Of all the food cultures, relatively little is known about the foods of the Middle East beyond shish kebab and pita, eaten throughout the Mediterranean but not specific to Arab countries.
Now along comes May S. Bsisu – born in Jordan, trained in French and Arabic cuisines, and once a chef at Cincinnati State University’s culinary institute – to open a window into a centuries-old cooking culture.
“The Arab Table” (Morrow, $34.95) is one of the prettiest and most interesting cookbooks to come down the pike in a while. There are recipes for such familiar foods as falafel and baklava, and many others that answer the question, “What do you do with this?” See for yourself by preparing kafta, the Arabic answer to meatballs; baked whole red snapper, reminiscent of the version popular in Veracruz, Mexico; and rosewater-scented chicken with saffron rice.
Dozens of vegetarian recipes are included with several incorporating pomegranate and other fresh or dried fruit. This is an informative and beautifully written gift for the cookbook collector who has (almost) everything.
– Ellen Sweets
From “The Arab Table (Recipes and Culinary Traditions) by May S. Bsisu
Chicken Freka with Ground Beef
Freka are greenish brown underripe wheat grains that have been roasted and either left whole or cracked. They impart a smoky, nutty flavor to dishes, making an excellent accompaniment to hearty winter foods. Though it is grown only in Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and was once considered peasant food, freka has become very fashionable among cosmopolitan Arabs and is now found on restaurant menus in such cities as Amman, Damascus, and Beirut. Freka is available in most Middle Eastern markets. There are different types, and the cooking times may very; the green grains take a little longer to cook that the brown variety. Properly cooked freka should have the texture of risotto, without the creaminess. Here it is cooked together with spiced ground beef and served with succulent pieces of chicken. This recipe has been slightly adapted from the original. Serves 6
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the butter and canola oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add beef and sauté, breaking it up with the back of a spoon, until it loses its pink color, about 10 minutes.
Add freka and stir until grains are coated with oil, about 4 minutes. Stir in the allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and ½ teaspoon of the pepper. Add 1½ cups of the chicken stock, give the mixture a good stir, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Continue boiling for 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to low. slide a heat diffuser under the pot, and cook, stirring often, for 1 hour. The freka should be tender to the bite – not at all crunchy – but still hold its shape. Remove the pot from the stove, wrap it in a large towel, and set it aside for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 300.
Arrange chicken pieces in an ovenproof dish and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Pour the remaining 1 cup stock into the dish (enough to just cover the bottom), and cover the dish with foil. Reheat in the oven.
To serve, spoon the freka onto a serving dish and arrange chicken pieces on top. Garnish with the pine nuts and almonds, and dust sparingly with the remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Baked Kafta with Potato
Essentially a layered lamb casserole, this is very easy to assemble, but first you must make kafta, a basic meat mixture used in several different recipes. You first combine the basic ingredients in a bowl and knead them with your hands until they are thoroughly incorporated and the mixture is somewhat smooth. Shape as desired and refrigerate, covered, for up to 6 hours or freeze for up to 4 months. In this recipe the kafta is layered in a casserole with tomatoes, sautéed potatoes and onions baked in a tomato sauce. Serve it with a simple salad and Arab flatbread. Tahini is sold at specialty food stores such as Vitamin Cottage, Wild Oats and Whole Foods Markets. You can roll the kafta mixture into small balls to use in soup, or pat it into small patties to fry for appetizers. Serves 6-8
Ingredients
Directions
In a mixing bowl, combine parsley, ground meat, onions, 1 tablespoon salt, allspice, pepper coriander, cardamom and cinnamon. Cover and set aside. This is the kafta mixture.
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add potatoes and sauté, turning once, until they are lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to paper towels to drain.
Add the tablespoon oil to the skillet and reheat it. Add onions and sauté until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Dissolve the tomato paste in ½ cup water, and pour it over the onions. Add garlic and stir the mixture to completely coat the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the onion mixture for 15 minutes, until they have melted slightly into the sauce.
Preheat oven to 350.
Spread kafta in a 9-by- 12-inch shallow baking dish. Arrange potatoes over the kafta, overlapping them if necessary. Layer the tomatoes on top of the potatoes, then spread the onion mixture evenly over the tomatoes.
Bake until tomato sauce has thickened, meat is deep brown, and the potatoes are fork tender, about 1 hour.
To serve, cut the kafta into squares and serve directly from the baking dish. Spoon tomato sauce over each square.
Baked Whole Red Snapper
This is a very simple way of preparing fish. In the old days, home cooks in the Middle East carried this stuffed fish to the local baker to cook his wood oven, and then return within the hour to pick up a fragrant and piping hot fish dish. The stuffing, or hashweh (the generic term for almost any combination of herbs, garlic, and onions used to stuff fish, chicken, or lamb), is sautéed before it is spooned into the fish. Serve this with lentils and caramelized onions or bulgar and broad Beans. Whole fresh fish can be ordered in advance from most grocery stores, or from the fresh fish tanks of many most Asian markets. Note: If you want to clean a fresh fish yourself, the author says the Arabic ways is a tried and true method, performed in the Arab world by housewives and chefs. It is effective in eliminating any “fishy” smell and results in cleaner, more delicious fish.
Combine 1 cup bottled lemon juice and 1 cup white vinegar in a shallow glass or ceramic bowl. Rinse the fish under running water, and then rub all-purpose flour all over the surface of the fish. Lay the floured fish in the bowl and rub it well with the lemon juice mixture. Rinse the fish again with clean water, and pat it dry with paper towels.Serves 6
For the stuffing:
For the fish:
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and tender, about 7 minutes.
Add garlic, green peppers, and jalapeno, and continue to cook until the garlic is fragrant and the peppers are soft, about 15 minutes. Add cilantro and cook, stirring, until it brightens and wilts, 5 minutes.
Stir in lemon juice, season with salt, and remove from the heat. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 375. Line a 4-quart baking dish with foil running both the length and the width of the pan, with excess hanging over the sides.
Spread the onion slices in a single layer on the bottom. Set the dish aside.
Combine the cardamom, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix together to make a paste.
Pierce the skin of the fish by making 4 or 5 small slits along the length of one side with a sharp knife. Lay the fish on its side, slit side up, over the onions in the baking dish. Rub the spice mix into the cavity, spreading it evenly from head to tail. Pack some into the slits, too. Drizzle with the olive oil.
Arrange the tomatoes, cilantro sprigs, and lemon slices over and around the fish. Fold the excess foil loosely around it, and bake until it flakes when pierced with a fork. About 30 minutes.
Transfer the fish, in the foil, to a large platter. Open the foil and slide it out from underneath the fish. Use a knife to remove the skin from the fish to make it easier to serve (it also looks better). Garnish with pine nuts, parsley, and lemon wedges. When serving your guests, spoon the stuffing out of the cavity and plate it alongside each serving of fish. Serve warm or at room temperature with the Parsley Sauce alongside.
