Jayne’s Middle Eastern Favourites

We recently posted an article about Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cookery and also posted it to our facebook page. Lady Jane of Vales, saw the article and made a nice comment about how she missed her Mediterranean style food.

So in response to Jayne’s comments about Middle Eastern food and especially for her, here is a follow up article with recipes for her favourite Middle Eastern Dishes. I am sure many more of our readers will also find this article of interest.

Shawarma

Shawarma is a popular Levantine Arab meat preparation found in many of the Middle Eastern Countries, 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 andamba. Shawarma is a fast-food staple across the Middle Eastern countries, Europe and the Caucasus.

Shawarma is made by alternately stacking strips of fat and pieces of seasoned meat (beef, lamb or marinated chicken) on a stick—an onion or tomato is sometimes placed at the top of the stack for additional flavoring. The meat is roasted slowly on all sides as the spit rotates in front of, or over, a flame for hours (see rotisserie). Traditionally a wood fire was used; currently, a gas flame is common. While specialty restaurants might offer two or more meat selections, some establishments have just one skewer. If you are a Hairy Bikers fan, they did a demonstration of cooking a Shawarma on their tour of Middle Eastern countries. I think they were in Turkey at the time.

While cooking, the meat is shaved off the stack with a large knife, an electric knife or a small circular saw, dropping to a circular tray below to be retrieved. Shawarma is eaten as a fast food, made up into a sandwich wrap with pita bread or rolled up in an Armenian Lavash flatbread together with vegetables and dressing. A variety of vegetables come with the shawarma which include: cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, eggplant, parsley, pickled turnips, pickled gherkins, and cabbage. You have the option to get French fries in some countries including: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, also countries in Europe such as Romania, Germany, Bulgaria and even the U.K. Other options include thick cut French fries served inside the lavash to help soak up the sauce and juices keeping them inside the wrap.

Dressings include: tahini (or tahina), Amba sauce (pickled mango with Chilbeh), hummus, or flavored with vinegar and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Chicken shawarma is served with garlic mayonnaise, toum (garlic sauce), pomegranate concentrate, or skhug (a hot chili sauce). Once the shawarma is made, it might be dipped in the fat dripping from the skewer and then briefly seared against the flame.

Beef can be used for shawarma instead of lamb, and turkey is used instead of chicken. In Saudi Arabia, goat is as common as beef or lamb. Less common alternatives include fish and sausage. Some shawarma stores use hot dog buns or baguettes, but most have pita and lavash. Sometimes, beef shawarma—despite its name—contains some lamb in addition to the beef, to ensure juiciness.

Shawarama – What it is and how to make it

Shawarma is a little piece of heaven, right here on Earth. Shawarma is a lot like a gyro, kind of like a taco, but so different in many ways.

What is Shawarma?

Shawarma is thinly sliced cuts of meat, like chicken, beef, goat, lamb, and sometimes turkey, rolled into a large piece of flatbread or pita that has been steamed or heated. Inside the pita, foods like hummus, tahini, pickles, vegetables, and even french fries are added. Think of shawarma as a taco or burrito Middle Eastern style.

How is Shawarma Made?

Raw meat is placed on large, rotating cones. As it rotates, the meat is cooked by a heat source that is located behind the actual cone. The meat slowly falls off or is thinly sliced by a chef with a large knife. It can take several hours to fully cook.

What is Served with Shawarma

I have had shawarma with fries, salads like tabouleh, falafel, and just by itself for a quick bite on the go. In some places it is served alone, without the pita or flatbread.

Do I Need a Cone Tower to Make Shawarma at Home?

It’s really hard to duplicate the taste without a tower. You can come very close, but there is still that “something” that is missing!

When buying your meat, try to get chicken. Dark meat (thigh meat) is the best for shawarma, but white meat will work, too. Ask your butcher or supermarket meat department to slice it very thin. Ideally, the meat will be thinner than cutlets.

I have tried many shawarma recipes in my lifetime and over time have developed a really good shawarma recipe. Try it out, email me, and let me know how it comes out!

Shawarma is like the ultimate on the go meal. Thinly sliced meat, wrapped in a pita bread with veggies and sauce is a delicious quick meal

Recipe for making your own Shawarma

Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (thinly cut)
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• juice from 1 lemon
• ___________________________
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 1 cup tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons yogurt
• ___________________________
• PITA FILLINGS:
• 8 loaves of pita bread or 4 large
• thinly slice cucumbers
• thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 teaspoon sumac
• thinly sliced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• pickle slices (optional)

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients except for chicken, fillings, and sauce ingredients to make marinade. If it seems a little dry, add a little olive oil (a tablespoon at a time). Here is an excellent tahini recipe, if you do not have some handy.

Add chicken, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

In a stockpot or large saucepan, cook chicken over medium heat for 45 minutes or until done. Be sure not to overcook! If chicken becomes a little dry, add a few tablespoons of water throughout cooking duration.

While chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. Combine sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Take the onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and sprinkle with sumac. Add other filling ingredients in a large bowl and combine well.

When the chicken is done, you can shred it, slice it, or leave into large pieces. As long as it it thinly cut, there is not much difference. I prefer to cut mine into wide strips.

Prepare the Pita
Place enough chicken on pita that cover 1/4 of the loaf. Add veggies and pour sauce. Roll like a soft taco or burrito and you have shawarma! You can also stuff the pocket of the pita if you like. I prefer to roll large pitas (this is where making your own pita comes in handy), but it is hard to find large loaves of pita at the supermarket.

Serving Shawarma: You can serve shawarma with fries, falafel, hummus, or with a salad like tabouleh.

AUBERGINE AND TAHINA SALAD -BABA GHANOUSH

This delicious Arab purée is as popular as hummus and they are often served together. Serve with pitta bread to dip in it.

1 large aubergine
juice of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons tahina
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt
To garnish -a few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped

Roast the aubergine under the grill, turning it a few times until the skin is black and blistered and the flesh feels very soft when you press it. Peel the aubergine and squeeze out the juice then put it in the blender with the rest of the ingredients and 2 tablespoons of water. Spread the cream on a flat plate and sprinkle with parsley.

TABBOULEH

The most popular — even supreme — Arab salad is a village dish of Syria and the Lebanon which became an institution when it was adopted by cafés there as an appetizer to serve with the local spirit, arak. Sixty years ago it was made in the mountain villages with a large proportion of wheat. These days, however, it is all green with only a speckle of buff-coloured wheat, and very sharp with plenty of lemon juice. Serve it as an appetizer, as a first course, or to accompany grilled foods. It is delicious and refreshing for a summer buffet.

4 oz/125 g medium-fine cracked wheat
juice of 2 lemons, or more
salt and pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil
10 oz/300 g flat parsley, finely chopped
6 spring onions or I small onion, finely chopped
3 oz/75 g ( 1 large bunch) fresh mint, finely chopped or 2 tablespoons dried mint, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, diced
cos lettuce leaves (from the heart), to be used as a scoop

An hour before you are ready to serve, soak the cracked wheat in cold water for about 15 minutes, then rinse in a strainer and squeeze the excess water out. Dress with the lemon juice, salt and pepper, leave to rest, and when it is plump and tender add the oil.

Chop the herbs as late as possible before you are ready to serve. It is best to do this by hand, but with such a large quantity it makes sense to use the food processor. If you do, make sure that you do not turn them into a mush. Mix with the spring onions or onion and cracked wheat. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add more lemon juice if necessary. Serve on a large flat serving dish. Sprinkle the tomatoes over the top, and dig the lettuce leaves in around the edges or serve them in a separate bowl.

FAFEL

500g (1lb 2oz) dried split broad beans, soaked in cold water for 24 hours
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
a pinch of chilli powder (optional)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 large onion, very finely chopped or grated
5 spring onions, very finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
a large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
a large bunch of coriander, finely chopped
sunflower or light vegetable oil for deep-frying

These flavoursome broad bean rissoles, called ta’amia in Cairo, are a national dish of Egypt, but ca be found in many Middle Eastern countries. You must buy the large broad beans which are sold already skinned as split broad beans in Middle Eastern stores. The long soaking of the beans to soften them is all-important.

Drain the beans very well and let them dry out a little on a towel. Then put them through the food processor until they form a paste, adding salt and pepper, cumin, coriander, chilli powder and bicarbonate of soda. The paste must be so smooth and soft that it will hold together when you fry it. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the oil. If you chop or grate the onions in the food processor, strain them to get rid of the juice. Knead the mixture well with your hands. Take small lumps and make flat, round shapes 5cm (2in) in diameter and ½ cm (1/4in) thick. Let them rest for 15 minutes, then fry them in deep hot oil until they are crisp and brown, turning them over once. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Serve hot, accompanied by hummus or baba ghanoush, a tomato and cucumber salad and pitta bread. Note: If the paste does not hold together it usually means that it has not been properly mashed. You can remedy this by adding 2-3 tablespoons of flour.

HUMMUS BI TAHINA

180g (6oz) chickpeas, soaked in water overnight
juice of 2 lemons, or to taste
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
salt
4 tablespoons tahina (sesame paste)

This chickpea purée (hummus) with sesame paste (tahina) is the most popular and widely known Middle Eastern dip. Drain the soaked chickpeas and boil in fresh water for about 1 hour, or until they are soft. Drain, reserving the cooking water. Blend the chickpeas to a purée in the food processor.

Add the remaining ingredients and a little of the cooking water — enough to blend to a soft creamy paste. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add more lemon juice, garlic or salt if necessary. Pour the cream into a flat dish and serve with Arab bread or pitta.

Optional garnishes

Dribble 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over, and sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of paprika or 1 tablespoon of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Garnish with a pinch of hot chilli powder and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin, making a star design of alternating red and brown.

Sprinkle with a few whole cooked chickpeas, put aside before blending.

Sprinkle with ground sumac and a little chopped flat-leaf parsley.

This is a delicious hot version. Pour the hummus bi tahini into a shallow baking dish. Fry 2 tablespoons of pine nuts lightly in 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle them with the melted butter over the dish. Bake for about 20 minutes in a 200°C (400°F, gas 6) oven.

Glossary of items used in Middle Eastern Cookery

Coriander: This can be a spice or a herb. The green herb is sold fresh in bunches. It looks very much like flat-leaved parsley. lt wilts quickly and should be kept in the refrigerator or with its stalks in water. The green leaves are never dried. The spice is a little round seed which is sold whole or ready-ground. It cannot be used instead of the fresh green leaves which have a completely different taste.

Couscous: Hard wheat which has been coarsely ground then moistened and rolled in flour. lt is cooked by steaming. The couscous found in this country is precooked and only needs soaking in 3/4 or more (see instructions on the packet) of its volume of water and heating through (usually with a little salt and a few tablespoons of butter or oil). The name couscous is also given to the whole dish — the grain and the garnish or stew.

Cracked wheat: Burghul in Arabic, bulgur in Turkish and it is called pourgouri in Cyprus. You can find all these names on packets available here. lt is wheat which has been boiled and dried then ground to a fine or coarse texture. lt can be served like rice, plain or with other ingredients in a pilaf. It is quick and easy to use and versatile. For most cooked dishes the coarsely ground cracked wheat is best, but use the finely ground grain for tabbouleh and kibbeh.

Dried limes: Noumi Basra or Oman lemons are limes which have been dried until they are brown, sound hollow and the inside becomes a very dark brown. They have a delicious and unusual sour musty flavour. They are sold whole or ground and you can make them yourself by leaving limes to dry out on a radiator. It takes months, depending on the size of the limes. They are good in soups and stews. You can put them in whole and pierce them with a fork when they soften, or crack them open.

Fillo : This is also spelt phylo and is paper-thin dough. The sheets are sold fresh and frozen in1 lb/500 g airtight packets. They dry out quickly and must be taken out of the packet only when they are ready to be used.

Harissa: This is a fiery red pepper paste used in North Africa and more particularly in Tunisia where people put it in everything (even spread on bread for breakfast).

Mergez - Spicy North African sausages.

Orange flower water: The distilled essence of the petals which is sold here is very diluted. lt gives a delicate scent to all kinds of sweet dishes. You can put a few drops in cold or hot water to make a soothing drink.

Pomegranate syrup: Boiled down juice of the sour (not sweet) fruit.

Preserved lemons or limes: Preserved in salt, these are a speciality of North Africa where they are used in all kinds of dishes. To make them, wash the lemons well and cut them in 4 — in 2 if they are limes — but not right through, and let them hold together at the stem. Sprinkle salt inside the slits. Use 2 oz/50 g for 1 lb/500 g lemons and press them down in a jar. When their juices are released and they begin to soften, press them down with a weight. Add extra lemon juice so that they are entirely covered to preserve them. They should be ready to use, soft and mellow within l month. Use l or 2, chopped up (it is usual to remove the pulp and use only the peel).

Rose water: The distilled essence of rose petals. The kind which is sold here is diluted. It is used to perfume desserts and pastries. lt is also supposed to be good for the skin and people wash their faces with it. A soothing drink, to take before you go to sleep, is made by adding a few drops with a tiny bit of sugar to hot or cold water.

Sumac: A dark reddish brown seed which has an unusual sharp flavour. lt is used instead of lemon, either sprinkled on food in its ground form or infused in water and then strained.

Tahina: The oily paste of crushed sesame seeds.

Tamarind: A fibrous pod from which can be extracted a wonderful sour juice after soaking in boiling water. You can buy tamarind paste which is much easier to use.

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