A Freekah Feast For Eid-al-Fitr

Tonight marks Eid-al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan and in the spirit of gratitude and fellowship through the fusion of food and culture, I made freekah pilaf and a smoked turkey. Well, okay, Wyatt made the turkey unprovoked but I thought including the signature American Thanksgiving dish in the feast a fitting gesture. Although the smells that wafted from our backyard smoker were enough to make me swoon, I was even more excited for the freekah perhaps because just procuring this hearty Middle Eastern grain was an adventure that involved several false leads, multiple trips to different grocery stores, and eventual triumph at Wholefoods.

Someone else made this.

Freekah Pilaf

Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/2 cup diced white onion

• 1 cup freekah

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 2 cups chicken stock

• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Brown onions in olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add freekah, allspice, cinnamon, and pepper. Toast grains and spices for 5-8 minutes. Watch carefully and reduce heat if necessary as not to burn.

3. Add chicken stock and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.

4. Remove from heat when grains are soft and all liquid has evaporated. Do not overcook; it should not be creamy. 

Serve with smoked turkey and fresh watermelon juice.

Recipe: Simple Syrian Roast Chicken

While driving to work this week, I was compiling a list of ingredients in my head I needed to buy to make this Syrian roast chicken and potatoes dish when suddenly I found myself behind an SUV with a single, ominous bumper sticker: "Eat Rice. Not Potatoes. Today!" So random, so weird, but I took it as a sign from God and decided to just make the chicken. And make rice, maybe.

Most recipes for this dish involve just roasting parts (usually legs or thighs) of the bird, but I like the presentation of a whole chicken. Plus, I found a large one on sale for $3 at Randall's. 

My general advice with roasting a chicken is 1) Make sure that birdie is patted as dry as possible to ensure a crispy crust and 2) Be aggressive and thorough in your application of oil and spices and 3) A meat thermometer is very, very helpful and may prevent you from making you and your guests sick.

Ingredients

• 1 medium-to-large chicken

• 3 tablespoons good olive oil

• 1/2 cup chopped garlic

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 3 tablespoons (or more) ground cumin

• salt

• pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line roasting pan large enough for chicken with foil; spritz well with vegetable oil spray.

2. Using paper towels, pat chicken completely dry. Trim any excess nubbies of fat if you like from butt. The chicken's butt, not yours.

3. Dust chicken generously with salt.

4. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice.

5. Massage (yes, get those hands dirty) entire chicken with oil mixture, making sure to coat all surfaces.

6. Sprinkle ground cumin over chicken, then a wee bit more salt, and as much pepper as desired.

7. Roast in oven for at least 1 hour if not 1 hour and 25 minutes. To test progress of chicken, insert meat thermometer in thickest part of the thigh. When it clocks in at 165 degrees Fahrenheit, you should be good to go.

A roast chicken is useful in so many ways in addition to providing fodder for multiple meals. I like to keep the bones for stock and any rendered fat for chopped liver.

Syrian-Style Burger

Subject of picture now missing...

A quick post to reassure readers I haven't abandoned the project; just a bit busy this week with other writing. Expect more recipes and experimentation next week!  

What's a girl to do when her personal chef (and life partner) is away and there's a surplus of leftover buns, lamb meat, home-grown tomatoes at the peak of freshness, and fresh mint?

Quick answer: Make a burger. I seasoned my half-pound of ground lamb with allspice and pepper in addition to the cumin, then cooked it rare in a skillet with olive oil. Garnishes included the tomatoes, parsley, and a schmear of hummus.  Holding it all together was a toasted butter bun made by my inamorato the night before he left. 

My First Maqluba

Since we're living in a bizarro, upside-down world, why not eat something similarly inverted (albeit far more palatable)? Time then for maqluba,  whose final presentation is achieved by flipping the dish to reveal a stratified plateau of meat, vegetables, and rice.  

Maqluba appears in varying forms in different schools of Middle Eastern cookery, though virtually all involve some form of animal protein (usually lamb), cauliflower and/or eggplant, cooked rice, and multiple spices. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound lamb meat (stew meat or extracted from chops)

• 2-3 cups chicken stock

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

• 1/4 cup chopped onions

• 1 tablespoon allspice

• 1/4 cup minced garlic

• 1 cup grilled sliced eggplant

• 1/2 cup chopped steamed cauliflower

• 2 cups rice

• 1/4 cups nuts (pistachios are ideal; I used cashews)

Directions

1. Combine lamb meat, 1-2 cups of stock, rosemary, onions, and allspice in a small saucepan. Cook uncovered over low-medium heat until lamb chunks are just barely pink inside.

2. Remove meat from any remaining stock and mix with garlic in a separate bowl.

3. Use all remaining stock (including that left in the saucepan) to cook rice until moist and fluffy. Place in separate bowl.

4.  In bottom of original saucepan, layer eggplant slices, then cauliflower, then meat. Add rice last and push down with spatula to compress layers.

5. Place a large plate upside-down on top of pan. Flip contents of pan as gracefully as possible onto plate.*

6. Top maqluba with crushed nuts and season with salt and pepper to taste.

*My technique, as you can see from the photo, needs some work as my maqluba emerged less angular and more hill-like. 

Recipe: Sheesh Barak

Last week my in-laws were town and Wyatt planned a wonderful surprise. He decided to make sheesh barak, Syrian dumplings with yogurt sauce (knowing I wanted to feature it on the blog but that its complexity intimidates me) and my father-in-law volunteered to do a photo shoot (knowing I have serious issues with food photography). I am so loved.

Master Chef deftly shapes the dough.

Dumpling Ingredients

• 3 cups flour

• 1 pound ground lamb

• 2-3 shallots (well chopped)

• salt, pepper, allspice (heavy shakes of all 3)

• coriander (optional)

He's obviously done this before.

Dumpling Directions

1. Knead flour well with a pinch of salt and about 3/4 cup of water.

2. Roll out dough on well-floured surface. Cut into 3-inch rounds (dumplings will be sizable).

3. In a separate bowl, combine lamb, onion, spices, and coriander. 

4. Place small scoop in center of each round.

5. Fold over as to form a pocket and pinch shut with knife.

Baker's Dozen Dumplings (plus 1 for good luck).

Sauce Ingredients

• 3 quarts yogurt

• 1 tablespoon flour

• 1 egg white

• 2 cloves garlic (minced)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon fresh mint

• 1/4 cup butter

Sauce Directions

1. Combine yogurt, flour, and egg white. Beat mixture thoroughly.

2. Transfer mixture to large pot and cook on high heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil.

3. Immerse dumplings in boiling yogurt mixture and cook about 20 minutes on low heat. Transfer to large platter.

4. In a small bowl, combine garlic, salt, and mint. 

5. Melt butter in a frying pan and saute garlic mixture for just under a minute. Drizzle over dumplings.

Eat until stuffed.

Recipe: Ardi Shoki Blahmi (Stuffed Artichoke Hearts)

As promised, I'm celebrating that artichokes are in season by using them in some Syrian dishes. First up,  ardi shoki blahmi, Syrian stuffed artichoke hearts (with a bit of modification).  Before embarking on this recipe, consider whether you want to butcher whole artichokes in order to secure some hearts or just buy a can or jar of artichoke hearts. The former option is appropriate given chokies are in season but can get expensive if you want to make a large batch. The latter option is definitely not as cool but cheaper and yields meal-size portions. I'm sure you can guess what option this hungry runner selected.

Also note that regardless which option you choose, manipulating the hearts into little cups for the stuffing is a delicate, challenging process that is not to be done in a rush with heavy hands. 

Ingredients

• 1 can or jar artichoke hearts (in water, if possible, not oil)

• 1 medium onion (chopped)

• 1/2 pound ground lamb OR chopped lamb shank meat

• 1 tablespoon allspice

• 1/4 cup parsley (chopped)

• 1/4 cup roasted eggplant (chopped)

• lemon juice

• olive oil

• chicken broth or stock (about a 2 cups)

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Chopped nuts (pinenuts are most authentic; peanuts will due if you were absent-minded at the store)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Sauté onion in olive oil until transparent. Add lamb and cook until just brownish.  Sprinkle with all-spice and mix well.

3. Remove meat and onions from pan and combine with chopped parsley and chopped roasted eggplant. Drizzle with lemon juice.

4. If your artichoke hearts still have the stem attached, trim so they rest flat on your baking dish. Push down inner most petals to create space for stuffing; try to keep outer petals intact to serve as 'sides' of your 'cup.'  Stuff with meat and vegetable mixture. In separate bowl, combine chicken broth and cornstarch.

5. Arrange stuffed artichoke hearts in pan. Pour chicken broth and cornstarch mixture into pan until liquid level just reaches top of hearts. You will probably have extra liquid.

6.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 1 hour. Baste occasionally with any remaining chicken stock.

7. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped nuts, salt, pepper. Eat while watching Grace & Frankie.

Thatsa Sesame Syrian Meatball!

On top of some pita/All covered with ghee/I lost my poor meatball/When somebody sneezed

                                                              -Old Syrian Boy Scout Song

In an attempt to roll with the punches last week at work, I decided to embrace spherical foods, my savory favorite of which is the meatball. I like 'em big, juicy, and slightly rare. Again, I'm talking about meatballs.

I found a recipe on SyrianCooking.com for "Dawood Basha", which by the parenthetical that followed implied can be roughly translated as "meatball." But I wouldn't know because I don't speak Arabic. YET. Below is a slightly modified version.

Uncooked meatballs ready for their close-up.

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef or lamb

• 2 cups your husband's homemade spaghetti sauce

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 1 cup chopped parsley

• 1/2 tablespoon Baharat (Syrian Spice Mix)*

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds

• Olive oil or ghee

*Baharat can be bought online or at most foreign food markets. You can make it yourself by combining spices that might just be already in your pantry (what I did).

Directions

1. Combine ground meat, onion, parsley, and baharat. 

2. Form meat mixture into balls, any size of your choosing.

3. Coat with sesame seeds.

4. Brown balls in oil or ghee over medium heat until there's thin cooked exterior crust.

5. Finish in oven at 350 degrees until interior is of desired brownness (or pinkness in my case).

6. Served balls bathing in warm tomato sauce over rice, not spaghetti, duh.

Recipe: Arayes

Don't judge a sandwich by its crust. My attempt at making arayes, a type of Syrian grilled sandwich turned out a bit sloppy but thanks to high-quality, unctuous lamb, fresh labneh, and good amount of chili, the contents were delicious.

Ironically, it was my choice of labneh rather than frozen pita that was probably the undoing of this sandwich. The former was unavailable fresh and the latter (more traditional) only frozen. Next time, I won't overstuff my sandwich and use pita in order to form neater, more compact pockets. Right now, I'll just enjoy this simple, satisfying snack.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb

• 1 small yellow onion (chopped)

• 1 bunch parsley (chopped)

• 1 teaspoon chili flakes

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• Butter

• salt

• pepper

• labneh/pita bread

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine ground lamb, onion, parsley, chili flakes, and allspice in a large bowl. 

3. Cook meat mixture in a pan on the stoveup until just hints of pink remain.

4. Butter exterior of bread pockets and stuff with meat mixture. Do not overstuff.

5. Cook on wire rack in oven; 10 minutes for medium rare, 20 minutes for well done.

Recipe: Ojji

The Metro Yeoman is in Deutschland for work, which means it's just Bridey, Mason, and Jack at home this week. Mason and Jack, btw, are the world's cutest cats with a total of three eyes. Yes, they're that superior: they don't even need two full sets. 

Jack (left); Mason (right).

Usually when I want eggs for dinner I commandeer my better half because he is exceedingly adept at preparing all variants: scrambled, poached, sunny-side up, etc.  But his absence was a good opportunity for me to hone my own skills by making ojji, a type of Syrian omelet. I cooked it and relished it; now, I just have to learn how to pronounce it. The recipe below is adapted from syriancooking.com; I have seen others on the interwebs that involve mint, which I excluded only because I worried it would overwhelmed the more delicate flavors of the parsley and onion. 

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs

• 1 cup flour

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• 1/2 cup chopped white onion

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

• 1/2 tablespoon salt

Directions

1. Combine eggs, flour, parsley, and onions in a mixing bowl. Add in pepper and salt slowly. Batter will be thick.

2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat for just under a minute.

3. Ladle small (or large depending on how big you want your omelet patties) scoops of batter onto the skillet. Brown on both sides but do not overcook lest interior become dry.