Jun 22, 2012

Homage To My Father… Kibbe With Spinach

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Yesterday in Lebanon everybody was celebrating Father’s Day. My dad left us ten years ago and I miss him a lot. I was very close to him and he was the only person who knew what I wanted without me saying anything. When I was young, he treated me like a little princess and I think he spoiled me a bit. I got nostalgic thinking of him, so I decided to make homage to this big man by cooking his favorite meal. His mother used to cook it for him and he’d encourage me to eat it by saying: “if you want to grow strong, you should have this kibbe. The spinach has a lot of iron and it will make you strong like your Papa”.

Ok, I want to stop being emotional and post the recipe that I took from my grandmother.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo fresh spinach
  • 1 cup fine bulgur
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 4 large onions, chopped into wings
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • an dash of chili pepper (optional)

Preparation:

  • Wash the spinach leaves and boil in hot water for 2 minutes, drain then wash with cold water and keep in the strainer until needed
  • To make the kibbe dough, wash the bulgur and discard the water then mix the bulgur with flour, salt, cinnamon, paprika and cumin to form a soft dough (add water if needed); mix it it with the grated onion
  • Take a small piece from the dough, shape it into a small ball then flatten it, place it on  slightly floured plate; repeat until all the dough is used
  • Boil the kibbe dough in hot water for about 15 minutes
  • Heat the olive oil and fry the wing chopped onions until golden brown
  • Add the boiled spinach and the kibbe dough to the frying pan, let it cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally
  • To serve place the kibbe with spinach on a plate and sprinkle some chili pepper if used

ET VOILA.. MAIS CE N’EST PAS TOUT!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE FATHERS IN THE WORLD 🙂

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
May 17, 2012

Chicken With Spinach

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I enjoy getting playful when cooking, more and more since I started this blog. I watch a lot of food shows on television and I  also read cooking magazines, so I’m always trying new recipes while adding a touch of me, mixing and matching with other recipes to make something that suits my taste. I won’t pretend to have created this meal, but I think that everyone makes food in their own way and this way is mine 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams chicken fillet
  • 3 tablespoons corn oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 cinnamon stick
  • 500 grams fresh spinach, chopped
  • 1 can of sliced mushrooms, washed and drained
  • 3 large green onions slices
  • 1 tablespoon butter

For the sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1 handful finely chopped fresh spinach
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 dash of freshly ground nutmeg

Preparation:

  • Rub the chicken fillet with salt and black pepper
  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the chicken until brown, cover with one cup of water and add the cinnamon stick; let it cook until tender
  • In another saucepan, melt the butter, fry the green onion for about 4 minutes then add the mushrooms and the spinach with a dash of salt; cover the saucepan and let it simmer on a very low flame for about 10 minutes
  • Prepare the sauce:  melt the butter in a small pot and add the flour, mixing it well
  • Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly until it becomes thick and add salt, nutmeg and finally the finely chopped spinach

  • Serve together in a plate. You can add rice or pasta if you wish, remember to make it your way too 🙂

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.. BON APPETIT 🙂

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

Fettuccine with Spinach and Chicken

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Pasta, spinach and chicken are three ingredients that most of people like. So when I wanted to make something healthy, nutritious and full of vitamins I would cook this gratin and my children always loved it. It is inspired from the Italian cuisine that we love. And, feeling nostalgic for when my children were young, and how I made them eat it telling them a lot of fairy tales and stories, they asked me to cook it for their children to see how they would like it. And believe me, THEY JUST LOVED IT…

Ingredients:

  • 300 grams fettuccine
  • 750 grams fresh spinach, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 250 grams fresh mushroom, sliced
  • 50 grams butter
  • 1 chicken breast boiled
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1 1/4 cup cooking fresh cream
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese ( or any other kind of cheese you like)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon seven spices

Preparation:

  • Boil the fettuccine pasta with one tablespoon vegetable oil, drain and pour cold water over it
  • Put the butter and olive oil in a saucepan add the onions, the salt and spices, stir for about 5 minutes
  • Add the sliced mushroom, the spinach and the boiled and shredded chicken, cook for another 5 minutes then remove from fire
  • Mix the fresh cream with the chicken stock well then add it to the mixture of spinach and chicken
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degC
  • Put the cooked fettuccine in a baking dish, cover with the cream-spinach mixture and top with the shredded cheese
  • Cook for about 25 minutes or until the color of the cheese turns golden
Makes about 6 servings

ET VOILA…C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Main dish · Tagged: , , , , ,
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: , , , , , , ,
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: , , ,