Falafel

Falafel is very popular in the Middle East as a fast food. Vendors sell it on the street corners in Cairo. As a main dish, it is served as a sandwich, stuffed in pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes, and tahini. As an appetizer, it is served on a salad, or with hummus and tahini. Falafel is a favorite among vegetarians. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried chickpeas or 16 oz. can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans.
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation:

Place dried chickpeas in a bowl, covering with cold water. Allow to soak overnight. Omit this step if using canned beans.

Drain chickpeas, and place in pan with fresh water, and bring to a boil.

Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then let simmer on low for about an hour.

Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour.

Mash chickpeas, ensuring to mix ingredients together. You can also combine ingredients in a food processor. You want the result to be a thick paste.

Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball. Slightly flatten.

Fry in 2 inches of oil at 350 degrees until golden brown (5-7 minutes).

Serve hot.

Chicken Shawarma

ingredients

• Chicken:
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 16 (3-inch) strips
• Sauce:
• 1/2 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt (such as Fage)
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Remaining ingredients:
• Cooking spray
• 4 (6-inch) pitas
• 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
• 8 (1/4-inch-thick) tomato slices

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. 2. To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
3. 3. To prepare sauce, combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients (through 1 garlic clove), stirring with a whisk.
4. 4. Thread 2 chicken strips onto each of 8 (12-inch) skewers. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done.
5. 5. Place pitas on grill rack; grill 1 minute on each side or until lightly toasted. Place 1 pita on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup lettuce and 2 tomato slices. Top each serving with 4 chicken pieces; drizzle each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce.

Shawarma

Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما‎) is a Levantine Arab meat preparation, where lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats are placed on a spit (commonly a vertical spit in restaurants), and may be grilled for as long as a day. Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, and the remainder of the block of meat is kept heated on the rotating spit. Although it can be served in shavings on a plate (generally with accompaniments), "shawarma" also refers to a pita bread sandwich or wrap made with shawarma meat. Shawarma is eaten with tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato, and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus, pickled turnips and amba. Shawarma is a fast-food staple across the Middle East, Europe and the Caucasus.

	Classic French Chocolate Truffle Recipe: Alice Medrich | Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts | Artisan/Workman, 2012 “I started my career making bite-sized, hand-rolled, cocoa-dusted truffles in Berkeley in the early 1970s. The original recipe, from my French landlady, remains a treasure. I have updated it over the years to meet the challenges of food safety (the original recipe was made with raw egg yolks), new and better chocolates, and our changing taste buds. If you've followed me, you may think you already have this recipe once and for all, but I promise that you don't. Today my house truffles have a touch of salt, a vastly easier method of heating the yolks, and a new, ultrasmooth texture. You cannot buy truffles like these. And if you love the idea of chocolate truffles with red wine, these are the most wine-friendly truffles you will ever find.” – Alice Medrich Yield: 64 truffles Ingredients 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature 1 lb. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (no more than 62% cacao), coarsely chopped 10 tbsps. (5 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1/8 tsp. salt, preferably fine sea salt 1/3 cup (1 oz.) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably natural, or as needed Equipment Food processor Fine-mesh strainer 8-inch square baking pan, lined on the bottom and all sides with foil Method Put the egg yolks in a small heatproof bowl, preferably stainless steel, and set the bowl in a large container of very hot water to heat the egg yolks until barely lukewarm. Set aside. Meanwhile, put the choclate, butter, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl, peferably stainless steel, set it in a wide skillet of barely simmering water and stir frequently until the butter and chocolate are melted and the mixture is smooth and quite warm. (If you have an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should be between 120° and 130°F.) Scrape the mixture into the food processor and set the strainer over the processor bowl. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a very small saucepan or in a glass measure in the microwave. Remove the egg yolk bowl from the large container and immediately pour the boiling water steadily into the egg yolk, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula. (When the yolks and water are blended, the temperature should be at least 160°F.) Pour the mixture through the strainer into the food processor. Tap the strainer against the bowl to encourage all of the liquid to flow through, but don't press on or mess with any bits of cooked egg in the strainer. Process the mixture for a few seconds, then scrape the bowl and process again for 20 or 30 seconds, or as long as it takes for the mixture to thicken and resemble sanity-smooth chocolate pudding. Scrape the mixture into the lined pan and spread it evenly. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate until firm, at least a few hours. TO SHAPE THE TRUFFLES Put half of the cocoa in a small bowl. Remove the baking pan from the refrigerator and use the liner to remove the truffle sheet. Invert it on a cutting board and peel off the liner. Cut the truffles into 1-inch squares (or smaller, if you prefer) and toss them in the cocoa powder, adding more cocoa as necessary. You can leave the truffles square or dust your hands with cocoa and roll them into balls. Shake the truffles gently in a coarse strainer to remove excess cocoa. Store the truffles tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to three months. Remove the truffles from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving. Sift a little extra cocoa over them as necessary.

Tabouleh salad

Tabouleh is a salad I can and have eaten daily for weeks at a time with no complaint. My Teta (Lebanese for Nana) was renown for making the most delicious Tabouleh (so is every other Lebanese grandmother)! Living abroad over the last 8 years, I have noticed the western versions use a larger burghul to parsley ratio and resemble more of a couscous salad. Although Teta’s recipe calls for only a minuscule amount of burghul, many of us in the family have chosen to neglect it all together in order to curtail the bloating side effects. Frankly, I love parsley and don’t care much for the burghul. In any case, if you wish to add burghul, then a handful soaked in water for 15 minutes should be sufficient. Do note it’s to be sprinkled like salt. Tabouleh is delicious served alone or as part of a meal; try it with Beer Butt Chicken, Garlic Sauce and Hummus.


Here’s what you’ll need (serves 4 as a side):
2 large bunches of flat leaf parsley, stems discarded, leaves (about 80 grams) finely chopped
4 spring onions, finely diced
4 plum tomatoes, finely diced
10 fresh leaves of mint, finely chopped
1.5 lemon juiced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mixing:
Salt the chopped tomatoes, pepper the chopped onions, add the parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and mix all together. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Armenian Noodles and Rice

Armenian Noodles and Rice (Pilav)
1 cup uncooked fine egg noodles
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Dash of pepper
Minced parsley
Break noodles into 1-inch pieces if necessary. Cook and stir noodles in butter in 2-quart saucepan 5 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients except parsley. Heat to boiling, stirring once or twice; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 14 minutes, without lifting cover or stirring. Remove from heat. Fluff mixture lightly with fork; cover and let steam 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.
Yields 8 servings.

Creamy Leek & Potato Soup

Creamy Leek & Potato Soup

Prep Time: 15 min

Total Time: 45 min

Makes: Serves 4

What You Need

20 g butter

2 leeks, halved lengthways, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

4 cups chicken stock

600 g potatoes, peeled and chopped

125 g PHILADELPHIA Light Spreadable Cream Cheese

1/2 cup milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup chopped chives, for garnish

100 g thinly sliced pepperoni, fried until crisp and drained, for garnish

Crusty bread, to serve

How To Make It!

HEAT the butter in a large heavy–based saucepan. Add the leek and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Add the stock and potato then cook, covered for 10–15 minutes or until potato is tender. Blend or process the soup until smooth then return to the saucepan.

WHISK the PHILLY and milk into the soup until smooth, simmer for a further 5 minutes until heated, season to taste. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of chives and crispy pepperoni, serve with crusty bread. Serve immediately.

HANDY TIP: Cut leeks in half lengthways and soak in water to clean before use.