Middle Eastern Breakfast Treats

Labaneh
For the February daring cooks challenge,Manal from Manal’s Bites invited us to celebrate the most important meal of the day Middle Eastern style!

Traditional breakfast in the Middle East seems to be such a wholesome meal what with all the fresh dips and salads, lots of olive oils and spices it has. I've never been to visit the area except for the few plane changes in Abu Dhabi. So I was quite surprised to know that hummus is for breakfast! In our house it's a dip for snacks. The salad is very similar to the Greek one especially because I used feta cheese since I can't find halloumi any where near us.

Mixed Salad
What a revelation these dishes were so thank you is in order to the Daring Cooks and Manal for coming up with this interesting challenge. For one, it's my first time to make soft cheese. As expected, it's delectable. While for the hummus, I never thought fried pitta bread would be great dipped in it.

The labaneh cheese is easy enough to make though I don't have a big enough cheese cloth for the whole lot. So I just put them in small little bundles. I didn't have any place to hang them so I put them in a colander over a bowl to catch the drips.

Speaking of cheese cloth (they are also called muslin cloth), if you buy them from kitchen shops they're quite expensive. I just realised recently that I could buy them cheaper from baby shops. You see, the cotton cloth nappies (diapers) are made of muslin cotton! Ha! That's my bargain tip of the day.


Hummus Fatteh


Hummus Fatteh

1 recipe of Hummus
pitta bread
reserved chickpea water or plain water
salt and lemon juice
olive oil
pine nuts (optional)
cooked chickpeas (optional)
chopped mint or coriander or parsley
  1. Cut pitta bread into big chunks (about 1-inch square). Fry in olive oil.
  2. Scatter at the bottom of a serving bowl.
  3. [Optional] Fry pine nuts briefly in a pan with olive oil until brown and aromatic.
  4. [Optional] Sprinkle water with lemon juice and salt on the fried pitta bread.
  5. Pour hummus on top. Serve sprinkled with chopped herbs, fried pine nuts and chickpeas (if using). Drizzle a little olive oil on top.


Labaneh

1 kg natural full-fat Greek style yoghurt
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp fine sea salt
cheese cloth (muslin cloth)
chilli powder
za'atar (optional)
  1. Dissolve salt in the water.
  2. Add the yoghurt. Stir to mix well.
  3. Put the yoghurt mix in the cheese cloth, tie up and hang (or put in a colander over a bowl) to drain the water. Hang this for about 24 hours.
  4. The labaneh cheese is now ready. Serve with olive oil and chilli powder or za'taar sprinkled on top.
Note: This will keep in the fridge for 1 week in an airtight container.


Mixed Salad

2 big red tomatoes - chopped into about 1/2-inch pieces
1 12-inch cucumber - chopped into about 1/2-inch pieces
3 Tbsp lemon juice
6 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup cubed halloumi or nabulsi or feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves (or coriander or parsley)
1/2 cup chopped red onion or 2 green onions - chopped
  1. Mix together the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and cheese in a serving bowl.
  2. Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil.
  3. Sprinkle the chopped herbs on top.

Bitterballen

The October Daring Cooks’ Challenge was brought to us by Andrea from 4pure. She introduced us to one of her family favorites which is soon to become one of yours, too. Welcome to the world of Dutch Bitterballen!

Actually before I made these Dutch treats I haven't tried nor heard about bitterballen. But it's not foreign to most people - it is a variant of a deep-fried croquette. I did the cheese bitterballen and was gearing up to make the prawn version but I ran out of time for the deadline. You can head to the Daring Kitchen's website for the recipes of the beef and prawn renditions of this delicious snack.

I froze my bitterballen for deep-frying a week later. They froze rather nicely.

frozen bitterballen

As instructed by Andrea, you have to add 1 minute to the deep-frying time for frozen bitterballen. It was delicious! Although next time I would do the egg dip and breadcrumbs at least twice to make the breaded crust thicker and crunchier. Plus also making the balls smaller - perhaps 3/4-inch in diameter only. I would prefer more starch/crust in the crust-cheese ratio to make it less rich. All these personal changes are reflected in the recipe below.

Cheese Bitterballen

Everyone in the family loved it including my youngest who was busy speed reading the very recently released book of her favourite novel series.

Cheese Bitterballen snack


Cheese Bitterballen

1/2 cup [125 g] butter
3/4 cup [110 g] plain flour
2 cups [500 ml] full-fat milk
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup [80 ml] single cream (light cream)
2 tsp gelatine
80 g  hard cheese (parmesan, grana padano, pecorino, etc.) - grated
80 g  soft cheese (brie, camembert, cream cheese, etc.) - sliced into small pieces
80 g  matured cheddar - grated
salt and pepper

*For the breading:
plain flour
2 eggs - beaten
dry breadcrumbs
  1. Melt butter in a heavy-based saucepan.
  2. Add flour all at once and stir to cook for 3 minutes on medium heat.
  3. Add milk and bring to boil while stirring continously.
  4. Bring heat to lowest and simmer for about 10 minutes stirring from time to time.
  5. While it is simmering, dissolve gelatin with about 2 Tbsp water. Set aside.
  6. Add nutmeg. Taste sauce and add appropriate amount of salt (about 1/2 tsp) and pepper.
  7. Stir in the cheese until well mixed in the sauce.
  8. Add in the dissolved gelatine and stir until well combined.
  9. Remove from heat and spread out the sauce in a baking dish or plate.
  10. Cool for about 30-60 minutes then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

*Breading:
  1. After refrigeration, the mixture would have hardened. With a spoon, scoop out enough cheese mixture to form into a 3/4 - 1-inch ball.
  2. Roll the ball in the plain flour; then dip in the beaten egg; then roll in the breadcrumbs. (The breading may be repeated if you want a thicker crust.) Do the same for the rest of the mixture.
  3. Rest the breaded balls on a plate in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
  4. At this point you may freeze the bitterballen if you wish.

*Deep frying:
  1. Heat at least 3/4-inch of oil in a heavy saucepan to 180°C/350°F.
  2. Deep fry the bitterballen for 3-4 minutes until golden. (For frozen bitterballen, add 1 more minute in cooking time.)
  3. Serve warm with mustard or chutney.

Baked Pasta with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Baked Pasta with Chicken

This month, the Daring Cooks challenged us to think inside the box - the icebox, that is! Audax taught us some really cool tips and tricks for stocking our freezers with prepare-ahead meals that can keep our taste buds satisfied even during the busiest of times.

Apart from the Mac and Cheese, I've never done a baked pasta dish with white sauce. I thought this will be a good test if white sauces freeze well. And it really does. Thanks is in order to Martha Stewart's website for the recipe that I adapted. It just needed a little tweaking in salt and pepper department plus extra cheese to prevent the sauce getting too bland. This recipe also confirmed my dislike for chicken breast. Believe me, it didn't do anything to the dish in terms of flavour. It was just there as a cardboard-like protein but virtually no chicken flavour. I even bought a free-range one but it was just ... meh! So next time either I add in non-breast chicken meat or maybe put in some chicken powder in the sauce. This recipe is definitely still in the tweaking stage so don't be surprised if there are changes later. However, I do love the garlic in the sauce that really lifted it up from the ordinary.


Baked Pasta with Chicken ready to freeze


Baked Pasta with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes

500 g  penne rigate or rigatoni
6 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup plain flour
6 cups whole milk
2 tsp coarse sea salt
450 g  boneless chicken meat - cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp olive oil
300 g  white mushrooms - trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes - drained and thinly sliced
2 cups grated provolone or matured cheddar
125 g  [about 1 cup] finely grated parmesan
some salt and freshly ground black pepper
  1. Cook the pasta 3 minutes short of package instructions. So if it says cook for 12 minutes then cook for just 9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  2. Grease ovenproof pasta dishes and set aside.
  3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour in olive oil, heat for a minute then add the chicken. Season with some salt and pepper and cook until opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
  4. In a 5-liter heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat.
  5. Add garlic, cook for about 1 minute or until aromatic.
  6. Add flour, whisk for 1 minute.
  7. Gradually add 2 cups of milk while whisking all the time. Bring to a simmer. Repeat this until all milk is used.
  8. Add 1 tsp of the sea salt. Simmer for another 2 minutes.
  9. Add the mushroom and sun-dried tomatoes; cook for 1 minute.
  10. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the provolone (or cheddar) and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
  11. Taste the sauce. If need be, add the remaining 1 tsp sea salt and some ground black pepper.
  12. Add the chicken and pasta to the sauce. Divide among the prepared dishes and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top.
  13. Bake uncovered in a preheated 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F oven for about 25 minutes.
*Note:
  • To freeze: do up to step no. 12. Cover tightly with cling wrap and/or foil and freeze up to 3 months.
  • To bake from frozen: Preheat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F and bake covered in foil on a baking sheet until centre is hot, around 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil and bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
    *OR*
    Defrost completely and follow baking instructions in step no. 13 above.


Baked Pasta with Chicken

Bibimbap

Bibimbap
Bibimbap-alula she's my baby ...

This is the longest recipe I've ever typed in this blog. I never knew something so homely can involve a lot of work! But I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the eating so much more. I've heared about this intriguing dish from American friends and family and in a lot of food magazines. So it was a delight to find out that this was our next task in the Daring Kitchen.

The July Daring Cooks' Challenge took us to Korea, where Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado taught us to make bibimbap. This colorful rice dish can be customized to meet any taste, and is as much fun to eat as it is to say!

The traditional Dolsot Bibimbap involves a heated stone bowl which my kitchen definitely do not have. So the alternative is use warmed bowls which was quite sufficient as evident in the recipe that I adapted from Bon Apetit. I did not do the crunchy rice step because we're definitely not fans of tutong. My husband and I really enjoyed eating this sort of Korean hot salad and I was pleasantly surprised with the gochujang (Korean chili paste). It's not as scorchingly spicy hot as I imagined it would be. For me, the best part of this is the bulgogi. It's the one thing that I would definitely keep making over and over again. But with everything else considered I think it will take quite sometime before I make all of these again. There's just a lot of little things to do including a lot of washing up!



Bibimbap ingredients


Home-style Bibimbap

Marinate the bulgogi and prepare all the rest of the listed ingredients listed here.
Then proceed to the assembly section.


Bulgogi:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup finely grated Asian pear with juices (about 1 pear)
2 green onions - thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves - minced
1 Tbsp demerara or brown sugar
2 tsp grated ginger
500 g  very thinly sliced boneless beef (rib-eye steak or short ribs)
  • Mix all ingredients, except the beef, in a bowl until combined.
  • Marinate beef in the mixture for at least 3 hours or overnight.


Sesame Oil Mix:
6 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • Combine all to mix and set aside.


Sesame Bean Sprouts:
6 cups of bean spouts
gochugaru or ground chili
1 Tbsp sesame oil mix
  1. Bring a pot of water to boil.
  2. Add the bean sprouts and bring it back to boil.
  3. Once it boils again, remove and drain. Plunge in cold water to stop cooking.
  4. Drain well and let drip for at least 30 minutes.
  5. Transfer to a bowl or contained and sprinkle the sesame oil mix and gochugaru; toss to coat.


Sesame Carrots:
4 medium carrots - juliened into matchstick size
1 Tbsp sesame oil mix
  • Heat a skillet over medium heat.
  • Add in the sesame oil mix and carrots.
  • Cook while stirring occasionally until just tender (about 3-4 minutes).


Soy-Glazed Shiitake Mushrooms:
3 cups of dried shiitake mushrooms
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp demerara or brown sugar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seed
freshly ground black pepper
  • Put the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat medium-low and simmer until mushrooms are softened and all liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes).
    If the liquid is drying out but the mushrooms are not yet done, add a few tablespoons of water and continue cooking.
  • Cool the mushrooms a little. Remove stems then slice thinly.
  • Transfer to a bowl then add in the sesame seed and black pepper. Toss to mix.


Garlicky Spinach:
500 g  fresh spinach
2 Tbsp sesame oil mix
2 garlic cloves - minced
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp distilled white or rice vinegar
  1. Cook the spinach in a pot of boiling water.
  2. Once it boils again, remove and drain.
  3. Plunge into cold water to stop the cooking.
  4. Drain well and squeeze out excess water.
  5. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
  6. Add sesame oil mix and saute the garlic until fragrant.
  7. Add the soy sauce and vinegar. Stir to mix.
  8. Add the cooked spinach and stir to mix. Separate the spinach as much as you can while mixing. Cook just enough to combine it well (about 1-2 minutes).


Sauteed Courgette:
1 medium courgette - julienned into matchstick size
1 Tbsp sesame oil mix
gochugaru or ground chili
  • Heat a skillet over medium heat.
  • Add sesame oil mix and courgette.
  • Cook, while stirring occasionally, until just tender (about 3-4 minutes). Season with gochugaru.


Green Onion Slaw:
2 bunches green onions - julienned into 3-inch lengths
1 Tbsp sesame oil mix
1 Tbsp distilled white or rice vinegar
gochugaru or ground chili
  • Place green onions in a bowl of ice-cold water (to crisp).
  • Just before serving, combined sesame oil mix and vinegar in a bowl.
  • Drain and pat dry the green onions then add in the vinegar mix. Toss to coat.


Wakame:
30 g  wakame (dried seaweed)
  • Cover wakame with boiling water and let sit until softened (about 10 minutes).
  • Drain, squeeze out excess water, and coarsely chop.


Gochujang-Date Sauce:
5 Medjool dates - pitted
1 cup gojuchang (hot pepper paste)
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • Put the dates in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak until softened (about 15 minutes).
  • Drain and transfer dates in a food processor with the gochujang and sesame oil.
  • Puree until smooth. Set aside.


Rice:
500 g  [2 1/2 cups] sushi rice
3 cups water
  • Wash and rinse rice until the water runs clear.
  • Add in 3 cups of water and bring to boil on high heat.
  • Once it boils, reduce heat to lowest and simmer until all the water has evaporated (about 15-20 minutes).
  • Turn off heat and let sit for 10-15 minutes.


Assembly:

4 big ceramic bowls - warmed
Cooked rice
Bulgogi
cooking oil
4 fried eggs - sunny side up
kimchi (optional)
vegetable mix-ins prepared in advance - Sesame Bean Sprouts, Sesame Carrots, Garlicky Spinach, Soy-Glazed Mushrooms, Sauteed Courgette, Green Onion Slaw, Wakame, Gochujang-Date Sauce
  • Heat 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan (preferably non-stick).
  • Cook the bulgogi in batches, turning once until cooked through and browned, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Divide rice among the bowls.
  • Put one fried egg in the middle on top of the rice.
  • Arrange the bulgogi and the prepared vegetables and sauce around it.
  • Serve with kimchi (optional).

Lamb Biryani

This was supposed to be my submission for the Daring Cooks in October. But for some reason I wasn't able to blog. So here it is and what a very good recipe to keep. Actually, I made a lamb biryani earlier using a recipe from another book. You could probably hear the crash it made when I tossed it in the rubbish bin. The dish that came out of that was vile! And the meat was so tough I wasn't able to eat it. Well I say good riddance. One less cookbook on my bookshelf.

My ever reliable cookbook by Angela Nielsen, The Ultimate Recipe Book, was the source that I adapted for this keeper of a recipe. The accompanying tomato raita paired very well with it. My only gripe was that it took quite sometime to make and involved a lot of steps and ingredients. But it is perfect for those infrequent special occasions where your effort will be well rewarded with one delicious complete meal.





Lamb Biryani

600 g  lean boneless leg of lamb - cut into 1-inch pieces

*Marinade:
1 Tbsp minced or grated garlic
1/2 Tbsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
150 g  natural yoghurt

*For the rice:
300 g  basmati rice
1 cinnamon stick - halved
5 green cardamom pods - lightly bashed
4 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
700 ml  chicken stock

*For the drizzle:
5 Tbsp lukewarm milk
generous pinch of saffron strands
1 tsp garam masala
25 g  butter - melted

4 medium onions - cut into half lengthwise then very thinly sliced
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
1 - 2 fresh chillies - chopped (optional)
60 ml  [1/4 cup] hot water

*To serve:
1/2 cup toasted almonds or cashews
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
Coriander and Tomato Raita
  1. Marinate the meat - combine the yoghurt, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and salt in a bowl. Mix in the lamb and marinate for 2-3 hours or more.
  2. Dissolve the saffron in the lukewarm milk. Set aside.
  3. Combine the melted butter and garam masala. Set aside.
  4. Once the lamb has marinated, saute one of the sliced onions in 1 1/2 Tbsp oil in a saute pan. Fry over medium-low heat until it has softened (about 5 minutes).
  5. Add the marinated lamb (including the marinade) a tablespoon at a time, cooking and frying briefly before adding the next one. This helps stop the yoghurt from curdling.
  6. When all the lamb has been added, cook for about 10 minutes.
  7. Add the chilli powder and/or fresh chillies (if using) and fry for a few seconds.
  8. Mix in the hot water. Bring to boil and then turn the heat to low and simmer covered for about 1 hour or until meat is very tender. Stir from time to time.
  9. Put the rice in a bowl cover with cold water and soak for about 20 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
  10. While the rice is soaking and the meat is cooking, cook the rest of the onions in a large saute pan with about 2 Tbsp oil on medium heat. Sprinkle salt on it to stop it from burning.
  11. Fry for about 25 minutes or until golden brown all over. Tip the onions onto kitchen paper towels, spread them out in thin layer and set aside to cool.
  12. To cook the rice - heat the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp oil in the pan used for the onion. Fry the cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves and cumin seeds for about a minute or until you could smell the aroma.
  13. Add the drained rice and fry for a minute, stirring all the time. Add in the stock and bring to boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 6-7 minutes or until the all the stock has been absorbed. Take off the heat, let stand but keep the cover on.
  14. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F. Butter a 2.5 litre casserole dish or pot.
  15. Fluff the rice with a fork while picking out the spices from it.
  16. Spread in half of the lamb at the bottom of the casserole.
  17. Scatter a third of the fried onions on top.
  18. Spoon half of the rice on top of the lamb and onions, then pour the spiced butter all over.
  19. Repeat the layers and finish with a sprinkling of the spiced milk on the rice, then the rest of the fried onions and toasted nuts.
  20. Cover tightly with foil then put the casserole cover on and bake in oven for about 20 minutes.
  21. Sprinkle with mint (if using) and coriander. Serve with coriander and tomato raita (see below).






Coriander and Tomato Raita

1/2 tsp cumin seeds or powder
300 g  natural yoghurt
1 medium tomato - deseeded and chopped finely
about 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
salt to taste
  1. If using cumin seeds, briefly dry-fry the seeds in a small pan until toasty and aromatic. Grind to a powder.
  2. Combine cumin powder and all the other ingredients in a bowl.
  3. Add salt to taste. Mix well.