roasted-potatoes-featured

You say Potato, we say Batata Bkezbra

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by • Quick Fixes • Tags: ,

For those who have been reading my blog for a while, I guess you know by now how much I love Lebanese food and our delicious interpretations of otherwise dull dishes or ingredients.

Today, I decided to dedicate a post for potatoes and how we prepare them in Lebanon. Maybe you’re not familiar with all the below preparations, but I strongly suggest you give them a try because they’re all simply amazing.

  • Batata Maslou2a: this is simply boiled potatoes that are mashed and mixed with salt, pepper and olive oil. I’m sure everyone in Lebanon knows this version. I love it best with oat bread and green onions that add crunch in every mouthful.
  • Bayd w Batata: this is a mix of eggs and potatoes. Potatoes are a cut in dices and roasted with a little oil, and then mixed with eggs, salt and pepper. The whole mix is then left to cook before it is enjoyed with markouk bread and fresh tomatoes.
  • Batata Bkezbra: I believe this is Lebanon’s favorite interpretation of potatoes. They’re diced, roasted with oil and once they’re golden, you add chopped coriander, crushed garlic and salt and keep on the stove until the coriander is well cooked. Enjoy it as is, with or without bread.
  • Batata Harra: this is exactly the same as the previous one, but with the addition of hot pepper powder. The taste doesn’t change much, except for the spiciness that the pepper adds.
  • Batata w Tarator: this is one of my all-time favorite dishes. You boil the potatoes and dice them, then add tarator made of tahini paste, lemon and salt. The mix is simply incredible! Just make sure you are generous with the tarator so you get enough with every mouthful. This mix is best enjoyed with markouk or bran bread and with some fresh mint.

Voila! I’m sure there are other famous potato-based dishes that I am not aware of and that are prepared in specific regions across Lebanon. I would love to hear your recommendations if you know of anything new I can try!

competition-sandwich

Judging the pre-HORECA cooking competition

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by • Must-Try Foods • Tags: ,

A few weeks ago, I got asked by one of my students to be a judge for the HORECA selection competition at university. Let me explain further; I teach digital marketing at Saint-Joseph University and I have, among my students, the Hospitality Management students. Each year, they participate in HORECA cooking competitions and win almost unequivocally the Gold and First Gold medals.

I was assigned to the sandwiches category and was judging along the brilliant Chef Adnan Khoury. While he was checking everything from hygiene, students’ motivation, presentation and taste, I was mainly focused on the taste of the sandwiches and the balance of ingredients in them. All participants had of course the same sandwich to prepare, so that we could easily compare who made the best one. The ingredients they had were chicken, poached quail eggs, arugula, double-crème cheese, cornichons, brown bread and an avocado paste. The whole secret for the success of the sandwich was based on the latter that they had to prepare from avocado, mayonnaise, aioli, salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice.

Needless to say that all sandwiches were absolutely delicious, because the selection of the ingredients was an all-star. But most of them had too much garlic, or too much salt or too much lemon juice in their avocado paste. One student however had hit the jackpot and the absolute perfect balance of ingredients. His avocado paste was impeccable. The avocado wasn’t overthrown by the weight of garlic or lemon juice, so it mixed perfectly well with the chicken, eggs and cheese.

I recently found out that based on our grades, it was this student who was selected to participate in HORECA. I cannot wait to see what he will be preparing then and I am sure he will ace the balance of ingredients to present a true delicacy to HORECA judges.

Featured photo credited to Michel El Esta.

cucumbers

4 things you should never pair with cucumber

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by • Tips • Tags: , ,

I’m a cucumber freak. I generally love vegetables, but cucumbers have a special place in my heart… and in my fridge. It’s a great ingredient to add to salads because it brings crunchiness, sweetness and juiciness to the salad. It goes with almost any other ingredient, but sometimes, it is added to ingredients that are just wrong and are ruined completely by being mixed with cucumber. Here is my list of foods to never pair with cucumbers:

  • Chicken: I don’t know why people insist on adding cucumbers to a salad they’re eating with chicken but that’s just wrong, unless their taste buds are numb and they can’t taste how bad the mix is. If you want to add something crunchy in your salad, I suggest you choose red bell pepper as it goes perfectly well with chicken.

  • Canned tuna: there are only a few foods that go well with tuna and cucumber is not one of them. The mix has a fishy taste that is not good. Pickled cucumbers however, or cornichons are great with tuna because they add acidity and crunchiness.

  • Mayonnaise: I know mayonnaise is a condiment rather than basic food, but when you want to add it to a salad or any other type of dishes, don’t add cucumbers to the same dish. The aftertaste left by cucumbers and mayonnaise is really bad.

  • Eggs: eggs are a tricky food because they do smell a lot of times, even if nothing is added to the dish. Generally, not a lot of fresh vegetables go well with eggs, especially cucumbers. If you want to add an extra fresh taste with some crunchiness, the best combination is green onions or leeks.

black-olives-and-tomatoes

Hungry? Try eating markouk bread, black olives and a tomato salad

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by • Quick Fixes • Tags: , , ,

I love to keep food traditions alive, especially foods we used to eat when we were kids, because on top of the taste, they bring back great childhood memories.

I wasn’t much of an eater when I was a kid, so my mother and aunts had to get very creative with me just so I’d eat something. I used to like (and I still do) acidic and salty tastes, so anything involving those flavours was always welcome.

And so once they had the brilliant idea of making me eat something they particularly like: black olives with tomatoes. But instead of just cutting the tomato, my aunt diced it and mixed it with salt, pepper and olive oil. She then brought markouk bread and black olives, and told me to taste the whole mix. So I’d remove the olive pit, roll the bread around the olive and dip it in the tomato salad. You cannot imagine how rich in flavours this whole mix is… The black olives bring earthiness, the tomatoes bring their usual sweetness and acidity and the salt, pepper and olive oil mix with the tomato juice to add sharpness and to perfect the flavours.

Next time you’re hungry and looking for a quick fix, try this incredible combination. I’m sure your taste buds will relish as it will easily become one of your favourite mixes.

smoked-pork-ribs

Holy Smoke: best pork ribs in Lebanon!

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by • Must-Try Foods • Tags: ,

I just love it when I taste something for the first time with no expectations whatsoever, and I get blown away by how good it tastes.

This is exactly what happened to me at the Christmas in Action exhibition. My husband had a booth there for his company and his neighbor turned out to be an old friend who was selling smoked pork ribs. He had a huge smoking station where the ribs were slowly roasting. He would open the lid every now and then and drizzle barbecue sauce on the ribs. Apart from this being an impressive show, the smell that filled the air was incredible! So naturally when I got hungry, I ordered a smoked rib sandwich to finally discover what it tasted like.

The guy toasted bread, added coleslaw and chopped ribs and handed me the sandwich. As simple as that. I cannot begin to express how good it tasted. The ribs were tender, juicy and had a double smoky taste from the cooking and the barbecue sauce. The coleslaw added a dash of crunch and sweetness – pretty much all what was needed to enjoy this masterpiece.

I asked Jack, the owner about where to find this delicacy, thinking he would have a restaurant somewhere we can go to. It turned out he has no restaurant and only caters to private events and participates occasionally in exhibitions. So, my dear readers, you will have to wait until the next exhibition, or give Jack a ring whenever you’re hosting a private event. But believe me, if it’s the latter, it will be the best thing you can serve to your guests, because whatever he smokes is hands down out of this world.

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