Category Archives: j delights

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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La salade niçoise

Posted on June 9, 2015 | 1 comment

After two long hektic weeks, moving to a new house, i am back if you are wondering where i’ve been!

My first post from my new kitchen, eagerly presenting the french “salade Niçoise”, in the style of Nice, France.

Traditionally made with hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, olives, green beans, tuna, anchovies, tomato and onion presented on a bed of lettuce. Some sources exclude anchovies, add artichoke hearts or even presented without lettuce.

To serve 4 people you will need:

3 canned tuna drained and flaked
4 hard boiled eggs quartered
8 small potato boiled and quartered
12 cherry tomato halved
150 g green beans steamed
around 24 black olives pitted
1 big onion cut rondelles
1 head romaine lettuce chopped into bite size pieces

Mix all together drizzle with vinaigrette or lemon olive oil dressing and serve!

Usually this salad is served as an entree, but with some french baguette or croutons it can be a wholesome and sustaining dinner.

Happy to be back, miss you 🙂

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Posted in appetizers & salads

Tagged appetizer, black olive, black olives, blog, cherry tomato, food blogger, green beans, hard boiled eggs, jaymmy, lebanon, lemon dressing, marmite et ponpon, olive oil, onion, potato, qatar, recipe, salade nicoise, tuna, vinaigrette

Strawberry jam crumble tart

Posted on May 20, 2015 | Leave a comment

Are you craving a sweet treat that is unfussy? Try this delicious crumble tart with any jam flavor you fancy and reap a bounty of flavors in no time!

It’s been a hektic week, juggling hundred tasks, between work and home, especially we are moving to a new flat. I wanted to prepare something sweet but very easy and effortless. Right now, i am savoring one piece of this strawberry crumble tart while writing this post.

Share with me this pleasure, head to your kitchen right away to prepare this delectable tart, I am sure you have all the ingredients:

2 1/2 cup flour sifted
200g butter cold and cubed
1/2 cup confectioner sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
300g jam (flavor of your choice)

Mix all together until it just starts to come together. You need a crumble like dough not a solid ball of dough.

Preheat you oven 200°C. Take 3/4 of the dough and roll it in your pan (10 inches) with a half cm thickness. Bake for 10 minutes before taking out to spread the jam on top of it. Use any jam you favor, i chose strawberry for this time.

Crumble the rest of the dough over the jam and bake again for another 10 minutes.

Let it cool before serving. Personally i like it at room temperature and also cold from the fridge. It’s one of the treats light in efforts but rich in flavors just bake and slice!

Satisfy your sweet tooth and 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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Posted in main dish

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

Mandarin pound cake

Posted on May 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

I’ve been craving this tangy cake for long! A real pleasure to the palate, made with fresh mandarin (you can replace it with fresh oranges) and comes with a warning label: ADDICTIVE!

This pound cake is not just looking amazing but it’s also uber delicious; As its name suggests, it’s citrusy, rich and buttery, and will surely please a lot of people. A lot of you would like NOW to pick a piece or two out of the screen.

This recipe calls for:

Cake batter:

1cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (227g about 2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated mandarin zest
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed mandarin juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tbsp rum

Mandarin syrup:

1/2 cup mandarin juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Mandarin glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed mandarin juice

Many times it happens a recipe calls for buttermilk and you realize you don’t have or find at the nearest supermarket. Luckily you can do it at home in just 5 minutes. All you need is a cup of milk and 1 tbsp of vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon. Pour the milk on the vinegar and let it rest for 5-10 mns. I am sure lot of you will never buy again buttermilk once you know this easy substitution. If the recipe calls for more than a cup of buttermilk you can easily double the quantity.

Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease and flour your bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the mandarin zest.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the mandarin juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter in the pan and smooth the tops.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Meantime while the cake is getting baked, prepare the syrup: Cook 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with 1/2 cup mandarin juice in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes. Take it out of the pan and place it on a baking rack set over a tray. Spoon the mandarin syrup over and allow it to cool completely.

To glaze, combine the confectioners sugar and mandarin juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Add a few more drops of juice, if necessary, to make it pour easily. Pour over the top and allow to dry.

Wrap well, and store in the refrigerator.

Now I am sure it won’t last long stored in your fridge but it will be a staple in it especially it’s spring time!

Happy Baking!

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