Good morning GUSworldlovers!!!! We don't do politics but I do recipes. If the world could just love the best cuisines of every nation, we'd be sooooo mellow. I am Irish mongrel Catholic Pantheist so I only sort of know every one else's cuisine by accident and intent. So -- hey, think glorious food from the Middle East. Most excellent and rich veggies, meats, herbs, spices. Beautiful people who deserve to sit down at a zillion foot table and share a meal. I'm sharing some dishes I've made and discovered but not made.
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From The Shiksa in the Kitchen. Click and look at the amazing pictures and perfect step by step recipe for
Bienenstich Bars
CRUST INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (4 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (4 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz) sugar
2 tbsp honey
YOU WILL ALSO NEED
Mixing bowls, 9x13 baking pan or dish, saucepan
Total Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Servings: 24 square bars
Kosher Key: Dairy
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make crust, combine butter, egg yolks, flours, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
Mix and squeeze mixture together with your hands until a smooth dough is formed.
Evenly spread the mixture into the bottom of a greased, 9x13 baking pan. Set aside.
To make the topping, melt the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan.
Once melted, add the chopped almonds and stir to combine.
Pour topping mixture over the crust and spread evenly.
Bake for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool completely in the baking dish before slicing with a sharp knife.
From
My Persian Kitchen
Click the link and bookmark the site -- gorgeous food and pictures and instructions!!!
Iranian Potato Salad Wrapped in Cucumber Slices
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
3 lb potatoes
1 medium carrot
2 cups peas
1 1/2 cup firm yogurt such as Lebni
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2-3 tbsp dill
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
8-10 Persian cucumbers
Garnish
curly leaf parsly
radishes
spring onions
Instructions
Cook potatoes, then peel and cut into cubes. Place in a large mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
Grate carrot and add to potatoes along with peas. Then toss to mix.
In a bowl add yogurt and mayo.
Add enough salt and pepper to season the whole salad. In my case I added about 1 1/2 teaspoons. Mix well.
Add rough chopped fresh dill. Depending on your taste preference add 2 or 3 tablespoons. I love dill, so I added 3 tablespoons. Mix well.
Add dressing to the salad and mix well. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Wrap salad in saran wrap and place in the fridge to cool down.
With a mandoline slice cucumbers. Or if you aren't Lonely Liberal in PA, you probably can cut with a knife without spurting blood.
In a Bundt cake pan, carefully arrange cucumber slices making sure that each slice overlaps the other starting with the outside wall.
Next cover the inside wall and place a row of cucumbers at the bottom if slices are not long enough to overlap each other at the bottom to the pan.
Scoop in the potato salad pressing down firmly. Then even out the top. Cover tightly with saran wrap and place in the fridge for at least one hour. I recommend not keeping this salad in the fridge for too many hours as the cucumber’s moisture will make it watery. Mine stayed in the pan for about 3 hours and it was fine.
Once ready to serve carefully invert the pan onto a flat serving dish. Mix together lime juice and olive oil, then evenly pour over the “cake.” Sprinkle cucumber slices evenly with salt.
LOOK AT THE PICTURES AT THE LINK -- GORGEOUS!!!!
From Syrian Cooking.
Sayadieh (Fish with Spices)
Beautiful!!!! Click the link.
Damn, I can't copy and paste. Really, click this link. The recipe is glorious!!!!
From
Mama's Lebanese Kitchen
Fasolia bi zait (Fasolia beans stew)
Vegetarian Fasolia Beans Stew Recipe also known as Fasolia bi Zait is a delicious and healthy traditional Lebanese stew.
Author: Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen
Recipe type: Middle Eastern Entree
Serves: 6
Ingredients
2 cups of pinto beans (fasolia)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 head of garlic, finely minced
1 medium head of potato, cut into tiny cubes
½ cup of olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of tomato paste
½ teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
8 cups of water
Instructions
Soak the beans overnight in fresh water so that they soften and cook faster.
In a deep cooking pot, sautee the garlic, onions, potatoes and beans in the olive oil for 5-10 minutes.
Add 8 cups of warm water to the pot along with the salt and stir well
Cover the pot and let gently boil/simmer on low heat for 1 hour
Add 2 teaspoons of tomato paste to the pot, stirr well, boil for another 15 minutes and serve hot with a side of pita bread.
Notes
Note that if you add cold water instead of warm water to the pot, the beans may wrinkle.
Ok, my Jordanian brothers and sisters -- get your recipes front and center on the google. My search sucked. I know you have brilliant food!
Ok, Morocco too because they have many Middle Eastern flavors and this recipe is one of my all time favorites. You don't have to own a tagine (or tajine). I do because I love kitchen porn. This recipe can be done in a dutch oven or big covered stainless steel pot. My recipe is in my head so I thought Ina Garten's head was better.
Ina Garten's Moroccan Chicken Tajine
Ingredients
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large Spanish onion, grated (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons canola, grapeseed or olive oil (not a heavy olive oil)
1 to 2 preserved lemons, depending on size (preserved lemons can be found in some grocery stores but you can just use meyer or regular lemon rinds)
8 chicken thighs, with bone and skin
Stems from the parsley and cilantro, tied with twine
1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron or 1/4 teaspoon powdered turmeric and 4 strands saffron
1 cup pitted green Moroccan or Greek olives
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, about 1/4 cup chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, about 1/4 cup chopped
Directions
In a large bowl, mix the garlic, cumin, ginger, paprika, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup grated onion, and the oil.
Rinse the preserved lemons, and remove the pulp. RESERVE the lemon peel for later use.
Add the lemon pulp to the mixing bowl. Add the chicken. Mix everything together and place in a large plastic bag to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. (Twenty-four hours really gives the chicken the best flavor.)
In a large Dutch oven or casserole, place the chicken and marinade; add the stems of the parsley and cilantro, the rest of the grated onion, the powdered saffron and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, turn down to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover, stir the chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm. Keep sauce on stove and begin to reduce.
Slice the preserved lemon peel into thin slices and add to the sauce along with the olives, parsley and cilantro. Reduce until the sauce is just a little thick. This shouldn't take more than 5 minutes at most.
Uncover the chicken and remove the skin from the chicken. (It doesn't look pretty and who needs the extra fat.) Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
Peace is in the kitchen unless you have your Jewish, Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Iranian, etc. mother in there looking over your shoulder and reaching for the spices. Irish mothers don't really cook that well in my experience -- they spend their time around the table telling stories (like all those other mothers).
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