Dec 14, 2014

Man’oushe roll

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Hi dear followers,

 

I know it has been a long time since my last post. I’ve been travelling a lot between USA, AbuDhabi,  Dubai and Lebanon to see my children.

Today I am back with this recipe of rolled Man’oushe, which melts in the mouth because the dough is so soft.

I hope you will like it as much as I enjoyed preparing for my loved ones.

Ingredients:

– 500 gs all purpose flour

– 1/2 cup corn oil, plus one tablespoon

-1 teaspoon salt

– 1 teaspoon sugar

– 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

– 1 teaspoon instant yeast

– 1 1/2 cup natural yoghurt

– 1 cup zaa’tar mixed with one cup  olive oil

– Optional : Some milk and sesame for the decoration on the top of the roll

Preparation:

– In a bowl mix the flour with all the dried ingredients

– Add the corn oil and rub all the flour with oil

-Mix with 1/2 cup of yoghurt at a time until the mixture become a soft and smooth dough ( the quantity of the yoghurt may vary depending on the flour type)

– When your dough is ready rub it with one tablespoon of corn oil and cover with cling film and let it rest for about 2 hours until it doubles in volume

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– Take a third of the dough and roll it using a rolling pin on a floured surface to a rectangle shape, pour the mixture of zaa’tar and oil and cover the dough leaving about one inch from each side and roll it into a cylinder

– Cut the rolled dough into a small pieces

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– Preheat the oven to 190 degree

– Place each roll in cup cake tray and let it rest for about half an hour.

– If you are using sesame to decorate the top of the roll brush each one with a bit of milk and sprinkle the sesame over it

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– Cook for 20 minutes, or until the top of the roll becomes golden color.

Et voila c’est tout…..Sahttein.

Filed Under: Arabic, Breakfast, Lebanese food, Lent, Side dish, Starters, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , ,
May 20, 2012

Upside Down Pineapple Cake

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This is a suitable cake for Spring. The pineapple used gives it a very refreshing taste, like a cool breeze! The pineapple juice also moistens the cake itself, giving it a more moist texture in the mouth. Nothing more to say about this cake, except that the decoration with strawberry adds a nice touch 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 5 eggs
  • 1 can of sliced pineapple (drained and juice kept)
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 3 cups of flour + extra 1 tablespoon to dust the mold)
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup butter at room temperature + extra tablespoon to grease the mold)
  • 1/4 cup of honey ( or golden syrup)

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 180C
  • Grease a 26 cm diameter round and deep tray, dust with flour, pour the honey then place the pineapples slices over
  • With an electric mixer, mix the eggs with vanilla until pale then add sugar and keep mixing until the sugar dissolves
  • Alternate adding flour with pineapple juice, mixing slowly,then add the baking powder; keep mixing for a few minutes
  • Place the mixture in the tray and bake in the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean
  • Leave the cake in the tray for few minutes then turn it onto a wire rack to cool
  • Enjoy eating with fresh strawberry for decoration

ET VOILA .. C’EST TOUT 🙂

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , ,
May 9, 2012

Man’oushe

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The most famous Lebanese breakfast is the Man’oushe and is considered the Lebanese version of pizza. It is made out of dough, traditionally topped with Zaatar mixed with olive oil or with cheese. Zaatar is made out fresh thyme, washed, dried and grounded, then mixed with sumac, sesame and salt. In Beirut, you can find a Man’oushe shop on every street corner. It is the perfect breakfast for anybody who doesn’t have time to prepare a decent meal during a busy day; they can grab a Man’oushe from any bakery nearby.

Ingredients:

  • 3cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup of Zaatar mixed with 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup shredded cheese of your choice ( I used Gruyere)

Preparation:

  • To make the dough, mix the flour with salt, oil, dried yeast and water in a bowl until you have a soft dough; let it rest covered with a towel to rise for about 1 hour
  • Preheat the oven to 200C
  • Roll the dough into circles of about 1/4 inch thickness (the size of the circle is totally up to you) and top with Zaatar or cheese; bake for about 15 minutes and serve hot

Try it and tell me which one you prefer, the Zaatar or cheese? Personally I cannot decide which is tastier, they are both tasty 🙂

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT..BON APPETIT! 🙂

Filed Under: Breakfast, Lebanese food, Lent · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Apr 19, 2012

Sweet And Sour Fish

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Today, my 2 daughters and I went to this lovely “Cafe” in down town Abu Dhabi and shared one of those delicious breakfast they serve, and of course we chose the Lebanese one. It had Labneh, Halloumi cheese, Halawe, Black olives, as well as Man’oushe ( we decided to have it with Kashkawal cheese instead of Za’atar). And we had scrambled eggs as a side order, as well as butter and jam.

So, after this breakfast we decided to have for lunch (for dinner I mean), a light chinese meal. This is why I made the Sweet and Sour Fish.

It will take three steps for cooking: the fish, the vegetables and the sauce:

Ingredients for the fish:

  • 500 grams fish fillet of your choice, cut into bite size
  • 1/2 can beer
  • 1 egg, 1 egg white
  • 4 tablespoon flour
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • salt and pepper
  • oil for deep frying
Preparation of the fish:
  • Mix the beer with 2 tablespoons  flour and the whole egg and some salt and pepper and marinate the fish for 20 minutes
  • After the 20 minutes drain the fish
  • Mix the egg white with soy sauce and the remaining flour, dip the fish into this mixture and deep fry until it’s a nice golden color and put aside

Ingredients for the vegetables mixture:

  • 1 can pineapple chunk (360 grams)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 green pepper, 1 red capsicum
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Preparation of the vegetables:

  • Cut the onion and the green and red pepper into quarters
  • Drain the pineapple, and keep the juice for the sauce
  • Heat the oil and fry the onion and the vegetables for about 5 minutes and remove from the pan and keep aside

Ingredients for the sauce:

  • 1 cup of fish stock
  • the juice of the pineapple can
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation of the sauce:

  • Using the same pan you cooked the vegetables in, mix all the sauce ingredients together except the flour and keep on a medium-high neat until it boils
  • Dissolve the flour in 1/2 cup of cold water and add to the mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens

Add the fish and the vegetables to the sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes on very low heat. Serve with noodles or rice.

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Arabic, Breakfast, Dessert, Jam, Lebanese food, Lent, Main dish, Side dish, Starters · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Mar 27, 2012

Lazy Cake (Biscuit au Chocolat)

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I love chocolate. I mean, I think I am addicted to chocolate. I always have some in the house. Every week, I have to make a chocolate cake, cupcake, biscuit with chocolate or anything else! My children also love it, especially my quadruple chocolate cake (maybe I’ll post it someday). Today I made this biscuit au chocolat, popularly known as Lazy Cake. Why did they call it lazy? Maybe because it doesn’t require any oven cooking, or maybe it can be made with simple ingredients. In any case, what counts is that it is DELICIOUS! 😀

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cup of icing sugar
  • 8 tablespoons of cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 200 grams butter
  • about 250 grams of biscuit ( you can use any kind you like, I used petit beurre biscuit)

Preparation:

  • Beat the eggs until pale yellow, then add the vanilla and sugar while mixing
  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add it to the egg mixture, then add the cocoa slowly
  • Snap the biscuits into pieces by hand over the mixture and fold with a spoon to cover all the pieces of biscuit with the chocolate
  • Line a cake tin with plastic cling film and pour the cake mixture in. Press the cake down with a spoon while pouring
  • Cover the tin with cling film and refrigerate for at least 5 hours until set
  • When the cake is hard enough, remove the cling film and take out from the cake tin , place in a serving plate and slice it and you’re ready to enjoy. As simple as that

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT! 🙂

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Feb 27, 2012

Melon Jam

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Melon Jam is not very popular. For me however, eating it reminds me of fond memories from my childhood. When I was young, I used to go to my grand parents home often; one time, when I had arrived at their house, I could smell something very special cooking… but I couldn’t recognize it. Curious, I went to the kitchen and saw my grand mother peeling melon with the help of my mother and aunts, preparing sugar and other ingredients. That was the first time I saw anyone making Melon Jam.

Now, I make it for my own children and I feel the same way I felt when I saw how they made it for the first time. Today I am sharing this recipe with you. Trust me, you will love the nice aroma it makes.

A serving suggestion: Enjoy it with toast (as seen in the picture) or with croissant, crepes… Everything tastes better with this jam.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg melon peeled and seeds removed
  • 700 gs granulated sugar
  • 100 ml red vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 vanilla pod
  • 1 teaspoon butter

Preparation:

  • Cut the melon into small cubes
  • In a casserole, mix the melon with sugar and vinegar and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly
  • Add the butter, the ground cinnamon and the half vanilla pod, cut lengthwise
  • Let it boil for 15 mins
  • Lower the heat and let the jam cook for about 25 mins, stirring often
  • Remove the vanilla pod
  • To check if the jam is ready, place a drop of jam in a cup of cold water; if it forms a ball then the jam is ready
  • Place the jam in jars, close them and place them upside down for 10 mins

ET VOILA.. CES’T TOUT! 🙂

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert, Jam, Lent · Tagged: , , , , ,
Feb 22, 2012

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Cookies are always fun to make. The recipe for these cookies I have from my mother, and I’ve been making it since 20 years and let me tell you, it is  a big hit! The feeling of these soft cookies melting in one’s mouth will make anyone’s mood shift quickly into a blissful state, problems will dissolve as the cookies crumble, and the day will seem brighter.

I know there’s a plethora of stores showing off their latest cookie recipes, but today I’d like to show you how you can make these fluffy delicious mouth adventures on your own. And believe me you cannot go wrong with it!

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 butter softened
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4  all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 C. Grease lightly few cooking sheet
  • Cream the sugars with the butter and shortening until light and fluffy
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one, stir in the vanilla
  • Sift together, the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and the salt, add to the sugar mixture, beating well
  • Fold the chocolate chips
  • Make from the dough small ball, place it on the cooking sheet and press it with fingertips
  • Bake for about 12 minutes.
  • Cool it on the tray before removing to a rack to cool completely.

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT:)

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , ,