Kibbeh Labaniyeh (Kibbeh in Yogurt Sauce)

There are tonnes of different varieties of kibbeh out there. The authors suggest a deep fried, pine nut and ground beef stuffed kibbeh to go with this sauce. I did not have the time or energy to make the kibbeh from scratch, so I heated up some ready-made chickpea and spinach stuffed frozen kibbeh and just spooned a bit of this sauce over them.

I was skeptical about a three-ingredient sauce made of yogurt, broth, and egg, but it was honestly really nice and worked very well with the kibbeh. I think my biggest complaints were that it made way too much for the number of kibbeh we had and that it was a bit too runny for our personal preferences. Still good though!

Kibbeh Labaniyeh

From Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 3 c. plain yogurt
• 2 1/2 c. vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 large egg
• 15-20 kibbeh
• rice or bulgur, to serve

Directions

1. Combine the yogurt, stock, and egg and blend¹ thoroughly.
2. Heat the sauce over very low heat, stirring constantly, until it boils. If it curdles, blend it again.
3. Pour the sauce over the cooked kibbeh and serve with rice.

---

¹ Itab and Dina suggest doing this in a blender, but I just used a whisk because I didn't want to dirty the blender. An immersion blender would probably be a good option, I just didn't think of it at the time. ^Back

Lubiyeh bil Zeit (Green Beans in Olive Oil)

This is another (very simple) recipe from Our Syria. My original dinner plans for the evening fell through and I needed to throw something else together quickly. Luckily I had a bag of ready-made kibbeh in the freezer, so I was able to whip up a quick batch of yogurt sauce and rice to serve them with. But that did leave the meal somewhat lacking in veggies (since I don't count the spinach in the kibbeh stuffing). These green beans were a nice way to put something green on our plates and round out the meal.

Ideally this would be made with fresh green beans or runner beans, but I had to resort to a package of frozen green beans in this case. It still turned out great. I just omitted the water and went straight from sautéing to adding the garlic. (Although I accidentally bumped the knob on the stove to "high" instead of "off" at the end of cooking, so everything ended up a few shades darker than I'd intended. It was still fine though!)

Lubiyeh bil Ziet

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 1-2 tsp. oil
• 450g green beans, trimmed and halved
• boiling water
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• olive oil, to serve

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add beans and sauté for ~5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, boil some water.
4. Add about 1cm of boiling water to the pan and simmer until the beans soften and the water has evaporated.
5. If beans seem undercooked, add a bit more water and continue cooking until desired doneness.
6. Add the garlic and salt and cook for another minute or so.
7. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cilantro.
8. Transfer to a serving platter, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

Mhammara (Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

We had some leftover kibbeh and beans for dinner tonight, but I felt like it needed something else to go with it. I debated a few different options, but decided to go with this simple dip in the end. It's very easy to throw together, especially if you already have a jar of roasted red bell peppers on hand. If not, it doesn't add much extra time or effort to roast them along with the chile before mixing up your dip.

I did end up slightly scaling back on the olive oil while bumping up the pomegranate molasses, but otherwise made my dip to spec. I used a jalapeño as my chile since I had a few left over in the fridge that really needed to be used, but a cayenne or Thai chile would probably be more appropriate. Feel free to experiment a bit with the exact type and number of chiles though.

Mhammara

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 2 red bell peppers (or 200g of jarred roasted bell peppers)
• 1 chile (preferably cayenne or Thai)
• 80g walnuts, toasted
• 1-2 tsp. harissa
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-2 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
• 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• flatbreads (and/or veggies and/or chips), to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Cut the peppers and chile in half and remove the cores and seeds.
3. Place on a baking sheet, skin-side-up, and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and salt.
4. Roast in the oven until the peppers soften and the skin darkens (15-20 minutes).
5. Remove from oven and allow to stand until cool enough to handle.
6. Meanwhile, chop the toasted walnuts in a blender or food processor.
7. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove skins if desired (optional), and add them to the blender with the nuts.
8. Add the harissa, garlic, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth.
9. Adjust seasonings to taste.
10. Serve with pita wedges (or whatever other dippers strike your fancy).

Salatat Fawakeh (Fruit Salad)

I had been intending on making a peach coffee cake for dessert last night. Only to check the recipe and find out that it calls for peach preserves in addition to actual peaches. I didn't really feel that any of the preserves that we had would make a good stand-in for the peach ones, so I set that plan aside for now and started flipping through cookbooks for other dessert ideas.

I'd initially thought to make a carrot cake. But, after examining the amount of sugar and oil called for in the recipe, I couldn't bring myself to make it. Plus, I didn't have the buttermilk for making the soaking syrup anyway. (Yes, this cake calls for a huge amount of sugar in the batter and then soaking it in a buttermilk-sugar syrup before icing it with cream cheese frosting.) So that was out...

I considered a few different cookies. There were some interesting, not-too-sweet-looking, yeasted ones in the Italian cookbook my mom got me for my birthday this year. And the anise and nigella cookies from the Syrian cookbook were also tempting. In the end though, I decided to go for this fruit salad. We didn't quite have all the ingredients it called for, but we came close enough that I felt like I could make a reasonable approximation of it.

The original recipe (which is what I've given here) called for apples, bananas, mangoes, kiwi, and strawberries. I had the apples, bananas, and strawberries, but was bereft of kiwi and only had mangoes in frozen form as part of a "tropical mix" with pineapple, coconut, and dragonfruit. I realize that this wasn't exactly the blend that the recipe was calling for, but I decided to give it a go with the "tropical mix" standing in for the kiwi and mango.

The dish is meant to be topped with "milk curd" -- a soft, fresh, Syrian cheese. The author notes that ricotta makes a reasonable substitute if you don't feel like making your own cheese for this. I decided to try it with fat-free cottage cheese since I that is a "zero Point" food for me. The cottage cheese was fine with it, but I think the saltiness of it clashes a little bit with the fruit. Next time I think I'll follow the Kidlet's example and have it with plain Greek yogurt instead.

The salad is also meant to be topped with raisins, whole almonds, and honey. Conveniently, we still have a partial jar of whole mixed nuts packed in liquid honey, so I just used those -- along with a few raisins -- to put the finishing touches on the salad. I went with ~4 almonds, 1 tsp. of raisins, and a teaspoon or so of honey (estimating how much came with the nuts) for each portion. I think I probably could've gotten away with a little less for the raisins and honey, but it's certainly very tasty that way! (Just a little more calorically dense.)

Salatat Fawakeh

From Our Syria by Dina Mousawi and Itab Azzam

Ingredients

• 1 mango, peeled and cubed
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced
• 1 banana, sliced
• 8 strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 200g ricotta, cottage cheese, or plain Greek yogurt
• 16-20 whole almonds
• 4 tsp. raisins
• 4 tsp. honey

Directions

1. Toss the mango, apple, kiwi, banana, and strawberries together.
2. Divide into four equal portions and top each one with ~50g of cheese, 4-5 almonds, and 1 tsp. of raisins.
3. Drizzle each with 1 tsp. of honey and serve.

Batirsh (Eggplant Dip with Tomato Sauce and Ground Lamb)

I've only ever had eggplant dip as an appetizer/mezze. I was intrigued to find this main course dish that uses baba ganouj/mutabal as its base. It's really good. The different flavours and textures all complement each other really well. It's meant to be enjoyed as-is on pitas or bell peppers, but I like to add another layer and a bit of grilled halloumi and mint to my pita.

Batirsh

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 400-500g fresh tomatoes, blended OR canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 250g ground lamb
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1 recipe mutabal
• 1-2 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
• 2 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• flatbread and bell peppers, to serve

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and just starting to brown.
3. Add tomatoes and salt, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the lamb to the oil and cook, breaking up any large chunks, until all the pink is gone. You may season the lamb with salt and pepper if desired. I used ~1/2 tsp. of coarse sea salt and maybe two dozen grinds of pepper.
6. Place the mutabal in a serving dish, layer some tomato sauce on top of it and place the lamb on top of that.
7. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley and serve with pita wedges and pieces of bell pwpper for dipping.

Mutabal (Eggplant Dip)

I grew up eating an eggplant dip very much like this. Everyone seems to call it baba ganouj here. It's very garlicky and delicious. This seems to be a very similar dish, but apparently "baba ganouj/ganoush" is something completely different in Syria and they call this dip "mutabal". It's a little less garlicky and more lemony than the version I grew up with, but very similar otherwise.

I strongly recommend charring the eggplant over an open flame if you can. It makes a world of difference. Personally, I think wood or charcoal gives a better flavour than gas. I've tried cooking my eggplants under a gas broiler and directly over a gas burner on the stove, but the flavour when I did them on a charcoal barbecue was much, much better. That said, if you don't have any way of doing a wood or charcoal fire, gas will work. And the dip will still be nice. It just won't have the same smoky element to it.

Mutabal

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants
• 2 cloves garlic¹
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. tahini
• juice of 1 lemon²
• olive oil, to serve
• polegranate arils, to serve (optional)
• flatbread and/or veggies, to serve

Directions

1. Fire up your grill, preheat your broiler, or turn on a gas burner.
2. Poke the eggplants all over with a sharp knife.
3. Cook over (or under) open flame, turning occasionally, until the skin is blackened and crispy all over. The flesh will get very soft and the skin will begin to split. Make sure the eggplants are thoroughly charred over their entire surface.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Carefully peel off the blackened skin. Discard the skin and stems.
6. Mash or purée the flesh.
7. Crush the garlic and salt with a mortar and pestle and add it to the mashed eggplant.
8. Mix in the yogurt, tahini, and lemon juice.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
10. Drizzle with olive oil.
11. Sprinkle a few pomegranate arils on top (if using)
12. Serve with wedges of flatbread for dipping.

---

¹ If you're feeling lazy, you can swap out the fresh garlic for garlic paste. ^Back
2 I found my mutabal to be very lemony. I was using it for batrish, so the strong lemon flavour ended up balancing out with the other ingredients, but I think it would've been too strong on its own. If you're planning on serving the mutabal alone, it might be worth holding back half the lemon juice. Taste it and see if you think it needs the rest first. ^Back

Ghraibi (Butter Cookies)

I was craving dessert tonight and wanted something that could easily be shared with friends, so I made these simple cookies. They're delicious and very easy to make. The flavours balance each other perfectly. The rose water is present without being overwhelming. I like them a lot.

Ghraibi

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 75g unsalted butter
• 75g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 1 tsp. rose water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 150g all-purpose flour
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. neutral oil
• 15-20 shelled pistachios

Directions

1. Warm the butter until very soft and beginning to melt.
2. Sift in the icing sugar and beat with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated. It may seem dry at first, but if you keep stirring it will form a smooth, buttery paste.
3. Stir in rose water and vanilla.
4. Mix in the flour, egg white, and oil.
5. Knead for a few minutes, adding a little more oil if the dough is too dry.
6. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
8. Shape the dough into several small balls and place on a lined baking sheet. You should get 15-20 in all.
9. Slightly flatten the balls and press a pistachio into the top of each one.
10. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 12-13 minutes. The cookies should still be pale and very nearly the same colour after baking as before.
11. Best enjoyed fresh!

Labneh (Strained Yogurt)

Labneh is distinct from "Greek yogurt" which is another thick, strained yogurt. Greek yogurt is usually just strained overnight. This strains off most of the whey and results in a deliciously thick and creamy yogurt. Labneh takes it a step further. You add salt to the yogurt before straining and let it drain for a full 24 hours, with a weight on top. This draws out even more moisture. So, rather than having a thick, spoonable yogurt, you end up with something that's more akin to a fresh cheese. It can be used as a spread or even shaped into balls.

The recipe I have says that 500mL of plain yogurt should make ~250mL of labneh. I started with just of 1L of yogurt, and by the looks of it I'm going to end up with maybe 300mL of labneh. I suspect that the recipe authors may be used to working with richer yogurt with a higher concentration of milk solids. I did add a little bit of skim milk powder to my milk to help produce a thicker yogurt, but I think next time I'd be inclined to add some cream as well. It should still work fine regardless. Just be aware that you may lose a lot of volume depending on how rich the milk/yogurt you're starting with is.

Labneh

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 1L plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• olive oil
• fresh mint, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. If making your own yogurt be sure to use whole milk. I recommend adding a bit of cream and/or dry milk powder as well.¹ If using store-bought yogurt, be sure that it doesn't have any gelatine or other stabilizers added as those will likely prevent it from draining properly.
2. Stir the salt into the yogurt.
3. Line a fine mesh seive with a double layer of cheesecloth and pour the salted yogurt into it.
4. Fold the cheesecloth over the yogurt and place a weight on top.²
5. Allow yogurt to drain at room temperature for a full 24 hours.
6. Once drained, it should be thick enough to handle and shape into balls. (Almost like a slightly dry ricotta.)
7. Shape into several small balls (maybe ~1 Tbsp. each) and store submerged in olive oil in the fridge or transfer to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh mint, and serve as a spread.

---

¹ I used 1L of whole (3.25%) milk + 1/4 c. skim milk powder. Next time I'd probably replace 250mL of milk with cream (either 18 or 35%) as well. This version worked fine. I just ended up with a lot less labneh than expected. ^Back
2 I let my yogurt drain for several hours first. Once it had stiffened up a bit, then I folded the cheesecloth over and placed the weight on top. (This wasn't actually an intentional decision at the outset; I simply forgot that you were supposed to use a weight. But, now that I've had a chance to think about it, I think that it would've been difficult to press the very runny yogurt that I started out with. Better to let it firm up a little first and then press that. ^Back

Mana'ousha (Za'atar Flatbread)

I've been itching to try this simple flatbread recipe for weeks now. I finally got the chance today. It ended up being a bit of a last-minute scramble for dinner, but it worked out well in the end. The flatbread, served along side a liver pilaf and some asparagus, made for a satisfying (if not terribly healthy) meal.

Mana'ousha

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 5 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. za'atar
• 400g puff pastry
• 1 tomato, diced
• fresh mint leaves (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
2. Add za'atar to olive oil and stir to combine.
3. Roll out your puff pastry to form a large rectangle of ~45cm by 30cm (18x12").
4. Transfer the pastry to the prepared baking sheet.
5. Pour the za'atar mixture over the pastry and use a pastry brush to evenly spread it over the entire surface, leaving a 1cm (1/2") border around the edge.
6. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 15 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with diced tomato and fresh mint leaves and serve.

A delicious garlicy sauce that can be drizzled over many different meats and vegetables or added to sandwiches and wraps. Very quick and easy to put together and a nice enhancement for many meals.

Tahini Sauce

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine garlic paste, salt, tahini, and lemon juice.
2. If mixture seems to thick, add a little water.
3. Stir in yogurt.
4. Season with pepper.

---

Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• black pepper, to taste

This sauce works just fine without the yogurt. No other changes necessary.

Falafel Wraps

This was a bit of an emergeny last minute meal. I realized at the eleventh hour that I hadn't planned enough food for dinner and frantically flipped through the cookbook to look for something else that we could make to complement the too-sparse meal. This was what we came up with. It was tasty, but I had to make a few changes to the recipe to get it done in time. Technically you're supposed to use soaked but uncooked chickpeas. I didn't have time for that, so I just used cooked ones. This resulted in a much softer, wetter mix than soaked chickpeas would've given. Adding some flour helped hold it together and the wraps were still quite tasty, but I think they would've been even better had I had time to follow the recipe properly.

Falafel Wrap

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

Falafels

• 250g dried chickpeas
• 1.5L hot water
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp. dhania-jeera masala
• oil, for frying

Wrap

• flatbreads (such as sourdough pitas)
• chopped tomatoes
• pickled turnips
• pickled cucumbers (or dill pickles)
• tahini sauce
• fresh mint and/or fresh parsley

Directions

Falafels

1. Pour hot water over chickpeas and set aside to soak for 24 hours.
2. Blend onion in food processor. (I used the "food chop" setting on my blender.)
3. Add chickpeas, garlic, parsley, and cilantro and process/blend until very finely chopped.
4. Transfer to a bowl.
5. Add the salt, baking soda, and dhania-jeera masala and mix well.
6. Shape the mixture into small balls. If the mixture is too loose or wet, add a little all-purpose flour to help bring it together.
7. Heat up about 5cm (2") of oil in a pan or wok.
8. Once the oil is very hot, begin cooking the falafels, a few at a time.
9. Cook until very dark and crispy on the outside. The inside should still be soft and green (5-10 minutes).
10. Remove cooked falafels from oil and allow to drain.

Wrap

1. Squash a few falafel balls onto a flatbread.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and pickles.
3. Drizzle with tahini sauce and sprinkle with mint and/or parsley.
4. Roll into a wrap and enjoy!

Once you have the pitas, these come together in just a few minutes, and while they're not substantial enough to be a meal in themselves they make an excellent side or appetizer.

While the recipe calls for (and is delicious with) mint, I think pesto would also work excellently with these.

Grilled Halloumi Pitas

Slightly modified from Our Syria, p.88

Ingredients

• 4 sourdough pitas
• ½ lb haloumi, sliced and lightly grilled 
• fresh mint, chopped, to taste (about 1-2 tbsp per pita)
  
• olive oil

Directions

1. Heat a cast iron pan or griddle, and a griddle press (or, if you don't have one, a smaller cast iron pan) over medium heat.
   
2. Arrange a layer of halloumi to cover half of each pita.
3. Sprinkle the mint over the halloumi, then fold the pita over to cover.
4. Brush the exterior of the pitas (both sides) very generously with olive oil.
5. Cook in the pan until browned, 3-4 minutes, with the hot press on top squishing it down; we found that 2 pitas fit comfortably in this arrangement.
6. If the press isn't hot enough, you may need to flip the pitas over and keep cooking, using the press for weight alone rather than heat.

Mufarraket Batata (Eggs with Potatoes and Cumin)

We wanted something different for breakfast today and had a potato surplus, so we decided to try the other egg-based breakfast recipe from Our Syria. It comes together pretty quickly and very easily, and I liked it, although I think I like the tomato-based one more.

Mufarraket Batata

Our Syria p.72

Ingredients

• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 medium potatoes, diced at ½"
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 eggs
• ¼ tsp cumin, ground
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the butter and oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add the potatoes and fry for a few minutes.
3. Add 4 tbsp of water, cover, and simmer until fork-tender; with the lid on the potatoes should steam.
4. Remove the lid, add the garlic, and continue to cook for a few minutes.
5. Crack the eggs on top, season with cumin, salt and pepper, and stir together, breaking up the yolks in the process.
6. Serve.

Shuzmuz (Cumin-Tomato Scrambled Eggs)

We're always looking for more tasty breakfast recipes and this one delivers! It's pretty easy to put together, scales up and down well, and uses up eggs, something we have a desperate need to do most of the year because the chickens will not stop laying.

The book recommends serving it with warm bread; we made garlic toast, and that worked quite well.

Shuzmuz

Our Syria, p.78

Ingredients

• 1 tsp butter
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ bell pepper, diced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced, or 1 C tinned diced tomatoes
  
• 4 eggs, beaten
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp cumin, ground
• ground Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until soft, ~5 minutes.
3. Add the bell pepper and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking until everything is soft.
5. Whisk salt and pepper into the eggs, then pour the eggs into the skillet. Cook, folding often, to scramble.
6. Stir in the cumin and hot pepper and serve.

Mutabal Shwandar (Beet Dip)

We got a bunch of beets in order to do easter egg dying, but we ended up using all the eggs for red cabbage experiments instead and needed to do something with the beets. This dip from Our Syria turned out to be just the thing; it's especially tasty on bread or crackers.

Mutabal Shwandar

Our Syria, p.19

Ingredients

• 4 medium beets
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp plain yogurt (at least)
  
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• juice of 1 lemon
• soft goat cheese to taste [optional]
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. Scrub the beets, trim them, and slice into wedges.
3. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 30-50 minutes, until soft enough that a sharp knife can easily be inserted through them. Remove and let cool.
5. Combine the beets, tahini, yogurt, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender, and blend. If using a blender you may need to add more olive oil and/or yogurt.
6. If using the goat cheese, crumble it into the dip and stir in.

Lubiyeh wa Banadoura (Green Bean and Tomato Stew with Rice)

Another hit from Our Syria! We played fast and loose with the proportions here and it still turned out delicious; I suspect it will take quite a lot of variation.

The original calls for ground beef (if you are adding meat at all), and I have reproduced it thus; we used imitation vegetarian ground beef.

Lubiyeh wa Banadoura

Our Syria, p.119

Ingredients

• 225g ground beef [optional]
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 450g green beans, trimmed
• 6 large ripe tomatoes, diced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large, deep skillet.
2. Add the onion and ground beef and cook until the onion is softened and the beef browned, 5-10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and beans and fry for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for ten minutes.
5. Add the tomato paste, salt, and pepper, and continue to simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
6. Serve with olive oil and some sort of rice.

Our other recent recipe from Our Syria. We had an already-made batch of tomato sauce that just needed some extra onion and garlic (and the bell peppers, which I forgot -- brain was on short supply that evening), but for this writeup I have recreated the entire recipe.

Meatballs in Tomato and Pepper Stew

Our Syria p.164

Ingredients

• Sauce
• 1 onion, finely diced
• oil
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 500g tomatoes, diced
• 30mL tomato paste
• Meatballs
• 500g ground lamb (or beef, or ground veggie protein)
• 1 onion, very finely chopped
• ½ large bunch of parsley or cilantro, finely chopped
• 5mL 7 baharat
  
• ¼ tsp salt
  
• oil
  

Directions

1. Heat a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add a bit of oil and the onion. Cook until soft.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the bell pepper and tomato, fry for another 2-3 minutes, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and continue simmering for another 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are reduced.
6. Meanwhile, combine the lamb, onion, parsley or cilantro, 7 baharat, and salt in a large bowl.
7. Form meat mix into 2-2.5cm meatballs, roll in oil, and place evenly on a large baking sheet.
8. Bake at 320°F for 10 minutes.
9. Transfer meatballs and their juices to the pot with the tomato sauce, cover, and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
10. Serve over rice.

Yesterday we cooked our first recipes from Our Syria by Itab Azzam & Dina Mousawi. This is one of them, a very simple vegetable appetizer that can be put together in minutes. I've altered it slightly here to cook the garlic a bit, rather than adding it raw at the end of cooking, since the Kidlet finds raw garlic to be "too spicy" and I usually prefer the cooked flavour, too.

The original recipe calls for chard. We're more likely to have kale (and I prefer it anyways), so that's another adjustment made.

Kale with Garlic and Lemon

Our Syria p.47

Ingredients

• olive oil
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 450g kale, coarsely chopped
• salt
  
• Juice of 1 lemon
  

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add a bit of olive oil and the garlic and cook until fragrant, ~30 seconds.
3. Add the kale and a splash of water and cover until the kale is warmed through and wilted slightly.
4. Remove from the heat and toss with lemon juice, salt, and a bit of extra olive oil if desired.

7 Baharat (Syrian 7-Spice Blend)

This simple spice blend requires no toasting, just grinding, so it comes together very quickly.

7 Baharat

Our Syria, p.244

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ground cardamom
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• ½ tbsp ground cloves
• ½ tbsp ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Combine all spices and store in an airtight container.

Qatayef (Syrian Stuffed Pancakes)

I was going to make cookies today, but then I saw this stuffed pancake recipe and adjusted my plans!

Qatayef

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 200g all-purpose flour¹
• 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. warm water
• 1 c. chopped walnuts
• 3-4 Tbsp. sugar syrup², divided
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. ricotta
• 1 Tbsp. pistachios, chopped
• oil for frying

Directions

1. Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and baking powder and mix well.
2. Whisk in the warm water. Make sure it's warm enough to activate the yeast but not so hot that it kills it.
3. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
4. After 30 minutes, whisk the batter again to deflate it.
5. Heat a pan or griddle over medium heat.
6. Add a little butter to the pan if it needs to be greased.
7. Pour ~1/4 c. of batter into the pan.
8. The batter will bubble as it cooks. Once it stops bubbling and looks dry on top, it's done. DO NOT FLIP IT OVER! Simply remove it from the pan and allow it to cool.
9. Repeat cooking steps with remaining batter. DO NOT STACK THE PANCAKES! They must be placed in a single layer or they will stick together.
10. While the pancakes are cooling, combine the walnuts, 1 Tbsp. of the syrup, cinnamon, and ricotta.
11. Place a spoonful of filling on each pancake and fold them over to form well-stuffed semi-cricles. Press the edges firmly to seal. If you're having trouble getting a good seal, use some of the remaining syrup to glue them shut.
12. Pour oil into a wok or pot to a depth of at least 3cm and heat it over medium-high heat.
13. Deep-fry the stuffed pancakes (in batches) until they're golden brown and slightly crisp on all sides.
14. Allow to drain on a wire rack (or paper towels) for a few minutes.
15. Transfer to a plate and drizzle with the remaining syrup.
16. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve!

---

¹ I was running low on all-purpose flour, so I used ~100g of whole wheat flour + 100g of all-purpose. I was very happy with how this worked out. ^Back
2 Make the syrup by combining equal parts sugar and water. Add a touch of lemon juice as well if you like. Boil until slightly thickened. (It should be about the consistency of maple syrup.) Set aside to cool. ^Back