Family legend says that our great grandma Pauline (Grandma Sally‘s mother) invented Mechshie Potato. Being that we Syrian stuff everything with hashu, like zucchini, grape leaves, onions, etc., it wouldn’t be surprising that more than one person came up with stuffing a potato with it too. Whether or not Grandma Pauline invented this recipe, it’s definitely a special one, because it’s deep fried! Continue reading
This is a classic Syrian dish. We often eat it on Shabbat, but really it’s the perfect weeknight dinner. It’s a make ahead meal, so you can make it on a weekend, pop it in the fridge, and heat it up, make rice and a salad or simple roasted veggie, and dinner is ready! Continue reading
Brrr, it’s cold in New York these days! I know, I know, it’s winter… but I’ve spent all of my winters in NYC, and it is not a normal one. Plus, I’ve been stuck inside with a now 11-month old (today! happy 11 months, Steve-o!) a lot lately, since sometimes we just can’t bundle enough for a pleasant stroll. So we’ve been hanging out at home, playing on the floor, and cooking and eating a lot of soup. Steven loves it, and it’s just what I need after a long day stuck in our apartment together when David finally comes home and I get some grown-up time. This is Syrian comfort food at its finest.
I am not a big eater of veal. I never cook it, and hardly ever eat it. But one Friday night, my mom decided she wanted a rubut, so I took on the challenge. Some of you may be thinking “WHAT?” and I”ll explain to you what this crazy dish is. Basically you take a piece of veal and cut a slit in the center so that you can stuff it (we Syrians love stuffing our food!). The veal is stuffed with hashu, a mixture of meat and rice, and cooked with either more hashu around it or some vegetables. Fava beans are classic, and many people make it with mushrooms, but I like to make it with peas. And add some hashu balls in the peas just for some extra meatiness (meat stuffed with meat with some meat around it…a well-rounded meal). Continue reading
I know we just shared a swiss chard recipe, but being that Rosh HaShanah is right around the corner, I also have to share the traditional seder swiss chard recipe.
It’s pretty easy to make, though washing and chopping all the swiss chard takes some time. Unless you let the supermarket do that for you… Continue reading
The Jerusalem Cookbook has so many recipes that I need to make! But this is the first one that jumped out at me, and I’m so glad I made it. It’s a simple recipe that can be made in advance, but since it’s lamb and has pine nuts in it (which I usually leave out, as you know), it can be served as a fancy dish or a weeknight make ahead dinner (my favorite).
Hamud is a delicious lemony vegetable broth or sour sauce flavored with mint and filled with kibbe (haven’t heard of kibbe yet? Look at all the things you can do with it!). It’s a traditional Shabbat dish that we love eating on Friday night over rice. You see different families make it with different twists. Some people use citric acid, or sour salt to make theirs tart. I use fresh lemon juice. Continue reading
Remember Adele? She made something to serve on the side of the ginger chicken. Check it out:
I thought I was making mechshi cusa (stuffed zucchini), but when I went to get it from my freezer, I realized that I had only had dairy meschi, not meat. I decided to braise baby carrots in the mechshi sauce I already made. They turned out so good!
Okay, so have you ever had kibbe? No, not the meat stuffed meatballs that we made a little while back. The kind with a bulgur shell that you fry and eat with lemon or tahine. Well, they’re hard to make. But they’re amazing. I’ve made them before, but never blogged them for you (aren’t I mean? One day I will). Well this has the flavors of kibbe, but is much easier to make.
What is sambusak, you ask? It’s like a bite-sized turnover, an empanada or a pie. The dough is a savory butter pie crust made with a mixture of semolina and all purpose flours, and the filling is a simple cheese mixture. And that’s it; we just made cheese sambusak! (Just kidding, I’ll go into more detail soon.)
These can really be filled with anything, but we eat two kinds: cheese or meat. And cheese sambusak is the best kind, especially because if you’re making the filling meat, you can’t make the dough with butter. Continue reading