Ethnic Recipes

Kanafeh

2011-12-30T09:47:00.000-08:00

Kanafeh

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) box shredded phyllo dough

8 ounces butter, unsalted

1 ½ lbs whole milk ricotta cheese

½ lb fresh goat cheese or ½ lb light cream cheese

Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon rose water

Directions

Make syrup first. Bring water and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat. And add lemon juice and rose water. Simmer until all sugar is dissolved, about 5-10 min. set aside to cool
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drain ricotta of excess liquid and mix with other cheese. Remove shredded phyllo dough from box and loosen shreds in a large bowl. Toss the shreds with melted butter to coat evenly. Arrange half of the buttered dough evenly on a 9×13 pan or baking dish.
Spoon cheese mixture on top in an even layer. Place the remaining dough on top and press lightly with hands. Cover with foil and bake 30 min at 350 degrees F.
Remove foil and bake an additional 30 min or until crisp and golden brown. Serve warm or room temp with lemon syrup

Baba Ganoush

2011-12-30T09:42:00.001-08:00

Baba Ganoush

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

Directions

Place eggplant on center shelf in hot oven. Cook until soft, turning often. Peel off skin while hot. Remove stem and end of eggplant, if firm chop flesh.
Put in blender or food processor. Blend in most of the lemon juice. Gradually add tahini. Crush garlic into a paste with 1 teaspoon salt. Add to eggplant mixture. Beat well. Adjust flavor with lemon juice and remaining salt. Beat in olive oil and parsley. If using food processor, put above 4 sprigs of parsley into container. Process until chopped, but still visible.
Place in shallow dish. Garnish with parsley. Serve with pita bread as an appetizer.

Hummus

2011-12-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hummus

Ingredients

1 can Chick peas (semi drained)
2 cloves Garlic ( crushed)
1 tablespoon Tahinni (sesame seed paste)
1 tablespoon Olive oil
Salt (suit your taste)
Freshly ground pepper (suit your tast)

Directions

Blend all ingredients
Place in attractive bowl
Cut small pitas in triangles for dipping

Tabouleh Salad

2011-12-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

Tabouleh Salad

Ingredients

¾ Cups Fine Burghul
2 Cups cold water
2 Cups chopped Parsley
½ Cup finely chopped onions
¼ Cup finely chopped mint
¼ Cup Olive oil
2 Tablespoon Lemon juice
1 ½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon freshly gound black pepper
2 Firm ripe tomatoes
2 Crisp lettuce leave
¼ Cup lemon juice, mixed with ½ teaspoon salt

Directions

Place burghul in a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain through a fine sieve, pressing with back of a spoon to extract moisture. Spread onto a cloth and leave to dry further.
Meanwhile, prepare parsley. Wash well, shake off excess moisture and remove thick stalks. Wrap in a tea towel and place in refrigerator to crisp and dry.
Put burghul into a mixing bowl and add onions. Squeeze mixture with hand so that burghul absorbs onion flavor. Chop parsley fairly coarsely, measure and add to brughul with mint. Beat olive oil with lemon juice and stir in salt and pepper. Add salad and toss well.
Peel and seed tomatoes and cut into dice. Gently stir into salad. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve in a salad bowl lined with crisp lettuce leaves. Lemon juice and salt mixture is served in a jug so that it may be added according to individual taste.

Rolled Stuffed Grape Leaves

2011-12-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

Rolled Stuffed Grape Leaves

Ingredients

16 oz Jar Grape leaves or Fresh Grape leaves

¾ Cup Long grain uncooked rice

1 cup water

21b ground lamb or beef

3 large garlic cloves

3 lemons

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon pepper

Directions

To prepare fresh grape leaves for rolling, dip in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Mix ground meat with rice, season with salt and pepper. Remove stem from each grape leaf, if using fresh leaves.
Spread each leaf on flat surface. Place about 1 teaspoon of meat stuffing across the leaf about ½ inch from stem point. Fold leave toward stuffing. Then fold right side over and roll leaf forward very tightly. When fully rolled, squeeze it to secure. Repeat for each leaf. Neatly place each stuffed rolled in the pot in layers.
Pound the garlic and salt to taste. Add 1 cup of water and lemon juice and pour over grape leaves in the pot.
Cover and bring to a boil on high heat, once it reaches to a boil lower on med heat and cook covered very slowly for 1 hour. Add more water if needed. Steam until grape leaves are soft and pierced and cut easily with a fork. Do not overcook the leaves should not fall apart.

Baklava

2011-12-30T09:32:00.000-08:00

Baklava

Ingredients

2 Cups Med. Chopped walnuts or pistachio nuts

1/3 cup Sugar

1 Tablespoon Rose water

1lb Filo dough

1lb Drawn butter or sweet butter

Basic Syrup

2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup water
Few drops of Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Rose water

Directions

Combine nuts, sugar and rose water.
Filo dough may be spread in a buttered 10×14 inch pan, brushing each layer with butter. Half way through the layering, place nut mixture in ½ to ¾ inch layer. Then continue layering buttered filo on top.
Cut in diamond shaped pieces. Bake at 300 degrees F. for 1 hour or until golden brown.
Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in saucepan. Boil over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly viscous (225 degrees). Before removing from heat, add rose water and let come to a boil. Remove from fire and cool.
Pour syrup over baklava making sure the dough is well saturated.

Falafel

2011-12-30T09:12:00.000-08:00

Falafel

Ingredients

1lb Chick peas (soaked for 24 hours)
1 med. Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Tablespoon Ground coriander
1 Tablespoon Cumin
2 Teaspoons Salt
½ Teaspoon pepper
½ Teaspoon Cayenne
1 Tablespoon Flour
Vegetable Oil (for frying)
2 Teaspoons baking soda
Parsley (Garnish)

Directions

Drain chick peas and quarter onion. Run both through fine holes of the meat grinder along with the garlic two times. Add all remaining ingredients except baking soda and vegetable oil. Mix well, run through grinder once more. Mix again. Cover and leave to rest for 2 to 3 hours.
Heat Oil for Deep Frying, while oil is heating add baking soda to the chick pea mixture.
With dampened hands, form mixture into balls the size of a walnut, then flatten slightly into a patty. Deep fry, making sure patties are cooked through and are golden brown.
Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Garnish with parsley. Remove from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.