Dinner•miscellaneous

Middle Eastern Feast

April 23, 2020 by karine No Comments

The other day, I made a Middle Eastern feast that was really delicious! I miss going to our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant, Aloumara  since the coronavirus. We could order take-out, but we are still nervous about going out during this pandemic. 

I created a nice little spread and but forgot to take a photo! Luckily my friend also made a Middle Eastern medley herself and sent me a photo to compare to mine-she had much nicer plates! She however made her taboule with couscous rather than with bulgur wheat – I prefer taboule with bulgur wheat, the traditional way. I also like adding way more parsley.

I will eventually put my taboule recipe on my site, but for now, enjoy the hummus and chicken dish!!!

 

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Fatoush Dressing

This is a perfect dressing for a salad or marinating chicken. In this instance we used it for both

Course lunch, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword fatoush, middle eastern

Ingredients

  • 4 tsp ground sumac soaked in 3 tsp warm water for 15 mins
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice-or more
  • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh mint leave- or dried if not fresh
  • 3/4 cup kosher salt or for salad-maldon salt
  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar

For the Salad

  • 2 pita -halved and toasted in the oven till golden broken in random pieces
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • pinch maldon salt/or kosher
  • 3 medium tomatoes or 3 cups cherry tomatoes chopped or halved (for cherry tom)
  • 4 persion cucumbers or 1 English cucumber quartered/cubed
  • 8 scallions or 1/2 red onion or 1 shallot thinly sliced
  • 1 head Romaine lettuce
  • 2 cups parsley
  • 1 cup fresh mint
  • pinch ground sumac

Instructions

For the dressing

  1. Combine sumac with water to soak. After 15 minutes, add lemon, pomegranate molasses, garlic, vinegar. Slowly whisk in olive oil to create an emulsion-creamy and thick. Add salt, more lemon juice, more molasses and vinegar if desired. Add mint and set aside if using for salad.

For the chicken

  1. Use breast or thighs or both. Place Chicken in a large zip lock bag. Place 3/4 dressing in and squish it all around. let sit at room temperature for 1.5 hours... it will marinate faster and your chicken will reach room temp, which is ideal for cooking.

    Get a hot pan ready- cast iron, scan pan, all clad, what ever skillet you have. Add a bit of oil about 1 tbsp and 2 tsp butter... get it bubbly and hot. Take chicken out of the bag and drip off. Sear both sides till golden brown- about 3 mins a side. Then place in 400 F oven for about 15 minutes until internal temp reaches 155- let rest before slicing for about 10 minutes. The carry over heat will reach the desired doneness of 165 F

    Add the reserved 1/4 dressing to each sliced chicken.

For the salad

  1. Place pita pieces in a medium bowl. Pour oil over and toss to coat. Season pita with salt and pepper. Mix the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients. Add a little dressing at a time to lightly coat the veggies. Add the soaked pita and sprinkle the sumac... and voila! Yum! You can also add the sliced chicken. Add some feta... play around.

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Hummus

This is a delicious and creamy version... not too thick and not too thin

Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword hummus, chickpea, snack

Ingredients

  • 1 can chickpea reserve the liquid
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves minced or use one head roasted garlic for extra sweet, garlic flavor-
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 3/4 cup tahini
  • 4 tbsp reserved chickpea water
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • dash of paprika, sumac, chopped parsley... play around

Instructions

  1. Place chickpeas in food processor and blend till smooth-add chickpea liquid to help.

  2. Place tahini in the mixture and blend again

  3. Add minced garlic or smashed roasted garlic

  4. add lemon and spices

  5. Drizzle in olive oil. If too thick add more chickpea juice... taste and adjust

    If your mixture is too grainy, bring through a sive by pushing mixture through with a spatula

  6. Sprinkle with what ever you desire!

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