Herbed Smen Recipe
Yield: 1 batchRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
Salt,
Marjoram, and thyme
1/2 cup: Fresh oregano,
, also all fresh
-or-,
1 lbs: Sweet butter, very fresh
Combination of oregano,
Directions:
Boil a small handful of salt and the oregano leaves in 1 quart of
water. Strain into a shallow bowl; allow to cool.
When the blackened "oregano water" has cooled to the point where it
will no longer melt butter, add the butter, cut up into pieces, and
knead until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes, pressing the
mixture again and again against the bottom of the bowl so that every
bit has been thoroughly washed. Drain the butter and then squeeze to
extract excess water. Knead into a ball, place in a sterile, airtight
glass container, and cover tightly.
Keep the container in a cool place (not the refrigerator) for at
least 30 days before using. Once it has been opened store in the
refrigerator, where it will keep 1 to 2 months longer.
The author also writes: "In Safi I have tasted smen made by washing
the butter with water containing cinnamon, ground coriander seeds,
and other pickling spices. Of course in the bled, or countryside,
one finds some extremely potent smens. Some Berbers cook it, salt
it, and bury it in the ground in earthen jugs for a year, after which
it comes up tasting something like Gorgonzola cheese. The rich
people of Fez (the Fassis) are the keepers of legendary quantities of
smen, stored away for years in secret caches in the cellars of their
magnificent homes, and brought out on rare occasions in all its
pungent, dark-brown glory to be sniffed by honored guests."
From "Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco" by Paula Wolfert. New
York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1987. Pg. 38. ISBN 0-06-091396-7.
Posted by Cathy Harned.
Submitted By CATHY HARNED On 10-03-94
Source from luhu.jp
water. Strain into a shallow bowl; allow to cool.
When the blackened "oregano water" has cooled to the point where it
will no longer melt butter, add the butter, cut up into pieces, and
knead until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes, pressing the
mixture again and again against the bottom of the bowl so that every
bit has been thoroughly washed. Drain the butter and then squeeze to
extract excess water. Knead into a ball, place in a sterile, airtight
glass container, and cover tightly.
Keep the container in a cool place (not the refrigerator) for at
least 30 days before using. Once it has been opened store in the
refrigerator, where it will keep 1 to 2 months longer.
The author also writes: "In Safi I have tasted smen made by washing
the butter with water containing cinnamon, ground coriander seeds,
and other pickling spices. Of course in the bled, or countryside,
one finds some extremely potent smens. Some Berbers cook it, salt
it, and bury it in the ground in earthen jugs for a year, after which
it comes up tasting something like Gorgonzola cheese. The rich
people of Fez (the Fassis) are the keepers of legendary quantities of
smen, stored away for years in secret caches in the cellars of their
magnificent homes, and brought out on rare occasions in all its
pungent, dark-brown glory to be sniffed by honored guests."
From "Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco" by Paula Wolfert. New
York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1987. Pg. 38. ISBN 0-06-091396-7.
Posted by Cathy Harned.
Submitted By CATHY HARNED On 10-03-94
Source from luhu.jp