Yummy Pasta Sauces !

There are many sauces from the northern part of Italy to the southern part of the peninsula.

1)Tomato sauce (basically the same for all of the country )
2)Bolognaise Sauce (Ragu , from Bolognia )
3)Saltata (hot sauce from the south )

Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce is an Italian classic and there is nothing better than to prepare it yourself. The recipe is straightforward, the ingredients are extremely easy to find and it is also very cheap to make. If you do not have time to prepare this sauce in the traditional way, a faster way is to buy a can of chopped tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes. Nowadays, there are some canned tomatoes producers (thanks goodness!) that can give you organic chopped tomatoes without any chemical additives or pesticides in them.

THIS IS TO TOP 400 g OF PASTA (serves 4)
Ingredients:

8 Tomatoes - medium size (you can use whole peeled tomatoes in can if in a hurry)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt for seasoning
Alternatively:

A can of chopped tomatoes
Half red onion 80 ml (3 fl oz)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt for seasoning
Directions:

Take a large pan full of water, bring the water to boil, put the tomatoes into the pan and boil for 2-3 minutes until you see some cracks on the tomatoes skin.

Meanwhile, finely chop half red onion.



Peel all the tomatoes with your fingers or, if they are too hot, with the aid of a small knife. The skin will come off easily without any problem.

Half the tomatoes and roughly scoop out the core and seeds. I suggest collecting the scooped out tomatoes into a small container.

Put the cleaned tomatoes into a bowl and sieve the contents of the container over the bowl (pressing down with a spoon to extract more juice).

Finally, you should have only seeds and cores in the sieve. These can be discarded.

Using a simple masher, roughly press down in order to break the tomatoes (why use fancy tools when you do not need to). For those who wish to have a thinner sauce, like the “passata di pomodoro”, I suggest to use a food mill.
Heat the olive oil over a low/medium heat.

When the oil is hot, add the onion.

Saute the onion until it gets golden.

When the onion is golden, add the tomatoes. As I said before, if you have not prepared the tomatoes yourself, just add the chopped tomatoes from the can.

Stir gently and let the sauce reduce over low heat for about 25-30 minutes.

Now, the most important part! Season with salt, stir for few seconds and taste it to check if you need to add a little more salt. The other important thing is to check the level of acidity (depending of the tomato quality and variety, you can have varying levels of acidity). Normally the onion brings this level down, but if you think that the sauce is a bit to acidic, then you can correct this by adding a pinch of sugar; that’s it!

Use the tomato sauce to top pasta or gnocchi.

Bolognese Sauce(Ragu) (serves 4 )
Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground veal or lamb
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 - 6 cloves of garlic....depending on your love for garlic and how much your family can stand
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 carrots, peeled and sliced and 1 cup of chopped celery
1 16 oz. can whole tomatoes with/ juice
salt & pepper to taste
1 kilo pasta of choice
Parmesan cheese for grating on top


Have all your meats ready to go and start a big pot of water boiling.
Peel and dice the onion. Then peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the carrots and chop them .Chop the celery .

In a large sauce pot, brown the chopped beef and (veal or lamb), drain fat and reserve meat for later.
In the same pot, sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil & butter until the onions are translucent.

Puree the whole tomatoes and add them to the pot along with the chopped carrots ,celery and reserved meat.
Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. (If the sauce become too dry add a little water or chicken/vegetable stock)
Salt and Pepper to taste.
In a big pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta al dente.
Serve sauce over pasta with grated cheese. (Parmigiano Regiano)

Saltata in Padella

In a large pot put water to boil. Add 1 Tbs. salt .

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbs.Extra Vergine Olive Oil

5-7 chili green peppers

3-4 cloves of garlic

1/2 Tbs red cayenne pepper (less if desired )

500 gms. spaghetti

*Tomato sauce previously prepared

In a large frying pan or wok, heat the olive oil and saute the pepers and garlic on high flame. As soon as peppers change colour( don't let garlic burn )add tomato sauce immediately. Turn heat off.

Now cook the spaghetti for only three minutes and drain (less than al dente because it will finish cooking in the sauce) Add to sauce in wok and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn heat off and serve immediately with green peppers on the side.

BUON APPETITO !

The Famous Libayn Soup!!

Lots of bloggers have asked me to post about the Libyan Soup, and finally I'm able to post the pictures I've taken in the process of preparing this recipe.

I hope you find the instructions easy to follow and if you have any questions or concerns (cofman), please do ask !.. And here we go, let's start cooking:

Ingredients

1 Table spoon ghee, leveled.
1 Small onion, chopped.
1/4 Kg boneless lamb meat or boneless chicken meat, cut into small cubes.
2 Ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 Table spoon tomato paste.
1/2 Cup cooked chickpeas (Humus), drained ( you can use canned chickpeas)
1/4 Cup Orzo.
3/4 Liter water.
1 Tea spoon Bzar or Baharat (you can use All Spices, if Bzar is not available).
1 Tea spoon ground red pepper (if you prefer it very hot, you can double the amount).
Salt.
Ground dried mint for garnish.


Directions:

1 - Heat ghee in a saucepan, and saute the onion .

2-Turn up the heat, add meat cubes.

3-Saute while stirring frequently until meat is brown, about 5 minutes.

4-Lower the heat, add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, bzar or spices, and repepperer.

5-Mix everything well, and cook for 3 minute or so while stirring.

6-Add the drained chickpeas.

7- Add the water (enough to cover the meat), turn up the heat, and bring the water to boil.

8-Then, lower the heat, put the lid on. Simmer on low heat until meat is cooked ( about 45 minutes or so).

9- Add Orzo, and simmer till cooked (about 10 min).

10- Before serving, sprinkle crushed dried mint leaves.

11-Serve with Lemon wedges to squeeze into the soup and bread.

Bon appetite!!!

More tips and notes:

*if you were using chicken, you need to add chopped garlic to the recipe and saute it with onions.
How to chop onions.
More information about spices
encyclopedia of spices

Pesto Genovese (from Genoa)

Basil Pesto,with it's vibrant colour and tremendous flavour is a staple in Italian cooking.It is rich in history as it is in taste. Originally pesto was created by the Genoese to celebrate the exceptional flavour of a fresh harvest.


So here's my own version of Pesto passed on to me from my maternal grandmother (Italian).




Ingredients :
Pesto Recipe
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts( I use pine nuts)
3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. You can also pour tomato or bolognaise sauce(meat sauce) prior to the pesto leaving pesto to top it all.
Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months.

Panettone

I like the christmas season cause it is the Panettone Time!, and last year I decided to make one my self, so since then I tried so many recipes, some of them work some didn't, but last few weeks I got across this recipe and it worked fantastically! So if you were a Panettone fan (like me ;)) you should try this recipe, it is simple and the results are great. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, cut up
3-3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon peel
1 teaspoon anise seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (2 packages)
1 cup dried tart cherries
3/4 cup pine nuts (or any kind of nuts, I used Almonds)
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 slightly beaten egg
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon pine nuts (or any kind of nuts, I used flaked Almonds)
Sifted powdered sugar for decoration(optional)

Directions:

1. Add the first 11 ingredients to a bread machine according to the manufacturer's directions. Select the dough cycle.

2. Meanwhile, coat an 8x3-inch springform pan or souffle dish with cooking spray. For collar, cut a piece of clean brown wrapping paper into a 25x6-inch strip. Fit the collar around the inside of prepared pan, overlapping slightly. Coat the inside of collar with cooking spray. Set aside.

3. When cycle is complete, remove dough. Punch down. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead in raisins. Shape dough into a ball. Place in collared pan and flatten slightly to cover bottom of pan. Cover; let rise in a warm place for 45 to 60 minutes or until nearly double.

4. Stir together the 1 egg and the water; brush over top of loaf. Sprinkle with the 1 tablespoon pine nuts. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into center of bread comes out clean. If necessary, loosely cover with foil the last 10 to 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

5. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes 12 servings.

Upside down rice pot

This is Kabsa, originally a Saudi daily dish consisting of rice, vegetables and meat. It is called kabsa, because the dish is cooked in a pot and served by turning the pot upside down onto a plate. A very easy Safia style recipe that doesn´t take much time and effort to prepare.


You need:
1 kilo of meat (mutton, camel, fat calf) cut in small chunks
2 big cauliflower heads, cut in pieces
2-3 aubergines, cut in small pieces
6-7 chopped garlic cloves
a handful of almonds
fresh or frozen coriander, chopped
harissa, salt, pepper
about 1 kg rice

Use a BIG cooking pot!

Fry the pieces of meat in the oil in the pot together with the garlic and the chopped coriander leaves until meat is lovely brown. Then add the cauliflower and aubergine pieces. Fry everything some minutes only, then add water until covered well and spice up with harissa, salt, pepper.

Put a lid on the pot to close well and let the pot simmer for an hour and a half. Meanwhile cook the almonds in a small pot one minute, then wash them under the faucet with icecold water. Remove the skin from the almonds and slice them sideways in halfs. Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the almond halves lovely brown, then scoop up and put away.

When the pot has cooked for about 1 and 1/2 hours, check that water is still covering the ingredients well. Wash and clean white rice (basmati) or any rice type, then pour the rice into the pot a handful a time. Use some salt but do not stir the rice! The water should slowly raise to cover the rice; if needed, add some water until rice is covered.

Return lid on pot, cooking for 20 - 30 minutes until rice looks ready. Then remove the lid and put a plate upside down on the open pot. Carefully (use cooking gloves) turn the pot around, keeping the plate tightly in place until the plate is down and the pot is upside down on top of it.

Give the pot bottom a hit, so the rice slips and remove pot carefully. Scatter the fried almond halves on top of the dish and enjoy!

Jirjeer Salad (سلطة جرجير)

What you need:

Fresh Jirjeer leaves (they look exactly like fresh spinish leaves)
Tomatoes cut into squares
Onions cut into long thin slices


Salad Dressing:
Lemon
Salt
Olive Oil
Sumak (سماغ)


Sorry I suck at writing down recipies! But my food kick's ass! :D

Lazy lamb leg

Here is a favorite recipe for eid dinners, guests and other do-it-quick-they-are-coming occasions; I call it Lazy Lamb Leg, because it doesn´t take much work.

This is what you need:

A big lamb leg or any larger chunk of mutton
Harissa
Fresh ginger
Garlic (10-12 cloves)
Lemon juice

Greens:
Aubergine (peeled)
Courgette
Potatoes
Onions
Carrots
Salsafy or other colorless beet roots
Tomatoes
or whatever greens you prefer (but the meat goes well with winter and fall/autumn greens)

Stab the lamb leg several places with a thin, long knife to make incisions. Put chopped garlic cloves into the incicions as deep as possible. Flavor the lamb leg in salt, pepper, harissa and the smashed fresh ginger.
Place the lamb leg into a deep oven pan or baking pan; then peel and cut the greens into large chunks and place it around the lamb leg in the pan. Flavor with salt, pepper, soya, harissa or other spices of your linking and finish off by pressing some fresh lemon juice over the entire thing.

Fill the pan with fresh water until it sparsly covers the greens and reaches the lamb leg.

Place the pan into the oven; first at very high temperatures for about 15 minutes, then roll the lamb leg over and set the oven to 175 degrees (C). Let the lamb leg and greens roast for about 2-3 hours, depending on the size of the leg. Roll lamb leg over every hour, but leave the greens in the water until last hour; then roll the greens every half hour.

Take it out and let the meat juice gather in the lamb leg. After about 20 minutes, you can cut the meat into pieces to serve with the greens.

To be eaten with bread, couscous, macaroni whatever.

It´s not much work in the kitchen; you can entertain your guests while the lamb is baking in the oven - but the end result is a delicious - lazy style - dinner.

Happy EID

Kul Sana Wa ento Taibeen

(Zmallah, Garieba and Magroud)

Happy Eid dear bloggers, and you may serve yourself ;)

Tabahaj Turki

Tabahage Turki
(5-6 servings)
Can be used as a salad or side dish. Even the most incompetent cook will come out with excellent results!

2 medium sized eggplants sliced
6 tomatoes sliced in halves
5 green peppers (hot)
3 cloves of garlic
Salt
Vinegar
Corn Oil for frying (3-4 Tbs.)

Fry eggplant slices on high heat until they change color. Drain on paper towel. Set aside.
Next fry tomatoes and green peppers for about 5-7 minutes. Drain. On serving platter arrange eggplant slices on the bottom and the tomatoes on top leaving the green peppers for decoration on sides of dish .To rest of oil (should be still warm ) in pan add the garlic / vinegar and immediately pour the liquid on to the vegetables. Salt to taste.

N.B. If preference is of a lighter taste then the frying can be omitted and veggies can be grilled, substituting olive oil (1/2 Tbs. pour over veggies and serve)

*Recipe was passed on to me from my grandmother.

Salads (contd.)

Potato Salad (Arabic version )
Serves 4-5

Potatoes 5-6
Green Onions 1/2 cup (chopped)
Olive Oil 1 Tbs. Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley chopped for garnishing
Olives (black) 1 cup/sliced or whole
1Tbs. vinegar
tomato wedges and lettuce leaves for serving
Boil potatoes untill tender ( be careful to not overcook). Set aside to cool.Cut into2 inch pieces, and place in a bowl. Mix green onions, vineger, salt, pepper,olives together and pour over potatoes. Toss lightly. Place lettuce leaves and tomatoes on serving platter and place the potatoes in the center. Garnish with the chopped parsley.