Recipes

from: Carmen Ratoi (of Zig Zag cafe)

I’m so happy to share this recipe with you today because this literally is one of the most common made dishes by my mother as we were growing up, and still is in her household and mine. So needless to say, I learned to make these meatballs a very long time ago. We call these “Chiftele” which is the Romanian word for meatballs.

I still remember that every single time my mother would make these, besides the fact that I was always in the kitchen with her, I was always in charge of rolling them. 

And the taste, oh the taste! These meatballs are packed full of fresh herbs and some grated potato. I love parsley, so I’ll put a lot in these meatballs.A bit of dill or coriander will give it a nice interesting taste as well.

Potato? In Meatballs?

Forget all other meatball recipes, this recipe is to die for! We actually shred some potatoes and add it to the meat mixture. I’m not exactly sure why, but from what I heard from my mother is that back in the day, meat was more expensive, so to make more you’d add potatoes. Now of course, I do it because I find that the potato makes the meatballs juicier and I just love the texture of it.

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 small onions or 1 large, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely minced

2 lb ground pork, beef or mix 

2 medium potatoes grated

2 large eggs

1/2 cup breadcrumbs 

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp pepper or to taste

1/4 cup parsley finely chopped

1/4 cup dill fresh, finely chopped

oil for frying

• Heat the tbsp of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic and saute until tender. Add the grated potato and cook for a few minutes until it becomes tender. Let this cool.
• In a large bowl, add the onion/potato mixture, ground pork, eggs and breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, add the chopped parsley, chopped dill and mix well.
• You can form these into balls, or traditionally they are formed into small patties.
• Add oil to a large skillet and fry the meatballs on all sides.
• Serve over spaghetti, or mashed potatoes.

All you need is a cheese grater – yup that’s right! Use the grater to shred up your potato nice and fine before incorporating them into your meatballs. It will ensure they stay nice and moist and have super consistent flavour. Prefer To Bake Your Meatballs?

These meatballs can also be baked. Bake at 400 F degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes or until cooked through.

I love using pork or beef in my meatballs because they always turn out so juicy from the higher fat content. You can use any type of ground meat that you like! Keep in mind that meat with a lower fat content like turkey, chicken, or lean ground beef will yield dryer meatballs.

You can mix a lean type of meat with something fattier like lamb, regular ground beef, or pork.

You can use these meatballs for your spaghetti, with mashed potatoes, you can make a tomato sauce with them, or you can just plainly eat them by themselves with bread and mustard.  You can fry these, or if you’re watching your weight, you can even bake them.

This meatball recipe will last 3 – 4 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container.

To freeze just place the cooked meatballs on a baking sheet and freeze separately to begin with. Transfer them to a freezer bag or otherwise airtight container and place back in the cold and they’ll keep for up to 3 months.

from: May Real-Firman

For me a selection of mezze and grilled meat dishes, brings back happy memories of family gatherings on a Sunday around my parents' dining table. It is a bit like the Lebanese version of a Sunday roast. 

1 tin of chickpeas
1 clove of garlic
Juice of one lemon
3 tbsp tahini paste
Salt to season  

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. You might need to add a bit of water or more lemon juice to reach the right texture and taste.
Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with olive oil. 

2 grilled sweet peppers
Handful of walnuts or a mixture of any nuts
1 small clove of garlic
2 tbsp of breadcrumbs
1 tbsp olive oil
Half a tsp ground cumin
Salt to season  
 

Brush the peppers with olive olive and put under a hot grill for 15 min. Let them cool down. Put the nuts, garlic and oil in a food processor and blitz. Add the rest of the ingredients to the ground nuts mixture and continue mixing until you get a fine purée.
Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. 

My children absolutely adore this appetiser. They love pulling the leaves out and eating the meaty lemony base.

1 globe artichoke
1 clove of garlic
Juice of one lemon
A good splash of olive oil
Salt to season
 

Boil the globe artichoke for 25 min or until the leaves detach easily when pulled. 

For the dressing, crush the garlic with the salt until very smooth, add lemon juice and olive oil and whisk.
Transfer the artichoke to a bowl and drizzle the dressing between the leaves. 

A handful of salad leaves
Couple of tomatoes
1 small pepper
Few mint leaves
Few parsley leaves
1 small shallot
1 small clove of garlic
1 tbsp sumac
Salt to season
3-4 tbsp olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Deep fried Lebanese bread (or flatbread) broken into small squares 

Deep fry the bread (it is naughty, but nice!) set to the side and let cool. Cut the salad into big pieces and set to the side.
Cut the onion into thin slices.  Crush the garlic, mix with lemon juice and olive oil.
Transfer all ingredients into a salad bowl and sprinkle the sumac. Mix the salad so the dressing and sumac are well mixed in and spread the fried bread on the top. 

1 kg chicken breast cut into cubes
Mushroom, peppers or courgettes cut into chunks
For the marinade :
5-6 cloves of garlic crushed into a fine purée
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs  
1 tsp mixed spices
Juice of half of a lemon
Half a cup of vegetable oil
1 tbsp tomato purée
Salt to taste
 

Mix all the marinade ingredients well together then add the chicken and mix again. Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight. When ready to cook, put the chicken onto skewers and alternate with the chosen vegetables.
Cook on the BBQ or under a grill for around 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. 

from: Rachel Cahill

This recipe belongs to my grandmother who lived in Ireland.  It is the opposite of white fluffy bread and so can be easily made by someone who isn't familiar with baking.  It is cooked in a frying pan on a cooker top so you get to see it and check it as often as you want.  Irish soda bread is wholesome and filling - the best way to begin any day topped with plenty of butter (Ireland is the land of rain, grass, cows and milk!!) and your favourite jam.  This recipe brings back so many lovely memories of breakfast time when I was going up...enjoy ! 

These ingredients can be found in health food stores and buttermilk can be made using milk with a little lemon juice.

• 1 cup (250mg) of White Flour (sieved)
• 1 cup Stoneground Wholemeal Flour
• 1 handful Bran
• Less than half a cup of Pinhead Oatmeal (coarse)
• 1 tablespoon of Wheatgerm (optional)
• 1 flat tablespoon of Bread (Bicarbonate) soda
• 300ml of buttermilk  

• Mix the dry ingredients well and remove a handful (for flouring bread board later)
• Add buttermilk until mixture is firm but moist (you may not need all of the 300ml).
• Spread a little of handful of dry mixture on a board
• Place the mixture on floured board.
• Shape the mixture into a circle approximate 18cm diameter and 2cm thick.
• Cut into 4 quarters. 
• Heat a large frying pan and lightly cover it with the rest of the handful of dry mixture.
• When this dry mixture begins to turn brown, place the 4 pieces of bread in the pan.  
• Cook on a low/medium heat for 30 minutes, turning over halfway through.  No lid needed.
• Enjoy warm, straight from the pan or toasted in the following days.

From: Allaa Zeno

I would like to share a dish of the most famous traditional Syrian food, which is popular in many regions, which is the fattah. There are several types of fattah, such as hummus fatte, chicken fattah, and lamb tongue fattah. Here I will tell you how to make the hummus fattah.

2 loaves of Syrian bread or any flat bread, It must be sliced or cut into small squares.

1 tin of chickpeas.

5 tblsp tahina.

2 tblsp yogurt 

Juice of 1 lemon 

3 cloves of garlic (Some people love more garlic and some people prefer less).

Ghee or olive oil

Toasted nuts (cashews, pistachios, pine)

Parsley, mint, pomegranate, tomatoes and nuts for garnishing and ground cumin and paprika.

First of all, fry the bread in oil or grill a little in the oven.

Heat chickpeas with water.

In a blender, add tahini, lemon juice, garlic cloves and salt. You can adjust the sourness by using more lemon juice. Blend well.

Remove 1/3rd of the chickpeas from the water and reserve. Add the remaining chickpeas with the water and blend with the mixture.

Taste to adjust the salt and lemon, then add the rest of the the chickpeas - stirring with a spoon (do not blend them).

Finely chop parsley, mint, tomatoes and prepare the pomegranate seeds.

You can toast nuts like cashews, pistachios or pine, whatever you prefer.

Put the mixture on a flat serving plate with a depth of 4 or 5 cm.

You can add animal ghee or olive oil for vegetarians - heat the oil or ghee a little and put it on the surface of the mixture to give a harmonious and beautiful appearance.  Then dust with cumin and paprika on the top.

Lastly sprinkle the chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes and add pomegranate seeds for decoration and health and happiness for everyone.   

from: Ban Hikmat

There are many varieties of kibbeh in the Middle Eastern and Arabic Cuisines. As far as I know this scrumptious rice variety is only made in Iraq. Although I’m not really sure why it is named after the city of Aleppo, I remember reading somewhere that in the past it was taken as food supply by merchants travelling between Mosul (in Iraq) and Aleppo (in Syria).

To me the homemade variety is a real treat. The ingredients are simple but it does need some skill to make. Here is my mother’s recipe. Enjoy it and Happy Cooking.

Ingredients:

1: For the dough:

1 cup of dry rice (basmati rice will give a nice flavour but any variety will do)

2 1/2 - 3 cups of water + 1 small bowl of water

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp salt (less or more to taste)

2: For the filling:

250g minced beef or lamb ( I prefer reduced fat beef mince)

1 medium onion finely diced

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground cardamom 

1/4 tsp ground coriander 

a handful of finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

cooking oil for frying

Method:

1: To make the dough 

In a saucepan add the dry rice, cups of water, turmeric and salt. Bring to the boil uncovered then reduce heat. Keep cooking until all the water is absorbed by the rice. The end result should be sticky soft rice that can be made into a dough. Leave to cool down then kneed by hand into a homogeneous dough.

2: To make the filling 

In a separate pan brown the meat on medium heat. Keep turning and tossing until most of the moisture is absorbed. Then add the spices, salt and pepper and onion. Carry on turning and cooking until all the moisture is absorbed and the meat is thoroughly cooked. Turn off the heat and add the parsley (if using). Leave to cool down. 

3: To make the Kibbeh

Use a small bowl of water to wet your hands when making the Kibbeh to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers.

Take a small handful of dough and make it into a flat circle. Place a tsp of the cooked minced meat in the centre then gather the edges to seal off the mince meat filling. Shape into a cylinder and keep aside. Repeat this step until all the dough is used.

4: In a deep frier or frying pan heat the cooking oil. Deep fry the Kibbeh on several badges to prevent the oil from cooling down. Fry until golden brown in colour. 

Serve them hot with a salad.

Tips: 

If you have dough leftover, make it into small circular discs and fry them. They still taste good.

For a vegetarian version substitute the meat with a mixture of cooked finely diced carrots, onion, mushrooms, potatoes mixed with cooked peas or any other vegetable.

From: Nina Kaye

Chicken Soup with Matzoh balls (known as Kneidlach) is the absolute classic 'feel-better' soup, often known as 'Jewish penicillin'. Every Jewish family has its own recipe handed down from mother to daughter and this is the recipe I remember my grandmother making. Her flat always had this warming smell of freshly made chicken soup.

Traditionally you use the all the leftovers of a roasted chicken including the carcass and all the bones as well as any giblets. Nothing gets wasted from the chicken - even the fat is used to make the matzoh balls.

3 eggs

75ml chicken soup or water

3 tblsp chicken fat

4 oz matzoh meal 

1/2 tsp salt

ground pepper

chopped parsley

Beat eggs and soup together and add melted chicken fat. Add salt and pepper. Gradually stir in the matzoh meal until the consistency is like mashed potatoes.

Chill for at least 5 hours

Form into balls using your palms and boil in salted water for 25 mintues.

Put the chicken into a large saucepan and add root vegetables (onions with their skins, carrots, parsnip, leeks, celery stalk, suede) and boil gently in an uncovered saucepan for at least 2 hours, adding salt and pepper as wished. Skim away any froth from the top. Let it cool in the saucepan with the lid on to room temperature.

Drain the soup into a large bowl and put in the fridge until any fat has solidified. You can add the carrots back into the soup. When it is chilled, skim the fat off and keep this for making the matzoh balls.