Category Archives: main dish

Baked fish in sesame ginger marinade

Posted on September 17, 2014 | 7 comments

Smell does to discover and enjoy this dish as much as taste. The fragrance reaches the nose before the food reaches the mouth. An Asian inspired dish, rich with the ambrosial ginger, garlic, soy, wasabi, sesame seeds and scallions.

Get ready for a taste of heaven! you will need

1 kg whole fish (800g fish fillet)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp wasabi
1/2 cup olive oil
2 grated garlic cloves
1 1/2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
3 sliced scallions

Whisk together soy, vinegar, brown sugar, wasabi, garlic, ginger and oil.

Make diagonal cuts on both sides of the fish to allow more moisture to be absorbed. When roasting a whole fish always ensure the skin is on.

Line your pan with aluminum foil and greaseproof sheet. Place the fish on the baking sheet and coat it with the marinade then close the edges of the sheet.

Having the baking sheet on aluminum foil will preserve the marination and the fish will stay moist.

Preheat your oven (220°C). Bake for 20 mns. Transfer to a serving plate. Don’t get rid of the juice, drizzle it on the fish and garnish with the sesame seeds and scallions. Serve it alone or with some rice.

Ginger sesame rice to go with this dish.

1 1/4 cup rice
1 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
2 1/2 cup water

Heat olive oil in sauce pan. Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant for 3-4 minutes.

Add rice and water and bring to boil. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover the pan with a towel and let it sit for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Toss in the sesame seeds and taste to check if it needs salt.

Dishes with diversified colors and aromatic flavors can usually greatly arouse people’s appetite. It’s hard to describe the amazing taste, you need to try it!

7 Comments

Posted in main dish

Tagged aroma, asian, blog, brown sugar, fish, flavor, garlic, ginger, ginger rice, how to cook, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, recipe, rice, roast, scallions, sesame seeds, soy, wasabi

batata soufflé

Posted on September 9, 2014 | 4 comments

Batata soufflé is the lebanese variation of the french dish “hachis parmentier” and the british dish “shepherd pie”.

Batata soufflé is a meat pie with mashed potato crust. It’s done like a sandwich; the ground beef and pine nuts are pressed between two layers of mashed potatoes.

For 10×10″ baking dish you will need: (yields 4-6 portions)

Mashed potatoes:

1kg potato
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter
salt to taste
bread crumbs

Meat stuffing:

400g ground beef
2 medium onions diced finely
80g pine seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil, add the onion and fry until tender and fragrant.

Add the ground beef and cook until brown then toss in the pine seeds, salt and pepper and keep cooking until well done. Turn off the heat and keep it aside to prepare the mashed potatoes.

Cook the potatoes in a saucepan of salted boiling water until tender. Drain well. Return to the pan with the butter. Use a potato masher or fork to mash until smooth. Add milk and stir until combined. Taste and season with salt.

Divide the mashed potatoes in half. In the baking dish, make the first layer of potato with one part. Spread evenly the ground beef over it and top it with another layer of the remaining mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle bread crumbs, enough to cover it with a thin layer, and bake it until top is golden brown (180°C) about 15 minutes.

Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving, the cutting will be easier. It’s one of the classic lebanese dishes and one of my favorite. I like to eat it with a side salad of lettuce and moutarde a l’ancienne. This how mum used to serve it when we were kids.

4 Comments

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Tagged batata, batata bil sanyeh, batata souffle, blog, cooking, ground beef, hachis parmentier, how to do, jaymmy, kibbet batata, marmite et ponpon, pine nuts, potato, recipe, shepherd pie

ginger scented rice pilaf with whole roast fish

Posted on September 5, 2014 | 5 comments

A small introduction for wonderers…

Pilaf is the way of cooking the rice. Also known as pilav or palaw in which rice is cooked in seasoned broth. The yellow to brown color is attained by stirring in onion or spices. Depending on the cuisine it might have also meat, chicken, fish, vegetables or dried fruits.

Initially i was making a whole roast fish but didn’t want to present it solo. I thought of roast potatoes and vegetables then i said why not rice?!

To not go classic, i thought of rice pilaf with a twist! Ginger and cilantro, two of my favorite deep flavors that blends together perfectly. The outcome was heavenly tasty.

Ginger scented rice pilaf:

1 1/4 cup rice
1/2 cup carrots diced finely
1/2 cup onion diced finely
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cube vegetable bouillon (almost 5g)/ broth
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (coriander) chopped

Heat olive oil in sauce pan. Add ginger, onion, carrots and stir until fragrant for 3-4 minutes.

Add rice, bouillon and water and bring to boil. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover the pan with a towel and let it sit for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Toss in the cilantro and taste to check if you need to add salt (optional) and serve immediately.

The house was full of aroma! Couldn’t wait until the fish was completely roast to start eating. If you are not fan of fish i am sure this rice will pair nicely with chicken, beef or prawns. I can even eat it alone!

To roast the fish there are many ways. My favorite is “en papillote”, the same principle as wrapping in foil with enough liquid to create steam, but using greaseproof paper to create individual portions when you are baking medium or small size fish.

I put chopped cilantro, lemon slices, lemon juice, salt, pepper (quantity as per your taste) and drizzled some garlic olive oil before wrapping the fish. Baked in the oven (for 240°C) for 20 minutes.

Fish is easily overcooked therefore care must be taken when using the oven. When roasting a whole fish always ensure the skin is on.

Enjoy!

5 Comments

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Tagged baked fish, blog, carrots, coriander, ginger, ginger rice, how to do, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, recipe, rice pilaf, roast fish

To “nouilles” lovers – (creamy chicken tagliatelle)

Posted on September 2, 2014 | 5 comments

If you try to google “nouilles” without “lebanese” you will not find any recipe near to the one our mums cook. I don’t know why it’s called nouilles it’s not even an arabic word, but you can call it in other words, creamy chicken tagliatelle.

Very simple and easy recipe, but it takes time and care. When you savour it, you will know why it’s one of the favorite dishes for the majority of the lebanese.

The nouilles as we know it: (yields 6-8 servings)

500g tagliatelle
200g ham cut in pieces (optional)
100g parmesan or mozzarella
1 kg chicken (boneless thighs or breast) cut in pieces
1 tbsp butter
1 cup sliced mushroom
1 small onion chopped finely
1/2 cup white wine
salt to taste

For the cream sauce:

4 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
6 tbsp flour
100g butter
salt to taste
dash of nutmeg (optional)

Cook the tagliatelle as per pack instructions for al dente, it will continue cooking in the oven. Drain and keep aside.

Heat the butter and cook the onion and mushrooms until fragrant (3-4 minutes) then add the chicken and keep cooking until almost done. Add the wine (for a deeper flavor) and cook until half the liquid is evaporated.

To make the sauce, heat the butter until melted but not colored. Add the flour and cook for few minutes until light golden brown. Add the milk and cream one cup at a time and whisk continuously until smooth. Bring to boil then cook for 30 seconds before removing from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg (optional). If you are cheese lover, you can add a handful grated parmesan to the bechamel to give it rich flavor.

Stir in the chicken and ham (I mentioned that the ham is optional for the people who doesn’t like the taste) and pour over the tagliatelle and mix until all components are well incorporated.

Put the mix in a baking dish and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake (on 180°C) for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy the pleasure on a plate, indulge in rich flavors and sahtein a la libanaise!

5 Comments

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Tagged blog, cheese, chicken, ham, how to cook, jaymmy, lebanes nouilles, marmite et ponpon, mushroom, recipe, tagliatelle, white wine

Eat like an Emilian! classic lasagne alla bolognese

Posted on August 29, 2014 | 6 comments

A hearty dish, considered one of the staples of the Italian cuisine. Often made for family gatherings and special occasions like Christmas. Served in many variations representing the region’s classic ingredients. It used to be called pasticcio means mess!

This dish is something to truly relish, served to satisfy and comfort. I don’t promise you a quick dish, it needs time and care but not difficult!

My favorite so far, is the classic lasagne alla bolognese where meat sauce (ragu) and bechamel (Besciamella) are the major play. It’s called classic Emilian lasagne coming from Emilia region.

For the ragu you will need:

500g ground beef
1/4 cup olive oil
large onion chopped finely
half cup carrots diced finely
1 cup white wine
1 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup tomato diced
salt to taste
1 tsp dried oregano (optional)

Heat the oil and cook the onion and carrot until fragrant and soft. Add the meat and cook to brown.

Pour the wine and continue to cook over medium heat until almost all the liquid is evaporated. Add the tomato puree and simmer. The longer the better (italians take it up to 2 hours), but i guess one hour is ok!

For the besciamella you will need:

75g butter
4 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
2 tsp salt
dash of nutmeg (optional)

Heat the butter until melted but not colored. Add the flour and cook for few minutes until light golden brown. Add the milk one cup at a time and whisk continuously until smooth. Bring to boil then cook for 30 seconds before removing from heat. It should be just a little looser than usual for lasagne. Season with salt and nutmeg (optional). If you are cheese lover, you can add a handful grated parmesan to the bechamel to give it rich flavor.

To assemble you will need:

grated mozzarella to taste (enough to add between layers and to end up), I use almost 200g and 50g of parmesan (optional)
500g dried pasta (i use lasagne verdi, made with spinach)

Use a rectangular or square casserole dish, keeping in mind that a larger one will produce less layers and a smaller one will produce more.

For the dried pasta (that doesn’t need pre-boiling), allow me to suggest Barilla, amazing for lasagne, I use lasagne verdi, made with spinach (con spinaci bolognesi).

Start with a layer of ragu, lay down pasta sheets, add another layer of ragu to cover followed by bechamel and a sprinkle of mozzarella. Repeat (pasta – ragu – bechamel – mozzarella) until you finish by a layer of ragu, bechamel and heavier layer of mozzarella ( mixed with parmesan or emmental for a deeper flavor).

Bake at 180°C for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the thickness, depth and size of your lasagne. It should be golden brown on top and the sauce bubbling.

A tip: let the lasagne rest for 10-15 minutes after you take it out from the oven. This way the cutting will be easier. This quantity yields 4 generous portions. But i don’t know if it will make 4 with my husband. Antoun is a lasagne lover, he can live on it.