Category: Lebanese

An Ottolenghi Dinner

Appetizers Iraqi Israeli Lamb Lebanese Main Course Middle Eastern Palestinian Regional Cooking Salads Syrian Vegetarian Baroness Tapuzina

Baked Lamb Kubbeh

Ever since Mr. BT gave me the Plenty cookbook I have been wanting to make everything in the book. Most of the recipes are perfect for the scorching summer when no one feels like cooking. The Friday before last it was blazing hot, and the thought of spending all morning in the kitchen did not appeal to me. I made two quick and easy Ottolenghi dishes: one was a baked lamb pie that I found on his Guardian weekly column and the other came from the cookbook.

Kibbeh, kibbe, kubbeh or koubeiba, which means dome or ball in Arabic, can be found in Iraq, Kurdistan, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Israel. Kibbeh Nabelsieh is the better recognized torpedo-shaped kubbeh with a shell of bulgur  and lamb that is ground to a paste and filled with ground lamb, spices and pine nuts. There is also Kubbat Haleb which is made with a rice crust and named after Aleppo. This version is served anytime, but especially made during Pesach in a Jewish home.

Kubbeh soup dumplings are made with a semolina shell and filled with ground lamb or preserved lamb. Kibbeh Nayyeh is finely chopped raw lamb or beef mixed with fine bulgur and spices, such as Baharat. There is also Kibbeh bel-saniyeh which is made with a decorative top or covered with a tehina sauce like I made.

The perfect match to the baked lamb pie was a refreshing and light salad with green beans, peas and mangetout, which are called snow peas in the United States.

Baked Lamb Kubbeh

Print
Baked Lamb Pie - Kibbeh bel-saniyeh
Ingredients
  • 125 grams 1/2 cup fine bulgar wheat
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 2 medium onions finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli finely chopped
  • 350 grams 3/4 lb minced lamb
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander
  • 60 grams 2 ounces pine nuts
  • 3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoons self-raising flour
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 50 grams 3-1/2 tablespoons tahini paste
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon sumac
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
  2. Line a 20cm (8-inch) spring-form pan with parchment paper. Put the bulgur in a bowl, add 200 milliliters (1 cup) of tap water and set aside for 30 minutes.
  3. Place four tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and saute the garlic, onion and chilli on medium-high heat until soft. Place in a bowl and set aside. Cook the lamb on high heat and cook until brown. Add the onion mixture back to the pan and add the spices, coriander, salt, pepper, and most the pine nuts and parsley. Cook for a couple of minutes and remove from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. You want the spiciness to come through the lamb.
  4. Check if the water has been absorbed by the bulgar, if not, then strain it through a fine sieve and place back in the bowl. Add the flour, a tablespoon of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Work into a pliable mixture, with your hands, until it just holds together. Push the bulgar mixture firmly into the base of the spring-form pan until it is compacted and level. Spread the lamb mixture evenly on the top and press down. Bake for 20 minutes.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, 50ml (3 tablespoons) of water and a pinch of salt. The sauce should be thick, yet pourable. Spread the sauce on top of the kubbeh, sprinkle on the remaining parsley and pine nuts and bake for 10 minutes until the tahini is set and the pine nuts are golden.
  6. Before serving, sprinkle the sumac and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Cut into wedges.

Green Beans Salad with Mustard Seeds and Tarragon

Print
Green Bean Salad with Mustard Seeds and Tarragon
From Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi
Ingredients
  • 250 grams 1/2 lb French green beans, trimmed and blanched
  • 250 grams 1/2 lb mangetout (snow peas), trimmed and blanched
  • 250 grams 1/2 lb green peas (fresh or frozen), blanched
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon nigella seeds
  • 1/2 small red onion finely chopped
  • 1 mild fresh red chilli seeded and finely diced
  • 1 garlic clove crushed
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
  • 2 handfuls baby chard leaves or other mixed baby leaf lettuce optional
  • Coarse sea salt
Instructions
  1. Combine the blanched green beans, mangetout and green peas in a large bowl.
  2. Place the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds and mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to pop, pour the contents over the bean mixture. Toss together and add the nigella seeds, red onion, chilli, garlic, lemon zest and tarragon. Mix well and season with salt to taste.
  3. Just before serving, gently fold the chard leaves and serve.

Mujadarah – Esau’s Bowl of Goodness

Egyptian Lebanese Middle Eastern North African Palestinian Regional Cooking Syrian Baroness Tapuzina

One day Esau, the biblical Jacob’s elder brother, came home one day from hunting in the desert with no game at all. He walks into the family tent and Jacob, the stay-at-home mommy’s boy, looks up at him and says, “hey bro, what’s wrong?” Esau looks daggers at him and says, “I have had a bad hare day. In fact, I didn’t manage to catch a single hare and I am absolutely starving. What is in the pot?” “Lentil stew” replies Jacob. “Could I have some?” says Esau. “What’s it worth to you?” says Jacob. “Name your price.” says Esau, and that was how the children of Israel ended up with the inheritance of Esau and Jacob’s father, Isaac, the son of Abraham. And the rest, as they say, is history.

We don’t know how accurately this little screen play reflects what happened in that tent some 4,000 years ago. But, then, as now, lentils were a key part of the Middle Eastern diet — perhaps tasty enough for Esau to give up his birthright to his younger brother — and although mujadarah probably didn’t exist at that time, this lentil- and rice-based dish is one of the most distinctive and loved parts of Middle Eastern cuisine.

Mujadarah, moujadara, mejadra, mudardara or megadarra: no matter how you spell it or pronounce it, it is a simple poor man’s dish composed of cooked lentils with groats, wheat or rice, and garnished with fried onions. Many claim it as their own and it is made  throughout the Middle East.  Middle Eastern Jews typically served this dish twice a week: hot on Thursday and cold on Sunday. You can order this as a side dish in every grill restaurant in Israel and find ready mixes in the supermarket. But, homemade is the one and only true way to enjoy mujadarah. It is easy to prepare; the only time consuming part is slicing the onions and frying them.

I think the best way to slice the onions is using a mandoline, but you can also use a slicing blade on a food processor. The onions should be dark brown. The caramelised sweetness of the onions marries well with the rice, spices, and lentils. You can also use 2 teaspoons of Baharat instead of the cinnamon and allspice, if you wish.

Print
Mujadarah - Lentils and Rice
Recipe from Casa Moro by Sam & Sam Clark
Ingredients
For Mujadarah:
  • 1 cup white basmati rice
  • 1 cup small brown lentils
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • Salt and pepper
For caramelised crispy onions:
  • 300 ml 1-1/4 cup canola oil
  • 2 large onions sliced thinly using a mandoline or food processor
Instructions
For Mujadarah:
  1. Place the rice in a bowl and cover with cold water. Rub the rice with your fingertips until the water becomes cloudy. Drain the rice in a sieve and repeat the process three times or until the water is clear. Place the drained rice back in the bowl and cover with warm water, and stir 1 teaspoon of salt. Set aside to soak for 20 minutes to 1 hour. The salt prevents the rice from breaking up when it is cooked, and the soaking reduces the cooking time by half.
  2. Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the lentils are still a bit hard. Drain and set aside. Make the crispy onions while the lentils are cooking.
  3. To complete the dish, add the olive oil to the pan and add the spices plus 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Stir in a third of the crispy onions, the lentils, and the drained rice. Gently mix them together. Cover with rice and lentils with 1/2 cm (about 1/8 of an inch) above. Season with salt to taste. Cover the top of the water with parchment paper or foil and cover the pan with a lid. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer after 5 minutes. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. The dish is ready when the all of the water has been absorbed.
  4. Serve with a generous amount of crispy onions.
For caramelised crispy onions:
  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. You may have to fry the onions in batches.
  2. When the oil is hot, add enough sliced onion to make one layer, and fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is a golden to mahogany color. Remove the onion with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining onion.
  3. Tip: The oil can be reused and will impart a flavor of the onions.