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What Lies Ahead Fresh Family Recipes
Food can transport us from the shores of the Bosporus to the streets of the French Quarter. For our travel issue, we have recipes from Beren Mediterranean in the Near Southside and Trinity Street Restaurant & Bar in Decatur.
Hünkârbeğendi or The Emperor’s Delight
Hünkârbeğendi, which translates literally to “the sultan liked it,” is a Turkish dish of Ottoman origin and is a lamb stew served over eggplant. It’s a lovely dish with summer eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers fresh from the garden. Charlie and Leman Unlu serve it at their restaurant, Beren Mediterranean, in the Near Southside. After working at high end restaurants across the Metroplex, Charlie wanted to have his own restaurant. With his wife Leman’s recipes (including some of the best bread I’ve ever eaten!) as the backbone, Beren Mediterranean is a delight. Stop by and tell them Lee says hi!
Ingredients
For the stew
1 pound lamb stew meat (preferably leg of lamb that you’ve diced)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Anaheim or green bell peppers, finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
1 to 1 ½ cups hot water
For the eggplant
2 pounds of eggplant [Editor’s Note: I prefer Italian or zebra eggplants to globe eggplants, but use what you can find in your store.]
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup butter
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 to 1 ½ cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
For the stew
Heat the butter in a large saucepan or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until they are translucent. A bit at a time, add the diced lamb, browning on all sides. Don’t add all the lamb at once; it will steam instead of brown. Once all the lamb is browned, return it to the pan and add the peppers and the tomato paste. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes before adding the fresh tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 more minutes before adding 1 cup of hot water. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the meat is tender, approximately an hour. Add more water if the stew gets too dry.
For the eggplant
Wash the eggplants and prick each with a fork on at least two sides. You can grill, broil, or roast the eggplant over a gas eye, turning frequently until the eggplants collapse and the skins char. You can bake them in the oven until the flesh is tender, but you won’t get the smoky flavor of the charred skin.
Place the charred eggplants in a large bowl and allow to cool. Once they can be handled, peel the eggplants and discard the stems and skin. Add the lemon juice and mash the eggplants with a fork.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to combine and make a roux. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently to cook the raw flour taste out of the roux.
While the roux is cooking, heat the milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk the warmed milk into the roux, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and has started to bubble, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the eggplant mixture to the roux and mix well. Once the eggplant is incorporated, add the cheese and stir to combine. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, put the eggplant purée on a plate and then spoon the stew over the top. Sprinkle with lots of parsley and serve with bread to sop up all the deliciousness. Serves 4.
Photo courtesy of Trinity Street Restaurant
Cajun Crawfish Queso
This recipe from Chef Michael Rios, Executive Chef of Trinity Street Restaurant & Bar in Decatur, is a delightfully easy yet delicious appetizer. Chef Rios has been cooking since he was a boy, and was recently named “Rising Star of the Year” in 2024. His culinary portfolio is based in his Latin and Southeast Asian background and expressed through his classical French culinary training. This recipe can be made from ingredients from your grocery store, but Chef Rios said to be sure to use Louisiana crawfish meat (usually available in the seafood aisle) because it’s the sweetest.
Ingredients
¼ cup neutral oil [Editor’s Note: I used canola oil because it’s what I had.]
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
3 10-ounce cans Rotel, drained and puréed
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning [Editor’s Note: I love Tony Chachere’s]
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
8 ounces spinach, steamed, drained, and chopped
12 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces crawfish tail meat
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Directions
In a large saucepan or sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the onions in the oil until the onions are translucent and slightly browned around the edges, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté just until you can smell it. Don’t let it burn.
Add the puréed Rotel, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, dried thyme, and Italian seasoning and cook until the tomato purée is reduced and thickens like tomato paste, approximately 7 to 9 minutes.
Add the cream cheese into the tomato purée and stir until no lumps remain. Add the chopped spinach, heavy cream, and crawfish and fold to combine. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in the Monterrey Jack cheese and gently stir until the cheese has melted. Serve with toasted French bread, tortilla chips, crackers, or crudites. You can get fancy and garnish with shredded or shaved parmesan, chopped parsley, pico de gallo, or guacamole. Chef Rios says you should make it your own! Makes 8 cups, perfect for a neighborhood cookout.
