Tag: Middle Eastern

Creamy Tahini and Harissa Beef

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Think of this easy one-dish meal as a deconstructed pita sandwich, except crunchier, saucier, and more delicious. Adapted from Bon Appetit, it’s not an authentic recipe by any means but the combination of creamy tahini and spicy harissa will earn a spot in your regular dinner rotation.

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 6 green onions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
  • 8 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup harissa
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 8-ounce bag pita chips
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped herbs (such as parsley, cilantro, or mint)
  1. Whisk tahini, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup room temperature water in a small bowl until smooth; set tahini sauce aside.
  2. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high. Cook red onion, white parts of green onions, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and golden brown in spots, about 8-10 minutes.
  3. Add harissa, remaining 3/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 cup water. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until harissa is slightly darkened and oil beads on surface, about 5 minutes. Add beef and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring often to break up meat, until water is mostly evaporated and beef is cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in green parts of green onion.
  4. Spread half of reserved tahini sauce on a platter; spoon beef mixture over. Top with a handful of pita chips and remaining tahini sauce, then herbs. Gently mix to barely combine. Serve with more pita chips for scooping or dipping.

Broccoli with Black Garlic Vinaigrette

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Remember when black garlic was all the health food rage? I loved the trend because black garlic tastes just like seer torshi (Iranian pickled garlic), except it doesn’t take a literal decade to make. It’s a little harder to find black garlic these days but it’s worth it, especially for this broccoli salad that you’ll want to eat straight out of the bowl.

The vinaigrette makes more than you’ll need, but that’s okay, because you’ll want to put it on everything. Think of it as a seer torshi dressing.

Ingredients:

For the black garlic vinaigrette:

  • 2/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 4 dried shiitake mushrooms 
  • 1/4 cup black garlic cloves
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons grated garlic 
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

For the broccoli:

  • 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil, divided
  • Labneh (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons salted roasted sunflower seeds
  1. Make the vinaigrette: combine vinegar, 1/3 cup boiling water, and mushrooms in a small heatproof bowl; cover. Let stand, covered, at room temperature until mushrooms are soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender; add black garlic, brown sugar, grated garlic, and salt. Process until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Add the olive oil and process until smooth, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.
  2. Make the broccoli: Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Add broccoli to boiling water, and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer broccoli to ice water, and let stand until cool, about 1 minute. Drain well. Place broccoli on a clean kitchen towel; let stand until ready to use.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Place half of broccoli in skillet, and cook, without stirring, until very caramelized and deeply charred on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip florets over, and cook until charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and remaining broccoli florets.
  4. Toss broccoli with 1/3 cup black garlic vinaigrette and season with additional salt to taste. Spread labneh, if using, on a serving platter, and top with broccoli. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

Za’atar Bread with Labneh

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: baking bread is not my strong suit. But this recipe? I couldn’t stop eating it. Adapted from my well-worn Baladi cookbook, this Palestinian bread is full of herby za’atar and is perfect dunked in tart, thick labneh. Serve this as a breakfast or even an appetizer. It’s well worth the effort.

Akkawi bread with labneh
Ingredients:
  • 2 envelopes of instant yeast (1/4 oz each)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup avocado oil
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup za’atar
  • labneh, to serve
  1. Mix the yeast with the warm water and sugar until it bubbles, 5-10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
  2. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the salt. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of the olive oil. Mix the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding a little more water if needed. Knead for 5-7 minutes; it won’t be as bouncy as regular bread dough because of the oil content. Leave to rest for 40 minutes.
  3. Make golf-ball-sized pieces of dough and set aside.
  4. Mix the za’atar with the remaining 1/4 of olive oil and rub each dough ball in the mixture until coated. Arrange the dough balls in a bundt pan, cover with a dish towel, and leave to rise for another 20 minutes. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and puffy. Serve with labneh.

Spiced Beef Puffs

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I’d never had sujuk, or Palestinian-style spiced beef puffs, until I adapted this recipe from my Baladi cookbook. They reminded me of southern Iranian sambuseh, which, as the name suggests, taste a lot like Ethiopian and Eritrean sambusa and South Asian lamb samosas. Basically what I’m trying to say is (a) I love observing patterns of migration and travel through food and (b) meat encased in puff pastry is always delicious. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 sheet of store-bought puff pastry
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • Handful of sesame seeds, to sprinkle
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
  • 1 pound ground beef or lamb
  1. Combine paprika, coriander, cumin, red pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, garlic, onion, pomegranate molasses, and ground beef in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Lay the pastry flat so that you have one large rectangle, with the long side closest to you. Place some of the meat in a sausage shape along one long edge of the rectangle. Carefully roll the pastry over the sausage, just until the meat is covered. Brush the edge with egg to seal it, brush the top with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, the cut the roll away from the rest of the pastry. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue filling, rolling, sealing, brushing, sprinkling, and cutting until you have used up all of the filling and pastry. You should have 3-4 long longs of pastry-covered meat. Place the logs in the fridge to firm up for 20 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Remove the logs from the refrigerator and bake them for 25-35 minutes until the meat is cooked and the pastry is golden. Slice into 12-14 pieces and serve.

Khoresh-e Qarch (Iranian Mushroom Braise)

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I didn’t grow up eating khoresh-e qarch but I love anything with mushrooms so I had to try this. Adapted from a Najmieh Batmanglij recipe, this khoresh is super savory, thanks not only to the musrhooms but the the slow-and-low browning and braising of lots of onions and chicken. Serve this with basmati rice and fresh herbs on the side for a comforting meal.

Ingredients:

2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, cut into one-inch cubes
5 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound cremini mushrooms, washed and trimmed
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground saffron dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water
1 egg, beaten

1. In a dutch oven, brown onions, garlic, and chicken in 3 tablespoons oil. Add salt and pepper. Pour in 1/2 cup water, cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Slice mushrooms and sprinkle with flour and saute in 2 tablespoons oil.

3. Add mushrooms, lime juice, and saffron water to the meat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes over low heat.

4. Taste the stew and adjust seasoning. Add beaten egg. Simmer 5 minutes over low heat, gently stirring.

5. Serve warm with basmati rice.