Potatoes Sauted With Garlic and Cilantro Batata ma3 Kizbra

A delicious Lebanese Appetizer Made With Potatoes and Cilantro.

Ingredients (4 servings)

4 large potatoes
1 bunch green cilantro (or 1/2 cup dried cilantro leaves)
5-8 large fresh garlic cloves, crushed
1 lemon, juiced
3 table spoons of olive oil
A dash of salt

Preparation Method
1. Slice the potatoes into small cubes of about 3/4 inch with a thickness of about 1/2
inch. Fry them in oil until they are golden/crispy (or alternatively bake them in the
oven until theyre crispy). Salt them lightly.
2. Meanwhile rinse the cilantro leaves then discard the stems, and chop the leaves
very finely. Lay the leaves on a paper towel for a few minutes to dry the water
from them.
3. In a deep frying pan, add the crushed garlic then saute it on medium heat in the 3
tablespoons of olive oil just for a couple of minutes. You want the garlic to stay a

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bit raw, not fully cooked, or otherwise if you overcook the garlic it looses its
flavor.
Add a tiny pinch of salt, then add the chopped cilantro and the lemon juice to the
garlic and saute/mix them well for a minute or two.
Finally add the fried potatoes to the pot, mix it well with the saute and cook it for
3-5 more minutes while stirring, and youre done.
BONUS: If you love spicy food, finely chop a bit of green jalapeno or Serrano
peppers and add them during the cilantro saute
Serve hot or cold as an appetizer.

If you are health conscious and would like to avoid frying the potatoes, you may also
bake them as long as you get them to a nice crispy texture (perhaps just dazzle a few
droplets of oil on them prior to baking them). We prefer the fried version, but I fried them
using organic coconut oil which can sustain high temperatures.

Lebanese Mint Omelet delicious traditional Lebanese omelet.

(3-4 servings)

9 Eggs
3 teaspoons of dried mint powder
A pinch of Salt
3-4 table spoons of Olive Oil

1. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, salt and dried mint powder well.
2. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a frying pan over medium/low heat.
3. Pour the equivalent of 3 eggs at a time in the frying pan for 3 minutes then turn
the omelet over to the other side using a spachula for another 3-4 minutes.
. This is an omelet that is common in Lebanese homes

Monks Kibbeh Stew Kibbet Raaheb

This is a vegetarian stew from the traditional Lebanese cuisine.

Kibbet Raaheb Ingredients (5 servings)

Dough Ingredients:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of fine burghul (cracked wheat)
1 small onion very finely chopped (very finely minced, important)
1 teaspoon of dried mint powder
A pinch of salt

Stew Ingredients:
2 cups of fasolia (brown/red kidney beans)
1 garlic head, crushed
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
A dash of salt

Preparation Method
1. Heat the beans on medium heat in 6 cups of water. Let boil for 3-4 minutes, then
take off stove and empty the beans in a strainer/filter to discard the water.
2. Put the beans back in the pot with 6 cups of fresh warm water and a pinch of salt,
and heat again. As soon as they boil, turn the heat to medium low, cover the pot

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and let simmer for about 50-60 minutes until the beans cook and turn soft (time
depends on type of beans). If you use a pressure cooker, its even better.
Meanwhile, soak the Burghul in a cup of water for about 5 minutes, then strain
and add to a mixing bowl. Add the flour, dried mint powder and finely minced
onions and a dash of salt to the bowl. Mix the ingredients well, then add 1/2 cup
of water and knead with hands into a dough. Dont add too much water so the
dough doesnt turn soft, it needs to be somewhat dry.
Making the dough rolls: Moisten your hand palms with a few droplets of water
(it helps to have a cup of water around). Take a tiny chunk of dough (as in the
photo) and roll between the palms of your hands until it turns into a small ball the
size of a chickpea (less than 1 cm in diameter or about 1/3 of an inch). Make
them small so they cook faster. Place the dough balls on a tray dusted with flour
until youve processed the entire dough.
As soon as the beans are cooked, add the dough balls to the pot gently, one by
one.
Crush the garlic and mix with the olive oil and a dash of salt in a blender or using
a mortar/pestle (better). Add to the cooking pot.
Add the lemon juice to the pot. For best flavor, its important to use freshly
squeezed lemon juice.
Stir the pot gently, cover and let simmer for another 20-30 minutes until the
dough cooks.
Serve hot.

To boost the flavor feel free to increase the quantity of garlic and lemon juice , and make
sure that you only use freshly squeezed lemon juice. Weve tried it once with juice from
concentrate and it wasnt as good as it could have been. Go fresh!

Lentils With Rice and Caramelized Onions Mudardara

Mudardara is a traditional lentils and rice dish that is garnished with caramelized
onions. n North Lebanon, we call the Mudardara as Mujaddara w Riz ie, Mujaddara
with rice. And if we were to go all out on our shmeli North Lebanon accent, we call it
Mjaddra or Mjaddro

Lentils and Rice Mudardara Ingredients (4 servings)

2 cups of lentils
1 and 1/4 cups of long grain rice
4 medium onions, caramelized
1/2 teaspoon of salt
5 cups of water
1/3 cup of oil for frying (coconut or vegetable)
1 Table spoon of olive oil

Preparation Method (60 minutes)

1. Rinse the lentils with cold water and remove any apparent debris.
2. Add the lentils to a pot filled with 5 cups of water, bring to a boil over medium
heat, then reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until lentils are
tender.

3. Add rice, salt and the olive oil to the pot and stir well. You may need to add 1/2
cup of water if a lot of water had evaporated already. Cover and let simmer on
low heat for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, peel and chop the onions lengthwise and fry them in 1/4 cup of
coconut or vegetable oil, for about 20 minutes or until theyre caramelized (dark
brown). Strain onions to remove excess oil once done and set aside.
5. Once rice has fully cooked, mix it well, then pour it in your serving plate and
garnish it with the caramelized onions. Please note that you could also mix the
caramelized onions with the rice and lentils while they have about 10 minutes left
in cooking.
6. Serve cold (preferably) with an optional side of plain/Greek yogurt.

There exists another version of Mujaddara which is made with red beans and Burghul
(cracked wheat) and which borders being a vegetarian Chili.

Hot Garlic Potatoes Batata w Toum

Hot garlic potatoes is an amazingly tasty Lebanese appetizer.

Hot Garlic Potatoes Ingredients (4 servings)

4 medium sized potatoes

1 garlic head (or 13-15 cloves)
1.5 lemons, freshly juiced
5 Table Spoons of olive oil
1/3 teaspoon of salt
2/3 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or hot chilli pepper)
A pinch of dried mint power (Optional)

Preparation Method
1. Garlic Sauce: in a food processor, grind the peeled garlic, salt and the lemon
juice at high speed for 2 minutes. Then add the olive oil, and let the processor go
for another 3-5 minutes. Alternatively, you could also use the Lebanese garlic dip
instead if you have it premade and handy.
2. Boil the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes, preferably leaving the center a bit
crunchy and not fully cooked.
3. As soon as the potatoes are done and while still hot, strain the water then cut the
heads into disks of about 2/3 inch. You may need to wear gloves as the potatoes
would be extremely hot.
4. Lay a layer of potatoes on your serving plate, cover it with the garlic sauce, then
put another layer and cover it with the sauce. Let the heat from the potatoes cook
the garlic sauce for 3-5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the cayenne pepper on the potatoes and serve hot.

Baked Garlic Chicken and Potatoes Djej w Batata Bil Sayniyyeh

A traditional garlic chicken dish from Lebanon.

Baked Garlic Chicken Ingredients (4 servings)

4 lbs of chicken legs/quarters/breasts

5 medium potatoes
20 cloves of garlic (or 1.5 heads)
1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 table spoons of olive oil
salt to taste
A pinch of Lebanese 7-spices
Vinegar (optional)

Baked Garlic Chicken Preparation Method

1. Soak chicken in vinegar for 2 minutes (to help remove the chickeny smell),
rinse them well with cold water then dry them with paper towels.
2. Make cuts in chicken in order to allow for garlic sauce to seep deep inside.
3. Rub chicken with a table spoon or two of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of
Lebanese 7-spices.

4. Peel potatoes then cut them in disks of about 1/2 inch, salt lightly.
5. Place chicken on bottom of baking tray (preferably metal), place potatoes on top,
and bake at 400F (medium heat) for about 40-50 minutes, or until the chicken is
cooked.
6. Meanwhile place the garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2-3 table spoons of
olive oil in a blender/food processor and spin for 4-5 minutes, add the lemon juice
and spin for another 4-5 minutes until you have a nice lemony-garlicky sauce.
7. Once the chicken has baked, take the tray out of the oven and very carefully drain
any excess liquids/fat/water that you see on the bottom.
8. Pour the garlic sauce all over it while mixing it well with the potatoes, put back in
the oven and broil for another 5-10 minutes until the potatoes turn reddish
9. Serve warm.
10. Note: You may need to consume an unusually large quantity of toothpaste
afterwards.
The success of this recipe is directly correlated to how well you make the garlic sauce.
Traditionally the sauce is made by crushing garlic with a pestle in a wooden mortar while
slowly adding the salt and olive oil thus turning it into a paste. And finally once you start
adding the lemon juice all while continuing to stir and crush with the pestle, the paste
turns into a beautiful sauce with a balanced garlic and lemon flavoring.

Recipe: Green Beans Olive Oil Sautee Loubieh bi Zait

This is a simple vegetarian down-to-the-bones Lebanese villager dish.

Loubieh Ingredients (4 servings)

3 lbs of green beans

3 medium onions (yellow or white)
2/3rd cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons of Lebanese 7-spices
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Preparation Method
1. Rinse the green beans well then cut off the stems (about 1/3rd of an inch from
each side). You could break the stems away with your nails or with a knife.
2. Finely chop the onions then saute them in olive oil in a deep pot on medium heat
for about 15-20 minutes or until they start turning pinkish.
3. At which time add the green beans, add the salt and half of the 7-spices, mix very
well to make sure the olive oil and onions covers all the beans, cover the pot well,
lower the heat and let simmer for 45-55 minutes while stirring and mixing every
5-10 minutes.
4. Once cooked, the green beans will turn into a dark olive color. Add the
remaining 7-spices at the end and mix well with the beans before serving.
5. Serve hot or cold (taste much better) with pita bread and a side of veggies like
radish, bell peppers or green onions.

Loubieh for short, tastes its best when eaten at room temperature, or even the following
day after an overnight stay in the fridge. It is usually eaten with pita bread, and sides of
veggies including radish, green peppers, green onions, green mint and even white onions
(after soaking them in water for a while to reduce their bite).

Lebanese Style Shish Tawook Chicken Kabob Recipe

An easy recipe for a juicy and tasty grilled chicken Kabob.

Shish Tawook Ingredients (4 servings)

2 lbs of skinless boneless chicken breast

1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
a small slice of lemon with the peel (optional, dont put too much)
15 cloves of garlic
6 table spoons of plain yogurt (Greek yogurt)
6 table spoons of olive oil
2 table spoons of red vinegar (apple cider vinegar)
1.5 to 2 teaspoons of ground white pepper
1/3 teaspoon of ground ginger spice
1/2 teaspoon of ground thyme, or ground oregano
1/3 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
Lebanese Garlic Paste (see our recipe here) to be served with shish tawook

Shish Tawook Marinade Preparation Method

1. Rinse the chicken well with cold water then soak in 2 cups of white vinegar and 2
teaspoons of salt for 10 minutes. Rinse well with cold water afterwards. This

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optional process helps removing any chicken smell and the salt and vinegar also
kill a lot of bacteria.
Cut the chicken into cubes of about 1 to 1.5 inches.
(optional) Rinse a lemon (preferably organic) with cold water (and/or vegetable
wash, white vinegar) very well, then slice a small piece of it and add it to the food
processor. The oils in the skin will infuse a nice subtle aroma in the chicken later.
Dont put too much lemon or it will make the chicken bitter.
Add the peeled garlic and 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice and the yogurt
and olive oil to the food processor, and let it work its way at high speed into a
sauce for 5-10 minutes. You want to try to minimize having any chunks leftovers
from the lemon.
Add the remaining spices and marinade ingredients to the food processor and let it
go for another 5 minutes or so until you have a thick and nice marinade.
Pour the marinade on top of the chicken chunks, mix well with your hands to
make sure the marinade has spread well, cover the bowl and place in the fridge for
at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight.

Grilling and Serving the Shish Tawook

1. Skewer the chicken right before grilling, preferably using metal skewers (to help
them cook faster inside out) but bamboo skewers are fine too.
2. Grill on medium heat for 12-18 minutes maximum.
3. As soon as you remove them from the grill, place them in a big warm pot, replace
the lid tightly, and let rest for 8-10 minutes to help the chicken become more
moist.
4. Spread 1 teaspoon of our garlic paste along the diameter of a pita bread, add
some salted cucumber pickles, french fries, grilled tomatoes or peppers (optional),
the grilled chicken shish tawook, roll as in a burrito and enjoy. You could also
toast the sandwich roll through a panini grill for 2-3 minutes.

Marinating the Chicken

Marinate the chicken breast chunks for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight in the
fridge. The longer they marinate, the juicier and more flavorful they are. Right before
grilling, skewer the chicken with preferably metal skewers (to help them cook inside out)
but bamboo skewers are also fine.

Grilling the Shish Tawook

I know that we all tend to overcook chicken for fear of contamination, but since were
grilling smaller chunks, and especially if youre using metal skewers, chicken cooks
much faster that way. And the longer you marinate the chicken the quicker it grills. The
recommendation here is to grill on medium heat between 12-18 minutes max.

A Small Secret For Moist Chicken

Right when you take the chicken off the grill, place the skewers (if they fit) or chicken
chunks in an empty warm pot, close the lid tightly and keep them locked for about 8-10
minutes. The trapped vapors and moisture inside the pot will make the chicken very
moist. We first discovered this trick several years ago at Gharakia Nehmeh Restaurant
in Hasroun, Lebanon, and which is operated by our family friend Laba Nehmeh and mom
has since used this trick with all grilled chicken.

Shish Tawook can be found in most fast food restaurants. It is usually ordered as a
sandwich of grilled chicken rolled in a pita bread with a creamy garlic paste and some
salty pickles, fries and Ive even had it once with lettuce/mayo. It can also be served in a
plate with a side of rice and grilled veggies. In its most basic form, Shish Tawook is just
grilled chicken breast, but the secret is in the marination. Ive had Shish Tawook at home
and in restaurants pretty much all my life, and despite the common flavors of garlic and
lemon being shared in the Lebanese-style Shish Tawook, spices and flavorings may vary
quite a lot.

Almond Tea and Honey

Almond Tea With Honey is a good weapon against cold and flu symptoms.

Almond Tea Ingredients

Raw almonds, preferably in their shells

Honey

Preparation Method
1. If the almond you have has its shells, crack them open and boil them with the
shells. If shells are not present then increase the quantity of almonds a bit.
2. Bring about 20 almond nuts with shells (or 30 with no shell) to a boil in 2-3 cups
of water, then lower heat and let boil for another 5-7 minutes.
3. Cover it and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Add 2 teaspoons of honey to a cup of almond tea and let it do its work

Lebanese Moussaka Sauteed Eggplant Musakka3at Batinjan

This recipe showcases the Lebanese version of the popular Moussaka eggplant sautee.

Moussaka Ingredients (4 servings)

3 medium size eggplants (about 1.5 lbs total)

1 medium size garlic head
2 large onions (yellow or white)
2 large tomatoes (1.5 lbs)
1 large green peppers
1/2 cup of quality olive oil
a dash of cayenne pepper
a dash of salt

Moussaka Preparation Method

1. Chop the vegetables in chunks as in the photos. The eggplant in cubes of about
1.5 inches, onions cut in length, tomatoes in chunks.
2. Add the eggplant and onions with the oil and salt to a stew pot and sautee on
medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and green peppers to the pot, mix , lower the heat, and then let
simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and cayenne pepper, mix in, close the lid, and let simmer for 20
minutes while mixing the pot every few minutes. The lid has to be closed so the
juice doesnt evaporate as quickly from the tomatoes.
5. Once ready, let cool down and serve cold (hence the name) along with pita bread
and an optional side of garden veggies such as mint, and green onions.