Sabanigh ibzayt

Ok so I am going to be very honest here, I have absolutely no idea when i first ate this and how i even know how to make it. Every time i make this dish my mind goes back to April 7th 2008. My husband and I went to Caribou Coffee to study for our exams (boards for him and a psych exam for me) My stomach kept tightening up so we decided to go home and relax and have dinner. Keep in mind i was 9 months pregnant and my due date was about 2 weeks away. I decided i was too tired to cook dinner so i told my husband i didn't feel well (ya ya people i took advantage of being pregnant) so he said he would cook and this is what he made (while i gave him the instructions). Anyways i remember this day because apparently i was in labor cause i had my son the next afternoon (i don think it was because of the spinach though).So here is how i make sabanigh (spinach in Arabic)

First i cut up an onion (i have used both yellow and red onion so use whatever you have) and cook it in some olive oil. IMPORTANT: DO NOT ADD SALT WHATEVER YOU DO!!!

So when the onions have softened you start adding in the spinach

I use baby spinach but feel free to use the big spinach just cut the stems off and chop it a little. I washed my spinach really well and then i dried it, you don't want any excess water.

So after i add in the spinach i cover it so that it wilts a bit and keep adding the spinach in small batches until it is all incorporated.

The last step is to add cilantro. Nothing goes together better than spinach and cilantro.

I always top it with walnuts but today i had pomegranate and some ground meat cooked with some arabic spices. Okay so remember when i said DO NOT ADD SALT, well it is because the spinach will release all of its water and you will be left with a spinach soup, not so bhibik ya sabanigh. Add salt while you eat, that's just the way i roll cause the spinach is going to release water anyways so why add to it. This dish is eaten with pita bread and a squeeze of lemon (i also like to pour over some dibbis rimman a.k.a. pomegranate molasses) This is a great side dish and can be eaten warm or room temp.

Written Recipe:

1 small red onion chopped

1/2 cup of olive oil (use the good stuff)

5 cups of baby spinach

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

pomegranate seeds (optional)

ground meat (optional)

lemon wedges

Dibbis Rimman (pomegranate molasses)

Makdoos

Well Makdoos is pretty much a stuffed pickled eggplant and it is DELISHHHHHH!!! I have always loved makdoos and i remember going to Syria and my Tehteh would be like "Oh i just put fresh makdoos in the oil for you." and Hadeel and i would be like uhh we want the old ones in Zabadani (the weekend house up in the mountains) because we (my tehteh and family) didn't go up very often the makdoos would become sour and yummy but when they are fresh in oil they still have an eggplant taste. I learned how to make makdoos when a girl named Hana came and lived with us for a year and we made a butt load of makdoos. The problem with making makdoos here in the states is that its your luck when it comes to eggplants, some are good, some have loads of seeds and some become rubbery on the outside. From my experience i will try to explain which ones are most likely to come out.

First you need to buy a load of eggplants. Look for dark black long ones; the ones that are pretty chubby and round will have a lot of seeds and will have a bad skin texture when they are cooked.

Place them in boiling water and place a plate or some weight on top so all of them are submerged in water

Cook until the tops come off easily, about 15 to 25 minutes, it really depends on the eggplant. When the top comes off without ripping it means it is cooked perfectly.

Cut open the eggplant but don't cut all the way threw. Sprinkle the inside with kosher salt.

i usually place some in a bowl and sprinkle otherwise you might add too much if you use it straight from the box

Place the eggplants in a strainer and then......

My Yebra2 weight (i got a new one cause obviously this one is breaking apart)

Then i begin to stack with as much weight as i can and let it strain for 2 days (not longer because it will mold, that is why you need as much weight as possible.

See, when i first stacked the eggplant it was coming over the strainer, now it is like half way

I got about this much liquid out 5 times

Use red Anaheim peppers and cut them really thin in small cubes. First i cut them in half and remove the seeds, then i cut them in strips and finally i cut them so they are little cubes

I like my makdoos a little spicy so i also add red jalapeno peppers and do the same as the Anaheim peppers. If you can't find Anaheim's then use bell peppers.

Add some salt to the peppers and squish them to get as much water out as possible.

Strain the peppers as well, try to get them as dry as possible.

Mix the peppers with walnuts (a few more walnuts then peppers) and garlic and salt to taste. I cut the walnuts by hand, some people put them in a blender but walnuts contain a lot of oil and you do not want to end up with a paste.

Stuff the strained eggplants with as much stuffing as possible (with them still being able to shut) and stack them in a clean jar. Turn them over and let them drain for 1 more day
Once the makdoos have drained pour over some olive oil. Make sure to try and get all the air bubbles out by tapping the container or by using a knife to squeeze the bubbles out.
The eggplants are ready after about 2-3 days. I usually wait until the oil has a red tint to it from the peppers. If you want to keep you makdoos from getting sour then cover them with oil, let them sit out for 2 to 3 days and then place them in the fridge.

yummmmmmy....and yes i eat them sour. Also sometimes people cut up tomatoes and makdoos and eat it with pita bread

Written Recipe:

4 Anaheim peppers

4 jalapeno peppers

3 cloves of garlic

kosher salt

3 pounds of small eggplants (or as many as you want)

1 cup of walnuts

olive oil

Cherry Tomato Pasta Aglio Olio

OK, so i haven't had any memories about my recipes lately but i definitely have one for this recipe. Well i remember that one day i came home from Saturday school and i was starving. I asked my mom what was for dinner and she told me spaghetti, like almost anyone i was excited. I looked in the pot and got really mad! At the time Mimo (my second mom) was over and she kept telling me it was so good. I tried the pasta and fell in love, of course being stubborn i didn't let my mom know my fit was for nothing. I have been looking for a recipe like the one my mom made that ONCE (she never made it again i wonder why) so i found cherry tomato at the market the other day and figured i would just make up a recipe, and boy was it good!

Fresh basil is VERY important! pick them, wash them and stack them

roll them up gently and cut so you get long thin strips

like this, its called chiffonade.

Aren't these so cute, they reminded me of little san marzanos. You can use any type of cherry tomato, if they are really big then just cut them in half.

i used a whole head of garlic and chopped them finely, don't smash them, you want it in small chunks so when it cooks it becomes sweet.

Put olive oil in a pan and heat, when the oil is hot add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Make sure to keep stirring so that the garlic doesn't burn and become bitter. At this point add in a little of the pasta water.

Add in the cherry tomatoes a cook.

Once they start to shrivel and are getting soft add in more pasta water

crush about half of the tomatoes to get a slightly pink tomato sauce.

Once the dish is done cooking add in the pasta (spaghetti) and basil and some freshly ground black pepper.

Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese.

Written Recipe:

1 pound of spaghetti noodles

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

1 head of garlic finely chopped

10 leaves of basil chiffanaaed

1/4 cup of olive oil

1 1/2 cups of pasta water

Fatayer

Fatayer are the PERFECT thing for parties and even to keep in the refrigerator or freezer and heat up whenever you need a snack. I love these because there are so many different kinds of fatayer, zaatar, cheese, meat, spinach, sausage and pizza. In this post i am showing you how i make my fatayer dough and the fillings or toppings. Feel free to change anything you want to your taste. One day i am going to buy a pizza stone and then hopefully they will be more like the yummy fatayer in salhiyeh. Oh and if anyone is reading this and knows how to make those fatayer they make in Syria (mhammara) the spicy ones with cheese on top please let me know.

Well of course we start off with yeast and sugar

Add in the warm water and wait until it starts to activate (about 3 to 5 minutes)

Once the yeast is activated add in olive oil and flour and salt (mix the salt with the flour so you don't kill you yeast)

slowly mix in the flour until you get a soft dough that it wet but isn't sticking to your fingers.

Place it in a greased bowl and let it double in size. Usually i turn my microwave on for 30 seconds and THEN i place the dough in there.

oooo look at that big bubble! Ok so i don't punch down my dough but feel free to if that's what you like.

I roll out my dough and using a biscuit cutter i cut all my fatayer to the same size

This is an option on how to shape a cheese fatireh. I made all of mine flat because i wanted to freeze them and it takes up less room.

So for the spinach filling you need either baby spinach or regular spinach that is cut. Make sure to wash your spinach well and let it dry. Sprinkle salt and begin to squeeze the spinach. I actually got exact measurements from, none other than Najats Kitchen on youtube, however most people add the same stuff except different amount.

It is going to start to look like cooked spinach and will release A LOT of water.

SQUEEZE!!!!!!!!!

I did this 3 times and i got about a cup of water each time. Just keep squeezing until you cant get any more water out.

Then mix in the onion, lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, cumin, arabic spice and pepper.

I found pomegranates at the market and couldn't resist so i halved my spinach mixture and in one i added pomegranate seeds and the other i added red pepper flakes. These two additions are totally optional but i like them.

So after the dough is rolled out (roll the dough for the spinach a little thicker that for cheese and meat pies because when they cook they will release more water and if the dough isn't thick it will break and leak water everywhere.

Pinch the two sides together

Then fold up the last side so that the spinach pie is a triangle...DONE

Now i am not sure how to make the meat mixture but this is how i make mine. I take ground beef and mix it with pomegranate molasses, arabic spice, salt tomato paste and a little oil (i use lean beef)

Take the circles and press down to make them thin and long, then press in the meat mixture and decorate with pine nut (pomegranate optional)

To distinguish between which spinach pies have pomegranate seeds and which ones are spicy i sprinkled some sumac on top of the pomegranate spinach pies.

Written Recipe:

Dough:

3 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of yeast

1 cup of warm water

1 tablespoon of sugar or honey

salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Spinach: Modified from Najats kitchen on youtube

spinach sprinkled with salt and squeezed until 3 cups of spinach are left

1/2 cup of onions

1/4 cup of lemon juice (I use citric acid to lessen the moisture in the pies)

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 tablespoons of sumac

1/4 teaspoon of arabic mixed spice

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1/4 teaspoon of cumin

red pepper flakes and pomegranate seeds optional

Meat:

1 cup of lean ground beef (or 80/20 if you don't want to add oil)

2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses (dibis rimman)

1 tablespoon of oil

1 teaspoon of arabic spice

1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste

salt to taste

(suggestion, cook up a little meat and taste it because some pomegranate molasses is sweeter or more sour than other)

Cheese:

Any cheese that will melt

sprinkle with black seed (optional)