Baked Kibbeh

Baked Kibbeh is delicious served warm (never hot) or cold with salads, hommous, babaganoush etc. I love leftovers cold on sandwiches the next day.

What you need:

• 1kg lean minced beef or lamb
• 1 cup fine-to medium-grade burghul- Burghul is in the May/June Sourced Fresh Groceries Pack.
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 tbsp dried parsley
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp dried mint
• 1/4 tbsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Filling - fry these items together until well browned and set aside:

• 2 tbsp pine nuts - lebanese pine nuts are in the Spice Pack for the May/June Sourced Fresh order
• 1 medium oinion finely chopped
• 250g minced lamb or beef

1. Combine the meat, burghul, onion, water, parsley, mint, allspice, pepper, and cinnamon in a food processor.
2. Process until doughy.
3. Preheat oven to 220 degrees.
4. Lightly oil a medium sized baking dish.
5. Pat half of the meat mixture into the pan
6. Sprinkle the filling over the top, then cover with the remaining meat.
7. While still in the pan, cut the kibbeh into 3cm square or diamond shapes.
8. Brush the olive oil over the top, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm and browned well.

When you are putting the top layer of meat on, it is difficult to get it smoothed out and a consistent thickness. I get handfuls of the meat and shape a series of flat discs which I layer over the filling mixture. Once the discs are covering the entire dish, I then use wet hands to smooth the edges together and tease into the corners of the baking tray. Then use a knife to cut the diagonal pattern into the meat and drizzle oil over so it goes into the cracks I have just cut. Once it is cooked, allow it to cool in the baking tray. Dont try to remove it while it is hot; it will fall apart!

Click here for your copy of the May/June order form!

Kibbeh Akras Mekhli

Serve Kibbeh hot or cold with salads, hommous and babaganoush with torn up pieces of fresh lebanese bread

What you need:

• 1 kg (5 cups) fine burghul - Burghul is in the Groceries Pack of the Sourced Fresh May/June order
• 1 kg finely ground lean meat - lamb or beef is fine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large onion
• 1 cup iced water or ice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 6 cups vegetable oil (for deep fry)

For the filling:

• 500g minced meat - (same as the meat you chose for the balls above)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 5 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup fried pine nuts - lebanese pine nuts are in the Sourced Fresh Spice Pack in the May/Jun order
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• a pinch of salt
• a dash of ground cinnamon
• a dash of ground allspice

1. Wash burghul under running water then soak in water for about 10 minutes.
2. Drain then press to remove moisture as much as possible.
3. Mash onion in the food processor then add minced meat in batches.
4. Remove and place aside.
5. Mix meat mixture with burghul, salt, allspice, and cinnamon.
6. Process well in batches into a firm paste.
7. Knead mixture with wet hands into a smooth paste.
8. Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes covered with a piece of wet cloth.

Filling:

1. Fry chopped onion with a dash of salt in oil until transparent.
2. Add minced meat, salt and spices to onions and fry until cooked.
3. Mix in pine nuts.
4. Put filling aside.

Putting it together:

1. Divide paste into egg sized balls
2. Dip your hands in cold water then roll each ball between the palms of your hands until smooth.
3. Make a hole in the middle with your forefinger. Work finger round in the hole until you have a shell of even thickness.
4. Fill hole with filling mixture and close opening.
5. Moisten with cold water to seal well and to shape with two pointed sides.
6. If any breaks appear in shell, close with wet fingers.
7. Place balls on a tray.
8. Heat oil in a pan then fry till brown evenly and cooked.

For a copy of the May/June order form, click here

Tahini Sauce

Tahini sauce (also known as Taratoor) always accompanies falafel; it's also traditional for dressing simple plates of fried, grilled or roasted fish. The sauce lends a platter of steamed or roasted vegetables a spark of mouthwatering flavor.

What you need:

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 cup tahini - tahini is part of the Groceries Pack in the May/June Sourced Fresh order
• Fresh lemon juice
• Salt

1. In a bowl, stir the garlic into the tahini.
2. Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the sauce has the consistency of thick cream.
3. Add lemon juice until the sauce is pleasantly tangy and season with salt.

The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Click here for a copy of the May/June order form!

Falafel

Falafel is very popular in the Middle East as a fast food. Vendors sell it on the street corners. As a main dish, it is served as a sandwich, stuffed in pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes, and tahini. As an appetizer, it is served on a salad, or with hommous and tahini. Falafel is a favourite among vegetarians.

What you need:

• 300g chick peas (soaked overnight, then boiled for 5 minutes) or one tin, drained and rinsed. Chick peas are part of the Groceries Pack in the May/June Sourced Fresh order
• 1 md onion
• 1 md potato (peeled par-cooked & chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp flour
• vegetable oil for frying
• 2 tsp baking soda

1. Drain chick peas.
2. Blitz the peas with quarter onion and potato on the pulse action in your food processor. You want it to still have texture; not be overly pasty and smooth
3. Take it out of the processor, add all remaining ingredients except baking soda and vegetable oil, and mix well.
4. Put it back in the processor and pulse it again.
5. Cover and leave to rest for two to three hours. You are aiming for a thick, sticky paste consistency that you can mould with your hands
6. Heat oil for deep frying.
7. While oil is heating add baking soda to the chick pea mixture.
8. With dampened hands, form mixture into balls the size of a walnut, then flatten slightly into a patty.
9. Deep fry, making sure patties are cooked through and are golden brown.
10. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Falafel can be served as an appetizer with hommous and tahini, or as a main course. Stuff pita bread with falafel, lettuce, tomatoes, tahini, salt and pepper. As an alternative, falafel can be formed into patties and served like a burger.

Click here for a copy of the May/June order form!

Kafta

Kafta is minced lamb mixed with herbs and is usually cooked either roasted with potatoes and tomatoes or on a skewer on the BBQ.

Prepared kafta is available as part of the Sourced Fresh Meat Pack in the May/June order, but if you want to have a go at preparing it yourself, here is how it's done...

What you need:

1 kg lamb mince
2 cups of flat leaf (continental) parsley, washed and leaves picked off the stems.
1/2 cup mint, washed and leaves picked off the stems
2 onions
1 teaspoon salt, half a teaspoon black pepper
a quarter teaspoon each ground cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg

1. In a food processor, chop onion extremely fine.


2. Add parsley and mint and until you have a fine - not liquefied - homogeneous mixture.


3. Put the meat in a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and spices to meat, combine and mix thoroughly with your hands.

Kafta Mishwi (Kafta on a stick)

A mouthwatering mix of lamb mince, parsely, onions and spices, skewered and grilled to perfection:

• In your left hand, roll some kafta (about half a handful) into a ball
• With your right hand, run a bamboo skewer through it
• Holding the base of the skewer with your right hand, use your left hand to gently squeeze the kafta mixture along the skewer so it looks like you have a skinless sausage on a stick
• Cook over hot coals until the meat is cooked through but still juicy

Click here for the May/June order form

Kafta in the Oven

I just got home at 3pm today after a day of running around doing weekend-ish type of things. I had no idea what to cook for dinner...

It is pretty warm right now, but I know it is going to get cold this evening and I really felt like a hearty, tummy warming dinner made from ingredients I already have at home - I am not going back out to the shops now! One of my favorite meals since childhood has been "Kafta in the Oven". It is really yummy, warming, filling and easy to make! I timed the preparation today and it only took 6 minutes!

Kafta bel sanniyeh (Kafta in the oven)
Here is my recipe for Kafta in the Oven, and it is true to how my dad taught me to make it over 20 years ago. I have never had the urge to tweak this one - it's so good.

What you need:
Half a kilo of kafta (recipe for Kafta is listed on the Sourced Fresh blog, but is also available already prepared in the meat delivery this May/June order)
2 tins of good quality whole peeled tomatoes
3 large potatoes chopped into big chunks like you would for roasting
1 large onion chopped into wedges
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Into a good sized roasting pan, place your potatoes, onion and tinned tomatoes
2. Crush the tomatoes in your hands to release the juices, but still kind of stay whole
3. Add 1 x tsp salt and a couple of shakes of pepper.
4. Mix up everything in pan with your hands to ensure all the potatoes and onions are coated
5. Roll the kafta in your hands to make hens egg sized balls and nestle in amongst the vegetables and tomato juices. You should get 6-7 balls from half a kilo.
6. Generously dress with olive oil
7. Pop it into a medium-low oven for a few hours to roast slowly if you have the time, or into a medium-hot oven for about an hour & half if you are more pressed for time. I prefer to cook it slowly as the tomatoes and onions get more caramelised and sweeter the longer you cook it.
8. When the potatoes are cooked through and crisped on top it is ready.
9. Serve hot from the oven with thick sliced crusty bread with lashings of butter.

Click here for a copy of the May/June order form

Labna (yoghurt cheese)

The Labna is ready to eat immediately, but improves after a couple of days. The oil which surrounds the Labna can be used later in dressings, bread doughs etc. Honestly this stuff is so delicious and easy to make. I have seen Labne in gourmet deli's retailing at $12 for a small pot. *bug eyes*

You will need:

• 2kg Greek yoghurt
• 75 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• The juice and zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon of chopped thyme
• 1 tablesoon of chopped mint

1. Mix all ingredients together well.
2. Pour into a colander lined with muslin.
3. Tie the muslin to form a bag.
4. Hang the yoghurt mixture for 2 days, placing a pot or bowl underneath to catch the liquid.
5. After the 2 days, remove the Labna from the muslin, roll into walnut sized balls.
6. Place in a large jar, then cover with a light olive oil.

Eat with olives, olive oil and pita bread. Crumble on salads. Schmear onto your sandwiches or onto crispbread and top with sliced tomato and onion. Use it in place of goats cheese in tartlets. Gobble the delightful spheres straight out of the jar standing at the fridge... or is that just me?

Enjoy! Get the May/June order form by clicking here!

Babaganoush

Babaganoush is a delightful dip that like Hommous can hold its own either as part of a mezza plate or on its own on grilled bruschetta, wedges of raw vegetables, crackers, fresh bread or if you're like me, scooped on to potato wedges!

Here is my easy-peasy recipe for

Bowl-You-Over Babaganoush

You will need to roast a large eggplant (aubergine). Personally, I either pop it on the BBQ about an hour before the meat goes on or bake it in a hot oven until it is cooked through (about an hour) and the skin is blistered and black. I love the smokey flavour the BBQ imparts so that is my preference.

Chopping the top off first, cut the eggplant in half lengthways
Scoop out the steaming pearly pulp with a spoon, seeds and all and place into a mixing bowl
Scrape the insides of the skin the get those browned caramelised bits - they are the tastiest! But try to get as little of the actual black skin as possible

Once you have all the eggplant pulp in your bowl, mash it up with a fork to the desired fineness. I like mine quite chunky, but others like it smooth and creamy (to get it really smooth use your food processor). To this, add:
1. one tablespoon of tahini
2. one tablespoon of good olive oil
3. one teaspoon of salt and some pepper to taste
4. the juice of one lemon
5. one teaspoon of crushed garlic (no lumps!), about 1 clove

Taste it and adjust to your personal preference. I also like to add a very finely chopped tomato (what can’t be improved by adding a lovely ripe tomato??)

Served cold as an accompaniment for meats such as kibbeh, kafta or shish kebabs, you can also slather left over Baba on your meat sandwiches at lunch time or serve as a dip with crunchy pita crisps. Yummy is babaganoush dolloped on baked potato wedges. swoon......

Get the May/June order form by clicking here

Hommous/Hommos

However you want to say it or spell it, hommous is a creamy little plate of awesome flavour.

I know a lot of people don't like to make it because of the time it takes soaking the chick peas, but I'll let you in on a secret... most the Lebanese I know use tinned chick peas now days! My mum still makes it the traditional way, but I find the end result is a bit grainy (sorry mum!).

Here is my recipe for Heavenly Hommous:

In a large mixing bowl, To ONE tin of Chick Pea Dip (it's in your groceries order this month!)

• Add a teaspoon of crushed garlic (make sure it is really, really smooth - no lumps!)
• Add a teaspoon of salt
• Add a teaspoon of tahini
• Add the juice of one lemon
• Add a tablespoon of good olive oil
• Mix it all up with a spoon
• Add more oil for a softer texture - you dont want gluggy or runny
• Taste it & adjust seasonings. You might need more salt and lemon. You wont need more tahini.
• Serve in a large flat bowl & dress with some good quality olive oil
• Tear up some wedges of fresh lebanese bread or crispy pita wedges & dig in!
• I also like it decorated with a small amount of fresh chopped parsely and paprika.

Hommous is not just a dip to serve as a trendy alternative to good old French Onion. Lebanese use it almost like us Aussies use tomato sauce. Usually a side on your mains plate, just about everything gets schmeared in it. The finger licking fabulousness can also be dolloped on your ham & salad sanga or scooped up on wedges of your favorite raw vegetables. yum.

For those out there who have not placed an order with me so don't have a peas already ground to a paste, but have a tin of whole chick peas in the cupboard, follow the instructions above, but dump it all straight into your food processor, mix until the consistencey is creamy. Dont forget to rinse and drain your peas first.

For those true traditionalists who have a bag of dried chick peas in the back of the pantry, soak about 250g peas overnight, follow the food processor instructions above.

ALTAIB!

click here for a copy of the May/June order form

May/June 09 Order Form

Click here for a copy of the May/June 09 order form.

May/June Middle Eastern Magic

This month, to launch Sourced Fresh, I invite you to sample some Middle Eastern magic - specifically from my paternal ancestral region of Lebanon.

You have probably heard of Lebanese food and maybe even been to a Lebanese restaurant. Tabouleh, shish kebabs, hommous and babaganoush are all pretty mainstream these days. But have you ever cooked this food yourself, or tasted authentic dishes cooked outside of the fast food genre? It is amazing - a taste sensation!

The main flavour combinations are salty, garlicky and lemony. Fresh herbs and spices such as flat leaf parsely, mint, oregano and thyme are added to meats which are often barbequed or grilled. Lebanese food is relatively easy to make - I will post some "short-cuts" taught to me by my father and my Lebanese aunts to make the preparation and cooking even easier.

Over the coming weeks I am going to post some family recipes here; I would love to get your feedback on the dishes, and I challenge you to find some of your own and post!

If you don't have it yet, Click here for a copy of the May/June 2009 order form. I will stock your larder with some of the more difficult to find international ingredients, and if you live in Newcastle or the Central Coast, will deliver them direct to your door.

Happy eating!

Howdy from Sourced Fresh

Hello you!

If you have landed here it is probably because you have received a Sourced Fresh order form - well, Welcome! I have started up this little enterprise Sourced Fresh because I personally felt that living in Newcastle it was quite difficult to find some more unusual ingredients I wanted to use in my cooking. Over the years I have trekked up and down the F3 to Sydney to purchase ingredients it was just impossible to find fresh here, or the price of those items was so prohibitive. Many of my friends, knowing that I was on a jaunt to 'Little Lebanon/Greece/Italy/Chinatown etc" would ask me to pick up things for them too.

I just want to clarify, I am not a chef and I have never worked in the food industry (except a short stint as a dish pig at a steakhouse when I was 15 - lets not go there!). I'm just a person who is a little picky (ok, really picky) about using the most authentic and the freshest ingredients for the meals I cook for my family and friends. I also have a grand passion for food, entertaining and cooking, and one of my greatest pleasures is finding original, authentic, hand-me-down family recipes.

I have a long-suffering and beloved husband Mark who is my food guinae pig (to his delight) and a terribly finicky 6 year old boy Ewan whose favorite food to my dismay is crumbed steak. Hey, don't get me wrong - I love a piece of crumbed steak, but when there is a world of flavours to explore, it frustrates me that his food world is at the moment very small.

Anything else you ought to know about me? I am of Lebanese and British parentage, which is where my passion to feed my family and friends (Leb) cost effectively (Scots) come from! I have a small recruitment business that I run from my home office. I'm closer to 40 than 30.

I invite you to get involved in this blogspot, please post recipes and suggestions for the featured region of the month, and submit comments on dishes you have prepared. Let me know what regions you are interested in - I am open to suggestions, and have supplier contacts for most regional foods. If I dont, then I will do the research and source it for you!

Thank you for visiting Sourced Fresh - why don't you stick around for dinner!

Rita :)