Queezle_Sister's Reviews
3 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 3Sort by: Title 
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The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean: 215 Healthy, Vibrant, and Inspired Recipes
By Paula Wolfert
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1994
Kibbeh with Eggplant and Sumac : page 278
An amazing and impressive main dish, and its preparation was quite the undertaking. This recipe is from Aleppo, Syria, and considered the "cadillac of kibbeh".
I prepared this dish for my cooking club (this book and Paula Wolfert's Moroccan cookbook were used for our selections). It represented several firsts - including my first use of sumac and my first time making (or even eating) kibbeh. I prepared it once for just the family before undertaking it for dinner for 12.
First one prepares a stuffing (onion, lamb, pine nuts, spices, and yogurt). Then one prepares the kibbeh shell (fine bulgur, lamb, onion, water, spices). The kibbeh shell is made into a ball, then hollowed by inserting your finger and repeatedly pushing the inside toward the out. A key step is the bowl of cold water with corn starch and salt. It took a bit of playing with it, but wasn't too hard. I definitely got better over time, too. When these are formed, you add the filling and close them up. Then you steam them.
As if this isn't enough work, you then make a lamb stew with eggplant. This stew is what takes the sumac, and I loved the lemony flavor it gave the stew. Finally, you add the kibbeh to the stew for the last 15 minutes before serving.
I had a bit of trouble with my kibbeh splitting open while steaming. It seems to be related to the bulgur swelling more during the steaming process, and this might not be such a problem for the fried kibbeh. I've included pictures of the raw ones and the same ones after steaming. You can see the appearance of white grains - the bulgur - after cooking. I think with practice one could figure out how to get the bulgur to swell fully before forming and cooking. But really, it didn't matter at all, one couldn't tell in the stew.
Unfortunately I didn't get a picture with the stew -- but it was a rich red color with lovely eggplant slices.
useful (1)
Late-Summer Pitta with Mixed Greens : page 78
This dish was prepared by my husband for a week night dinner. It was an ambitious undertaking, and we had a late dinner, but it was very, very nice.
First, he prepared this dough. The filling (this recipe) is a bit complicated, because the instructions refer you to a different recipe for instructions.
But the filling was great - greens (he used kale, beet, spinach, swiss chard, arugula, and anything else green in our garden) were salted, then rinsed, dried, and lightly sauteed. They were mixed with mint, dill, eggs, scallions, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella, and ricotta. It then bakes for an hour or so.
This tasted lighter than it sounds - really it was a lot of greens - and everyone enjoyed it. Even the teenagers.
One last tidbit - the instructions have you devein all the leaves. My husband noticed the beauty of the red leaf veins with bits of green edge from the chard, and rescued them from the compost bin. They were a wonderful centerpiece!
useful (1)
Macedonian Phyllo Dough : page 69
This dough was prepared for this pie, by my husband (!). It seemed to come together quite easily, although he forgot to brush olive oil on the dough as he folded it. We could sense the layers, and it still was a very nice dough, so I think it has real potential.
useful (0)