in the US. Khorasan is an ancient wheat, the grain of which is two times larger than modern wheat. It has a rich, nutty flavor. As produced by Kamut, it’s organic and whole grain—just as it was in the time of the Pharaohs.

And it’s better for you than modern wheat: higher in protein and many minerals, especially magnesium, selenium and zinc. It has a higher percentage of lipids, which produce more energy in the body than wheat’s carbohydrates. Think of it as high energy wheat, better for athletes and anyone looking for high energy food. Learn more at Kamut.com.

While we haven’t loved every whole grain pasta we’ve tried, pasta made from Kamut/Khorasan wheat merits your attention. We’ve been serving it up and no one has noticed that it isn’t conventional pasta—whereas we did get complaints from picky eaters about whole other wheat pasta.

Pasta made from the ancient wheat,
Khorasan. Organic and whole grain, it’s
become our daily pasta.

The ancient grain of the Pharaohs was einkorn (a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week).

But at some point, Khorasan wheat was introduced into Egypt (the modern name is balady durum, or native durum), possibly by invading armies of Greeks, Romans, or the later Byzantines.

Khorasan is the Pahlavi (Persian) word for “the land of sunrise.“ The ancient land of Khorasan included territories that presently are part of Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The wheat can still be found growing in small plots in Turkey, the home of Mount Ararat and Noah’s Ark. Legend says that Khorasan wheat, which is also called Camel’s Tooth or the Prophet’s Wheat, was the grain Noah brought on the ark.

So, have a taste.

Kamut sells its Khorasan wheat to different manufacturers, who turn it into hot cereal, cold cereal puffs and corn flakes, pancakes and much more, from puffed corn cakes (similar to rice cakes) to baking flour.

Take a bite of bunny dumplings for the
Year Of The Rabbit. Photo by A.S. Whitman |
THE NIBBLE.

Passing through Delhi, he dined at an haute cuisine Chinese restaurant, The House of Ming. It features both Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine, but our intrepid reporter went straight for the dim sum (Cantonese).

From the field, here is his photo of Chef Wang’s irresistible rabbit-shaped steamed crystal dumplings. The eyes are made of chili oil and black sesame seeds.

It is the Year Of The Rabbit, after all (or will be on February 3, the first day of the Chinese year 4709). While the Chinese New Year is always celebrated with good food, we’ve never seen a better interpretation of the theme.

You’ve got a couple of weeks to try your hand at making rabbit dumplings and impress your friends at a celebration for the Year Of The Rabbit.

• Conventional dumplings are made from all-purpose flour. The translucent, chewy skin of crystal dumplings is a result of mixing wheat starchwith rice flour and tapioca. Here’s a recipe.
• Here’s a cooking video that shows how easy it is to make basic dumplings.
• The Chinese word for dumplings is jiaozi, pronounced gee-OW-za—similar to the Japanese word for dumplings, gyoza, pronounced GYOO-zah.

Cook with salsa!

These two recipes for Chicken Salsa and Fish Salsa show just how easy it is to take the protein, a jar of salsa, and create an easy and delicious dinner. They also work with tofu.

While the protein is cooking, make a green salad, steam a green vegetable and make some brown rice (microwave precooked frozen or cook it in the pressure cooker for the same 15-20 minutes that the protein takes.)

To Microwave Brown Rice

1. Add 1 cup brown rice and 3 cups cold water in a 2-1/2 quart microwave-safe dish. (We enjoy our square CorningWare casserole dish, which also looks nice at the table.)

2. Microwave uncovered for 10 minutes on HIGH.

Salsa Chicken is one of the easiest chicken
recipes to make. Photo courtesy McCormick.com.

4. Allow to sit for 5 minutes in the microwave (you can remove it if you need the microwave for another task).

5. Fluff with a fork and add any seasonings. For healthy cooking, don’t add butter, but look to herbs, spices and/or veggies: chives (or green onions), diced bell peppers and/or toasted sesame seeds, for example. A sprinkling of slivered almonds, walnuts or other healthy nuts also pairs well with the nutty flavor and chewy texture of brown rice.

Seven nuts are heart healthy; but walnuts are the healthiest of all (photo courtesy © Superior Nut Company).

Many of us have been told to steer clear of nuts: They’re high in calories and full of fat.

Ah, but it’s good, heart-healthy fat.

The American Heart Association recommends eating four 1.5-ounce (about a handful) servings of unsalted, unoiled nuts per week.

However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that eating 1.5 ounces of nuts per day may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Walnuts are the healthiest nuts of all. See why.

And start to enjoy your 1.5 ounces per day of the “Magnificent Seven” of nuts:

January 18th is National Peking Duck Day. We’ll be running out to our favorite Chinese restaurant for the real deal, which we’ve been enjoying since childhood. It’s our favorite Chinese dish.
 
 
WHAT IS PEKING DUCK?

Only white-feathered ducks are used in the preparation, what we call Pekin ducks (not to be confused with Peking, the name of the dish; the Pekin breed was introduced to the U.S. from China in 1873).

The ducks live free-range for 45 days, and then are force-fed for 15 to 20 days. Once harvested with the head remaining on, the duck is plucked and washed.

Air is pumped into the raw duck to separate the skin from the fat. This enables the extensive amount of fat found between the meat and the skin to drain out during cooking.

The duck is then hung up to dry in the open air overnight before being glazed with sweet syrup and spices and roasted in an oven [source].

The layer of air enables the skin to become very crisp while the meat inside remains succulent.

Then, a skilled maitre d’ slices the duck in front of you, expertly converting the whole duck into thin slices of meat and slices of crisp skin.

To assemble your food, wrap-style, you take a crêpe (some restaurants serve thicker pancake-style wrappers), add a slice of duck meat and skin, garnish with hoisin sauce, julienned cucumbers and scallions (green onions), roll and eat. It’s heavenly.

The duck carcass goes back to the kitchen, where it is presumably used to make stock. We’ve dined with more than one friend who asked for the carcass “to go,” and did the same at home.

By the way, Peking Duck, the roasted duck dish and Pekin duck, a breed of white duck that inspired the creation Donald Duck, are not the same. While Peking Duck is typically made with a Pekin duck, learn the difference between Peking Duck and Pekin duck.
 
 
HOW TO APPROXIMATE PEKING DUCK AT HOME

Here’s how to enjoy almost-there Peking Duck tonight.

Ingredients

 
You’re almost ready to celebrate Peking Duck Day.
 
Preparation

1. HEAT the duck. While the duck is heating, julienne the cucumbers and scallions into sticks (see photo) and plate them. They can be in individual dishes or on the same plate. Put the hoisin sauce in a bowl.

2. REMOVE the duck from the oven and slice. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look pretty; it’s ultimately going into a wrap.

3. HEAT the crêpes/tortillas for 10-20 seconds in the microwave.

4. SIT down and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Take a crêpe/tortilla, add some duck, cucumber, scallion and hoisin sauce; wrap and eat.

The beverage choice is yours. We enjoy a cup of good black tea (no sugar needed, and definitely no milk) or a beer.
 
 
A HOISIN SAUCE PRIMER

 

PEKING DUCK HISTORY

The recipe for Peking Duck dates back to the Ming Dynasty, the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644.

Top cooks from all over China travelled to the capital, Beijing, to cook for the Emperor. The best cooks might even advance to the rank of a minister [source].

In the royal kitchens, dishes of exceptional quality such as Peking Duck were created.

Although Peking duck is named after Beijing (Peking is an older spelling), it originated in the earlier Chinese capital of Nanjing.

In the Ming dynasty, the imperial court moved to Beijing, bringing the emperor’s recipes along with it.

By then, Peking duck was an established staple of imperial menus. In the subsequent Qing dynasty (1644 to 1912), Peking Duck spread to the nobility. The dish was much praised in the writings of scholars and poets [source].

With the fall of the Qing Dynasty (also spelled Ching and Ch’ing) in 1911, court chefs who left the Forbidden City set up restaurants around Beijing, bringing Peking Duck and other delicious dishes to their customers.

[1] Beautifully roasted and ready to slice (photo © Red Stix [alas, permanently closed]).

[2] Peking Duck starts with a beautifully roasted and glazed Pekin-species duck (photo © Jing Fong | NYC).

[3] Peking Duck, waiting for the maitre d’ to slice and plate the duck meat and duck skin. The carved meat is presented with shredded scallions, hoisin sauce, and crêpes to hold all three (photo by Fotoos Van Robin | Wikipedia).

[4] The most elegant plating displays the meat in the center, surrounded by piece of the crisp skin (photo © T. Tseng CC-BY-2.0-License).

[5] Place the duck and scallions on the crêpe, add hoisin sauce and roll up (photo © Polina Tankilevitch | Pexels).

[6] Rolled and ready to eat (photo © Marcin Krakowiak CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0-License).