Lebanese Cuisine
Recipe
Baba Ganoush
Grilled eggplant dip
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Ingredients:
1 Large
Eggplant
2
Garlic cloves, crushed
1/2
Lemon, juiced
2 Tblsp
Tahini
1 1/2
Tblsp Olive oil
Salt
and Cayenne pepper to taste
1 Tsp
Cumin powder
1 Tsp
Paprika, for garnish
1 Tblsp
Flat Leaf Parsley, finely chopped, for garnish
Method:
- Stab
the eggplant in different places with a fork then rub all over with a
little olive oil.
- Place
eggplant under a medium heat grill for 35 to 40 minutes keep turning on
all sides until Eggplant is soft and blackened.
- Remove
from grill and allow eggplant to cool for 15 minutes.
- Put
eggplant in a paper or plastic bag, close and let it steam in its skin
for 15-20 minutes.
- Cut
eggplant into half lengthways then using a spoon scoop out the flesh and
put into a food processor with all the other ingredients then blend into
a smooth paste.
- Serve
drizzled with a little olive oil and garnish with parsley and paprika.
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Kibbeh Nayeh
Salt cured meat in
lemon, cumin, onion and bulghur
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Ingredients:
350g of
ground lamb or beef
Juice
of 2 large lemons
1 cup
bulghur wheat
1
onion, finely chopped
1 teasp
cumin
2 teasp
salt
1 clove
garlic, crushed
Pepper
to taste
Olive
oil to drizzle
Fresh
mint leaves for garnish
Method:
- Soak
bulghur wheat in lemon juice for 1 hour to soften then drain.
- In
a blender, blend all ingredients together until into a smooth paste,
then leave in refrigerator for 2-3 hours to cure.
- Serve
dip drizzled with olive oil and garnish with mint leaves, serve with
pita bread.
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Lebanese flat pita
bread
Traditional khobz
bread
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Ingredients:
8 cups
plain four
2 1/2
cups lukewarm water
30g
fresh yeast
1
teaspn sugar
2
teasps salt
3
tablesp oil
Method:
- Dissolve
the yeast in 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water, add sugar and set aside in a
warm place until it rises and foams approx 10-15 minutes.
- Sift
the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and place in a warm oven for
a few minutes to warm slightly.
- Pour
the yeast into a well in the centre of the flour and mix it in by hand,
adding the water gradually. Knead well to a soft dough.
- Turn
the dough onto a lightly floured board or cloth and continue to knead
until it is smooth and shiny approx 15-20 minutes.
- Knead
in 2 tablespoons of the oil, roll into a large ball and rub the
remainder of the oil around the ball.
- Leave
in the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place to
rise until nearly double its size — approx 1—2 hours.
- Turn
the oven on to maximum heat at least 3/4 hour before cooking the bread.
- Punch
the dough down in the centre and draw edges to the middle to re-form the
ball.
- Turn
onto a floured board or cloth and knead for approx 2 minutes. Divide the
dough into 8 equal portions and roll each into a ball.
- Flatten
each ball on a lightly floured cloth and roll with a rolling pin into
flat round shapes, about 20cm and 1/4 in (6 mm) thick.
- Place
rounds on a floured cloth, cover with another floured cloth and set
aside to again rise to nearly double their size approx 20 - 30 minutes.
- Place
a baking tray in oven for 5 minutes, remove and lightly rub with oil
then Place one round of bread on the baking tray and cook until it
swells up in the centre and browns slightly approx 4 - 8 minutes.
- Remove
from oven and wrap in a cloth, continue until all the rounds are cooked,
the bread should be white, soft and chewy.
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Falafel
Vegetarian chickpea
pattie
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Ingredients:
1 500g chickpeas (pre-soaked in water for 12 hours)
1 cup fresh parsley
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup fresh coriander
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp cumin
2 Tsp sea-salt
Oil for deep frying
Method:
- Grind
all the ingredients (except the olive oil) in a meat grinder until the
mixture gets smooth, retaining the water, which keeps the mixture moist.
- Put
the falafel mixture in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Heat
the oil, and in the meantime, make the falafel balls from the mixture.
The balls should be 3¼ thick in diameter.
- Add
about 10 falafel balls to the cooking pan for each batch of frying,
cooking from both sides for 7-8 minutes until the falafel balls get
brownish.
- It
is very important to keep the oil hot, so make sure you fry no more than
10 balls at a time.
- When
the falafel balls are ready, take them out with the perforated spoon and
place them on a paper towel in order to get rid of unwanted oil.
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Lebanese Eggplant
Saksuka
Eggplant potatoes and
capsicums in a tomato garlic sauce
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Ingredients:
1 kg
potatoes
2
medium sized onions
1/2 kg
capsicums
2 kg tomatoes
1 kg
eggplant
1 bunch
parsley
1 head
garlic
1
lemon
frying
oil, olive oil, salt
Turkish
bread to serve
Method:
- Cut
the eggplants into stripes and place in salty water for 30-40 minutes.
- Peel
potatoes and thinly slice into discs.
- Cut
the capsicums into stripes and remove seeds.
- Heat
7 cm of frying oil till hot in a frying pan then fry potatoes, eggplant
and capsicum until lightly golden.
- Make
the saucee In another frying pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil once hot
add finly diced onions, crushed garlic, salt to taste and saute.
- Then
add peeled and chopped tomatoes and cook for 3-5 minutes (add a little
water as desired).
- In
a plate pour sauce over the fried vegetables, squeeze on lemon and
garnish with chopped parsley, then serve.
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Beef Kabab
Boneless beef skewers
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Ingredients:
1½ lb
boneless beef sirloin steak, cubed (remove fat before cutting for a healthier
option)
2 green onion stalks, thinly sliced
¼ cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp tarragon
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Prepare
the marinade: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, the green onion,
the lemon juice, the garlic and the spices. Mix thoroughly.
- In
a medium bowl, place the beef and drizzle the marinade. Cover and refrigerate
for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Thread
the beef onto skewers leaving a bit of space between pieces.
- Cook
the kababs on a heated oiled flat barbecue plate or frying pan until
cooked through then serve.
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Chicken Kofta Skewers
Spicy chicken skewers
with garlic, onion, coriander and parsley
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Ingredients:
1kg
Ground Chicken
4
Cloves Garlic, crushed
1 Large
Onion, grated
1 Tbsp
Fresh Coriander, chopped
1 Tbsp
Fresh Flat Parsley, finely chopped
1/4 Tsp
Sweet Paprika
1/2 Tsp
Ground Cumin
1/2 Tsp
Ground Coriander
1/8 Tsp
Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp
Ground Ginger
1 Egg
Salt
and Pepper to taste
1 Tblsp
oil for frying
Method:
- In
a large bowl add all of the ingredients then with your hands mix through
well.
- Roll
into about 12 small sausage shaped (about 10cm long) rolls.
- Insert
skewer through then mould around skewer.
- Heat
oil in a large frying pan or grill pan on high.
- Cook
koftas turning occasionally until cooked through.
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Lebanese Lemon and
Garlic Shrimp
Shrimp with spice,
lemon, garlic spring onions and parsley
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Ingredients:
400g
Medium Sized Shrimp, cleaned and peeled
1/4 cup
Olive Oil
3
Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 Tsp
Ground Cumin
1 Tsp
Paprika Powder
1 Tsp
Ground Chilli
Salt
and Pepper to taste
Juice
of 1 Lemon
1 Tblsp
Spring Onions, finely chopped
1 Tblsp
Leaf Parsley, finely chopped
Method:
- In
a large frying pan heat the oil then add the garlic, spices and shrimp.
- Cook
the shrimp for about 2-3 minutes then add the spring onions, parsley and
lemon juice then cook for 1 minute more.
- Remove
from heat and serve.
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Lebanese Sweet Cheese
Sweet cheese with
semolina, orange blossom water and pistachio garnish
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Ingredients:
1 Kg
White Brine Cheese or Akawi
1 Cup
Semolina
1/2 Cup
Full Cream
2 Cup
Caster Sugar
2 Tblsp
Orange Blossom Water
1 Tsp Lemon
Juice
1/2 Cup
Whipped Cream
1/2 Cup
Ground Pistachio for garnish
Method:
- Cut
the cheese into small cubes then submerge the cheese in cold water.
Change the water every 10 minutes until it's not salty.
- Using
a double-boiler pot with the bottom pot half filled with boiling water
place the cheese in the upper part.
- Stir
with a wooden spoon until the cheese is melted and the water evaporates.
- Mix
through the full cream, semolina and sugar stirring gently until all the
sugar is dissolved and it is well mixed.
- Remove
from heat then mix through orange blossom water and lemon juice.
- Evenly
spread into a lightly greased rectangular pan, allow cooling then place
into the fridge for 4 hours to set.
- Remove
from fridge flip onto a serving plate then spread the whipped cream on
top.
- Garnish
with pistachio nuts then serve.
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Baklava
Nuts, sugar,
cinnamon, and honey filo
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Ingredients:
½ cup crushed pistachios
½ cup crushed walnuts
½ cup crushed almonds
½ cup crushed pecans
½ cup honey
3 Tbsp melted fresh butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tsp cinnamon
1 cup filtered water
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
12 sheets of filo pastry
Method:
- Roast
almonds, pistachios, pecans and walnuts for 5 minutes.
- Add
honey and cinnamon, mix well and put it aside in a bowl.
- Preparing
the syrup - Heat the water, sugar and lemon juice until they boil. Mix
in the syrup, let it cook on a low fire for 3 minutes and then turn off
the fire (for best result leave syrup to cool for at least 2 hours).
- Put
1 thin layer of the pastry in the baking tray and coat it with butter.
Then add 5 more layers of pastry coated with butter.
- Put
the pre-prepared filling on the pastry layers and gently put pressure on
top.
- Add
6 more layers brushed with butter on top.
- Before
baking, cut the baklava into squares, then bake it for 20 minutes at 180
celsius until it gets a golden color.
- Spread
syrup on top.
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Hummus
Chickpea dip
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Ingredients:
1 cup
uncooked chickpeas
¾ cup raw tahini (ground sesame seeds)
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tsp cumin
Sweet paprika, olive oil and some parsley (for decoration only)
Method:
- Soak
the chickpeas in water for 8-10 hours.
- Strain
and drain the chickpeas and cook them in 5 cups water for 2 hours until
totally soft.
- Strain
and take them out of the water (keep the water!), reserve a few
chickpeas for decoration.
- Place
chickpeas and other ingredients in blender, gradually adding a small
amount of the cooking water.
- Blend
this mixture until smooth.
- Put
the hummus spread in an attractive shallow bowl and decorate it with the
cooked chickpeas, olive oil, paprika and some parsley.
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Labaneh
Lebanese Cream Cheese
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Ingredients:
2 litres full cream milk
3 tblsp yoghurt
1 tblsp salt
Olive oil
Dried Parsly
Mehtod:
- Heat
the milk in a large pot, over a low fire, until it boils.
- Remove
immediately from the fire and cool until lukewarm.
- Place
4 spoons of the milk in a bowl, add the yoghurt, stir then add back to
the pot of milk.
- Transfer
the pot to a bowl, cover well, and wrap in a blanket. Leave for 6-8
hours in a warm place.
- Mix
with salt then place a cotton cloth or cheese cloth in a large strainer.
Tie and hang above the sink or above a bowl. The labaneh will be ready
in 10-12 hours.
- Serve
drizzeld with olive oil and a sprinkle of dried parsly.
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Garlic Pita Crisps
Baked garlic and
olive oil crisps
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Ingredients:
4 pitas
loaves
4
tablesp olive oil
2
garlic cloves, crushed
pinch
of salt
Method:
- Pre-heat
oven to 200c.
- In
a plate mix olive oil, garlic and salt.
- Cut
pitas bread into eighths, place on baking paper on a tray and brush with
oil mixture on both sides.
- Bake
for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Serve
broken into smaller pieces, with your favourite dip.
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Tabouli salad
Cracked wheat,
parsley and mint salad
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Ingredients:
Salad:
2 cups cracked wheat (bulghur)
2 cups very hot water
1 cucumber, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onions, (8) sliced
1/2 cup fresh chopped mint
2 cups fresh chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
Dressing:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
Method:
- Soak
the cracked wheat in the hot water until the water is absorbed, about 30
minutes. When it's ready, drain any excess water, if necessary, and
squeeze dry.
- Meantime,
prepare the vegetables for the salad and mix the dressing ingredients
together. Set aside.
- Stir
the prepared wheat, other salad ingredients, and dressing together in a
medium bowl.
- Serve
chilled or at room temperature. Makes about 8 cups, 12 to 16 servings.
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Fattoush Salad
Fresh salad with
bread wedges
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Ingredients:
½ cup water
1 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sumac
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced.
2 large plum tomatoes, diced
4 stalks green onions, chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup Arugala, thinly chopped (optional)
4 pita wedges, torn into bite size pieces and lightly toasted
Method:
- Making
the dressing: In a small saucepan, mix the water and cornstarch over a
medium-high heat until thickened. Remove and mix the lemon juice,
garlic, and spices.
- The
salad: In a large bowl toss the lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pepper,
onions and the parsley and mint. Drizzle the dressing and mix
thoroughly. Serve with warm pita bread wedges.
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Green Beans Tomato
Stew
Green Beans in a
tomato stew with onion, garlic and spice
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Ingredients:
1kg
Green Beans, Chop off Ends
1 Can
400g diced Tomatoes
2
Garlic Cloves, crushed
2 Tabsp
Tomato Paste
3 Cups
Water
1 Large
diced Onion
1/4
Tesp Mixed Spices
1
Tablesp Olive Oil
Salt
and Pepper to taste
2 Cups
Boiled and Draied Rice
Method:
- In
large frying heat the oil then sauté the garlic and onions until lightly
golden.
- Add
the green beans, diced tomatoes, water, tomato paste and spice.
- Bring
to the boil then simmer on a low heat for 15-20 minutes stirring
occasionally.
- Serve
hot with rice.
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Kofta Balls
Middle Eastern syle
meat balls
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Ingredients:
1 cup store bought or freshly-made plain breadcrumbs
1 lb ground lamb meat
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried mint or 3 tsp freshly chopped mint
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp parsley or 3-4 tbsp fresh parsley
1 medium egg
1 tbsp olive oil
Method:
- Blend
the ground lamb, egg, breadcrumbs, and spices in a meat processor until
smooth.
- Wet
your hands and roll mixture into small 1-inch balls.
- Heat
olive oil in a large frying pen. Fry the meatballs over a medium heat
until evenly browned and cooked through (about 5 minutes). Remove from
the heat, and serve warm.
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Lebanese Barbecue
Chicken
Chicken done with
garlic, oregano, parsley and spices
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Ingredients:
1 Whole
chicken
2
tablesp lemon Juice
2
garlic cloves crushed
1 teasp
paprika
1 teasp
cumin
1 teasp
oregano
1/2
teasp cayenne
1 teasp
turmeric
100ml
olive oil
salt
and pepper to taste
1/4 cup
fresh parsley chopped for garnish
Method:
- Cut
the chicken backbone and open then chicken into a butterfly. Cut 2
slashes in each leg an breast, half way down to the bone.
- In
a large bowl combine the lemon juice, garlic spices and oil, season with
salt and pepper and mix well.
- Place
the chicken into the marinade and stir thoroughly to fully coat the
entire chicken and into the cuts.
- Marinate
for at least an hour.
- Place
the chicken on the barbecue and grill for 35-45 minutes, turning every
few minutes to cook evenly.
- Served
garnished with parsley, drizzle Tahini and with Lebanese pita bread.
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Lebanese Baked Apples
Apples baked with
butter and honey, nuts and currants
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Ingredients:
5 Tblsp
unsalted Butter, softened
¼ Cup
Sugar
¼ Cup
Honey
½ Cup
Shelled Pistachio Nuts
½ Cup
Pine Nuts
½ Cup
Chopped Walnuts
½ Cup
Currants
¼ Tsp
Ground Cloves
½ Tsp
Ground Cinnamon
1 ½ Tsp
Rosewater
6
Medium to large Golden Delicious Apples, cored
Method:
- Preheat
the oven to 175c. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish.
- In
a mixing bowl, cream 4 table spoons of the butter with the sugar and
honey. Add all of the nuts, the currants, cloves, cinnamon, and
rosewater. Chop all of the ingredients together until the mixture
resembles a paste.
- Stuff
each apple with the nut mixture and stand, stem end down, in the baking
dish. Rub the skin of each apple with the remaining table spoon of
butter and sprinkle any remamining nut mixture over the apples.
- Bake
until the apples are soft, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Serve
warm, with Vanilla Ice Cream or Whipped Cream, if desired.
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Lebanese Jallab Drink
Date syrup and rose
water drink topped with nuts
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Ingredients:
3/4 cup
chilled water
3 tblsp
date syrup
2 teasp
rose water
crushed
ice
1 tblsp
blanched almond halve
1 tblsp
pine nuts
Method:
- Mix
well all the ingredients (except almond).
- Serve
topped with almond and pine nuts.
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