Shameless Reader

There are two things you absolutely have to do when you hear that award-winning author Mohsin Hamid will be visiting New York City all the way from Lahore, Pakistan. First, you get ridiculously, insanely excited because Mohsin writes some of the most engaging and impactful books in the world! Riverhead is lucky to have already published three of those books, and we’re thrilled to publish his highly anticipated new novel Exit West in March 2017. It’s a love story that unfolds in a world being irrevocably transformed by migration, as the forces turning a young couple’s home city into a war zone lead them to seek refuge first in London and then in California. We can’t wait for you all to read this one! We can’t wait for you to read this one!

Obviously, the second thing you do when you find out Mohsin Hamid is coming to town is plan a Riverhead Table with him! So last Sunday afternoon Mohsin donned his custom Riverhead apron designed by Jones of Boerum Hill and, along with one of Lahore’s preeminent restaurateurs Zahra Khan (a.k.a. Mohsin’s brilliant wife) and the fantastic East Village chef’s table Ruffian, we planned a family style Pakistani meal for 20 booksellers, writers, bookstagrammers and chefs. Eleven pounds of okra, three constantly working induction stove tops and many glasses of wine later, we’re excited to bring you our tastiest Riverhead Table yet! 

Zahra and Mohsin prepping our okra!

THE MENU

Okra Bhujia

Daal with Kachoomar Salad

Cumin Raita (a yogurt condiment for the okra and daal!)

Basmati Rice to serve

Rice Pudding for dessert

NOTE: Mohsin and Zahra reworked their recipes to accommodate smaller parties for this post. Pakistani meals are traditionally much larger, so unless you aim to feed 20 people like we did we recommend sticking to the below quantities!

Okra Bhujia (Serves 4 | Approximate Time: 1.5 hours)

2 pounds okra

3 cups roughly chopped tomatoes

3 cups roughly chopped onions

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp ground red chili (or to taste)

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 ½ tsps finely chopped fresh garlic

1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger

5/6 tbsp canola oil

Wash and dry the okra thoroughly. Chop into ½ inch pieces and fry it over medium to high flame in a wok until it loses its bite. Move the okra around in the pan constantly otherwise it will burn! It should no longer be crunchy and should turn dark green in color, approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove and set aside. 

Next, sauté the onions until they turn clear and slightly golden. Add ginger and garlic and fry for another minute. Then add all the spices and sauté for another minute. Add tomatoes and let cook until the moisture evaporates. Add okra to this mixture and mix delicately. Turn heat down to low and let okra absorb flavor for about 5 minutes. 

The finished Okra Bhujia. Our mouths are watering just thinking about it!

Daal (Serves 4-6 | Approximate Time: 45 minutes)

½ cup split red lentils

½ cup split green lentils

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp red chili (or to taste)

1 ½ tsps finely chopped fresh garlic + 1 tsp thinly sliced garlic slivers

2 cups roughly chopped tomatoes

Salt (to taste)

3 or 4 fresh green Thai chilies

1 tsp cumin

3 cups water

1 tbsp Canola oil

Thoroughly wash and drain lentils until the water runs clear. Put the lentils in a medium saucepan and cover with about 3 cups water. When the water comes to the boil add turmeric, chopped garlic and tomatoes. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 30 minutes, replenishing the water slightly as needed. When the lentil grains have softened that means the daal is cooked.  

Heat oil in a frying pan and add garlic slivers and cumin. Fry until golden. Add green chilies and fry for another 30 seconds. Add this hot oil garnish on top of the daal and serve.

Kachoomar Salad (Serves 4 | Approximate Time: 15 minutes)

1 large cucumber

2 tomatoes

1 large onion

Handful of fresh mint

Splash of fresh lemon juice

Pinch of sea salt 

Finely chop all of your vegetables and put in a large bowl. Add fresh lemon juice and roughly chopped mint. Mix and serve chilled.

Cumin Raita

1 liter 2% fat plain yogurt

Large splash skim milk

Salt

1 heaping teaspoon of cumin

Mix yogurt with milk until yogurt is thinned and pouring consistency. Fry cumin until brown. Add cumin and generous pinch of salt to yogurt. 

Zahra chatting with NYC Penguin sales rep Justin Goodfellow and Ashanti White-Wallace of WORD Bookstore.

Rice Pudding Dessert (Serves 4-6 | Approximate Time: 1.5 hours, or 2-3 hours if you plan to serve it chilled) 

6 tbs. basmati rice

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1⁄2 tsp lightly crushed saffron

1⁄2 tsp ground cardamom

6 cups 2% milk

6 tbsp light brown sugar

1⁄4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1⁄4 cup thinly sliced pistachios 

Rinse the rice under running water until water runs clear; drain thoroughly. Heat the butter in a 10" skillet over medium heat. Once melted add rice, saffron, and cardamom. Cook, stirring until lightly toasted, for about 2 minutes. Add milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until milk is reduced by half and rice is tender, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Add sugar, almonds, and half the pistachios. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves, for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with remaining pistachios before serving. 

If you prefer to serve your rice pudding chilled instead of warm, just put the finished pudding in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.

Special thanks to the team at Ruffian for allowing us take over their beautiful East Village space! And, as ever, thank you to Jones of Boerum Hill for our kick ass aprons. We hope you’ll try some of these fantastic recipes and share your experiences with us using #RiverheadTable. Until next time!

Mohsin toasts our Riverhead Table guests.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS by Marlon James took the world by storm when it was published in 2014. It’s a New York Times bestseller and won the coveted Man Booker Prize last year–that means it’s the best work of fiction written in the English language. That’s a big deal!

We’ve heard that many book clubs have taken on the challenge of reading Marlon’s 700+ page novel, so we figured there was no better time than the present to give it the #RiverheadTable treatment. But this time we turned the heat way up! Not only did we ask Marlon to cook a traditional Jamaican feast with us (he said yes), and not only did we partner with the soon to open Brooklyn restaurant Winsome (thanks for letting us use your kitchen and dining space, guys!), but we also ended up making dinner for 20 PEOPLE. That’s right. 2-0. A few members of Marlon’s family, NYC friends and our awesome apron partners Jones of Boerum Hill all came ready to eat. 

Here is where this edition of #RiverheadTable gets interesting for our readers: Marlon’s cooking style is as laid back as it gets, meaning his recipes come from memory and are often improvised. He created two of the dishes we ended up serving at dinner on the spot! Which means the menu we’re about to share with you isn’t exact by any measure. We did our best to keep track of everything Marlon did or had us do in the kitchen, but we can’t promise that we got it completely right. 

What we can promise is this: after five separate grocery runs and four hours, dinner was delicious. We know you’ll have a great time trying to recreate Marlon’s dishes for your next party. So put on your apron, chill a bunch of beer in the fridge and invite A LOT of friends…otherwise prepare your fridge for a hefty amount of leftovers!

Jamaican Jerk Lamb with Honey & Pistachio Crust with Wilted Watercress

Ripe Plantains in Raisin & Cinnamon Reduction

Potato Rundown

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Patties with Tomato & Molasses Sauce

Jamaican Jerk Lamb with Honey & Pistachio Crust with Wilted Watercress

For the lamb:

4 racks of lamb (or whatever the butcher thinks can feed 20)

2 bottles Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (Walker’s Wood or Eatons – NO EXCEPTIONS)

Salt

Black pepper

Canola oil 

For the crust:

Canola oil spray

1bunch chives, minced

1 bunch thyme, leaves separated from stems and minced (stems discarded)

1 bottle honey

1 bunch sage, minced

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1 pack shelled pistachios, crushed fine but ideal to have some chunky pieces in it

1 pack cashews, crush to a fine powder

For the wilted watercress:

10 cups watercress leaves with stems

10 cups arugula 

Pre-heat your over to 400 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut the rack of lamb into individual medallions of fairly uniform thickness. In a large bowl coat the medallions in honey and Walker’s Wood Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (VERY IMPORTANT: The only other acceptable substitution for Walker’s Wood is Eaton’s—others simply won’t do). Heat a generous amount of canola oil in a heavy skillet or sauté pan over a medium/high flame. Fry the medallions in batches for about 1 minute per side until browned. Set aside. 

Make the honey/pistachio crust while the medallions cool! Mix your finely crushed cashews, pistachios, bread crumbs, thyme, sage, and chives together. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

When the medallions have cooled, spray a thin layer of canola oil on each side of the medallions and generously coat in the nut and bread crumb mixture. You want a thick crust! 

Once medallions are coated, spray medallions again on each side with canola oil and roast on a large baking sheet in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, depending on medallion thickness. You want the inside temperature to be about 130 degrees for medium rare, and the crust to be slightly browned. Take the medallions out of the oven when done and keep warm. 

Now make the vegetables: Quickly heat up the arugula and watercress in a lightly oiled sauté pan, about one to two minutes or until just gently wilted. Use this as bedding for the lamb medallions! 

Ripe Plantains in Raisin & Cinnamon Reduction

6 large ripe plantains, still slightly firm

2 medium green apples or 1 large green apple, peeled, cored and finely diced

1 container of cranberries

1 cup orange juice, plus extra

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, plus more to taste

2 tbsp stick of unsalted/unsweetened butter

1 can chunky cranberry sauce

1 bottle canola oil (or similar)

1 bottle of red cooking wine

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice plantains on a diagonal, about a ½ inch thick. Deep fry in 350-degree canola oil until light golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. The center of each slice should no longer be tough or raw. Set aside. In a medium sauce pan throw in the cranberries, apples, 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup red wine, cranberry sauce, and cinnamon powder. Simmer it over medium heat, stirring frequently until it reduces and thickens quite a lot, roughly 15 minutes. This is a reduction sauce so you want it to be the correct consistency – be patient! Once the sauce is ready, place the plantains in an oven-proof baking dish and pour the sauce mixture over them. Toss well. Add a 2-second pour of red wine and of orange juice (just enough to moisten the mixture—we told you this would be inexact and interesting!), toss and mix. Put the dish into the oven, uncovered, for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes take the dish out, add 2 tablespoons of butter on top of the plantains, smear all over the top and then put the dish back in the over for another five minutes. Toss a final time and serve warm. 

Potato Rundown

2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and quartered (or 3-4 lbs yellow baby potatoes, not peeled and cut into halves)

1 can coconut milk

1 bunch thyme, leaves separated from stems and minced (stems discarded)

1 bunch tarragon, minced

1 bottle coconut oil 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil your peeled and quartered potatoes (work in batches if necessary) until you can slightly pierce through a piece with a fork. Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a sauté pan or large skillet. Add boiled potatoes (again working in batches if necessary) and sauté with thyme and tarragon. Add coconut milk to the pan little by little to keep the potatoes moist and continue to simmer until they are nearly mushy but retain their shape. Stir occasionally so that the potatoes don’t burn, then season with salt/pepper to taste.

(That’s Richard, Marlon’s brother!)

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Patties with Tomato & Molasses Sauce 

For the patties:

4 cans black beans, drained

3 large sweet potatoes, quartered

½ -1 cup cooked brown rice

1 small bag of whole wheat flour

1 large egg, beaten

Canola oil

1 small bundle of chives, minced

Half of a large red onion, minced

Small bundle of tarragon, minced

For the sauce:

4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 bottle of molasses

Salt and pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Place your sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with some canola oil before placing in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Roast until you can push a fork through the meat of the potatoes, then remove from oven and let the piece cool slightly. When cool enough to touch place the piece in a large bowl and use a potato masher (or your hands) to mash them completely. Set aside. Empty all four cans of drained black beans into a bowl and mash, again either with the potato masher or with your hands. Combine the mashed sweet potatoes and beans, and then add the cooked brown rice and the beaten egg. Mix well. Add minced chives, tarragon, red onion, salt and pepper. Add a dusting of whole wheat flour and mix well again. Grab a handful of the mixture and form into a patty. Repeat until you’ve used all of the mixture. Carefully deep fry for approximately 3 minutes or until the outside of each patty is slightly crispy. Top with additional salt and pepper to taste. 

Make the sauce while the patties cool: Place your roughly chopped tomatoes into a blender and puree until smooth. Pour the tomatoes into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat. Add a little bit of molasses until you reach the sweetness and flavor you desire. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on the side so that your guests can put as much or as little of the sauce on their potato patties as they like!

And there you have it! A home style Jamaican feast for your next book club or dinner party. Thanks again to Winsome, Jones of Boerum Hill and Marlon James for making the latest #RiverheadTable one to remember!