January 2009

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Kafta is basically a mixture of minced lamb, chopped onion and parsley. You could use minced beef instead of lamb. It is very versatile, recipes can be varied to suit the weather. The following one is inspired by the winter season. Although it is quicker to prepare Kafta in a blender, I prefer to chop parsley and onion by hand and finish off the mixing in the blender to keep the traditional texture.

Traditionally, we tend to bake kafta and kibbeh in round trays, but if you haven’t got any, use whatever shape within the approximate dimensions mentioned.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the kafta

  • 500gms / 1lb 2oz of lean minced lamb or beef
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 75gms / 3oz parsley, discard the thick stalks, leaving the very fine ones on the leaves. Wash and dry parsley leaves then finely chop them.
  • Salt & freshly milled black pepper
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
  • 500gms / 1lb 2oz floury potatoes peeled washed and sliced in circles for about 1 ½ to 2cm / ¾ inch thickness
  • 500gms / 1lb 2oz tomatoes, preferably vine-ripened, washed and sliced in similar way to potatoes

For the Tahini sauce, see recipe in Sauces

You also need a non-stick round tray measuring 21cm in diameter, depth 5cm. Alternatively, you could use any other shapes within these approximate measurements.

Method

  • Tip minced meat into a bowl, season with salt, pepper, allspice and cinnamon (if using). Add the chopped onion and mix with your hands, then gradually add parsley and again mix everything. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, taste and if necessary adjust, blitz it once or twice to make sure you obtain a well combined mixture. Transfer it to a dish, cover with cling film and let it rest in fridge until you are ready to cook.

  • Pre-heat the oven moderate to hot 190 ºC / 375 ºF.

  • Par-boil the prepared potatoes for 3 minutes, drain and keep them on one side.

  • Brush the base of the baking tray with a little vegetable oil. I find that the best way to spread the kafta is to divide it into 4 balls, dot them around the baking tray and flatten them with your knuckles to a thickness of about 2-3cm, and then smooth them together. Once you have finished, make a hole in the centre to create a vent space.

  • Now, spread the potatoes over, season with pepper, top up with tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cover with aluminium foil and pop it in the oven for 40 minutes, it will shrink away from the sides of the baking tray. Take the cover off, at that stage you will notice the juices that came out off the meat and tomatoes, bake for another 15 minutes to dry off juices. Just 5 minutes before the finishing time, add the tahini sauce.

  • Serve hot while the sauce is bubbling

Variations.

1 You can substitute the Tahini sauce with tomato sauce:

Dissolve 3 tbsp of tomato paste in 150ml of hot water. Uncover the cooking kafta 15 minutes before the finishing time and add the tomato sauce.

2 Kafta mixture is very versatile and you can use it for many other dishes.

Another suggestion which is popular among children Serves 6 or more

 

 

Ingredients

 

  • 1 quantity Kafta (see main Kafta recipe)
  • 2 – 3 thinly sliced tomatoes
  • 1 – 2onions preferably red thinly sliced.
  • A handful of chopped parsley
  • Seasoning: salt & pepper
  • 6 – 8 Burger buns (or you can use pitta bread)

 

Divide the mixture into 6-8 balls (depending on the thickness and size you like), shape into burgers.

 

Pop them under a moderate grill for about 4 minutes or a little more (depending on the thickness of the burgers) on each side until cooked through. This works well on a barbecue (weather permitting).

 

Serving suggestion: Serve on a warmed burger bun (or ½ pitta bread where you create like a pocket), top with thinly sliced tomatoes, onions, season and finish with a generous sprinkle of chopped parsley. Some people like to add the Lebanese garlic sauce toumeh which also tastes great.

 

: spread the kafta burger with ketchup or American mustard or both and serve with chips. Works well for barbecues!

 

Nothing is more relaxing than the pleasure of sipping Arak, beer or wine while savouring little assortments of mezza dishes and conversing with family and friends. The Lebanese mezza is usually preceded by a pre-mezza which is basically a dish of raw vegetables. Here in London, Lebanese restaurants put a large bowl in the middle of the table which contains the heart of a Romano lettuce, 2 or 3 small cucumbers, 2 large Mediterranean tomatoes, one pepper and strips of carrots. This is usually accompanied by a small dish of black and green olives, and sometimes a small assortment of pickles.

The mezza itself consists of hors-d’oeuvres starting with the cold dishes then progressing to the hot ones. The number of dishes varies according to the occasion and wealth of the host/ess, in the past, it could extend to 40 or 50 dishes. This explains the variety of dishes including dips, salads, cheeses, fish, meat and assortments of savoury pastries. Nowadays, given the new wave of health issues and the dilemma of obesity, the amount of dishes has shrunk, for example a set menu for 4 people at a Lebanese restaurant usually limits its starters to 8, 4 cold and 4 hot which sounds reasonable in relation to the rest of the menu: main course and dessert.

Fattoush can be served on its own as a light starter or as an accompaniment to a Lebanese roasted or barbecued chicken or kebabs.

You can use whatever salad ingredients you like. The main ones are bread, tomatoes and sumac (see Glossary), ingredients which give authenticity to the dish. In Lebanon, we use ba’li (purslane), it is a herb sold usually in bunches and you often see it in Lebanese, Greek and Turkish grocers during spring and summer. We use the leaves which are dark green and tender, that is why we don’t chop them. If you can’t get purslane, you could replace it with fresh broad flat leaf watercress, though peppery, it works well.

Purslane

Purslane

Fattoush tastes better if mixed and served straight away. You can prepare the dressing ahead of time and leave it aside. Likewise, you can chop the vegetables including herbs and keep in the fridge but leave out the toasted bread and add it last before pouring the dressing into the mixture. This is my version:

Serves: 2-3 people

Ingredients:

Salad

  • Half an Arabic bread or pitta bread toasted and broken into small pieces
  • 3 – 4 leaves of romano lettuce shredded or any kind of crisp lettuce
  • 1small onion finely sliced or the equivalent of spring onions finely chopped
  • 1 small cucumber or ¼ of an English cucumber coarsely chopped into cubes
  • 2 red radishes thinly sliced in circles. Alternatively ½ small red pepper thinly sliced
  • 50gr / 2 oz purslane. Strip the leaves off the stalks, wash leaves in a colander, drain excess water then dry on kitchen paper. Alternatively, use the same amount of fresh broad flat leaf watercress.
  • Few sprigs of mint or 1 full tsp dried mint.
  • 25g/1 oz parsley rough stalks discarded keeping the fine ones that have the leaves attached washed and dried then coarsely chopped.
  • 275g/ 10 oz vine-ripened tomatoes chopped

Dressing

  • 1fat clove of garlic peeled and crushed to a paste
  • 2tbsp lemon juice
  • 1tsp sumac
  • 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Seasoning: Salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method

  • Mix the chopped vegetables and herbs, season, then add the bread last.
  • Mix the dressing ingredients and tip them into the salad mixture, toss them together, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
  • Serve at once, for the bread has to be moist but most importantly crunchy. Like most salads, consume the same day.

This sauce goes well with any type of grilled meat: chicken, kafta and lamb. The classical recipe requires a substantial amount of garlic, it gives it a wonderful taste which complements any grilled meat. However, if you find that garlic is too strong reduce the amount.

 

Another thing, I find it better to prepare an hour or two in advance so the flavour  develops, having said that,  Toomeh is better consumed the same day or within 48 hrs. Originally this is a Lebanese mayonnaise like garlic sauce made with with egg yoke, breadcrumbs, olive oil and lots of crushed garlic. Sometimes this is tricky to make, so I came up with my own simplified version.

 

 

Serves 4 people

 

Ingredients

 

·         1 medium to small potato peeled, cut into chunks. Put in a small pan covered with water

·         8-10 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed to a smooth paste

·         2tbsp organic mayonnaise

·         2 tbsp plain yoghurt

·         1 tbsp lemon juice or to taste

·         Salt & freshly milled black pepper

 

 

Method

 

  • Add a pinch of salt to the potato and bring to boil, simmer until ready to mash
  • Meanwhile, crush the garlic to a paste. 
  • Once the potato is cooked, drain from water, leave it for about 30 sec uncovered to make sure it is dry, you don’t want any excess of water. Add the potato to the garlic paste, mash them together until you have the consistency of creamed potato. Grind some freshly milled black pepper.
  • Add mayonnaise followed by yoghurt and lemon juice. Mix with the spoon until all the ingredients are well combined. Taste and adjust if necessary.
  • Cover and keep in the fridge if you are not using it immediately, but always serve at room temperature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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