Feb 29, 2012

Chicken Stew with Potato

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The traditional Lebanese potato stew is made with meat and tomato sauce. My mother use to cook it the that way, but at some point my father started to get a stomach pain due to the tomato sauce, according to his doctor, and had to stop eating things cooked in it. Since he used to like the potato stew a lot, my mother had to make a few changes to the recipe: she replaced the meat with chicken and the tomato sauce with garlic and coriander. It was an instant hit with me, my brothers and sister. These days, I am making it for my children and they seem to like it too. Try it! 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 500 gs potatoes
  • 500 gs chicken fillet
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 3 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 cup fresh coriander chopped
  • salt, seven spices, 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick
  • one lemon’s worth of juice
  • 1 tablespoon of flour
  • frying oil

Preparation:

  • Boil the chicken in a pot of water, add salt, allspice, cinnamon stick and  bay leaves
  • When the chicken tender, drain from water and put the chicken aside. Keep the water for the stew
  • Cut the potatoes into cubes and fry them until golden
  • Put a little oil in a casserole and put the chicken with potatoes, cover with the water used to boil the chicken
  • Dissolve the flour with 1 cup of cold water and add it to the casserole of chicken and potatoes
  • Crush the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt, then mix with the fresh and dried coriander
  • In a small saucepan, fry the mixture of garlic and coriander until the garlic starts taking color
  • Add the garlic to the chicken and potato stew, lower the fire and cover the pot; let the food simmer for 15 minutes
  • Finally put the lemon juice and season with salt and allspice

This dish is best served with rice. You can enhance the flavor of the rice by adding a cup of the water used to boil chicken when cooking the rice.

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT! 🙂

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 28, 2012

Mashed Potato Baked with Chicory

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This is another recipe that is Lent-friendly, as it contains chicory and no meats or fats. I got this recipe from a friend who grew up in a distant village in mountains of South Lebanon. During the 40-day fast, her mother would like to get creative and try to make something new in her cuisine to make the fast more playful. I took the recipe from her and tried it, and it turned out to be delicious!

If you enjoy the taste of chicory, take at a look at this recipe I posted a few days ago 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg potatoes
  • 1/2 kg chicory
  • 2 onions chopped into long strips
  • 1 teaspoon sumac
  • salt, seven spices
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon cooking oil

Preparation:

  • Boil the potatoes in salted water, when they’re cooked mash them properly
  • Boil the chicory in another pot with salted water, drain them after
  • heat the olive oil and fry the strips of onion, then add the boiled chicory and season with salt, seven spices and sumac
  • preheat the oven to 200C
  • Grease an oven tray with cooking oil and place one layer of mashed potatoes
  • Cover the potatoes with the chicory/onion mixture
  • Place the remaining mashed potatoes over the chicory to cover it all
  • Sprinkle a bit of olive oil on the top, and place the tray in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the top becomes slightly golden

Note: this dish is usually served warm, but I secretly enjoy it cold as leftovers at night. Try it and let me know if you do too 🙂

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Main dish, Side dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 26, 2012

Hindba in Oil (Chicory in Oil)

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In this time of the year, chicory (or hindba as it’s known in Arabic)  is always available in Lebanon. Chicory is well known for the wealth of minerals and nutrients that it contains, just like spinach. Today I prepared it in the old-fashioned Lebanese way. It is very popular during lent because it is cooked without any meat or fat. I hope you will like it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo of chicory
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 3 garlic clove crushed
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • salt, seven spices
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 large onions chopped into long strips
  • frying oil

Preparation:

  • Cut the chicory in small pieces and wash thoroughly
  • Boil in salted water until the chicory is nearly, but not fully, cooked. It should feel softer than before, but not limp. Drain the water
  • Heat the olive oil and fry the finely diced onion until softened then add the crushed garlic
  • Place the chicory over the onion, mix all the ingredients and season with salt and seven spices
  • Put the fire on its lowest setting, cover the pot and let it boil gently until the chicory is fully cooked. Now it should feel super soft
  • Add lemon juice
  • Place the chicory in a serving plate
  • Fry the long onion strips until brown and put it on the top of chicory plate for decoration and taste

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT:)

Filed Under: Lent, Main dish, Side dish · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Feb 24, 2012

Kafta with Potatoes + New Blogger Award Nomination

By · 4 Comments

Do you know Kafta? It is minced meat mixed with parsley and onion with salt and some spices. I remember when I was young, when my mother made kafta for lunch, everybody would rejoice. I should mention that besides my parents, we were 6 children: 4 boys and two girls. My mother used to make 3 main dishes for lunch to please us all. But when she decided to make Kafta with Potatoes, she would have to make a very large tray, bigger then our oven at home! My father had to take it to the bakery to cook it, after preparation at home it took 5 minutes to cook. Today I made a medium size tray and I cooked it at home but it took about half an hour to get cooked in the oven.

Ingredients: 

  • 500 g minced meat
  • 1 cup of chopped parsley
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 4 potatoes
  • 2 large tomatoes sliced,
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 tbsp  tomato paste
  • salt, seven spices
  • frying oil, cooking oil

Preparation:

  • Mix the minced meat with chopped parsley and chopped onion in a food processor (or you can take it ready from the butcher if he knows how)
  • Season with 1 small tsp salt and 1/2 tsp seven spices
  • Mix the meat by hand very well, take a small hand full and make a ball shape with it and flatten it then place it on a slightly greased oven tray
  • Preheat the oven to 200C
  • When all the meat is ready, place the tray in the oven for about twenty minutes, making sure to turn it over halfway through
  • In the meantime, peel the potatoes and cut them into slices then place into frying pan with oil; remove and drain when golden
  • Place the potatoes over the meat, then sliced onions and tomatoes on top
  • In a small bowl mix the tomato paste with about 2 cups of water, and season with salt and seven spices then place it over the meat and the potatoes in the tray
  • Cover the tray with aluminium foil and place it in hot oven for 20 minutes
  • Remove the foil and keep it in the oven for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens
  • Serve with rice

 

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT!

By the way, I’ve been nominated for the New Blogger Award by this really interesting blog called Creative Noshings. Check it out and thank you all for your support 🙂

BON APPETIT

Filed Under: Arabic, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Feb 23, 2012

Bulgur with Tomatoes

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For centuries, and especially during WW2, bulgur (or burghul in Arabic) has been a main ingredient in Lebanese cuisine. It is made out of whole wheat and has a lot of vitamins it is very nutritious.

In Lebanon you can find many kinds of bulgur (e.g., fine grain, rough, white and dark). The recipe I made today is also suitable for people fasting during Lent. It is a very old recipe popular in the villages mainly.

Ingredients:

  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 red tomatoes peeled and cut into small dices
  • one cup of rough white bulgur
  • 1 tbsp of tomato paste
  • salt, pepper, and a dash of black spicy pepper
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil

Preparation:

  • In a pot heat the olive oil, fry the onion
  • When the onion start to take color, add the tomatoes and let it cook slowly on a low fire
  • Add the bulgur over the onion and mix all the ingredients well
  • Put the tomatoe paste, the salt and the spices
  • Cover with 2 cups of water, let it boil, then cover the pot and let it simmer on low fire untill all the grains absorb the water
  • Serve it with salad and vegetables.

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Lent, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Feb 21, 2012

Fattoush (Lebanese Salad)

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“Fattoush” is a traditional Lebanese salad, made of mixed vegetables, bread and special seasoning and since this dish is made out of vegetables it is suitable for people fasting during lent.

My grandfather used to tell me the story of how the Lebanese started to make this salad. In some village in Lebanon, after a group of people finished their food and salad, if they were still hungry and there was remaining dressing in the salad, they would dip bread in the dressing and eat it. Eventually toasted bread found its way into the salad regularly, until finally they added more kinds of vegetables and adjusted the dressing to have what we know today as the traditional Fattoush.

And here is the recipe. I’ve left out the quantities because you can tailor it to your own taste.

Ingredients:

  • lettuce
  • tomato
  • cucumber
  • green onion
  • radish
  • purslane (baqle in arabic)
  • parsley
  • salt, olive oil, summak, olive oil, frying oil, arabic bread(pita)

Preparation:

  • Wash the lettuce, tomatoes and cut them
  • Peel the cucumber and cut it in dices
  • Peel the radish and slice them
  • Cut the green onion in slices
  • Peel the leaves of the purslane and wash properly
  • Chop few leaves of parsley
  • Cut the arabic bread and fry in the oil for few minutes until it becomes light brown color
  • Put all the vegetables in a serving bowl and mix together
  • Add the salt, summak and the olive oil
  • At the end put the fried bread and mix with the vegetables
  • You can decorate with few cherry tomatoes if desired.

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT.. BON APPETIT

Filed Under: Lent, Salad, Side dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 17, 2012

White Beans with Meat and Rice (Fasoulya)

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This stew is a traditional Lebanese dish. When my youngest brother went to a boarding school in Lebanon for a few years, they used to serve it to the students with white beans, meat and rice every Wednesday, and as he got homesick sometimes, this dish made him remember his home and made him feel good.

He’s a lot bigger than he used to be then, but even now when he knows I have it for lunch, he gladly invites himself over to eat. But I have to make bigger portions. A lot bigger.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of dried white beans
  • 300 gs of beef meat cut into large cubes
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup of chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 tablespoon of ground dried coriander
  • 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
  • Juice of one lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
  • Cooking oil

Preparation:

  • Soak the white beans with the bicarbonate of soda and cover with water, overnight
  • The next day the beans double in volume – drain them form the water and wash them
  • In a casserole put 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and fry the meat then cover it with water, cook for about one hour until the meat is tender (to save time you can use the pressure cooker)
  • In another casserole boil the beans until it is almost tender, then drain again the water
  • Put the beans over the meat, add the tomato paste, salt and pepper, cover with water and let it boil on low heat in the covered casserole
  • Crush the garlic with salt, add the fresh and dried coriander and mix all the ingredients well
  • In a small saucepan, heat some oil and fry the mixture of garlic and coriander then add it to the casserole of beans with meat
  • Finally, you can put the lemon juice
  • Serve this delicious food with cooked rice.

ET VOILA ..C’EST TOUT:)

Filed Under: Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Feb 13, 2012

Maaloube Batenjein (upside down eggplant with meat and rice)

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This is a lebanese main dish, made from eggplant, minced meat and rice. I remember the first time I tasted it was at my in-laws house. I asked my mother-in-law how she made it, and she told me “the most important thing is not to stir it, so when you turn it looks neat like a piece of cake”.  It is a nice dish, and today I would like to share my mother-in-law’s recipe with you.

Ingredients:

  • 400 gs of large eggplant
  • 200 gs of minced meat
  • 1 onion chopped finely
  • 2 cups of long grain rice ( or basmati rice if you prefer)
  •  frying oil, cooking oil, salt and seven spices
  • pine seeds fried with a small spoon of butter

Preparation:

  • Peel the eggplant and cut it into thin slices, fry them in a frying pan with the frying oil until they become brown then drain them
  • In a medium size pot, heat the cooking oil and fry the onion, add the minced meat and fry it with the onion until is well cooked then season it with salt and seven spices
  • Put 2 cups of rice in 2 cups of boiling water for about half an hour in a bowl until the rice absorbs all the water
  • In the pot keep the fried meat with the onion, and take care that you press them in the bottom of the pot with the back of a spoon
  • Put over the meat, the fried eggplant, and then the rice
  • Cover with 2 cups of water and cook on a very low heat, WITHOUT STIRRING
  • When the rice is completely dry, put the fire off, and let it set in the pot for few minutes
  • Turn it upside down in a serving plate and decorate it with the pine seeds fried
  • Serve it with yogurt mixed with cucumber and garlic, with a pinch of dried mint

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT:)

Filed Under: Main dish · Tagged: , , , ,
Feb 10, 2012

Spinach and Rice

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It’s a very simple meal to prepare, and it pleases all the family. I remember when my son was about 5 years old, he used to hate the spinach and refused to eat it. I was determined to make him eat it, knowing the benefits of the spinach, so I used to show him the “POPEYE” cartoon. Before you knew it, my son wanted to take the spinach directly from the can too!

Ingredients:

  • 500 gs of chopped frozen spinach
  • 200 gs of mined beef
  • 1 onion chopped finely
  • 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
  • salt and seven spices
  • juice of lemon if desired
  • cooking oil, about 3 tablespoons

Preparation:

  • Heat the cooking oil in a casserole and fry the onion, when it becomes light brown add the meat and fry it until its well cooked
  • Add some salt and seven spices, then add the spinach followed by one cup of water and let it cook on low heat and cover the pot
  • Mix flour with a half cup of water and add it to the pot as soon it starts boiling and cover the pot again
  • Let the spinach simmer on a very low heat, stirring occasionally
  • Adjust the seasoning, and add the lemon juice if you like
  • Serve it with white rice

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT

Filed Under: Main dish · Tagged: , , ,
Feb 9, 2012

Lebanese Omelette

By · 8 Comments

Today, I did not have enough time to make a lunch that takes a lot of preparation. So I decided to make spinach and rice (my son loves it, tune in for the recipe tomorrow!) and lebanese omelette.  My grand mother told me that during the second World War, people in Lebanon suffered from starvation, especially in the mountains because it was difficult to get many ingredients they needed for cooking. Since most people in the countryside had their own farm, this recipe came to be a main dish at that time.

Today, I like to make the omelette as a side dish with a green salad accompanying it.

It is simple and easy….. And delicious, of course.

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
  • 1 medium onion chopped finely
  • 3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • salt, pepper and a pinch of ground cinnamon

Preparation:

  • Mix all the ingredients together very well in a bowl until it becomes like pancake batter, then put the bowl in the fridge for about one hour
  • Afterwards, heat about one liter of cooking oil in a large frying pan
  • Drop about a half cup of batter into the cooking oil fry on both sides until golden brown
  • When done, remove them onto a plate with a large paper napkin to absorb the excess oil

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Side dish · Tagged: , , , , ,
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