Lebanon

Ye hay. Another red and green flag in the series. I wonder if there's a beginning to be an obvious correlation between the ubiquitousness of the green and red flags on this blog and my predilection for Middle Eastern food? Today even Youngest got involved in creating the atmosphere with a hastily coloured flag to match the one Eldest printed from the Internet. There's something about that cedar on it... a little bit homemade somehow. In a good way. Sort of 'Welcome to our country. We like trees'.

My paternal grandparents were travellers. They had a bit of money and they had a bit of an adventurous spirit, so whilst my maternal grandparents were happy for a week in the deck chairs at Margate the Toynbees clocked up a variety of itineraries including Cyprus, Iran and Lebanon. In fact I'll never forget the genuine sadness in her eyes as Nana reflected that just when they thought they'd found the perfect holiday destination it descended into civil war. Maybe their love of the Arabic World was brought about by Grandpa's spell in North Africa in World War 2? I should probably investigate a bit further. Maybe my love of it began deep in my subconscious as I played with the wooden camel train that sat on their window sill and marvelled at the camel saddle which was a favourite place to sit.

THE DISH
So, I had falafel mixture in the cupboard. I admit it. And I have a vegetarian daughter who I am trying to school in the art of enjoying pulses. But I chickened out once more in deference to the boys in my life and also prepared, ahem, chicken.

Lebanese Grilled Chicken - Djej Mishwe - (thanks to Mama's Lebanese Kitchen)

• 6 pieces of chicken (breast or leg quarters with skin)
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 1 cup of red vinegar (apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar)
• 1 garlic head
• 3/4 cup of olive oil
• 1.5 to 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of Arabic 7-Spices (or black pepper) (I bought karasik baharat which is more a '5 spice really!)
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

In a bowl, sprinkle then rub ground cinnamon on raw chicken, rub with half a cup of vinegar for a couple of minutes and then rinse well with cold water. This will help rid the chicken of any smell. Make cuts in chicken pieces (for marinade to seep through).

 

In a blender or food processor, grind/crush for 3-4 minutes the garlic along with the lemon juice, 1/2 cup of red vinegar, salt, and 7-spices. Once done, add the olive oil then run the blender for 1 more minute. Your marinade is now ready. 

 

Place chicken in a bowl, add a few lemon slices (with peel), pour marinade on and let sit in the fridge overnight. (Needless to say I was not organised enough to do this. It had about one hour, maz. Still yummy though!). The longer you marinate the chicken the more flavor it will have. Once ready for cooking don’t throw away the leftover marinade, you’ll need it later.

 

Why is it that gherkins always look so unappealing?

Grill the marinated chicken on a BBQ as you would other chicken, on low to medium heat for about 20-25 minutes. In the first 10 minutes of grilling, brush the leftover marinade on the chicken occasionally so they stay moist and absorb more marinade flavor.

 

The falafel were the 'granose' variety and you just add water and roll 'em up. Easy peasy and I would say they were pretty OK as far as 'instant' falafel go.

Then we had the usual trimmings: hummus, tomatoes, green leaves (shredded spinach), yoghurt, gherkins (I wish I'd been able to get the crazy pink coloured ones that are so prevalent in the West Bank - and I presume in Lebanon too) if only to shock the kids! Oh, and I had some curried chick peas left over. It's my new favourite quick recipe for things like church bring and share lunches! Not that I've noticed any of the children eating it yet, but hey. It's a Hugh F-W one from his Veg Every Day book - which we're only just getting to grips with.

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2cm piece of ginger, finely grated
• A pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 teaspoons curry powder or paste
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 5 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A handful of coriander, to finish 

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and sweat for around 8 minutes, until soft and golden, then stir in the ginger, chilli flakes, garlic and curry powder or paste. Fry, stirring, for 1–2 minutes more.
Add the chickpeas, tomato ketchup and enough water to just loosen to a thick sauce consistency. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
Serve in warmed bowls scattered with coriander leaves. Plain rice, quick-cook noodles, naan or flatbreads are all good accompaniments.

THE REACTION
All quite understated really. I think of it as a mark of success of this project. Though to be honest I have noticed a new phrase creeping into the lexicon of the family.. "is it Travelling today?" And I wouldn't say it is asked with excitement and anticipation. More dread and trepidation. But nothing that a little bit of Wadih al-Safi on You Tube couldn't smooth away! (Legendary Lebanese folk singer who died, aged 92, just three days before our Lebanese adventure).

THE VERDICT
I have to say that the empty plates said it all. The Youngest even declared he liked the falafel. Wonders will never cease.


DESSERT
The wonderful Petek Bakery, purveyors of all sweet things Turkish, supplied drippingly good baklava to finish off. Amazingly Mr Middle wouldn't even try it. Eldest is always game for that sort of taste sensation but none of them really loved it. I guess they were right to an extent... it was just a bit too soggy. Personally, I feel that when you've had them from the Palestinian sweet shop just inside Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem nothing else comes quite as close.