NO Mint!!! Ahh

Cooking is relaxing, a bit of an escape at the end of the day....but shopping is not such a favourite...and sometimes you are almost there when you realise....something is missing....so do imagine this salad with fresh chopped mint all through it [Praveen had to!]
this si a selection of things I make when I am having Syrian Dreamings...many of the recipes I hassled restaurants for at the time I was there...other things I have gone out of my way to find as they tasted so good.
Try the Muhummarah it is amazing!
10 kg of green mangos just got dropped off for me.....lots of preparation tonight for green mango pickles- trying to get a years supply ready for hotels- we like home made....and i like making preserves best off all for some reason?

Beetroot Salad


4 beetroot, boiled, rub the skin off and 1 cm dice
Pound 1 t garlic and salt together
Add 2 T tahini
Stir through 1 cup yoghurt
Gently mix all together with beetroot [wait for the fantastic colour change]
Serve with lots of chopped mint

Krak des Chevaliers Eggplant Salad


Eggplant- cubed, salted ½ hour, washed, dried fried in olive oil until nice and golden and soft, set aside to drain and cool
Chopped tomatoes, onions, capsicum, parsley
Thin, thin slices of fresh lemon peel
• Toss all together
Dressing olive oil, pomegranate molasses/ lemon juice



Saladin’s Castle Salad
Shredded green and red cabbage
Small pieces of chopped tomato
Cucumber
Fresh mint leaves

Dressing
Olive oil,
white wine vinegar
powdered mint [this is really good to use over salads]
dusting paprika or sumac


Qa’lat Jabar Salad
Along with the freshest fish from the Euphrates River try these….
Salad
Tomato, cucumber, fresh mint leaves
Dress with olive oil, lemon juice and chilli flakes.

Chilli Lemon Relish

1/2 lemon- seeds out
Fresh red chilli
Olive oil
• Grind together

Amazing on fresh BBQ fish or chicken

Muhammarah


2 T red chilli powder
150 mls olive oil
25 g stale bread crumbs
1 T pomegranate molasses or 2 T lemon juice
175 gms walnuts,
1 t cumin
1 t pimento or allspice berries ground [very important this is where the special flavour comes from]
Salt to taste
Garnish chopped parsley

To Do
• Blend or pound dry ingredients together
• Add molasses or juice
• Add oil slowly to nicely moist
• Let sit 30 mins for flavour to develop- will thicken a little
• Garnish with chopped parsley

NOTE- loosen this dip with little red wine vinegar and add to steamed fresh beans along with finely chopped onion, fresh coriander and parsley- WOW!

Mutabbal
The creamy eggplant dip
3 large eggplant-roast in oven until skin blackens and flesh is soft- let cool cut in half scoop flesh out, discard skin
3 cloves garlic
1 t salt
50-75 mls tahina paste
Juice 2 lemons
1 t chilli powder
1 t cumin
1 T olive oil
To Do
• Mash eggplant flesh
• Add crushed garlic, salt
• Stir through all other ingredients except oil
• Serve in dish with hollow in middle and oil drizzled inside