Marmoul (Date Cookies)

Nuwall Obeid taught me this when I first arrived in the States. She still makes the best marmoul I’ve ever tasted, but I’ll keep trying!

For the Filling

 Ingredients

2 x 1 lb 5 oz. chunk of dates
4 tablespoons margarine
4 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Buy two 1lb 5 oz. chunk of dates rather than the layered kind. The chunk is less expensive and just as good for cooking.
Grind dates through fine grinder of a meat grinder.
Place ground dates in a saucepan and add 4 tablespoons margarine and 4 tablespoons water. Heat over low fire, stirring the margarine well into the ground dates. Heat till mixture begins to gently bubble. Remove from heat and add 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

For the Pastry

Ingredients

2 tubs Land O Lakes Unsalted Whipped Butter
5 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 Eggs

Directions

Stand 2 tubs Land O Lakes unsalted whipped butter at room temperature. 
Place butter in bowl and add 5 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs and mix well with hands to form a ball.

 
To Make Cookies

Preheat oven at 300 degrees F.
Take a walnut chunk of dough,
roll into a ball and then flatten
in the palm of your hand. (It

Walnut size dough rolled into a ball

should be no bigger than the
palm of your hand)
Place a heaping spoonful of
the date mixture on the dough,
fold dough over and completely
Seal the date mixture inside.

Flatten in the palm of your hand

Place a spoonful of date mixture on dough round

Place in wooden mold

Flatten and press into the mold

Remember to dust the mold with flour first, then bang hard on a wooden board and you have perfect marmoul!

Instead of a wooden mold, you can use a plastic mold instead.

Fava Bean Hummus

Fava Bean Hummus


This hummus made with dried
fava beans, a version of a Morrocan

dip called Bessara, is actually lighter than the traditional hummus made
with chick peas. Very easy, requiring soaking the beans in water overnight, boiling the beans and then using a food processor to produce a smooth airy hummus. Adding garlic, lemon juice
and tahini but also cumin, cayenne
pepper and paprika.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried fava beans preferably skinless
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup tahini (mix well before using)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Olive Oil
Parsley for garnish

Directions
Soak the dried fava beans overnight in a large bowl of water. If unable to buy skinless fava beans, drain the beans and peel them, the skin comes off quite easily.
Place the beans in a large pot and cover with a generous amount of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer the beans until really tender, about 1 hour.
Drain the beans reserving the liquid.
Transfer the beans to a food processor, and add 2 cloves garlic, 1/3 cup tahini, 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon (basically 1 lemon) 1  teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and if the mixture seems too thick after processing, add some of the reserved liquid. Process until the mixture is smooth. Serve on a platter with a little olive oil poured over the top.
This was really good with filafel instead of tahini sauce!

Pickled Beetroot (Kabees Shamandar)

Pickled Beetroot
(Kabees Shamandar)

This is delicious served as
a topping on a sandwich,
especially filafel or as a
side dish.

Ingredients
4 Beetroots
2 Cups Water
1 Cup White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Directions

Wash the beetroots, snip off the ends and peel. Chop the beetroot into small cubes approximately 1/8 of an inch. Set aside in a small bowl.
In a saucepan, place 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon sea salt, or coarse Kosher salt. Bring to a boil, set aside to cool a little and add 1 cup vinegar.
Pour the water/vinegar mixture over the beets.
Keep refrigerated.

(Filafel posted 10.23.12)

Ziti with Broccoli and Lemon

Maryann Garofolo gave me this recipe,  much loved by all her grandchildren. It’s light and easy to make. I added mushrooms, you could also use chopped asparagus instead. Gentle on the stomach if you are having a delicate day!

Ingredients

2 Broccoli heads
Olive oil
l Lemon squeezed
Salt
Pepper
1 cup ziti (any pasta is good, whatever is in the closet)

Directions

Place a steamer in the base of a saucepan, fill with a little water, bring to the boil, add 1 tablespoon salt. In the meantime, wash and cut the broccoli into large pieces, so you basically have the florets. Steam the broccoli florets in the boiling water, with lid on until they begin to soften, but be careful not to overcook as the broccoli can become mushy.Reserve the broccoli water to add to the pasta.
Bring a second pot of water to the boil and once boiling, put the ziti in and cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta and add the juice of 1 lemon and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix together.
In a pan, quickly saute the broccoli in a tablespoon olive oil. Add to the pasta and mix. Add1/2 a cup of the reserved broccoli water to the pan and pour over the pasta. Pasta often swells, so add more of the broccoli water if needed.
Taste to adjust seasoning. May need more salt and pepper.

Radicchio Fennel and Olive Panzanella Salad

Radicchio, Fennel and Olive Panzanella Salad

David found a  recipe for a robust salad 

in Bon Appetit by Alaina
Sullivan, Junior Designer. She states,
“If I’m bringing a salad to work, it’s
got to have spunk - that means bold
flavor, like olives and salami - so I’m not bored half way through. And it has to be hardy enough to dress in the morning, I’m not interested in soggy spinach or in carrying an extra dressing container to the office. So I seek out kale, chard, radicchio the rugged ones.
I especially love adding bread to soak up the extra dressing and to bulk it up.”
We tried it tonight, and loved it.

Ingredients

4 cups country-style bread torn into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup olive oil divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 small shallot finely chopped
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 radicchio, torn into bite size pieces.
1 fennel bulb thinly sliced
1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves roughly chopped
1/2 cup pitted green olives halved
3 oz. shaved Manchego cheese
3 oz. hard salami, thinly sliced.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss bread with lemon zest and 1/4 cup olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet., season with salt and pepper. Bake, tossing occasionally until crisp on the outside but still chewy in the center, 8 - 10 minutes. Let cool.
Whisk the shallot, lemon juice, vinegar and oregano in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper.  Whisk in remaining 1/2 cup olive oil.
Add radicchio, fennel, olives parsley, cheese, salami and bread to dressing and toss to combine.
Taste.
Adjust seasoning as needed.

If you have leftover, remove the baked bread pieces, they become very soggy overnight and kind of overwhelm the crunchiness of the other ingredients.