Having lentils on hand is important in my household. My husband and I eat a mostly plant-based diet, so we need the good protein and carbs. They are great for tossing into a salad for a hearty and textured meal, kushary is a staple comfort food in our family, and most importantly, my kids just love eating these lentils!

I have botched many pots of mushy lentils, and was determined to perfect the recipe so I don’t ever encounter this problem again. So here are my fool- proof tips collected from all my flops as well as from my well experienced mother:

1) Use green lentils, as they are firmer and don’t lost their shape as much as the brown variety.

2) Be careful not to presoak the lentils when you wash them. Wash and drain immediately.

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4) Only put enough water to just cover the lentils by a centimeter in the pot. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low, NOT LOW. Low is what I typically reduce to when cooking rice, but this allows the lentils to cook more slowly in the water, which we do not want. Medium- low allows the lentils to cook while the water evaporates more quickly.

5) Do not add salt until the end of the cook time. This is a rule I always follow when cooking beans in my pressure cooker and I realized I should probably apply it to lentils. And it works! Salt can inhibit the cooking of legumes in water, so you shouldn’t add it in until the end.

6) Of course use the following rule at your own discretion, but this is mostly a warning to both parents  or easily distracted chefs: watch the pot. Cook lentils when you are hanging out in the kitchen for 20-30 minutes. Do not leave the room! I cannot tell you how many times I have burned a pot of lentils to a charred black crisp because I wandered off to help one of my children. Doing another house chore or working with a child is like a blackhole which you often forget to climb out of! 

Here is another one of my absolute favorite Middle Eastern dishes. “Mahshy” literally means stuffed, and I love all things mashy. Stuffed vegetables, stuffed grape leaves, and stuffed cabbage are all fantastic dishes in the Middle Eastern kitchen. Parsley and mint are prevalent in most Middle Eastern recipes, as is garlic. All three of these flavorings take center stage in this recipe. This satisfying dish can serve as a main entree or a side. The stuffing can be prepared completely vegetarian with only the herbs and rice, or you can add ground beef or lamb as we typically prefer to do. But I have cooked it both ways many times, and it is very delicious and full of flavor either way!

The stuffing consists of medium grain rice (get Egyptian rice if you are shopping at an International market, or sticky sushi rice works well per the recommendation of my girl Dalia), chopped parsley, mint, dill, diced onions, minced garlic, diced tomatoes, and some spices. The spices are a medley of cinnamon, cumin,  baharat, salt and pepper. The Arabic spice baharat, is a warm, aromatic all-purpose spice and it is used often in most Middle Eastern recipes. You are not likely to find it in a regular grocery store. If you do not have access to a Middle Eastern store, you could use a combination of ground all spice and cloves as an adequate substitute. You could also make your own baharat spices with the following recipe I found on The Kitchn. If you are using ground meat in the stuffing, you will need to cook this first in a pot with minced onions, salt and pepper, and a dash of all spice.

Pictured above is the vegetarian mixture, including rice, tomatoes, parsley, dill, mint, onions, garlic, and spices. 

The eggplants and zucchinis need to get cored with a coring tool, or a butter knife works well if you use careful strokes! Peppers are wonderful because all you need to do is cut the top off. The last time we did this we used the smaller sweet peppers that come in a variety or red, orange, and yellow. I also love to use an onion as is typical in Iraq. You simply simmer a peeled onion in boiling water for a few minutes until the  layers become malleable enough to roll. When this dish cooks, the cinnamon, herbs, and vegetables scent the air beautifully; it simply smells amazing! 

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 Anybody can stuff some veggies with this flavorful filling, and you’d be halfway there at achieving deliciousness. But the secret is in the sauce. I have had this dish prepared before and it tasted either too dry from baking in the oven or too bland. The sauce I use to cook this in perfects the flavor and texture and must not be omitted! It is simply wonderful: very lemony and cooks the veggies and stuffing juicy and zesty and full of flavor. As most of my cooking is a delicate fusion of many Middle Eastern countries, this dish originates from my mother’s Egyptian cooking, but is infused with some delicious Lebanese flavor that I picked up from one of my best friends, Melanie. Melanie’s stepmother, Tunt Soad, who is an excellent chef from Lebanon would often have this dish prepared when we would come over after school and I always looked forward to it! When I wasn’t at her house I would beg her to bring some to school for lunch, and I still craved more. I finally asked Tunt Soad for the recipe and have been cooking my stuffed veggies the same way ever since! The sauce consists of marinara sauce, fresh squeezed lemon juice, minced garlic, dry mint, baharat, cinnamon,  salt, and pepper.

 You can either stack the stuffed veggies in a pot and cook over the stove, or lay them in a baking dish and bake in the oven. As long as you cover the veggies with this sauce it will come out nice and juicy and flavorful. Enjoy! Or as they say in Lebanon “Sahtein” (good health) or “Bil hana wil shifa” (with joy and with health) as they say in Egypyt. After all isn’t that what food should be for: health, nutrition, and well-being?

Stuffed Zucchini

2014-03-26 06:13:49

Serves 4

A delicious mediterranean dish of zucchini and eggplants stuffed with a flavorful medley of herbs, spices, and rice.

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Prep Time

25 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

55 min

Prep Time

25 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

55 min

Ingredients

1. about 10 short and wide zucchinis
2. about 10 short and wide eggplants
3. 1 large onion
4. 2 large bell peppers

For the stuffing

1. 1 c medium grain rice (Egyptian rice or sushi rice)
2. 1 tsp baharat or all spice
3. 1/4 tsp cinnamon
4. 1/4 tsp cumin
5. 1 tsp salt
6. pinch of pepper
7. 1 tbsp minced garlic
8. 1 medium onion, minced
9. 1-2 tomatoes diced
10. 1/4 c chopped parsley
11. 1/4 c chopped dill
12. 1 tbsp chopped mint
13. Optional: 1 lb ground beef, browned and cooked with 1 onion, salt and pepper, and baharat

For the sauce

1. 1/2 c marinara sauce, such as Prego
2. 1/2 c water
3. 1/2 c lemon juice
4. 1 tsp dry mint
5. 1 tsp minced garlic
6. 1/2 tsp baharat or all spice
7. 1/2 tsp cinnamon
8. 1 tsp salt
9. pinch of pepper

To cook

1. 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Peel and score the large onion to slice it open halfway. This will allow you to peel away the soft layers later. Simmer in boiling water for about 5-10 minutes until the onion layers are malleable enough to stuff with filling and roll. Do not over cook it so that it is too soft as it will cook more later in the pot. Set aside to cool.
2. Wash the zucchinis, peppers, and eggplants and cut off the tops. Core out the center of the eggplants and zucchinis and reuse the inner flesh for another recipe such as baba ghanough or zucchini bread.
3. Combine all ingredients for the stuffing.
4. Fill each vegetable halfway with the stuffing, as it will increase in size as it cooks. For the onions, peel off a layer of the onion, fill with a teaspoon of stuffing, and roll tightly.
5. Neatly place each vegetable into a pot, standing upright to prevent the stuffing from spilling out as it cooks. If you will bake in a baking dish, laying the vegetables down will be fine as they will not be disturbed by boiling liquid.
6. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Pour over all the vegetables and pour olive oil on the very top of the pot. Simmer on medium high heat, and turn the heat down to low once it boils. Cover halfway with a lid and remove from heat once the rice in the center is tender (about 20-25 minutes). If baking in the oven, bake at 350 degrees, for 35 minutes.

Notes

1. It is important that the rice in the vegetables is covered with cooking sauce in order for it to cook well. Potatoes, tomatoes, and other vegetables may be used in this recipe as well but using zucchini and eggplant is the traditional way to prepare this dish.
2. You may also substitute the rice for quinoa or bulgur to make this dish a little healthier and contain less carbs!

By Noha ElSharkawy

Adapted from Mom and Tunt Soad

Adapted from Mom and Tunt Soad

Sugar & Garlic https://sugarandgarlic.com/

Green bean casserole is one of the best comfort foods out there. With the holidays around the corner, it is time to brush up on this delicious recipe and try making it from scratch as I do here. I use fresh, real mushrooms (sometimes that canned mushroom soup doesn’t really have mushrooms ya know…), usually fresh green beans (frozen works too in a pinch), and a few other easy to find grocery staples. The creamy mushroom soup is really what makes this casserole, so it is important to have a great soup full of flavor. The green beans are best when fresh, because they do not carry extra water from being canned or frozen, but the frozen option has worked well for me before. The flavors of these delicious vegetables are really amplified with the creamy soup and crunchy savory onions. 

No cans are involved here! I have eaten and cooked this classic casserole made with Campbell’s canned condensed soups and canned green beans, and it is good. However, as you may have noticed from my posts, I am avoiding use of any canned foods, preservatives, and unnecessarily long ingredient lists that cause a number of symptoms in our bodies. There is a lot of sodium and preservatives in the canned goods. Once you taste it fresh from scratch, with fresh mushrooms and green beans, you will never want to go back! Now, when I try the canned recipes, it just doesn’t do justice to what this recipe really is. This is also incredibly easy.

All you need is my easy recipe for cream of mushroom soup, some fresh or frozen green beans, and fried onions. I make the soup in advance, which you could do the day before and refrigerate, or days before and freeze. This really simplifies the process the day of. You can also fry the onions yourself (see how to do it in my kushary post),  or use classic crispy french fried onions from the store. These are SO good. They kind of taste like potato chips…I would try frying onions in an air fryer if I had one. I bet it would taste just like the store bought versions! I like the fried onions from Trader Joe’s because they are a little “healthier” and taste just as good, if not better, than home made. Use what you prefer!

Green Bean Casserole

2013-11-26 06:25:19

Serves 6

A Thanksgiving classic dish, this from scratch recipe oozes creamy delicious mushrooms and green beans topped with crispy crunchy fried onions!

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

50 min

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

50 min

Ingredients

1. 1 recipe of my cream of mushroom soup (2 cups)
2. 2 c fresh or frozen french green beans (washed and trimmed)
3. 1 1/2 c fried onions

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour the washed and trimmed green beans into a casserole dish.
3. Pour the mushroom soup over the green beans and mix well. Spread with a spoon into an even layer.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After about 20 minutes, take the dish out and stir in half of the onions. This will thicken the casserole. Place back in the oven, uncovered.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with crispy onions over the top and serve warm.

Notes

1. You may also add shredded cheese over the top at the 20 minute mark, after stirring in the fried onions.

By Noha ElSharkawy

Sugar & Garlic https://sugarandgarlic.com/