March 30th: beef shawarma ... on baguette?

We had a virus awhile back that ate a number of the pictures on our laptop. We have a goodly number on the Mac, so we haven't lost everything, but we have lost some gems. My blogspot profile pic exists on blogspot only. One of the less important pics, but one I had been planning to use for some time, was a picture of me looking sheepish as I hold up a copy of Company's Coming Inviting Asian Flavours. In January, I slagged Lindsay for asking me to cook out of a book I don't have. She responded forthwith, sending me said cookbook in the mail. Ask and ye shall receive. Though my asking was on the passive aggressive side, which is not so attractive.

I have made two recipes out of this book since receiving it. One I didn't write about, as I decided to spare you the descriptions of meals that don't turn out (unless I have a spectacular disaster to share!) and also gain some sleep for myself, a useless pursuit in general.

Tonight, I made a steak with shawarma flavours. Let's start with the recipe:


2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (more on this later)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp each: ground allspice, curry powder, ground cinnamon, salt and pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 x 225 g beef strip loin steaks


baguette, hummus, tomato, cucumber, red onion


Combine molasses, garlic and all spices, pour over steak and allow to marinate 6 hours. Drain and discard marinade. BBQ steak as desired. Split and toast baguette, spread with hummus, slice steaks and arrange on baguette with veggies. Makes 4 sandwiches.

The baguette does make for nice presentation, but see my comments below.

Except!: Pomegranate molasses: As explained in the book, pomegranate molasses "promote[s] a dark exterior that has a caramelized flavour." If you don’t have pomegranate molasses (as I do not), you can make it yourself by boiling down pomegranate juice. Easy peasy, thought I, as I bought a small but expensive bottle of juice at the grocery store. I measured out my ¾ cup, put it on the stove and let it boil away for several minutes, every once in awhile picking up the pot, swirling it around and measuring with my eyes how much more liquid needed to disappear before I would have the requisite 2 tbsp. Then, I made a novice mistake. I left the room. When next I came back (4 minutes later!), I had a smoke-filled kitchen, a pot containing a thick layer of unrecognizable, black, burnt-on juice, and a stink to high heaven. On went the fan, open went the door, water into the pan! (The water in the scorching pan caused a loud pop as a hole burst through the burnt-on juice. Although I haven't found time to clean it yet, I think my ever-abused Paderno pot came through the experiment unscathed.)

As this occurred post-10 p.m. on a Tuesday night, I didn’t bother with a second attempt. I decided some undiluted pomegranate juice would have to suffice. I mixed my juice in with my spices and garlic and poured the combo into a jar for the overnight time period. Wednesday morning, before leaving home, I quickly set my steak in a glass dish, poured my juice mixture overtop, and covered to rest in the fridge for the day.

I found the steak super flavourful, with an authentic shawarma taste. Next time, I'll slice the steak as thin as I can possibly manage, load it into a pita spread with hummus, and top with the suggested tomato, cucumber and red onion. I do not recommend serving this steak on a toasted baguette as per the recipe. I find baguettes really hard to eat (as in, their ridges cut my gums). I think a traditional pita is the way to go. Next time I will use straight pomegranate juice again and save myself the trouble of a messy pot to clean.