Category Archives: main dish

Artichoke stew – easy & quick recipe

Posted on June 11, 2015 | Leave a comment

Lebanese cuisine is one of the ancient cuisine, a result of a blend of many cultures due to the country’s location on the crossroads of three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. Lebanese cuisine gained its popularity beside the variety and the delicious taste, from being naturally healthy and low in fat. Fresh vegetables and legumes are the staple ingredients in the lebanese dishes especially when we are talking about family cuisine. Specifically stews (yakhné) that are presented with rice vermicelli.

Artichoke stew يخنة آرضي شوكي ورز , is one of my favorite dishes. Very easy to do and so delicious. Knowing the artichoke nutrition facts, you will be making it more often, trust me.

To prepare a meal for 4 persons you will need:

1 kg artichoke hearts, could be frozen or fresh
5 small onion quartered
300g beef cubed (size of a bite)
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp flour
3 cups of water
salt to taste

Follow this step by step method:

In a pot, bring oil to heat and fry the onion until tender and fragrant (2-3 minutes). Add the cubes of beef and cook until brown (3-4 minutes), then the artichoke hearts (cut them in half or 4 if they are too big), cover with water and bring to boil for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl mix well lemon and flour and stir in to have a thicker sauce. Cover the pot and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

For a complete full meal serve with rice vermicelli. Kids usually love this dish. Don’t hesitate to try this simple and healthy recipe. Alf sahtein!

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Spinach and cream cheese lasagna

Posted on May 19, 2015 | 1 comment

Spinach is one of the most versatile vegetables to include in your meals. For a dish perfect in spring, try this delectable spinach and cream cheese lasagna done in no time!

We all know that Popeye made himself super strong by eating spinach. Give your kids the habit to eat healthy and delicious. Among the World’s Healthiest vegetables, spinach comes out at the top of the ranking list for nutrient richness.

To make this lasagna you need:

500g chopped spinach (thawed if frozen)
200g cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream
2 medium onion diced
2 tbsp olive oil
lasagna sheets
1 cup shredded emmental
1 cup shredded parmesan
salt to taste

Bring olive oil to heat and cook the onions until tender and fragrant. Add the spinach and cook until done. Take off the heat add the cream cheese and combine. Stir in the heavy cream.

To assemble, 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.

Start with a layer of spinach cream cheese, lay down pasta sheets, add another layer of spinach cream cheese to cover followed by parmesan. Keep in mind, you will have to divide the cup of parmesan equally in your layers. Repeat (pasta – spinach cream cheese – parmesan) until you finish by a layer of spinach cream cheese and the thick layer of emmental cheese.

Preheat oven on 200°C and bake for 25-30 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

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Tagged blog, chopped spinach, cream cheese, emmental, Emmental cheese, food blogger, heavy cream, how to cook, jaymmy, lasagna, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, parmesan, qatar, recipe, spinach

Easy pan grilled chicken with mushroom sauce

Posted on April 21, 2015 | Leave a comment

It’s one of those delicious meals for busy moms or even bachelors who wants their food to be served in less than 30 mns. Incredibly flexible dish, can be served with grilled or sauteed vegetables, with mashed potatoes or even pasta.

To create the easiest and quickest mushroom gravy you need:

4 cups of water
one sachet of mushroom soup (50g)
2 cubes chicken stock (20g)
3 tbsp flour
1 cup sliced mushroom
1 tbsp whiskey

Choose your favorite brand of mushroom soup and prepare the creamiest and most tasty gravy for your quick meal. Combine water, mushroom soup, chicken stock and flour in a casserole, mix well and bring to boil. Keep whisking all the time to get the consistency you need, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the mushroom slices and boil for two more minutes. Take off the heat and add the whiskey. It will give it the twist you will enjoy. Eh voila the gravy is ready.

Season around 800g of chicken breast with salt and pepper and pan grill. Do not flip the chicken many times, they will become dry and chewy. Keep each side around 4-5 minutes for tender and juicy result. This quantity will serve 4 people.

Serve it along with what you fancy to eat, personally i like mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables in salt and butter.

You will probably make it a regular in your home but what I promise for sure you will lick your plate clean, not a single drop will be left at all. Enjoy!

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Sweet balsamic glazed salmon

Posted on April 14, 2015 | 4 comments

I guarantee you it’s the only way you will ever make your salmon from now on. The sweet and tangy flavors blend together to give you this flavorful salmon.

Beside of having a quick meal, ready on your table within 20 mns, you will be enjoying a sustaining dish full of nutrients, such as the amazing omega-3, vitamin B3, B6 and B12, protein and vitamin D.

Bottom line, eating salmon makes you smarter and happier!

To make the glaze you will need:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients and bring to boil for 5 minutes to thicken.

Place 4 pieces of salmon (each 200g) skin-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Cooking in baking papers keeps the fish deliciously moist as it bakes in its own juices, minimal cleanup needed later and it’s definitely more healthy than aluminium foil.

Brush with the glaze, bake for 10 minutes in the oven on 200°C, brush again with the glaze then bake uncovered for 5 additional minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is cooked through.

Transfer to your plate, you will see the skin will remain easily on the baking paper, add the remaining glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with potatoes, rice or pasta. This quantity serves 4 people.

This tender, flaky and flavorful salmon will leave you basking in compliments from your loved ones!

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 posts yet to come.

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Tagged balsamic, balsamic vinegar, blog, cooking, food blogger, glaze, honey, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, recipe, salmon, sesame seeds

Savory spinach feta cheese quiche and a must have crust recipe (pâte brisée)

Posted on January 29, 2015 | 7 comments

Pâte brisée is a rich buttery and crumbly texture crust made with just 5 ingredients; Butter, flour, salt, sugar and ice water. The high ratio of butter to flour gives the pastry its crumbly texture. This dough is ideal for savory pies, tarts and quiches. It can be made by hand or food processor, but the most important is to not over or under work the dough beside using cold butter and cold water.

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
220g high quality unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup ice water

Mix dry ingredients, add the butter already cut in small cubes and pulse (or mix by hands) until it just started to come together then add the ice water slowly to bind the ingredients together. Do not over work, you are not aiming to form a solid ball of dough here.

I admit it took me time to master this shortcrust dough, it’s a bit tricky and i know lots of you prefer buying it ready made. But trust me when you avoid these two mistakes you will enjoy making it at home. Two problems lead to failure:

If you over work the butter into the flour, it will cause the butter to coat the flour that will not absorb enough water, resulting a fragile dough that breaks apart.
If you under work the butter into the flour, too much water will be needed to get the ingredients come together. Here we have a tough dough because too much gluten was formed.

Let your dough rest in the fridge for an hour, this will allow the gluten in the flour to relax and the butter to chill. Roll it out about 2cm larger than your pan and gently lay it in the pan (I used a 28 cm pan) and trim the excess on the edges. Pinch it with a fork before baking!

Today i am baking spinach feta cheese quiche, for this you need:

600g chopped spinach
200g feta cheese
1 cup cream
1 big onion diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the onion with olive oil until tender and fragrant. Add the chopped spinach (thawed if frozen) and cook together for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cream and combine all well. Beat the eggs with salt and pepper then add to the mix.

I like to precook the crust for 15 minutes on 180ºC before pouring the mix on it. Once it’s spread evenly, sprinkle on top the feta cheese. Bake for 30 minutes on 180ºC or until the skewer comes out clean.

Bon appetit!