Breakfast, Middle Eastern Style

In an effort to stick to my original goal - eating ALL meals from the country of present - I have asked and searched for different middle eastern ideas for breakfast. In all the helpful tidbits I found, the "dish" that both my husband and I have been devouring is very simple, yet divine!

Take a piece of middle eastern flat bread (or pita or naan) and toast it in the toaster oven till just crispy. Take it out and spread with a Middle Eastern soft cheese. Sprinkle the top with Zahtar (or Za'atar). The cheese we've been using is in this picture near the center, written in Arabic with red around the edges. If you live in C'Ville, get to Rahim's store and buy some! It's similar to goat cheese but saltier - and oh, so addicting!

A few other things I read about breakfast....

from Lebanese Cuisine: "It is rare to go into a Lebanese kitchen that does not have a bowl of olives ready to be put on the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

from Feast From the Mideast: "Even for breakfast, if someone is eating an omelette, there has to be a salad on the plate alongside it. Indeed, this custom is one of the most healthful aspects of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern diet."

from "Saudi Aramco World", an old but interesting article on Middle East breakfast is worth a full read here.

Creamy Persian Eggplant

My kids, though willing eaters, aren't fond of eggplant. But this recipe either fooled them or reformed them! We stuffed it inside pita bread (which when warmed up in a toaster oven is the best!), and they ate it up. It can be served hot or room temperature.

A note on kashk from Feast from the Mideast by Faye Levy:

Kashk [is] a creamy dairy product made of dried whey mixed with a little water... if the jar's label lists whey, salt, and water but no other ingredients, you have the right thing for htis recipe. Kashk has the texture of very thick sour cream but has a more tangy, concentrated flavor and is lower in fat. If you happen to find kashk, try it; it's intense flavor gives the tastiest result.

(For blog readers who are local, Rahim carries kashk at his store!)

Creamy Persian Eggplant

from Feast from the Mideast by Faye Levy

Makes 4 servings

1 medium eggplant (1 pound)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon dried mint

4 tablespoons kashk, yogurt, or labneh

salt and freshly ground pepper

Grill, broil, or roast eggplant, then peel it.

(I broiled mine: Prick each eggplant 5 or 6 times with a fork. Set them on broiler rack or broiler pan lined with foil if you like. Broil eggplant for about 40 minutes, or until they feel soft when you press them, turning them over occasionally. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Cut off caps and remove peel with the aid of a paring knife.)

Chop eggplant with knife to a chunky puree. Transfer to bowl.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion and saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until tender and golden brown.

Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds, then add dried mint and saute for a few more seconds. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the mixture as a topping. Add the rest to the eggplant and mix well.

If substituting yogurt for kashk, drain off any liquid before measuring it. Add 3 tablespoons kashk to the eggplant and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the eggplant at room temperature.

To serve, spread eggplant dip in a dish or a shallow bowl. To finish, if using kashk, mix 1 tablespoon of it with about 1/2 tablespoon water to a thick sauce and pour it over the center. If using yogurt, simply spoon a dollop over the eggplant. Sprinkle with the reserved onion mixture.

A Lebanese Quick Dish

We were off to friends' house for a little party, and so I needed to quickly put something together for the kids. Only having Middle Eastern ingredients in the house, I searched for a recipe that wouldn't take long. I found this in Lebanese Cuisine by Anissa Helou and deviated slightly from the recipe.

On a side note, and I feared this would happen, Ms. Helou says in her introduction:

Lebanese cuisine as we know it today has evolved through these successive invasions with each culture leaving its mark. Those who seem to have left the most perceptible signs of influence are the Egyptians, Persians, ancient Greeks and Ottomans. The French... had in their mere 25 years in the Lebanon a strong refining influence on the local cuisine. This probably explains why Lebanese food is that much more varied and refined than that of its Middle Eastern neighbours...

It might be difficult to dissociate our food from that of Syria, Jordan and Palestine but our cuisine is quite distinctive from theirs. There is one main geographical difference... in that there is no desert land and therefore no nomadic Bedouin population with its culinary tradition...

She continues on various topics as to why Lebanon should not be bundled with Middle Eastern cuisine. I do see her point - and I think other countries could argue the same. I've made a few recipes from a Persian (Iranian) cookbook that seem quite distinct as well. I will cook from some solo countries - and I'd love to do that with the Middle Eastern region - but it may be 80 years before we complete our journey, so I'm bundling some cuisines together. Hopefully, I am covering a little from each country within the ME while respecting and highlighting their differences.

So let's get this recipe up! It's called Minced Meat, Tomato, and Onion Bread (Lahem bil-Ajeen).

Serves 4

4 Naan bread ovals or other flat bread

1 medium onion, very finely chopped

1 medium tomato, peeled (if desired) and diced into 1/4-inch square cubes

salt to taste

5 oz. lean minced (ground) lamb or beef

1 teaspoon lemon juice, or to taste

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice or garam masala

1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional)

3 tablespoons plain yogurt or tahini (optional)

1 tablespoon pine nut (optional)

Mix onions, tomatoes, and salt together with your fingers to soften the vegetables. Drain any juices.

Add rest of ingredients except the pine nuts, and mix together until well blended.

Spread a quarter of the mixture on top of each bread piece, and then sprinkle with pine nuts.

(Pre-baked picture: )

Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the breads and nuts are golden brown.

On Tuesday, I finally got to my Middle East shopping! I arrived at Afghan World Market and scoped it out with a bit of apprehension. Why? It was a bit difficult to tell what it was like inside; I wasn't really sure what I would be getting and if they'd have it; we all fear the unknown to some degree. Does the store owner like Americans? Would I do something offensive to his/her culture?

Such silliness, I'm sure you are saying. And you would be right! My little shopping excursion turned out to be one of those unique and impressing moments where you truly feel that the world is small and must be intertwined by one Being. The simple JOY of food can chisel away effortlessly at barriers of religion or culture or misunderstanding that seems to plague us all too often.

I entered the store to find an older Afghani man standing to the side sipping tea, and he gazed at me with the same uncertainty and apprehension I had upon entering the store. I quickly grabbed a basket and scanned the store for a safe place to locate myself while I figured out what to buy from my list. Sidling up near the "bulk" section, I noticed a common middle eastern snack that I was pleasantly surprised to find: toasted chickpeas. It seemed like a perfect, healthy snack to give the kids, and I was very curious of it's flavor. So I grabbed a plastic baggy and began filling.

A man behind the counter, who appeared to be in charge, asked if he could help me find something. "Well, I have a long list," I replied.

"You tell me what on your list. I find," he replied abruptly. So I quickly scanned for something I was committed to buying and asked for Bulgur. "Many kinds of this we have. What kind you need?"

"I don't know. Maybe some fine and some coarse." (In the mideast, there are various dishes that use different coarseness of bulgur wheat ranging from very fine to very coarse.)

"What do you mean, you don't know? Do you cook our food?"

"I'm learning!"

"Who teaches you?"

"Me. A cookbook I have..." I stumble.

"Your husband. He is middle eastern?"

"No..." I say, feeling almost guilty about it.

"Do you move there?"

"No."

"I don't understand. Why do you want to cook this way?"

"I'm just, I've really liked the middle eastern food I've had, and so I want to cook it and learn about it. Maybe you can help me pick out good things?"

And then, a smile, an almost full-out grin actually. The owner, who I later found out was named Rahim, was absolutely delighted that I liked the food and wanted to know more. He shared one of his favorite recipes: lamb over rice with carrots, raisins, almonds, and pistachios. He couldn't remember the name, but he told me to look up Afghani food on the internet!

Another one of his favorites, which after he said it's name, I wrote down as "branhi", was eggplant sauteed and then topped with kashk (or kishk) mixed with garlic and salt. I searched this term after I got home, and he may have been saying "borani", which is an extremely common appetizer in the mideast. Basically it's a blend of yogurt and vegetables, and you can honestly use whatever veggie you like. The most typical ones to pair with yogurt are eggplant, beets, and spinach. The yogurt is drained for a few hours so that it will be thick. Rahim pointed me to kashk, which is a dried whey used to thicken and enliven the flavor of soups and stews. He may have been referring to the same concept.

He helped me pick out spices, and instead of buying individual ones, he handed me garam masala - an Indian spice - and said this would work. He told me that he sprinkles a little of this on almost everything, that everyone in Afghanistan uses this. The ingredients are very similar to mideast Seven Spice, which I'll blog about later.

Rahim was conservative, too, telling me not to rush into buying too much. He advised that I try a little of some things first, and then I can come back for more. "Don't spend too much," he urged.

While his son was freshly grinding some beef for me and slicing some chicken breast, he gave me a cup of green tea fused with crushed cardamom pods. It was lovely. Earlier, while Rahim was with another customer, the intimidating older gentleman from when I first arrived watched me as I tried figuring out what a bag with little dried, pruned-up like, green pods was. His apprehensive demeanor quickly changed to a knowing and pleased look as he ripped the bag open and urged me to eat. After a few guesses, I was able to figure it out: cardamom.
This gentleman, who seemed to know very little English, was please that I had recognized the spice. He proceeded to help me fill other bags from the bulk section, urging me to try each one first, then holding the top open for the ones I chose. It was the extent of our exchange, and he left shortly after, but I wondered where he went. What does he do in our town? Does he have family here?

Another man came in at one point, said "Shalom", and enjoyed a cup of tea with Rahim. They discussed a recipe, going through all the ingredients they would use and how to cook it. When his cup was finished, they said their goodbyes and he left. He didn't buy anything.

As I checked out my overflowing basket of foods, Rahim kept advising his son to "discount, discount." I believe he probably gave me many things at 25 to 50% off. While I was picking things out, he would encourage me to choose the one I want, and he'd give me the same price even if I chose the more expensive one.

And so we've been cooking and eating all week with these scrumptious treasures found at the Afghan World Market, and I'll be posting those up for you shortly. The food is scrumptious, and from what I experienced, the people are sincere.