Category Archives: appetizers & salads

how to cook a delicious bemyé bzet – okra (bamia)- suitable for vegetarians

Posted on April 4, 2014 | 2 comments

Okra is a very critical vegetable. It’s either you like it or you hate it.

Okra is a very healthy food due to its high fiber, Vitamin C and folate content. it’s also known for being antioxidant and a good source of calcium and potassium.

This simple recipe will make you change your mind if you think you will never like okra, and for those who know how delicious okra is already enjoy the meal!

It’s suitable for vegetarian people and who don’t eat meat on fridays* (lent)

Ingredients: (for 4 people)

1kg okra
2 large tomatoes diced
1 large chopped onion
5 garlic cloves
one bunch of chopped coriander
salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of one lemon

Start by frying the onion and garlic with 1 tbsp of oil, only for 3 minutes on high flame then add the tomatoes and coriander. Cover with 2 cups of water as below

When it just start to boil add the okra and cook for 20 to 30 mns. You should taste to see the doneness of the okra.

Once it’s cooked, remove from heat, add the lemon juice and salt to taste.

You can serve it hot as you can serve it cold as a mezze.

Give it a try and i am sure you will love it.

2 Comments

Posted in appetizers & salads, main dish

Tagged bamia, bamya, bemyé, blog, cooking, coriander, jaymmy, lebanese cuisine, lebanese food, marmite et ponpon, okra, recipe, tomato, vegetarian

20 mns broccoli soup – super easy & suitable for toddlers

Posted on April 3, 2014 | 3 comments

This simple hearty soup is ready to serve in less than 20 mns.

An easy to follow recipe, suitable for your toddlers, and i am sure they will love it. I was hesitating to offer it to my son, and now it’s his favorite soup.

Ingredients:

600g fresh broccoli
1 large onion chopped
3 garlic cloves
3/4 cup of cream
salt to taste

Directions:

In a medium pot add the broccoli, (don’t throw the stems, they do the real work), chopped onion and garlic.

Simmer uncovered about 15 mns until the broccoli is tender. Puree the soup with the blender then add the cream and salt to taste.

P.S: simmering, is bringing it to a boil and then reducing the heat to a point where the formation of bubbles has almost ceased.

It’s ready to serve. Try it with croutons!

3 Comments

Posted in appetizers & salads, kids food, main dish

Tagged blog, broccoli, cooking, cream, cream of broccoli, easy, jaymmy, kids food, marmite et ponpon, recipe, soup

aubergine salad aka batenjen el rahib (monk aubergine)

Posted on March 27, 2014 | 1 comment

This salad is fantastic, a real celebration to the colors. It’s refreshing and filling.

Usually fried aubergine soak up a lot of oil. In this salad, we will just oven grill them to keep their flavor.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo aubergine
2 big tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup olive oil
salt to taste

method:

Start by grilling the aubergine in the oven.

Let them cool down before peeling them. Meantime cut the tomatoes medium cubes. the onion a la julienne and mince the garlic.

Aubergines are soft and tender, you can simply cut them apart with your hand (medium to big pieces).

Mix all the ingredients and season them with olive oil and salt to taste.

Do you wonder why they call it batenjen el rahib (monk aubergine)? me too, but I never got a precise convincing answer.

1 Comment

Posted in appetizers & salads, main dish

Tagged aubergine, batenjen, batenjen el raheb, batenjen el rahib, blog, cooking, eggplant, healthy, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, olive oil, onions, recipe, salads, tomato

finger – licking lebanese taboule as it should be done

Posted on March 23, 2014 | 6 comments

When you type “taboule” in the search engine, you get endless recipes, some don’t even resemble the original one.

This recipe is the traditional lebanese taboule as it should be done!

Ingredients:

4 medium bunch of parsley
2 medium tomatoes
1 small fine chopped onion
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 tbsp of chopped mint
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sweet pepper
2 tbsp bulgur (aka burghul)
lemon zest

Method:

Gather the parsley in small bouquets, easier to be chopped. Choose the tomatoes half ripe and cut in medium cubes

These parsley were sent to me overseas from lebanon, thanks to my father, knowing that i love taboule.

Add the mint, onion, salt and pepper to taste, lemon, olive oil and burghul.

Soak the burghul in room temperature water for 5 mns before adding them.

the lemon zest is not a main ingredient but it gives the zing flavor (mom astuce).

Mix all together and taste. You can always add salt or lemon depending on how sour you like it to be. Taboule is the healthiest salad ever. Some have it as an entree and others as a main dish since it’s a complete meal full of nutrients.

I like to eat taboule with lettuce, cabbage, vine leaves and even bread!

Sahtein! wishing you double health, the lebanese way 🙂

6 Comments

Posted in appetizers & salads, main dish

Tagged blog, burghul, burglur, cooking, jaymmy, lebanese food, lemon, marmite et ponpon, mint, olive oil, parsley, salads, tabboule, taboule, tomato, traditional food

orzo, spinach and chicken salad

Posted on March 8, 2014 | 3 comments

Craving a dinner that is delicious, nutritious, and simple to make?

This salad is a full meal. It contains all the nutrients you need at one time.

The first time i tried this salad was in an italian restaurant. I loved it and decided to do it at home, and the result came tastier!

Ingredients (for 4 people)

orzo pasta 500g
grilled chicken breast 400g
fresh spinach 350g (chopped)
feta cheese 80g (cut in small cubes)
2 medium tomatoes (cut in medium cubes)
olives 50g
roasted pine seeds (a handful)

Dressing: lemon and olive oil

Why lemon? because there’s a compound in spinach called oxalic acid, which blocks the absorption of calcium and iron. An easy way to solve this problem is to pair spinach with a food high in vitamin C.

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