authentic Egyptian recipes
Herb Salad – Egyptian salata Baladi Herb Salad – Egyptian salata baladi is wonderfully fresh. It’s made with herbs, salad vegetables and red onions. Using fresh herbs instead of lettuce brings so much additional flavour. It also has many health benefits. Fully ripened by the …
Minted Lime Cooler A Minted Lime Cooler is just what’s needed when the sun’s high and the temperature begins to soar. It’s such a wonderfully refreshing drink great for hot day, especially served with lots of ice. The special quality of this Cooler is the …
This is simply the best chicken noodle soup. The stock is so tasty and the addition of the zing of citrus from the lemon juice just elevates the flavour to the next level.
Although this is called Chicken Noodle Soup it’s actually made with Shareya, which is chopped vermicelli pasta which is finer than noodles and even more delicious.
This Chicken Noodle Soup is so easy to make. It’s a real triumph and it makes everybody smile. There’s something very familiar and comforting about Chicken Noodle Soup maybe that’s why everyone loves it.
As I’ve said before, in Egypt the most common way to cook chicken is to boil it first and then fry it in butter to give it a lovely golden colour. Cooking chicken in this way produces a really, good chicken stock. This is then used to make this wonderful soup. Alternatively good quality stock cubes could be used with the addition of a couple of knobs of butter.
In this recipe I have included shredded chicken, but it can be made without this addition.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium flame. When the oil begins to sizzle, add the shareya and fry it until it becomes golden brown – stirring frequently.
*Frying the shareya is necessary to seal it– if not fried adequately the starch from the pasta will leach out and your beautiful soup will turn to glue.
CAREFUL – When the stock hits the hot oil it will send up a cloud of very hot steam. So, wear an oven glove.
Reduce the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the shareya is cooked through and soft.
Add the cooked chicken, lemon juice and butter and let it simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Adjust the seasoning. Serve with wedges of lemon
I know you’ll love this recipe everybody does. Do try it and let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Nightingale’s Tongue Soup – Lisan al Asfor Nightingales Tongue Soup – a firm favourite in Egypt Nightingales Tongue soup is known as Lisan al Asfor in Egypt and it’s a firm family favourite in nearly all Egyptian homes. I can truly say that I don’t …
Lentil Soup – shorbet adz Lentil soup is one of those comfort foods that’s so soothing. It provides a real sense of well-being and just makes you feel happier. It sees you through cold weather, ill health and grotty times and has the magical ability …
Egyptian coffee is a wonderful dark, full flavoured coffee. It’s very concentrated, similar to an espresso. And just like espresso it’s served in a very small glass or cup – demi-tasse size.
Egyptian coffee is very finely ground and usually has cardamom added to it. This gives it a wonderful flavour and aroma, slightly peppery that’s also floral with a hint of citrus.
It’s prepared in a little coffee pot that Egyptians call a ‘canica’.
The quantities for this recipe make enough for 1 cup of mildly sweet coffee. The sugar is added to the coffee prior to cooking so you if you are making it for someone it’s important to find out how sweet they like their coffee first.
Put all the ingredients into a canica ( small coffee cooking pot).
Put the canica onto the stove, over a medium flame.
Stir the mixture all the time.
When the coffee comes to the boil and starts to rise, take it off the heat and pour it into the glass.
A good coffee should have a very fine surface to it – otherwise it’s said to be ‘shy’.
Serve your coffee with a glass of water alongside it.
If you’re a coffee lover this will be a real treat. I hope you enjoy it.
Let me know how you get on.
As a footnote, I must say, please offer advance warning to newcomers…
If you’re giving Egyptian coffee to someone who hasn’t tried it before, please make them aware that the ground coffee remains in the coffee, at the bottom of their cup. They need to know this, so that they stop drinking before they reach the bottom of the cup. When I gave one of my son-in-laws Egyptian coffee for the first time, I failed to do this. He loved the coffee. But as I hadn’t told him otherwise he went on to drink the coffee right to the bottom of the cup. As a result he ended up coughing and choking. So, as I said please warn newcomers.
Crimson Salad The glorious colours of this salad are so vibrant. Obviously the predominant colour is crimson, as the name suggests is the dark crimson red. This is brought by the ripe, red bell peppers. It’s then accentuated by the deeper raspberry or almost purple …
Almond Crescents Almond Crescents, to me, are a quintessential Arabic biscuit that goes perfectly with a glass of sweet, mint tea. These exemplary bite size morsels are really easy to make and the result never fails to delight, they simply melt in your mouth. …
Harissa paste is fantastic for adding a hit of flavour and heat to your food.
Whether you use it as a marinade for recipes such as harissa chicken or you use it as a condiment, harissa paste never fails to have an impact.
You can buy jars of harissa paste in supermarkets nowadays. But the beauty of making your own, is that you have control over just how much heat you want it to have.
Cut the peppers in half (stalk to tip). Remove the membrane, seeds and stalk. Cut them in half again (stalk to tip again). Rub a little oil into the skin and then place them skin side up on a grill pan.
Put the red peppers under a hot grill for a few minutes until their skin becomes charred all over. you will need to keep a good eye on them and turn them regularly.
At the same time put the head of garlic in the far corner of the grill pan, so it can feel the heat and become roasted, but won’t feel intense heat and burn.
When the red peppers are charred turn off the grill and allow them to cool slightly.
Cut the garlic in half horizontally and squeeze out the softened flesh.
*If you’ve decided to use a jar of chargrilled red peppers then just grate the garlic and cook it in the sauce.
Pull the charred skin off the peppers. It should come off quite easily once they’re cool provided they’re charred adequately. Don’t be tempted to rinse these under the tap because then you would lose the beautiful smoky flavour that comes from the char-grilling.
Toast the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a dry frying pan (i.e. no oil) over a medium heat just for about 30 seconds until the oils begin to be released – you’ll know when this happens because the spices become beautifully fragrant. Grind them until finely ground, in a pestle & mortar or spice grinder, then set them aside.
Put all the ingredients into a food processor, including the spices, and blitz them well, until they become a smooth paste.
Transfer the mix to a pan and cook them over a medium heat until the mix reduces and becomes a thick rich vibrant paste.
As always check your seasoning, then transfer to a jar. Pour a little oil over the top of the paste to seal it – if air gets to the paste it doesn’t keep well.
Harissa paste can be kept in the fridge for about 10 days.
If you’re not keen on food that’s too spicy you can always reduce the amount of chilli you use.
Let me know what dishes you used your Harissa paste with. I love receiving your photos so keep sending them in.
Chicken Livers Chicken livers are incredibly tasty and are so tender they almost melt in your mouth. Only taking a couple of minutes to cook, they are a great choice for a quick meal and they’re amazingly easy to prepare. There are many options for …