à la Julia » main dishes

chermoula mussels

Julia — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:50:36 +0000

preparation: 30 min | cooking: 5 min | difficulty: ★★

serving portion: 2 persons

mussles ingredients

500g of frozen mussels
1 pack of strained tomatoes

chermoula ingredients

1 Tbsp parsley; finely chopped
1 Tbsp coriander; finely chopped
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp paprika
2 cloves garlic; finely chopped
2 drops of vinegar
1 tsp tomato paste

directions

Mix in a bowl all the chermoula ingredients together.

In a nonstick skillet, place 2 tbsp of chermoula and dilute with a bit of water.

Add the mussels; stir for 30 seconds; then cover with tomato sauce and cook covered over low heat for 5 minutes.

Before serving add black pepper; best served with French Fries.

stuffed vine leaves

Julia — Fri, 14 May 2010 01:10:44 +0000

Fasting of à la Julia is over; almost forty days have passed since migrating to Canada. Well, just to point out the influence of the Lebanese Diasporas in Montreal, here’s a dish that literally is everywhere being sold in supermarkets, food courts, fancy restaurants. The vegetarian version can also be found in cans (which is called the Greek dolmades)

preparation: 1 hr | cooking: 45 min | difficulty: ★★★

serving portion: 4 persons

ingredients

500g fresh vine leaves
500g lamb cutlets
160 gr washed rice
300 gr minced meat
1 tsp 7 spices
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup lemon juice
35gr salt
600 gr water

directions

Place the cutlet ribs in the bottom of a deep cooking pan.

To prepare the stuffing, mix together in a bowl the meat, washed rice, 7 spices and black pepper.

Add the leaves to boiling water in batches until leaves are tender.

For the stuffing technique please check the below illustrations.

Once you are done with the stuffing, cover the vine leaves with water; Cook on high heat for 15min add the lemon, then lower the heat and simmer for 30min or till the vine leaves are well cooked.

illustrations

tips

Best served with natural yoghourt.

penne a la carbonara

Julia — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:50:19 +0000

preparation: 10min | cooking: 10min | difficulty: ★

serving portion: 3 persons

ingredients

375g penne
100g shredded parmesan cheese
1 large onion, finely chopped
12 thin bacon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 eggs, beaten lightly
180ml heavy cream
300g chicken breast, cut into cubes
freshly ground black pepper

directions

Heat a large frying pan, add oil and cook bacon, keep stirring until crisp, drain on absorbent paper.

Add 1 tbsp of oil in the same frying pan, add onions and garlic, stir until soft. Then add chicken, cook until brown and cooked through.

Cook penne in a large sauce pan of boiling salted water, uncovered, until just tender (al dente), drain.

Return half the bacon to the sauce pan with combined chicken, eggs, cream, pasta and half the cheese. Toss gently over low heat until pasta is coated with sauce.

Serve pasta topped with remaining bacon, remaining cheese and pepper.

tips

The original carbonara recipe does not contain chicken.

reference

Italian, Women’s Weekly

beef stroganoff

Julia — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:01:21 +0000

preparation: 10min | cooking: 20min | difficulty: ★

serving portion: 4 persons

ingredients

800g beef fillet, cut julienne (long thin strips)
1 medium onion, sliced
250g sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup beef broth
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
cooked rice
mozzarella cheese
1 cup water for water bath

directions

Melt butter in skillet. Add onion until wilt then add mushrooms.

Cook the beef 2 minutes on high-heat.

Reduce heat to medium and stir in broth, bring to a boil.

Add cream, season with salt and black pepper.

Mix tbsp of flour with room temperature water, and sieve on the mixture, until sauce thickens.

Next, mix rice with mozzarella cheese and place at the bottom of a small pot then place the stroganoff mixture above; repeat the same procedure for the other 3 pots.

Preheat the oven at 120 degree C; Bring large pan; add water then the pots and place in oven for 10min so the mozzarella melts.

reference

Ibtissam Tohmé (mamina)

kibbé tray

Julia — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:59:20 +0000

preparation: 1 hr | cooking: 30 min | difficulty: ★★★

serving portion: 3 persons / small trays of 28cm

ingredients

kibbé dough

250g fine minced meat / kibbé meat
1 cup fine dark bulgur / cracked wheat
1 tsp salt
25g melted butter
1 small bowl iced water
1/2 tsp 7 spices

meat filling

2 Tbs vegetable oil
3 medium onions, finely chopped
250g minced meat
50 g pine nuts
1 tsp salt
1 tsp 7 spices

directions

Wash the bulgur and drain.

Blend the meat, salt and melted butter with the bulgur to obtain a sticky ball.

To prepare the stuffing, heat two Tbsp of vegetable oil in a large sauce pan and fry the onions until translucent.

Add the ground meat, salt and cook until meat is cooked through, remove from heat and blend in the spices and the pine nuts.

Divide the kibbeh ball into two equal portions.

Grease the bottom of the trays with oil.

Take half of the kibbé dough and press at the bottom of the tray to obtain a 1cm layer.

Dip your hands into water to flatten it’s surface.

Add the meat stuffing.

Put the second dough inside a sandwich bag that has an approximate size of the tray you are using.

Roll out the dough using the rolling pin (shawbak) to obtain a layer of 1 cm, cut out the bag and place the dough over the stuffing by cutting the excess.

Again dip your hands into water to flatten it’s surface; Dip the sharp knife in water and cut geometrical patterns on the surface of the kibbeh (refer to the below illustrations).

Drizzle with some oil and sprinkle 3-4 Tbs. of water on the top to maintain the softness of the kibbeh while baking.

Bake in a 180 °C preheated oven until the top is firm, 20-30 minutes approximately.

Serve with natural yogurt

illustrations

tips

The traditional recipe of the kibbé is made with lamb meat, but personally I prefer beef meat.

If you are living in Lebanon you can directly ask for kibbé meat (it is based of minced meat mixed with salt and water). If you are living abroad then ask from the butcher to pass the fine minced meat twice through the processing machine.

Make two trays and keep the second in the fridge.

For the meat filling, the more you add onions the more you enrich the taste.

reference

My Grandma and Anahid’s Gourmet Cookbook