Lebanese arabic bread

Ingredients:

1 pack Yiest (16 gr)

1/3 cup Water (lukewarm)

2 Tbsp Sugar

3 cup Flour (all purpose)

1 cup Water (lukewarm)

1 Tsp Salt

Mix together yiest, sugar and 1/3 cup of water. Cover and let rise.

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. 

Knead together for 10 min. Add as much flour as needed.

Make a ball, cut X on the top, cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 1-3 hrs.

Pre-heat oven at maximum temperature.

Divide dough into balls (8) and flatten them. Place on tray and let raise for 10-15 min.

Bake during 3-8 min until puffed,

No-knead bread! (Masterchef Australia)

No-knead bread

Watching Australia's Masterchef for hours on end has its benefits.. eventually you learn to do something! :D

Being a petite baker (and not having a kitchenaid..) means that kneading bread is one of those things equivalent to 2 weekly workouts.. (same as the exaustion of changin the bed sheets.. I will never understand why I end up out of breath..) :(

So anyway, when I saw this recipe not needing kneading I was more than thilled!! Crunchy cookie-like bread with soft (not heavy) center! A bread after my own heart Lol So I immediately googled & tried the recipe. I have done this bread twice, and used the dough over 2 days each time (as it yields 10 of these breads more or less)..

My mum on the other hand tried this recipe and failed.. I think her active-dry yiest was provably dead..(so don't trust her.. she's pretty disastrous with cooking - except for crepes & flans). just make sure the active yiest that you use is "alive" :P



On floured air-baking tray



Ingredients:

- 1 kg Flour (all purpose)

- 1 Tbsp Yiest (active dry)

- 1 Tbsp Salt

- 950 ml Water (lukewarm)

Place in a bowl flour, yiest and salt. Mix.

Add in the water and combine.



Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

Pre-heat oven at 220 C. Line tray with baking paper, generously sprinkle with flour.



Remove dough from the fridge and let come to room temperature for 15 min. Separate a dollop and place onto tray. 



In the oven



Bake for 40 min or until outside is golden brown, and sounds empty upon tapping.

This bread is really good with butter & jam. Or you can just add some dried rosemary and olives in the dough before letting is rest to change the flavors a bit :)

No-bake bread (center cut)



Shish Tawouk (Lebanese garlic chicken)

1 kg Chicken

1 cup Lemon juice

15 cloves Garlic

6 Tbsp Yogurt plain

6 Tbsp Olive oil

2 Tbsp Vinegar

1 1/2 tsp White pepper

1/2 tsp Ginger

1/2 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Salt

1/2 to 1 tsp Tomato paste

Cut chicken in desired pieces.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then mix in chicken and let marinate for at least 4 hrs.

Place on grill and cook.

Rich chocolate mousse (easy & simple)

200 gr Chocolate
6 egg yolks
6 egg white
1 pinch salt

Melt the 200 gr of chocolate at soft fire. Place into a large bowl and let cool down.

Place the eggs in a squeeky-clean large bowl. Remove d egg yolks in a small side bowl.
Add a punch of salt to the egg whites and beat until hard peaks are formed.

At this point, the chocolate should be fairly cooler, add the 6 egg yolks and beat vigorously.
Slowly fold in the hard whites. Once incorporated, place in containers and let cool down.

Tadaaaa¡ sprinkle with some choc shavings or add some whipped cream prior to serving :)

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Lebanese vegetarian)



If you have been by the Middle East you surely know stuffed grape leaves! When these mezze/tapas (of fairly debatable origin... Turkish? Lebanese? Greek?) when displayed at a table cause everyone to reach out for them like covetable goods! ;) Maybe it is because it is slightly time-consuming to roll & let them cook.. that everybody goes so crazy/is impressed when you serve them Lol

Anyway, as a good geek that I am (seen that my Lebanese friends had not tried to make these before) I launched on a mission to get the authentic recipe with the collaboration of my favorite program: Excel.

Bottom of pan lining

(In short: Google authentic looking recipes > Apply Excel to work out the proportions :P > triple test cooking method and timing > Tasting > Blogging).

So after several times, and approval from the toughest Lebanese critics ;P here is the 'authentic' tasting recipe!

 

Lebanese Grape Leaves:		Spices:
- 1 jar Grape Leaves		- 1/2 Tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 cups White Rice (Melrose)		- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 cup Parsley (chopped)		- 1 Tsp All Spice
- 1 cup Tomato (chopped)
- 1 cup Onion (finely chopped)		Seasoning:
- 1 Tbsp Mint chopped		- 1 cup Lemon juice (split in 1/2 and 1/2 cup)
- 6 Large carrots		- 1 cup Olive Oil (split 1/2 and 1/2 cup)

Boil water, and introduce in a deep pan. Open grape leave jar, and separate the leaves, introduce into the water and let soak off for 10 minutes. Change the water, repeating the process 1 or 2 times. Then let drain.


Rice filling mix

In the meantime, peel & cut carrots in slices, and set to line the bottom of the pot.

In a large bowl wash the rice several times. Chop the tomato, onion, parsley & mint, and add to the rice. Add spiced, 1/2 cup of lemons juice and 1/2 cup of olive oil. Mix.

Take a grape leaf, placing the shiny part facing the tabletop. (Cut the stem if needed).

Step 1: Place 1 Tbsp of mix in the mid-section of the leaf

Step 2: fold the right and left sides over the mix

Step 1 - Place mix in center of leaf

Step 2 - Fold inwards the sides

Step 3: starting from the bottom, roll tightly all the way to the top.

Step 3 - Roll from bottom to top



Rolled & placed tightly in pan



Introduce in the pan aligning them tightly (so they will not move while cooking).  Add water and 1/2 cup left of lemon juice (it should just reach the rim of the leaves).



Once all done, place a plate (or 2) on top, and a heavy object (so that the grape leaves do not move).

Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let simmer for 2 hrs at low heat (2-3/6).

Plates & weight over arranged leaves

Halfway through, after 1 hr, add the additional 1/2 cup of olive oil. Cook until the 2hrs mark.

Remove from the heat, and let cool down.

Serve! The carrots are an edible plus! :)



Pancakes

This is provably the first recipe that I ever cooked on my own... or more precisely my best friend Gema and I cooked on our own when my parents were out of town Lol We must have been 13 or so, silly silly girls :P

While this is a different recipe, here is a super easy recipe for normal (or more runny/light pancakes):

Pancakes:		Pancakes (light version):
- 1 cup Flour		- 1 1/2 cup Flour
- 1 tbsp Sugar		- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking powder		- 3 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt		- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Milk		- 1 1/4 cup Milk
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil		- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1 Egg		- 1 Egg

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and use a mixer to beat the mix until well blended.

Heat a pan at medium heat and place some vegetable oil (or butter), get a ladle and pour 1 ladle of mix into the pan, once the mix is not runny flip and ensure both sides are cooked.

Paella (simple)

Spanish Paella (simple)

Paella is one of the most well known Spanish dishes. It truly can be one of the most simple, friendly, budget-friendly main courses :) Foreigners identify paella as a variety of seafood cooked over yellow rice with sometimes cheek peas and chiken pieces; however this dish has many variants and elements (black paella made with squid ink, chicken or vegetable paella) it all depends on what part of Spain you are in! (Or what is available in your kitchen cabinets).

In my family we generally eat paella on Sundays (like most families in Asturias, my region) because it is a kind of food that you share and gather around. The other occasion in which we like to have paella is cooked in one of those black huge pans over a beach fire in summer :)

This recipe comes from my grandmother, it is extremely simple, healthy and budget-friendly (as I realize most of her recipes are). The key to getting paella to tasting authentic is getting authentic Spanish ingredients, particularly the olives! (trust me.. those organic Wholefoods' olives that you love are gonna make your paella taste like rubbish.. been there..).

Ingredients

 

Paella (simple):

- 1 cup Rice (preferably Calrose type)

- 1 can Tuna (in olive oil)

- 1 small can Baby cheek peas

- 1/2 can Spanish Olives (manzanilla type)

- 1/2 Avecrem/chicken stock cube

- 3 stems Saffron

- Olive oil

Fried/browned rice

Take the cup that you used to measure the rice and fill it with water. Place the saffron strands (or powder) and let dissolve.

Place a deep pan over medium heat (3 or 4/6), introduce a splash of olive oil & the rice. Stir until rice turns brownish (yes you are sort of pre-frying it, so it won't be sticky later).

Ready to cook/boil

Add the saffron water, plus an additional 2 cups of water. Continue by adding the chicken stock, cheek peas, tuna, olives and salt. Mix into the rice. Place the pepper stripes as decoration over the rice mixture, and let cook.

Once all the water has been absorbed/evaporated you are done! The rice should be soft and edible (if it's hard just add more water and let cook further. You are done! :)

Bazella (Lebanese peas & carrot, beef)

Bazella:

- 500 gr Frozen peas & carrots (diced)

- 400 gr Frozen minced beef

- 1 medium Onion (chopped med/small; not tiny)

- 3 Tbsp Tomato paste

- 4 cups Water

- 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

- 1 Tbsp All Spice

- 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon

- 1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper

- 1 Tbsp Salt

- 1 Lemon (juiced)

Put the vegetable oil in a deep pot over medium/high heat (4-5/6), when hot add the onion and sweat for 2 min. 

Add the frozen minced beef and turn for the meat to break in small pieces; Add spices to the mix (Salt, cinnamon, all spice, black pepper). Stir until meat cooked :)

Prepare 3 Tbsp of tomato paste mixed with 4 cups of water; add into the meat mixture. Let raise to the boil, then lower the heat (2/6) and let simmer for 35 minutes.

Once done, add the lemon juice & serve!

** This dish is normally served with Lebanese rice. First layering the rice in the bottom of the plate, then this in the center :) Enjoy!**

Albondigas (Spanish meatballs)

Albondigas - Spanish meatballs

Albondigas - Spanish meatballs:

- 1/2 cup Parsley

- 1 Onion (medium)

- 1 clove Garlic

- 0.5 to 1 Kg Minced Meat

- 2 Eggs

- 3 pinches Salt

- Flour

- White Wine/Bier

- Avecrem

Finely chop the onion, garlic and parsley. Beat separate 1 1/2 eggs on a bowl, and 1/2 egg.
Mix minced meat & chopped onion mix, add 1/2 of a beaten egg.

Roll into balls > Roll over beaten egg > Roll into Flour

In the meantime heat a pan at high heat (5/6) with olive oil (2mm).
Fry meatballs in hot olive oil until golden.

Once done, add a spoon of flour to the used oil and fry until flour is golden color. Add Avecrem, white wine & water until achieving the desired consistency. Put meatballs in gravy and let simmer for some minutes.

Croquetas (Spanish croquettes)

Croquetas:

- 1 tbsp Butter

- 2 tbsp Flour

- 2 glass Milk

- 2 Eggs

- Cheese pieces / Cooked meat / Ham

- Bread crumbs

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat, add butter and cook until golden.
Add milk & keep stirring under low (2-3/6) heat, preferably with a whip, until desired consistency. Mix should be lifting off the pan, sticking together.

Once done, immediately add cheese or desired mix, and a lightly beaten egg.
Spread over a large tray to let cool. In the meantime prepare 1 plate with beaten egg, and 1 plate with bread crumbs.

Once bechamel mixture has cooled down, roll into balls/cilinders, pass through egg, then into bread crumbs. *At this point the croquetas can be put in the freezer until needed. You must let them unfreeze prior to frying them (or you will have icy centers :P )*

Heat pan with frying oil until hot (6/6), fry croquetas turning them to achieve a nice golden brown color. Remove and set over a plate covered with kitchen towel paper (to absorve the excess oil). Serve hot :)