Lebanese Night
Growing up, one of my best friends was Lebanese. Not surprisingly, I developed a real taste for the great food his mom made. Last night, my bride, and beloved sous chef, wanted to have falafel (deep-fried patties of ground chick peas and other ingredients), to go with the remaining Greek salad from the night before. I said, "OK, but where's the MEAT?" We settled on kibbeh (tasty little deep-fried footballs of ground and spiced beef or lamb). Wow! It sure hit the spot.
First, some Greek salad: Thin-sliced red onion, minced garlic, quartered kalamata olives, extra virgin kalamata olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh-ground black pepper, chopped fresh dill, crumbled Israeli feta cheese, baby arugula, and baby spinach.
Next some fresh-baked Arabic flat-bread, from the Middle-Eastern market down the street from my house.
Next, the falafel: ground chick peas, chopped onion, chopped parsley, chopped cilantro, sea salt, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, cumin seeds, baking powder, and flour. This is formed into small patties, and deep-fried so that the outside is crunchy and the inside is tender and moist.
Next, the kibbeh: The filling consisted of minced onion, ground beef (we had no ground lamb), ground allspice, sea salt, cinnamon, fresh-ground black pepper, and toasted pine nuts, sauteed in olive oil. The outer layer consisted of fine bulgur wheat, chopped onion, ground beef (we had no lamb), ground allspice, sea salt, cinnamon, and fresh-ground black pepper. The outer layer is flattened out into thin patties in your hand, and a bit of filling is spooned in. Then the outer layer is wrapped around the filling, and shaped into a sort of football shape. The results are deep-fried, so that the outside is crunchy and the inside is done to juicy perfection.
This is all served with a nice plain Arabic yogurt, for dipping the falafel and kibbeh.
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Enjoy,
Rich P