Turning Lebanese...

The full moon has pumped me full of creative thoughts. All I want to do is cook at the moment. So, when I got home last night, I headed around the corner to The Circle shops to buy my ingredients for my planned night of cooking. No television, no music. Just me,a knife, a chopping board and the kitchen. As promised last week- Kousa Mahshi or stuffed zuchinis- lebanese style.

First, wash your zucchini's then cut the stalk end off. Once

you have done this, you will need to hollow out the middle by removing the pulp.

How does one achieve this you ask?

Ta da!! Behold- the manakra! This baby will set you back 2 fat ones.

You'll need it.

The manakra in action-not sure if I'm doing it right but I persist

I guess that's how it goes-they're hollowed out and ready to be filled

with rice mincey spicy goodness.

An arty shot of my green babies.

Place the zooks in cold,salted water for 5 mins. The salt

water helps to keep them firm for the cooking process.

Now to make your baharat or if you can't be arsed,

can be purchased ready made at Middle Eastern grocers.

I hope the person behind the counter slaps you for being so lazy.

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

2 teaspoons dry roasted and ground cumin seeds

2 teaspoons dry roasted and ground coriander seeds

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a bowl, mix 250 grams of mince of your choice. I used lamb but the recipe called for beef.

I'm bored with beef mince. Add 1 cup of short grain rice that has been rinsed, half cups of flat leaf parsley and mint, 1 medium tomato,salt,pepper and the baharat. Do not cook. Mix well and begin stuffing your zukes.

This is where I made a bit of a mistake. Don't use as much water as I have in this photo.

Add 2 big blobby tablespoons of tomato paste to just over half full pan of water.

Add your zukes and start boiling.

Cover them and once they start boiling, lower heat to a low simmer and cook

for a further 60 minutes.

Now for the fattoush - a Lebanese salad with bread.

Finely chop 2 tomatoes, handfuls of mint,coriander and flat leaf parsley,some fine slices of radish,half each of red and green capsicums

and 2 lebanese cucumbers. Juice one lemon and add to 3 parts of good olive oil.

The rule of thumb for salad dressing is one part acid,3 parts oil. Add some salt and pepper. Shake/whisk well.

The recipe called for one large round of flat bread to be deep fried till crispy and drained on kitchen paper.

I wasn't in the mood for that caper so I put in the oven for ten or so minutes till crispy. No oil on the hips or all over the stovetop/floors/walls/me.

My first attempt was a disaster. Pan carcinogentico.

The end result- fresh and delicious.

Again, I forgot to photograph the end result! The water the zukes are cooked in are meant to create the sauce but due to too much water, it was just flavourless liquid. As suggested, I served it with a dollop of smooth,creamy delightful labni yogurt which was to die for. I also served the fattoush on a leaf of baby cos lettuce which gives a fresh and lovely crunch along with the bread pieces in the salad. I'll definitely be making both of these again and I'm very happy for my first attempt at making both.

They should have looked like this and they kind of did!

If vegetarian and reading this, it is just as simple to make sans meat.

Enjoy!

Post script! These aren't meant to be covered! If you do, the water doesn't reduce and you don't get the lovely sauce it creates. I made them the other night and they were so perfect. With the dollop of labneh, it's Lebanese heaven!!!

Garlic & Chilli Chicken with Salad

We're having a hot spell here in Melbourne which is shitting me up the wall. It's Autumn and I want crisp,cool days so I can start wearing my coats and doing some good ol' slow cooking. It's a bit hard to do that when it's 31 fricken degrees everyday!

I arrived home from work tired and hungry. I needed something quick and not heavy so I decided on good old chicken and salad. Drumsticks are quicker to cook than a whole chicken-not to mention cheaper-so I grabbed 2 packs of those and then wandered around to the Lebanese mixed business around the corner at the Circle to pick up some fresh salad ingredients. Here's how it all turned out;

Firstly, pre heat your oven to about 250 to get it nice and hot

In a pestle and mortar, I placed 4 cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of rock salt and one very hot,red chilli. I pounded this into a paste then added some extra virgin olive oil-about 2 tablespoons. Using my hands, I coated the chicken pieces with this paste. Make sure you wash your hands well before AND after!

Place your chicken in the oven and turn it down to about 200.

At this stage I like to put my feet up for a moment and pour a glass of wine.

The chicken should take about 30 to 45 minutes.

Now to prepare the salad;

Take a salad onion and use only half as it can be a bit on the strong side and it over powers the other flavours.

I found these (di)vine ripened cherry tomatoes and they were really sweet and lovely. I halved them so they could absorb the dressing.

A nice mix of salad leaves,washed and spun off. Place all ingredients in a bowl, drizzle with balsamic and olive oil and toss.

I was soooo hungry I forgot to photograph the finished product. Suffice to say, it was scrumdiddlyumptious.

Roast Vegetable & Goats Cheese Salad

I thought I'd start my food blog with an old favorite and one that is oft requested.  It's a lovely salad that can be served either warm or cold and goes beautifully with baked fish.

I dedicate this recipe to Lester Young.

2 large potatoes, chopped into large-ish dice
Half a butternut pumpkin, chopped in afore mentioned way
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
A few garlic cloves-skin left on
A bunch of baby beetroot or 2 large beetroots
A nice big wodge of fresh,peppery rocket or other nice salad leaves if you can't get rocket or you don't like it-
1 jar Meredith Goats Cheese
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Freshly ground pepper
A lemon

Place your potatoes,pumpkin,garlic cloves and red onion on a baking tray. Drizzle some olive olive over the veg and season with salt and pepper.  Place in a hot oven- around 200.
Top and tail the beetroot. Place in a saucepan,cover with water and boil till cooked. I usually just stab a knife in the middle to see if they're soft. Drain the purple water and peel the beetroot-the skins will just slip off easily at this point. You may want to wear a pair of latex kitchen gloves so you don't stain and burn your hands. Once peeled, cut the beetroot into small pieces if using the large kind. Otherwise,serve whole if using baby beets.
Wash the rocket and shake off excess water.Place in a large salad bowl. Add the beetroot and roast veg and toss well. Squeeze the cloves of roasted garlic into the salad.
If you are using Meredith goat's cheese, pour the lovely flavoured oil over the salad. Break off pieces of cheese and add to the salad. Finish the salad with a good squeeze of lemon and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.

Note! If using another brand of goat's cheese, you'll have to whip up a salad dressing.
Try this one-

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons of good olive oil
• sea salt
• pepper
• a touch of caster sugar to balance the flavours 

Place all ingredients into a jar,close the lid and shake the fuck out of it. It's ready.