Category Archives: main dish

Spaghetti marinara

Posted on March 31, 2016 | 1 comment

Sometimes it is hard to find the right words to describe how tasty was a dish. In this case and particularly when talking about spaghetti marinara, one of my favorite dishes, all i can say it’s a kind of food where you like to close your eyes and create a mental image while you relish the deep flavors. It’s the dish that shouts “eat me”!

I am a pasta girl, i love all types of pastas and encourage the creativity for the sauces. A classic recipe is never enough for me, i always add my personal input and it comes most of the times bulls eye! This spaghetti marinara is not a conventional one, it has marmite et ponpon touch.

400g ground beef
1 big onion finely diced
6-8 garlic cloves sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chili oil
500 ml tomato puree
1 tsp sugar
a handful celery coarsely chopped
a handful leek coarsely chopped
1 medium carrot shaved
1/2 cup white wine
salt to taste
parmesan or emmental cheese grated for garnish

Cook onion and garlic with olive oil and chili oil until fragrant. Add the beef and cook until it is browned. Pour the tomato puree, wine and sugar and cook for 10 minutes. Add celery, leek and carrots and simmer on a very low heat for an hour, until 3/4 of the liquid has evaporated.

It’s a nice technique to do the ragout, it enhances the flavors and gives it a deep and sharp taste. Anyways “ragout” means reviving the taste, can’t be better explained!

Meantime cook pasta as per pack instructions, ladle with the sauce and sprinkle with parmesan/emmental cheese and savor this must do version of marinara.

It’s not just a pleasure to the palate but to the eyes too. The colors were inviting me to practice my photography skills and the smell was telling me to hurry up and dig in!

If you like this post give it many likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in main dish

Tagged cooking, food art, food blogger, food porn, how to do, italian food, jaymmy, lebanon, marinara, marinara with a twist, marmite et ponpon, qatar, recipe, spaghetti, spaghetti with beef, white wine

Smoked salmon and crab sandwich

Posted on March 29, 2016 | 1 comment

An utterly craveable sandwich, for a NO cook day, doesn’t require skills and the best part it’s ready in less than 10 mns. So if you feel like treating yourself effortlessly, enjoy this elegant sandwich.

To make 2 sandwiches you will need:

6 slices of bread (could be toasted)
150g thin slices smoked salmon
100g imitation crab meat, shredded
1 medium avocado pitted and mashed
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp capers
1 1/2 tbsp cream cheese
3-4 roman lettuce leaves

Start by spreading on the first layer of bread the mashed avocado and lemon, then a layer of the shredded crab. Cover with a second layer of bread, spread cream cheese, lay thin slices of smoked salmon, a layer of lettuce and sprinkle some capers. Top it with the third layer of bread and serve.

You can use toasted bread or simply sliced from the loaf. Personally i like it toasted, if you do then you need to let it cool before making the sandwich, if the bread is hot, it might change the taste of the ingredients.

If you like onion, you can add couple of rondelles, or maybe substitute lettuce with rocket leaves. It’s a versatile sandwich, you can add whatever you like to pair with crab and salmon.

I am sure only by looking at the pictures your mouth is already watering. Wait until you try it, you will fall for it.

If you like this post give it many likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in main dish

Tagged avocado, capers, crab, cream cheese, easy, fast, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, recipe, sandwich, smoked salmon

Minted yogurt pasta a la libanaise

Posted on March 22, 2016 | 1 comment

A very easy and quick Lebanese dish perfect for busy moms, so quick that it’s ready on your table with less than 20 mns. It tastes amazing and kids love it too, it could be served as light dinner as well.

You need (2 servings)

250g pasta could be fusili or penne
500g yogurt
2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
1 garlic clove crushed or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried mint
salt to taste

Cook pasta as per pack directions and set aside to cool. Mix yogurt, tahini, garlic, mint and salt until creamy. Pour over the pasta and toss. Sprinkle on top more dried mint before serving.

If you hesitate which type of pasta to use, check my pasta guide for more information to help you choose the right one.

This hint of tahini gives it the deep and lebanese flavor. I love to serve it cold, so refreshing, light and suitable for people abstaining from meat.

If you like this post give it many likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

1 Comment

Posted in main dish

Tagged fusili, lebanese food, less than 20 minutes meal, marmite et ponpon, mint, pasta, recipe, tahini, yogurt

Artichoke spinach quiche

Posted on March 10, 2016 | 2 comments

The weather is calling for hearty food. Dunno what is happening but yesterday it was raining in Doha! Although it’s not feeling cold, but the rain and the thunderbolt gives you the feeling of it! I thought of quiche, it serves the purpose without being too heavy and we could eat leftovers for dinner! I already mentioned how i love lunch leftovers (especially those of a delicious dish) that come to rescue the craving at dinner time.

To prepare the crust, click here to get redirected to one of my posts that explains step by step how to do a perfect pâte brisée.

For the filling you need:

250g spinach chopped (fresh cooked or thawed if frozen)
200g artichoke hearts coarsely chopped (fresh cooked or canned)
1 big onion finely diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 cup Parmesan grated
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon zest
Mozzarella cheese for garnish

Cook onion with olive oil until fragrant. Take off heat add spinach and artichoke. In a separate bowl mix cream, eggs, salt, pepper, lemon zest and Parmesan then add all to the spinach artichoke mix.

Pour the filling in the crust (already rolled out in a 9″pan), spread evenly and garnish the top with Mozzarella. Bake on 180°C for 30 minutes or until the filling is set.

Let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing it. Serve it warm! The Best about quiches, they can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. They are so versatile, you can fill them with almost everything. Plus they are served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Who doesn’t like quiche anyway?!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in main dish

Tagged comfort food, easy recipe, hearty food, homemade, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, quiche, recipe, spinach and artichoke

Fasoulia mtabbalé secret seasoning – vegan Lebanese butter beans

Posted on March 8, 2016 | 3 comments

Lebanese mezze are so versatile. You can serve them as appetizers, side dish or even main dish. All depending on how and with what. During lent, this vegan butter beans mezze (fasoulia mtabbalé) is served with bread or potato to be a main dish.

For 1kg butter beans, boiled until tender (yields 4 servings) you need for seasoning:

2 lemon juice
1 garlic clove minced
3/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste

Apparently it’s a very easy and quick dish to serve. You boil the beans until tender and you mix with the seasoning ingredients. BUT! there is an astuce to tell you about, that gives the deep flavor and richness. It’s not a secret ingredient but the way you prepare the seasoning!

When you mix lemon, garlic, oil and salt, take from the beans (half cup almost) and mash it to become like a puree and add it to the seasoning. It gives it a thick texture and coat the beans perfectly when mixed. This way you will taste the deep flavor of seasoning in each bite.

One more thing to mention, prepare the fasoulia mtabbalé at least two hours before serving to absorb the seasoning. Serve it at room temperature or cold. Enjoy!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.