6 posts tagged “lebanese”
...or fasolakia me arni, if you're Greek :)
I love almost every type of cuisine but if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Lebanese. It's probably a bit of a cop out, really, because it's just so similar to Greek food. That's probably why I like it, eh? I could honestly eat Middle Eastern or Mediterranean food every day for the rest of my life and I would be okay with that. Actually, I had Lebanese for 3 meals last week alone.
Lubyee bi laham (or any varation of that spelling) is a Lebanese lamb and green bean stew. Greeks make almost the same thing, with slightly different spices, and occasionally with okra instead of lamb. It is one of my absolute favorite things to eat, no matter who makes it. I grew up in a city with a population that was about 50% Arabic. In other words, I was extremely spoiled with Middle Eastern food. The local restaurants were authentic and the foods my friends' parents made me were, too! There are some great Lebanese joints in Chicago but I haven't found one that is totally up to par with Dearborn. But, that doesn't stop me from getting my fill of shawarma, kofta, pilaf, fattoush and jerusalem salad in a week, apparently.
This recipe is basically a combination of the one from Ally's blog, Culinary Infatuation, and the one from Katie's blog. Good Things Catered. Both have some Lebanese blood in them so I knew it had to be good.
And good it was. So tasty, so comforting. Letting this simmer for a few hours is seriously killer. It smells SO good. I was ready to dive into it before I had even added the green beans. Like Ally, we had this over some Middle Eastern couscous, which I already had in my cabinet. I just toasted it in olive oil and then cooked in a mixture of water and broth.
This was a little too liquidy, so next time I'll simmer uncovered for a few minutes at the end to thicken.
Lubyee bi Laham
Serves 4
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. lamb stew meat
2 onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
allspice (errr, I never know how much because I only have the whole allspice and I throw in quite a few; maybe 1/2--3/4 tsp. if you have it ground?)
1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed
salt and pepper
Heat a dutch oven over medium heat and then add the oil. Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot, add the lamb and brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add the onions and cook until tender. Add the garlic, sauteing until fragrant. Pour in the water and crushed tomatoes, deglazing the pot and scraping up all the browned bits. Add salt, pepper and allspice and bring to a boil. Put the lamb back in. Cover and turn the heat to low, simmering for 1-2 hours.
Add the green beans and simmer covered for an additional hour.
If you need to thicken the stew, simmer uncovered for a few additional minutes at the end.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 300 / Fat: 10 / Carbs: 26 / Fiber: 5g / Protein: 28.5
Tonight's dinner came together in no time. In fact, if I hadn't marinated the chicken (which honestly isn't really necessary, but does help), dinner would have been on the table in well under 20 minutes.
A while back I made some za'atar mix, a popular Lebanese spice mixture made of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. I decided to use the leftovers on some chicken thighs. I always have chicken thighs in my freezer. I LOVE dark meat chicken. It is so much more moist and flavorful than white meat and it holds up so well in braising and in broiling. And, if you skin the chicken, it's really not a whole lot worse for you than chicken breasts, just a little higher in fat.
I was planning on serving this with couscous until I realized right before dinner that we were out of couscous. D'oh! Luckily, I did have some quinoa on hand so I used that instead. Quinoa is a very healthy seed, though it's treated as a grain in cooking. It's a little larger than couscous in size with a nutty flavor somewhat similar to brown rice. Thankfully, it takes a lot less time to cook than brown rice, too, so I wasn't scrambling TOO much when I realized we were out of couscous. Plus, Tom prefers quinoa to couscous, so that's a bonus.
In addition to the quinoa, I served these with a simple cucumber and feta salad. This was a really simple, easy meal that turned out great. The chicken was so moist and flavorful, especially considering the extremely short list of ingredients.
Broiled Za'atar Chicken Thighs
Serves 2
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 lemon, juiced
1 heaping Tbsp. za'atar
salt and pepper (optional)
Mix lemon juice with za'atar mix. Rub the mixture onto the chicken thighs and refrigerate for half an hour.
Preheat the broiler and spray the broiler pan with some cooking spray. Sprinkle the chicken with a little salt and pepper if desired. Broil for approximately 6 minutes per side, or until done.
Nutritional Information per serving (2 thighs); note: I found a few different calorie counts for boneless/skinless chicken thighs. I went with the higher amount, just to be on the safe side. Calories: 233 / Fat: 11g / Carbs: 2g / Protein: 27.5g
Simple Quinoa with Pine Nuts
Serves 2
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for about one minute. Add the quinoa and the broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is cooked, about 12-15 minutes. Top with toasted pine nuts.
You can make this with couscous the same way but of course couscous only takes a couple minutes to cook.
This was a really fast dinner that came together with some leftover pitas from shawarma we had the other night. I just brushed the pitas with a little olive oil, sprinkled with za'atar mix and topped with ground lamb (seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic & oregano), toasted pine nuts, feta and chopped tomatoes. Stuck it in the oven till the cheese warmed up and the pita got nice and toasty.
Za'atar is a popular spice mix in Lebanese cuisine. Traditionally, it is mixed with olive oil and served on pitas or flatbreads. When I was living in Dearborn, MI (which boasts the second largest Arabic population outside the Middle East!) I used to love this "vegetarian delight" wrap at my local Lebanese restaurant. It was a flatbread with za'atar, feta, tomatoes and lettuce. Delicious. It can, of course, be used to flavor meat or, really anything you want!
I have seen really basic mixes for za'atar and ones that include marjoram, oregano and other herbs. I decided to make a really simple mix, figuring I could always add more herbs if I wanted. I used this recipe from recipezaar, but quartered the amount.
Za'atar Spice Mix
2 Tbsp. thyme
1 Tbsp. sumac
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
Combine all ingredients in a spice or coffee grinder until well combined and forming a powder.
Tonight, thanks largely to canarygirl's inspiration, I decided to try my hand at chicken shawarma. It's funny that I have not experimented too much with Lebanese cuisine, because it is very similar to Greek. And, where I am from originally (Dearborn, MI not Greece, hah) has the second largest population of Lebanese folks outside of the Middle East, so I grew up eating tons of tasty, authentic Middle Eastern foods. I guess I was partly intimidated to try making it for that reason.
So, tonight I made chicken shawarma, Jerusalem salad, and some rice pilaf with toasted almonds. I think the shawarma turned out GREAT but I wasn't terribly thrilled with my tahini sauce for the pita/salad. This is the second time I have tried making tahini and it was just kind of "eh" both times. The funny thing is the only ingredients are tahini, garlic, lemon juice and water. But I just couldn't get the taste I wanted. Oh well. If anyone has a foolproof recipe, please send it my way! I actually added a tablespoon of yogurt at the end, which helped and made it a little creamier, but it was still a little too tahini-y for my tastes.
Sorry about the lack of measurements in this recipe. I tend to be really bad abour measuring marinades. This marinade was enough for about 1 lb. of chicken.
Chicken shawarma
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
a pinch or cinnamon, or a stick
1 bay leaf
allspice (I only had whole allspice and used about 8, but a good pinch would work if you have ground)
small pinch of ground cloves (optional)
pinch of sumac
salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients together and pour mixture into ziplock bag with chicken pieces. Use whatever type of meat you want. I used some thighs that I skinned, since that is what I had on hand. Marinate for several hours or overnight. Note: when I do marinades with acids for long periods of time, I don't add the acid immediately. So, for this, I didn't add the lemon juice until about 30 minutes before I was going to cook the chicken.
Then, cook it how you like. I tend to prefer grilling or broiling (which is what I did) but you could bake it or cut it into pieces and pan fry or saute..whatever you prefer.
Pilaf with toasted almonds
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finally diced onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup rice
1/4 cup vermicelli or spaghetti broken into pieces
2 cups chicken broth (or however much liquid your brand of rice calls for)
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds [toast in a dry skillet over medium heat or in a 375* oven for 5-10 minutes]
ground cinnamon (optional)
Heat saucepan and add butter and oil, until combined. Add onion and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds before adding rice and vermicelli. Toast until spaghetti turns a golden brown color.
Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer and cook unti done. Stir in toasted almonds. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
As far as the Jerusalem salad is concerned (this is just diced tomatoes and cucumbers mixed with tahini sauce and topped with parsley) my tahini sauce was something like...
2 tablespoons tahini
Juice of one lemon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon yogurt
water
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Mix all ingredients but water and oil. Add water slowly to desired consistency. Drizzle in EVOO.
Like I said, it was OK, not great. But maybe someone will experiment with it and give me the winning tahini recipe. :)
Unfortunately, my camera batteries died just as I was trying to take a picture of the whole meal together :( So, here are some bits and pieces of the process/parts of the meal.
On Friday, we had goat cheese-sundried tomato-spinach paninis on ciabatta bread. I used herbed goat cheese and drizzled it all with a little baslamic vinegar before grilling on the press. We had it with a spinach and mixed green salad (topped with shaved romano). I am starting to run out of meatless ideas for Lenten Fridays. This was SO good though. Really, how bad can goat cheese + warm crusty bread be?
My friend brought me the best gift ever from MI--a huge bag of sumac (I can't find it anywhere here). Since it's HUGE, I figured I better get to using some of it, so I made fattoush. I topped it with some grilled chicken. Mmm!
This serves two as a meal (with a protein), but if you plan on making it as a salad/first course you will probably want to half it.
Dressing:
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sumac
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I usually add some kosher salt and a drizzle of olive oil to the top and then smash)
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
pepper to taste
Salad
1.5 cups lettuce or greens (I used romaine but any mixture of romaine/purslane/arugula/etc. will work).
1 cucumber, sliced or cut into chunks
1 tomato sliced
3 Tbsp. fresh parsley (leaves only)
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced
1 pita, sliced through the pocket, torn into pieces and toasted (I do this at 375 for 8-10 minutes or so)
