It must have been our third of fourth time hanging out together. I had been dating this guy for a few weeks, and that evening he had invited me over for dinner to impress me with his favorite “stew”. The stew was good, what wasn’t good was the conversation that ensued from it. While we ate, I told him that I’m generally not a fan of stews except for this Persian stew called Abgoosht that my mom makes. I explained that what made her stew so good was the bone marrow in it. As I continued to vividly describe how succulent and irresistible bone marrow is, I could see a countenance of disgust take over his face. He was a Pathologist and so if anyone, I expected him, of all people, to appreciate the value of bone marrow.

Yeah… not so much.  The first words out of his mouth were, “You know what you’re doing is very pathological right?”

“How so?” I asked, “Have you ever heard the expression, you are what you eat?” he replied.

I frowned at him and asked, “So you’re telling me that by eating bone marrow, I’m eating myself?”

He said, “Yes,” to which I condescendingly replied, “Well, at least I taste good.”

Oh, the irony of my attempts for ten minutes to try to explain to this “Pathologist” that bone marrow was highly nutritious and good for the brain. I kept repeating the sentence “It’s a wonderful source of protein and high in monounsaturated fats – the good fats- and it tastes so good.” He shook his head continuously.  To him, even as a scientist, eating bone marrow was an act of food extremism, one that he found hard to swallow.  I told him he lacked an imagination and had no idea what he was missing out on. My Persian-Armenian girlfriends and I laughed about it later.  We concluded that homeboy was clueless and accusing someone of being “pathological” for eating Abgoosht was merely a reflection of his own pathology.

Bone marrow is the perk that comes with eating Abgoosht, a Persian stew whose recipe my mother has conquered. The shanks and the bone marrow marinate slowly for hours enriching the broth while the addition of dried limes, chickpeas, tomatoes, potatoes and savory leaves, brings together a great stew. It’s a flavorful and aromatic stew that’s a perfect way to warm you on a cold winter night.

My mamma’s broth is so damn good it should be patented. She mostly makes it in the winter.  She always makes enough to last a couple of days, and in that time it is devoured with delight. There are a few dishes for which my mom’s hands have a magical touch. Her Dolma, her Vindaloo, Coffee cake and Macaron are my favorites, but her Abgoosht is out of control. She was 22 when this photo was taken.  She had just gotten engaged to my father. She has that soft, content look on her face and she probably hadn’t learned to make Abgoosht just yet.

There is no doubt that bone marrow has a very distinct taste and texture, you either love it or hate it. I love it so much that I almost fainted from bliss when I saw this photo of my imaginary husband Anthony Bourdain with only a bone in his hand. The photo is from the book My Last Supper and is his homage to bone marrow, for which I graciously thank him for it every time I bite down on a piece of one. Bone marrow is usually cooked by braising it, such as with Osso Bucco (Italian), roasting it like Os a Moelle (French), or slow cooking it like Abgoosht (Persian). Ab in Farsi means water, in this case stew, and Ghoosht is in reference to the type of stew, in this case beef.

My favorite place to get bone marrow in Los Angeles outside of my mom’s kitchen is at Mario Batalli and Nancy Silverton’s, Pizzeria Mozza. Every few months my friend James and I have “Bone Marrow Dates.” We get together on a Sunday afternoon, get toasted on Perseco and eat bone after bone, topped with sea salt, roasted garlic and parsley leaves. James is fabulous.  He’s an accomplished celebrity photographer I met a couple years ago while eating bone marrow at Mozza. We bonded over the marrow, and when we get together he tells me his juicy celeb stories, as we both drool over the juicy bone marrows on our table. I just made Abgousht for the first time a few days ago.  My mom, Arax instructed me step by step and I followed. The smell of the broth slowly crept into the kitchen and I couldn’t help but peek in over and over again and get an Abgousht facial as the steam rose to my face. In the process of learning to make this stew, I also decided to properly learn to make roasted bone marrow. For inspiration I drew from Mr. Batalli, with his jolly belly and orange Crocs. I bought a couple of shanks, roasted them in the oven, and then I carefully slid them onto a toasted baguette and topped it with parsley, Fleur de Sel and lemon juice. It provided the perfect excuse to bust out the white truffle oil.  Yes, I topped my fatty bone marrow with the truffle oil, and it was superb and worth every drop.

Being referred to as pathological that evening tickled my own bones a bit.  It got me thinking that there is a very primal aspect to sucking marrow out of a bone. It is something many of us have done since childhood without giving it a second thought.  In the chapter “What I Lived For,” in “Walden”, Thoreau explains his decision to move to Walden Woods. In the book he says, “I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life . . . to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”  I can’t think of a more perfect way to describe not just the importance of living life to the fullest, but living life in a truly conscious fashion. For me this includes eating all the bone marrow that life has to offer and maybe even looking within when I do eat it. Looking back, in retrospect maybe the scientist was right; eating bone marrow is like taking in parts of our own selves.  But I prefer Thoreau’s take on it.  In case you’re wondering what happened with Mr. Pathologist and I, we eventually went our separate ways. Besides, I couldn’t see myself dating a man who dated a woman that he thought was a pathological eater.

Dried limes can be found in most Middle Eastern stores or here. Dried savory leaves can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets or here.

Arax’s Abgoosht

Yield 4-6 servings

2 – 3 beef shanks with bone marrow attached

6 – 8 cups of water

1 cup garbanzo & white beans (mixed)

3 – 4 Limoo Amani (Dried Limes)

3 tomatoes skin removed, chopped small dice

1 onion, chopped medium dice

3 garlic cloves, chopped small dice

2 ½ tsp savory leaves (Dried)

5 cardamom pods

5 bay leaves

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp curry powder

2 tsp hot pepper paste

2 tsp kosher salt

2 potatoes chopped medium dice

1 lemon

1 Lavash or Pita bread

1. Place shanks in a large pot with 6 cups of with water and bring to boil. Skim the froth as it forms.
2. Add the next 12 items, cover and cook on medium heat for 2-2 ½ hours until meat is tender. Add more water if you would like to have more broth.
3. Add the potatoes and lemon juice, cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

Serve with lavash, break lavash or pita into small pieces, add to the stew and enjoy.

Roasted Bone Marrow

Yield 4 servings

4 Beef shanks with Bone Marrow

3 tsp parsley, whole leaves

Fleur De Sel or course Sea salt

1 lemon, juiced

1 baguette French, sliced, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, cover a large sheet pan with foil and cook marrow for 12-15 minutes, until marrow bubbles but not spilled over.
2. With a thin knife, slowly carve out marrow from the bone and slide onto toasted bread, top with salt, parsley leaves and lemon juice.

Fung and I have been friends for a long time, I can’t remember exactly the first time I met her, but I think my mom might have introduced us. Ever since we met, it has been good times all the time. She never fails to amaze me with her earthy undertones and her constant reminder of how generous the gods can be.

What I love most about her is her diversity and ability to go into any situation and truly bring the best out of herself, but most importantly, Fung knows better than anyone how to be a team player. Most of the time she’s been cast in the supporting role rather than the lead. It’s her adaptability and lack of being an attention whore that makes her so balanced, her talent speaks for itself, it is not forced.

The truth is Fung has a lot to of offer, and I’ve come across many people in my life who don’t like her, I always give them the side eye when they talk about how much they hate her earthiness. What they fail to realize is that the earthiness she so strongly encompasses is exactly why I can’t stay away from her. The only downside to it is that she does tend to get a little dirty, and due to her dainty nature she often has to be delicately brushed. So whenever she comes over we always hang out in the kitchen and I take my wooden brush and gently brush the dirt off her shoulders and then she’s ready to shine.

Fung and I have played around a lot throughout the years, she’s become somewhat of a muse; the narcissist in me believes she’s been put on this earth solely for my pleasure.  It is for this reason that I decided to dedicate this story to my love for Fung, and how much I appreciate our years of adventure, experiments and absolute harmony. According to hieroglyphics, the Egyptians use to see her as a symbol of immortality; the Pharaohs were so fascinated by her that no commoner was allowed to mingle with her. She’s so special that her mere presence is vital to the rehabilitation of forests, even though she could be very toxic at times.

Ok, so by now you can see my slight obsession with mushrooms has gotten to the point where I’m humanizing a fungus and pretending like she’s my friend, but I just can’t help it. Every time I eat mushrooms I feel like I’m eating the earth and getting one step closer to nature. One type in particular, Truffles, are inexplicably my favorite fungi put on this earth. If I were given one last meal it would be a big plate of fatty bone marrow with white and black truffles shaved on top. Affording them is another story, so as an alternative I always keep a stash of really good white truffle oil in the kitchen. I find different excuses for putting it on top of everything from grilled cheese sandwiches, soups, popcorn and especially eggs, Truffles and eggs have an incredible marriage of flavors.

This Mushroom Ménage à trois consists of  three recipes that allow Fung to shine. All three help bring her flavor out as much as possible.  The first one is a Truffled Wild Mushroom  Cream soup followed by the Goat Cheese, Phyllo, Mushroom Cups and lastly the Pomegranate Shitake Mushrooms. I hope that I do her justice with these recipes, I felt compelled to pay homage to her and give her back some of that love she’s bestowed upon me for so long.

Notes: Mushrooms should never be washed because their spongy texture retains water easily and when cooked it greatly affects the texture, so they should be brushed gently with very little water on the brush. I also like my mushrooms al dente like pasta to help avoid a mushy texture, Pomegranate Molasses can be found in most Middle Eastern stores or here.

Wild Mushroom Cream Soup

Yield 4 servings

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large shallot, finely diced

3 small garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 ½ – 2  lb. mushrooms such as shitake, cremini, portabella, oyster and white button, cleaned, stems removed and sliced 1/8 inch thick

4 -6 c. low sodium chicken stock

4 fresh sage leaves, 3 whole, 2 chopped

1 tbsp thyme, chopped

1 ½ tsp chives, chopped

1 c. heavy cream

1/3 c. dry vermouth or white wine

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp cold water

2 tbsp truffle oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium (3-5 quart) saucepan heat butter and olive oil, add shallots and sauté until opaque, add vinegar and let shallots caramelize for 1 minute and add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and sauté for 8-10 minutes, then add chopped sage and thyme.
3. Add vermouth, cook for 1 minute and add chicken stock, cover pot reduce heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (can be made one day ahead)
4. Lower temperature to a simmer and with an immersion blender, blend soup mixture in pulses to completely chop up mushrooms (this will also thicken the soup). (note – if you are using regular blender instead be EXTRA careful! Only add a couple of cups of soup mixture to blender at a time because the high heat of the mixture will form steam and make the blender “explode” with hot soup).
5. Once blended well, add heavy cream and two whole sage leaves, stir to combine well and bring back up to temperature slowly
6. Meanwhile, combine cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and stir to make a slurry. Add to soup and stir to combine completely add salt and pepper to taste, cook for 5-7 minutes on low and serve immediately.

To serve garnish each soup with chopped chives and add 1 tsp of truffle oil to each serving.

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Phyllo Cups

Yield 6 servings

1 box Phyllo dough

1 Muffin pan

2 lbs mushrooms such as shitake, cremini, portabella, white button, brushed, stems removed chopped to a medium to small dice.

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium garlic cloves minced

2 ½ tbsp Marscapone cheese (chilled)

2 ½ tbsp Goat cheese (chilled)

1 ½  tbsp fresh thyme, chopped or whole leaves

1 ½ tbsp parsley chopped

Filo:

Preheat oven to 420 degrees.

1. Thaw Phyllo dough for 45 minutes to an hour, roll out slowly making sure not to break the sheets. Phyllo can dry quickly so cover remaining sheets with a damp towel while cutting strips.

2. Line sheets on a flat surface and taking 5 sheets (stuck) together cut 4 inch wide strips.

3. Depending on the size of your muffin pan, cut strips 4 inches in length, making sheets 4 x 4.

4. Melt 1-2 tbsp butter, lightly brush the insides of muffin pan and place Phyllo sheets in each pan hole gently pressing down and turning you hand counterclockwise at the same time, to shape sheets into each mold.

5. Lightly brush the inside of each Phyllo cup (the butter helps bind the sheets together). Place in the oven on the third rack and bake to a light golden brown for 3-4 minutes, watch carefully as Phyllo tends to burn very quickly. Set aside and cool.

Mushroom Filling:

1. In a medium sauté pan melt 2 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp of olive oil, add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 1 minute, add the marscapone and goat cheese, mix until filling becomes creamy.
3. Spoon filling into each Phyllo cup, sprinkle with parsley and thyme and serve.

Pomegranate Shitake Mushrooms

Yield 4 servings

2 lbs Shitake mushrooms, brushed, stems taken off and chopped into 1/3 inch.

2 stalks leek, washed, green stems removed, cut lengthwise and chopped thin.

1 ½ tbsp butter

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp white wine vinegar

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp Pomegranate molasses

2 tbsp Pomegranate seeds

salt to taste

1. In a medium sauté pan melt ½ tsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil, add leeks and sauté on medium heat until opaque, add vinegar and cook for 1-2 minutes.
2. Lower heat, add the brown sugar and mix well allowing leeks to caramelize, remove from heat and transfer leeks to a bowl.
3. In the same sauté pan, melt 1 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp of olive oil and sauté mushrooms al dente about 2-4 minutes add salt and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add leeks and pomegranate  molasses to the mushrooms and stir well. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and serve.