You will need:
Start by salting the spinach. Sprinkle the salt in-between the layers of the spinach and leave aside for 30 minutes. Slice or chop these ingredients: onion, green onion, cilantro, mint, spicy pepper if using. After 30 minutes, squeeze the spinach to remove excess water. Chop the spinach. Add all the ingredients to one bowl and taste for salt and pepper. Preheat your oven to 350F and roll out small/medium rounds of dough. Place a good amount of spinach filling and close the pasty by folding over three corners to create a triangle. I like to flip them over on the tray so they don't open. But if they do open, they're still delicious! These should bake for around 20-25 minutes or until they're golden crispy and fully cooked. Every oven is different. I do not put an egg wash or olive oil on them, it's not necessary. ENJOY!
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As with any Arab dish you can adjust to taste. The most important ingredients are the parsley, bulgur, tomato and green onion, seasoned with lemon, olive oil, salt. I mentioned in the video that in Homs they add cucumber and in Damascus they do not. Tabbouleh varies from place to place but it has to be filled with parsley and finely chopped. I add lettuce to my tabbouleh because it makes a bigger quantity but it's not an essential part of tabbouleh. It creates more volume for when you need to make a large tabbouleh for a large group of people.
I have to be honest, I did not like tabbouleh growing up. I realized it was because I do not like raw green onions. So I just make my own tabbouleh at home! To make the same tabbouleh in the video, you will need:
Start by washing the bulgur (the finest you can find, usually called Bulgur #1) and then place your diced tomatoes on top of the bulgur. The bulgur will soak up the tomato juices and infuse all that flavor. Next I washed and finely chopped the romaine lettuce. This lettuce has the best flavor for this salad (not the round ones). Save a few of the medium/small leaves for decorating later. The cucumber (if using) can come next. Finely chop like you see in the video. The parsley I prefer is the flat leaf Italian parsley but curly parsley will work well too. Wash well and dry well! You can put it through a salad spinner to dry it or wash it first thing and then lay it out over a towel to dry while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Arrange the parsley in a way that the leaves are together and the stems can be easily chopped off. You do not need the stems. Finely slice the leaves, trying not to slice more than once or twice. We do not want to bruise the parsley. Fresh mint is washed and sliced in the same way as the parsley. Lastly you assemble by mixing all of the ingredients: lettuce, cucumber, parsley, mint, bulgur + tomato, pomegranates. Drizzle olive oil (about 3-4 tablespoons) and lemon (for this amount I juiced 3 lemons). Pomegranate is totally optional but gives some extra sour flavor as well. Salt to taste. Please remember to have fun and taste as you go. Add or remove any of the above mentioned herbs. Green onions are fab (so I've heard) so add those too! Enjoy! You will need:
Start by heating some water in a large pot for the pasta. Add 2-3 tablespoons salt and 2 teaspoons oil. I don't measure this but your water should be salty. Once the water boils, cook your pasta in this water according to the box instructions al dente. Before you drain your pasta, reserve some pasta water for later. Next wash and drain your shrimp. Add the cajun seasoning (or your favorite fish seasoning) and mix. Let this marinate and drain. In a pot cook your veggies. Heat some oil and sauté the veggies until they have a little bit of color on them. Set aside. Season with salt. Prepare your pink sauce. Start by making a roux: equal parts butter and flour. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once it's nice and melty, add the flour. Mix for a minute as the flour will toast. Add the milk. Mix until thick. Add the tomato paste and mix until the sauce is a creamy pink color. If it's too thick you can add up to 1/4 cup pasta sauce. **If you don't have tomato paste, you can only use 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of marinara sauce. Lastly, cook your shrimp. In a pan heat some oil (a few teaspoons). Once the oil is hot, add your shrimp. It should take a few minutes to cook. Shrimp goes from long and opaque to tight round pink shrimp. Do not overcook your shrimp because this will make them rubbery. If your shrimp released a lot of juice like mine did in the video, you can drain them. If you like, you can keep the shrimp juice, not a problem. **I didn't add any salt here because the cajun seasoning I used already has salt. Now it's time to assemble! Mix your pasta with the shrimp and veggies. Toss in the pink sauce. Add the cheese and melt through. Plate with shredded parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. ENJOY You will need:
an 9-inch round pan lined with parchment.
Begin by heating your oven to 350F. Next you will need a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat your eggs and sugar until pale yellow. This can take 4-5 minutes on medium high speed. You can do this by hand if you're strong (I know you're strong). Next add all the liquid ingredients to your bowl and mix. I don't measure the orange juice usually. I just juice my orange and add it all to the batter. If the orange is small, use 2 for maximum flavor. Lastly, mix the dry ingredients into the wet batter and pour your batter into your pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the top is golden and beautiful and you can't stand it anymore. You can decorate how you like but I just eat it plain because that's how I like it. Every oven is different. Do not open your oven door before 20 minutes. You risk deflating your cake. **You can double this recipe if you like. Up the eggs to MAX 5 eggs. **Pro tip: I remove the chalaza from the egg yolk (white squiggles: apparently it's not the umbilical cord. It's for suspending the yolk in the middle of the egg so it doesn't get crushed against the shell. science!) I people think it makes the cake taste too eggy so I remove it. enjoy! thank you for being here
TL;DR: my recipes are to be followed closely the first time with the freedom to add spices or change quantities based on your preference. as you become more comfortable with the recipe, add a dash of spice and a lot of love. so here's the thing. Arab food, middle eastern food is not well documented. Arab culture is heavy on oral tradition: our stories and recipes are passed down orally, not written down. we are auditory learners and explainers. if you need something from me, I will most likely send you a voice message before I write an email. that being said here's the disclaimer: all my recipes are based on the way I make things in MY house at the current time. the names of the dishes in Arabic vary as well as the method and amount. I am confident that you will love my dishes as a stepping stone into Middle Eastern cuisine but please don't be offended if your Arab guests comment on how their families make the same dish. It's customary to discuss the dishes at the dinner table and how they were made, learning new methods and tastes along the way. if I were to make any of my recipes in my kitchen, I almost never follow the exact recipe. I will add more garlic, less onion, more meat, pine nuts, different spices, etc. it all depends on my mood that day. that's because I know the flavor I'm trying to achieve but my recipe is always a guideline to help me along the way. food is about memories and feeling and love. the recipes I share are filled with my personal memories but feel free to add or change things that make you feel happy. cooking and baking should be fun and fill your house with love and with that I want to thank you again for choosing baytbushra for your meal today. I hope your kitchen is filled with happiness and delicious food. |
MEMy name is Bushra and I post my favorite recipes on my youtube channel. All recipes are gathered here on my website as well as helpful links to my videos and fancy ingredients. Thanks for stopping by! Archives
October 2023
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