Christmas Cooking

So with xmas coming up there is plenty of food to be eaten, so here are a few ideas for you!

Had a bbq the other night but instead of thinking what meat to have I decided on all the veg I wanted and then the chicken ended up being an afterthought!
I love all these gorgeous colors that are really just begging to be eaten!

BBQ zucchini, capsicum, asparagus, mushrooms, all smothered in this amazing garlic sauce, a lebanese garlic sauce otherwise known as "toum" This is blitzing loads of garlic (like 2-3 heads) lemon juice, salt and olive oil, its almost like a mayonnaise, it's so delish and you can use it for everything! Use where you would use butter, garlic, mayonnaise.

Garlic sauce- so good!

Plus there is grilled halloumi and chicken thighs marinated in red wine and garlic.

Grilled Halloumi

Marinated chicken thighs

I also did a mixed tomato and avocado salsa type thing, this was mixed colored tomatoes, with diced avocado, cucumber, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil

Prawn Cocktail

Hello it's the 80's calling, they want their prawn cocktail back!

Did it ever really go out of style??

An idea for a xmas side dish, this is basically your old prawn cocktail!

You can use whatever amount of each you like, and feel free to add your own things!

Lots of shredded cos and iceberg lettuce

Thinly sliced celery

Cherry tomatoes

Snow pea shoots

Diced cucumber

Peeled prawns

plus cocktail dressing- this is just mayo, tomato sauce and worcestershire sauce

Some Lebanese stuff!

Green bean stew (loubyeh b’zeit)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter

2 onions, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

500 g green beans, topped and tailed, sliced in half

1 x 400g can diced tomatoes

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the spices and beans and cook another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir through.

Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until the beans are cooked through but still have a gentle bite and the sauce is thickened. Remove the lid and cook until the excess liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thickened, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

Lebanese mixed bean salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 x 400g can mixed beans, rinsed and drained

½ bunch each of parsley and mint, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

¼ red onion, finely sliced

Juice of half a big lemon

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Mix everything together and keep in the fridge until needed.

Kofta rissoles

Serve 4-6 (makes 12 rissoles)

Ingredients

500-600g lamb mince

½ bunch each of parsley and mint

1 red onion

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 tsp each of ground coriander and cumin- if you like these spices you can double this amount

½ tsp all spice- you can leave out if you don’t have it

½ tsp salt

Method

You can either do this by hand or in a food processor, I have used a food processor.

In a food processor put in your onion and garlic and pulse until chopped. Then add mince, spices, salt, roughly chopped herbs, pulse until combined, it should be quite sticky, this helps bind your mince without using egg.

If by hand just finely chop your onion, garlic and herbs, add in your spices, salt and mince and knead it together until it’s sticky. Roll into 12 balls and then flatten into rissole shapes. Keep in the fridge until needed. Cook in a pan or on the bbq for 5-7 minutes each side or until cooked through.

Serve these with some tzatziki- This is a yoghurt sauce using thick greek yoghurt, grated cucumber (squeeze the juice out) some garlic, salt and pepper

Fatteh (Pita with Chickpeas and Yogurt)

Ingredients

3 pita breads, cut into wedges

1 x 400g can of chickpeas (1 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas) drained and rinsed

Salt

1 cup (225 g) plain yogurt

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon cumin

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons tahini paste

⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted

Chopped parsley or coriander (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 c

Put the pita wedges on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside. (or you can fry the pita on the stovetop.)

Put the chickpeas in a small pot along with 100 ml (½ cup) water and simmer over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, until the water has mostly absorbed and the chickpeas are heated through. Season with salt and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, put the yogurt, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, tahini paste, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisk in a little water at a time if the mixture is too thick, until a desired consistency is reached.

Break up the toasted pita wedges a bit and arrange them in an even layer on the bottom of a deep serving platter, bowl, or casserole dish. Top with the warm chickpeas, then the yogurt sauce. Sprinkle with pine nuts and parsley or cilantro and serve with additional pita or pita chips.

Marinated mushroom salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

300g button mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves of garlic

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

¼ red onion, finely chopped

1 tsp honey

2-3 tsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Mix everything together and let it hang out to let the flavors mingle. When you leave it more juices will be released from the mushrooms. With the vinegar add 1-2 tbsp to start with, there should be a little excess liquid, but not much.


Cucumber salad

Serve 4-6

Ingredients
4 lebanese cucumbers, grated, excess liquid squeezed out
1 cup full fat sour cream- or you can use thick greek yoghurt
1-2 tsp paprika
really good grind of salt, quite a bit actually

Method
Mix altogether and put in the fridge. You can add fresh dill and garlic if you wanted.