Cooking Together Middle East Mezze Recipes
We hope you loved your Cooking Together experience. You’ll find your recipes below, ready to bring to life and enjoy all over again.
- First Dishes: Crushed Koftas, Tabbouleh, Manoushe Bread. Za’atar,Â
- To Follow: Samke Harra, Banadurah Harrah, Mejadra Rice with tahini dressing
- Dessert: Click here for a link to the Food Sorcery favourites
[P] Protein [V] Vegetables [S] Store Cupboard
Middle Eastern Lamb Koftas
For vegetarian alternative, use halloumi
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 200 g Lamb mince or 1/2 pack of Puy lentils
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 5 g Fresh Coriander 1 tbsp, chopped
- Sea salt a pinch to taste
- Cracked black pepper a pinch to taste
- 1 clove Garlic minced or grated
Mint Yoghurt
- 50 g Natural yoghurt
- 5 g Fresh mint 1 tbsp
- 1 tbsp Pomegranate seeds
Method
- Mix all the kofta ingredients together thoroughly. This is the same for the vegetarian version.
- Shape by hand – you can do long and thin sausage/ kebab style, or roll into balls and flatten into patties.
- To make the yoghurt – fine slice the mint. Mix all together.
- To Cook, place a frying pan on a high heat and cook until brown on each side of the kofta, you want a bit of charring.
- Serve with some fresh coriander garnish and the mint yoghurt on the side.
Tabbouleh
Serves: People
Ingredients
- ¼ Cucumber deseeded and diced
- 100 g Cous cous cooked and cooled
- ½ Red pepper diced
- 1 Tomato deseeded and diced
- 5 g Fresh mint 1 tbsp, no stalks
- 5 g Fresh Coriander 1 tbsp, no stalks
- 5 g Fresh parsley 1 tbsp, no stalks
- 5 g Fresh dill 1 tbsp, no stalks
- 3 Radish
- 2 Spring onion
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- Sea salt to taste
- Cracked black pepper to taste
Method
- Mix the herbs and vegetables through the grains, making sure there are no lumps.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over and then drizzle the olive oil on top. Taste, season and taste again.
Tahini Dressing
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 75 ml Tahini
- 1/2 Lemon zested and juiced
- 30 ml Olive oil
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 tsp Maple syrup
- 1 tbsp Fresh Chives finely chopped
Method
- In a bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, grated garlic, maple syrup and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Whisk in 75ml water, until it’s a thick but pourable dressing.
- Stir in the chopped chives, or any other herbs you like.
Manoushe Bread with Za'atar
Serves: Portions
Ingredients
- 360 g Strong white bread flour or 420g plain flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- 2 tsp Fast action dried yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp Granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 350 ml Water lukewarm
- 5 tbsp Za'atar paste
- 1 tbsp Fresh parsley or mint or chili flakes
For Za'atar Paste - you can by or make your own
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp Dried Thyme or Marjoram
- 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tsp Sumac spice
- 6 tbsp Olive oil
- 1/4 tsp Sea salt to taste
Method
- Place the flour in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk in the salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Drizzle in some of the olive oil and water adding just enough water to incorporate all the flour- it should start pulling away from the bowl.
- Knead for 8-10 minutes using floured hands until the dough is silky smooth. Make a ball, lightly oil all sides of the manoushe dough, and place in the bowl to rise, covering with a damp kitchen towel, until at least doubled, about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 200
- Knock back the dough and pour it onto a floured surface. Divide into 8-10 equal pieces and shape into balls. Cover with a kitchen towel for 15 minutes
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick
- Spread a little of the za'atar paste all around the top leaving space around the edges. Put onto a baking sheet and bake it until bubbly and golden on the edges. Keep them warm wrapped in a kitchen towel.
To make the Za'atar paste
- Dry toast the cumin and coriander seeds for a few minutes in a hot pan, until you can smell the aromas, then put into a mortar & pestle and grind. Mix all the zaatar spices with the olive oil, salt and sumac in a small bowl.
Samke Harra - Lebanese Spicy Fish
For a veggie/vegan version use firm tofu
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 1 Sea bass fillets or 150g firm tofu
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil for cooking
For the Marinade
- 1/2 tsp Harissa paste
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1/2 Lemon zest and juice
- Sea salt to taste
- Cracked black pepper to taste
Method
Marinade
- Combine the harissa paste with olive oil, seasoning and the lemon in a tray.
- Sit the fish skin up in the tray, so that the skin is not in the marinade. Leave for up to 30 minutes. for tofu, cover with the marinade.
Cook
- Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat with a little oil. Once hot, place the fish, skin down in the pan and cook for 4-6 minutes, until the skin is crispy and the flesh is white.
Banadurah Harrah - Lebanese Spicy Tomatoes
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Vegetable oil to cook
- 1/2 Onion white or brown, diced
- 1 clove Garlic mashed or grated
- 400 g Chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp Dried mint
- 1/16 tsp Cayenne pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp Dried oregano
- Sea salt to taste
- 1/2 Lemon juice
Method
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a frying pan for 1 minute. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add the tinned tomatoes with their juices. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the tomatoes dissolve into a thick sauce and the juices evaporate. If you’re not using a wide frying pan (e.g., if you’re using a tall saucepan), this may take longer.
- Reduce heat to medium, add the dried mint, cayenne pepper, oregano, and salt, and cook for another 2 minutes to infuse everything with flavour.
- Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice, refrigerate, and serve either cold or at room temperature.
Middle Eastern Mejadra Rice
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 13 tbsp Vegetable oil to shallow fry the onions
- 2 Onion finely sliced
- 1 tbsp Plain flour
- ¼ tsp Sea salt to taste
- 100 g Green lentils or brown. Use dry, tinned or a pack
- 1 tbsp Olive oil to drizzle
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil for cooking
- 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
- ½ tsp Ground Turmeric
- ½ tsp Cinnamon powder
- 125 g Basmati rice
- Caster sugar a pinch to taste
- 700 ml Water
- 5 g Fresh Coriander 1 tbsp, to garnish
Method
- Heat the oil in a pan ready to shallow fry. Rub the onions in the flour to coat them, then add in batches to the hot oil – it should sizzle as they go in – and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
- Cook the lentils according to the pack instructions for a couple of minutes less than the time stated (they should still be firm), then drain, drizzle with a little olive oil and set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan, then add the cumin and coriander seeds. Cook, stirring, over a medium heat, until the spices become fragrant, then add the turmeric and cinnamon and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and sugar, stirring to coat it in the spices, season well with salt and pepper, then add the lentils and 700ml water. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat down and bubble gently for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender.
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