Za'atar, Zah'tar, Zaatar, Zahtar or What

Now, here is a confusing topic for you! Zah'tar. Or any of the other spellings above or even others. 

Many years ago, I heard of the herb and spice blend called zah'tar and looked up recipes, chose what sounded "right," to my completely untrained eye and palate of the time. I set the recipe out here in my blog, and so it has remained.

With time, even in the intervening years since 2014 when I wrote that blog, so much more is now open to us on the internet. The world has opened up and so much information, even as confusing as it can be, is there for anyone to read. 

I love recipes. I love to find something new, then look up every version of that recipe I can find. I compare and see what one person considers important versus another. What flavor profiles are sought after. 

Most of all? When I discover a new spice or herb I haven't previously known, I seek it out. ASAP! As Indian food has been my main hobby for literally years and years, I have two large bins of spice jars and tins, store bought single spices and truly, the  home made blends / masalas I've made would take up at least another bin.

Now, I am looking into Middle Eastern cuisine. I got interested while watching videos by Mark Wiens. We really have enjoyed these videos. I decided to try some of the foods out, finding recipes that sounded like what I'd seen on the videos. I tried out a bunch of recipes and made a little feast for my family on my birthday. I found I liked a lot of what I made, very much. I decided to try some more. And, funny thing, when I am searching out recipes, I end up with questions. What actually is this ingredient? What is really in this spice blend? 

Zaatar, and Zah'tar

Zah'tar Blend

Now, to the point. today I decided to delve more deeply into what really constitutes Zah'tar, the blend of herbs and spices so widely used in the Middle east. Which then led me to examine this supposed "wild thyme" that is so crucial to a good zah'tar blend. This is what I found:

Zaatar is an herb that grows wild all across the Middle East. 

Zah’tar (or many other possible spellings) is an herb and spice blend used all over the Middle East. 

Zaatar is often referred to as “thyme or wild thyme.” Yet, the zaatar herb (Origanum syriacum), the biblical hyssop, is actually in the oregano family, variously described as tasting similar to thyme, or oregano or even marjoram. It grows wild all across the Middle East, along with Origanum vulgare (common oregano) and Origanum majorana (marjoram) and these three species are often confused due to their similar characteristics. Thus, it may be any of these oreganos that end up being a part of the Zah’tar blend.

Yet, the thyme plant (Thymus vulgaris), while common and native to the Middle East along with (and often confused with) Thymus capitatus, a native wild thyme, also often referred to as “hyssop,” (confused yet?) are what ends up somehow as the descriptor for the herb “zaatar” that is used in the spice blend, Zah’tar. What?????

So, as it turns out, people use whichever is available, whether the true zaatar herb, one of the wild oreganos or one of the wild thymes when making their Zah’tar.

What Comprises the Spice Blend, Zah'tar?

As per my usual style, I have looked through 8 different recipes, glossing over any that nearly dismissed the herbal component, or those that skimped on sumac. The variations are all over the place from 1/2 cup of zaatar herb and a teaspoon of sumac (which will be "green zah'tar"), to 4 tablespoons sumac and 3 tablespoons herbs.

Some swear that a "green zah'tar" is preferable as it is the zaatar herb that is the important part. Sesame seeds are a part of zah'tar no matter where you find the recipe, though again the amount ranges from 1/4 cup to 1 1/2 teaspoons. These measurements are from recipes that make approximately a half cup total. 

In short, the ingredients for zah'tar blend are zaatar herb (or equal parts dried oregano, marjoram and thyme to approximate zaatar flavor), toasted raw sesame seeds, ground sumac, salt.

Ground Sumac

As the herb zaatar is covered above, here is a little on sumac, as well:

The Mediterranean spice, Sumac is not from the same plant as poison sumac, though it is in the same family. The sumac used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines grows wild only in those areas, so no chance of running afoul of the wrong plant. The dried, crushed fruits yield a reddish brown powder with a tangy, lemony flavor and fruity sourness and astringency. Sumac is an important component of the spice mixture called Zah'tar. Sumac on its own can be sprinkled over most any food that needs a little zip. Sprinkle it over hummus, yogurt, avocado or cheese. In the Middle East it is liberally sprinkled onto many foods as they are ready to eat, and shakers or bowls of sumac are always available at table.

What if you cannot fine the zaatar herb? Substitute a combination of dried oregano leaves, dried marjoram leaves and dried thyme leaves, either in like amounts or as preferred. If one of the three is not available, try for at least two of them.

Sesame seeds need to be the raw kind, not the polished little shiny ones like you'd find on a hamburger bun. Raw sesame seeds are a pale tan in color and not at all shiny or polished. This kind will toast nicely, where the polished ones will want to burn.

There is no real substitute for sumac. It is a sour component that something like dried lemon rind would not mimic. But it is easy enough these days to get dried sumac on our favorite easy place online, or in Middle East markets, and even in some groceries. 

Zaatar herb is also available in some places, but be sure the label states Origanum syriacum. I just bought a pouch of the zah'tar blend online, being sure it mentioned the Origanum syriacum on the label, just to see what the real thing tastes like. 

In light of all I have learned, this will be my new Zah'tar recipe. I am using here an equal parts combination of the three flavoring herbs (thyme, oregano, marjoram) in lieu of the zaatar herb, as I still do not own any of that. Should you have access to the actual zaatar herb, Origanum syriacum, simply substitute all three tablespoons of that.

Zah'tar

Yields less than 1/2 cup

1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds

2 tablespoons ground sumac

1 tablespoon dried marjoram leaves

1 tablespoon  dried thyme leaves

1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Heat a dry skillet and once hot, add in the raw sesame seeds and stir with a wooden spoon to keep them moving around to toast evenly. They will begin to snap and bounce all over the place, so very important to have them in movement. After a short while they will begin to change color to a slightly deeper, warmer tan color. Remove them from heat and pour out to a bowl to cool. Do not leave them in the pan or they will continue to toast, and run the risk of burning. 

Once cooled, either do a quick whiz in a spice grinder to break some up or use a mortar and pestle. You want some of them broken up, but definitely not powdered. Set them aside. Add the sumac, and them add the dried herbs, rubbing them well between the palms of your hands before adding to the bowl. Stir in the salt and mix everything well to evenly distribute.

Taste for salt. Then store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid in a cool, dark place, or in the refrigerator, if it will not be used up in a reasonable amount of time. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Pinterest.

Revisiting an Old Bread Recipe

Sometimes, I go back and take a look at an old recipe, seeing it with more current eyes. In this case, a Multi-Grain and Seed Bread recipe I created in 2013, that, outside of the grains and seeds, was all white flour. Since these past years I have been grinding my own grains for bread and other recipes, I have looked at substituting whole grains here and there, whenever possible.

So it came about that I decided yesterday to update this old recipe, one that I have wanted to post here in my blog for some time. For one thing, I have been trying to get very comfortable with weighing my ingredients instead of only measuring by volume. It gives consistently better results, and is easier for others to get the same results. 

Multi Grain and Seed Bread

I was already planning to make another bread recipe (which I did today) from another of Peter Rheinart's books, "Whole Grain Breads." Most of the recipes in this book (if not all) require at least 2 days to make, first making a pre-ferment such as a Biga, or refreshing my old starter and getting that going to be ready a day ahead. Other things, such as soakers (soaking the grain, or crushed grain, flour, seeds, etc) also require an overnight time period. The actual bread is made the following day. The pre-ferment and pre-soak are what unlock the flavors inside the grain, giving the final bread a tremendous boost in flavor. I started the Biga and Soaker yesterday and made that whole grain bread today, and it's still cooling so I have yet to taste it.

Yesterday though, while I already had the whole wheat freshly ground (and sifted to remove some of the coarser bran flakes for Rheinart's recipe), I opted to use only half the white bread flour called for in my old multi-grain recipe, substituting the freshly milled whole grain flour for the rest. The bread came out amazingly good. Just as soft and delicious as the all white flour version of old. I also measured everything out in grams, to have those measurements at hand. Here is my result:

Multi Grain and Seed Bread

Makes 2 or 3 loaves 

Multi Grain and Seed Bread

280 grams sifted whole wheat flour (about 2 cups)
325 grams bread flour (about 2¼ cups)
120 grams Bob's Red Mill 7-grain hot cereal, uncooked (¾ cup)
1 packet instant yeast, 7 grams
120 ml olive oil (½ cup)
7 grams salt (1½ teaspoons)
595 ml warm water (2½ cups)
30 ml honey (2 tablespoons)
68 grams raw sunflower seeds (½ cup)
55 grams unhulled "brown" sesame seeds (6 tablespoons)
4 grams gluten (2 teaspoons)

Heat the water to just warm and add in the multi-grain cereal, the oil and the honey and set aside to soak while gathering the dry ingredients.

If using a heavy duty stand mixer, place all dry ingredients into the bowl of the mixer, attach the dough hook, pour in the liquid mixture and start on very low speed to combine ingredients, then increase speed to 2 or whichever speed will knead the dough properly for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove dough hook and allow to rise until about doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours.

If mixing by hand, place all dry ingredients into a large bowl and add in the liquid mixture, stirring at first to bring together. Turn out onto a clean, greased surface and knead for 12 minutes until the dough is elastic and smooth. Set into a large greased bowl to rise as above.

Once risen, turn the dough out of the bowl onto a very lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two or three equal parts. 

For two loaves: Prepare either a long French bread pan with room for two loaves or a large baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray and sprinkling with cornmeal, or wheat or oat bran. Form the dough halves into long, thin loaves and set onto prepared pan. If using a baking sheet, place the loaves lengthwise, and well separated. Allow to rise again for about 45 minutes in a warm place, until nearly doubled in bulk. Heat oven to 375 degrees (350 on Convection). If desired, using a very sharp knife or a baker's lame, make diagonal slashes on top of the loaves. Bake the loaves for about 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden and have reached an internal temperature of at least 195 degrees F.

For three loaves: Prepare either a baking sheet to accommodate three very narrow, thin baguette loaves, or three loaf pans by greasing and sprinkling with wheat bran or cornmeal. Set the narrow baguette shapes at least 3-inches apart on a baking sheet. Or, make loaf shapes and set into the pans. Let rise until just about doubled in size. Slash the loaves if desired, using a bakers' lame or a very sharp knife, then set into the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, checking the internal temperature for doneness. 


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Time for an Anadama Bread Update

Anadama Bread: heard of it? I had heard of it long, long ago, and even tried making it once, when recently back in the US after living in Guatemala. The problem is that I really don't care for molasses. I use it, don't misunderstand. I just use it very sparingly. The other notable ingredient is cornmeal.

The Story of Anadama

Anadama Seed Bread

The story of how this bread came to be called "Anadama" is different, depending on where you've heard or read it. All the stories have some similarity, dealing with a Massachusetts man, angry with his wife and stating, "Ana damn her!" and thus the bread was shortened to Anadama. Some of the stories say that Ana began making bread but decided to leave, whereupon her husband came home and tried to finish the bread, calling out "Ana dam her". Others say that the husband was tired of cornmeal mush and molasses every day and tried adding some yeast and flour and making a bread, using the same epithet. The stories all vary just a little, but all of them deal with cornmeal and molasses and finally becoming bread - which then became famous, somehow. 
 

beautiful texture

As I said earlier, I did try making this kind of bread once over 30 years ago. I have had no great urge to repeat the experiment until very recently. The same bread baking book I have been rhapsodizing over for more than a year now is the reason I became interested in trying this bread again. In The Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart, there is a recipe for Anadama bread, with Mr. Reinhart's own version of how this bread came to be. As I have made over a dozen kinds of bread from this book, ALL of which have been splendid examples of bread creation, I figured that the recipe for Anadama Bread might just be something I would wish to try again. Mr. Reinhart advises that one find the very lightest molasses possible. This, alone, made me trust that maybe this recipe would be a better version than what I had tried so long ago.

Still, I waffled on actually making the bread. I would periodically look at the recipe, and then turn to something else instead. And so passed a year. And then I got one of my cooking magazines in the mail, and what should I find inside? A recipe for Anadama Bread! This one though, had a little twist: the addition of seeds. They used light and dark sesame, light and dark flax and poppy seeds. I love seeds in breads so this sounded wonderful. I have light and dark sesame seeds, but had no flax except ground. Since flax seeds will pass right through a person without ever breaking down to yield their health-giving properties, I figured using pre-ground seeds would be a good idea anyway. I left out the poppy seeds, only because there wouldn't be enough of them to really taste, with everything else going on in this bread. I do love poppy seeds in things! I thought it would be a waste to use them here.
 

fresh from the oven

Creating a Recipe of My Own

When I read this recipe for Anadama Bread with seeds in my magazine, I wondered what differences there would be, between the recipe in my revered book and the recipe in the magazine. (I keep saying "magazine" because I cannot recall if it was Food and Wine or Bon Appetit). I got out the book and sat comparing the two recipes. I was amazed at how vastly different they were. The ingredients are much the same: flour, cornmeal, molasses, yeast. Little variances: the addition of milk or not, seeds or not, etc. 

I decided I would create a recipe of my own, walking a line of sorts between the two recipes. Since my tolerance for full flavored molasses is very low, I opted to use half molasses and half honey for that portion of the recipe. I went in between with other ingredients: neither as much as one, or as little as the other. It is a straightforward bread, mixed, allowed to rise, form, shape and bake. No exceedingly long "sponges" that need to grow for a day or more. Nothing difficult at all. I've made bread for so long that it is a way of life for me (though my whole foundation for this way of life was my Mom's bread: said foundation was shaken to the core with Mr. Reinhart's book). I know the basics. I know how a yeast dough works, how it looks and feels. 

Once I had decided on the amounts for my version of this bread, I went to work. I made up the dough; the recipe worked splendidly. It grew nicely, rose beautifully in the pans and baked perfectly. I allowed the bread to cool and sliced it. The flavors were wonderful. While I cannot specifically taste the seeds, they do make for a lovely presentation. Whether the seeds (optional in any case) are added or not, my version of this bread is all I hoped. And I hope some of my readers might try it out!

Anadama Seed Bread

Anadama Seed Bread

Makes two (4 x 8-inch) loaves
 
1½ cups (210 g / 7.4 oz) yellow cornmeal
1½ cups (12 fl. oz.) warm water
------------
3 cups (420 g / 14.8 oz) bread flour, divided
2½ teaspoons (8 g / 0.28 oz) instant yeast
½ cup (120 ml / 4 oz) water
------------
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 2.8 oz) light molasses
(or use half each molasses and honey)
1½ teaspoons (6 g / 0.21 oz) fleur de sel or coarse salt
3 tablespoons (19 g / 0.67 oz) softened butter
2 tablespoons (20 g / 0.71 oz) white sesame seeds
2 tablespoons (20 g / 0.71 oz) black sesame seeds
3 tablespoons (22 g / 0.78 oz) flax seeds, ground
------------
½ cup (70 g / 3.0 oz) bread flour, if needed

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer, stir together the cornmeal and war water. Allow these ingredients to soak for 1 hour to soften. After the hour, add in half the bread flour, with the instant yeast and the 1/2 cup of water. Stir well and allow to ferment for an hour.

Add in the remaining half of the 3 cups of flour with the salt, molasses (and honey if substituting part), the butter and the seeds. Stir these ingredients until they come together. If mixing by hand, turn dough out onto a floured surface, using some of the last half-cup of flour as needed. Knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes. If mixing in a heavy duty mixer, set dough hook in place and begin kneading at lowest setting, slowly increasing to setting 2 or whatever speed is recommended for kneading bread. Add in the remaining half-cup of flour if needed, until the dough comes together well. Continue kneading for 8 to 10 minutes. The resultant dough should be tacky but not overly sticky.

Grease a large bowl and place the dough into the bowl, turning once to grease all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for approximately 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Grease two (8.5 x 4.5-inch) loaf pans with cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal. Set aside. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide in half. Form each half into a smooth loaf, flattening the dough and then rolling tightly. Tuck in the ends. Place each loaf into one of the prepared pans. Spray the tops of the loaves with cooking spray and sprinkle liberally with cornmeal. Cover the loaves with plastic wrap and allow them to rise until the dough shows at least 1-inch above the rims.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set the loaves on a lower-middle rack and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate pans, for even baking and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the loaves are golden and test 185 - 190 degrees with an instant read thermometer inserted into the centers. Turn loaves out onto racks to cool before slicing.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Guatemala Dreaming: Trying out some typical recipes

Page from the cookbook for my daughter - note the
very stained page from my notebook.

Tomatillos (Miltomates)

Lately I have been thinking about Guatemala, talking about Guatemala and making Guatemalan dishes that I had not made in a while, as well as some I had never made. I really enjoyed my time in Guatemala. I was 20 years young and willing to learn so many things that so vastly diverged from anything I had previously known in my upper Midwest upbringing. 

I made a "cookbook" of a sort for my oldest daughter when she turned 40, with all sorts of recipes and photos. Unfortunately, though I had made many of these recipes, I had not been so photography-minded back then. Nowadays I take photos of almost anything I make, to have a record of it in case I may need it some day. With a blog, website and Pinterest, I do use a lot of photos. I do have a couple of notebooks and a handful of recipe cards I wrote out, with lots of typical Guatemalan dishes, some of which I had made often and others I have yet to try. My sister gave me the idea to make this cookbook, mainly because some of my recipes are so terribly stained you can really see how well they have been used. The result is one I am quite proud of - and yet - the pictures and the recipes are for the most part, not "mine." I "Swiped from the best with pride," as they say, filling the pages with photos I took from the internet, since it was meant only for my daughter's eyes.

At this point in time, I could nearly fill the book with food photos of my own. I have been consistently making dishes and getting photos where possible. I wish that I had photos of all the places I visited back in the 1970s; sadly, I do not. Short of a nice long photography trip back to Guatemala, I have little hope of ever having those type of photos for a book. It was a most interesting time in my life and one I will always treasure. One of the many spices I learned about while there was Annatto:

Annatto - Bixa orellana

Annatto Seeds (Achiote)

Annatto seeds, called achiote (a-CHO-tay) in Guatemala, are a spice from the pods of the Bixa orellana tree. The tree produces fruits that are vaguely heart-shaped, with thick, spiky hairs all over them. When the fruit matures, the pod opens to reveal the orangey seeds inside. The seeds are orange to red in color, and the outer, powdery orange coating on the seeds is what is used for flavor and color in so many of the dishes in Guatemala as well as many of the other central, South American and Caribbean cuisines. It will make rice a lovely yellow color similar to saffron, though with a different flavor component. Depending on how much annatto is used, more flavor can come through, lending a signature flavor to things such as Hilachas, the recado that goes on top of tamales or chuchitos and Arroz con Pollo. This is by far an incomplete list, as these seeds are use widely and extensively. 

I was cautioned, while in Guatemala, to avoid ever grinding the whole seed, as the inner seed is bitter and will ruin the flavor of a dish. I have never substantiated this admonition. 

While I mainly write of these seeds as a spice, the reddish color they lend is also used in other varied ways. In some of the native cultures of these countries the red color, which rubs off of the seeds easily, is used "cosmetically" as a lip or cheek color. Many American processed cheeses, as well as some Cheddar or Colby cheeses are given their appetizing yellow orange color with annatto seeds. 



"Pollo en Jocon"
or Chicken in Green Sauce

So that brings me back to the present. I love the flavor of Green Sauce or "Salsa Verde". It uses tomatillos as the green base, along with all other green things, such as green pepper, celery, parsley and cilantro. I have been making it recently and using it to braise pork, which is heavenly, but not Guatemalan so far as I know. What I had never really made was Carne or Pollo en Jocon. This is a stewed dish with either beef or chicken, and a green sauce thickened with corn tortillas or corn masa (a substitute can be using corn masa flour as the thickening agent). It is served over Guatemalan Style Rice, usually made as the Guatemalans do, with the addition of onion, carrot, peas, celery and/or green pepper. Sometimes annatto seed is cooked in oil and this colored oil is also added. Since my son and his wife were coming to visit this past weekend, I decided sort of last-minute to make the Carne (Beef) en Jocon. It was a real hit; so much so that the kids were arguing over the leftovers later. I decided to make it again, since they obviously had not had their fill, and this time with chicken.

Today, for whatever reason, I started thinking about Pepian, another very typically Guatemalan dish, and one I have never made. It is another stew type dish, made with beef or chicken usually, but this sauce is more red, and made with tomatoes, toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds, dried chili peppers such as ancho and guaque and possibly some annatto seeds for color. It is also served over rice, but may have the addition of vegetables such as carrot, potato or chayote squash. There are so many wonderful flavors in Guatemalan cooking and sometimes I become nostalgic. I am so grateful both for the time I spent in that country and for my ability to cook all these wonderful dishes.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Pollo en Jocon; a Gutemalan Dish Using Green Sauce

Pollo en Jocon is basically a cooked chicken in green sauce. The dish can as easily be made with a beef roast (making it "Carne en Jocon") as with chicken, and I can tell you from experience that green sauce is truly excellent paired with pork also.

A few days back I wrote about making green sauce, or Salsa Verde. The recipe is absolutely delightful, and I really need to make more to keep around. I also promised a picture, which I have here, for this post. Though my husband is mostly unfamiliar with green sauce, being an upper Midwest guy (I am an Ohio gal myself, but got where I am via Guatemala for 12 years), he really liked the flavors of the chicken in the green sauce, so I took that as a big coup; winning his approval.

Pollo en Jocon

Guatemalan sauces very often contain sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, called "pepitoria". These are in most of the sauces, whether sweet or savory. Things like mole, whether a savory mole over chicken, or a sweet mole over plantains, contain these seeds, toasted and ground. Guatemalan tamales have these seeds in the sauce that is made to go over top of the tamal. Again, the tamales there have 2 versions, a sweet and a savory, and the sauce starts out the same for either one, with the same seeds involved in the recipe. These are a couple of examples, but the use is widespread. 

A word about the sesame seeds: they need to still have the hull intact, which means they are not the kind found in the little jars in the spice section of the grocery. Unhulled sesame seeds are a dull, flat tan color, and not the pretty, shiny, polished little things in the jars. The shiny ones in the jars will not brown properly in the dry skillet. Look for unhulled sesame seed a at your local health food store. 

With that in mind then, I was quite surprised to find that in the two recipes I had found

Carne en Jocon

for Jocon, somewhere in Guatemala (one was a newspaper clipping), neither one had used sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds. Hmmm. One of the two recipes did not even mention using day old tortillas in the sauce, which is a very common thickening agent. Instead of thickening a sauce with flour or cornstarch, in Guatemala they will use cookie crumbs to thicken a sweet mole sauce, or bread, soaked and stirred into a sauce as for Hilachas (or Ropa Vieja), or tortillas, soaked and blended up into a sauce like Jocon. So, in one of the recipes they suggested thickening the sauce If it is too thin, with tortillas. Corn tortillas here in the U.S., made with a lot of additives and preservatives, pressed and sold in packages that seem to be able to last forever - these really will not easily soften and dissolve. To make this easier, keep a small package of Masa harina for corn tortillas in your freezer and pull it out for times like this. It thickens beautifully and gives the authentic flavor needed. Just moisten some corn masa flour with water and stir into the stew and cook until it thickens to your desired stew consistency.

Understand that this dish is supposed to be a stew of a sort. Once the green sauce is made, the rest of the recipe (as I made it) is just cooking the cut up chicken in the green sauce, and then put to cook for a while in this sauce to infuse flavors. 

Pollo en Jocon or Carne en Jocon

Serves about 6

Pollo en Jocon

1 whole chicken, cut up,  (for Pollo en Jocon)
OR 
2 lbs beef stew meat (for Carne en Jocon)
olive oil, for browning
1½ cups (more if desired) Salsa Verde / Green Sauce
1½ teaspoons salt
1 - 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon unhulled sesame seeds
1½ tablespoons raw, green pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons corn tortilla flour (Masa Harina or Torti-ya)

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat until very hot, then add in the sesame seeds. Stir constantly, and they will begin to pop and snap. Once they turn a light brown, turn them out immediately to a plate to cool. Add in the green pumpkin seeds and stitrring constantly, toast them until they begin to get browned spots but do not let them burn! Once browned a bit, turn out to the plate with the sesame seeds. Once cooled, place the toasted seeds into a spice grinder or coffee grinder used only for grinding spices and grind fine.
Have the recipe for green sauce already made, either fresh or frozen. Heat some olive oil in a heavy duty oven safe enameled cast iron stew pot or Dutch oven and brown the chicken pieces or stew meat. Pour the green sauce over the meat and add in the salt, bay leaves and oregano. Stir in the toasted and ground seeds. Bring to a boil and cover with tight fitting lid. Place covered pot in a preheated 300 degree oven for 1½ to 2 hours for chicken and about 2 to 2½ hours for beef. Ensure that there is plenty of liquid in the pot, adding water if it gets low during cooking.

Once the meat is cooked through, Stir together the Corn Tortilla Masa flour with a little water to dissolve, then stir into the pot and allow to cook for about 15 minutes more, to thicken. Serve with rice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you would like to thicken your sauce with a corn tortilla or two, soak it in hot water until very soft and then blend or just crumble before adding to the sauce.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things weekly. I would love to hear from you, to help me continue my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.