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Middle Eastern Archive
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Turkish Style Lamb Shanks
Posted on August 8, 2010 | 2 CommentsTweetThis Turkish stew for lamb shanks is just what I needed, after a few days with a mega head cold. I’d just regained my sense of smell, which I treated like some kind of holy miracle, running around the house smelling various things just to make sure it was really back; oranges, cleaning products, under my arms etc. To celebrate life I made this lovely dish. A simple stew that once in the pan can just be left to its own devices to become delicious while filling the house with its delicious aroma.
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Turkish Spinach and Pistachio Pilaf
Posted on July 29, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThis was an absolute triumph. I just love the earthy flavours running through this dish. It’s such a simple yet delicious way to bring the humble rice to a new level. It’s so tasty I didn’t want it to end. An absolute delicious combination of flavours. One of the best things I’ve cooked in a while.
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Turkish Beetroot and Feta Salad
Posted on July 27, 2010 | 2 CommentsTweetI had a Turkish inspired meal this evening – In particular a dish inspired by the mountains of Cappadocia. When I travelled there a few years ago I had some delicious salads – in particular a delicious beetroot salad which featured some local cheese, quite similar to feta. I ate mine with lamb and the two work amazingly well together. The sweet, earthy flavour of beetroot compliment the slightly gamey, sweetness of the lamb meat. The cheese brings a much needed salty sharpness to the dish. It’s delicious.
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Apple & Fennel Salad
Posted on June 24, 2010 | 2 CommentsTweetI made this to accompany some pork cutlets. The sweetness of the apple and slightly aniseed taste of fennel worked perfectly with pork. This zingy, refreshing salad could also accompany fish or chicken. It’s perfect for a summer’s evening or as I ate them, huddled around my extremely inadequate heater on a “blisteringly cold” sydney winter’s night.
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Zucchini & Parmesan Fritters
Posted on June 20, 2010 | No CommentsTweetI loved these simple little fritters. They have all the flavours of the mediterranean and are excellent for a light lunch or as a side for dinner. They key is to squeeze out as much moisture from the zucchini and onion in stage one. Once you’ve made the mix, don’t leave it hanging around too long or the water will start to seep out of the mix and you’ll end up with soggy fritters which just won’t do will it!?
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Lebanese Bread Salad
Posted on June 18, 2010 | No CommentsTweetI’b a big fan of texture in a salad. I like a combination of crunch and soft, so this salad is just perfect. The bread, if fried properly should be really crisp and crunchy it also acts as a little sponge to soak up some of the sharp, tangy dressing. This was a great and simple salad that was assembled in not time at all – perfect to accompany a lazy weekday dinner.
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Circassian Chicken
Posted on May 30, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThis is a classic Turkish dish which is quite unlike anything I’ve tasted before. I’ve eaten it many times, but never made my own until now. It’s actually not too difficult, but does take a little time. The results are spectacular. It’s a kind of pate made from shredded chicken mixed with a deliciously rich yoghurt and walnut sauce. It’s a great cold meze dish or even better starter served with some crusty bread or toast.
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Cauliflower with Tahini Yoghurt Sauce
Posted on May 20, 2010 | 2 CommentsTweetThis is a bit of a show stopper! There’s nothing more beautiful than a head of cauliflower so why break it up into florets when you can serve the whole thing as one?! This Lebanese inspired recipe uses the earthy flavours of tahini and pine nuts to match with the slightly sweet flavours of cauliflower. It’s a simple dish but one guaranteed to impress at any dinner party both in appearance and taste.
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Lebanese Chicken in Pomegranate Sauce
Posted on May 18, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThis was a bit of a surprise. I’d planned on making just the chicken in a marinade but during the cooking, as luck would have it right next to me on the bench was a carton of pomegranate juice. So I incorporated it into the the recipe. It adds a tart sweetness to the finished dish that compliments the amazing savory garlicky chicken. I’ll definitely be making it again!
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Hummus
Posted on March 28, 2010 | No CommentsTweetI love hummus. It’s one of the world’s greatest inventions. However, I hate shop bought hummus. I’m not just being snobby, really I’m not! There’s something so horrid about it when compared to the freshly prepared kind. I could eat an entire bowl of it on my own – and often do along with a sizeable wad of flat breads.
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Middle Eastern Shangleesh & Tomato Salad
Posted on March 26, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThis was a bit of an improvise at the last minute. However, the flavours were just like the the type I’ve eaten at many Lebanese restaurants in the past. Sharp, slightly sweet with an earthy herb note. It worked perfectly alongside the lamb and eggplant dishes also on the table.
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Lebanese Lamb Marinade
Posted on March 24, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThis is a perfect way to lift the taste of any meat. I always do some kind of marinade with beef and lamb and this one was great. The longer you leave it, the better (24 hours is best – but 1 hour will be ok too). Delicious. INGREDIENTS:
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Eggplant With Tomato Sauce & Pinenuts
Posted on March 22, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThis was a real treat! I hadn’t expected it to turn our so well. I’d improvised with what was lying around the house to make a lovely Mediterranean/Middle Eastern meze spread for dinner tonight. The eggplant really stood out as star of the show – the creamy texture along with the slightly aniseed tomato and crunchy pine nuts made for a really splendid feast. It went down a treat!
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Persian Lamb Kebab
Posted on March 12, 2010 | No CommentsTweetThis is one of the tastiest things I’ve made in a long time. The flavours are bold and fragrant and are absolutely delicious. Lamb is one of my favourite meats anyway, but combined with the complex baharat spice mix it just elevates it into another stratosphere. I added dried barberries to the mix as I’d visited an Iranian deli earlier in the day and threw them into the basket. They’re sharp, sweet and sour and really tasty. If you can’t find them, then try adding dried cranberries, chopped finely instead.
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Chicken Cooked in Yoghurt, Saffron and Za’atar
Posted on January 19, 2010 | No CommentsTweetZa’atar is a Middle Eastern herb blend, found in various guises from country to country. It is a mix of dried thyme, oregano and marjoram together with salt, sometimes spices and always sesame seeds. This dish is a really simple way to cook chicken. It doesn’t take much preparation and the cooking is as simple as stirring every 10 minutes. And what a lovely, rich – flavourfilled sauce it produces. It was fabulous.
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Beetroot Pilaff
Posted on January 17, 2010 | 2 CommentsTweetRice can often be an afterthought to a meal – there only to soak up a sauce or make up the numbers. But rice is way more versatile than that. The Persians mastered many rice dishes which featured as elaborate centerpieces to decadent feasts. Both colourful and packed with taste these rices could take hours and hours to create. Here’s a dish which delivers on both colour and flavour that won’t take more than 30 minutes to prepare. Beetroot is like tasty paint and it’s the perfect way to really bring anything to life. In this dish we get the earthy, sweetness of the beetroot, along with it’s vibrant ruby red colour. Delicious!
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Turkish Meze – Spoon Salad
Posted on November 21, 2009 | No CommentsTweetSpoon salad refers to the salad’s consistency – almost like a Mexican salsa – best served with a spoon. The ingredients are chopped into perfect tiny dice and combined to form a jewel like appearance. It’s a lovely, fresh salad with a little kick of spice at the end. Delicious stuff.
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Turkish Meze – Carrot Salad
Posted on November 19, 2009 | No CommentsTweetThis is similar in approach to Beetroot salad but the results are quite different. It’s a delicate, slightly sweet dip which lends itself to being scooped up with pita bread or with batons of raw vegetables like celery or capsicum. INGREDIENTS:
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Turkish Meze – Chick Peas with Silverbeet & Sumac
Posted on November 17, 2009 | No CommentsTweetThis was a great little addition to my meze. A delicious savoury, salad you can serve cold or warm. It’s filling enough to work on its own as a snack dish, but also works well as part of a meze spead. INGREDIENTS: 1 x 400g can chick peas (drained)
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Turkish Meze – Garlic Dip
Posted on November 15, 2009 | No CommentsTweetThis is technically not Turkish in origin, more Lebanese but it fits perfectly within a Turkish meze spread. As you would expect, it’s an intense flavour fueled dish that packs a mighty punch. It’s best eaten in small doses alongside meat. It’s delicious with lamb and chicken – just don’t plan a hot date immediately afterwards. The garlic can play havoc with your breath.
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Turkish Meze – Feta & Walnut Salad
Posted on November 13, 2009 | No CommentsTweetThe intense, salty flavour of Feta is great when combined with walnuts. The nutty, earthy flavour mellows the cheese and the overall results are delicious. Great with lamb incidentally. RECIPE: 90g feta cheese
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Turkish Meze – Beetroot Salad
Posted on November 11, 2009 | No CommentsTweetI love this salad. I really love beetroot firstly, but when combined with yoghurt and blended into a puree it’s just sublime. The result is slightly sweet but earthy. It’s great just scooped up with a little bread. I couldn’t get enough!
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Turkish Meze – Lamb Kebab
Posted on November 9, 2009 | No CommentsTweetAfter so much Indian food over the last month. I was in need of something completely different. I hadn’t cooked for a month either which is a long time! So I opted for a meze spread. That way, I got to eat lots of delicious, fresh and healthy dishes. I also got to potter around the kitchen for 3 hours preparing various dips and marinades. I made 6 meze dishes which accompanied the main protein, lamb – It’s marinated in a very simple mixture, but it really lifts the flavour of the meat, and is the perfect accompaniment to the various little flavoursome dishes that went with it. Instead of posting ALL the meze dishes together I have spread them out over individual posts.
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Cannellini Bean Dip
Posted on August 16, 2009 | No CommentsTweetI wanted something easy for tonight’s dinner so I bought a cooked chicken and a pre-packed salad and made this lovely dip to serve alongside. It was really simple to prepare and has a lovely smooth texture and mild flavour. It’s kind of like Humus but not, much whiter in colour and not as nutty in taste – it’s a great alternative.
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Roast Chicken Stuffed with Dates & Nuts
Posted on July 25, 2009 | No CommentsTweetMy butcher really annoyed me today. I asked him to debone a chicken for me. He certainly lived up to his title of butcher as the resulting chicken looked like it had been hacked apart by a rabid Rottweiler (hence the dodgy picture above). The guy had NO idea! I didn’t notice until I’d already made the stuffing for the bird. I made the most of a bad job and did my best to secure the stuffing with a handful of toothpicks and a ball of kitchen string. The lovely fruity, light stuffing packed with Middle Eastern flavours was a great alternative to the rich, claggy stuffings I normally go for. It complimented the chicken perfectly.
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Beetroot with Tahini Yoghurt
Posted on July 23, 2009 | No CommentsTweetBeetroot is one of my favourites, especially when it’s roasted – the earthy flavour intensifies. It’s much better than boiling, which I feel just drains the vegetable of all its goodness. This simple salad was a surprise hit – it’s packed with delicious flavours. The tahini yoghurt is dyed a vivid fuchsia colour from the beetroot the minute you place it on top. It’s unique flavour marries perfectly with the earthy beetroot – just make sure you drizzle enough extra virgin olive oil over right at the end as it really finishes off the dish perfectly.
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Turkish Leeks in Yoghurt
Posted on July 17, 2009 | No CommentsTweetWho knew leeks could be so delicious!? This Turkish inspired dish delivers on taste and texture. A fabulous side dish, just perfect for poultry or fish. A rich, slightly sour and decadently creamy sensation. I loved it. I could have eaten a big old bowl full of it had my stomach not dictated that I had eaten more than enough already. A great, unusual dish that I urge you to try.
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Moorish Lamb Skewers
Posted on June 29, 2009 | No CommentsTweetThese were rather delicious. I wanted something simple to make as I was feeling a little poorly. I couldn’t be bothered to stand around stirring and chopping so settled on something that would be easy to produce. These little skewered pieces of lamb were stress free and really juicy and tasty. I feel better just thinking about them.
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Baharat Duck with Green Bean & Walnut Puree
Posted on May 30, 2009 | No CommentsTweetI just love duck – it’s one of my favourite things to eat. Period. I made dish tonight as a little treat for “officially”, and finally becoming an Australian permanent resident. Not that there’s ANYTHING remotely Australian about this dish mind you – more Middle Eastern. The earthy bean puree together with the gamey, sweet duck was meltingly delicious. Baharat (meaning “spice” in Arabic) is a blend of spices used throughout the Middle East. You can find it, pre mixed in some delis but I have included a simple recipe to make you own if you can’t track it down.
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Tomato Pilaf
Posted on May 28, 2009 | No CommentsTweetThis was a simple, tasty little pilaf. I made it just to add a little different accompaniment to my delicious fish with walnut, sumac and paprika cumbs. The rice had a lovely nutty taste from the butter with a slight sweetness from the tomato. Overall a subtle, tasty addition to a lovely meal.
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Fish Coated in Walnut, Sumac & Paprika Crumbs
Posted on May 26, 2009 | No CommentsTweetThis was a great little surprise hit tonight. I’d been slightly craving some kind of coated fish for a few days, no idea why. I settled on a middle eastern theme. After purchasing way too many walnuts for the Circassian Chicken a few days earlier, i incorporated them into a crunchy breadcrumb coating. Other flavours came in the form of sweet paprika and slightly tangy sumac. The flavour combination was a success, perfect with the soft, flaky flatheads I used.
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Pine Nut & Sultana Pilav
Posted on May 4, 2009 | No CommentsTweet The ancient Persians gave us pilav. Nobody created rice dishes like them, with their mix of nuts, spices and fruits. They created a wonderful dish of their own, but great served with stews and meats to bring out even more taste. Not to mention how good they look. They’re not difficult to make either! This Turkish pilav uses my favourite nut – pine nuts, an ingredient I don’t often cook with – I tend to use it more as a garnish, but it was really great incorporated into the rice before cooking.
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Mini Fattee of Chickpea and Eggplant with Tahini Yoghurt
Posted on April 30, 2009 | No CommentsTweet I made these for a starter for dinner tonight. I love traditional Lebanese Fattee dishes – not just for their comical name, but their lovely blend of texture and taste. However, tonight I didn’t want to make a massive serving of it so created mini version which wouldn’t fill us up. I used what I had in the cupboards for the fillings and it worked really well. A combination of mild but tasty flavours and great texture.
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Spinach, Za’atar & Suçuk Flan
Posted on April 6, 2009 | No CommentsTweet The words ‘quiche’ and ‘grown man’ do not belong together – no matter how your rationalise it. Thankfully this is NOT a quiche. It’s Turkish inspired so it’s a flan – and it’s a different one at that. Za’atar is a middle eastern dried herb mix containing all kinds of magic. From sumac, oregano, marjoram to sesame. You can buy it pre-mixed in all middle eastern deli’s. The resulting flavour of the flan is quite unique and utterly delicious – earthy and herby with a slight paprika hit from the delicious Turkish sausage. It’s a one of the tastiest things I’ve created in a while. Delicious.
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Lebanese Shankleesh Salad
Posted on March 23, 2009 | 6 CommentsTweet REPOST: I ate this last week at a Lebanese restaurant and was blown away by how tasty it was. This salad is traditionally a breakfast dish which includes cheese called Shankleesh, a delicious soft, crumbly ball infused with a mild chilli and rolled in dried thyme or zaatar. The taste is quite unique but somewhat similar to Feta, so if you can’t get hold of shankleesh then you could substitute. It’s very simple to assemble and can be part of a mezze platter or as an accompaniment to meat or fish, but to my mind it’s services are best put to use at breakfast time.
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Capsicums Stuffed with Rice, Raisins and Pine Nuts
Posted on March 21, 2009 | No CommentsTweet It’s all a bit 70s I know, but this mediterranean method of stuffing vegetables is a perfectly acceptable way of cooking. You might not see it in any restaurants but as a website which is firmly filed under the category of “Home Cooking” this is ideal. Serve these delicious, wholesome packages hot or cold to accompany fish, chicken or meat. If you’re vegetarian, have 2!
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Turkish Lime Yoghurt Cake
Posted on March 19, 2009 | 2 CommentsTweet This is MY kind of cake. Soft, light and tart. This classic Turkish cake is incredibly easy to make with hardly any ingredients. But it is filled with flavour and the loveliest texture – much like a baked cheesecake. I had a few limes left from a prior market whim purchase so changed the original recipe from lemons to limes. I prefer the taste of limes anyway and the cake didn’t suffer in the slightest.
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Chicken with Sucuk and Leeks
Posted on February 25, 2009 | 4 CommentsTweet Sydney was cold today! It is the height of summer and it’s cold and raining. Depressing. I needed something tonight that was going to be hearty and warming. This was a surprisingly simple Turkish stew that really delivered in both flavour and heartiness. The use of leeks on top I initially thought a bit strange, but it worked perfectly. I couldn’t be bothered to cook anything to go with it so we ate it very simply with slices of crusty bread and it was perfect.
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Manti
Posted on February 16, 2009 | 2 CommentsTweet I first ate manti in the Turkish town of Konya. Tiny pasta parcels stuffed with even tinier pieces of minced lamb served with a garlicky yoghurt and melted butter. It was delicious back then in the freezing wintery weather, so when Sydney’s summer suddenly turned cold and rainy, this seemed like the perfect option for dinner. Little did I know, how fiddly they were to make. Unlike Italian ravioli, which are kept to quite manageable sizes, the smaller manti are the better. This can be problematic with clumsy big hands, which would explain why mainly the women make them in Turkey. That said, I drew up a chair and methodically made me way through them (and got a little help from my other half). They are great as a simple supper dish or starter, and freeze well too. Just make sure you put plenty of flour over them to stop them sticking.
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Sucuk with eggs
Posted on February 14, 2009 | 4 CommentsTweet This is something guaranteed to wake me up in the morning. The Turkish equivalent of a fry up. Sucuk (pronounced ‘suchuk’) is a cured sausage you can find throughout the Middle East and Balkans. It’s much like a chorizo sausage, only as Muslims are forbidden to eat pork, it is made with beef and/or lamb instead. It normally comes in various spice levels – for breakfast I always choose a mild variety to ease me into my day gently (especially as it’s perfect hangover food). Along with fried eggs all done together in one pan, it’s makes for a really simple, rustic breakfast dish that everyone will love you for (especially if they’re also hungover). Sucuk can be found in Turkish delis but if you can’t find it then it can also be made with any other cured sausage such as chorizo, cacciatore or salami.
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Carrot & Olive Salad
Posted on February 13, 2009 | No CommentsTweet With all the hot weather we’ve been having here in Sydney, I have become a bit of a fan of cold salads recently. Something fresh and light. This one I served with some beef steak done on the BBQ naturally. The sweetness of the carrot worked perfectly with the saltiness of the olives and meatiness of the beef. Really delicious. I blanched the carrots slightly as I often find them hard work when they’re raw. It worked a treat.
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Cauliflower, Dill & Cumin Fritters
Posted on January 30, 2009 | 5 CommentsTweet I love cauliflower, and I love finding new, interesting ways to cook it. Here’s a simple recipe for cauliflower fritters. It takes its influence from Indian vegetable pakora’s but gives the little fritters more of a middle eastern slant with the use of my favourite spice, cumin and one of my favourite herbs, dill. They’re light and fresh with a little spice from the chilli to liven up things. Great with fish or meat and even as a simple vegetarian starter too. Splendid.
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Figs with Cinnamon Crumble, Pomegranate Molasses and Honey Yoghurt
Posted on January 24, 2009 | No CommentsTweet This is utterly delicious. I devised this after being given some figs and some pomegranates by Brendan as he asked to make something special. I was amazed just how successful it was. I’m pretty sure you’ll agree. The sharpness of the pomegranate and sweetness of the yoghurt together with the mellow cinnamon are a trio made in heaven. It’s one of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted! Brendan has insisted that this dish be called “Figs Jackson” in case it becomes the peach melba of the new millennium.
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Chicken Fattee
Posted on October 4, 2008 | 2 CommentsTweet I love a fattee! It’s a perculiar sounding dish and maybe not the most PC sounding one at that, but this Lebanese style of food is amazing. A fattee is a layered dish normally starting with crispy flat breads. The fattee can feature many other elements – from fish, tomatoes, spinach etc. This chicken version features a fair few components. It may seem a little daunting, but if you read the recipe in detail you’ll soon realise that none of the elements of the dish is going to task you too greatly. It’s an all-in-one meal with a bit of wow factor making it ideal for dinner parties. Just prepare everything in advance and heat the necessary bits up when you need them and arrange at the last minute.
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Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Halloumi & Mint with Sumac Crust
Posted on September 10, 2008 | 2 CommentsTweet This is a Turkish take on stuffed zuccini flowers. I really loved the flavoursome crust these had, much nicer than a tempura batter. It may seem a bit of a trauma to cook, but it’s actually pretty simple once you get going. I don’t have the most delicate of touches, but even with my thick clumsy fingers I managed the dainty task of stuffing a flower with cheese. I surprised even myself. To say the little delicious starter went down well would be an understatement – they were glorious. I urge you to try them.
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Sultans Delight
Posted on September 8, 2008 | 1 CommentTweet This is one of the nicest and simplest stews I’ve cooked in a while. I took a look at the recipe and I must admit I didn’t hold out much hope for it as it sounded a little TOO simple. But I was completely wrong. I served it with the worst eggplant puree I’ve ever tasted. Instead of eating too much of that I whipped up some rice and had that. I’m sure the eggplant puree would have been nicer had I cooked it properly. But I didn’t. Anyway, the stew itself is amazing. Top Tea!
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Turkish Pilav
Posted on August 25, 2008 | 1 CommentTweet How delicious is Turkish pilav? Well, give this a try. It’s simple and different. The nuttiness of the butter transforms the rice into something quite amazing. It took me back to Turkey where I gorged myself on it at every available opportunity.
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Lamb with Sumac & Thyme
Posted on August 23, 2008 | No CommentsTweet This is a simple little dressing to brush over lamb before cooking. It adds a little bit of exotic without completely taking over the meat. You can also use a little of the intense dressing to toss through steamed vegetables to season them beautifully.
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Turkish Rice Pudding
Posted on July 21, 2008 | No CommentsTweet I remember being force fed this as a child. I absolutely hated it! But times have a changed and the recipe I use is much tastier than the stodgy sliced slop I was made to eat. A beautiful Turkish recipe that leaves a warming cinnamon taste in the mouth.
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Mediterranean Muslim Chicken Skewers
Posted on July 19, 2008 | 1 CommentTweet I was looking for something a bit simple tonight. This eastern Mediterranean marinade for chicken jumped off the page as just that. The recipe was originally for lamb, but as I found out it works equally well for chicken. It’s pretty low effort, with high flavour return – the chicken was succulent and very tender. The perfect meal for my lazy mood.
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