A popular dip called “baba ganushe” is made with eggplant. Wash and then pierce with a fork one large or two medium-small eggplants. Bake on an oiled tray at about 350° for about 30 - 40 minutes or until soft. Cool. Remove and discard the skin and tough stem-end. Combine with these ingredients in a blender or food processor:

1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves peeled garlic, quartered
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Blend until smooth.

Put this into a serving bowl and garnish (add for decoration or color and taste) with a little olive oil and sprigs of parsley.

Serve with pita bread.

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Ingredients for a class of 26 students:

3 large bell peppers (green, red, and yellow for color) or 4 medium bell peppers
3 1/2 lb. chicken breast, boneless. (Cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes and marinate in a little lemon juice, olive oil, pepper - Let it stay in the liquid for at least half an hour.)
two or three medium onions
 
2 large boxes of cherry tomatoes or five - six large tomatoes
skewers (wooden sticks to put the ingredients on)
 
small mushrooms (or cut larger mushrooms in half) - Optional
 
chunks of pineapple - optional [NOT from the Middle East] from 2 cans
Preparation:

Chicken: Cut the chicken into 1 1/2 inch cubes of meat on a clean cutting board. (You need 3 pieces of meat for each kabob.) Discard all the bones, fat and gristle. Put pieces into a large bowl. Marinate in lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper for at least half an hour. CHICKEN PIECES NEED TO BE COOKED BEFORE THE VEGETABLES, SO PUT THE PIECES INTO A PAN AND BAKE AT 350° FOR ABOUT 12 - 15 until no longer pink. Then put onto the bamboo skewers along with the following vegetables and marinate again before barbecuing:
 
Bell peppers: Wash, cut into halves, then take out the seeds and stem and discard. Cut into approximately 1 inch squares. [Not originally from the Middle East!]
 
Onion: Peel off the outer layer of the onion. Cut the onion in half around the middle, then cut into chunks about 3/4 inch wedges or squares to put onto the sticks.
 
Tomatoes: Wash and remove the stems from the cherry tomatoes. If using large tomatoes, wash and cut out the stem and then cut into 1 - 1 1/2 inch pieces. [Not originally from the Middle East!]
 
Mushrooms [Optional], and chunks of zucchini squash and/or eggplant
 
Chunks of pineapple [Optional - and not from the Middle East]
Put the cooked meat, tomatoes, onions and bell pepper pieces onto bamboo sticks (skewers) by alternating the ingredients. Leave more than one inch at the ends to pick up kabobs.

Keep the kabobs covered and refrigerated until ready to cook.

Barbecue or grill the kabobs for approximately 10 - 15 minutes until the meat and vegetables are done.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 Whole wheat tortilla
1/2 Chicken breast (grilled)
1/2 Red onion
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup Low fat cheese

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

DIRECTIONS:

Grill and slice chicken breast, toss in a skillet and marinate with the BBQ sauce and red onions. Pour mixture onto whole wheat tortilla and sprinkle with your favorite low-fat cheese. Grill the “pizza” for 5-6 minutes, preferably in a toaster oven. If using conventional, set the oven to broil. And . . voila! A delicious meal in no time flat.

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1 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 chicken, 3-4 lbs, cut into 8 pieces (or 3-4 lbs of just chicken thighs and legs, the dark meat is more flavorful)
Salt

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped

The peel from 1 preserved lemon, rinsed in cold water, pulp discarded, peel cut into thin strips
1 cup green olives, pitted
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method
1 Combine all the spices in a large bowl. Pat dry the chicken pieces and put in the bowl, coat well with the spice mixture. Let the chicken stand for one hour in the spices.

2 In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces, sprinkle lightly with salt (go easy on the salt, the olives and lemons are salty), and brown, skin side down for five minutes. (If you are using a clay tagine, you will skip the browning step, heat only to medium heat and use a heat diffuser on the heating element to prevent the tagine from cracking.) Lower the heat to medium-low, add the garlic and onions. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes.

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Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 snack-size cup (4 ounces) pineapple tidbits
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/3 cup fat-free plain yogurt
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh mint
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 small cantaloupe, quartered and seeded
1/4 cup unsalted cashews
 
Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. In a small bowl, hisk the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, mint, lemon peel, honey, salt, pepper and pineapple juice until smooth. Drain pasta and rinse in cold water. Place in a large bowl; add the chicken, celery, red pepper, onions and pineapple. Add mayonnaise mixture and toss to coat. Serve on cantaloupe wedges. Sprinkle with cashews. Yield: 4 servings.

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The ideal pasta for this recipe is the very small Rison No. 63, which resembles brow rice. It is available at continental delicatessens and some supermarkets. Broken up vermicelli is a suitable substitute.

Serves: 4-6
Cooking time: 1½ hours

Ingredients:
1 large chicken
1 cup ghee or substitute
12 cups water
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cinnamon stick
4 teaspoons salt
¾ cup chick peas, soaked overnight
1 lb (500g) coarsely ground meat
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon black pepper
¾ cup Rison Pasta No.63 or broken up vermicelli
1 cup rice, washed and drained
½ cup slivered almonds

Methods:
In a large saucepan, brown the chicken in ¼ cup of the ghee. Add 8 cups of water, half the chopped onions, the garlic, cinnamon stick and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to the boil, cover and continue to cook until chicken is tender enough for the meat to fall off the bones. While the chicken is cooking, drain the soaked chick peas and place in a large pot with 4 cups water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer vigorously until just tender. Drain and set aside.

In another saucepan, lightly brown the almonds in a little ghee. Remove and set aside.

Add ¼ cup of the saucepan and heat. Fry the meat in the ghee, stirring occasionally, until brown all over. Turn down heat to simmer and cook until nearly tender - approx 15 minutes.

Stir in the cinnamon, black pepper and the remainder of the onions and salt, and continue to cook for a further 25 minutes. Remove from saucepan and set aside. Place the remaining ½ cup of ghee in the same saucepan and sauté the pasta or vermicelli until golden brown. Add the rice and sauté for a few more minutes.
Pour 5 cups of the boiling broth from the cooked chicken over the rice (make up quantity with water if necessary). Bring to the boil and add the cooked meat and onion mixture and the cooked chick peas. Stir well, cover, and turn down heat to simmer and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed – approx 20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow standing for further 10 minutes.

Serve the chick pea and rice mixture on a platter, garnished with the almonds and chicken pieces.

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Ingredients:
1 pound shallots or baby onions
1 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons sunflower oil
good pinch of saffron threads
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 chicken, cut up in 6 or 8 pieces
salt and black pepper
1 to 1/2 tablespoons clear honey

To garnish:
1/2 cup blanched almonds or a handful of sesame seeds (optional)

To peel the shallots or baby onions, blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and when cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and trim the root ends.

Methods:
Saute the chopped onion until softened in the oil over a medium heat in a pan or casserole large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer. Stir in the saffron, ginger, and cinnamon, then put in the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper, and turn to brown them lightly all over.

Add about 1 cup water and cook, covered, over a low heat, turning the pieces over for 15 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are done. Lift out the breasts and put them to one side. Add the shallots or baby onions and continue to cook, covered, for about 25 minutes, or until the remaining chicken pieces are very tender. During the cooking, turn the chicken pieces and stir the onions occasionally; add a little water, if necessary.

Lift out the chicken pieces and set to one side. Stir the honey into the pan, check the seasoning. You need quite a bit of pepper to mitigate the sweetness. Cook, uncovered, until all the water has evaporated, and the onions are brown, caramelized, and so soft that you could crush them, as they say in Morocco, “with your tongue.”

Return the chicken pieces to the pan, spoon the onions on top of them, and heat through. A few minutes should be enough. Serve, if you wish, sprinkled either with blanched almonds fried in a drop of oil until they are lightly golden, or with toasted sesame seeds.

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Serves 4

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups (500ml) chicken stock, heated to boiling
2 cups couscous
20g butter
300g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
3 spring onions, sliced thinly
2 medium tomatoes (380g), seeded, chopped finely
1 lebanese cucumber (130g), seeded, chopped finely
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon lemon juice,
400g chicken thigh fillets, skin off
1 tablespoon of peanut oil
2 tablespoons of sumac
1/3 cup (95g) low-fat yogurt
2 teaspoons pomegranate syrup
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon paprika
4 slices flat bread

Method

Combine the stock and couscous in a mixing bowl; cover and stand 5 minutes until the couscous has absorbed all the liquid.
Combine the couscous with the chickpeas, onion, tomato, cucumber and herbs; dress with lemon juice.

Coat the chicken in peanut oil and sumac; cook, in batches, on a pre heated grill plate (or barbecue) until browned both sides and cooked through as desired. (chicken may be put into a hot oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking through if needed.)

Stir together yoghurt, syrup, lemon rind, juice and paprika.

Serve dollops of yoghurt with warm chicken over the parsley salad, with toasted wedges of flat bread.

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Ingredients: 

1 boneless chicken breast per serve. Honey
Moroccan spice Vanilla Pod
Couscous Cream
Oranges Butter
Sweet Potato Capsicum (Red or Yellow)
Capsicum

Directions:

Marinate chicken in a little oil and Moroccan spice, leaving overnight. Soak couscous, segment oranges, dice capsicum add ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Parboil sweet potato and slice. Cool and brush with a little oil and char until grill marks apparent. Slice capsicum and do the same as the sweet potato.

Seal chicken and cook in a hot oven for 12-15 minutes depending on size.

Cut and scrape vanilla pod and add to cream, reduce and add honey a little at a time depending on sweetness and finish by whisking in a little butter.

To plate up, add one breast of chicken per serve, couscous can be served either hot or cold.

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1 chicken (about 3 lb), cut into 8 pieces
1 tbl sea salt
16 baby onions. peeled
1/2 bunch coriander or parsley, chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed
for yogurt sauce:
4 cups (1 quart) plain yogurt*
1 fresh egg white
1 tbl cornstarch (or flour)

1. Put the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, skim the surface, then add the salt and lower the heat. Simmer 45 minutes, skimming the surface occasionally. Add the onions and simmer another 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken and onions, separate the meat, dice it and set aside with the onions. At this point, I like to to return the bones to the pot, toss in a bay leaf, and let the stock continue to simmer while I prepare the rest of the dish, though you don’t have to do this.

2. Saute the garlic cloves in a bit of olive oil until just softened, add the coriander and saute until soft and vibrant green (do not let it brown). Set garlic and coriander aside.

3. Combine the yogurt, egg white, and cornstarch in a pan off the heat and beat with a wooden spoon until very smooth and creamy, it should look glossy, almost like whipped cream. Have all your ingredients nearby (i.e. the chicken and onions, warm broth, and garlic/coriander) because once you put the pan on the heat you can’t stop stirring.

4. Place the pan over medium heat and stir the yogurt mixture constantly in the same direction so it does not curdle. Let the yogurt mixture come to a boil (stirring), reduce the heat and simmer (still stirring!), about 3 minutes. Add the coriander, garlic, the chicken meat and the onions to the thickened yogurt sauce. Stir in about 2 cups of the warm stock and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, another three minutes. The sauce should be thick and combined. Serve immediately, with rice.

Shortcut version: Use leftover chicken meat (or meatballs, kibbe, or lamb) and canned low-sodium stock. Prepare the yogurt sauce and the coriander, then stir in the meat and stock.

*A note on the yogurt: This calls for plain yogurt, not the thickened strained yogurt known as labneh or Greek yogurt. Low-fat yogurt is fine, but whole-milk yogurt will be richer. I do recommend using the freshest yogurt you can find, you want one with lots of flavor.

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