Lebanese Food Recipes

Serves 4 to 5:

• 7 dozen grape leaves, fresh or pickled
• 1 large lamb bone (optional)
• 1 tablespoon crushed dried mint
• 1 small clove garlic, chopped fine
• salt to taste
• 3 cups water
• juice of 1 lemon

Filling:

• 1 1/2 lbs. coarsley ground lamb of beef
• 3/4 cup uncooked rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 small clove garlic, chopped fine
• 3 teaspoons tomato paste (optional)
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients and mix well.  Lay leaves right side down.  Add 1 1/2 teaspoons filling to each leaf.  Roll with sides tucked in until approximately 3 inches long and the width of a small cigar.  Place lamb bone in pot to be used.  Arrange rolled leaves on top of bone.  Sprinkle mint, garlic and salt over top.  Add water.  Place an inverted dish on leaves to keep them firm while cooking.  Cover, cook for 30 minutes.  Add lemon juice and cook for 45 minutes more or until leaves are tender.    

Serves 6 to 8:

• 1 dozen medium green sweet peppers
• 1 1 /2 lbs. coarsely ground lamb or beef
• 3/4 cup uncooked rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 small clove garlic, finely ground
• 3 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt

Cut the stems off the peppers.  Clean out the seeds and veins.  Wash thoroughly.  Make the filling by combining the lamb, rice, salt, pepper, garlic, tomato paste and tomato sauce.  Mix well.  Stuff each pepper to 1/2 inch from the top.  Stand in pan, open side up.  Add water to about 1 inch from the top of the pepper.  Cover and simmer for 35 minutes or until peppers are cooked.  

• 1 small spring lamb
• 1 cup rice
• 1 1/2 lbs. lamb, ground and browned
• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, peeled
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 4 medium onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup water

Wash and dry the lamb, making ready for roasting.  Brush the inside with melted butter.  Wash, drain, and mix the rice with the browned lamb meat, pine nuts, onions, mushrooms, celery and garbanzo beans.  Combine the other ingredients.  Brown lightly, adding the water, and simmer for about ten minutes, mixing well and stirring.  Stuff the lamb and sew the opening closed.  Brush melted butter around the outside of the lamb.  Bake in a preheated oven at 300degrees F. for 30 minutes per lb. in an open roasting pan. 

Serves 4:

• 2 lbs. meat
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon each pepper, cinnamon
• 2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1 onion
• 1/4 loaf Arabic bread, moistened

Peel and coarsely chop the onion.  Put the meat and chopped onion through a meat grinder twice.  Mix the onion, meat, parsley, seasoning and the moistened bread.  Knead the ingredients well, then put through the meat grinder, once.  knead the meat again and divide into small amounts.  Shape into small fingers or patties.  Heat the oil and brown the meat patties or fingers on all sides.  Serve hot with cucumber and yogurt salad.

Serves 6:

• 1 lb. meat
• 5 hard boiled eggs
• 1/2 cup crushed toasted bread crumbs
• 1 cup butter
• 1 onion, small
• 1 egg, beaten
• add salt and pepper to taste

Put the meat through a meat grinder twice, then follow with the onion grinding them once only.  Knead the meat with the onion and seasoning.  Divide the meat into equal amounts.  Wet the hands with water or a little oil and flatten each amount of the meat between the hands.  Place the bolied egg in the middle of the flattened meat and cover it completely with the meat.  Continue the procedure until all eggs are used.  Dip the meat-egg balls in the beaten egg, then in the crushed bread crumbs.  Brown the meat egg balls in the butter and serve whole or out in half.  Garnish with tomato slices or rings. 

Serves 6:

• 1 lb. ground meat
• 1 onion large
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a dash of pepper, cinnamon

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 3/4 cup tahinah
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil for browning the nuts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pine nuts

Peel and finely chop the onion.  Mix the ground meat parsley, onion and seasoning and knead well.  Grease a round (40cms) baking dish.  Place the meat mixturein the baking dish and pat down until smoothand covers the bottom of the baking dish.  In a deep dish, beat with a fork the water, vinegar, salt, tahinah and lemon juice.  Pour the sauce onto the meat and garnish with the browned pine nuts.  Bake in a hot over for 30 minutes.  Serve hot.

Serves 4:

• 1 lb. small eggplants
• 10 oz. minced meat
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil to fry the pine nuts
• 2 lbs. tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a dash of pepper, paprika and cinnamon
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil to brown the bread
• 2 cups yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 cups toasted arabic bread cut into small pieces.

Lightly brown the pine nuts in the vegetable oil.  Remove and drain.  Saute the minced meat in the remainig oil.  Season and let simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.  Wash the eggplant and scoop out the pulp leaving a shell 1/4/cm. thick.  Wash again.  Mix the sauteed meat with half the amount of pine nuts and fill the eggplants with the stuffing.  Saute the stuffed eggplants in the oil.  Place the peeled, chopped tomatoes in a large ovenproof dissh.  Arrange the sauteed eggplants on top of the tomatoes.  Add one teaspoon salt to the eggplants and allow to come to the boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes.  Brown the bread in the oil and drain.  Crush the garlic with a dash of salt and add to the yogurt.  When the eggplanlts are done, remove from the tomatoes and set aside.  Add 2 cups tomato sauce to the browned bread pieces and place in a large serving dish.  Pour the yogurt mixture over the bread and tomato sauce.  Arrange the eggplants over the yogurt mixture.  Garnish with the remaining browned pine nuts and their oil.  Serve immediately.