Ijjeh

Ijjeh, a Middle Eastern quiche of sorts, is fairly easy to put together. I grind my own lamb, though you can buy it already ground or have a butcher do it. My late mother-in-law, Sandy, a wonderful lady of Syrian descent whose cooking drew raves from everyone, taught me to make this delicious dish.
Depending on the size of the squares you cut, Ijjeh can be an appetizer, a side dish, or part of a colorful party buffet. Enjoy!

IJJEH

1½ lbs. lean ground lamb

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tbs. of Syrian allspice

Salt and pepper to taste

1 dozen eggs

2 Tbs. cornstarch

Light oil  
Fresh chopped parsley
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1.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Coat 15 x 10 baking pan with light oil and heat in oven.

2.  Fry lamb in a pan. No oil is needed. When about halfway cooked, add chopped onion. Continue cooking until lamb is browned and onions are soft. Add Syrian allspice and mix well.

3.  Whip eggs in blender with cornstarch and ½ tsp. salt.

4.   Pour egg mixture into hot pan. Sprinkle with ground lamb and parsley.

5.   Bake 20-30 minutes, until browned.  Cool, cut into squares, and serve.

Turkish Bulghur Salad with Pomegranate Molasses Dressing

Bulghur, bulgur, or burghul, a common ingredient in Middle Eastern dishes (such as Tabbouleh and Kibbeh), is made by parboiling, drying, and grinding wheat to a fine, medium, or coarse texture. Bulghur stars in this colorful and delicious salad, my own adaptation of a recipe I found on Epicurious.com. It's a wonderful summer side dish for grilled meats, or served as a main course with a tossed green salad and crusty French bread. Enjoy!

TURKISH BULGHUR SALAD

WITH

POMEGRANATE MOLASSES DRESSING

For the Salad:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large vidalia onion, minced
2 cups fine bulghur wheat
2 cups boiling water
2 15-oz. cans beans, pink, borlotti, chickpeas, or a combination,
            rinsed and drained
1 large bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped (optional)
1 bunch scallions, green tops slices, white parts chopped
1 cup raw pistachio kernels, lightly toasted if desired

For the Dressing:
1/3 cup pomegranate molasses
          (available in your grocer's Middle Eastern section)
3 Tbs. olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced or put through a press
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

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1. Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in bulghur until grains are coated with oil. Slowly add boiling water, stir, and simmer gently for about 5 minutes, until water is absorbed. Fluff wheat and turn into large bowl. Let cool.

2. Rinse and drain the beans you wish to use. Prepare basil and scallions and fold with beans into cooled wheat.

3. Combine dressing ingredients. Stir into wheat.

4. Top with pistachios (or allow individual diners to add their own nuts). Generously serves 6-8 as a main course salad.

Cucumber, Mint and Yogurt Sauce

During the summer months, my late mother-in-law often made this refreshingly delicious and easy Middle Eastern sauce. I don't know exactly how she made it, but this recipe, my own version, is darn close. It's great with grilled meat, as a dip, or as a saucy side to any number of dishes. And don't be making fun of the ancient Tupperware. I have a whole set, a gift from my mother-in-law. Happy memories!

CUCUMBER, MINT and YOGURT SAUCE

1 seedless English cucumber or 3-4 small seedless cucumbers, peeled
2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3-4 tsps. dried mint, crumbled fine
1 tsp. olive oil
½ tsp. sea salt

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1. Finely dice the cucumber.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and blend well. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
3. Garnish with fresh mint or parsley, if desired.

Middle Eastern Roasted Beet Salad

Colorful, refreshing, and nutritious, this salad is a perfect and easy addition to any warm weather menu. Be sure to try the Middle Eastern Zucchini Salad too. Both are lovely!

MIDDLE EASTERN ROASTED BEET SALAD

5-6 medium beets, (mix of gold, red, and pink if possible)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. fresh chopped cilantro
¼ cup fresh chopped chives, or 2 Tbs. dried
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

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1. Wrap beets individually in aluminum foil. Bake on tray in 425° oven
    for 1-1¼ hours, until done. Let cool.

2. Peel beets. Dice and place in mixing bowl.

3. Gently fold in remaining ingredients. Chill at least one hour before serving. Serves 4-6.

Fajoom (Navy Beans and Lamb)

In my first "Kitchen Excursions" post, I mentioned Sandy, my beautiful Syrian mother-in-law, who taught me so much about cooking. Few could match her Syrian food, and learning most of it was "you have to watch someone do it."

Sandy once told me that "When you're going to make Syrian food, you get up in the morning and say, 'today I'm making Syrian food, and that's all I'm going to do all day.'"

Syrian food is great stuff, but spending the whole day cooking anything these days is impractical. Thanks to food processors and the top-notch prepared foods now available, it's also unnecessary.

Fajoom is a great intro to Syrian food. The most tedious chore is cutting up the lamb, and even that isn't bad thanks to the convenience of already boned and butterflied lamb. (You can have a butcher cube the meat for you, but he won't fuss trimming it.) I periodically prepare lamb cubes and almost always have them in the freezer, wrapped in 1-lb. portions and reserved for a number of recipes, from French casseroles to Moroccan stew. And, of course, Syrian food.

Baharat, which Sandy called Syrian allspice, is the Arabic word for spice. Every country in the Arab world has its own blend of baharat. If you're lucky enough to have a Middle Eastern grocer nearby, they will surely have it. If not, you'll find different recipes to make it online. You can also order it online.

FAJOOM

4 Tbs. unsalted butter                         
2-3 garlic cloves, minced                    

1 large onion, minced                          

1 lb. lean cubed leg of lamb
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 14-oz can chicken broth
2 15-oz. cans navy beans
1 tsp. Syrian allspice (Baharat)

Salt and pepper

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Melt the butter in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir for a minute. Add lamb. Brown well, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

In a small saucepan, combine and heat up tomato sauce and chicken broth. Add to skillet and blend with meat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While lamb is simmering, thoroughly rinse and drain beans. (Note: If navy beans aren't available, substitute any small white bean.)

Fold beans and baharat into lamb. Simmer another 5-10 minutes, or until beans are heated through. Serve with bulghur wheat pilaf, rice pilaf, or couscous. (Note: Along with Syrian (pita) bread, plain yogurt (laban) is traditionally served with or on the side of most Syrian dishes. Do try it.) Generously serves 4.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine (Lamb Stew with Prunes)

If you’re as fussy about trimming the meat as I am, lamb stews can be a lot of work. I like to pick up a boneless butterflied half-leg of lamb, cut it into nicely trimmed cubes (I’ll get about one pound), and freeze it. I’ll repeat the process until I have enough to make something good, like Fajoom, or this Moroccan tagine.

My Aunt Diane served this incredibly delicious stew to my husband and me after one of our coast-to-coast flights to visit her and my uncle in California. I thought I’d pick around the prunes, but one taste and I ate them all. The blend of spices is sublime; none dominate the dish. I’ve fine-tuned the ingredients a tad, but this is essentially Diane’s recipe.

MOROCCAN LAMB TAGINE

(Lamb Stew with Prunes)

¼ cup butter (½ stick)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. powdered saffron (6-0.1g pkgs.)
¼ tsp. turmeric
3 lbs. boneless leg of lamb cut in 1-inch cubes
1 tsp. salt
1½ cups chicken broth
¼ cup minced parsley
2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 cups pitted prunes (9-oz. pkg.)
2 Tbs. honey
Salt and pepper
Toasted sesame seeds

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1. Bring chicken broth to simmer in a small pan. Heat butter and olive oil in a deep frying pan over low heat. Add cinnamon, ground ginger, saffron and turmeric. Stir mixture well.

2. Add lamb cubes, tossing to coat with spice mixture and 1 tsp. salt. Increase heat to medium low. Cook lamb, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, until lamb is browned well.

3. Add broth, parsley, and cilantro. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in onions. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. (Onions will melt into the sauce.)

5. Stir in prunes and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes. If more sauce is desired, add more chicken broth.

6. Serve tagine alone, with/over Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts, or with rice pilaf. Garnish dish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, if desired. Serves 6.

Jiddo's Hummus Bi Tahini

My late father-in-law excelled at making soups and baked beans, but his Hummus Bi Tahini is my favorite. I've never tasted better hummus than his version of this classic Arabic dip, a blend of chickpeas and sesame paste. Delicious, nutritious, and easy, this appetizer/side dish is great for the holidays, a nice break from all those cream-laden dips packed with calories. Be sure to use good quality tahini, and try not to eat it all before you serve it!

JIDDO’S HOOMIS BI TAHINI

Mix in Blender:
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup plain low fat yogurt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2-3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 large garlic clove, put through press

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Transfer mixture from blender to bowl. Add about ¾ cup Sesame Tahini, a little at a time, stirring well to desired thickness. Adjust seasonings to taste. Garnish with parsley, toasted pine nuts, and/or a scattering of chickpeas. Serve with crackers, pita bread, and/or crudités.

Middle Eastern Zucchini Salad

Light, refreshing, easy. What more could you want for a wonderful summer side dish, brought to us by the Arabs via Sicily and Spain? This one is sure to help use up all that extra zucchini in the garden!

MIDDLE EASTERN ZUCCHINI SALAD

1 zucchini squash (about 1 lb.)
1 summer squash (about 1 lb.)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2-3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. toasted pine nuts, plus extra for garnish
2 Tbs. golden raisins
1 tsp. dried mint (look for Syrian/Tabbouleh mint)
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

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1. Slice squash into ¼-inch slices (I use my food processor's thickest slicing blade)

2. Heat garlic and oil in frying pan until garlic is fragrant. Add squash. Sauté over moderate heat until heated through. Add pine nuts and raisins. Sauté until heated through.

3. Add mint and salt and pepper. Stir until squash is tender crisp. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. Stir in lemon juice. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with additional toasted pine nuts. May be served warm or cold.