May 11, 2012

Wrapped Rice With Meat and Peas

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I couldn’t come up with a different name for this recipe. Today, I had in mind to make rice with meat in our traditional family way. But I made a twist to the recipe, to make it more attractive 🙂 Usually I cook the minced beef with rice with a sauce on the side and some roasted almonds, pistachios and pine seeds on the top. So instead of making it as usual, I had the idea to make a wrap out of it.

Ingredients:

  • 150 grams minced beef
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 handful of pine seeds
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup of long grain rice
  • 1 teaspoon salt for the meat+1 teaspoon salt for the rice
  • 1/2 teaspoon seven spices
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • a dash of black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 5 spring rolls dough
  • 1 tablespoon of melted butter

Preparation:

  • Heat the oil in a pot and fry the onion until golden then add the pine seeds and fry for another 3 minutes
  • Add the meat to the onion and continue frying until brown, season with 1 teaspoon salt, seven spices; then add the peas, reduce the heat, cover the pot and let it cook for about 5 minutes
  • Put the rice over the meat and cover with 2 cups of water. Add the remaining salt, cinnamon and black pepper and let the rice cook slowly until it absorbs all the water
  • Preheat the oven to 180C
  • Brush a small sized bowl with the melted butter and place one sheet of spring roll dough. Fill it with the rice and meat, then fold the dough to cover it and brush the top with butter
  •  Place it facing down on a tray and brush it again with butter
  • Place the tray in the oven for about 7 minutes or until the dough turns a light golden color
  • Serve it hot with yogurt

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT..

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

Kibbe With Yogurt (Kibbe Bel Laban)

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As I mentioned in a previous post, Kibbe is a traditional Lebanese food made out of ground meat mixed with bulgur and spices. Today were going to make them in a ball shape stuffed with minced meat cooked with onion. These balls can be eaten fried or cooked in yogurt. This is the kind of meal you like to share with your family and your friends. The kibbe meat is the same for all the recipes, the stuffing as well. Also, I have to mention that kibbe can be eaten raw when the sheep’s meat is fresh.

Ingredients: for the kibbe:

  • 1 and 1/2 cup fine brown bulgur
  • 300 grams  beef meat
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon seven spices

Preparation:

  • Wash the bulgur and drain it from water
  • Grate the onion until fine
  • Mix the meat with bulgur and grated onion, add the salt and spices
  • Place in a food processor a little at a time until all the quantity is used
  • Your kibbe is ready place it in the fridge until you prepare the stuffing

Ingredients for the stuffing:

  • 300 grams minced meat
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon seven spices
  • a handful of pine seeds (optional, but it enhances the flavor of the stuffing)
  • 1 teaspoon grenadine molasses
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation of the stuffing:

  • In a saucepan heat the oil, fry the onion until golden brown
  • Add the meat and fry with the onion for about 10 minutes, then add the pine seeds, season with salt, spices and the molasses
  • Cook for about 10 minutes until the pine seeds turn golden

Stuffing the kibbe:

Your going to need an additional ingredient, a tablespoon of corn flour

  • Dissolve the corn flour in a cup of cold water
  • Make a medium sized ball from the kibbe dough with you wet hand (dip it in water and cornflour), and using your index make a hole in the ball of kibbe, and with the other hand (wet also) turn it around your index until it thins out and the hole becomes wider
  • Place 1 teaspoon of the stuffing inside and close it, turning the ball in your hand to form a nice shape
 Stuffing the Kibbe

Usually I make a big quantity and keep in the freezer; they can last for months uncooked.

These balls can be fried and eaten with yogurt or salad, and it can be cooked with yogurt.

Fried Kibbe

Ingredients for the yogurt cooking:

  • 1 kg of fresh yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon corn flour
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons dried mint
  • 1 tablespoon oil

Preparation for the yogurt: For about 16 pieces of kibbe balls:

  • Dissolve the corn flour with one cup of cold water and add it to the yogurt
  • Place the yogurt in a pot on fire, stirring constantly. When it starts boiling, add the uncooked kibbe balls and reduce the fire, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes
  • In the meantime, mix the crushed garlic with salt and dried mint
  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic mixture until light golden color, then add it to the yogurt and let it cook on a very low heat for five more minutes
  • Serve it with rice cooked with vermicelli

N.B: 

To make the rice with vermicelli, fry a handful of vermicelli in hot oil in a pot until golden brown. Next, cook it with one cup of rice while adding an extra half cup of water to the normal measure of water to allow the vermicelli to cook.

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT:)

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
May 3, 2012

Vegetable Spring Rolls

By · 8 Comments

If you like Spring Rolls like me, and have been looking for an alternative way to having them other than deep fried without compromising the taste….then this is the post for you!

Ingredients:

  • 1 packet spring rolls wrapper ( about 450 grams)
  • 500 grams shredded cabbage
  • 400 grams bean sprout
  • 2 carrots shredded
  • 1 onion thinly sliced
  • 5 cloves crushed garlic
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • dash of sweet pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation:

  • Heat the oil and fry the onion with garlic until golden, add the carrots and leave it for about 10 minutes, then add the cabbage and bean sprouts, season with salt pepper and soy sauce
  • Drain these vegetables in a colander over a bowl and leave it until completely cold, keep the liquid because we will use it to make to sauce
  • Place one spring roll wrap and put in the center 1 tablespoon of the vegetable filling ten roll it
  • These spring rolls can be eaten raw with the sauce

For the sauce:

  • Take the liquid from the drained vegetables, add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon corn flour, mix it well then bring to boil
  • When it starts boiling add to the sauce one clove of garlic crushed, and 1 tablespoon crushed peanuts
  • And if you like you can have them deep fried as well, with the sauce you like

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT… BON APPETIT.

Filed Under: Lent, Side dish, Starters · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
May 2, 2012

Stuffed Potatoes With Meat

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Potatoes…What can I say. It is healthy, filling, full of energy, and definitely one of my favorites foods. It has many kinds of recipes and ways to cook and enjoy. Boiled, fried, grilled, roasted, gratined, .. in any kind of sauce, and it is always delicious. One of my favorite recipes of potato is this of stuffed ones. When I was young I was amazed by the way my mother used to remove the inside of each one and then fill it with minced meat. Now, as I master this technique I feel so proud that I can make this recipe like my mother.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo of medium size potatoes
  • 150 grams minced meat
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt+ 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon seven spices
  • 1 tablespoon of grenadine molasses
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 cups frying oil

Preparation:

  • Peel the potatoes then remove the insides with a corer. But, be careful not to open the other side
  • Heat the frying oil and fry the potatoes until golden color. And allow to cool
  • Prepare the stuffing: fry the onion with the meat and season with salt , spices and the molasses
  • Fill the potatoes with the stuffing and place it in a pot with the vegetable oil
  • Cover with about 2 cups of water, add the tomato paste, salt and season as desired
  • Let it boil uncovered, then cover and lower the heat for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, serve with cooked rice

ET VOILA ..C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Main dish · Tagged: , , ,
Apr 30, 2012

Stuffed Artichoke Hearts

By · 2 Comments

Artichoke is the kind of vegetable you can have fun with.:) Usually we boil it and we strip the leaves one by one and dip it in a mixture of one crushed garlic with a dash of salt, lemon juice and olive oil, it is delicious. Also we can make a stew of artichokes with lamb meat. And like i did it during the family lunch… I stuffed the  artichokes hearts with minced meat, and I assure you that this recipe is healthy, nutritious and very tasty.

Ingredients:

  •  8 whole pieces of artichoke
  • 200 grams minced beef
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • handful of pine seeds
  • 2 medium carrot peeled and cut
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon seven spices
  • juice of one lemon
  • 2 tablespoons of flour
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation:

  • Boil the artichokes in salted water until they start to soften. Peel the leaves, cut off the stems, and keep the hearts. Place them in a tray with the carrots
  • Prepare the stuffing by frying in the heated oil the onion, then add the meat and the pine seeds. Season with salt and the seven spices
  • Preheat the oven to 180C
  • Place a generous tablespoon of the filling in the heart of artichoke and press gently down
  • Prepare the sauce to cover them , mix the flour with a cup of water then add it to about one liter of water and pour gently over the stuffed hearts
  • Add the lemon juice, bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the sauce boils and starts thickening
  • Serve it with cooked rice (if desired)

ET VOILA.. C’EST TOUT..BON APPETIT 🙂

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

Stuffed Vine Leaves in Oil ( Warak Inab Bilzeit)

By · 7 Comments

This is a vegetarian recipe, and I must say that Stuffed Vine leaves in Olive Oil is an essential dish from our rich Lebanese Mezze. It is so delicious and light that you can easily eat a small plate alone before having your main meal. Last week when I brought a large quantity of fresh vine leaves to make them stuffed with meat and cooked with lamb cutlets, I  was left with a lot. So I put the remaining in the freezer, where they can usually last up to six months. When we had the family lunch I took a pile from the vine leaves and made them the vegetarian way. And believe me my children made them disappear within just few minutes.

Ingredients:

  • 100 grams of vine leaves, blanched and ready to cook ( you can use the preserved ones too)
  • 1/2 cup of short grain rice
  • 2 tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium red tomato, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon seven spices
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil+ one extra tablespoon for cooking
  • your choice of thinly sliced vegetable, such as onion, tomato, carrot or even potato (I used sliced onions)

Preparation:

  • Prepare the stuffing by mixing the washed rice with the parsley, onion, tomato, salt, spices lemon juice and the olive oil well
  • Place a vine leave face down and stuff it with one teaspoon of the mixture of rice for filling in the center, fold the two sides toward the center then roll it in a cigar shape
  • When you finish all the quantity of the vine leaves and stuffing, prepare the pot, place the tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of the pot, cover the base of the pot with your choice of sliced vegetable, place all the stuffed vine leaves in the pot
  • Pour water to cover the vine leaves by about one inch, place a plate upside down over them to prevent the vine leaves from opening during cooking. Adjust the salt and lemon as desired
  • Cook on a medium heat and when it starts boiling reduce the fire and let it cook gently for about 25 minutes until the rice is cooked and tender
  • Turn upside down on a plate and it’s ready to serve

ET VOILA C’EST TOUT… BON APPETIT:)

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Side dish, Starters · 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: , , , , , , , , ,
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 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: , , , , , , , , , ,
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