Basterma and egg, Basturma wi baid, Egyptian bacon and eggs

Basterma and egg, Basturma wi baid, Egyptian bacon and eggs

I forgot I used to eat  Basterma and egg (Basturma wi baid) growing up but it is such an easy meal, anyone could do it.  I consider it to be the Egyptian version of the Australian Saturday morning breakfast of bacon and eggs - but who says eggs are just a breakfast food!

On Friday I took the boys and drove out to my dad’s place for a visit.  We were talking about various things as per usual but for some reason dad mentioned Basturma.  I can’t even remember how that came about now but I do remember that I had been thinking about that very thing only the day before because I realised  Basturma was something I haven’t had for probably 12 years. 

That naturally led on to dad suggesting I leave the boys with him and go and get some. So I left and went shopping.  The Keilor Downs Plaza was where I headed and I must say I did enjoy the time looking at things for more than a split second and not having to keep one or both boys from touching anything and everything.

I made my way to the delicatessen via the nut shop where I bought some super scrumptious fresh pita bread and ferique which I knew I had run out of (If you have read the pigeon blog then you would be familiar with the use of ferique there) and looked for Basturma.  I couldn’t find it but when I asked if they had it they dug it out from underneath some other cured meat.  I asked for 150g and for them to slice it thinly.  I never usually mind if there is a little more than I ask for as I figure it will get used anyway but when I glanced at the scales I take a second look because the scales said 230g.  Well…I stop to think for a minute and maybe there was no need to follow this up but I couldn’t help myself.  Um.. sorry but that is too much, I asked for 150g and would even take up to 200g but this is quite a lot.  The lady tells me it is just 30 g over the 200.  No, not really.  I wanted 150 g, not 230g.  A little too-ing and fro-ing later and they take off exactly 30 g and ask "So you will take it now?". I do but not before making a mental note to keep better track, in future, of how much is being sliced. 

So now I have plenty of Basturma, a cured beef spiced with fenugreek.  It is super salty too and at home we had this with eggs fried together and served with Lebanese bread (pita or flat bread) and sliced tomato and onions.  So quick and incredibly simple which makes it great for a quick and easy mid week dinner. For each person just fry a slice or 2 of Basturma broken into pieces, when crispy add a couple of eggs and cook to your liking.  Add some freshly ground black pepper and serve with fresh Lebanese bread and salad.

Basterma and egg, Basturma wi baid, Egyptian bacon and eggs

Basterma and egg, Basturma wi baid, Egyptian bacon and eggs

Basterma

Basterma

I suggest asking for 100g and see what you think of it.  I would think that would make enough for about 6 people if cooked with eggs.  I made a video of cooking “Basturma wi baid” (Basturma with egg) while the boys were having a sleep.  Maybe it was the smell of frying meat and eggs wafting from the kitchen that woke them but as you will see Alexander makes an appearance and is quite happy to be a taste tester.

You can watch the video of Basterma and egg at:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Tc9otHNSI&feature=plcp

Bean Salad سلطة فاصولياء Salatat Faso-ley-a

I had originally planned to write about making Fata but instead one of my most spectacular failures occurred while making one of the simplest dishes.  

Fat - ta فتة Făta  

Fata is a dish that combines dried bread (easy), cooked rice (easy) and stock (easy enough), fried garlic and vinegar.  I made this tonight for dinner and thought it was a great idea because I could make the rice earlier in the day along with the stock which I could put on and could just leave to simmer while I played and entertained the boys. 

I was careful with my quantities and followed the recipe I had written then fed it to the boys for dinner.  Gee what a flop!  Samuel took a taste and then screwed up his face at me while spitting out his mouthful of food.  He followed this by shoving his little fist in his mouth to make sure he had done the job properly and removing every last grain of rice.  Alexander screwed up his face and said “it's not nice mum, can I have something else.”  I had a taste too and was very sympathetic indeed.  (I made Jamie try it when he got home to see if he would give me an honest appraisal.  He said, very politely and carefully, “I think it is missing something…it doesn't have much flavour”.  

I said “Are you kidding?  It’s tasteless”

We ate the chicken, which thankfully tasted nice, with leftovers and the meal was approved by all. 

The next opportunity to talk to dad I mentioned how bad this turned out to see if I had actually missed something.  From what he said I just added too much stock and needed to season it more.  Will try again sometime and write the recipe.  I think the key is the stock.  Good stock makes good Fata.  Yes, I think I should work on the stock first.

In the meantime I thought I would put up a very easy bean salad recipe since I got a request today from someone who would like to be able to make a meal quickly.  So Jacquelyn this one is for you.  If you would also like to make a request for a recipe or like Damien who wanted to know what to do with a pigeon then you can send me a message via Facebook or email me at dynaeldaief@gmail.com.

Bean Salad سلطة فاصولياء Salatat Faso-ley-a

This is a great vegetarian dish with plenty of protein and is a wonderfully simple salad to boot.  Very easy and quick midweek if you take up the option to use a a can of beans from the pantry but would be great served alongside a quiche or grilled fish.

Dried beans can be toxic, particularly red kidney beans which contain natural toxins called Lectins that can cause stomach aches and vomiting. These are destroyed if you soak the dried beans for at least 12 hours and then boil them vigorously for 10 or more minutes in fresh water.  Tinned or canned kidney beans have already gone through this process and so can be used without further treatment. 

Dried beans may take up to 3 hours to cook using the conventional method, but are cooked in about a third to a quarter of the time if cooked in a pressure cooker, making a pressure cooker ideal. 

Using the canned varieties is just as good and means that you can throw this together very quickly and easily.

Use whatever beans you like but if cooking them yourself then the cooking times will depend on the type of beans you use.

Bean Cooking Chart Dried Beans (1 cup) Soaking time Cooking time (approximate) Pressure Cooking time (approximate) Black eye peas Overnight 50-60 minutes (1h) 10-12 minutes  Broad (Fava) Overnight 60-75 minutes (1h+) Not recommended Chick pea Overnight 120-150 minutes(2h+) 15-20 minutes Great Northern Overnight 50-60 minutes (1h) 5-8 minutes Kidney Overnight 75-90 minutes(1 ½ h) 10-15 minutes Lentil (Red) None 25-30 minutes (½ h) 5-7 minutes Lentil (Green) None 35-45minutes (¾h) 6-8 minutes Lima Overnight 75-90 minutes(1 ½ h) Not recommended Mung Overnight 75-90 minutes(1 ½ h) 8-10 minutes Pinto Overnight 75 -90 minutes(1 ½ h) 8-10 minutes Soybean Overnight 180 minutes (3 h) 15-20 minutes

Bean Salad سلطة فاصولياء Salatat Faso-ley-a

Serves: 4

1 cup dried beans (black eye beans, Great northern beans, red kidney beans, or canellini beans)

or

440g can of mixed beans.

2 - 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

½ onion, very finely chopped

1 tomato, finely diced

½ lemon, juiced

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of salt or to taste

Combine olive oil, lemon juice and salt together. 

Place beans in a bowl and add remaining ingredients, mix together and pour the dressing over just before serving.

Bean Salad سلطة فاصولياء Salatat Faso-ley-a

Ghee سمنة , Samneh or Samnah

I had a relatively quiet week this week since I spent most of it lying in bed sick! So, instead of a recipe as per normal I thought that I would put up a video and what better than one on how to make a commonly used ingredient in Egyptian cooking - Ghee.

Ghee is a clarified butter which means that there is no salt or milk solids in it.  The milk solids part is what actually burns when butter burns and so Ghee can be used in cooking at higher temperatures without it burning like normal butter.  It has a lovely flavour and can be (and is ideally) used in browning meat and vegetables, in white sauce such as for Lasagne or the Egyptian equivalent, Macarona bil beshamel or wherever butter is called for in savoury dishes.  Ghee is also ideal in sweet dishes like Baklava and Konafa as it has salt removed and so will not impact on the flavour of the final product and it will not burn.

I remember when I was growing up waiting in the kitchen at home when my mum was making this.  After she poured off the clarified butter mum would tip any small amount of remaining Ghee and salt into a bowl and we would stand around together with the plate in between us dipping fresh bread ever so delicately into the butter and salt and eating it - Yumm!!! Admittedly this is a decadent little treat I no longer allow myself to partake in (at least not too often)....

So here is the link to my first Egyptian cooking video - How to make Ghee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t18RoFeM898

Baked Globe Artichokes خرشوف فى الفرن Kharshouf fil forn

Baked Globe Artichokes خرشوف فى الفرن Kharshouf fil forn

Sometimes it can be incredibly hard to find certain ingredients when you need them.  In February this year I spent 4 hours over 2 days making calls trying to track down some globe artichokes.  What a drama.  Wednesday morning I started by ringing the local grocers, two of them.  One didn’t have them because they were out of season – end of story.  The other said try another local store.  That store said try the supermarkets (who did have tinned artichoke hearts but none frozen).  I don’t even know if you can get frozen ones since no one knew of any such thing.  Eventually I rang the Victorian Growers Association.  No replies to my calls for the rest of the day. 

Thursday morning. Try again.  Third call to a mobile and finally an answer.  No idea who would be able to supply artichokes when they are out of season.  He referred me to an agent of his who I decide to ring straight away. 

Then Samuel woke up.  No, better not risk a phone call when he is awake.  I get him up and give him his bottle of milk.  He is happy playing and Alexander was playing by himself too. Must make this other call.  Off the top of his head the agent knew of a grower in Geelong who could possibly have a few growing even though it is summer and the start of February.  He also gave me a second name, a grower in Werribee but far less likely.  I try the first option and call the grower in Geelong.  The call is funny when I think back.  It went something like this. 

“Hi Mike.  My name is Dyna Buntine, I got your number from Geoff who suggested you might have some globe artichokes.”

“No, I don’t”

“I only need them for some photos and then cook them and take some more photos.”

“Oh, yeah I do”

“Really” (I mean REALLY??)

“Yeah, they are about the size of a fist.  How many do you need?”

“Oh, maybe a half dozen or a dozen. This is Fantastic! I live in Melbourne. Do you come into Melbourne at all?

“I come in to the market Thursday and Friday mornings and leave by 7.30”

“That’s 7.30 AM? Right?”

“Yeah”

“Oh, alright, um… Iet me think, um… can I get back to you.  I will try and meet you Friday morning but will confirm.  Um…, what do, I mean, how much do you want for them?” 

“Two dollars each”

“Alright, I will let you know.  Thanks for the call…blah blah”

I did end up meeting him on Friday morning.  I arrived at the market at 7.33 and was standing at the boom gate at what I thought was the front.  Seriously, I have never seen so many fork lifts whizzing around.  Orange jackets on everyone.  This place is huge.  The Melbourne market on Footscray road supplies all the grocers, restaurants and supermarkets in Melbourne, so I am told. 

I don’t go any further just inside the boom gate and give Mike a call.  Just audible over all the noise I hear him ask what gate I am at.  It takes me a minute to find Gate 3 on a sign on the fence.  He starts to tell me where to go before he stops and says “I will come to you”. Within the next 2 minutes I have one forklift driver stop directly in front of me to ask if I am alright since I look lost.  And then 30 seconds later I get a security car pull up and wind the window down.  The driver asks what I’m doing, then who I work for, then with no satisfactory answer he tells me I am trespassing and shows me the security camera.  I say that is fine I’m not hiding anything.  He tells me he will have to fine me if he gets any more calls.  Not at all concerned I say that is fine, can I stand just behind the boom gate and he says that’s OK.  Before we get any further a car pulls up in front, a man gets out and puts a box of artichokes over his shoulder.  Saved.

Mike and I do introductions on the way to the car and he puts the box in the back on top of the baby pram.  He says $20 will do for the box and we organise change etc.  I was so excited.  The day was still young and I had achieved so much!

Meat stuffing

1 tablespoon ghee or butter

1 medium onion, chopped

500 g minced beef

140g tub salt reduced tomato paste

½ -1 teaspoon salt

1/8 – ¼  teaspoon pepper

½  -1teaspoon mixed spice

1 vine ripened tomato chopped

1 cup water

12 large artichokes

1 lemon juiced, in half pot of water (for soaking artichokes)

300ml  tomato puree or passatta

½ -1 teaspoon salt

1/8 – ¼  teaspoon pepper

½  -1teaspoon mixed spice

250ml / 1/4  L /1cup water  (or less, as required)
optional : your favourite cheese, grated, to serve.

For the stuffing:

Heat butter in a large pan, add onion and fry over medium heat until golden brown.  Add mince and cook over high heat for 15 minutes breaking up any lumps until it is browned and almost all the liquid has evaporated.

Add 1x 140g tub of tomato paste, chopped tomato, salt, pepper, spice frying for 1 minute then add the water and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for further 30 minutes or until meat is cooked and the liquid has reduced, but the meat is not completely dry.  Set aside.

Prepare artichokes, removing any old outer leaves from the heads and remove the stalks from the base of the heads (or leave a little attached, if desired).  Cut the top ¼ off and remove the inner choke of the artichoke with a spoon.  Cut the remaining leaves with scissors or a knife.  This leaves the artichoke centre or heart.  Brush the cut surface with lemon juice or soak in lemon water (I just half fill a large pot with tap water and add 1 lemon juiced) while preparing the rest as they will turn brown otherwise. 

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4).  When all the artichokes are prepared, drain the artichokes from the lemon water and fill the centre of each artichoke with the cooked mince and place into a roasting tray.  Add salt, pepper and mixed spice to the tomato puree (passatta sauce) and pour over the artichokes.  Cook for 45 – 60 minutes or until the artichokes are cooked through. The artichoke should be soft when tested with a fork or skewer.

Serves 4-6.

Artichokes خرشوف Kharshouf 

Artichokes خرشوف Kharshouf 

Baked Globe Artichokes خرشوف فى الفرن Kharshouf fil forn

Pigeon, squab, مسلوق حمامة Hamam Masloo

I have only had the blog up for a couple of weeks now and this week  while I  was having a bit of a think about what recipe would be interesting to put up I received an email, a request really, to make the next one about pigeon. So this week is Pigeon week instead of Ghee - which will now have to wait.

 Pigeon or squab ( حمامة Hamam) is not something I have had often but I have quite a vivid memory from my childhood concerning pigeon.  I travelled to Egypt with my family at the age of 12 and while the whole country and the way of life was foreign to me (as an Australian born Egyptian), I was excited to meet my relatives and experience their way of living. 

 One day we went to a market and my sister and I painstakingly selected out our pigeons along with half a dozen others.  We took them back to my aunt’s house where over the course of a week we would visit them and feed them as they lived it up in the bathroom of her apartment.  Each day my father would take us out to explore the region and each day on our return we would check in on our pet pigeons.

 Then, one fateful day, we returned from our day of exploration to find the bathroom spotlessly clean and – no pigeons!!!! Distressed and disturbed we made our way to the dinner table and, lo and behold, there on the table were little chicken-like bodies that looked disturbingly like our missing pets!

 The reality is that pigeons are farmed and eaten as commonly in Egypt as we eat chickens.

Having only had pigeon at home one or two times I had not really felt the inclination to cook it myself (and perhaps I am still emotionally scarred from the incident in Egypt!), however I felt that seeing as I am trying to get recipes together for a cookbook of the food I ate growing up it really had to have pigeon in it. 

So off to the market I went.

I didn’t realise that there was a season for pigeon and being out of season the only option was to buy a frozen one.  I chose one of the two birds available and took it home to cook, but not before asking the butcher how they would cook the bird.  They said that if I was roasting the bird I would need to cook it with some liquid as it is a small bird and could easily be overcooked and dry.

At home however I engaged the expertise of my step mother as to how a pigeon should be cooked.  Perhaps not so surprisingly it is boiled and then fried so it won’t dry out.  Make sure that the pigeon is cleaned thoroughly (I have only seen it sold already prepared).  Then stuff the pigeon with the partly cooked ferique and sew up the hole or use toothpicks to keep the stuffing in.  The meat is darker than chicken and in my opinion tastes closer to duck than chicken.

I bought commercially raised or farmed pigeon (squab) for $20 each.  These take less time to cook than wild birds, and are better for roasting, grilling, or searing.  If you cannot source these birds farmed or prefer to use wild pigeon, then the meat may be older and is generally tougher than farmed birds and therefore better suited in casseroles and slow-cooked stews. 

Serves 1 -2

1 or 2 pigeons (Squab)

1½ tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

1 whole onion, peeled with a cross cut into the top plus ½ an onion very finely chopped

¼ cup of ferique (also known as Freekeh and farika.  This is a grain harvested from green or immature durum wheat)

¼ cup white rice

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Fried quail eggs to serve, if desired.

 In a saucepan fry the chopped onion with the ½ tablespoon of ghee.  Add the ferique and rice along with ¾ cup of water (this is plenty of stuffing for 2 birds). Cook for15 minutes or until the water has been absorbed (the grains will not be fully cooked yet).  Remove from the heat. 

 In a pot big enough to fit all the birds bring water to the boil.  Add the whole onion, salt, pepper and bay leaf.   Put the birds in and reduce the heat to low (the birds should be covered with water so add more if required) and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.  The time will vary depending on the number of birds.  To test if they are cooked use a skewer inserted into a thick part of the bird.  The juices should run clear.

 Once boiled, remove from the water and set aside.  Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee or butter in a pan and fry the birds turning frequently until they are a lovely golden brown colour.  Serve with fried quail eggs, if desired.

Pigeon, squab, مسلوق حمامة Hamam Masloo

Pigeon, squab, مسلوق حمامة Hamam Masloo

Pigeon, squab, مسلوق حمامة Hamam Masloo

Basbousa with Yoghurt بسبوسة بالزبادى Basbousa bil Laban Zabadi, Semolina Cake

My husband recently had a family reunion.  His aunt kindly organised a weekend at her farm so all the extended family could attend. We decided that we would go for a night and Alexander could camp outside with daddy and I would stay indoors with Mr Goo (Alexander’s affectionate name for his little brother).

What to make, what to take?  Aunty Judy thought we could bring along some biscuits.  Jamie thought that meant Tim tams and I of course thought that meant anything to have with tea and coffee.  I decided to make Basboussa with yoghurt.  Another opportunity to make something I could photograph but not have to eat it all. 

This recipe is one that my sister-in-laws' mother shared with me.  My mum never made it with yoghurt but after my brother married an Egyptian I was introduced to variations to the recipes that I grew up with.  This is one of them.

2 cups semolina, (1 cup coarse and 1 cup fine semolina if you can get it)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup plain yoghurt

125g unsalted butter, melted

Syrup :

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

juice of half a lemon

a few drops of vanilla essence.

To make syrup:  Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes until syrup thickens.  Add vanilla and leave to cool.

For the Basboussa, combine semolina, sugar, baking powder, and yoghurt in a large bowl.

Add melted butter and mix. Transfer mixture into a greased tray, 30cm x 25cm, and press firmly.  Cut into squares. 

Bake at 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4) for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove Basboussa from oven and pour cooled syrup over hot Basboussa.

This turns out to be a big hit but after all the packing required to go anywhere, let alone away for the night, there was no time for photos before we left so I will have to make it again after all to get a photo...

Well, it has been quite a while since the family reunion but I have finally got a photo to attach to the blog.

Arabic Coffee قهوة Ahwah

I am sure you have heard of Turkish coffee.  It refers to the process and not the coffee beans used.  Any coffee beans can be used, but they need to be ground extremely finely.  Dad used to sell about a dozen different coffee beans when he had his Mediterranean food shop.  People could come and purchase the beans and have them freshly ground.  I remember the smells.  Some people would combine 2 or 3 bean varieties together and the aroma would waft throughout the shopping centre. 

Anyway, back to Turkish coffee.  Arabic coffee uses the same basic method (that is very finely ground coffee) but differs between countries by the addition or absence of cardamom, cinnamon or cloves, giving Arabic coffee a different aroma and taste to Turkish coffee.  Water, coffee, sugar, heat (don’t boil) pour and drink.  Just remember when you make it that you pour all the coffee from the pot into the cups but you don’t drink it all.  Drink the coffee but leave the granules that sit at the bottom of the cup.

I don’t remember ever drinking Arabic coffee although I may have tasted it when I was younger, but I wanted to include it in the cook book and so I got some coffee and a coffee pot from my dad and gave it a go at home.  I know how to make it in theory and I have made it before even though that was probably close to a decade ago.  We have an electric stove which made it difficult to make as the heat is hard to control.  As far as I recall making a cup or two would take a few minutes on a gas flame.  Add 1 heaped teaspoon of coffee and the same of sugar to 90 ml of water in a coffee pot.  Heat to just before boiling point, remove from the heat then repeat and pour into a cup to serve.  It should have a nice frothy head on it, the bigger the better.  On my electric stove it was painstakingly slow.  Almost 10 minutes on the stove trying to heat it up but with the heat coming on and off as it does with electric stoves, it took quite a bit of patience. 

I couldn’t prevent my coffee boiling and the bubbles came to the top and then the froth sank.  Disappointing.   Since I didn’t have any more coffee I poured them into the 2 espresso cups I had and took a photo for the book. 

When I finished, a bit flat after spending close to an hour setting up, videoing, styling and photographing a cup of coffee with very little froth, Jamie asked if he could have one and I decided to join him and drink one.  It was really nice with a lovely flavour. 

On the next visit out to dad’s I think I will procure some more ground coffee and have another attempt at making a coffee that not only tastes good, but that looks good too.