Keftedes stuffed with cheese

I don't have to be Greek to love and cook Greek food right? In fact, the Greek love to eat, who doesn't? I remember the first time I went to Greece, it was long time ago, maybe 10 years ago, I fell in love with it and vowed to return; the dreamy beaches, the beautiful coastline, the culture, the lively nightlife, and especially the lovely tavernas, the simple eateries where families eat, drink and converse, an ideal setting to savor a communal meal.

And because I love Greek food, one of my favorite blogger is Peter of Kalofagas - Greek food & beyond. This recipe was on my to-do list for quite a while, and last night I decided I want to make it. Nothing beats the tantalizing smell of melted cheese. Peter suggests we use Kasseri cheese, a Greek cheese made of goat's milk. It has a creamy, sweet and mild taste. It also melts a lot quicker than haloumi and some of the other Greek cheeses. You can however also use haloumi, gouda, feta, or even Gran padano.

Ingredients (serves 6):
1 kg. of medium ground beef 
2 medium onions, grated 
4 slices of bread, soaked in water (or milk), hand squeezed and then crumbled
1 tbsp grated fresh garlic
2 eggs (for binding)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp chopped parsley
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 inch flat squares of cheese (Vlahotyri or Kasseri)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well using your hands.
Form palm-sized patties with your hands, then squish them into flat patties and reserve in a platter. Cover with cling-wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Before grilling, allow the keftedes to come back to room temperature. Take your piece of cheese and place it in the middle of one pattie. Now place another pattie on top and press the two patties together to form one larger keftede. Now using your fingers, pinch the entire perimeter of your pattie so that when you grill, the Keftede will hold together and your cheese will not leak.
Grill on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes a side.

Keftedes au fromage

Ingrédients (6 personnes):
1 kg. de bœuf haché 
2 oignons gratés 
4 pains de mie, trempés dans de l'eau (ou dans du lait), puis bien égouttés et émiéttés
1 càs d'ail pressé
2 œufs
1 càc d'origan
1 càs de persil haché
pincée de cumin
sel et poivre selon goût
fromage coupé en dés (Vlahotyri ou Kasseri/halloumi-gouda-gran padano)

Mélangez tous les ingrédients dans un bol avec les mains.
Formez des boulettes dans la paume de votre main, aplatissez-les afin d'obtenir un disque et réservez-les dans un plat de service. Couvrez avec un film alimentaire et réfrigérez-les pendant au moins 4 heures.
Laissez revenir à température ambiante au moins 30 minutes avant de les griller. Prenez votre morceau de fromage et placez-le au milieu d'un disque. Maintenant, placez un autre disque sur le dessus et appuyez sur les deux disques. En utilisant vos doigts, pincez le pourtour de votre keftede de sorte que lorsque vous la griller, la Keftede se tient ensemble et votre fromage ne coule pas.
Grillez sur feu moyen pendant environ 5 minutes de chaque côté.

Labneh with za'atar

In Lebanon and other countries that ring the Eastern Mediterranean, labneh is a mainstay of the breakfast table. It is a yogurt which has been strained in a muslin cloth, for about 24 hours. It is commonly made using cow’s milk which is available all year; it is also made from goats’ milk from April to September.

In households throughout Lebanon, labneh is consumed on a daily basis. Labneh has a cheese-like consistency and is usually eaten at breakfast, or as a filling for pita sandwiches and also appears at lunch and dinner. One of my favorite breakfasts is to toast some flatbread, slather on labneh, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with dried mint or za'atar, a seasoning blend. Sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives and fresh mint leaves are its usual companions, even at breakfast. A plate of labneh is always found in the traditional mezze, either plain or garlic-flavored*.

Here, I made the classical labneh using cow’s milk, and I sprinkled it with za'atar and olive oil! It’s the easiest homemade dip you will ever make.

Ingredients:
1 kg good quality plain yogurt
1 tsp salt
extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 tbsp za'atar

In a medium bowl combine yogurt and salt. 

Line a colander with a double layer of cheese cloth. Place colander inside a large bowl to collect whey. Tip the yogurt and salt mixture into the lined colander. Tie the corners to make a pouch. Cover colander/bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Allow yogurt to drain in the refrigerator 24 hours.

Serve as is, if you want the plain labneh, or stir in the za'atar seasoning. Drizzle some olive oil.

Serve with crudites, or pita bread, or pita chips.

* If you like garlic, pound 1 clove of garlic and mix it to the plain labneh to obtain labneh-with-garlic.

Labneh avec za'atar

Ingrédients: 
1 kg de yaourt nature 
1 càc de sel 
huile d'olive extra-vierge
2 à 3 càs de za'atar

Dans un bol moyen, mélanger le yaourt et le sel. Tapisser une passoire avec un torchon propre. Placer la passoire dans un grand saladier. Verser le yaourt dans le torchon.  Rabattre les pans du torchon par dessus le yaourt et laisser égoutter dans le frigo 24 heures.
Servir tel quel, voire nature, ou bien ajouter le za'atar. Verser un peu d'huile d'olive. Servir avec des crudités, du pain pita, ou des chips.

* Si vous aimez l'ail, écrasez une gousse d'ail et mélanger-la au labneh nature, ainsi vous obtiendrez du labneh à l'ail.

Baba ghannouj - Eggplant dip

 

Baba ghannouj is by far one of my favorite dips. It is a delicious blend of eggplants, garlic, and tahini. It has a smooth, creamy texture, and a slightly smoked taste. The popular method is for the eggplant to be baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a smoky taste which brings a nice depth of flavors.  

Eggplant and tahini dip is called 'baba ghanouj' all over Lebanon, and as soon as you cross the border into Syria it's called 'moutabal'. In Syria and other parts of the Levant, baba ghanouj is something of a salad. It includes chunks of grilled eggplant, diced onion, tomatoes and other seasonal vegetables. The ingredients are tossed together with a pomegranate vinaigrette.

You'll see here, baba ghannouj is not a complicated recipe, plus it keeps well in the refrigerator, which gives you an excuse to make a big batch and eat it for days.

Ingredients: 
2 medium eggplants 
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste) 
2 tbsp lemon juice 
2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed 
1 tsp salt 
1 tbsp olive oil 
chopped parsley for garnish

Prick the eggplant skin with a fork and grill it in a preheated oven at 400ºF (200ºC) for about one hour or until the eggplant is cooked. Let the eggplants cool briefly. 
Split the eggplant and scrape out the pulp. Puree the pulp in a blender or food processor with the other ingredients until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt and lemon juice, if necessary. Chill a few hours before serving.

Baba ghannouj - Caviar d'aubergines

Ingrédients: 
2 aubergines de taille moyenne 
1/4 tasse tahini (crème de sésame) 
2 càs de jus de citron 
2 gousses d'ail écrasées 
1 càc de sel 
1 càs d'huile d'olive 
persil haché pour la décoration

Piquez l'aubergine à plusieurs reprises avec une fourchette et faites-la griller au four préchauffé à 200°C pendant une heure ou jusqu'à ce que l'aubergine soit cuite. Laissez-la refroidir un peu. Pelez-la puis mettez les morceaux d'aubergine avec le reste des ingrédients dans un bol mixeur pour les réduire en une purée lisse et homogène.
Assaisonnez de sel ou de jus de citron, si nécessaire. Laissez au frigo quelques heurs avant de servir.

Toum - Garlic Lebanese sauce

(recipe adapted from http://thefoodblog.com.au/2010/04/fast-and-easy-toum-the-best-lebanese-garlic-sauce-recipe.html)

As I have promised you in the post of the shish taouk, here is the 'toum' recipe adapted from the blog thefoodblog.au. This is a traditional Lebanese garlic dipping sauce that goes perfect with chicken and meat. I never made toum because doing it the standard Lebanese way was quite a workout on my mortar and pestle. When I saw Fouad's recipe, I said I should definitely try it, because it uses a blender and it really take 3 minutes. Here it is, we really enjoyed it with the shish taouk, so if you like garlic, don't wait to try it!!

Ingredients:
5 cloves of garlic
1 egg white
1 cup of neutral oil (sunflower is fine)
Juice of 1 lemon
a good pinch of salt
1 cup of iced water of which you will use around 2 tbsp

Put the garlic cloves along with salt and 1/4 of the lemon juice in the blender. Blend on medium and scrape the sides down when the garlic goes flying everywhere. Add the egg white and blend on medium.
Add half the oil in bit by bit. A thin stream is not necessary, but don’t go crazy. A reasonable, fine, steady pour is good.

At this stage, the emulsification should have taken place. If it hasn’t and the sauce looks like it has split, then something has gone wrong. You may need to remove half the amount, add another egg white, whizz away and re-pour what had already split. But if you take it slow without pouring the oil too quickly, it should be fine.

Switch to a slow blend, and add the rest of the lemon juice in slowly too.
Add the rest of the oil in the same fashion.
Add 1 or 2 tbsp of water. You will see the consistency change into something wonderfully creamy and light.



Toum - Sauce à l'ail libanaise

Ingrédients:
5 gousses d'ail
1 blanc d'œuf
230 ml d'huile végétale
jus d'un citron
une pincée de sel
2 càs d'eau glacée

Mettez les gousses d'ail avec le sel et 1/4 de jus de citron dans le mixeur. Mélangez à vitesse moyenne et raclez les côtés vers le bas. Ajoutez le blanc d'oeuf et mélangez à vitesse moyenne.Ajoutez la moitié de l'huile petit à petit. Un mince filet n'est pas nécessaire. 
 
A ce stade l'émulsion des ingrédients doit être assurée.

Passez à une vitesse lente, et ajoutez le reste du jus de citron lentement. Ajoutez le reste de l'huile de la même façon. Ajoutez 1 ou 2 c. à soupe d'eau. Vous verrez le changement de la consistence de la sauce.

Shish Taouk - Grilled Chicken kebabs

Ask any Lebanese living abroad what do you miss about Lebanon, and he'll definitely answer you: "the FOOD". It's crazy, it's not that we love to eat, of course we do!! but what we miss the most about Lebanon is the exotic colors of warm Lebanese culture; the cold and hot mezzes, the fresh tabbouleh, the hummus, the tasty bread, the baklava one of the best deserts you can enjoy. 

In fact, it's not the food in itself that we miss but the spirit of it. In Lebanon, everything revolves around food and eating, those Sundays family lunches, those huge groups of friends, those long morning coffee meetings... Sunday lunches at home were mostly made of tabboule, hummus, kefta skewers, lamb skewers, shish taouk and many other dishes.

A shish, simply put, has its origins in Turkish and means skewer. Taouk, also Turkish, refers to grilled or roasted chicken. The so-called shish taouk that most Lebanese devour is considered by many to be the best in the city!

I grew up in a house where most of the things were homemade. My mother always say 'homemade food tastes always better, at least we know what we're eating and what the ingredients are'. She has a point plus you can tailor the ingredients to fit your needs, which is always an extra bonus! 

But when it comes to shish taouk, one of my father's all time favorite thing to eat, we used to buy it marinated. In Lebanon you can find it anywhere, so I never really got the chance to learn an authentic taouk recipe, until I stumbled across Fouad's recipe at thefoodblog. I was also happy that a few days later he posted a great simple recipe for the garlic Lebanese sauce 'toum' which accompanies the shish taouk. 

What can I tell you, I have really tried many shish taouk recipes, but this is the best one I ever made!! I will be posting soon the garlic Lebanese sauce!

Ingredients (around 15 skewers):
1.5 kg chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup olive oil
3 tbsp dijon or mild mustard
3/4 cup lemon juice
10 crushed garlic cloves
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp white (or black) pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 tbsp finely chopped thyme or 2 tbsp dried thyme
mushrooms, (optional but highly recommended)
1 red and/or 1 green pepper (optional but highly recommended)

Emulsify the mustard with the olive oil. This is done by whisking a little bit of olive oil into the mustard and continuing to do so until all the olive oil is incorporated.

Add and whisk the lemon juice, salt, pepper, tomato paste, garlic and thyme until well mixed
Marinate the chicken in the sauce overnight in the fridge.

Skewer the chicken along with pieces of mushroom and red/green pepper and barbeque or grill until done. Don’t over cook otherwise the chicken would dry out.



Shish taouk - Brochettes de poulet 

Ingrédients (environ 15 brochettes): 
1.5 kg de filet de poulet, détaillé en cubes 
23 cl d'huile d'olive 
3 càs de moutarde
17 cl de jus de citron 
10 gousses d'ail écrasées 
2 càs de sel 
1 càs de poivre (noir ou blanc) 
2 càs de concentré de tomate 
4 càs de thym haché ou 2 càs de thym séché 
champignons, (optionnel mais recommandé) 
1 poivron vert et/ou 1 poivron rouge (optionnel mais recommandé)

Emulsionnez la moutarde avec l'huile d'olive. Cela se fait en fouettant un peu l'huile d'olive dans la moutarde et continuez de le faire jusqu'à ce que l'huile d'olive soit complètement incorporée.

Versez en fouettant le jus de citron, le sel, le poivre, le concentré de tomates, l'ail et le thym jusqu'à ce que le tout soit bien mélangé.Laissez mariner le poulet dans la sauce une nuit au réfrigérateur.

Piquez les morceaux de poulet  avec des morceaux de champignons et de poivron rouge/vert sur des brochettes et faites-les cuire au barbecue ou au grill jusqu'à cuisson complète. Ne pas trop cuire le poulet afin qu'il ne se déssèche pas.

Pineapple upside down cake

It has been a while since I last made a cake, I usually love to have a piece of cake with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast. This was my first attempt at making a pineapple upside-down cake, and I was really happy with the result. 

In fact, I had been craving something sweet for a while, and I always enjoy having fruit in dessert. This cake is so simple to make, thanks to Thomas Keller!

The cake turned out great, the thick caramel syrup combined with fresh and juicy sliced pineapple and paired with a moist spongy cake is really delicious! 

Ingredients (serves 8):
Pan Schmear:
8 Tbsp (1 Stick; 4 oz; 110g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ tbsp honey
½ tsp Dark Rum
1 cup packed light brown sugar
¼ tsp Vanilla Paste or Pure Vanilla Extract
sea salt

1 Gold (Extra-Sweet) Pineapple

Cake:
1 1/3 cups cake flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
8 tbsp (1 Stick; 4 oz; 110g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup + 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
½ tsp Vanilla Paste or Pure Vanilla Extract
2 large eggs
1 tbsp + 1 tsp milk



Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180ºC).

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the butter, honey, rum, brown sugar, and vanilla and beat until smooth and well blended. Spread 1/3 cup of the schmear over the bottom of a 9-inch silicone cake pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt. (The remaining schmear can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 1 month; bring to room temperature before using.)

Cut the top and bottom from the pineapple and cut away the peel. Cut the pineapple lengthwise into quarters, and cut off the core from each section. Cut each piece crosswise into ¼-inch thick slices. Beginning at the perimeter of the pan, make an overlapping ring of pineapple slices with the curved side facing out. Make a second ring inside the first one, overlapping the slices in the opposite direction, working toward the center of the pan.

Sift the flour and baking powder together; set aside.

Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and mix on low speed to combine, then beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Mix in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until the first one is incorporated before adding the second and scraping down the sides as necessary. Beat in the milk. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating until combined.

Pour the batter into the pan and spread over the pineapple. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan for even browning and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 20 to 40 minutes.

Run a knife around the edges of the cake, invert onto a serving platter, and serve warm. (Leftover can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

Gâteau renversé à l'ananas

Ingrédients (8 personnes):

Le caramel:
110 g de beurre doux à température ambiante
1 ½ càs de miel
½ càc de rhum brun
200 g sucre roux
¼ càc de vanille ou d'extrait de vanille
sel de mer

1 ananas

Gâteau:
150 g de farine
2 càc de levure chimique
110 g de beurre doux à température ambiante -
30 g de sucre
½ càc de vanille ou d'extrait de vanille
2 œufs
1 càs + 1 càc de lait

Préchauffez votre four à 180ºC.

Dans le bol d'un robot batteur, battez le beurre, le miel, le rhum, le sucre brun et la vanille afin d'obtenir un mélange homogène. Beurrez votre moule et nappez-le de du 1/3 de ce mélange. Saupoudrez un peu de sel. (Le caramel restant peut être conservé 2 semaines au frigo et 1 mois au congélateur; il faut le décongeler avant tout usage).

Epluchez l'ananas. Coupez-le en tranches de 1 cm environ. Avec un emporte-pièce retirez la partie centrale des tranches d'ananas puis couper chaque tranche en 4 ou 5 morceaux réguliers.

Disposez ces morceaux d'ananas sur le caramel.

Tamisez la farine et la levure. Réservez.

Dans un grand bol, battez le beurre et le sucre environ 3 mn, jusqu'à obtenir un mélange crémeux. Ajoutez la vanille. Incorporez l'un après l'autre les 2 œufs, battant après chaque ajout. Ajoutez le lait puis la farine en 3 fois, battant jusqu'à obtenir un mélange homogène.

Versez cette préparation sur les morceaux d'ananas. Enfournez 15 mn. Tournez le moule et laissez cuire 20 à 25 mn de plus. Vérifiez la cuisson en piquant un cure-dent. Laissez le gâteau se refroidir 20 à 40 mn.

Passez un couteau entre le gâteau et le moule, puis retournez-le sur un plat. (Ce gâteau peut être conservé à température ambiante environ 2 jours).

Shrimp Fra diavolo

Shrimp fra diavolo is a classic Italian-American creation, a "brother devil" style, where shrimp is simmered in a garlicky, spicy tomato sauce. This dish can be served as an appetizer with grilled bread or it can be spooned over spaghetti. I used half a teaspoon of red pepper flakes here, but feel free to kick up the spices if you like.

Ingredients (serves 4): 1 lb (450g) shrimps (about 40 to the pound), peeled and deveined - 2 tbsp olive oil - 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced - ½ onion, finely diced - 1 cup dry white wine - 1 can diced tomatoes, drained - ½ tsp (or more) red pepper flakes - 2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped - Salt  and freshly ground black pepper - 4 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped - 1 lb (450g) linguine

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add garlic and onion to skillet and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add canned tomatoes and wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Add parsley, basil, red pepper flakes, pasta water, and shrimp to skillet and toss well.

Divide the pasta equally among four plates and spoon one-quarter of the shrimp and tomato sauce over each plate. Garnish with the parsley.

Crevettes fra diavolo

Ingrédients (4 personnes): 450 g de crevettes (environ 40 crevettes), pelées et déveinées - 2 càs d'huile d'olive - 4 gousses d'ail, pelées et finement hachées - ½ oignon, finement haché - 20 cl de vin blanc sec - 1 boîte de tomates concassées, égouttée - ½ càc (ou plus) de piment d'Espelette - 2 càs de basilic haché - sel et poivre - 4 càs de persil haché - 450 g de linguine

Faites chauffer l'huile dans une grande poêle à feu moyen. Ajoutez les crevettes et faites cuire, en les retournant une fois, jusqu'à ce qu'elles soient cuites, environ 3 minutes de chaque côté. Transférez-les dans une assiette et réservez. Ajoutez l'ail et l'oignon dans la poêle et faites cuire 3 à 5 minutes. Ajoutez les tomates concassées et le vin. Assaisonnez selon votre goût avec le sel et le poivre.

Pendant ce temps, faites cuire les pâtes dans une grande casserole d'eau bouillante salée. Égouttez et réservez 1/4 tasse de l'eau de cuisson des pâtes. Ajoutez le persil, le basilic, l'eau de cuisson, le piment et les crevettes dans la poêle et mélangez.

Répartissez les pâtes en parts égales dans quatre assiettes et nappez d'un quart de la sauce aux crevettes sur chaque assiette. Garnissez avec le persil.

Pistachio meatballs with tahini sauce

Meatballs!! I wonder how many variations of the meatball exist. While some meatballs are mostly made of meat and ingredients to cement the ball, others may include other ingredients. How one makes meatballs depends as much on one's cultural background as on individual taste. There are even meatless 'meatballs' to satisfy vegetarian palates.

Well, for the past week, my husband kept reminding me to make the pistachio meatballs with the tahini sauce. It’s something about the tahini sauce and the hearty meatballs that makes him really happy.

He has a strange affliction with this dish, well he loves tahini sauce, I love it too! And if he’s happy, then I’m happy. So I whipped up a batch of flavorful pistachio meatballs, sprinkled them with sumac and served them with a tahini sauce. The flavor of this sauce is rich, and its nuttiness enhances the meatballs so perfectly.

Most of you are probably familiar with tahini, a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. Tahini-based sauce is common in Middle Eastern cuisines, it's served as a side dish or as a garnish, usually including lemon juice, salt and garlic and thinned with water.

Ingredients (around 25 meatballs):
Meatballs: 1 white sandwich bread, crusts removed - 1 lb (500g) ground beef - 1 onion, grated - 1 tsp salt - 1 tsp cumin - 1 tsp allspice - ½ tsp paprika - ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper - ¾ cup minced parsley - ½ cup finely-chopped mint - ¼ cup unsalted pistachios -  2 tbsp olive oil - sumac for garnish

Tahini Sauce: ½ cup tahini paste, well stirred - ½ cup water- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice - 1 garlic, crushed into a paste

For the Meatballs: Dip the bread in cold water and squeeze dry against the bottom of a fine sieve.
In a large bowl, mix bread with beef, onion, salt, cumin, allspice, paprika and black pepper. Mix thoroughly, but avoid overhandling. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Mix in parsley, mint and pistachios with your hands and shape mixture into balls.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add half the meatballs and saute until browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Regulate heat so meatballs don't burn, and shake pan vigorously to turn them.

Transfer to paper towels. Wipe skillet and repeat with remaining oil and meatballs. Place in a serving plate, sprinkle them with sumac. Serve hot or warm, with tahini sauce.

For the tahini sauce: Combine tahini, water, lemon juice, and garlic, stirring well.

Boulettes de viande aux pistaches et à la sauce tahini
Ingrédients (environ 25 boulettes):
Boulettes: 50 g de mie de pain - 500 g de viande hachée - 1 oignon râpé - 1 càc de sel - 1 càc  de cumin - 1 càc de 7-épices - ½ càc de paprika - ½ càc de poivre noir moulu – 70 g de persil haché – 70 g de menthe finement haché - 1/4 tasse de pistaches non salées - 2 càs d'huile d'olive - sumac pour la garniture

Sauce tahini: 120 ml de tahini - 120 ml d'eau - 60 ml de jus de citron - 1 gousse d'ail, écrasée

Pour les boulettes: Trempez le pain dans l'eau froide et essorez-le bien.
Dans un grand bol mélangez le pain, la viande hachée, l'oignon, le sel, le cumin, le mélange 7-épices - le paprika et le poivre noir. Malaxez puis réfrigérez pendant 1 heure.

Ajoutez le persil, la menthe et les pistaches et façonnez avec vos mains des boulettes de viande.

Faites chauffer 1 càs d'huile à feu moyen dans une grande poêle. Ajoutez la moitié des boulettes de viande et faites-les revenir jusqu'à ce qu'elles soient dorées et cuites, environ 7 minutes, en les retournant régulièrement.
Attention le feu ne doit pas être trop fort.

Répétez avec l'huile restante et les boulettes de viande. Déposez-les dans un plat de service, saupoudrez-les de sumac. Servez chaud ou tiède, avec de la sauce tahini.

Pour la sauce tahini: Mélangez le tahini, l'eau, le jus de citron et l'ail, en remuant bien.

Ma'amoul - the middle-eastern pastry

Easter brings back great memories from my youth in Lebanon; sunny holidays, church memories, family visits, and of course ma’amoul baking. 

Ma’amoul is a middle-eastern pastry filled with walnuts, pistachios or dates. It’s a pastry made only for Easter. Molds are used to create those pastries. In fact, the design on the mold traditionally indicates which filling the cookie has, so you can choose between them without having to take a bite first. 

I remember we used to gather one week before Easter, mom used to make tons of ma’amoul and we used to spend long hours doing them. I loved making those pastries, handling the dough perfumed with rose water. Until today, I was only a helper, it was fun to fill the molds and knock them out on the baking pan. This year, I decided I wanted to make my own maa’moul. I got the recipe from mom while I was in Lebanon but I was dreading the fact of doing them alone. Well, I enjoyed making them, and they turned out really delicious. The first thing I did when I removed them from the oven and sprinkled them with icing sugar was to call mom and tell her: “I made it!!”. She was really proud of me, which made me even happier! So happy Easter everybody and enjoy the holiday!

Ingredients (around 70): 2 cups semolina, coarsely ground (smeed) - ½ cup semolina, finely ground (ferkha) - 1 cup (250g) soft butter - ½ cup sugar - ½ cup milk - ½ tsp active dry yeast - ½ tsp mahleb* - 1 tbsp rosewater - 1 tbsp orange flower water - confectioner's sugar for dusting

Filling: 2 cups chopped walnuts or unsalted pistachios - ¼ cup sugar - 1 tbsp rose or orange flower water

In a large bowl, place the semolina, the fine semolina, the sugar, the milk, the yeast, the mahleb and the butter. Rub the mixture in your fingers until it's flaky. Cover the bowl with a towel and and it let rest 12 hours.
After 12 hours, use your hands to soften the semolina mixture adding 1 tbsp rose water and 1 tbsp orange flower water. Mix to form a ball that is soft and somewhat sticky but manageable. Set aside.

Prepare the filling: Simply mix everything up well in a food processor. Put the filling in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Using your hands, form walnut-sized balls of dough. Flatten each piece of dough onto the palm of your hand, and push it till it's about a 3-inch circle. Place 1 ½  teaspoons of the nut filling in the center of the dough. Bring the edges of the dough up with your fingertips and press them together to seal the filling. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Press each filled ball into the ma'amoul mold to give it a decorated appearance. Then tap the cookies out onto the work area with a sharp firm hit to the top of the mold.
Prepare each one in this way and place them neatly in rows, on a greased/parchment paper lined baking tray.

Place the tray in a preheated oven at 350°F and bake for about 20 minutes. When they turn lightly golden, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Dust them with confectioner's sugar.

* Mahleb powder (ground black cherry pits) is available in Middle Eastern specialty markets.

 

Ma'amoul
Ingrédients (environ 70): 2 tasses de semoule ordinaire (smeed) - ½ tasse de semoule fine (ferkha) - 250 g de beurre mou - ½ tasse de sucre - ½ tasse de lait - ½ càc de levure instantanée - ½ càc de mahlep - 1 càs d'eau de rose - 1 càs d'eau de fleurs d'oranger - sucre glace pour la finition 

Garniture: 2 tasses de noix ou de pistaches hachés - ¼ tasse de sucre - 1 càs d'eau de rose or d'eau de fleurs d'oranger

Dans un grand bol, placez la semoule, la semoule fine, le sucre, le lait, la levure, le mahlep et le beurre. Frottez le mélange entre vos doigts. Couvrez d'un linge de cuisine et laissez reposer 12 heures.
Après 12 heures, pétrissez la pâte à la main pour ramollir le mélange de semoule en ajoutant 1 c. à soupe d'eau de rose et 1 c. à soupe d'eau de fleurs d'oranger. Mélangez jusqu'à obtenir une masse souple assez molle mais non collante. Réservez. 

Préparez la garniture: Mixez les ingrédients de la farce dans un robot. Placez-la dans un petit bol et réservez.  

Préchauffer le four à 180°C. Avec vos mains, formez des boules de la grosseur d'une noix. Aplatissez chaque morceau de pâte sur la paume de votre main, et avec le pouce creusez un trou au centre. Remplissez le trou d' 1 ½ c. à thé de la garniture aux noix. Refermez la pâte sur la garniture, soudez bien les bords. Répétez l'opération avec la pâte et la garniture restantes. Mettez la boule dans le moule à ma'amoul, pressez-la pour l'aplatir et réaliser une empreinte. Démoulez en tapant le moule légèrement sur votre surface de travail.   

Disposez les ma'amouls sur une plaque à pâtisserie légèrement beurrée.  

Faites les cuire au four préhauffé à 180ºC jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient légèrement dorés, environ 20 mn. Retirez-les du four, laissez-les refroidir et saupoudrez-les de sucre glace.