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.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                 

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.

                                          

Veitshochheim Summer Salad (a Trio of German Salads)

Veitshochheim Summer Salad:

      A meal fit for a king, lounging about his summer residence, I dare you to say the name 3 times quickly with a mouth full of cabbage.  The name of this dish comes by way of a memory of a beautiful summer day and a boat ride down the Main River to the summer residence of the wealthy ruling Prince-Bishops of the 18th century, near Wurzburg in Northern Bavaria. 

     Salads in our German days, were simple and light composed of fresh leaf lettuce, grated carrots and mild, smoky pimento dressed sparingly with vinegar and oil.  Kartoffelsalat, (potato salad) most often served with wurst (sausage) of various hues and sizes, was dressed with vinegar, mustard seed and speck (bacon). I personally appreciated more than just a speck of bacon in my serving!

     The following version uses bratwurst instead of the bacon, as a tribute to the street food served in the market square of Wurzburg - Bratwurst mit brochen. I grilled the bratwurst and then roughly chopped it.  Serve bratwurst with caution - you can put an eye out with one of those things as I learned when turning around into one at the Christkindlmarkt in Nurnberg. 

      The preparation of the four different salads certainly binds you to the kitchen for prep but once chopped and seasoned, you have a meal and little else need be done. The result is a German Salad Supper, a complete meal though meat lovers among you may appreciate some grilled bratwurst on the side, served with mustard in warm crusty rolls (brotchen). The tomato salad speaks with a vinegar twang tempered by the sweet nature of the balsamic vinegar. The cucumbers have a tart bite spiked with dill and the potato salad and cabbage slaw, as you would expect are of the vinegar persuasion but which make a surprisingly respectable showing. (Notice-no mayo here which is sacrilege in my kitchen but typical of southern Germany).  Besides creating a platter of popping colors and textures that shout summer and all things fresh, the salads combine on the palate to complement each other with bold fresh flavors and undercurrents of sweet and tangy accents.

   

Cabbage Slaw (Krautsalat):

1 cabbage, cored and shredded

3-4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 red pepper, diced

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. celery seed

3/4 cup canola oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

-Place cabbage, red pepper and green onion in 

large bowl.  

-In small saucepan, combine sugar and vinegar. 

Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves.  Add

celery seed, salt and oil and heat for 2 minutes.

-Let dressing cool for 5 - 10 minutes.  Pour over

cabbage and toss.  Season with coarsly ground

pepper.

-Serves 8 - 10

Potato Salad (Kartoffelsalat):

4 medium potatoes

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 bratwurst, grilled and roughly chopped

       (or 4 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled)

1 tab. sugar

3/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 tab. mustard seed

1/4 cup oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 tab. chopped parsley

-Boil unpeeled potatoes in large pot of salted 

boiling water, with quartered onion, until potatoes

are tender when pierced with a fork.  Remove 

from heat and set aside until cool enough to handle. 

Peel potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch chunks.  Place 

in large bowl.

-Add green onions and bratwurst to potatoes.

-In medium saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar,

mustard seed, salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to 

a boil.  Remove from heat and slowly pour in 

oil.  Continue to cook over heat another 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.

-Pour dressing over warm potatoes, toss and

season with salt and pepper.  Stir in parsley.

-Serves 6 - 8

German Cucumber Salad (Gurkensalat):

2 English cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

    (you may leave the peel on if you prefer)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. fresh dill, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

-Place cucumber slices into medium bowl.  Chill while 

making dressing.

-In separate bowl, mix sour cream, lemon juice, sugar and dill.  

Season with salt and pepper.

-Pour dressing over cucumber and mix.  Serve immediately.

-Serves 4 - 6

Tomato Salad (Tomatensalat):

4 large tomatoes

1 bunch green onions

1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped

2 tab. balsamic vinegar

2 tab. orange juice

5 tab. olive oil

1 tsp. sugar

salt and pepper to taste

-Wash tomatoes and cut into wedges.  Cut green onions

diagonally into 1 inch pieces.

 

-Mix chopped yellow onion, vinegar, orange juice and oil.  Season 

with salt, pepper and sugar.
 

-Place tomatoes and green onions into bowl and pour dressing 

over and toss.
 

-Serves 6

 

To Assemble German Salad Supper:
 

On a large open platter, mound potato salad in the center

(it is the star of the meal!) Place 3 large lettuce cups 

around the edges of the potato salad to act as containers 

for the other salads.  In one, mound the tomato salad, in 

another the cucumber salad and in the third, the cole slaw.  

Garnish with dill sprigs and strips of fresh red pepper.  

Chill for about 20 minutes before serving.

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.