Mahshi
Mahshi is the quintessential feasting food of Egypt. Vegetables stuffed with wonderfully seasoned rice and then braised in delicious stock.
Author: suerady06
Roasted Red Peppers
Roasted Red Peppers Roasted Red Peppers is a great tasting side dish capturing the fantastic sweetness of the beautiful ripe bell pepper. The flavours are concentrated in the roasting process Roasting concentrates the flavours which are then accentuated by their seasoning. They’re brilliant as part …
Lambs Liver
Lambs Liver cooked with onions, peppers and tomatoes
Lambs liver cooked with onions, peppers and tomatoes is incredibly popular in Egypt. So much so, that it’s one of Egypt’s favourite street foods, packed into a pita bread pocket and drizzled with tahini.
The liver is cut very small. This means that it cooks in a very short time. It also means that the surface area of the liver is increased considerably and more of the wonderful spiced marinade can be absorbed.
The size of the liver is very important. It needs to cut to the size of short, skinny French Frys. About 0.5cm thick, 0.5cm deep and about 3 or 4cm long. When I first started making this dish, I mistakenly cut the liver to the size you might have in a stir fry. This caused real commotion amongst the Egyptian friends I was cooking for. They were convinced that this must be a Foreign dish because the size of the liver was all wrong. My husband is Egyptian and I love my Egyptian family and friends, but they are incredibly set in their ways when it comes to exactly how food should be prepared.
- My advise is to get your butcher to cut the liver for you. They have very sharp knives and can complete this task in a matter of seconds, whereas it takes us mere mortals considerably longer.
Ingredients
- 500g lambs Liver
For the Marinade
- 1 onion – grated
- the zest and juice of 2 large lemons
- 3 garlic cloves – grated
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- a pinch of dried chilli flakes
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Additional Ingredients
- 2 onions – finely sliced
- 2 peppers – 1 red & 1 green – de-seeded and finely sliced
- 4 ripe tomatoes – chopped
- 1 stock cube – grated
- 1 red chilli – finely sliced into rings (optional)
- a handful of fresh coriander leaves – finely chopped
- a little cooking oil for frying
To serve Lambs Liver in a Sandwich – Egyptian Street Food Style
- wedges of lemon
- warm pitta bread
- a little salad
- tahini sauce
Method
Remember – Size really matters!
First, the liver needs to be cut.
Cut it into 0.5cm slices first.
Then lay each slice out and cut them into 0.5cm strips.
These then need to be cut to about 3 or 4cm long.
Prepare the Marinade ready for the Lambs Liver
Put all the ingredients for the marinade into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
Add the prepared liver to the marinade. Turn the liver over, several times in the marinade to make sure that it’s all thoroughly coated & none of the liver has stuck together.
Cover the bowl with cling film or a lid of some sort and put it in the fridge for at least half an hour. You could leave it in there over-night if you wished.
When you’re ready to start cooking…
Heat a large frying pan over a high flame.
When it’s hot, add a couple of spoonfuls of cooking oil and allow that to really heat up.
Brown the onions & peppers first
Add the peppers and onions and cook until the onions begin to brown and the pepper softens.
Empty the onions and peppers into a bowl and set to one side
Then cook the lambs liver
Remove the liver from its marinade and drain thoroughly.
Return the pan to the heat and add a little more oil.
When the oil begins to sizzle add the liver to the pan. Spread it out as much as possible and just have a single layer. Initially, don’t move it around too much because you want it to brown.
*If you stir it, it will create steam and your liver will start to stew and turn grey. This is not what you’re looking for.
Provided your pan is hot enough, it should only take a couple of minutes for your liver to brown .
Once your liver is browned all over, add the chopped tomatoes to your pan and continue frying until they too brown slightly.
Sprinkle in the grated stock cube and mix well
Add the chilli (if you chose to add it).
Then return the fried onions and peppers to the pan and mix well.
Taste test time!
Check your seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Just before serving….
The fresh, chopped coriander leaves are added to the liver just before serving.
How to serve Lambs Liver with onions, peppers and tomatoes
In Egypt the favourite way to eat Lambs Liver is in a sandwich. The sandwich is made with warm pita bread and the liver is placed inside, along with a little fresh salad. Tahini dressing is then drizzled over highlighting all the glorious flavours. Wedges of lemon are then offered to add a wonderful citrus zing.
Street Food not you thing?
Alternatively Lambs Liver with Onions, Peppers and Tomatoes is delicious with rice or couscous, if you prefer.
Let me know what you think. I love hearing from you all.
Liver in breadcrumbs
Liver in Breadcrumbs : Learn the recipe here. Thin slices of liver are marinated in spices, coated in breadcrumbs and the fried. Delicious!
Um Ali
Um Ali is true comfort food, flaky buttery pastry in a rich and creamy sauce, embellished with nuts, dried fruit and coconut.
Macarona Bechamel
Macarona Bechamel
If you’re wondering what Macarona Bechamel is, let me paint you a picture. Imagine, a cross between a gloriously ‘Mac & Cheese’ and a wonderfully rich Lasagne. That is to say the ultimate baked ‘Mac & Cheese’ with a layer of delicious meat sauce incorporated into it. Can you imagine what a comfort food that would be? Well that’s Macarona Bechamel.
There are several different recipes for this dish, some much better than others. This is the very best of them.
The quality of the meat you use for the sauce really does affect the end result. So, for the minced beef, I recommend a good quality mince, preferably not extra lean mince because the fat holds so much of the flavour and richness.
Ingredients
For the meat sauce
- 300g minced beef
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 onions – finely chopped
- 4 large tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 red or green pepper – finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic – finely chopped
- 2 beef stock cubes grated
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
For the white sauce
- 1L milk
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ cup corn flour
- 200g cheese – grated (optional)
For the pasta
- 600g macaroni – you can use regular macaroni or penne is another good option
- a little cooking oil
- water
- salt
Method
Start off by making the meat sauce for your Macarona Bechamel
Heat a large pan over a high flame.
First brown the meat
Add the oil and allow the pan to really heat up before adding the minced beef.
Don’t stir!
Spread the meat out as much as you can. You want it to brown.
Don’t stir the meat for the first few minutes because this will stop it from browning. Just let it sit flat in the pan until it begins to brown.
If you stir the mince it will it will releas its juices and it will begin to boil rather than brown so be warned!
Add the onions
Once the meat has browned add the onions.
When they begin to brown, add the tomatoes and the remaining ingredients for the meat sauce.
Bring the mix to the boil and then reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer for about 20 minutes whilst you prepare the pasta and milk sauce.
Cook the macaroni
You could cook the macaroni as per the instructions on the packet which is quick and easy.
But I recommend cooking it using the Egyptian method. It’s a little more involved but it introduces an extra depth of flavour right from the start. The pasta is then no longer just a vehicle to carry the sauce which has the flavour. Instead, it has its own flavour and the sauce simply enhances and embellishes it, which is quite different.
Make pasta the Egyptian way as follows:-
Boil a kettle of water.
Start off by frying the pasta to seal it
Sealing the pasta stops the starch from leaching into the water. This means you don’t need to drain the water off afterwards. If the pasta wasn’t sealed, you would end up with a pot something resembling wallpaper paste if you didn’t drain the liquid.
Put a little oil into a large pan and heat it over a high flame.
Tip the macaroni into the pan and stir it well to coat all the pasta in a little oil.
Stirring continuously, fry the macaroni until it begins to brown.
Pour boiling water over the macaroni until it’s only just covered.
Grate 2 stock cubes into the water and stir well.
Boil for 10 minutes stirring regularly to ensure the macaroni is constantly being turned in the water. The water will gradually be absorbed by the macaroni. By the end of the 10 minutes the macaroni should be just cooked and all the water cooked out, so you have an almost dry pan.
Take the pan off the heat and set aside.
Now to make the white sauce for your Macarona Bechamel
Tip the cornflour into a small bowl. Gradually add a little of the milk and mix well to make a smooth cream – the consistency of single cream.
Put the rest of the milk into a pan with the grated stock cube and put it on the stove to the boil.
As soon as the milk comes to the boil, add the cornflour & milk mix, whisking vigorously as you do so. The liquid should thicken up immediately. Take the pan off the heat.
If your milk doesn’t thicken straight away, then your milk wasn’t hot enough and you’ll need to heat it a little longer. Make sure you constantly stir especially into the corners and on the bottom because this is where it will burn if you don’t.
Add the butter now and 3/4 of the cheese if you choose to use it. And mix well.
Tip the macaroni into the sauce and mix again, making all the macaroni gets coated in the creamy sauce.
Now it’s time to build up the layers of your Macarona Bechamel
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees C
You need a deep, rectangular, oven-proof dish approximately 20cm x 3ocm.
Butter the dish. Then pour 1/4 of the macaroni in white sauce into the base of it.
Now carefully pour the meat sauce over. Lay it in an even layer and try not to mix it with the macaroni.
Next you need to pour on the remaining macaroni. Again lay this in an even layer.
If you have decided to add cheese then sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top.
Bake your Macarona Bechamel for about 15 minute
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the top begins to brown a little.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for at least half an hour. This allows the macaroni to absorb some of the moisture from the sauce and set.
How to serve Macarona Bechamel
Macarona Bechamel is sliced into large portions for serving, rather than scooped out. That’s why it’s important to give it time to set. Plus the flavours can be appreciated much better when it’s cooled slightly.
Macarona Bechamel is great served with something like salata baladi.
In Egypt it is more common to have Macarona Bechamel as an extra side dish rather than the main feature when you were having guests round for a meal.
Vegetarian option
To make this recipe a vegetarian option, simply omit the meat and add 200g chopped mushrooms plus 1 aubergine chopped into 1cm cubes in its place and add them to the mix. And swap the meat stock cubes for vegetable stock cubes.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Let me know how you get on with it.
Spiced Baked Fish
Spiced Baked Fish – Perfectly seasoned to enhance the flavours of the beautifully moist flesh.
Prawns in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Prawns in spicy sauce is bursting with flavour: laced with garlic, a dash of lemon and a zing of chilli that just makes music on your taste buds. A must try recipe, Delicious!
Lamb with Black-Eyed Beans
Lamb with Black-Eyed Beans.
Lamb with black-eyed beans is a wonderfully hearty meal. It’s one of my favourite ways to have lamb. The meat is slow cooked so it’s perfectly tender. The rich tomato sauce is packed with flavour from the herbs and spices and the beans soak up the flavours from the sauce. Absolutely delicious.
There are several different ways to eat Lamb with Black-Eyed Beans
Lamb with black-eyed beans can be served with rice. It’s also perfect just to have on its own with some really good bread.
Another alternative for this recipe is to use half the quantity of meat and make an excellent soup.
It’s even better on Day 2
This recipe for Lamb with black-eyed Beans can be made a day in advance. In fact, it’s actually better the second day because the beans have had the chance to bathe in the meat juices and glorious spices and soak up even more sumptuous flavours.
The quantities for this recipe will serve about 6 people
Ingredients
- 1k lamb cut into cubes This could be ½ a leg, cut and cubed and then cooked with the bone (to give extra flavour)
- a little vegetable oil for frying
- 2 onions – finely chopped
- 6 large tomatoes – chopped / or 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
- 6 cloves garlic – chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1tbsp freshly ground cumin
- 4 stock cubes – crumbled finely
- a good pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cans of black-eyed beans
- a handful of fresh coriander leaves – roughly chopped
- wedges of lemon to offer when serving
Method
First let’s cook the lamb
Heat a frying pan, and use just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
When the oil is sizzling, sear (brown) the lamb cubes, just a few at a time.
* If you put too many cubes of meat in at a time the temperature of the pan will be reduced and the meat won’t brown.
Make sure you brown the meat on all sides. Then put them into a large pan.
Carry on seering the batches of meat until they are all browned.
Put a little water into the frying pan to deglaze the pan – this makes sure you get all the tasty morsels from the lamb which may have stuck to the sides. Then add that to the seered lamb.
Using the frying pan again put in a little more vegetable oil and fry the onions until they become translucent and begin to brown. Then add the onions to the lamb.
Put all the remaining ingredients except the black-eyed beans and the fresh coriander into the pan with the lamb and pour over enough water to completely cover everything.
Put the pan on to the heat and bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat down to a gentle simmer.
Reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 hours
Cook the lamb over a low heat for about 2 hours (when the lamb is cooked you should be able to simply cut through it with a spoon).
Add the black-eyed beans for the last 20 minutes of cooking to allow them to absorb the wonderful flavours from the meat.
Just before you serve your Lamb with Black-Eyed Beans
Stir in the coriander leaves just before serving.
This is such a tasty recipe, I do hope you’ll try it.
Let me know how you get on with it.
Send your photos, I love receiving them.
