Lebanese & Syrian kitchen

Lebanese & Syrian Kitchen 

1- Fattoush  

Ingredients

1 round Lebanese bread

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

2 Lebanese cucumbers, finely diced (if very fresh, no need to peel)

2 tomatoes, finely diced

½ cup radish, finely diced

½ red capsicum, finely diced

½ green capsicum, finely diced

4 spring onions, finely diced

2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped

½ cup parsley, finely chopped

Dressing juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions : 

Deep-fry the Lebanese bread. 

Drain on absorbent paper and when cool, crumple in your hands until it breaks into small pieces. 

Combine the rest of the ingredients with the bread and toss with the dressing. 

Serve. If you prefer, you can bake the Lebanese bread in a medium oven for about 10 minutes. This will make the bread nice and crisp.

2- Stuffed vine leaves (warak enab) : 

Ingredients : 

400 g of fresh grape leaves or 200 g of preserved ones 
½ bunch of parsley
¼ bunch of mint
1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 chili
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 2 lemons 
½ cup of rice 

Directions : 

Chop finely the parsley, mint and the onion.

Dice finely the tomatoes.

Mix all previous ingredients with the rice, olive oil, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roll flat each grape leave, keeping its smooth side down.

Put a small amount of stuffing in a thin line in the middle. Close a bit from both sides and roll tight.

Arrange stuffed leaves in a pot.

When full add water to cover them to the 3/4. Put on a low fire and let it cook.

Leave to cool and serve cold.


3- Hummus and Tihini 

Ingredients :

2 1/2 cups of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup of tahini
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of water
parsley and olive oil 

Directions :

Put 1/2 the lemon juice and all ingredients into the blender except the chickpeas (and the parsley and oil for garnish) and blend for 5 seconds. Add the chick peas and blend on high until it reaches the the consistency of sour cream, but granular, about 10-15 seconds. Blend in remaining lemon juice to taste. If the dip is too thick but you don't want to add more lemon juice, add a little water slowly and blend until it reaches the correct consistency.
Transfer to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. (It can be eaten immediately, but becomes even more flavorful if left to chill well.)
Drizzle of olive oil over the top and add a garnish of parsley or black olives before serving. Serve with pita wedges or slices of whole grain breads.


4-Chicken Shawarma 

Ingredients :

8 chicken thighs

1/2 cup malt vinegar

1 tsp mixed spices

1/4 ground cardamon

1/4 cup yogurt

1 tbs oil

Salt & pepper

Directions : 

Slice the chicken.. Marinate using all the above ingredients for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. Put the chicken with the marinade in an oven tray and bake covered in a hot oven for 30 mins, turning once. Uncover and put back in the oven for 5 more minutes, or till the chicken is well cooked. If desired, pour out the fat for a healtier option. Serve with sliced tomatoes, onions, and chopped parsley, rolled in a pitta bread 

5- Lebanese Falafel 

Ingredients : 

cup dried broad beans

cup dried chick peas

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 cloves of garlic crushed

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tbs ground cumin

1 onion chopped

1/2 cup fresh coriander chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

1/4 tsp mixed spices

Salt & pepper

Directions : 

Soak the beans and the chick peas in water and bicarbonate of soda overnight or for 24 hours. Drain and wash. Put with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor, and blend till you get a soft dough like mixture. Remove and keep in the fridge for 1 hour before use. Divide and shape the mixture into small balls, the size of a wallnut. Flatten with your hand, then deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Serve warm, rolled in pitta bread

6- Kebbah Makleya (Fried Kebbah)

Ingredients :

For the kibbeh:

2 cups burghul

500g minced lamb

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 tsp mixed spices

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tsp cumin powder

A pinch of chilli

1/2 glass water

For the filling:
200g minced lamb
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tbs pine nuts
1 tsp mixed spices
Salt & pepper

Directions :

To make the kibbeh: Place burghul in bowl, cover with cold water and stand for 15 mins. Drain burghul and squeeze in hands to soften. Place the lamb in food processor and mince to fine paste. Add the remainder of the ingredients (adding water a little at a time) to the blender and mix. Remove and keep aside.

To prepare the filling: Heat oil in pan, add onions and cook till soft. Add nuts, cook until lightly browned. Add lamb and spices, cook, stirring until lamb is browned.

Shape 1/4 cups of kibbeh into balls using damp hands. Hollow out the centres using thumb, and place a rounded teaspoon (or more) of filling inside. Shape kibbeh into ovals. Now deep-fry the kibbeh in hot oil (in batches) until browned all over and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve with mezze

7-Tarator : 

Ingredients : 

1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste
2 - 3 tbs. lemon juice
2 - 3 tbs. water
5g parsley (chopped)
Salt and pepper
1 clove crushed garlic (optional)

Directions : 

Mix all the above ingredients together, keep stirring till you get a nice smooth sauce, add the chopped parsley and serve.



8-Nakanek (Lebanese sausages) 

Ingredients : 

500g makanek or merguez sausages 
2 tbs pomegranate molasses

Directions :

Using your index finger and thumb, press firmly through a sausage at the halfway point to separate the meat, then twist the sausage casing to make 2 smaller sausages (if using merguez sausages, twist at two even points to form 3 smaller sausages). Using kitchen scissors, cut at the twist to separate. Repeat with remaining sausages.
Preheat a chargrill pan or barbecue to medium and cook sausages, turning occasionally, for 8 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer sausages to a bowl, add pomegranate molasses and stir to combine.
Place makanek on a platter and serve immediately.



9-Maa'moul (Desserts)

Ingredients :

2 cups smeed (semolina)
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups samneh (or other shortening) (Fat)
1 tsp. ma'ez zahr (orange blossom essence)
1 tsp. rose water
3/4 cup fine sugar
1 1/4 cup crushed walnuts

Directions :

These traditional rich Easter cookies are molded in the bowls of decoratively carved wooden spoons before baking. The molded cookie dough is arranged on large baking sheets and carried to the commercial bakery. Good ma'amoul can be bought at the larger pastry shops at Eastertime.

Make dough of smeed, samneh and boiling water. Knead well together. Cover tightly and leave overnight. On the second day knead again thoroughly and form into small balls. Hollow out their centers. Fill the hollow with mixture of sugar, nuts and flavorings. Press the dough back over the filling. Press each cookie onto a buttered baking pan and flatten and decorate with the times of a fork. Or, shape the dough in the carved molds made in Lebanon especially for this purpose. Bake in moderate oven until lightly browned. Dust liberally with powdered sugar while hot.

10- Naboulseya (Desserts)

Ingredients :

4 cups shredded Akkawi cheese
1/2 cup clarified butter, melted
1/2 tsp. orange food coloring, about 1/2 kg konafa (Shredded pastry)
About 1.5 cups Sugar Syrup
Finely ground pistachios, for garnish

*The syrup is a mixture of one part water and two parts of sugar brought to a boil with a few drops of lemon juice and then cooled.

Directions :

-Place cheese in a small bowl and cover with warm water to remove its saltiness. Let soak for 30 minutes. Drain. Using your hands, squeeze cheese to remove any excess moisture.
-Pour 1/3 of the clarified butter into a small bowl. Stir in food coloring
-Place konafa in large bowl and gently separate strands with fingers. Add tinted butter and toss to coat evenly.
-Pour half of the remaining butter into a round 18? (45 cm) slab cake pan. Add konafaand press into a compact, even layer about 1 cm (3/8 in) thick. Place slab cake pan over low heat. Drizzle remaining clarified butter evenly over top. Increase heat to medium and cook, rotating slab cake pan often for even cooking, for 10 minutes or until golden and crusty on bottom
-Spread cheese evenly over konafa crust, leaving about 1? (2.5 cm) uncovered on side to prevent cheese from burning. Cover with another larger slab cake pan and cook for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
-Invert slab cake panes together so cheese is on bottom and konafa on top. Drizzle with some of the syrup, and sprinkle some pistachios on top.
-Cut into squares and serve warm, with more syrup on the side to add as desired.