Sep 30, 2012

Potato Stew With Meat

By · 2 Comments

When me and my siblings were young, and for as long as I remember my mother used to make this meal at least once a month. She liked to have HEALTHY children. And by healthy I mean she wanted us to be  fat!

Regardless, there is nothing more comforting than tucking into a bowl of hot stew, especially as the warm weather starts to cool down and we need crave some warming comfort food. We Lebanese always serve our stews with rice, but if you feel that you would rather not it tastes just as good without.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg potatoes
  • 200 grams beef cube
  • 1/2 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon dried coriander
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon seven spices
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • oil for frying
  • 2 tablespoon canola oil

Preparation:

  • In a large pot of pressure cooker, heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the meat, add 1 teaspoon salt, half teaspoon seven spices, cover with 6 cups water and cook until tender
  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes
  • Heat the frying oil, fry the potatoes until golden, remove the potatoes from the oil and place on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess of oil
  • In a pot, place the cooked meat, cover them with some of the meat stock, add the potatoes and the tomato puree, and let it cook on medium fire
  • In the meantime, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a casserole, mix the crushed garlic with the fresh and dried coriander, fry them in the casserole
  • When the stew starts boiling add the fried garlic and the lemon juice and let it cook on low fire or further 5 minutes
  • Serve with cooked rice

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 29, 2012

Awarma (Preserved Meat a La Libanaise)

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The winter season in Lebanon is very cold, especially in the mountains. Back in older times, villagers used to preserve the meat cultivated in the summer to cook it during the cold season. Awarma can last for one year when kept in the fridge. Although people are no longer isolated enough to worry about it, especially in the city,  Awarma is still found in many homes. It is usually cooked with egg, kishk or even over hummus.

It is very important that everything you use for cooking is very dry. Make sure to keep away from water while cooking and preserving.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo lean beef, cut into very small cubes (about 1/2 cm)
  • 1/2 kilo sheep fat, (the best part is the fat found in the tail area, but if not available, you can use other part)
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper or seven spices

Preparation:

  • In a pot, and on a low fire, place the fat and let it melt very slowly; when the fat is halfway cooked, add half the salt
  • When the fat is completely melted, add the meat, and cook stirring always, to allow the meat to cook evenly
  • Season with salt and pepper, cook on a low fire until the meat is well cooked
  • When cooked, place the meat in jars, and keep in cold dry place. You can refrigerate it also.

After it is prepared, you can store it for several months. It is best eaten alongside something else. I prepared it with scrambled eggs 🙂

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT..

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Pantry · Tagged: , , , ,
Sep 24, 2012

Shrimp With Vegetables

By · 4 Comments

After eating a lot the past few days, with all the gatherings, dinners and family lunches, my son and I decided that we have to eat something light and healthy. I looked through my cooking notebook and found this recipe I used to make as a starter whenever I had to prepare for a big dinner. I decided to prepare it as a main meal instead for our lunch.

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams shrimp
  • 2 red capsicum
  • 2 zucchini
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt, pepper to taste
  • juice of half lemon

Preparation:

  • Peel the shrimp, remove the head and tail and wash properly
  • Cut the red capsicum into strips
  • Slice the zucchini
  • Peel the carrots and cut into fine strips
  • In a large saucepan heat the oil, fry all the vegetables with the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes
  • In the meantime preheat a non stick casserole, place the shrimp and sautee for three minutes, season with salt and pepper, add the lemon juice, then place the shrimp over the vegetables, and serve

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT..BON APPETIT

Filed Under: Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Sep 22, 2012

Glazed Cup Cakes With Nutella

By · 4 Comments

Cupcakes are always happily welcomed by everyone, small children and adults alike. This simple recipe is a success every time I make it, and no one can get enough 🙂

It is a definite must- make recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 130 gs butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons Nutella

For the icing:

  • 1 egg white
  • 1  1/2 icing sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • chocolate vermicelli, for decoration

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 C
  • If the Nutella is a little hard, soften in a double boiler over a low heat until soft
  • Mix in a bowl eggs, sugar, flour then add the butter and the baking powder
  • Fold the Nutella to the previous mixture until you have an homogeneous batter
  • Divide this batter into 20 cup cake cases and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, and let it cool

  • In the meantime prepare the icing by whisking the egg white and the icing sugar until well blended
  • If you desire you can add food coloring for the icing for variety

  • Sprinkle with chocolate vermicelli for decoration

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT… BON APPETIT.

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Sep 19, 2012

Kabsse ( Chicken With Rice – Arabian Gulf Way)

By · 7 Comments

After living in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for more then twenty years, I learned a lot about their culture and some of their cuisine. Their food is somehow similar to our Lebanese food, but they use more spices. Kabsse is a very popular dish in Abu Dhabi, and it can be cooked with chicken, meat or even fish. Today I prepared chicken with rice the Arabian Gulf way “Kabsse”.

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 3 large onions, cut in wing shape + one small onion peeled
  • 5  cloves
  • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 large tablespoon tomato puree
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • spices: cumin, dried coriander, black pepper, salt, ground cinnamon, lime salt
  • cinnamon stick
  • 3 cups basmati rice ( long grain from pakistan)
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 4 whole cardamon
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 medium onion chopped roughly
  • 4 or 5 celery stick, cut into small cubes
  • 2 red tomatoes, chopped
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • pine seeds, handful
  • peeled almonds, handful
  • cashews, handful
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon corn oil

Preparation:

  • Wash the chicken and cut into 8 pieces
  • Mix 1 tablespoon of each: salt, cumin, dried coriander, black pepper, ground cinnamon, lime salt and place in a small jar
  • Put the chicken pieces in a bowl and rub with one tablespoon of the spices mixture, soak with the 1/4 cup lemon juice and the half cup of olive oil. Soak overnight
  • Next day, in a large pot heat the 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the wings of onion until light brown, remove half of the fried onions and put aside ( you will use it later for the decoration)
  • Fry the chicken pieces over the remaining onions in the pot, until brown
  • Put the 5 cloves on the small peeled onion and place it over the fried chicken with the cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves, 2 cardamons
  • Put over the chicken 1 tablespoon of tomato puree, cover the pot and let it cook on a very low fire for about 5 minutes
  • Put the rice over the chicken, cover with about 5 cups of water ( or chicken stock if you prefer), when it start boiling place the pot on a very low heat, cover it and let it cook gently until the rice absorbs all the water
  • In the mean time prepare the sauce : in a small pot, heat the remaining oil, fry the onion, the chopped garlic and the celery sticks  and the tomatoes, add the remaining tablespoon of tomato puree, cover with 3 cups of chicken stock and let it boil gently
  • Add one tablespoon of the spices mixture, one cinnamon stick, 2 cardamon, 2 bay leaves
  • When the vegetables are well cooked remove the cinnamon stick, the bay leaves and cardamon, puree the vegetables with a hand mixer

  • In a small saucepan heat the butter with the oil and fry the pine seeds, almonds and cashew
  • Place the chicken with rice on a serving plate place fried onions on the top and decorate with the pine seeds, almonds and cashew, and few leaves of celery
  • Serve the sauce with the rice and enjoy.

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT…

Filed Under: Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 16, 2012

Ablama With Laban (Stuffed Zucchini With Yogurt)

By · 1 Comment

Zucchini is one of the vegetables which can be cooked in many different ways. I posted once zucchini stuffed with meat and rice. Today I prepared it the way my grandmother used to make it, stuffed with meat and cooked with yogurt. It was one of my favorite foods when I was a child. My mother used to make it in tomato sauce, and both ways are DELICIOUS. But, since today I had a lot of fresh yogurt, I decide to prepare it as per my grandmother’s recipe.

By the way “ablama” means in Arabic “ahead of time”, but I have no idea why it is called as such 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo zucchini, small size
  • 200 minced meat
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 handful pine seeds
  • 1 kilo yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons corn flour
  • 10 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon dried mint
  • salt, 7 spices
  • canola oil
  • cooked rice

Preparation:

  • Wash the zucchini, cut the head and with a vegetable corer remove the insides and drain them
  • In a saucepan heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the chopped onion and pine seeds until slightly golden then add the meat and fry. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon spices
  • Fill the zucchinis with the cooked meat until you have filled them all
  • Heat 2 tablespoon of oil and fry the stuffed zucchini until slightly colored, put on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil

  • Place the zucchini in a pot, cover with water and cook on a medium fire, when the water boils reduce the fire, cover and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then drain

  • In another pot mix the yogurt with 2 tablespoons corn flour dissolved with 1 cup water
  • Place on fire, stirring constantly with a whisk until the yogurt starts boiling
  • Mix the crushed garlic with 1 teaspoon salt and the dried mint then fry gently in a small frying pan with 1 teaspoon of oil and add it to the boiled yogurt

  • To serve place cooked rice on a plate, add the stuffed zucchini and cover with the cooked yogurt

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.. BON APPETIT

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 12, 2012

Back to My Kitchen With… Tamrye

By · 10 Comments

Hi everyone,

It’s been a long time since I posted last as this was a busy summer for me; my two daughters came with their families to spend their vacation in Lebanon. My son was so jealous he also visited from New York to join the fun. We all had a lovely time together but now I’m back to the recipes you love and I miss posting about 🙂

Here I am back to my kitchen with a ton of new recipes that I would love to share with you.

Tamrye is a kind of sweet is found mainly during the Holy Month of Ramadan, as well as during special occasions such as St. Marie day, St. Charbel’s and others – we have several saints in Lebanon.

“Tamr” in Arabic originally means date, but this recipe has nothing to do with dates. It’s made of a dough filled with a mixture of semolina and milk with sugar, fried and dusted with icing sugar.

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 2 and a half cups of flour
  • 1 cup water
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup oil

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 1 cup semolina
  • 5 cups milk
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon flower blossom water
  • about 2 cups frying oil
  • icing sugar for dusting

Preparation:

  • Sift the flour with salt, add water and mix until you have a soft dough
  • Cut the dough into small pieces, put them in a oiled tray, and pour some oil over the dough, cover the tray and let it rest for about 2 hours

  • In the meantime prepare the filling: In a pot, place the semolina with sugar and milk, put on fire and let it boil stirring consantly
  • After boiling add the flower blossom water and place the filling on a tray and let it cool

  • Take a piece of the dough and roll it very thinly, brush oil over it and cut into square, place a tablespoon of he filling in the center of the dough, fold the four corners overlapping them

  • When you finish filling all the dough, heat the oil and fry them until golden brown, dust them with icing sugar and enjoy eating while still hot

ET VOILA C’EST TOUT… BON APPETIT 🙂

Filed Under: Dessert, Lebanese food · Tagged: , , , , , , ,