Syrian Hummus

In planning for a Christmas party in honour of my daughter and her new husband, 

on my menu was a Three Layer Hummus; red, white and green layers stacked on one another and garnished with vegetable and lettuce. 

The Syrian Family that we hosted over the holidays wanted to help in the preparation for the party and I gave them the task of making the hummus appetizer.  Later I learned from an Arabic friend that Syrian's make the best Hummus! Oh Dear!

Into a food processor two cans of Chick peas that had been rinsed well were added.   Tahini, Lemon juice, Garlic clove and salt were added to the chick peas and processed until smooth.  Water and Olive oil were added to form the right consistence.

The mixture was divided into three parts. One part was left as is, white.   To the second part, a Jalapeños and a handful of cilantro leaves were added to the hummus and blended in the food processor.  To the third part, a red pepper was blended into this hummus.

Although, I had seen pictures of three layered hummus, I did not think the consistence of this hummus would layer so the plating was done attractive done using small crystal bowls with good quality Virgin Olive oil generously poured on top of each dish.

The special touch was the adding of the Cherry Tomatoes to each dish!  From this young Syrian family, I have gained an appreciation of attractively served dishes! 

Bulgur with Arabic Chicken

In visiting the young Syrian family in their new apartment, I was shown all the new bulk products, rice, bulgar, spices that was purchased at an Arabic Store in our city.  I was amazed how many of the spices she uses can be bought in such large bags. 

This time I was introduced into the use of Bulgur as a side dish and  Parsley Salad or 

Tabbouli / Tabouli / Tabbouleh Salad

Bulgur wheat is a whole wheat grain, high in fibre, low in calories that has been cracked and partially pre-cooked. 

In her shopping trip to the Arbaic store, she had three types of Bulgur wheat that require different cooking times as already partially cooked. 

A lot of the Syrian dishes seem to start the same, poaching the meat in water with many spices; such as bay leaves, cinnamon bark, cardamon pods and pre packed Arabic mixed spices and white onion.  

To day, chicken thighs that were frozen were added to cold water and poached.  The chicken was taken out when cooked and fried in hot mazola oil.  The stock that was made from poaching the chicken was used to cook the Bulgur #3 which is coarse. The bulgur was cooked on the stove top in a pot with a covered lid.  More spices like the Arabic pre mixed spices, turmeric and curry were added. 

The poached meat was then sautéed in Mazola oil.

Bulgar #3 cooking in the Chicken broth 

The setting of the table for this meal was most attractive with the Pita folded in half and tucked under the plate. 

Tabbouli / Tabouli / Tabbouleh Salad (Parsley Salad)

This salad made with parsley along with tomatoes, green onions and bulgur and dressed with freshly squeezed lemons added freshness to this Syrian dish. 

Three large bundles of parsley were used, the leaves were gathered together and the stems were cut and discarded.  I was surprised the stems of the parsley were not thrown into the stock.  The Parsley leaves were chopped, washed and drained before adding the bulgar to the parsley. The spices used were 1/2 tsp sumac pulv, salt and pepper.   Three tomatoes along with three green onions were chopped finely.  Juice of three lemon, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped lemon rind were added and seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil to taste. 

About a cup of fine Bulgur #1 was used for the salad. It had been soaked in hot broth, the extra moisture was squeezed out.  

Slices of lemon were added to decorated the salad. Another visually attractive dish!

The setting of the table was most interesting and decorative. Fresh Pita bread was fold in half and place under and to the left of the plate. The salad was served in separate bowls and according to the eight year old not mixed with the Bulgar which I was so tempted to do!

Spicy Arabic Chicken, Ouzi

Another beautiful Syrian Dish that was prepared in my kitchen over the holidays by the Syrian family we hosted for three weeks.   The beauty of this dish was that everyone took part in making the Arabic dish. The ten year old loved to help and peeled all the skins of the blanched almonds.  A task I remember doing as a young child as only Natural almonds were available for baking. I remember it leaving my hands feeling odd! 

The blanched almonds were dried and sautéed in about 1/2 cup of sunflower oil.

Chicken Breasts were poached in water, seasoned with Cinnamon sticks, Cardamon Pods, Bay Leaves, Salt and Black Peppers.

The Broth had been skimmed and only the clear broth was used to cook the rice in a covered pot on the stove top.

To the broth spices such as Premixed Arabic spices; cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg,

Along with Turmeric and Curry powder were also added to give a wonderful color and taste to the rice. 

The chicken breasts were cut into small pieces and sautéed in butter until golden brown. 

Using a larger platter, the rice was added first, then the chicken, next the green peas along the ends and garnished with the sautéed Almonds!

Syrian Pizza

Having refrigerator dough ready to go was such a great life saver while hosting the Syrian family.  The two young boys took turns rolling out the dough for their pizza.  With different food preferences, Pizza was the perfect solution. 

Chicken breast slices, mozzarella cheese, Za'atar spice, tomato sauce, sliced mushrooms, caramelized onion, sliced bell peppers, jalapeños peppers were added to different pizza depending  likes and custom made!

Lime Dressing for Salad

Fresh squeezed lime makes the freshest and tastiest salad dressing.

To a small jar add chopped green onion, juice of 2-3 limes, minced garlic chop, salt and Olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. 

Adjust ingredients to taste.. Simple but such a delicious dressing

Lamb Ouzi with Rice, Almonds and Peas

A traditional Syrian Meal full of flavour and deeply aromatic was prepared using lamb.  This was the first meal the Syrian couple we had hosted during the Christmas holidays prepared for our family.

This proved to be an interesting journey through the world of spices and transcribing the recipe for me!  The couple had brought a bag of spices that the wife used all the time in her home.  With the help of google search and google translate, we were able to find most of the spices in my kitchen.  

Kabsa, Kabseh is a mix of both pungent and floral spices such as black pepper, bay leaves, ginger, saffron, cayenne, black lime, cardamom and cloves. 

Curcuma is Turmeric and a Indo European Hot Curry Mix that I had added even more flavor to the rice. 

The adding of spices was not measured, but done to taste.

The Natural almonds were blanched to remove the skins.  This has been a long since I'll seen this done as now one can buy skinned almonds, but at an increased price.

The blanched almonds were dried and fried in canola oil until golden

The lamb was cooked in a pressure cooker. When cool to handle the lamb was cute into bite size pieces.   

Butter was melted and the pieces of lamb were fried in the melted butter

The next step was to cook the rice stove top with aromatic spices;cardamon pods, curry, turmeric, cinnamon, bay leaves, salt and black pepper along with juices from cooking the lamb. 

The lamb dish was beautifully served Family Style, the rice was topped with the lamb and garnished with the sautéed golden almonds and peas. 

This Syrian meal was not only colorful but flavorful and fresh!

This beautiful meal was prepared by a young Syrian couple to mark one week in Canada . What an accomplishment to be able to pull this meal off using two unfamiliar Canadian kitchens!