Mealtime Magic - Stuffed Eggplant Supreme and Farina Squares from Lebanese Cuis

With Lebanese Cuisine, Leila Habib-Kirske continues her mother Dr. Madelain Farah’s work of memorializing classic Middle Eastern meals with an expanded assortment of recipes that bring easy, authentic Lebanese cooking right to your kitchen.

Featuring over 185 recipes, including two of the author's favorites below, this new edition of Lebanese Cuisine will bring the tastes of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking to your kitchen.


Recipe #1:
Stuffed Eggplant Supreme
Makes 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

1 pound lamb
shoulder, coarsely ground
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup pine nuts
2 medium onions, finely chopped
12 eggplants, 3–5 inches in length
1–3 tablespoons butter
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Sauté the meat with the seasonings and pine nuts.

2. Add the onions and continue sautéing until the onions are soft. Set aside.

3. Peel the eggplants, leaving a short stem. (May be peeled in stripes.)

4. Brown all sides in butter until barely soft. Remove and place on a platter.

5. Make a slit on the side of each eggplant and stuff with 1–2 tablespoons of the filling.

6. Arrange the stuffed eggplants next to each other in a baking dish.

7. Pour the tomato sauce over the eggplants and barely cover with water.

8. Sprinkle with additional salt.

9. Bake 20–25 minutes at 375°F.

10. Remove the eggplants gently with a spatula onto a platter.

Note: I recommend serving with rice.




Recipe #2:
Farina Squares
Makes ~32 Squares

Ingredients

2 tablespoons tahini
4⅔ cups of farina (or regular 28-ounce Cream of Wheat as a substitute)

2½ cups sugar
1 cup clarified butter
2⅓ cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon rose water
Blanched almonds or pine nuts
1½ Basic Sugar Syrup recipe (see additional note below)

Directions

1. Grease two 8-inch square pans with tahini (sesame seed oil).

2. Thoroughly mix the rest of the ingredients, excluding the blanched almonds or pine nuts.

3. Pour the mixture into the pans.

4. Place the blanched almonds or pine nuts on the top so that when cut into 1½-inch squares an almond or pine nut will be on each square.

5. Bake at 350°F until golden brown, approximately 30–45 minutes. Check frequently so as to not get too brown.

6. Cut into squares, like brownies.

7. Spoon cold syrup over the hot squares until all of the syrup is used.

Note: For a serving (1/2 pint) of Basic Sugar Syrup, combine 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water and a couple drops of fresh lemon juice in a saucepan. Boil over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly thick (220°F). Before removing from the heat, add the rose water and let it come to a boil. Remove from the flame and cool.

About the Author

Leila Habib-Kirske has long been passionate about her Lebanese background and sharing her love of Lebanese cuisine with a broader audience. She grew up in the kitchen of her mother and grandmother from who she learned Lebanese and Moroccan cooking using traditional methods. She currently resides in Seattle, WA.

Dr. Madelain Farah wrote the original edition of Lebanese Cuisine in 1972 to memorialize the recipes her mother had passed down and share these unique creations with the world.

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Lebanese Cuisine
Written by Madelain Farah & Leila Habib-Kirske
978-1-57826-949-5, $25.00 hardcover

Published by Hatherleigh Press.
Distributed through Penguin Random House.
Available wherever books are sold.
www.hatherleighpress.com

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