Lebanese Food Recipes

Serves 6-8:

Dough

• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 cups flour

Stuffing

• 1 lb. medium ground meat
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 3/4 cup laben (yogurt)
• add salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon all-spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 3 tablespoon oil

Mix the flour with yeast, water, sugar, salt and oil in the food processor and process into medium soft dough.  Cover with a towel and put it in warm place to be leaved for around 40-45 minutes.  Heat the 3 tablespoon oil in a frying pan and fry the onions until transparent.  Remove from heat and add the meat, pine nuts, laben, salt, pepper, all-spice, cumin and paprika.  Roll out the dough on a floured table into a big circle and cut into 4 in. circles with a round cookie cutter or teaspoon.  Put 1 tablespoon stuffing in each circle, brush the sides of the dough with water and pinch the flour sides firmly shaping it into an open-face sfiha.  Preheat the oven to 400 deg. F arrange the sfihas in a slightly greased cooking tray and bake for 12015 minutes until the sides and bottom are pinkish in color. 

Serves 4-5:

• 1 lb. flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Topping

• 1 cup zatar (oregano)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sumac
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• add salt to taste

Mix the flour, salt, sugar, water and oil, and knead to obtain medium/soft dough.  Leave to rest in a closed bowl for 20 minutes and let puff up.  Divide the dough into little balls larger that eggs and roll out into circles 1/2 inch thick.  Press down with fingers to make identification marks on the dough.  Combine the zatar (oregano), sumac, sesame seeds and oil, and spoon 1-2 tablespoon over pastry, spreading evenly.  Arrange pastry on a baking tray in a preheated oven of 450-500 deg. F for 5-6 minutes until puffy.  Prick with a fork in some places to avoid excess puffiness. 

Makes 70 small turnovers:

• 6 cups plain flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon yeast dissolved in a cup of lukewarm water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water

Stuffing:

• 4 lbs. fresh spinash
• 14 onions
• 1/3cup sumac
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons salt

prepare and knead thedough as you would - Meat Pie Pastry.  Let the dough stand for one hour before stuffing.  Meanwhile, finely chop the spinach leaves and wash in several waters.  Drain.  Chop the onions and add the salt.  Set aside for 5 minutes.  Squeeze excess water from spinach.  Squeeze out the onions and add to the spinach mixture and mix well.  Add salt to taste.  Divide the dough into several balls, and roll out each ball to a thickness of 2 mm onto a floured marble table.  Cut the rolled out dough into squares.  Fill each square with one tablespoon of filling and secure edges together by holding them over and pressing firmly together.  Place in well oiled baking trays and bake in a hot (350 degrees F) oven for 20 minutes.  Serve cold. 

Serves 10:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• a dash of salt

Stuffing:

• 1 lb. mutton, finely minced
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• a dash pepper, cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• 1 cup flour for rolling out the dough

Cooking the Yogurt:

• 2 lbs. yogurt
• 2 tablespoons cornflour dissolved in 1/2 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 garlic cloves

Pies:

Sift the flour with the salt.  Then mix with the milk and waterto form a dough.  Knead the dough for 10 minutes.  If the doghis too thick and dry, moisten your hands a little.  Set the dough aside for a half an hour.  Brown the pine nuts in the butter.  Remove and drain.  Saute the minced meat and chopped onions inthe remaining butter.  Season and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove the meat mixture from the het.  Add the pine nuts and chopped parsley and mix well.  Roll out the dough on a large pastry board or marble table, after sprinkling a little flour first.  Roll the dough thinly and using a bicuit cutter os coffe cup, cut into circles about 4 cms. in diameter.  Place a teaspoonof the fillingon one sideof the circle, then fold the other side of the circle over the top, proessing the ends together to form a crescent-shaped pie.  Sprinkle one cup of flour on a large tray and arrange the crescent-shaped pies on it.  Let stand for a while.  Cook the yogurt.  When it comes to the boil drop each crescent-shaped pie into the yogurt.  Cook the yogurt with the pies for 10 minutes.  Crush the garlic with the dried mint and add to the yogurt one minute before serving.  Serve hot with boiled rice.