Love,Cook and Eat

 I served this as a side dish with the Kafta and Tahini Sauce.


Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
3 garlic cloves minced.
olive oil

Directions:

Cut Tomatoes in half and place in baking dish.
spread garlic on tomatoes , sprinkle salt and pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil
Place rack on medium position and broil for about 20-30 mins depending on your tomatoes' sizes.

This middle eastern dish can be eaten as an appetizer or a side dish. It Is usually made hot with cayenne pepper that's why it is called Batata Harra ( hot potatoes), But since my son who is 2 years old is going to eat from it, I skipped the Cayenne pepper and served it with hot sauce on the side.


Ingredients:

1 large Idaho potato ( about 1LB)
3/4 to 1 cup Chopped cilantro
7-8 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tbs vegetable oil
plus vegetable oil for frying potatoes

Directions:

Peel Potato and cut into i inch cubes.
Heat oil to 350 degrees and deep fry potatoes.
While potatoes are frying, Heat 2 tbs of vegetable oil in skillet over medium heat, saute garlic for 1/2 min and then add chopped cilantro and saute for another 1/2 minute until it wilts.
When potatoes are done,Drain from oil and  put in the the skillet with garlic and cilantro, add the salt and spices and mix until well combined.

Baba Ghanoush is a popular appetizer dish in the Middle East. It is similar in concept to Hummus But instead of chickpeas , eggplant is the main ingredient. Enjoy this dip with pita bread.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant roasted and peeled
juice of 1 1/2 big lemons ( about 1/2 cup)
1 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves minced
1/3 cup tahini paste ( sesame paste)
** for those of you who can't find tahini paste near them you can make it by roasting 3 cups sesame seeds in a 350 degrees oven for 10 mins and in a blender , blend with a 1/4 cup of vegetable oil on high speed. I never tried this because I always have tahini paste available, but I read that you need a powerful blender to do it.
Some chopped parsley and olive oil for garnish.

Directions:

In a 450 degrees oven,  roast eggplant for 25-30 mins, turning it halfway.
Wrap the eggplant with aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 mins. ( this will make it easier to peel).
After it rests, peel eggplant.




In a blender , blend eggplant ( cut in pieces) with salt , lemon juice,garlic and tahini sauce.
Garnish with chopped parsley and olive oil and serve with pita bread.

Hope this helps

Delicious savory fried pie which is a popular appetizer in the middle East, It also can be stuffed with ground meat and pine nuts.I will  post the recipe later on. What I like about these pies is that you can prepare them in the morning and put them in the fridge until you ready to fry them, and you can also make a big batch and freeze them .

Ingredients:

For Dough:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 stick butter ( 4 tbs) heated for 15 sec in microwave
1/2 cup water

For Stuffing:

2 cups mozzarella cheese ( thick style)
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf  parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried mint
pinch of black pepper
1/2 tsp olive oil

Yields 15 pies.

Directions:

In Food processor or in stand up mixer, put flour, salt and sugar and mix.
Add egg and melted butter and the gradually add water until a ball forms.
Rest dough for 30 mins  in oil coated bowl and cover it, so the dough doesn't dry .

In the meanwhile prepare stuffing
In a bowl mix mozzarella cheese,parsley,salt, pepper and olive oil.




After the dough had rested dust some flour on a hard surface( do not use alot of flour because you want the dough to still stick to each other when forming the crescents it).
Form the dough into a big round circle and using a a cover of  Tupperware ( or anything round that has edges) cut circles through the dough.


Take the irregular shaped dough out and roll it and let is rest for about 15 mins .

Now put some stuffing in the circle slightly to one side but keep it away form the edges.




Then close the dough as if forming a semi circle and then with holding the bottom part and pulling it up with a twisting motion all the way until it closes. ( you can also using a fork dipped in egg wash to seal the edges , although i don't know how would the cheese hold in there while frying).I will also post a video on how to close the pies.


After you finish all the pies and after the leftover dough from the previous circle has rested for 15 mins. repeat the previous steps.

Heat fryer to 350 degrees and deep fry pies until light golden brown.