Tag Archives: lebanese food blogger

Italian Bruschetta

Posted on by
4

Italians have taste! They mastered Fashion, Art and Food. From the smallest bruschetta to a large sea-food risotto, they’ve got cooking skills in their genes.

Pizza, pasta, pesto, parmigiano, ricotta, mozzarella, tiramisu, panna cotta, … Is there anything I can name that is not delicious?! I find their menu extraordinary. Simply mouthwatering!

Bruschetta (pronounced “brusketta”) is an Italian appetizer to enjoy at any time of the day or to make a delicious starter for your dinner. It consists of roasted bread “pane bruscato” rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. We Lebanese are lucky to have one of the finest olive oil in the world, because bruschetta will taste best when using good quality of oil.

The original recipe of bruschetta has been customized around the world, and the most popular includes tomatoes and fresh basil. The freshness and perfect taste of this meal will make your guests gobble it all up and keep on asking for more.

Choose a French or Italian bread, as long as it’s moist and fresh. I prefer thyme bread for a more accentuated flavor.

These are my 2 favorite toppings. They are both prepared the same way: For the first I added basil, olives and tomatoes, and for the second I added thyme, feta and tomatoes. I wasn’t sure if I should give you the exact amounts, because it’s all a matter of taste. So please feel free to put more or less of any of the ingredients. Come on!

Italian Olive Bruschetta

  • 1/2 baguette (French bread) or 6 slices of sourdough bread, toasted and sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and halved
  • 2 large tomatoes or 16 cherry tomatoes, chopped
  • Few sprigs of fresh basil, leaves picked and roughly chopped, smaller leaves reserved
  • 4 tbsp black or green olives, pitted and sliced
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt to taste

Feta and Thyme Bruschetta

  • 1/2 baguette (French bread) or 6 slices of sourdough bread, toasted and sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic, unpeeled and halved
  • 2 large tomatoes or 16 cherry tomatoes, chopped
  • Few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked and washed
  • 50g Feta cheese, chopped
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt to taste

 Preparation

  1. Rub each piece of bread with garlic. Place on a cookie sheet and bake on the top rack of the oven until the bread turns slightly brown. (I personally sometimes toast my slices in a toaster to save time and it still works like a charm)
  2. In a salad bowl, mix all ingredients together, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Align the bread on a platter, garlic side up. With a spoon, place carefully the mixture on each slice and serve.

Strawberry French Toast

Posted on by
2

As you already know I’m a Food Stylist and I have a shoot for a TV commercial tomorrow. Part of my job is buying the food that’s featured in the commercial ad. To get the best results, I always buy the highest quality available on the market, and of course the freshest products!

7:00am: Fresh Market

I reached the Fresh Market early in the morning on an empty stomach: BIG MISTAKE! I ended up buying 3 times more than I had on my shopping list:)

The job required 3 ingredients: asparagus, basil and tomatoes. However, I also bought pumpkin, cauliflower, zucchini, pears, apples, blackberries, strawberries, etc.

When I got back home I was craving for breakfast, so I decided to treat myself to some “pain perdu” with strawberries. It’s quick to prepare, fresh and consistent.

Strawberry French Toast

Ingredients

·      2 eggs, lightly beaten

·      2 cups of milk

·      1tsp vanilla

·      20gms butter

·      4 slices of white bread or milk bread

·      10 strawberries, hulled and cut

·      Icing sugar, to sprinkle

Preparation

1.   Beat eggs, milk and vanilla

2.   Soak bread in mixture and shake excess.

3.   Melt the butter in a pan and cook the bread on both sides until brown.

4.   Line the strawberries and sprinkle with icing sugar

*You can add vanilla ice cream and serve it as dessert! mmmm

Everybody Loves Pasta!

Posted on by
2

My hubby is a pasta lover and our pasta recipes repertoire is one of a kind. For Serge “Just Pasta” is a feast for the Gods!! Therefore I keep in my pantry all shapes of pasta.

Among our favorite is Penne. It gives you many options on what to serve it with.

Many pasta recipes are easy and can be prepared with little notice. Ladies and gentlemen I present you “Penne with shrimps and asparagus”. For last-minute guests, whip up this recipe and it’s a star meal!

It’s hearty and elegant. Eat happily!

Shrimp, Asparagus, and Penne Pasta

Ingredients

  • 3 cups uncooked penne
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed (using a garlic press)
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 10 spears fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 400gms medium shrimps, peeled and deveined
  • 3 tbsp orange juice
  • 1 tbsp orange zest
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • Fresh Parmesan cheese, to taste (optional)

 * Penne can be replaced with Spaghetti #7

Preparation

1.    Cook penne according to package directions.

2.    In large skillet, heat oil. Add onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has softened.

3.    Pour in the white wine, and simmer for 2 minutes.

4.    Add the asparagus and sauté for 5 minutes.

5.    Add the shrimp and orange zest, drizzle with the orange juice. Cook until the shrimp turns pink.

6.    Toss penne with shrimp mixture.

7.    Season to taste with salt and pepper.

8.    Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Good old-fashioned strawberry milkshake

Posted on by
1

After a long day at work, shooting an advertisement for a fruit-flavored yoghurt brand, I brought home a huge load of left over fruits, including a rather big amount of strawberries. While taking a look at this excessive batch of strawberries, my mind immediately started a screening of all the possible recipes I have stored inside it. The result: 1 ITEM FOUND. Strawberry Smoothie!

It was then thought that who could deserve a better drink than this one after a tiring day of running around the set and standing in the kitchen for hours!

A Strawberry Smoothie can be made from strawberries only. I’d like to add to it a cup of skimmed milk and a banana. If the strawberries are not sweet enough on their own, I usually add a dash of honey. My daughter Kaia prefers it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead of the milk with no banana.

Refreshing!

Strawberry Smoothie

For 1 person

Ingredients

  • 10 fresh strawberries, hulled
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 5 ice cubes, crushed
  • 1 banana (optional)
  • 1 tsp honey (optional)

Preparation

 

Put all the ingredients into a blender and mix the lot until smooth. Add sugar or honey to taste.

Chocolate Banana Cake

Posted on by
3

The first time I ate a chocolate banana cake was at a friend’s place. When I asked her for the recipe, she told me that it was a ready mix box that she bought in Poland 😦 Very disappointing!

I simply fell in love with that cake and wanted to have more of her delicious dessert. When I got back home, the next thing I found myself doing was looking online for Chocolate Banana cakes recipes. Then, after baking this cake several times, I ended up making my own “flattering” recipe. Why flattering, you might ask?  ‘Cause I swear that anyone who tried this cake immediately asked me for the recipe!

Whenever I’m invited to a dinner or a gathering and I feel like leaving a good impression, I bake a chocolate banana cake and bring it along. Splendid! It makes it even more flattering when my “Hero cake” gets so many compliments or when I receive indirect compliments through the ones addressed to my husband Serge, such as “niyelak” i.e. lucky you 🙂

Genius!

Before you start with the preparation, you need to know that ripe bananas have more flavor and a good quality of milk chocolate makes a lot of a difference (I often use Galaxy chocolate plain milk).

This cake is very moist, hopefully you will try it and love it.

Chocolate Banana Cake

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup oil or 50gms/half stick butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 small mashed ripe bananas
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 cup chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

Preparation:

 

  • Pre-heat oven on  180 degree C.
  • Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  • Add bananas. Beat well
  • Add dry ingredients; flour, baking soda and baking powder. Blend.
  • Add milk and mix.
  • Pour batter in a pre-greased baking pan and add chocolate chips on the top of the batter and push it gently with a toothpick. Do not let it sink.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes.


A Fishy Story

Posted on by
2

When I crave for meat, it’s fish. I lived in Dubai for 10 years where the fish is fresh and abundant. My husband, who loves to eat healthy food (and you will hear this a lot!), fancies a baked fish at least once a week. So along the years we unintentionally became pescetarian. [Seriously? No!]

For those of you who are not familiar with the word; Pescetarian is a vegetarian who will eat fish.

The true version behind my story is that meat and chicken (with the exception of the Christmas Turkey) were aliens to my kitchen. They never made it to my fridge until I had my first daughter Kaia. Before that I almost never stopped by the butcher. Hamburgers, tenderloin, chicken fahita, … were gourmet dinners to treat ourselves when we go out to restaurants:)

I baked fish, steamed fish, barbecued fish and trust me, as complicated as it seems, fish is one of the quickest meals to prepare. ONE, It’s healthy (this one goes for you babe). TWO, impressive if you have friends over. THREE, delicious!

One of my favorite kinds of fish is the SEA BREAM, because of their mild and white meat. It can be found in various parts of the world and is ideal for grilling. One of these fish weighs around 350gms and can be grilled whole, head and all.

For me it’s enough to rub my fish with salt and pepper, and then stuff it with sliced onions and tomatoes. Lay it in a baking pan with lemon wedges and bay leaves, drizzle it with oil, and cook for 35mn. Tasty!

Baked Fish

Ingredients

  • 4 fresh Sea Bream fish (cleaned, gutted and scaled)
  • Sea Salt and coarse pepper
  • 2 onions, cut in circles
  • 2 large tomatoes, cut in circles
  • 3 sprigs of rosemary
  • 1 lemon, cut in wedges
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • Olive oil, to drizzle
  • 1/2 cup of White Wine

Cooking Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 220°C
  2. Wash fish, pat dry and place in oven dish.
  3. Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper over all parts of the fish and inside the body cavity.
  4. Top with onions, tomatoes, rosemary and surround with lemon, bay leaves and cinnamon. Drizzle with olive oil.
  5. Pour the wine inside the pan and cook for about 45mn or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Janssons frestelse – Going Swedish!

Posted on by
1

 I will never forget the “janssons” I had at my Swedish friends, I went back home obsessing about those layers of potatoes and onions.

Christy, our host, had always confessed that she and cooking go in different directions. Her love is for painting, but it turns out that she can manipulate food ingredients like she plays with colors. The fireplace, the mood and the table set, everything was so divine.

The mushrooms that she picked herself in the woods in Sweden were carried all the way from Stockholm to Beirut (to my tummy) to make her delicious mushroom soup recipe.

In general, I love any food that goes out of the oven, and that Janssons was a whole new experience. Three ingredients I never thought of combining together; POTATOES – ONIONS – ANCHOVIES.

Before trying that meal, if I heard the word ‘anchovies’ twice, I would pass out. Now I believe that if it’s from a good source and combined with the right ingredients, it adds a lot of flavoring and makes a beautiful dish.

If you are like Serge (my husband) and I, and you don’t like anchovies, you should try this dish and I’m sure it will change your whole perspective on sprats.

Thank you Christy!

 


Ingredients

  • 1.2 kg (2 lb) potatoes
  • 400 g (14 oz) onions
  • 1 small can of anchovies*
  • 3 cups heavy whipping cream
  • Salt – white pepper – black ground pepper
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Butter

*For more flavoring you can double the quantity of anchovies

Preparation

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into strips like match sticks. Thinner than you cut for French fries. Peel and cut the onions into thin slices, sautéing them gently in a little butter without browning.

2. Grease a ovenproof baking dish and cover the bottom with a layer of potatoes, then add half the onions and all the anchovies. Try grinding fresh black pepper between the layers and sprinkle on a little salt.

3. Another layer of potatoes, then the rest of the onions.

4. Finish with a layer of potatoes.

5. Flatten the surface. Pour the cream on until it is almost visible through the potatoes. Place a few pats of butter on top and sprinkle with some breadcrumbs.

Bake in the oven [250C/475F] for about an hour.

Apple Crumble

Posted on by
2

One of the many things I love about Lebanon is that when you go and visit someone who has a house in the village with a garden, you always come back with a goody bag, and here I mean fresh fruits and vegetables “min el jnayneh” i.e from the garden.

My father in law, who by the way makes anything he puts his hands on turn green, is a fantastic gardener, and a very generous one as well. No one can visit him and leave empty-handed.

APPLES were my reward for taking the girls to play in his garden last Sunday (I’m a mom of 2 girls).

Granny smith, fuji apples, golden apples, and many more. But my favorites are the Gala apples, not only because of their fairy tale name but also because of their sweet taste.

Hands-on APPLE CRUMBLE

Ingredients

Crumble:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 2/3 cup brown Sugar
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 250 gms or and a half sticks unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup of oats

Filling:

  • 450g/ or 5 to 6 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm/in piece
  • 50g/2oz unrefined brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemoncello
  • 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup of raisins (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Grease a rectangular oven dish with a knob of butter

3. Place the apples inside the dish and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and lemoncello.

4. Make the crumb topping: In a bowl, combine together flour, sugars, salt and oat. Pour warm melted butter over mixture and rub with your fingers to make large clumps or crumbs.

5. Sprinkle the raisins over the apples then spoon the crumble mixture on top.

6. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the crumble is browned and the fruit mixture soft.

7. Serve with vanilla ice cream