Middle Eastern Class and Meal Recipes
We hope you enjoyed your Middle Eastern cookery class, if you have any questions for chef please do ask and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
We Made:
Lamb Kofta; Mint Sauce; Shirazi Salad; Khobz Flatbread; Saffron Chicken; Batata Hara; Cherry Tomato Sauce; Kuku Sabzi and Whipped Feta
Additional Recipes to Try:
Babba Ganoush; Hummus
Lamb Koftas
Ingredients – serves 2
- 200g lamb mince
- Teaspoon each of cumin powder, coriander powder
- Small handful of fresh coriander, extra for garnish
- Salt & Pepper
Minty Yoghurt
- Small pot of plain yoghurt
- Handful mint leaves
- Fresh Pomegranate or a handful of seeds.
Veggie Version
- Replace the mince with drained and crushed chickpeas
Method
- Mix all the kofta ingredients together thoroughly. This is the same for the lamb or chickpea 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, extract the pomegranate seeds. Mix all together.
To Cook
- Use a griddle pan ideally, although a frying pan is fine.
- Heat to high, then brown each side of the kofta, you want a bit of charring.
- Serve with some fresh coriander garnish and the minty yoghurt on the side.
Shirazi Salad
Ingredients – serves 2
Ripped up handful of each of the following
- Fresh Parsley, Coriander, Mint and Chives
- 1/2 a small red onion finely diced
- 1/3 cucumber diced
- 4 or 5 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 radishes sliced
- Splash of olive oil
- Pomegranate seeds
- Juice 1/2 lemon
- Salt & Pepper
Method
- Prepare your vegetables, rip up your herbs (or rough chop, especially the chives)
- Mix all together, then add the lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning – taste, adjust, serve!
Khobz Flatbread
Ingredients – Makes 10
- 350ml of warm water (might need a little bit more, depending on strength of your flour)
- 1tsp of fast action dried yeast
- 2tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 600g strong white bread flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 1tbsp of caster sugar
- 1tsp of fine salt
- 2 tsp Za’atar seasoning – optional
Method:
- Pour the water into a mixing bowl and stir in the yeast until dissolved.
- Add the oil, flour, sugar and salt, mix everything and form a quite firm dough, adding more water if too dry, and more flour if too wet.
- Leave for 10 minutes covered before kneading it until smooth.
- Transfer into a floured bowl, cover and leave to proof for 60 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and shape into balls.
- Cover the balls and rest for 10 minutes.
- Flour the surface and roll them about 1 cm thick.
- Cover the rolled flatbread and rest for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a non-stick frying pan on medium to high heat and get it smoking hot.
- Place one or two flatbread at time into your pan and cook on each side for roughly 2 minutes.
- Good indicator, when to flip, is if start seeing bubbles on top.
- Get a clean tea towel and stack your flatbreads in it and wrap tightly.
- Rest in the towel for 5 minutes, this will soften the flatbreads.
Saffron Chicken
Ingredients – Serves 2:
- – Powdered saffron – you need very little
- – Juice of 2 lemons
- – Plain yoghurt, we used the remainder of the pot from the dip.
- – Salt & Pepper
- – Chicken, either 2 boneless thighs each or a thigh and a leg on the bone.
For Veggie Version
- – 1/2 cauliflower cut into steaks
Method:
- Mix the yoghurt, saffron powder and lemon juice with some seasoning. Taste and adjust accordingly. Smear all over the chicken. Set to one side for a while or even cover and fridge over night.
- Use a frying pan or if you have skin on chicken and want char lines, a griddle pan. Heat to high and make sure you get plenty of colour and lines into your chicken. You can then pop the whole pan into the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 180C– always check juices are clear before serving chicken.
Moroccan Cherry Tomato Sauce
Ingredients – Serves 4-6
- – 1 tablespoon olive oil
- – 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
- – 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp
- – 1 red chilli, chopped
- – 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste plus a pinch of sugar
- – 2 cups cherry tomatoes or similar amount of chopped tinned tomatoes
- – 1/4 cup water or more as needed
- – 2 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
- – ½ tsp of palm sugar
- – ½ a jar of sweet drop marinated chilli peppers, drained
- – 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- – 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- – 1tsp of pepper flakes (Turkish)
Method:
- Heat oil in medium pan. Sauté onions for 4-6 minutes until tender and lightly browned. Add garlic, spices, tomato paste (with a pinch of sugar). Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add cherry tomatoes, chilli and water. Bring to boil. Then lower heat to simmer, stirring occasionally. The total time will be about 10 minutes, after 5 minutes, help burst tomatoes by gently pressing with spatula or large spoon to burst them (careful not to squirt yourself).
- Stir in sweet drop peppers and coriander. Continue cooking until tomatoes form a sauce the consistency you like. More cooking will make it thicker. Add more water to thin it out if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings e.g., more salt, sugar.
Batata Hara
Ingredients – Serves 2:
- – About 300g new potatoes
- – 3 tbsp olive oil
- – 2 garlic cloves, minced
- – 1 tsp coriander powder
- – 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, more for later
- – 2 tsp ground turmeric
- – 1 lime, juice of
- – 1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
- – 1 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- – 1 cup chopped fresh dill
- – Salt and pepper
Method:
- Place potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and let them cook in the boiling water for 10 minutes or so. The potatoes should be cooked through but still firm.
- Drain the potatoes and let them cool briefly. Cut the potatoes in half or bite-size pieces.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes and coriander powder. Cook for 2-3 minutes then add the turmeric and the lime juice.
- Toss in the potatoes and mix well to coat. Add ½ of the fresh coriander, parsley, and fresh dill. Cook for 4 more minutes. Add salt and black pepper to your taste.
- Remove from heat and top with more red pepper flakes and the remaining fresh herbs. You can serve this potato salad warm or at room temperature.
Kuku Sabzi Fritters
Ingredients: Serves 4
75g dill, finely chopped
75g basil leaves, finely chopped
75g coriander leaves, finely chopped
3/4 tsp ground cumin
25g fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Barberries, or dried Cranberries
15g walnut halves, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
4 large eggs, beaten
30ml sunflower oil, for frying
salt
Method:
- Place all the ingredients, apart from the oil, in a large bowl with ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix well to combine and set aside for a few minutes to allow the bread to soak into the egg.
- Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large non-stick pan and place on a medium high heat. Once hot, add ladles of batter to the pan. Do 4 fritters at a time, if you can – you want each of them to be about 12cm wide – otherwise just do 2 or 3 at a time. Fry for 1–2 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden-brown. Transfer to a kitchen paper-lined plate and set aside while you continue with the remaining batter and oil. – Starter
Whipped Feta Board
Ingredients: Serves 4
- 200 grams feta cheese
- 3 tablespoon greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Persian cucumber
- small tomato
- Handful walnuts
- 2 radishes
- Handful fresh mint leaves
- Handful of pomegranate seeds
Method:
- Dice the cucumber and tomato into small cubes. Make sure to pat dry the tomato to remove the excess water. Slice the radish into thin slices. Leave ingredients on the side for now
- Crumble the block of feta cheese into smaller pieces and place in a food processor or blender. Add Greek yogurt, 2 teaspoon of olive oil and blend until smooth. Check the consistency, it should be thick and creamy. If it’s too clumpy, add another tablespoon of yogurt and another teaspoon of olive oil and blend again (optionally use fork to mash your feta and whisk to whip it up).
- Spoon the creamy whipped feta dip onto a clean large board and make swirl designs using the back of the spoon.
- Add toppings by first sprinkling the cucumbers and tomatoes, followed by the radish. Crumble over the walnuts and tear the fresh mint leaves on top
- Lastly, garnish with a drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve with bread. Go for a dip with your bread or a knife and enjoy your Persian Whipped Feta “Butter” Board!
Babba Ganoush – Additional Recipe
Aubergine puree with added smokiness.
Ingredients – Serves 4:
- – 2 Large aubergines
- – 4 Garlic cloves pureed
- – 2 Tablespoons of yoghurt thick (our preference but not traditional)
- – 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
- – Sea salt to taste
- – Black pepper to taste
- – 2 tablespoons of Tahini paste
- – Zest of 2 Lemons – reserve juice
- – 2 tablespoons of good olive oil
- Place aubergine in the oven on 180C for 40 minute or until soft
- In a bowl add all the ingredients, and mash with a fork – serve with flat breads
Hummus – Additional Recipe
Ingredients – Makes 1 cup:
- – 1 can chickpeas
- – 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice, 1 large lemon
- – 1/4 cup (60 ml) well-stirred tahini
- – 1 small garlic clove, minced
- – 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- – 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- – Salt to taste
- – 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) water
- – Dash ground paprika or sumac
Method:
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process for 30 seconds more. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.
- Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice.
- Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process another 30 seconds or until well blended.
- Open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas.
- Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and quite smooth; 1 to 2 minutes.
- Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until you reach the perfect consistency.
- Taste for salt and adjust as needed.
- Serve hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and dash of paprika.
- Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.
We hope you enjoyed the class!
If you have any feedback about the class or questions for chef get in touch. Email: lovetocook@foodsorcery.co.uk
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