Making a Meal That Your Guests Can't Eat
This week, we entertained two dear friends for dinner - friends we hadn't seen for more than a few years as they have been living overseas. Of course, I wanted to cook something delicious and special for the event and lately, nothing spells "fabulous" like a succulent lamb tagine served with Mediterranean couscous, cucumber raita and freshly baked garlic naan. Armed with my list of ingredients, I ventured to the store and came home with beautiful lamb, veggies, yogurt, lemons and of course, a huge bag of fresh cilantro (this becomes important later). I seared the lamb in my stovetop tagine, added the rest of the ingredients (including coriander and cilantro) and left it to simmer for the next 90 minutes. Meanwhile, I made my dough for the garlic naan which called for coriander and a last minute step of kneading in fresh cilantro. The raita was quick and easy to make with smooth greek yogurt, cucumber and,,, wait for it...cilantro!
The guests arrived right on time, bringing as a gift a large bowl of freshly made split pea and butternut squash soup - wonderful! We greeted and hugged and soon found ourselves, like always, chatting away in the kitchen as I finished up the last minute additions to our meal.
As I was putting in the garlic naan to bake quickly under the broiler, my guest and I were chatting about their adventures in India and China and how she struggled to find food that she could eat since she's both deathly allergic to CILANTRO, CORIANDER and oh yes, she's also GLUTEN INTOLERANT.
Um...I paused. Stomach now sunk to my knees, I looked at her and let her know that not only does everything we are having contain cilantro and/or coriander, the couscous and the naan also have gluten.
Um...okay...well, thank goodness they brought the soup. Quickly heating it up on the stove, I also pulled together a fresh tossed green salad for her with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.
The meal for the remaining three of us was indeed fabulous! The best lamb tagine I have made to date. It was difficult, however, to realize that this poor sweet friend of ours couldn't indulge and yet she was gracious and kind as she ate her own soup.
Dessert was going to be easy too. I had brownies from the day before and was going to merely combine them with fresh raspberries and whipped cream. Um....they BOTH don't eat chocolate and again, the brownies had gluten. Well, bowls of just the raspberries and the whipped cream, served with hot herbal tea seemed to be enough.
Lesson learned for me? ALWAYS, always, always, confirm with your guests that they have no food issues / allergies / concerns. For guests? If your host forgets to ask, PLEASE, please, please, make sure you let them know so they can accommodate as best as they can. Believe me, as a chef and a host, I want to make all my guests enjoy every moment and every morsel. This event will be in my memory for a long time for being the only meal I ever made where one of my guests couldn't eat a bite.
So here's the recipe for the Lamb Tagine (be warned - it contains cilantro ;-)
2# fresh lamb shoulder, cubed
3 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1 tsp fresh ginger, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced or crushed
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (depending upon the level of heat you want)
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 cinnamon sticks
1 small handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
10 threads saffron
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 baking potato, large dice
Heat the olive oil in a stovetop tagine over medium high heat. Sear the lamb in batches, so they brown well on all sides. Add all the remaining ingredients except the potato, stir to combine well. Cover and reduce to a simmer (it should sputter). After 40 to 45 minutes, add the potato and stir to combine, adding additional water or chicken stock if it becomes too dry. Simmer for an additional 45 minutes (1 1/2 hours total) and serve over couscous or rice.
The guests arrived right on time, bringing as a gift a large bowl of freshly made split pea and butternut squash soup - wonderful! We greeted and hugged and soon found ourselves, like always, chatting away in the kitchen as I finished up the last minute additions to our meal.
As I was putting in the garlic naan to bake quickly under the broiler, my guest and I were chatting about their adventures in India and China and how she struggled to find food that she could eat since she's both deathly allergic to CILANTRO, CORIANDER and oh yes, she's also GLUTEN INTOLERANT.
Um...I paused. Stomach now sunk to my knees, I looked at her and let her know that not only does everything we are having contain cilantro and/or coriander, the couscous and the naan also have gluten.
Um...okay...well, thank goodness they brought the soup. Quickly heating it up on the stove, I also pulled together a fresh tossed green salad for her with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.
The meal for the remaining three of us was indeed fabulous! The best lamb tagine I have made to date. It was difficult, however, to realize that this poor sweet friend of ours couldn't indulge and yet she was gracious and kind as she ate her own soup.
Dessert was going to be easy too. I had brownies from the day before and was going to merely combine them with fresh raspberries and whipped cream. Um....they BOTH don't eat chocolate and again, the brownies had gluten. Well, bowls of just the raspberries and the whipped cream, served with hot herbal tea seemed to be enough.
Lesson learned for me? ALWAYS, always, always, confirm with your guests that they have no food issues / allergies / concerns. For guests? If your host forgets to ask, PLEASE, please, please, make sure you let them know so they can accommodate as best as they can. Believe me, as a chef and a host, I want to make all my guests enjoy every moment and every morsel. This event will be in my memory for a long time for being the only meal I ever made where one of my guests couldn't eat a bite.
So here's the recipe for the Lamb Tagine (be warned - it contains cilantro ;-)
LAMB TAGINE
(serves 4)2# fresh lamb shoulder, cubed
3 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1 tsp fresh ginger, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced or crushed
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (depending upon the level of heat you want)
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 cinnamon sticks
1 small handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
10 threads saffron
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 baking potato, large dice
Heat the olive oil in a stovetop tagine over medium high heat. Sear the lamb in batches, so they brown well on all sides. Add all the remaining ingredients except the potato, stir to combine well. Cover and reduce to a simmer (it should sputter). After 40 to 45 minutes, add the potato and stir to combine, adding additional water or chicken stock if it becomes too dry. Simmer for an additional 45 minutes (1 1/2 hours total) and serve over couscous or rice.
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