Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote

Egyptian Chicken molokhiya

Molokhiya is also known as jute in English. It’s served as a thick soup with rice (called “roz” in Arabic) and it’s usually served with chicken or rabbit. Molokhiya with roz is a very common dish prepared at home across several different Arab countries. The Lebanese make molokhiya slightly different from the Egyptians, as well as Palestinians.

Egyptian Chicken molokhiya

Author: Marisa Lopez

 

Molokhiya is also known as jute in English. It’s served as a thick soup with rice (called “roz” in Arabic) and it’s usually served with chicken or rabbit. Molokhiya with roz is a very common dish prepared at home across several different Arab countries. The Lebanese make molokhiya slightly different from the Egyptians, as well as Palestinians.

The origins of the dish are said to be in ancient Egypt, where it’s still popular to this day. In the Egyptian preparation, the Molokhiya leaves are stripped from the stems, then minced using a mezzaluna. It’s cooked with ground coriander, garlic and stock and is often served with chicken (or more traditionally rabbit). In Levantine countries such as Syria and Lebanon, Molokhiya is made with the whole leaves and is served with a vinegar and onion sauce along with toasted pita squares.


I share my recipe which is the traditional Egyptian one :

Ingredients

For the broth :

  • 1 whole chicken 
  • Water 
  • 1 whole onion and 1 whole carrot 
  • Cumin, salt and pepper and cardamom

For the molokhiya and tasha : 

  • You can use fresh or frozen minced molokhiya. Fresh molokhiya gets better results in taste and consistency but frozen one can work well also.  
  • 1 whole head of garlic or about 14-16 garlic cloves
  • Ground coriander, salt and pepper 
  • Ghee 


For the Egyptian rice with vermicelli: 

  • 2 cups of Egyptian rice 
  • Half cup of vermicelli 
  • Olive oil or ghee 
  • Salt and peppet
  • Water or broth 

Grilled chicken 

  • Our previous cooked chicken 
  • Cumin, Tomato paste, yoghurt, olive oil salt and pepper   

Elaboration 

  1. The first step is boiling the chicken, onion, cumin, and cardamom. I boil the chicken on high for 45 minutes. Reduce to medium-low and cover with a lid for another 45 minutes. The total cooking time for the chicken broth is around 1 hour and 30 minutes. The reason for cooking the chicken in water is to be able to use the broth for the molokhiya and rice. A secondary benefit is that the chicken is very tender!
  2. Cook the molokhiya (fresh or frozen) in the chicken broth 
  3. Prepare the tasha : Peel and cut off the ends of the garlic. Smash with salt with a mortar and pestle or chop the garlic into fine pieces with dried coriander and salt to get a paste. Fry  this garlic paste  using a non-stick skillet. 
  4. Add the fried garlic with the coriander to the cooked molokhiya and remove from the fire.
  5. Prepare the rice. In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon  of olive oil or ghee and add half cup of vermicelli and cook it in the oil until it gets golden color Add the rice and mix well and add the water or broth and salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes 
  6. Grill the chicken covered with the mix of yoghurt, tomato paste, cumin, olive oil and salt and pepper  

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Kofta HASSAN BASHA

How to make KOFTA HASSAN BASHA – Recipe for KOFTA HASSAN BASHA.

KOFTA HASSAN BASHA

Author: Marisa López 

Ottomans had a large impact on the Arab world- specially the Mediterranean part of the Arab world. Their influence reached not only the culture, language, clothes …. but also in the kitchen. This is one of Ottoman heritage dishes and one of my favorites. I recommend that you try it! you’d love it! 😋😋😋

Ingredients:

For kofta:

  • 500 gr. ground beef,
  • Parsley and coriander chopped 
  • 2 onions
  • 1 egg
  • 2-3 tablespoons bread crumbs,
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Boharat 

For mashed potatoes:

  • 6 large potatoes,
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Cheese grated

Elaboration::

  • In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, grated onions, parsley and coriander chopped, egg, bread crumbs, salt and spices together with your hands.
  • Form small patties from the mixture forming a hollow in the centre of each patty,
  • Place the patties on a greased baking pan and bake at 200 degrees C  until they turn dark brown,
  • For the mashed potatoes, peel the potatoes off and boil them,
  • Mash the boiled soft potatoes with a fork,
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan,
  • Add the mashed potatoes and stir,
  • Add the milk while stirring,
  • Add the salt ,black pepper , garlic powder and cheese and cook for 5 minutes over low heat,
  • Place the mashed potatoes in a piping bag and pipe them into the hollow of the cooked meat balls,
  • Bake them again until the mashed potatoes get slightly crispy and brown on the top.

Spanish Fideua

One of the most important parts of a good fideua (or fideuá) is the fish broth or fumet. This stock is often made with rough fish or small rockfish but you can also use fish bones or prawn heads.

SPANISH FIDEUA 

Author : Marisa Lopez 

Origin of Fideuá :

The most widely accepted theory on the origin of this wonderful seaside dish states that it dates back to the early 20th century.

The story goes like this- the Santa Isabel fishing boat set sail to fish, as always, very early in the morning from the Port of Gandia in Alicante. When lunchtime came, the cook, who had planned on making a seafood paella, realised that he didn’t have any rice.

As he had already begun frying the rest of the ingredients and had everything ready, he had to improvise. He found some long fideos in the boat’s pantry, cut it up and used it in the same way he would have used the rice. The result was excellent and went down a treat among the boat’s crew.

Nowadays, the technique has evolved a little, for example, in terms of the toasting of the fideos, a key part of this dish.

One of the most important parts of a good fideua (or fideuá) is the fish broth or fumet. This stock is often made with rough fish or small rockfish but you can also use fish bones or prawn heads. 

Ingredients

  • 250 gr short Noodles (2 cups)
  • Fish broth. (Made with vegetables, heads and tails of prawns, parsley, fish heads and bones and water and boil 30 minutes)
  • Squids Tubs 250 g.
  • 250 g  Jumbo prawns 
  • 250 g of white fish (monkfish or as your taste)
  • Mussels (I use about 8 mussels without shells).
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Smoked paprika
  • Chopped Tomatoes
  • Saffron
  • Roasted Red sweet Pepper

Elaboration :

  • Finely mince 3 cloves of garlic, cut 1 cleaned tube of squid into small 1 inch squares, grab 1 tail of monkfish and cut two fillets by running your knife through the line of the bone and cut each fillet in 1 inch pieces, season 12 raw jumbo prawns with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • Heat a paella pan with a medium-high heat and add a 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 2 minutes later season the oil with sea salt and add the squid, mix with the oil and cook for 2 minutes, then remove the squid from the pan and set aside
  • Using the same pan with the same heat add the pieces of monkfish and cook for 5 minutes, turning them occasionally, after 5 minutes make a well in the middle and add the diced onions, 2 minutes later make another well and add the minced garlic, 30 seconds later add a generous 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika and mix everything together, then add 1/2 cup of tomato chopped, season everything with sea salt, pinch in 1/2 teaspoon of saffron threads, add the squid back into the pan and mix it all together, then add 2 cups of fideua noodles and mix together until well incorporated and cook for 2 minutes
  • Next add 2 1/2 cups of fish broth and gently mix to evenly distribute the noodles, once it comes to a boil add the prawns and mussels into the pan, at this point don´t mix anything, just give the pan a quick shake once in a while, 10 minutes after adding the broth lower the fire to a low-medium heat and simmer, 3 minutes later and there is very little broth left, remove the paella pan from the heat and cover with a dish towel and let it rest for 5 minutes, then uncover the pan and garnish with freshly chopped parsley and a couple slices of lemon, 

About the Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote is an event planner and mother of 5, living in Cairo and Muslim since 1985, alhamdullah. She loves travelling and cooking.

My Moroccan Harira – Marisa Lopez

Harira is a soup eaten traditionally during the month of Ramadan in Morocco and other Magreb countries. This tomato-based soup is served with a side of dates and a honey-soaked sweet treat known as chebakya following a day of fasting. Filled with lentils and vermicelli noodles or rice to thicken the mixture, as well as chickpeas and a blend of fresh herbs and spices, harira is the national soup of Morocco. Its roots, however, spread across the north African region known as the Maghreb, of which Morocco is a part.

Author: Marisa Lopez

Harira is a soup eaten traditionally during the month of Ramadan in Morocco and other Magreb countries. This tomato-based soup is served with a side of dates and a honey-soaked sweet treat known as chebakya following a day of fasting. Filled with lentils and vermicelli noodles or rice to thicken the mixture, as well as chickpeas and a blend of fresh herbs and spices, harira is the national soup of Morocco. Its roots, however, spread across the north African region known as the Maghreb, of which Morocco is a part.

At home, even that in Egypt is not a common dish, we love it in Ramadan and in winter, I let you my Moroccan harira recipe.  

Ingredients

  • 300 grams of beef shank meat
  • 1 large celery
  • 1 large onion
  • half a cup of chopped parsley
  • half a cup of chopped coriander
  • 1 cup chickpeas soaked the previous day
  • 1 handful of noodles or pasta soup
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • half teaspoon black pepper
  • half teaspoon cayenne pepper (hot chilli)
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • saffron
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • salt and water and tablespoon butter or ghee

Elaboration

  • In a saucepan melt the butter and saute the chopped onion
  • Add the meat cutted into small pieces, chopped celery, parsley and coriander. When it is well sautéed add spices and mix well with the meat and vegetables. 
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, chickpeas and water and salt 
  • Cook for 60 minutes over low heat.
  • At that time chickpeas and meat should be made. Add the noodles or pasta soup, two tablespoons of flour dissolved in cold water and a tablespoon of tomato paste and let cook for another 10 minutes.
  • Serve with lemon juice 

Chicken Maqluba

Maqluba is a popular Palestinian and Jordanian spiced rice dish that is mix with fried cauliflower, eggplant, potatoes, and meat. In Arabic, Maqluba (Makloubeh or Maqlooba) means “Upside Down” since we take the pot and flip it upside down directly on the large plate.

Chicken Maqluba 

Author: Marisa Lopez

Maqluba is a popular Palestinian and Jordanian spiced rice dish that is mix with fried cauliflower, eggplant, potatoes, and meat. In Arabic, Maqluba (Makloubeh or Maqlooba) means “Upside Down” since we take the pot and flip it upside down directly on the large plate. 

My recipe doesn’t contain cauliflower because my family and myself doesn’t like it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo Chicken boneless thighs 
  • 2 1/2 cup Basmati or long grain rice
  • 2 long eggplant
  • 2 large size potatoes
  • 5 cup water for boiling and making a broth

Spices for this Recipe: 

  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 
  • 2 teaspoon of boharat 
  • 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
  • 4 pieces Bay leaves.
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of ginger 
  • Raisins and Almonds for garnish 

Elaboration 

  • Add the chicken and water into the pot. Put it into the gas stove and turn on the heat.
  • When it is already boiling, remove excess fats or dirt from the boiling chicken using the large spoon. After that, add all the spices and give it a slow stir. Let the chicken cook for 30 minutes.
  • While the chicken is cooking, chop the potatoes and eggplants to  prepare to fry them. I prefer to make roasted to cut calories 
  • Add vegetable oil in the separate pan. When it is hot, add the potatoes and fry them till it becomes light brown. 
  • When the chicken is already cooked, separate the chicken from the broth. Dry the chicken first with a kitchen paper towel before frying them in the same pan. This will prevent causing the oil from splashing.
  • After all the chicken and the vegetables are fried, start transferring all of them into a new pot.
  • To make the first layer, add first the rice (20%), followed by half of the fried vegetables and the chicken. For a second layer, repeat again by putting the rice (20%), followed by the remaining vegetables and the chicken. Lastly, put all the remaining rice (60%) into the pot, and transfer the chicken broth from the old pot into this pot.
  • Turn on in high heat and let the pot boil. When the water is fully absorbed, reduce to low heat. Cook for additional 15 minutes.
  • Once it is cooked, prepare a large round plate. Bring the pot to the plate and quickly flip into an upside-down position.
  • Slowly raise the pot up to have a nice beautiful cake shaped like Maqluba. Garnish it with almonds and raisins nuts (Optional) and serve with any yogurt and salad.

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Egyptian Basbousa

The origin of basbousa goes back to the revani (one of the names of basbousa even in Egypt has a different recipe than basbousa) of Turkish cuisine, a classic cake from the time of the Ottoman Empire.

The origin of basbousa goes back to the revani (one of the names of basbousa even in Egypt has a different recipe than basbousa) of Turkish cuisine, a classic cake from the time of the Ottoman Empire.

Indeed, revani was baked for the first time by Ottoman pastry chefs to celebrate the conquest of Armenia in the sixteenth century. The battle of Revan, capital of the country, today called Yerevan, gave its name to this famous dessert.

Basbousa has different names depending of many Middle Eastern countries like harissa or harissa hloua in Tunisia and in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, kalb el louz in Algeria, chamia in Morocco, revani or rabani in Turkey, safra in Israel , pastūsha in Kuwait, namoura in Lebanon or Syria, revani in Greece, shammali in Cyprus, or shamali in Armenia.l

Ingredients:

For the batter:

  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee, melted, plus additional soft butter for greasing the pan
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons of grated coconut 
  • 1 cup fine semolina
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the syrup:

  • 1½ cup sugar
  • 1¾ cup water
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon juice

To finish:

¼ cup sliced almonds

Elaboration:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a cake pan  and line the bottom with parchment.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and yogurt. Add the milk, coconut, sugar, yoghurt and baking powder. 
  3. Mix the semolina very well with butter or ghee until it is quite impregned.
  4. Slowly stir in basbousa with the liquids mix. Let the mixture stand until all liquids are absorbed.
  5. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a skewer withdraws clean. (If necessary, broil briefly to brown the top.)
  6. Meanwhile, while the cake bakes, prepare the syrup. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Turn heat to low and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Cool completely. Discard the cinnamon stick.
  7. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, pour the syrup on the hot cake. Let cool completely. (Syrup must be fully absorbed into the cake.)
  8. Top the basbousa with the coconut and shaved almonds. Slice and serve. 

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