Dalia's Kitchen: beef

Fatte'd Aubergine

Image by Chris Mejorada for ITP Publishing

I love fattes and all types of Syrian tabakh, but I don't actually cook it as often as I would like to for two main reasons. It such comfort food, almost too much comfort food for me, and makes me feel like being at home with the family and then taking a nap right away! That's not ideal when I have to run around town. The other reason is that although it tastes absolutely delicious, it misses my Mami's touch which makes me miss her tremendously!

But for BBC Good Food ME's Mother's Day issue, I created a menu, which reminded me of the best mother in the world – mine J And this Fatteh was one of the dishes I made. I can't wait to see her tonight as I'm off to Beirut again. So I will leave you with this delicacy for lunch.. Sahteen :)

Serves 4 - 6

Prep & Cook Time: ~ 45 minutes

· 4 medium sized eggplants, cut into large pieces

· 6 cups low fat yoghurt

· 4 medium loafs Arabic flat bread

· 800g lean minced beef

· 1 garlic clove, using garlic press

· 2 onions, finely chopped

· 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

· 1/3 cup freshly chopped parsley

· 1 tbsp tomato paste

· 2 cups beef or chicken stock

· 1 tbsp tahina (sesame paste)

· 2 bay leaves

· 1 tsp sugar

· salt and pepper to taste

1. In a bowl, whisk the yoghurt with a little water, sesame paste, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

2. Cut the Arabic bread into squares, and either sauté them in a pan with a little oil, or toast them in the oven and set aside.

3. Heat a little sunflower oil in pan and cook the eggplants until they are almost ready, for about 10 - 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste, some hot water, sugar, seasoning and cook for a few more minutes until they are done.

4. In another pan, heat some olive oil, sauté the onions until translucent, add the garlic and cook a few more minutes before adding the minced meat, half the parsley and bay leaves. Cook for about 8 – 10 minutes, until the meat is done, then add the hot stock and simmer on low heat for just a few minutes.

5. Now assemble the dish by starting with half the toasted bread, layer the meat on top, then add the eggplants, followed by the yoghurt and finish by adding the remaining bread and parsley (and some eggplants to decorate if you wish). Enjoy!

As featured in BBC Good Food ME March 2012

Tagliata & Arugula Salad

Baked Rigatoni

MashAllah, my little angels Kayan and Dalia (yes, mini-me!)

My sister and her family just moved from Madrid to Dubai and I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am! Joujou, is like my other half, has always been my closest friend and living apart for all these years has really not been easy. Especially that I miss my four little nephews tremendously! I have no experience in being a mami yet, but I have the experience of Being Auntie D, and my little angels have brought so much joy to my life :)

So now that they live here, they come over for lunch and I get to cook for a few more little persons- which I absolutely love! I'm also experimenting with dishes that are more "kid friendly" if that makes any sense.. Spontaneously Joujou called saying they would pop over for lunch, and I had 1 hour to prepare lunch as the kids were starving.. I looked through my pantry and fridge, found rigatoni, cheese, carrots, peas, minced meat and so I opted for a Baked Rigatoni which the little angels absolutely adored! Super easy, and delish for kids and grown ups as well!

(I usually use low fat milk and little less butter for my béchamel sauce which you can see in other gratin recipes, but for the kids I went all out ;)

Easy. Prep & Cook Time: ~1 hour

Serves 6 - 8

750g rigatoni pasta
350g minced beef (lean)
350g minced lamb
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 carrots, cut in rounds
1 pack of frozen peas
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
2 cups Ementhal cheese, grated
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and cracked pepper to taste

for the béchamel sauce

1 liter milk
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp flour
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven at 180C. In a pan, heat olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, cook for a minute or so, then add the minced meat, lamb, thyme and bay leaves. Cook until the minced meat turns golden and looks cooked through, then add the carrots and peas. Continue cooking everything on medium heat, then add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper and simmer for about 10 minutes.

In the mean time, cook the pasta in boiling salt water but not until it's done, just half the amount it says on the pack (about 6 minutes), so basically pre cook the rigatoni as they will cook more in the oven later and you do not want them to be too gooey!

In a saucepan, melt the butter and olive oil, add the flour and cook it through, until it turns golden brown. Add the milk and simmer until it thickens, then season with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. When the béchamel has the consistency of a thick sauce, add the cheddar cheese and set aside.

Add the meat mixture to the pasta, mix everything well (don't forget to season to taste) and start assembling your bake in the dish. Pour the pasta and meat in the dish, and top with the béchamel sauce. Finish off with the grated cheese and place in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden. Enjoy with a simple green salad. Yummy comfort food!

Beef Stew in Red Wine & Berry Reduction

Beef Tenderloin Bites

D's Shepherd's Pie

Our famous Boeuf Bourguignon

I stayed home all weekend, and just wanted to be a lazy bum, watch movies and feast on some slow cooked dishes with Phiras, especially since he just got back from London.. So we prepared our Boeuf Bourguignon, popped in a movie as it was simmering, and then had a gorgeous late lunch.. We spent the rest of the day splattered on the couch watching even more movies.. My kind of weekend.. And an even tougher start to the week!

Serves 3 people

700g beef flank, cut into 2 - 3 cm chunks
350ml red wine (ideally burgundy - hence the name ;)
1 shot whisky
2 carrots, cut into thick slices
1 1/2 onions, chopped
about 100g of lard (use streaky bacon if you can't find any lard), cut into chunks
bouquet garni; a bundle of herbs tied together including bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, parsley...
1 crushed garlic clove
half a pack of small onions
some nut oil, butter, salt and cracked pepper for seasoning
about a cup or so of chicken stock

Season the meat with salt and pepper, place it in a bowl, add the bouquet garni, the wine and whisky, a little oil, and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.. When you're done marinating the beef, drain it from the wine mixture, keeping the marinade for later.. Heat a large pot (cast iron if you have one), and fry the lard until golden brown, then set aside.. Brown the meat in the same pot and once it has a nutty color set it aside as well.. Now add the carrots and the onions to the pot and deglaze by scraping all the yummy brown bits.. Once the veggies soften up, place the lard and beef back into the pot, add the marinade, bouquet garni and garlic.. Add a little hot stock, just enough to fully immerse the meat.. Bring everything to a rapid boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours..

Heat a little butter, fry the pearl onions until they are soft and have a bit of color.. When your Beef Bourguignon is ready, remove the meat, lard, and veggies, and place them in the serving dish.. Drain the sauce, (which will help get rid of the excess fat), and pour the beautiful wine sauce over the dish and get ready to wow your guests.. Serve this with beautiful mash or roasted potatoes.. Bon Appétit!

Stir-fried Beef Tenderloin over Rice

Blanquette de Boeuf a la D

It's the w-e and my hubby and I are in the mood for something yummy and hearty.. I have some beef loins for a stew in the fridge, so will prepare a Blanquette, which can be served with rice, potatoes or whatever tickles your tummy! Also this meal can be made with veal, chicken or rabbit.. It's quite quickly prepared but needs about 1hr30 on the stove..

Serves 4 persons

2 1/2 pounds of beef loin, cut into pieces

1 carrot cut into big slices

1 onion cut into four

1 onion cut into thin wedges

1 pack of brown mushrooms, sliced

1 TBL of thyme

1 bay leaf

1 TBL chopped parsley

about 3-4 cups of bottled water

2 egg yolks

juice of one lemon

100 ml of cooking cream

nut oil

"butter, butter and more butter"

salt and pepper to taste

some flour for drenching

In a large pot, (I use my cocotte, a cast iron pot which I luv!), heat a large knob of butter and some nut oil.. Drench your meat in some flour and brown the pieces nicely on all sides, in small batches.. Then remove the meat and brown the 4 pieces of onion and the carrots.. Place the meat back in the pot, with the thyme and bay leaf.. Add the water (it needs to cover the meat), salt & pepper to taste, and bring to a boil.. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 1hr15 or until the meat is tender..

In the mean time, in a bowl whisk together egg yolks, cream, lemon juice and about 1/4 cup of the stock that is cooking up in your pot.. Set aside.. Now heat a little butter and nut oil in a pan, add the onion wedges and mushrooms.. Cook until nicely browned, salt & pepper and set this aside also..

Once your meat is ready, remove it from the pot and place on a plate, adding the mushroom onion mix, and keeping it warm.. Remove the bay leaf from your pot and slowly stir in your egg mixture, whisking constantly.. Do not to bring it to a boil, but cook it until it thickens a little.. Then pour this over your meat, sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately! Voila

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