Apr 21, 2012

Spinach Fatayer+ Award

By · 6 Comments

Another Award nomination…:) I would like to thank The Burlesque Baker for the Versatile Blogger Award. Her blog includes good recipes as well as many other interesting topics. Please have a look at her blog if you are not yet familiar with it. I am very flattered by all these nominations, I realize how nice fellow bloggers are, and really this encourages me to do my best always. Thank you again to “The Burlesque Baker”.

I will not say anything about myself today (I think I did a lot:))

My nominees are:

1-simplydelicious

2-becomingmadame

3-dinutrition

4-acorinmyktichen

5-rocksalt

Fatayer is another kind of Lebanese pie which uses the same dough as Sambousek, but filled with spinach, or it can be filled with swiss chard, or even with purslane. It is also a dish from our Lebanese Mezze.

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 3 cups of all purpose flour
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of instant dried yeast
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup of water

Preparation of the dough:

  • Sift the flour with the salt, mix with oil, add the yeast
  • Add the water, mixing by hand until the dough is soft
  • Rub it all with oil , place it in a bowl and cover with a clean towel and leave it for about 2 hours to rise

Ingredients of the filling:

  • 1 kilo of fresh spinach
  • 1 large white onion chopped finely
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon seven spices
  • handful of pine seeds
  • 1 tablespoon of grenadine molasses
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon sumac

Preparation of the filling:

  • Preheat the oven to 180
  • Cut the spinach and wash, keep in a strainer, add all the remaining ingredients to the spinach keeping them in the strainer. The spinach will wilt
  • Roll the dough very thinly on a floured surface, and cut into 7 cm circles
  • Put in the center of each circle 1 teaspoon of filling and pinch the dough to form a triangle
  • Place all the Fatayer on a oiled tray and bake for about 30 minutes until golden, or if you want you can deep fry them instead

Makes about 60 pieces.

ET VOILA…C’EST TOUT:)

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Side dish, Starters · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Apr 21, 2012

Meat Sambousek

By · 9 Comments

Sambousek is a kind of small pie served in our Lebanese Mezze, as well as Baba Gannouj , Hommos, Stuffed Vine Leaves..etc. The ones I prepared today are filled with minced meat. But they can also be filled with cheese, labneh or vegetables. They take only a few steps to make: preparing the dough, cooking the meat and assembling then frying or cooking in the oven. Working with the dough of this Sambousek is fun, so get working 🙂

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 3 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of instant yeast
  • a pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup of water

Preparation of the dough:

  • Sift the flour with salt, mix it with the oil then add the yeast
  • Add the water, mixing well by hand until you have a soft dough
  • Put in a container, rub it with oil all around and cover with a clean towel, and let it rise for about 2 hours

Ingredients of the filling:

  • 200 grams minced beef
  • 1 large onion thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon seven spices
  • 1 tablespoon grenadine molasses
  • handful of pine seeds
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation of the filling:

  • In a saucepan heat the oil and fry the onions until transparent
  • Add the pine seeds and fry for about 2 minutes then add the meat and cook
  • Season with salt , seven spices and the molasses and allow to cool

Assembling of the Sambousek:

  • On a floured surface roll the dough to about 3 mm thick, cut in circles of 6 cm
  • Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center and close tightly, then twist the edges or press with a fork
  • To cook them, you can do it one of 2 ways. Deep fry them until they’re a nice golden color and drain on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess of oil. OR bake them on an oiled tray in a preheated oven until lightly golden. You can serve with yogurt or salad.

Makes about 40 pieces

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT..

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Side dish, Starters · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Apr 16, 2012

Adas bil Hamod (Lentil soup with Swiss chard and lemon)

By · 8 Comments
Hi everyone. This is a soup I posted previously in Arabic, but due to popular request, I have translated as below. And also feel free to  tell me if you have any favorite recipes or allergy related recipes you would be interested for me to post..I would love to hear from you..:)
It is winter and the cold weather has arrived. Winter is the season when Swiss chard (an iron rich leafy vegetable) is abundant in Lebanon, and today I prepared a delicious soup which consists of lentils and lemon which is quite suitable for this cold season.
 Ingredients:
  • 2 cups green lentils
  • 2 liters of water
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 kg Silik (Swiss chard)
  • 1 tablespoon dried mint
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • salt & pepper

Preparation

  • Wash then boil the lentils in a pot with the water
  • Wash the Swiss chard, and cut off the leaves, then chop them into thin strips. Keep the stems aside for another recipe
  • After 20mins of cooking the lentils add the potatoes
  • When the water starts to boil, lower the fire and leave to simmer
  • After another 20mins add the chopped leaves to the pot and cook for about 7 more mins
  • Peel the garlic and crush with salt and mint
  • Fry in a saucepan with the sunflower oil til it goes golden, then add them to the pot
  • At the end add the lemon juice and put off the fire

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT! BON APETIT 🙂

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Main dish, Soups, Starters · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Apr 15, 2012

Stuffed Swiss Chard (Silik Mehchi BelZeit)

By · 14 Comments

In previous posts I used the Swiss Chard to make the soup with lentils, and Mutabbal made out of Swiss chard stalk. But today I prepared the traditional stuffed Swiss chard, which is an alternative to stuffed vine leaves. It  is a vegetarian recipe cooked with extra virgin olive oil. I remember when I was young I used to say to myself that the stuffing looks like tabboule with chick peas, but made with rice instead of bulgur.  🙂

Ingredients:

  • 2 kilos of Swiss chard
  • 2 cups Egyptian rice
  • 1 cup of chick peas, soaked overnight
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 3 tomatoes finely diced
  • 2 medium onions finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon seven spices
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

  • Remove the Stalk of  the Swiss chard, wash and drain
  • Boil about 3 liters of water in a pot, add some salt
  • Blanch a few leaves of Swiss chard at a time in the boiling water for about a minute, remove and place in cold water directly (boiling of the Swiss chard is delicate, you should be careful)
  • Prepare the stuffing by mixing the washed rice with parsley, chick peas, tomatoes, onions, season with salt, seven spices, add half of lemon juice and one tablespoon of olive oil
  • On a working board, place one leaf of the boiled Swiss chard, place in the center 1 teaspoon of the stuffing and roll it
  • When you finish all the leaves, prepare a pot to cook them
  • Pour 2 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of the pot, then thinly slice one onion, one tomato and one potato and place them in the bottom of the pot. Place the stuffed Swiss chard in layers over the slices of the potato, onion and tomato
  • When you finish piling them cover with water by about 1/2 inch, add salt, the remaining lemon juice, then place an upside down plate to hold them down during cooking
  • Put the pot on fire and let it boil, reduce then the fire, cover the pot and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender
  • Allow to cool, then carefully turn the pot upside down on a serving plate.

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.. BON APPETIT:)

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Starters · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 14, 2012

Shish Barak

By · 7 Comments

This is a dough stuffed with meat and cooked with Yogurt. The Shish Barak is the Lebanese version of Italian  Tortellini. My grandson loves to wear his Tarboush which is our traditional hat for men, this is why my daughter tells her son the Shish Barak is small Tarboush swimming in yogurt 🙂

To make this Shish Barak, you need to prepare first the dough, then the filling which is made from onion and meat,and last the cooking of the yogurt.

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 2 cups of flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 cup of water ( more or less depending on the kind of flour)

Preparation of the dough:

  • Sift the flour with the salt, add the vegetable oil and mix well by hand
  • Add the water little by little and mix well by hand until you have a soft dough. It will not rise because it doesn’t have any yeast

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 200 grams minced meat
  • 2 medium onions
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon even spices
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation of the filling:

  • Chop the onions finely
  • In a saucepan heat the oil and fry the onions until light golden color
  • Add the meat to the onions and fry it until well cooked
  • Season with salt and spices

Preparation of the Shish Barak:

  • Roll the dough on a floured surface and cut into small circles about 4 cm diameter
  • Put 1/2 teaspoon of the filling in the dough, close it tight, then seal the edges together tightly
  • Preheat the oven to oven to 180C
  • Brush a tray with oil and place the stuffed dough in the tray and bake for about 20 minutes, until it becomes light golden color

Ingredients for cooking yogurt:

  • 1 kilo of Yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons of corn flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bunch of fresh coriander
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried coriander
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation of the Yogurt:

  • Dissolve the corn flour with one cup of water and add it to the Yogurt
  • Place the yogurt in a pot on fire stirring constantly
  • Crush the garlic with salt, mix it with the 2 coriander, then fry with oil in a small saucepan
  • When the yogurt starts to thickens add the cooked dough ( you will need to use half of them, the remaining can be eaten like Sambousek or frozen for later)
  • Let the yogurt boil for about five minutes, at the end you add the fried garlic with coriander

Serve with cooked rice.

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 13, 2012

Okra and Beef Stew ( Bamye with Meat and Rice)

By · 6 Comments

The Okra stew is a very popular dish in the middle east, especially in Lebanon. When my eldest daughter was young she used to tell me that okra has a “Moustache”, and she wouldn’t eat it. And I remember when she grew up and introduced me to her friend, who later became my son-in-law, I had cooked Okra stew for lunch. I told him that if he wants me to accept him in the family he should eat and like the Okra. This is what he did 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams of fresh okra (or frozen)
  • 250 grams of beef cubes
  • 200 grams of baby onions
  • 2 red tomatoes
  • 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon seven spices
  • 1 teaspoon dried coriander
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 4 tablespoons sunflower oil

Preparation:

  • If you are using fresh okra, you have to remove the top by a sharp knife, wash it, drain it. Fry in deep oil, and let it drain on a kitchen towel from the excess oil. But if you are using frozen okra you skip this step.
  • In a pressure cooker, heat 2 tablespoons of Mazola oil and fry the meat until brown, cover with water and cook for about 15 minutes
  • In a pot, heat one tablespoon of oil, peel the onion and fry until golden brown
  • Cut the tomatoes into small dices and add to the onion, cook for about 3 minutes
  • Add the okra to the mixture of onion and tomatoes. When the meat is tender put it over the okra with the meat stock, add 1 teaspoon salt, seven spice, the tomato paste, let it boil, then reduce the fire and let it simmer gently
  • Crush the garlic with 1 teaspoon salt, chop the fresh coriander and add it to the garlic with the dried coriander, fry this mixture in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of oil, until the garlic becomes light golden color
  • When the okra is nearly done, add the oil coriander mixture to it and leave it for about 5 more minutes, and add the lemon juice
  • Serve it with boiled rice

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 11, 2012

Moghrabiyeh

By · 5 Comments

This is a traditional Lebanese dish from our cuisine, one which we like to make in special occasions. The Moghrabiyeh is made of semolina, water and salt. It has a special way of cooking when it is dry. In Lebanon we can find it fresh and the cooking time is less than with the dry version as well as less work. You can find it in Lebanese delicatessen shops. Today I made it for both of my daughters who are coming for lunch as it is a meal you like to share with your loved ones. It’s cooked with both meat and chicken. As for kids we say these are small pasta balls and we can serve it to them with yoghurt. They seem to enjoy it as much as we grown ups do!

Cooking Moghrabiyeh has 3 steps:

-Boiling the chicken

-Preparing the sauce

-Cooking of Moghrabiyeh itself

Ingredients for boiling the chicken:

  • a whole chicken of 1.5 kilograms
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 whole cardamon seeds
  • 1 teaspoon 7 spices
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 bay leaves

Preparation of the chicken:

  • Wash the chicken and place it in the pressure cooker with about 2 liters of water
  • Place all the spices with it cook for about 15 minutes in the pressure cooker until it is tender
  • Drain the chicken, remove the skin and the bones. Keep the chicken stock because you will need it to cook the Moghrabiyeh
Ingredients for the sauce:
  • 400 grams of lamb cubes ( you can use beef as well if you prefer)
  • 2 cups of chick peas, soaked over night
  • 750 grams of baby onion peeled
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon caraway
  • 1 teaspoon 7 spices
  • 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons of flour

Preparation of the sauce:

  • Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and fry the meat, add salt and the seven spices , cover with one liter of water and cook until the meat is tender.( In the pressure cooker it will take about 20 minutes)
  • Remove the meat from the water when cooked and keep the meat stock
  • In a pot heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil and fry the baby onion until nice golden color
  • Add the peas, cover with about 2 cups of the meat stock and cook until the peas are tender, this will take about 15 minutes
  • Place the cooked meat back, add the cumin and caraway, cover and put on a low heat
  • Dissolve the flour with a cup of water and add it to the sauce, stirring from time to time and let it simmer until the sauce thickens
  • Adjust the salt as needed

Ingredients for the Moghrabiyeh:

  • 1 kg of dried Moghrabiyeh
  • 100 grams of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon caraway

Preparation of the Moghrabiyeh:

  • Boil about 2 liters of water with a pinch of salt
  • Put the fire off and place the Moghrabiyeh in the hot water for 15 minutes, drain and wash with cold water
  • n a pot melt the butter and place the Moghrabiyeh, add the cumin and caraway and mix well
  • Pour 2 cups of the chicken stock over the Moghrabiyeh, check if it is tender, if not add another cup of the chicken stock at a time until tender

Now you have all the ingredients ready. To serve place the Moghrabiyeh on a plate, cover with the pieces of chicken. Place the sauce in a bowl. Mix to eat, you can have yogurt on the side.

ET VOILA..C’EST.. BON APPETIT..

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 10, 2012

Peas With Carrot And Meat (Bazella with meat and Rice)

By · 2 Comments

It is not always easy to please children with a single main course, but when it comes to peas with carrot and meat with rice on the side, they all like it. We call them green footballs! What do you call them?

Ingredients:

  • 700 grams of frozen peas
  • 200 grams minced meat
  • 1 medium onions finely chopped
  • 2 carrots cut in small dices
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon seven spices
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoon tomato paste

Preparation:

  • In a pot heat the oil and fry the onion until light golden and add the meat to cook evenly, stirring occasionally, season with salt and seven spices
  • Add the diced carrots and cook for another 5 minutes
  • Add the peas and cook in the pot with cover on and low heat for 5 minutes
  • Dissolve the tomato paste with a cup of water and pour it over the peas, and add enough water to cover them
  • When it starts boiling cover the pot, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until the peas are soft
  • In the meantime mix the crushed garlic with a pinch of salt and the fresh coriander, fry in a small frying pan with one teaspoon of oil until the garlic turns golden color
  • Add the garlic-coriander mixture to the peas in the pot
  • Serve it with cooked rice

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Apr 9, 2012

Home Made Shawarma

By · 9 Comments

I think a lot of people are familiar with Shawarma, the one we see in the shops who make these delicious sandwiches, where the meat is fixed into a large skew turning on itself electrically to let the meat cook from all sides. The smell of the added spices gives the meat its appetizing aroma. The only problem is they add a lot of fat to the meat to soften it.

Since my children like Shawarma a lot, and so do I, I learned how to make it at home from my mother years ago. Everytime I prepare it I remember my small son when was three years old, and whenever I used to ask him what he would like to have for dinner he would say”Chamara sandwich”, because at his age he couldn’t pronounce the letters properly. Until now to make a joke out of this story , we still name it chamara. So, enough talking and here is my recipe for a home made chamara, sorry I mean “Shawarma”.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo of sirloin steak ( faux fillet)
  • 2 tablespoons of shortening
  • 1 1/2 cup of red vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon seven spices
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon of wole cardamon
  • 1 teaspoon of clove
            

Preparation:

  • In a saucepan heat the shortening and fry the steak until they turn into a nice brown color, and place them when fried on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess of shortening
  • Cut the fried steak into fine strips, place them in a tray. Cover them with the oil, vinegar and lemon and put all the spices
  • Cover in aluminium oil and place the tray in the fridge for few hours
  • Preheat the oven to 220 C, place the tray and leave it for 30 minutes with the aluminium foil on, then remove it and leave the tray in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the meat is tender
  • Remove the Shawarma pieces from the tray without all the spices

Now the Shawarma meat is ready. To serve it, cut onions into wings and sprinkle sumac over them, slice tomatoes, wash few leaves of parsley and fresh mint, and some cucumber pickles.

The most important thing to have Shawarma with is the “taratour dip”, which is a mixture of one cup of tahini, and one clove of garlic crushed with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and juice of one lemon, to be mixed all together with water until they have the consistency of yogurt.

You can have the Shawarma in pita bread as a sandwich with all the vegetables topped with the taratour dip..And roll it.

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT..:)

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Mar 31, 2012

Fatteh

By · 6 Comments

Chickpeas, Pita bread, Yogurt are the three main ingredients of Fatteh. Fatteh is a traditional Lebanese plate, it can be served either as a main dish or a side dish. My son-in-law likes it very much, then again he is a great fan of my cooking :). One time he had it with my daughter at a nice restaurant in Down Town Beirut, among some other orders. Apparently my daughter said that she preferred my Fatteh, and her husband replied :” well, let’s wait and see”. After a few days I prepared it and I had my daughter and her husband for dinner. After eating my daughter was waiting for her husband to react , and after he finishes his plate he said just one word”Yummy! This is Fatteh”.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans of chick peas
  • 3 medium size pita bread
  • 1 kg Yogurt
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • a handful of pine seeds
  • 1 teaspoon of butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried mint, a pinch of ground cinnamon

Preparation:

  • Drain the water of the chickpeas and wash them
  • In a small pan heat the olive oil and fry the crushed garlic with a pinch of salt, for 1 minute
  • Add the chickpeas to the garlic and the cumin and let it boil with 1/2 cup of water in a low heat
  • In the meantime cut the pita bread in small pieces and fry until they become brown in color
  • Separately, fry the pine seeds with butter until golden brown
  • In a serving bowl place the fried bread, the the chickpeas, and lastly the yogurt
  • On the top put the fried pine seeds, sprinkle the dried mint and the cinnamon

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.:)

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Side dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
«Previous Page
Next Page»