Shakshuka

Shakshuka, Arabic شكشوكة‎; Hebrew שקשוקה‎ is a traditional dish served at breakfast, consisting of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, capsicums, onions, and spices of cummin, paprika, tumeric and za'atar. Shakshuka is a staple of Israeli, Tunisian, Libyan, Algerian and Moroccan cuisines traditionally served up in a cast iron pan with bread to mop up the sauce. 

We decided to celebrate Mother's Day Brunch this year with Shakshuka.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 red capsicums, roughly chopped

8 tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 x440gm cans diced tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

6 large eggs

Za'atar spice

120 gm fetta cheese, sliced

Iggy’s bread to serve

Heat large saute pan over medium heat, add oil, onion and garlic and saute until softened. Add fresh and canned tomatoes, cayenne, sweet paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper and sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Gently crack eggs into pan, taking care not to break yolks. Add sliced fetta to pan. Simmer, covered, until whites solidify but yolks remain runny, about 8 minutes or until cooked. Sprinkle with Za'atar.

Serve to table in pan, with crunchy bread, like from Iggy's bakery. Serves 6.

Mexican Fiesta followed by a Siesta !!!

 Mexican Fiesta followed by a Siesta !!!

When I think of Mexico, I see the bright colours of the ingredients, the smell the rich spices of chilli, oregano, the crisp corn chips with the creamy side dishes of guacamole and sour cream.


So, we have created our own recipe, with lots of meat, a rich sauce with spices and really easy and quick to make......

Chilli Con Carne

 

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red chilli, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

750g lean beef mince

2 medium red capsicums, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chilli powder

800g can chopped tomatoes

400g can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed 

1 avocado

Lemon juice

Pickled jalapeno chillies

Light sour cream

Continental parsley

Grated light tasty cheese

Heat a large fry pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper. Cook for 8 minutes or until the onions are soft. Add mince. Cook, stirring with a fork to break up the meat, for 10 minutes or until browned. 

Add capsicums, chilli powder,  tomatoes and ½ cup cold water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes or until sauce has reduced slightly. 

Add beans. Cook for a further 10 minutes. To make guacamole, mash avocado with juice of 1/2 lemon. Serve chilli with pickled jalapeno chillies, light sour cream, coriander leaves and grated light tasty cheese. 

Serves 6.

Interfaith Ramadan Feast

Today we experienced a traditional feast that is eaten during the fast of Ramadan. We were all so excited today knowing we were making Kibbeh. Made from a blend of cooked bulgur wheat, chopped mint, spices and onions stirred into ground lamb, then cooked as small patties, kibbeh is a favourite traditional Lebanese dish.

The Arabic word kubbah means "ball"^. Other names for the dish derive either from the Persian word کوفته kofteh meaning ground meat,  the Turkish icli kofte,  and funnily enough, the Jewish Northeastern Neo-Aramaic is called כותילה kutele.
 
 

 

Outside Kibbeh shell mixture:


Wash and drain 1 kg burgur and let rest overnight in fridge.

Blend 1 red capsicum, 3 onions, 1 bunch basil, 1/2 tsp cummin, 1 tsp salt and pepper together to a paste. Add to burgul and mix through. Then mix through 1kg finely ground beef or lamb. Place this mixture through a mincer for a finer mince.


Inside Kibbeh shell:
 
Cook onion in oil, add mince beef, season well with cummin, pomegranate syrup, salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts. Cook 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.



Take an egg sized amount of shell mixture and form into a ball. With your finger, poke a hole in the ball, making a space for filling. Add filling and pinch the top to seal the ball. You can then shape it into a point, or football shape, or leave as a ball. 
 
Fry kibbeh in oil at 180'C for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

So excited to be making Kibbeh

Fatimah explaining the art of Kibbeh to Lynda

Kibbeh mixture can be made into several different dishes. Above, the mince is placed into a baking dish and baked, then cut into diamonds to serve.

 We made a delicious quick and really simple Lebanese Omelette, Ijhee.

Combine together all below ingredients, place in a greased baking dish and cook 30 minutes until golden.


2 bunches parsley, chopped
1 bunch mint, chopped
2 cups zucchini, grated
2 onions, choppped
salt and pepper
8 eggs
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon pine nuts, roasted
1 tablespoon slivered almonds roasted

Next we made a traditional Radish Salad. 
Grate 2 bunches of radishes and place in a bowl. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon over the radish and then add the salt to flavour. Simple, elegant and a wonderful accompaniment to Kibbeh.

 A delicious Lentil soup was made today. Place lentils and water in large pot, bring to the boil and simmer 40 minutes until creamy. traditionally, 1/2 of rice is added to the pot to thicken the soup. As we are so many cooks, we all have opinions and far too many views. So we added onions cooked in oil to the pot later on.

 

 

Here we are cooking up a storm

And Nadia is always in charge in this kitchen

Samah and Fidah made Lebanese Shortbread, called Ghoraybeh.

 

Combine 500gm ghee with 750gm plain flour, 500gm icing sugar, 
2 teaspoons vanilla essence and a pinch of Bi carb soda. Mix in with your hands until the dough comes together. Roll into lengths, cut and place an almond half on top of each piece. bake hot oven 15 minutes. Let cool on tray.

 

 Finally, we made a Coconut Cake, Jazel Hind.


Beat 3 eggs with 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 cup milk and 1 cup oil. Add 3 cups SR flour, 2 cups shredded coconut and 2 teaspoons baking powder. Mix to combine. Pour in greased baking dish, and bake 180'C for 30 minutes. Remove cake from oven, pour some Lebanese sugar syrup over the hot cake and sprinkle with more coconut on top. Cut in diagonals to serve.

 That is it for another week. Don't forget to visit us on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shared-Table/121816364572861 


Ciao, Mel

Interfaith Challah Baking Day

Today we celebrated the Jewish Shabbat, making our own Challot and trying many of the Eastern European traditional Jewish foods. According to Jewish tradition, the three Sabbath meals, Friday night, Saturday lunch, and Saturday late afternoon, each begin with two complete loaves of bread^. This bread commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites  wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt. Each single loaf is woven with six strands, both loaves have twelve which represent each tribe of Israel.

Our beautiful Muslim and Jewish women sharing our special meal

We had much fun trying to plait a 6 braided challah, and deciding whether to include raisins into the dough to make a sweeter challah.

Considering plaiting a 6 braided Challah

very proud !!

 

I believe the best way to enjoy freshly baked, warm challah, is with traditional Shabbat foods like Chopped Herring, Pickled Herring, Smoked Trout Mousse, Pickled Cucumbers, and Egg Salad.

Holding a Smoked Trout

Boning a Smoked Trout

Making Smoked Trout Mousse

For the finale, we whipped up a delicious Apple Strudel. We lightly cooked the apples with some raisins, with a little sugar, then prepared the filo pastry.

Making the Apple Strudel

Samah brushing Strudel with melted butter and sprinkling ground almonds and sugar.

Apple Strudel

Apple Strudel

Trout Mousse, Pickled Cucumbers, Egg Salad, Chopped Herring

2 Challot for Shabbat, under the Challah cover

Shabbat Table

 What I love each week, when we all sit down and share a meal are the similarities we share in our traditions. How a Jewish woman prepares the shabbos dinner, is exactly how the Muslim woman prepares her Ramadan feast. We laugh how we all cook all day, wanting the home to be clean, the fridge full of food, the feast to be wonderful, and our family and friends to have enjoyed the celebration. The respect we all have for our traditions, and how important it means to each of us, to carrying on this tradition to our children and grand children.

Don't forget to visit our Shared Table on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shared-Table/121816364572861 Until next week, Ciao, Mel

Cheese Blintzes

How quick does this time of year roll around ...

 Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day G-d gave the torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai. Dairy foods such as cheesecake, cheese blintzes and cheese kreplach among Ashkenazi Jews, cheese sambusak, kelsonnes (cheese ravioli) and atayef (a cheese-filled pancake) among Syrian Jews; kahee (a dough that is buttered and sugared) among Iraqi Jews and a seven-layer cake called siete cielos (seven heavens) among Tunisian and Moroccan Jews are traditionally consumed on the Shavuot holiday. Yemenite Jews do not eat dairy foods on Shavuot.

Cheese Blintzes

 

Among the explanations given in rabbinic literature for the consumption of dairy foods on this holiday, before the torah was received, the Israelites were not obligated to follow its laws, which include shechita (ritual slaughter of animals) and kashrut. Since all their meat pots and dishes now had to be made kosher before use, they opted to eat dairy foods.

For those who celebrate Shavout, or just enjoy the delicious creamy, sweet, soft cheese blintzes ... here is a really simple easy and delicious recipe.

Batter: 

1-1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, combine the milk, eggs and butter. Combine flour and salt; add to milk mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. It is really important to let the mixture rest before making the crepes. The mixture can easily be made a day prior and refrigerated overnight.

Blintz batter

Now to making the crepes. The best fry pan to use, is a heavy based small Le Creuset pan, as it holds the heat and the crepes don't stick to the pan. We are lucky enough to have an electric crepe maker, that must be easily 100 years old (well perhaps not that old) and is full proof for kids to use and wonderful when busy in the kitchen.

Using a fry pan:

Place the batter into a large jug. Heat the frying pan on a medium temperature. Lightly grease pan with a little butter on a paper towel. Whilst holding the fry pan in one hand, pour the batter into the pan with the other hand. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. When cool, stack crepes, 5 at a time, in between plastic wrap. Wrap in foil; refrigerate. 

Using a crepe maker:

Place batter on a large plate that holds a small amount of liquid (see above). Heat crepe maker and when ready, turn crepe maker over and dip into the batter, pushing down to completely cover the base of the surface. Turn back and let it rest on the bench to cook. The crepe is cooked when the outside of the crepe is golden. Repeat with remaining batter. When cool, stack crepes, 5 at a time, in between plastic wrap. Wrap in foil; refrigerate.

Crepe Maker

NB. No matter how you cook your crepes, the first crepe rarely turns out, so DON'T panic, this is common, as the pan is not seasoned, only after the first crepe has been made. Make sure you clean off all crumbs with paper towel before proceeding further.

Making Blintzes

 Now for the filling:

500 gm cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sultanas

zest of 1 lemon

In a blender, process cream cheese sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add sultanas and lemon zest, stir to combine.

Cheese Blintz filling

Place spoonfuls onto each crepe. Fold opposite sides of crepe over filling, then roll up blintz, forming a little bundle. 

Folding Cheese Blintz

Folding Cheese Blintz

These blintzes last all week in the fridge, only, and only, if they are hidden from the kids.

Cheese Blintzes

For an extra special treat, we lightly pan fry the blintzes, just before service. Heat a non stick fry pan, place blintz top side down and cook 1 minutes until lightly golden.

Cheese Blintzes

 To serve, sprinkle with icing sugar. Other options include using farm cheese and or ricotta cheese and serving blintzes with a berry coulis.

Cheese Blintzes

Let me know how you go and feel free to ask any questions. 

Don't forget to check out our Shared Table on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shared-Table/121816364572861

Ciao, Mel