Pickles & Sauces (Hummus, etc.)
Lebanese Food Recipes - Page 15

Pickled Turnips
KABEES EL LIFT

This is an Authentic Lebanese Recipe

2 cups water
1 cup vinegar
2 tsp. salt
1 beetroot
Several garlic cloves

Big glass jars of these rose colored pickles decorate the front windows of many Arab restaurants in the Middle East. They are easily prepared and are very good with meza.

Wash turnips well and cut off a slice from the tops and bottoms. Slice lengthwise into quarter-inch slices to within a half-inch of the bottom of the turnip. Do not separate the slices entirely from each other. Soak in water overnight. Wash well in the morning. Place in glass jar with the beetroot, to give color to the pickles. Cover with the pickling solution prepared from the above ingredients.

These pickles may be eaten after three days.

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Pickled Cauliflower
KABEES EL QARNABEET

Chick Peas with Sesame Oil Sauce
HUMMUS BI TAHEENI

This is an Authentic Lebanese Recipe

Anyone familiar with Middle Eastern food recognizes this rich sauce as a favorite. It always appears with meza and is becoming popular at western-style cocktail parties. Dip it up with pieces of Arabic bread, or spread it on crackers like peanut butter, or serve it as a sauce with lahm mashwi, kibbeh or kafta — it is good in many ways. Here are three methods of preparing hummus hi taheeni.

In the pressure cooker:
2 1/2 cups hummus, soaked overnight with halftsp. soda
1 cup taheeni
1 1/2cups lemon juice, or more to taste
1 1/2 tsp. salt
5 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Wash peas well and pick over. Place in pressure cooker with water to cover and salt. Cook 20 minutes under pressure. Press cooked peas through sieve or food mill. To the pea puree slowly add taheeni and lemon juice, alternately. Add garlic crushed with salt. Sauce should be thick and smooth but if it seems too thick, thin with water. Pour sauce onto serving platter. Garnish with parsley and a few whole cooked peas. Drizzle a little olive oil over the sauce. Chill. Makes approximately six cups of sauce.

In an open pan: Use same ingredients as above Boil soaked peas in fresh water until very tender, adding more water during cooking if necessary. Puree the cooked peas and combine with remaining ingredients as above. Peas will require several hours cooking to become tender.

Quick electric blender method: Use one-third the amounts given above and substitute one cup of canned cooked chick peas (garbanzos) for the dried ones. Pour lemon juice into blender, slowly add taheeni and crushed garlic and salt. Gradually add peas, a few at a time. Blend very smooth. Chill.

If you use these recipes, please link to this website and help us share the Lebanese heritage with the world. Thank you

Parsley and Sesame Oil Sauce
BAQDOUNIS BI TAHEENI

This is an Authentic Lebanese Recipe

1 1/2 cups parsley, coarsely chopped
1 cup taheeni
1 cup lemon juice
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cold water

This parsley sauce is not as well known as hummus hi taheeni but it is equally flavorful and makes an excellent meat or bland fish accompaniment.

Crush garlic with salt and work into a smooth paste with a little lemon juice. Mix taheeni with the garlic and slowly add lemon juice with the water until a smooth sauce like thick cream is formed. Add parsley and more salt and lemon juice enough to give it a tart flavor. Serve cold Makes about two and a half cups of sauce.

To make this sauce quickly in the electric blender, add lemon juice and water alternately in smallamounts to the taheeni. Add garlic crushed with salt. Blend in parsley at low speed last. Parsley should be recognizable so do not overblend sauce at the end.

If you use these recipes, please link to this website and help us share the Lebanese heritage with the world. Thank you

Sesame Oil Sauce
TARATOUR BI TAHEENI

Eggplant with Sesame Oil Sauce
BABA GHANNOUJ or BATINJAAN BI TAHEENI

3 large eggplants
1 cup taheeni
1 1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. salt
Parsley
Pomegranate seeds
Olive oil

This spread pleases the palates of East and West alike with its slightly smokey taste and rich creamy texture. It is considered best when heavily laden with the freshest garlic, and is excellent as a meza or cocktail dip with potato chips, toast rounds, or Arabic bread.

Cut stem and green hull from top of eggplant. Bake it whole or broil over an open flame until the flesh is soft and the skin becomes crisp and starts to crack open. Scoop pulp out of the skin. Mash thoroughly or pass through a food mill. Slowly beat in lemon juice alternately with taheeni. Crush garlic with salt and mix to a paste with a little lemon juice. Blend this into the eggplant mixture. Adjust seasoning to taste adding more salt or nemon juice. Pour onto shallow serving dishes or platters. Garnish with chopped parsley or leaves. Arrange pomegranate seeds in rows across top. Serve cold with olive oil, radishes and green onions.

Baba ghannouj can be prepared in small quantities in the electric blender. Beat the grilled pulp first, then alternately add taheeni and lemon juice, and garlic crushed with salt. Prepare a third of the quantity given above so as not to overfill the blender.

If you use these recipes, please link to this website and help us share the Lebanese heritage with the world. Thank you

More Authentic Lebanese Recipes - several pages. Click here for Page 1 |  Pg 2 |  Pg 3 |  Pg 4 |  Pg 5 |  Pg 6 |  Pg 7 |  Pg 8 |  Pg 9 |  Pg 10 | 

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