Lebanese Food Recipes

CHICK PEAS IN YOGURT LEBANESE RECIPE

Serves 5:

• 13 oz. coarsely minced meat
• 1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1 loaf Arabic bread
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 pine nuts
• 2 cups yogurt
• 1/2 cup butter for frying the meat
• a dash of pepper, cinnamon

Boil the soaked chickpeas.  Set aside.  Toast the Arabic bread in the oven, until golden.  Break into small pieces.  Crush the garlic with the salt.  Brown the pine nuts in 1/4 cup butter.  Remove and drain.  Brown the meat in the remaining butter and season.  In a round (30 cms.) serving dish, place the toasted bread pieces.  Mix the crushed garlic and the chickpeas well.  Add to the bread pieces and mix well.  Pour the yogurt over the chickpeas and bread.  Garnish the dish with the browned meat and pine nuts.  Serve immediately. 

Enjoy...

CHICK PEAS IN OLIVE OIL - LEBANESE RECIPE

Serves 3:

• 1 cup dried chickpeas
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Remove any stones you might find in the chickpeas and soak overnight with the bicarbonate of soda, in a quantity of water that is almost 3 times that of the chickpeas. 
On the following day, drain the chickpeas and put in a saucepan with 4 cups of water.  Bring to the boil and remove any foam that may have formed on the surface. 
Cook, covered on low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until tender. 
Crush the garlic with the salt.  Add to the chickpeas and mix well.  Serve hot in a deep bowl.  Pour a little olive oil on it and eat with spring onions.

Enjoy...

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. 

Serves 5:

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup long grain rice

Wash the rice in several waters then drain.  Boil the required amount of water, then drop the rice gradually in to the water.  Add the salt and butter tothe rice and stir slowly.  Cook covered over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.  If the rice becomes too dry add 3/4 cup of boiling water.  Uncover the pot for the last 5 minutes of cooking and separate the grains by shaking the pot or fluffing the rice with a fork  

Servies 8:

• 2 lbs. spaghetti, cooked
• 2 lbs. minced meat
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4  cup tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• a dash of pepper, a dash of cinnamon
• 3 1/2 cups white sauce
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups grated parmesan cheese

White Sauce (1 cup)

• 2 trablespoons butter/margarine
• 2 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• a dash of pepper
• 1 cup milk

Melt the butter over low heat.  Stir in all the ingredients except the milk.  Cook the sauce until bubbles form on its surface.  Remove from the fire and stir in the milk.  Return the sauce over the fire and cook until thick (2 minutes).

Prepare the white sauce first.  Remove from the fire and stir in 1 cup parmesan cheese.  Add the lightly beaten eggs and set aside.  Saute the pine in the butter until light brown in color.  Remove the pine nuts and saute the onion and the minced meat over medium heat for 15 minutes.  Add the seasoning, water and tomato paste to the meat.  Cover and simmer over gentle heat for 15 minutes.  Place half of the boiled spaghetti in a greasted ovenproof dish.  Top with minced meat and cover with the remaining spaghetti.  Pour white sauce on top and spread to cover the spaghetti.  Sprinkle the remainig cheese on top and cook in a moderate oven for 20  minutes until golden brown.  Serve hot.

Serves 6:

• 1/2 lb. spaghetti, boiled
• 1 lb. minced meat
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a dash of pepper
• a dash of cinnamon

Saute the pine nuts in the butter until light brown in color, then remove them and place the meat and onion in the pan.  Saute the meat for 5 minutes.  Dissolve the tomato paste in 1 1/2 cup of water and stir into the meat mixture.  Remove from the fire, and add the pine nuts and seasoning to the meat mixture and sit well.  Place the boiled spaghetti in a baking dish and por the meat souce over it.

COmbine the ingredients well and place the dish in a hot oven for 25 minutes. 

Serves 5:

• 1 chicken (1 lb.) boiled
• 1/4 lb. spaghetti, boiled
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 1/2 cups white sauce

White Sauce (1 cup)

• 2 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• a dash of pepper
• 1 cup milk

Melt the butter/margarine over low heat.  Stir in all the ingredients except the milk.  Cook the sauce until bubbles form on its surface.  Remove from the fire and stir in the milk.  Return the sauce over the fire and cook until thick ( 2 minutes).

Prepare the white sauce first.  Remove from the fire and stir in the cheese immediately.  Set aside.  Cut the meat from the bones of the boiled chicken.  Place 1/3 of the boiled spaghetti into a greased baking dish, then sprinkle a 1/3 of the amount of shredded chicken meat over the spaghettiand cover the meat withhalf the amount of white sauce.  Repeat the procedure and finish by covering the ingredients with the remaining amount of the white sauce.  Place the dish in a hot oven for 20 minutes.  Serve hot.