This is a reworked dessert/sweet recipe. It is made with fenugreek seeds. It is usually made with mostly semolina. I wanted to make these bars, but noted that I only had about half the required semolina. I had a hunch that oatmeal would taste great in this, and I was right. From the original posted recipe Helba is a traditional sweet, dense cake … [Read more…]
Pulled Chicken Sandwiches – Djaj Musahab
This is called ‘pulled chicken’, but I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs for ease. You can serve this chicken in a crusty bread, or wrapped in flatbread. You can also eat it with rice and a salad. I prefer it as a sandwich, to feel like I have just stopped at a food cart in the center of a Levantine city. Tahini sauce 1 Tablespoon … [Read more…]
Slow Cooker Kofta (or converting a kofta recipe to a crockpot recipe)
This past weekend, my brother was visiting. We wanted to go out, yet have a home cooked meal and not resort to just getting takeout on the way home. I had already planned on making Kofta with Tomato Sauce (Mediterranean Meatballs with Tomato Sauce), so I thought that I would put my dusty, neglected slow cooker to good use. I made the kofta … [Read more…]
Hummus
Warning – a bit of a silly rant ahead….. One of my pet peeves is the current fad of calling almost any sort of Mediterranean-looking dip “hummus”. These days, they don’t even need to contain tahini. Pinterest is FULL of pins to recipes for black bean hummus, avocado hummus, zucchini hummus – I am very particular with what I consider hummus. If … [Read more…]
Helba – Fenugreek Cake Bars
This is my first dessert/sweet post on this blog. I think Helba is a good introduction to Levantine sweets. Helba is a traditional sweet, dense cake bar made of fenugreek seeds and sweetened with a sugar syrup. This is a completely vegan dessert. You will note that the cake itself only has 1 tablespoon of sugar that is dissolved with the … [Read more…]
Saturday Brunch – Bakdounsiya – Parsley Dip
Bakdounsiya is a common sight in a Levantine mezzeh spread. It is typically eaten with pita bread, just like hummus or any of the other mezzeh dips. It goes very well with grilled meats. If you thin this out a bit more, it would be a good sauce or dressing to drizzle on top of grilled kofta, kabobs, fish, or falafel. Bakdounsiya – Parsley … [Read more…]
Hummus with Parsley
16 ounce canned Chickpeas, drained, reserving liquid 1 small clove garlic 2 tablespoons Tahini 1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil Juice of half a lemon 1/2 cup parsley salt to taste More extra virgin olive oil for serving Pour chickpeas into blender. Add reserved liquid, to half the level of the chickpeas. Add garlic, tahini, olive … [Read more…]
Hummus with Ground Beef
Hummus is a very versatile food. You can have it for breakfast or a snack. You can top it with ground beef, and have a very hearty lunch or dinner. We often have this as part of our weekend brunch. We eat a little later in the morning, and have a good spread of several items to hold us till we eat our second meal which is later in the afternoon or … [Read more…]
Tahini Salad – Salata Tahina
This is a traditional salad that you’ll find on any Palestinian mezzeh spread. It is a standard Arabic salad of uniformly small chopped cucumber and tomatoes, with a tahini lemon dressing. Salata Tahini – Salad with Tahini Dressing 1 tomato, chopped into small pieces 1 mini cucumber, chopped into small pieces 3 tablespoons tahini juice … [Read more…]
Mediterranean Meatballs with Tahini Sauce (Kofta with Tahini)
Kofta with Tahini Sauce Kofta 1 pound ground beef (or lamb or turkey) half a small onion, finely minced or grated finely chopped parsley 1-2 cloves garlic, minced spices – ¼ to ½ a teaspoon of : allspice, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon or nutmeg, paprika Salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon cooking oil of your choice Combine all kofta … [Read more…]