Pistachio Butter Chicken Balls

      We arrived in Amman, Jordan at 9:30 pm a few weeks ago. It had the right smell, a hint of cardamom somewhere underneath the predictably hypnotic scent of jasmine, the right juxtaposition of white limestone against red tile roofs, the right feel to the translucent air.  The traffic was appropriately jarring and the revived memories firing.  We were back in our home of 12 years and we were exhilarated and exhausted.  This trip tweaking decades-old memories, piqued our every sense as well.  Exhausted though we were, we could not ignore the sense of taste and hurried at that late dining hour to Fakr Al-Din's, an enchanting restaurant in an old Arab house in the 1st Circle section of Amman.  Proper, black-suited waiters with pleasant "Ahlan Wa Sahlans", led us to our table, garnished with an edible, whole veggie salad garden centerpiece, and the garlic sauce and sumac that rendered it sublime!

      Chicken balls, a Fakr Al-Din's speciality - perhaps invention -  was a surprise years ago when we first applied fork to crunchy chicken shell.  The resulting eruption of melted butter from its core was a surprise but the velvety mild, pistachio mixture lolled milky on our tongues. One is a serving and only on occasion at that.  It had been eight years since we had sampled one but with my successful experimentation at its creation, it won't be that long again!

Pistachio Butter Chicken Balls

1 ½ pounds ground chicken breast

1 egg

1 cup ground pistachios

¾ cup room-temperature butter

2 tab. minced parsley

2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

-In food processor, grind shelled pistachio nuts until fine.  Measure out 2/3 cups of the ground pistachios and return to processor with butter then process for about 1 minute. Chill mixture for 30 minutes.  Form mixture into balls about the size of a small walnut.  Chill butter balls until ready to use.

-In food processor, combine chicken, egg, 1/3 cup ground pistachios, ¼ cup panko bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Process until well blended.  Chill mixture for at least 1 hour.

-To form balls, take 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling. Working with damp hands, hold a butter ball in one hand and mold the chicken mixture evenly around the butter, sealing completely.  Roll chicken ball in hands to create a smooth ball. (You will need to re-dampen your hands every other ball.) 

-Roll chicken balls in panko crumbs, pressing crumbs firmly into the chicken layer to coat evenly and completely.  Freeze chicken balls several hours or overnight.  (Can be kept for up to a month in the freezer in a plastic bag or sealed plastic container.)

-Pour about 3 inches of vegetable oil into a small pot.  Heat over medium-high heat for several minutes until the surface of the oil is shimmering.  Add the frozen chicken balls and cook stirring frequently for 5 minutes until deep golden all over.  (Be sure the oil is not too hot.  The balls should take at least 5 minutes to cook to ensure the chicken is cooked through.  If you hear the oil start to splatter, butter is leaking out from the balls and you should remove that ball immediately.)  Allow to cool 5 – 10 minutes then serve.

-Makes 12 – 14 Chicken Balls.

Make balls of pistachio butter and mix

chicken mixture and chill both.

Wrap chicken mixture thinly

 around pistachio butter balls

and shape into smooth ball.

Roll balls in panko crumbs,

pushing to make crumbs adhere.

Place balls on baking sheet and freeze

  until solid, 6-8 hours or overnight.

Lubia bi Zait (Middle Eastern Green Beans)

      Green beans, sauteed onions and juicy tomatoes make beautiful music as solitary notes of garlic and lemon juice ply us to the table. Yes, it's all healthy and hearty, but it's the crunchy squares of fried pita bread nestled in tangy labneh garnishing the top that sets my fork to tapping. 

      Lubia (green beans) bi Zait (in oil) is something of a green bean stew indigenous to the Levant (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria). Soumaya, our Lebanese friend, called this a common family dish and would also add browned ground beef to make a meal of it. (Labneh is a thickened yogurt product similar in thickness to sour cream but much more tart. Plain Greek yogurt will do the trick!)

Lubia bil Zeit

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed of stems
3 large ripe tomatoes diced or 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
2 medium onions, slivered
4 cloves of garlic crushed
4 tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 loaves pita bread, cut in 1 inch squares
1/4 cup oil for frying

-Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onions and fry till soft and golden.  Add garlic and beans. Keep frying on low heat for 15 minutes, or till the beans start to soften. Add the tomatoes, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes. 

-Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup oil in another skillet.  Add pita bread squares and fry turning frequently until they are browned and golden.  Set aside.

-Serve beans warm or at room temperature, topped with thickened yogurt (Greek style) and garnished with pita croutons.  Serves 6 - 8.

Warak Einab Bi Zeit (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

         Um Amer (mother of Amer) was renowned throughout her community for her tightly rolled, pinky-sized Warak Einab Bil Zait (stuffed grape leaves cooked in oil) and her crunchy, succulent Kibbeh (stuffed meatballs) and I was duly impressed. So much so that I asked her, through her interpreting daughter, if she would teach me how to make them. The date was set, my notebook and pen primed but alas, when I arrived, she handed me a platter of already made kibbeh - not to say that I didn't enjoy them, but Um Amer shortly after passed away and the secret of her technique went with her. To this day my kibbeh are still sub-par and I have determined, the creation of my favorite Arab savory must be part of the genetic code of those born in the Levant. However, the Warak (called dolma in Greek)-well mine may not be as pretty and dainty as the neatly stacked pile of a hundred or so that Um-Amer served but they are very acceptable. 

       Warak (grape leaves) are filled with a rice-ground lamb or beef mixture, seasoned with cinnamon and allspice and laced with pine nuts and parsley. The meat may be left out for a vegetarian version. They are either served hot, warm, or cold, the hot version usually cooked in a pot amongst layers of stewing lamb or beef, sliced tomatoes, sometimes stuffed eggplant and zucchini and potatoes - a one pot meal! The cold version is featured as an appetizer as part of the mezza (appetizer course). Olive oil and lemon are added to the cooking pot, then the rolls doused with this magic concoction again after cooking.

         The rolling of the grape leaf is the trickiest part but don't let this deter you.  Once you've tried your hand at it a time or two you'll feel incredibly domestic in the Mediterranean vein!  Grape leaves can be purchased in glass jars in most groceries in the Italian or international sections, or frozen in Middle Eastern groceries.  I prefer the frozen as they are generally more tender.  Better yet, pick your own leaves off your grape vines or as I did this summer, from the neighbor's nosey, wandering vines.  The smaller paler leaves produce a more tender result.

Warak Einab Bi Zeit
60 grape leaves, fresh or preserved
6 ounces ground beef or lamb
1/2 cup medium-grain rice, soaked in salt water
1 large onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
5 leaves mint, finely minced (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tomato, finely chopped
5 tab. olive oil
1/.2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 large sliced tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

-Rinse grape leaves in cold water and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes in 3 or 4 batches.  Remove and rinse with cold water and drain.  

-Gently fry onion in 1 tab. oil until soft.  Add ground meat and brown, breaking up finely.  Add 3 garlic cloves and saute 1 minute longer.  Stir in mint, drained rice, parsley, minced tomato, 2 tab. olive oil, salt, pepper allspice and cinnamon.  

-To shape:  Place a vine leaf, shiny side down on work surface.  Snip off stem if necessary.  Place about 1 tablespoon of filling near stem end, fold end and sides over filling and roll up firmly.  
(See pictures below) Line base of a large heavy pot with unfilled grape leaves.  Carefully place filled grape leaves on bottom of lined pan, seam side down, snuggly fitting them into a single layer - if they don't all fit, create a second layer on top of the first.  Cover filled leaves with a layer of sliced tomatoes.  

-Pour water in pot to just barely cover tomatoes.  Add 2 tab. lemon juice and 2 tab. olive oil.  Place a heatproof plate or pie plate over the tomatoes to hold contents in place as they cook.  Bring to a boil and cover the pot. Reduce to low simmer and cook the rolls about 40 minutes until the water is almost gone. 

-Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Remove the warak from the pot and place in large bowl.  Dress rolls with 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 large clove crushed garlic and 2 tab. fresh lemon juice.

-Serve chilled or at room temperature.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Kefta wa Batata (Middle Eastern Meatballs)

It's just fun to say - Kefta wa Batata - and almost as easy to make.  Its rich, biting seasonings represent the spice trademark of Arab meat dishes - Cinnamon and Allspice.  This spice blend is what says "Mmmm..mmm Arab" to my mouth but wanting to keep everything in its appropriate place, we didn't appreciate its insidious conquest of western dishes in Arab countries.  We were outraged when hamburgers spiked with these spices were served to us as western fare, horrified when the first Pizza Hut just down the street added cinnamon sprinklings to pepperoni pizza. The Marriott Hotel was the only one to remain true to the hamburger in Amman in our early days!  Importation is all well and good and we could accept it when Arabs took their version of chili, seasoned with cinnamon and allspice from the Chili House restaurant in Amman to Cincinnati and dubed it as a new taste sensation, but when the Amman Fuddrucker's delicious meaty burgers evolved to something less so, with rice as a side dish instead of fries, we were ready to picket the establishment!  Corporate was not far behind us, and the franchise was whisked away back to the U.S. where the fresh beef tasted of it in all it's unseasoned purity. This particular dish though is happily in the Arab domain and features tender meatballs (kefta), stewed in a tomato sauce with potatoes (batata) and garnished with parsley and a spritz of lemon, and rightly so, cinnamon and allspice.

Kefta wa Batata
1 pound ground beef (or lamb)
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
3/4 cup diced onion
2-3 tab. olive oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
salt & pepper to taste
1 large tomato, diced
2 1/2 cups beef stock or
2 1/2 cups water and 2 beef bouillon cubes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tab. lemon juice
2 red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

-Place ground beef (or lamb), medium onion, cinnamon, allspice,
salt and pepper in food processor.  Process mixture about 30 seconds until meat and onion are smooth.  Form mixture into 1 inch balls, about the size of walnuts.  

-Heat the oil in a medium saucepan.  Add chopped onions and meatballs.  Cook over medium-high heat, turning meatballs gently to brown on all sides.

-Add beef stock or water and boullion cubes to saucepan with tomato paste and potatoes.  Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat, cover and let mixture simmer over low heat until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Remove lid and continue to simmer 10 minutes to allow sauce to reduce.

-Stir parsley and lemon juice into stew.  Serve warm over steamed white rice.

Stuffed Tomatoes

          Are your tomato plants so fertile that your garden practically throws tomatoes at you as you pass by? Do the neighbors close their blinds when they see you coming, with produce basket in hand?  Do more BLT sandwiches elicit a groan from your family diners?  Do you have to tape the freezer door shut to hold all the containers of tomato sauce? If so, it must be harvest time for those possessed of green thumbs!  

          Around the world, the tomato reigns as a member of Garden Royalty, in fact 93% of garden-growing households grow tomatoes, and on average, Americans consume about 24 pounds of tomatoes each year. Following are two versions of stuffed tomatoes: the first is a broccoli-ham filling with rich cheddar and nutty Parmesan cheese accents.  I took a bit of artistic license with the second, an Arab version filled with hashwi, a spicy ground beef, onion and rice mixture, but I'm sure if an Arab cooked stuffed tomatoes, she would do it like this!

Stuffed Tomatoes
6 medium large tomatoes
1 1/2 cup chopped broccoli florets, cooked and drained
1 tab. oil
1/3 cup finely minced fresh onion
1 cup finely chopped ham
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tab. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

-Cut off the stem end of each tomato and with a small paring knife and tablespoon, carefully scoop out the pulp and seeds from each tomato, leaving the outer flesh about 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle each tomato cavity liberally with salt and pepper and place on cookie sheet, cavity side down, over sink or large bowl and allow to drain for about 20 minutes.

-Meantime, heat oil in medium skillet.  Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  In mixing bowl, combine broccoli, cooked onions, ham, mayonnaise, lemon juice salt and pepper to taste, cayenne pepper, cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.  

-Rinse out tomato shells then fill with 1/6 of the broccoli/ham mixture.  Sprinkle tops with bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  

-Place filled tomatoes in ovenproof dish, packed in tightly to keep tomatoes from toppling during baking.  Place in 350 degree preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until topping is browned.  Allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

Cut and scoop out tomato flesh, salt and drain.

1. Fill tomato shells with generous amount of
2. 
   
3. filling and sprinkle with breadcrumbs & Parmesan

Kousa Sahel (Stuffed Squash or Zucchini)

National "Leave a Zucchini on your Neighbor's Doorstep Day" was August 8th. Did you miss it, this opportunity to do something with the unseemly vigorous harvest of your garden?  Or did you ignore your squash until it grew to the size of your baby?

Even if you've managed to stay ahead of the squash production with zucchini bread and stir-frys, don't give them all away.  Hold on to the small, tender ones at least and do as the resourceful Arab cook does. The zucchini or "kousa" indigenous to the Middle East is a fairer variety, in color and texture. The favored size is small,  6-8 inches in length and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The squash are hollowed out with an implement that I call a zucchini corer (amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=zucchini+corer&sprefix=zucchini+corer%2Caps%2C184) but a combination of apple corer and paring knife can effect an approximate result - a hollow tube with seeds removed and the soft pulp scraped out to leave a shell as thin as possible. (The zucchini pulp can star in frittatas or the fritter recipe included below).  Traditionally Kousa are cooked in a large pot among layers of sliced tomato (again, your garden provides!) stuffed eggplant, with chunks of beef or lamb to infuse the kousa with flavor. The technically correct name for this dish is "Kousa Mahshi".  This version, "Kousa Sahel", is richer with a silkiness provided by the frying of the onions and zucchini.  Don't forget the lemon juice in the sauce!  It perks up the whole with a vibrant fresh contrast to the creamy sweetness of the fried onions.

Kousa Sahel (stuffed squash):
12 small zucchini squash                   1 large onion, slivered
1 lb. ground lamb or beef                  oil for frying
¾ cups rice, pre-soaked in water        4 cups fresh tomato sauce or
1 tab. salt                                                  paste to make sauce
1 tsp. pepper                                      juice of 1 lemon
¾ cup chopped parsley                      1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice

-Brown ground meat and season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice. Drain well and set aside.
-Hollow out washed squash.  Mix drained rice with meat and parsley.  If the meat is fatty, you will not need more fat.  If not, add a tab. or two of corn oil to the mixture.  Add salt and pepper.
-Over a large bowl, stuff the squash with filling until it is loosely full to ¼ inch from the top. Lightly fry the squash in oil until the skins are browned and bubbly.
-Meanwhile, brown the onions in oil until brown.  Add the tomato sauce and lemon juice and boil for 10 minutes at a rolling boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer. Carefully lay the squash in the sauce and cook 20-30 minutes.  Cover and stir carefully from time to time.
-To serve, transfer the squash with a slotted spoon on to a platter.  Pour the thickened sauce over the squash and garnish with chopped parsley.

                                          

Doights de Fatma (Stuffed filo "fingers")

          Yes, they are long and thin, like fingers, but the name is more curious than descriptive and I still delight in saying it for the humorous effect. “Doights de Fatma” – fingers of Fatma (Some maintain she was the sister of the Propeht Mohammed, some say his aunt, some his daughter.) At any rate, they are “finger-lickin’ good”! 

          Traditionally, in Tunisia, malsouka wrappers are used but we can approximate the requisite crunch with buttered filo sheets. Filled with seasoned ground beef, cubed potatoes and parsley they are rolled spring-roll style then fried to a golden crisp.  Upon each bite, they delightfully crunch into flaky bits; a crunch like that created by stepping on a dried autumn leaf or biting potato chips. The sensation just makes you want tobite again! A squirt of fresh lemon juice brightens the mild parsley and garlic components and velvetizes the milkiness of the potatoes. Anisa, a wealthy adventurous Tunisian hostess, shared a lighter chicken version, the filling similar to the tajin recipe. Gruyere cheese adds a nutty sophistication to the flavors and is accented with the addition of lemon juice as well.

Doights de Fatma:

2 tab. olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. lean ground beef

2 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced

1/2 cups minced parsley

salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 dozen lumpia/malsouka wrappers or filo pastry sheets 

Oil for frying

-In large saute pan, heat 2 tab. olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and saute for 5 minutes until onions are soft.  Add ground beef and garlic,and saute until meat is browned.  

-Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper 

and stir in potatoes, parsley and eggs.

-If using filo pastry, melt 1/2 cup butter. Place 2 sheets of filo on a dry working surface.  Brush with melted butter.  Place 1/3 cup beef mixture on the short end of pastry sheets and press filling to 3 inches in length. Roll one time, encasing filling.  Fold 1 inch of edges on each edge over filling then continue rolling tightly to create a spring roll shape.  Rolls should be about 1 - 1&1/2 inch in diameter.  Set aside, seam side down.

-If using lumpia/malsouka wrappers, place wrapper

at a time on dry work surface.  Place 1/3 cup filling 

along one edge of pastry.  Roll tightly as described 

above.  Brush edge of pastry with water and set 

doights aside.  Fry as described above. (You do not 

need to use butter with these wrappers.)

-Heat 2 inches of oil in frying pan until hot (a bread 

cube should brown within 30 seconds)and place 

doights seam side down in oil. Fry over medium-high heat, turning until rolls are golden on all sides.  Pull rolls from grease with tongs and allow extra oil to drip back into the pan.  Set on paper towels to drain and cool slightly.

-Serve warm with fresh lemon wedges. 

Anissa's Chicken Doights de Fatma

2 cups shredded cooked chicken  

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 eggs

1 cup shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese

1 cup cubed cooked potato

1/2 cup chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup butter

2 dozen lumpia/malsouka wrappers of filo pastry

-Saute onion and garlic in 2 tab. oil until transparent.  Stir in chicken.  Beat egg and add to chicken mixture. Cook and scramble over medium heat until egg is lightly cooked.  Cool mixture.  Stir in salt and pepper, cheese potato and parsley.  

-If using filo pastry, melt 1/2 cup butter. Place 2 

sheets of filo on a dry working surface.  Brush with

melted butter.  Place 1/3 cup chicken mixture on the

short end of pastry sheets and press to about 3 inches in length.  Roll one time, encasing filling.  Fold 1 inch of edges on each side over filling then continue rolling tightly to create a spring roll shape.  Rolls should be about 1 - 1 1/2 inch in diameter.  Set aside, seam side down.

-Heat 2 inches of oil in frying pan until hot (a bread 

cube should brown within 30 seconds) and place 

doights seam side down in oil. Fry over medium-high heat, turning until rolls are golden on all sides.  Pull rolls from grease with tongs and allow extra oil to drip back into the pan.  Set on paper towels.

-Serve warm with fresh lemon wedges. 

North African Chicken Ragout

Chicken Ragout

         Not to be outdone by the far reaching tentacles of British Imperialism, the French dabbled in the fertile soils of North Africa a century ago and upon withdrawing it’s cultivating hand, left behind patisseries, baguettes and ragouts which Tunisians decided were impositions they would happily embrace.  In order to de-colonize and adapt those frou-frou flavors, rustify the subtle tomato with a robust and piquant character, more in culinary stride with the earthy Berber tradition, tabil and harissa jumped into the mix and “Voila” or (in Arabic) – it became a mélange of flavors, not unlike the local dialect itself, where the reply to "Bonjour" became "Bonjouraine" - roughly meaning "hello back at you" - an Arabic construction.  

       Ragout, from the French "to revive the taste", does just that.  Recipes are many and varied, generally implying meat cooked in a thick, well-seasoned sauce.  Ragout Aux Poulet et Petits Pois is a simple, hearty dish, the piquant local spices tickling the tomato sauce to where you want to sop every last swipe from the bottom of the bowl with your French baquette. Peas sweeten the sauce of flavors so rich you almost want to swim along with them in the dish!  

Ragout Aux Poulet Et Petits Pois
1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, slivered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole chicken, skinned and cut into pieces
         (chicken on the bone makes sauce more flavorful)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tab. salt
1 1/2 tab. tabil (see bottom of blog for recipe)
         (or 1 tab. ground coriander, 1 tsp. ground caraway,
           and 1 tsp. ground cumin)
2 green peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch slivers
         (mild or hot depending on individual preference)
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tsp. sugar
1 tab. harissa (more if you like it hot)
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
dash of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 cup finely minced flat-leaf parsley

-Saute chicken pieces in large saucepan in oil, with onion, salt and  pepper until chicken is browned on all sides and onion is soft.  Add garlic, tabil (or coriander and cumin), harissa, water, chicken broth, cayenne pepper, and sugar.  Cook ragout uncovered over medium-low heat for 30 - 45 minutes until chicken is tender.  Stir occasionally.  Add peas and green pepper and simmer an additional 10 minutes.  Toss in parsley last 5 minutes of cooking time. Serve in large open soup bowls with crusty French bread.  Serves 6 - 8.

Tunisian Salad

Tunisian Salad

     My mother said Sabiha, our "bonne", watered down the dish-detergent, my mother-in-law said she stole her mumu, my husband said please don’t let her cook, but I did anyway, one night each week. The dishes were always interesting – cous-cous sewn up in sheep stomach for example, and often delicious – Tajin Malsouka (see the recipe on this blog) a more appetizing example.  

      Among the less exotic, entrail-entailed, was Tunisian Salad, which my mother in-law as well as husband grudgingly noted as one of Sabiha’s talents, and forgave her her thievery.  Most often, a dish prepared from emerald green peppers, meaty tomatoes, onion and garlic (never dried but purchased fresh on the stock with soft purplish skins), the addition of olives, tuna and boiled eggs, elevate this salad to a meal. French baquette is the utensil used to sop up the salad and to this day I must eat salad dressed with vinaigrette with crusty French bread. When the basic ingredients didn’t volunteer themselves in the kitchen, Sabiha scoured the flower garden for leaves that spoke to her of digestion.  Though hesitant and wondering if she had any axes to grind with me, I found that the UFV was delicious.  

      I have searched the gardens of my various homes in the years since, for the same leaf but I thought it must be a uniquely Tunisian citizen.  In my current home however, I discovered it one day growing happily and abundantly among my potted plants - purslane - considered a weed in the U.S. it is commonly used in other cuisines - including mine, now that I know where to find it!  It is mildly peppery and salty, a flavor akin to spinach and just what Tunisian Salad requires.

 

      In Tunis, I quickly learned the words for survival at the produce stand from my husband the linguist, chief among them “piquant”  for hot and "doux' for mild.  The boxes of emerald jewel peppers all looked the same to me, varying only in shape and the vegetable merchants, hoping the Americans would shop another day, kept their axes unground if they had any, by directing me to the milder varieties.  Sabiha taught me to roast veggies on the flame of the gas burner and peel the scorched skins to create Salata Mechouia,  first cousin to Salata Tunsia. The smokiness of the roasted vegetables velvetized with olive oil and lemon juice became my favorite but I was always happy to be in control of how much "piquant" pepper was used!

Salata Tunsia  (Tunisian Salad)  
4 large roma or plum tomatoes, chopped
2 large sweet green peppers, chopped
1 small hot green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, hard-boiled and quartered lengthwise
1 tab. tabil (see recipe http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/tabil-spice-mix)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tab. fresh lemon juice
1 can light chunk tuna or albacore, drained
10 - 15 mediteranean type olives
Romaine lettuce leaves

-In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, peppers, onion and garlic.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and allow to sit for 15 minutes.  Drain excess liquid from vegetables.  In a small bowl, mix tabil, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Pour over vegetables and toss.  Chill for 30 minutes.  On a serving platter, arrange romaine lettuce leaves.  Mound vegetable mixture on the leaves, then top with tuna chunks.  Arrange eggs and olives around edges.  Drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle with paprika or sumac.  Serve with a fresh, crusty baguette.  Serves 4 - 6.  

Tajin Malsouka (Tunisian Quiche)

Tajin Malsouka  

        Proud to share my Tunisian culinary triumph with my mentors, I proclaimed one day that I had made tajin but I had not used the prescribed parsley, as “the cupboard was bare”. I was told in no uncertain terms, that I had not made “Tajin” – an important lesson in my tutorial. Parsley is not simply an accent. It is a star ingredient! In repentance of my err, I have not neglected parsley since, being grateful that I can employ the busy fingers of my children in picking the leaves form the bitter stems – my “Parsley Pickers” extraordinaire.

       Akin to the Moroccan version in name only, Tunisian Tajin more accurately resembles a quiche of potatoes, chicken, swiss cheese….and oh, parsley! Americans use bread, Mexicans the tortilla, Asians the eggroll wrapper, to encase whatever lovelies are in want of a blanket. Tunisians use malsouka, a paper thin water/flour pastry, similar to a crepe, most notably used in the national pastry brik – another day, another entry. Malsouka sheets provide a delicate, crunchy casing for meat, fish, and vegetables as well as sweet, nutty fillings.

Tajin Malsouka

2 cups shredded cooked chicken  

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced                    

1 cup cubed cooked potato

1 large onion, chopped                    

½ cup chopped parsley

2 eggs                                                   

2 dozen lumpia/malsouka wrappers or filo pastry

½ cup butter                                         

salt and pepper to taste

-Saute onion and garlic in 2 tab. oil until transparent.  Stir in chicken.  Beat  eggs and add to chicken mixture. Cook and scramble over medium heat until egg is cooked.  Cool mixture.  Stir in salt and pepper, cheese, potato and parsley.  Salt and pepper to taste.

-If using filo pastry, melt butter.  Place 2 sheets of filo on a buttered pizza pan and brush with melted butter.  Place another 2 sheets on top in a pinwheel effect and brush with butter.  Continue brushing and layering until you have used 8 sheets.  Place the chicken mixture on top. 

-Fold the overlapping filo over the top of the filling.  Place 2 sheets of filo over the top and brush with butter.  Continue to layer buttered filo over the top in the same pinwheel effect until you have used 8 sheets.  Tuck the overhanging edges under the pie to form a neat round parcel.  Brush well with the remaining butter. 

 

- (If using lumpia or malsouka wrappers, place 1 wrapper at a time in bottom of  buttered 10 inch pie plate.  Butter and continue layering wrappers until 6 sheets are layered.  Mound filling in center of layered pastry.  Cover the top with 6 more wrappers, buttering each one.  Tuck the edges in around the edges of the pie.)

-Bake the pie for 40-45 minutes until golden.  Let sit 10 minutes before cutting into pie shaped or square pieces.  Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges.

Tunisian Cous-Cous

       She knocked at the door where the new Americans had moved in and said she wanted to practice her English.  Nadia was 18 years old, a beautiful, delightful, outgoing Tunisian, daughter in a large family in the neighborhood near the vegetable market, with a mother and sister who loved to cook - she hooked me with that!  They taught me, the adventure-struck expat, to make Cous-Cous, the national dish of the Maghreb (North Africa).  I taught them to make brownies and apple pie and always felt that I made out better in the deal.

      Cous-Cous to Tunisians implies the main dish staple, smothered in a piquant meat and vegetable, tomato based stew.  No such frou-frou as Lemon Glazed Oxtail Cous-Cous Salad.  The following authentic version uses beef, though chicken, fish and a spicy local sausage, merguez, often appear as the star.  Cous-cous is a hearty, soul-soothing, family dish, just exotic enough to pique the adventurous palette, but tame enough to temper finicky appetites.  Cook it low and slow to let the flavors meld.

Tunisian Beef Cous-Cous

1 package couscous
5 cups water
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tab. sugar
2 pounds chuck steak, cut in 2-inch cubes
2 beef bouillon cubes (or 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut
1 large onion, sliced into 2-inch cubes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, peeled and cut in 1-inch lengths
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 cup peeled, cubed banana
1 tab. cardamom or acorn squash
1 tab. powdered cumin
2 hot peppers, quartered (opt)
dash cayenne pepper
¾ cup tomato paste
1 tsp. crushed dried red chili peppers
1 1lb. can chickpeas, drained
2 green bell peppers, seeded, cored and quartered


-In large stew pot, heat oil and fry meat, onion and garlic, stirring until meat is brown. Add salt, pepper, cardamom, cumin, cayenne, tomato paste, dried chili peppers, water, sugar and bouillon cubes. Stir and cover. Let simmer 1 hour or until meat is almost tender. (If using chicken, remove after 30 minutes and continue simmering sauce.)

-Add potatoes, carrots, squash, chickpeas and peppers. Cover and simmer until vegetables are just barely tender, stirring occasionally. (Add more water if necessary.

-Cook couscous according to package directions.

-Arrange cooked couscous on platter and top with meat and vegetables. Pour some of the sauce over the meat and couscous. Serve remaining sauce in a separate container.

-Serves 8 – 12. (Couscous may be made with cubed lamb, chicken or white fish, if desired.)