Cardamom and Tea

stuffed dates eight ways

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When you snack a lot, you tend to prepare the same things over and over again. Yogurt with nutella, cheese and crackers, a sliced apple with peanut butter, a handful of raw almonds when you’re feeling particularly virtuous. Maybe you wouldn’t exactly call it a snacking rut, but a snacking routine. You’ve got to find those calories to get through the conference calls or grading marathons, so you make the same sensible, reliable decision every time.

But, rut or no rut, sometimes you want to make something a little extra special. You might have guests visiting from out of town, or maybe you just want to treat yourself. Either way, it’s even better if you can make something exciting, healthy, and delicious without a lot of effort. The answer? The stuffed date.

Dates are perfect for stuffing, since they are left with that huge gap after you pit them. Why not replace the thing that’s just waiting there for you to forget it exists so that you end up cracking a tooth and needing emergency dental care, with something edible that perfectly compliments the date’s lovely flavor and texture. The trick is to carefully make an incision in one side, pop the pit out, and open it like a baked potato or one of those rubber coin purses. Then just fill it with whatever you choose! (Just not broccoli-cheddar or nickels and pennies). Experiment with your own fillings, or choose one of the examples below.

Below: rainbow tiramisu date, chocolate-covered pretzel date, Nana’s date, baklawa date
herby cheesy date, salted peanut butter chocolate date, retro 1995 date, dinner date

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stuffed dates eight ways

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★★★★★

4.8 from 5 reviews

Instructions

rainbow tiramisu date


Roll the date in Turkish coffee and cocoa powder, fill it with honey-sweetened mascarpone, and top it with some rainbow sprinkles.

chocolate-covered pretzel date


Stuff the date with a pretzel nugget and dip the bottom and sides in chocolate. (vegan)

nana’s date


Stuff the date with a walnut piece and unsweetened coconut flakes, or roll it in sweetened coconut flakes. (vegan)

baklawa date


Stuff the date with a walnut piece and pack a small pinch of cardamom, finely chopped pistachios, and (optional) edible dried rose petals into the rest of the space. (vegan)

herby cheesy date


Stuff the date with a chunk of fontina (or another firm cheese) wrapped in basil, or sprinkled with another herb.

salted chocolate peanut butter date


Stuff the date with smooth peanut butter, top with an almond and some crunchy sea salt, and dip the bottom in chocolate. (vegan)

dinner date


Stuff the date with a slice of brie and a pecan.

Retro 1995 date


Stuff the date with goat cheese and some sun-dried tomato pieces, and top with basil chiffonade.

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lahm bi ajeen | middle eastern pizzas

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[jump to the lahm bi ajeen recipe]

My cousin, Kris, spends all of his time creating beautiful things. He is a talented computer programmer and graphic designer, and he spends a lot of his free time making delicious food. Kris’ cooking is equal parts improvisation and precision; he uses his knowledge of food science and technique, but he’s also an inventive and spontaneous cook. He’s the type of person who can take random leftover ingredients from the refrigerator and make something new and delicious. But he’s also always working on and perfecting his favorite dishes, like his recipe for lahm bi ajeen. He taught me how to make it a few weeks ago, and kindly let me share his recipe with you.

Lahm bi ajeen (AKA laham b’ajeen, lahmajun, or lahmajoun) is usually described as Middle Eastern meat pizza. But there are some ways that the comparison doesn’t begin to do justice to lahm bi ajeen’s unique flavor. Sure, each dish is thinly rolled dough baked with toppings on a hot stone. But instead of layering dough, tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings, you mix the tomato sauce in with the meat, you skip the cheese altogether, and you add a bunch of intensely flavorful ingredients, like pomegranate molasses/paste, parsley, and peppers. Pomegranate molasses is unbearably tart on its own, but it adds a lovely sweet and sour flavor to ground beef. It’s the true star of the recipe and simply can’t be substituted.

pomegranate molasses

You’ll rarely (although not never!) find pomegranate molasses in the average American supermarket, but it’s a staple of Middle Eastern grocery stores. It’s also very easy to make yourself, if you can’t find it near you (and makes the house smell dreamy). When I’ve made pomegranate molasses at home, it has never turned out quite as tangy as the stuff from the store, but it has its own interesting, subtle flavor. If all else fails, you can very easily find it online.

If you’re worried about investing in a specialty ingredient that you’ll only use one time for this one recipe, then I’m here to tell you that no one has ever had this problem in the history of pomegranate molasses. There are a lot of traditional dishes that call for it. But it’s also the kind of thing you can just throw in with your favorite recipe to make it extra-special. For instance, it’s a wonderful simple syrup substitute in cocktails and mocktails, it works fabulously as part of a marinade for meat or veggies, and you can spoon it over or swirl it into just about any dessert. Any time you want some sweetness and tartness, it’s the perfect thing.

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lahm bi ajeen | middle eastern pizzas

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

For an easier recipe, try this alternative

  • Total Time: between 4 and 26 hours
  • Yield: 8 small pies

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups room temperature water, divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup
  • 12 ounces (2 cups) all purpose flour
  • 5 ounces (1 cup) 00 flour (or substitute additional all purpose flour)
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

For the meat mixture:

  • 1 pound 5 ounces lean, ground beef
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons pomegranate paste/molasses (see ingredient note preceding the recipe)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 banana pepper, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
  • 1/2 small onion, minced
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste, if you prefer)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

To bake the pies:

  • Additional flour, for sprinkling
  • Semolina or cornmeal, for sprinkling
  • Ground meat mixture
  • Risen dough
  • Finishing salt

Instructions

  1. Make the dough: Proof the active dry yeast with the sugar and 1 cup of the water until the water looks a little foamy on top (about 5-10 minutes).
  2. Add the all purpose flour, 00 flour, and salt to a bowl (the bowl of a stand mixer, if you plan to knead by machine).
  3. Add the water/yeast/sugar mixture and stir until the dough starts to come together into a dry, shaggy mess.
  4. Gradually add a little of the remaining 1/2 cup of water at a time, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the whole thing comes into a dough ball. Do not use all of the water, unless you need it. If you use too much water, compensate with a little more flour; likewise, if the dough looks too dry, add a little more water and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb. The dough ball should not be too sticky or dry (somewhere in between is best). It should look a tiny bit firmer than store-bought pizza dough.
  5. Knead until the dough ball passes the window pane test. It should come together into an elastic ball that has a smooth surface. Kneading should take about 5-15 minutes by machine with a dough hook, or 10-20 minutes by hand. Pay more attention to the dough’s consistency than the time you’ve spent kneading.
  6. Place the dough in a bowl, cover it, and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, and then in the refrigerator overnight. If you don’t have time to wait overnight, you can let it rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (resting it in the refrigerator will help it develop a better flavor and texture).
  7. Make the meat mixture: Combine the ground beef, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, banana pepper, parsley, onion, salt, and pepper, being careful not to over-mix.
  8. Shape and bake the pies: Lightly flour a clean, food-safe work surface, use a knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, and shape each chunk into a round ball.
  9. Place a pizza stone (or sheet pan) on the oven floor, move the oven racks up and out of the way, so you can easily access the pizza stone, and pre-heat the oven to 500° F.
  10. Roll each dough ball into a circle, about 1/8 inch thick. This is very thin, but not paper-thin (see above photos). To keep the round shape, rotate the disc about 90 degrees after each time you roll it out, and be sure to re-flour the surface every so often. Separate the discs with wax paper and let them rise for about 25 minutes.
  11. Divide the ground meat mixture into about 8 equal pieces.
  12. Sprinkle a pizza peel (or rimless sheet pan) with a tablespoon or two of semolina or cornmeal.
  13. Place a rolled-out disc of dough on the semolina/cornmeal.
  14. Put one of the pieces of meat on top of the dough disc. Work the meat into a thin, even layer over the dough, so that it doesn’t separate from the crust and shrink to the center as it cooks. Sprinkle with a little additional salt, if you’d like.
  15. Once the oven has preheated, use a quick motion to move the pie from the pizza peel onto the pizza stone. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the meat starts to brown and the bread is cooked through and starting to char. The dough should be crispy and chewy, like really good brick oven pizza.
  16. Repeat with the remaining 7 pies.

Notes

Kris’ dough recipe is phenomenal, but if you don’t have time and still want to make this recipe, feel free to use store-bought pizza dough. It won’t be quite the same, but it’ll still be delicious.

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dandelion greens | yarcah

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A few years after my mom and her family immigrated to Chicago from Baghdad, when my mom was a little girl, they moved to a bigger apartment in Andersonville on Balmoral Avenue. But even though there was more space than they had before, there were still twelve people packed into the two flat. Every week, Baba would take my mom to the produce market on Randolph, where he’d pass for a restaurant owner to get good deals on produce. They’d bring home giant cases of lettuce, tomatoes, greens, and other produce, and the whole family would divide things up for the week. One week, when they brought home too many tomatoes, my mom and uncle Al packed up the extra ones in paper bags and went door to door selling them to the neighbors. And on weeks when they would bring home too many cases of dandelion greens, swiss chard, spinach, or romaine, they would make a big batch of yarcah.

Yarcah is just the Assyrian word for greens, and while cooking times vary from one vegetable to another, the idea is always the same: take something green and leafy, blanch it in boiling water until it wilts, and add it to some sauteéd onions and lemon juice. It’s very simple and quick to make, and results in perfectly cooked greens, which aren’t bitter in the least. You can even freeze the finished yarcah in quart-sized ziplock bags to have veggie sides ready to go for weeknight meals. If you’re planning on freezing the greens, you should cook them for about 3 minutes less than you would otherwise, since they will soften further through freezing and reheating.

Dandelion greens are my favorite greens to cook this way, since they tend to get very bitter without blanching. This recipe ensures that they turn out perfectly. The greens have so much flavor and such a lovely texture, especially if you leave in the tender parts of the stems. But feel free to use whatever greens you’d like, using the following guidelines:

Tender greens: spinach, romaine, and other tender greens do not need to be blanched in hot water. Instead, throw them in once the onions are done cooking, toss them around until they wilt (about 2 to 3 minutes), and add the lemon juice. Tender greens cook down a lot more than hearty greens, so you should scale back the amount of lemon juice accordingly (add half, taste, and adjust)
Medium greens: swiss chard, broccoli rabe, and dandelion greens are somewhere more in the middle. Use the recipe below the photos as a guide.
Tough greens: collards and kale need longer to cook. Cook them until they are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes for kale, and at least 40 minutes for collards.

The most important thing is to taste a piece every so often as you cook, just like when you make pasta and forget to set a timer.

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dandelion greens | yarcah

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  • Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup medium diced onion (from about half a medium onion)
  • Between 1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice (from about 2 lemons), to taste *
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 pound roughly chopped dandelion greens, with the tough ends of the stems trimmed (from about 2 bunches)

Instructions

  1. Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large stockpot.
  2. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a frying pan and add the onion.
  3. Cook the diced onion until it softens, turns translucent, and turns very slightly golden around the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes. Once it’s done, and add the lemon juice, heat until it starts to simmer, and immediately remove from heat.
  4. Boil the chopped dandelion greens for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on your preference for doneness. **
  5. Drain the greens over a sink, and wring them out by pressing them against the colander with a wooden spoon.
  6. Combine the cooked greens with the lemon juice and onion mixture.
  7. Season with salt, to taste (start with about 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and go from there).

Notes

* I use the full 1/2 cup of lemon juice because I like more acidic greens, but if you want a mellower flavor, you can add closer to 1/3 cup. You can always add a little more, but it’s hard to take lemon juice away.

** The dandelion greens pictured here were cooked for 8 minutes, which yields a deeply green, slightly toothsome finished product. If you like brighter, even more al dente greens, cook them closer to 5 minutes (or even less). If you have very tender, small dandelion greens, you may need to cook them even less. If you’re using a different vegetable, see the chart above the lemon tree photos as a guide.

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lentils and rice

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I was on the phone with my mom a few weeks ago, brainstorming ideas for new recipes to work on. We talked about doing a series on Assyrian fasting and feasting, and my mom gave me a list of about 15 amazing ideas. But when she suggested lentils and rice, I have to admit, I sort of hesitated to add it.

How am I supposed to convince people that they need a recipe for something so familiar? Furthermore, how can you even write a recipe for something as simple as throwing a few basic ingredients together? The next weekend I flew to Chicago to visit my family, and as I watched my mom make lentils and rice, I realized how wrong I was to even consider forgetting it.

Never be deceived by simple ingredients! The simpler the ingredients, the more carefully and thoughtfully they need to be prepared. This recipe only has four real ingredients, but it’s not just a matter of stirring everything together; there are a few important techniques to keep in mind.

The two keys to perfect lentils and rice

1) lots of rinsing

The key technique for this recipe is lots and lots of rinsing. You rinse the lentils both before and after you cook them, you rinse the uncooked rice, and you rinse the pot before adding everything back in for a final steam. If you don’t rinse, an olive-beige scum will cover everything. This creates a (somehow simultaneously!) gritty and gummy texture and unappealingly homogenous color.

2) perfect timing

The other key to this recipe is timing. You don’t want to add everything together at the same time because rice and lentils cook at different rates; if you get the timing wrong, one or the other (or both!) will turn to complete mush. This recipe has you covered on all accounts. There’s nothing but perfect lentils and rice ahead.

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lentils and rice | niskeh ou riza

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  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound brown or green lentils
  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cups boiling water
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Rinse the lentils and sort through them for little pebbles. Cover with about 3 inches of water in a medium stock pot.
  2. Turn the heat to high. Once the pot of water and lentils comes to a boil, turn the heat to medium and boil uncovered for about 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. While the lentils are cooking, rinse the rice until the water runs clear and set it aside. *
  4. Start testing the lentils for doneness around the 10 minute mark. The lentils are ready once they are unpleasantly al dente. You should be able to chew one (it should be somewhat soft), but it should still be gritty and mealy.
  5. Once the lentils are ready, strain them and rinse them until the water runs clear. *
  6. Use a damp paper towel to wipe down the sides of the pot that you cooked the lentils in until the scum is completely gone.
  7. Add the olive oil to the pot, turn the heat to medium and add the diced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens (about 5 minutes).
  8. Add the lentils back into the pot, along with the rinsed rice, kosher salt, and 3 cups boiling water. Stir together and shake everything out into an even layer.
  9. Turn the heat to high. Once the water comes back up to a boil, cover, lower the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes. Do not look inside the pot while the lentils and rice are cooking.
  10. Once 15 minutes have passed, open the lid, do not stir the lentils and rice, and take a taste. If they taste done, cover, heat for another 30 seconds, and then turn the heat off, keeping them covered.
  11. Keep the pot covered for another 10 minutes after you’ve turned off the heat.
  12. After 10 minutes of resting, fluff the lentils and rice with a fork and serve.

Notes

* To do a more environmentally-friendly version of the rinsing steps, you can rinse by adding water to the pot, swishing things around, straining, and repeating a few times. This uses less water than just rinsing in a colander over the sink.

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ingredient highlight: sumac

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Whenever I’m writing a recipe, I try to make the ingredient list as flexible as possible. I know that there is nothing more annoying than having to track down an unfamiliar ingredient, paying extra to have it shipped, then having to wait for it to show up before you make the recipe, for which you only need one tablespoon, which leaves the rest of the bottle to languish in the back of the pantry until spring cleaning two years later, when it gets the Marie Kondo treatment, along with all those CDs, mismatched socks, and collections of old National Geographics. It’s just the worst.

And while I’ll usually list lots of possible substitutions, there are a few ingredients that just can’t be replaced. That’s why I’ve dedicated this whole post to sumac—I really believe it’s worth it to have a jar in your pantry, especially if you want to regularly cook Middle Eastern food.

Sumac (also spelled sumaq or sumach) is made from the ground-up pods of the sumac shrub. It adds a wonderfully tangy, subtly bitter flavor to whatever it’s dusted over. It tastes acidic, but without tasting like citrus or vinegar. An added bonus is the dramatic color, which ranges from tawny red to burgundy, and adds a pop of color to a humble plate of hummus or labneh. It’s a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine (as well as many other cuisines around the world) and can be used wherever a little extra tartness is called for.

But all of this is not to say that sumac is never replaceable. In certain recipes, lemon will add the necessary tartness, and the sumac won’t entirely be missed. But sumac adds a distinctive flavor that just isn’t exactly the same as lemon. Some dishes, where sumac is the star, simply can’t be made without it. Take fattoush. If you don’t have sumac, you might as well choose another salad (although you shouldn’t worry, because there are plenty of Middle Eastern salads that don’t require sumac).

But the good news is that sumac is relatively inexpensive and easy to find online, and once you buy it, you will start putting it on everything (popcorn, garden salads, grilled veggies, grilled meats, burgers, fish, cheese sandwiches, lentil soup, even dessert!). When I want to treat myself, I like to shop at the Spice House (my top recommendation), which sells phenomenally high quality goods at a very reasonable price. If you can find it in a Middle Eastern grocery store, it will be even more affordable. The market near me sells sumac for a couple dollars for a decent-sized bag.

Feel free to check out my sumac archives for a full list of recipes, or try one of my favorites below:

kebab burgers | kebabeh gu samooneh

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My mom is always cooking something delicious for someone. Last night, I called her to talk and she was chopping tabbouleh for my sister’s boyfriend just because she knows it’s his favorite and wanted to send some over. She plans huge family dinners all the time, and when she has to plan a big meal at the last minute, you’d never know that she didn’t spend all week cooking. The secret to her effortless entertaining is the Assyrian kebab.

The key to a good kebab is to completely overload it with herbs. This is what makes it both easy and impressively flavorful. My family uses a ton of cilantro and a decent amount of green onions, so that every bite has an intensely herby flavor. Feel free to experiment with this recipe, as long as you capture the essence of kebabeh—that is, the intensely herby flavor.

We usually serve them on samoon bread, which is available in many Middle Eastern markets, and if you can’t find it, you can always make your own samoon. But if you don’t feel inclined to bake your own, you can use any other bun or bread. Assyrian food is a diaspora cuisine, so it’s not unheard of to eat a kebab on a parker house roll or a Hawaiian roll. We shape kebabs into an oval shape, which nicely matches the oval shape of samoon, but you can use whatever shape makes sense for the bread you have.

My family often eats kebabs plain, but you can add a lot of toppings to make it more of a special occasion food. We sometimes add sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as a dry salsa of sumac, parsley, and green onions.

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kebab burgers | kebabeh gu samooneh

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  • Yield: 12 patties

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions *
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sumac (or 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt (or to taste)
  • 2 1/2 pounds ground beef (a combination of chuck and sirloin, or a mix that is about 80% lean)
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves *
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions *
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt/table salt), or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
  • About 2 to 3 thinly sliced plum tomatoes (for serving)
  • About 2 to 3 thinly sliced small Persian cucumbers (for serving)
  • Samoon or any other kind of bread (lawash, pita, or even burger buns all work great)

Instructions

  1. For the dry salsa: Combine parsley, green onions, sumac, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and set aside.
  2. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium high heat (or turn your oven’s broiler on 5 to 10 minutes before you’re ready to cook the patties).
  3. Combine the ground beef with the cilantro, green onions, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix everything just until it comes together. Do not over-mix or your kebabs will be tough and rubbery.
  4. Shape the kebabs into approximately 12 ovals.
  5. Grill or broil for about 5 to 7 minutes per side until they are cooked all the way through. **
  6. Serve the kebabs on samoon (or your bread of choice), topping each with a heaping teaspoon of the salsa, and a couple slices of tomato and cucumber.

Notes

* For grocery shopping purposes, this normally comes out to about 1 bunch cilantro and 1 bunch green onions (with the onion bunch split between the two components of the dish).

** Kebabs are most often served medium-well or well, but you can serve yours medium rare if that’s what you prefer.

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jeweled rice and noodles | riza sh’ariyeh

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Friends often tell me that they find rice difficult to prepare well. I’ll tell you what I always tell them: the trick to making rice isn’t knowing more about rice, but knowing more about yourself. If you’re someone who does not have a tendency to micromanage, if you tend to entirely check a project off your mental check-list the minute you delegate it, you’ll probably be just fine. If you’re the kind of person who over-waters succulents and kills goldfish by loving them to death, you’ve got to be really careful when making rice and pay extra-close attention to the following suggestions:

First, set a timer and leave the rice alone while you cook it. Don’t peek under the lid and just let it do it’s thing. But, secondly, if you do need to check on it a couple times to make sure it’s doing ok, whatever you do, do not stir the rice. I’m not a food scientist, so I’m not entirely sure why this is so important, but it really will ruin the texture and doneness of your rice. Third, when you eventually turn the heat off, do not remove the lid for 10 or 15 minutes. Once the heat is off, the rice still needs the residual heat to steam the rest of the way. And finally, after it’s rested, fluff the rice with a fork or chop sticks and serve. When it comes to cooking rice, less is more.

Riza sh’ariyeh is the foundation of most Assyrian meals. It’s steamed basmati rice and toasted noodles, usually topped with butter-fried nuts and golden raisins. The raisins become succulent and caramelized while they baste in butter and everything else gets a golden toasted flavor and color. My grandmother‘s mother, Yemmah Sourma, would make this rice with tabouli or fatoushi every Friday night when they would fast from meat; we still make it exactly the same way.

If you don’t have a go-to method for making rice, riza sh’ariyeh is a good one to have memorized or bookmarked. You can quickly whip it together for weeknight meals or really carefully prepare it for a fancy dinner party. Without the decadent topping, it makes a perfect plain pot of rice. But with the almonds, pine nuts, and golden raisins, it’s really something else. Pine nuts are easier to come by in Lebanon, but they’re often prohibitively expensive in the United States, so feel free to leave them out or replace them with more almonds. But if you can include them, they elevate this dish to special occasion status.

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jeweled rice and noodles | riza sh’ariyeh

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  • Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basmati rice (or other long-grain rice)
  • 3 cups cold water
  • 1 cup fine egg noodles, broken into pieces no longer than 3/4 inch *
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter (8 tablespoons), divided: 1/2 stick set aside for the rice, the other 1/2 stick cut into thirds **
  • 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt (to taste)
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts (optional)

Instructions

  1. Use a fine mesh colander to rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear and is no longer cloudy.
  2. After you’ve rinsed and drained the rice, add it to a large sauce pan or small stockpot along with the 3 cups of cold water, the 1/2 stick of butter, and the salt. Set the stockpot aside.
  3. In a frying pan, melt the first of the three chunks of butter over low heat. Add the egg noodles and stir constantly until they turn light brown.
  4. Once the egg noodles have toasted, add them to the rice, water, butter and salt in the stockpot. Turn the stockpot’s heat up to high. As soon as the rice comes to a boil, set the heat to low, cover, and cook for 13 minutes.
  5. Add another chunk of butter to the frying pan and melt it over low heat. Add the raisins, stirring constantly until they start to slightly caramelize and soften. Once they’re done, remove them with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate.
  6. Add the final chunk of butter to the frying pan with the almonds and pine nuts. Stir them constantly over low heat until they are golden-brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and add them to the plate with the raisins.
  7. Once the rice timer goes off, do not lift the cover. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 15 minutes.
  8. After the rice has rested, fluff it with a fork, spoon it onto a large serving dish, and cover with the almonds, raisins, and pine nuts.

Notes

gluten free / vegan variations:

* If you don’t eat gluten or want to make the recipe egg-free, you can use a gluten- and/or egg-free pasta. Thinner pasta works better; angel hair/spaghetti broken into pieces or orzo would work great. Add an extra 1/4 c of water if you’re using a less voluminous pasta, since egg noodles aren’t very compact).

** If you want to make the recipe vegan or dairy-free, feel free to substitute olive oil for the butter. Just make sure you add an extra 2 tablespoons of water to the rice.

Note on making this ahead: The nut and raisin topping can be fried ahead of time and set aside until needed. If you need to keep the rice warm before serving, fluff it after it rests for 10-15 minutes, and then keep it covered in the stockpot.

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labneh | strained yogurt

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Labneh is a delicious Middle Eastern soft, fresh cheese that can be eaten for breakfast, a snack, or as part of a meze spread. It has a smooth consistency and a slightly sour, subtly sweet flavor. In Lebanon and Syria, my grandmother’s family would make their own labneh at home with mesta, (that is, homemade yogurt).

In Beirut, they would buy milk in bottles at the market, but when they moved back to Syria, they bought a cow and used her milk. My grandmother’s mother, Yemmah Sourma, and her older sister, Masy, would milk the cow, then Yemmah Sourma would make mesta, put the fermented mesta in a cloth, tie the cloth together, and let all of the whey drain away until it reached the perfect consistency. They would save the whey to make booshala, a yogurt and swiss chard soup.

how to make the absolute best labneh ever

These days, we most often buy labneh at Middle Eastern markets, since there are lots of perfectly good brands available. Look for one with fewer additives—the best labneh is just dairy (some combination of milk, cream, whey) and salt (sometimes with a little pectin).

While making labneh at home is a really fun project, I’ve never really found it totally worthwhile to make labneh from store-bought yogurt, since commercial labneh is already so tasty and convenient.

But all that recently changed when my friend, Mary, told me how phenomenal it is when it’s made from homemade yogurt. And it’s true—when it comes to labneh made from homemade yogurt, it’s hard to find anything better. So now I’ve become the kind of person who either buys ready-made labneh or goes all-in and makes it all the way from the beginning of the process, with whole milk, which I turn into yogurt overnight and then strain the next night until it is so perfect, you can’t help but eat the whole thing with a spoon straight from the refrigerator (no olive oil, spices, or pita bread required).

how to make very good labneh from store-bought yogurt

If you want to make labneh from store-bought yogurt, maybe because you can’t find labneh near you, or maybe because you want a more low-key cooking adventure, some yogurts work better than others.

I used to think Greek yogurt was best, since it’s already halfway there. But there’s something about the way it’s been processed that just doesn’t work out quite right (maybe since it’s strained by big mechanical centrifuges). After having my friends do a blind-tasting of a few different homemade labnehs, everyone determined that the one made from Greek yogurt was the least favorite of the group.

I’ve found that starting with plain-old unstrained yogurt works better than starting with Greek yogurt. The most important thing is to find one that’s been made from whole milk. I’ve made labneh with fat-free yogurt, but it’s definitely not the same (gritty, sour, and pasty) and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re already accustomed to the tastes and textures unique to a totally fat-free diet.

how to use labneh

Labneh is lovely spread thinly on a plate and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. You can top it with whatever herbs and spices you’d like—mint (especially dried), za’atar, sumac, or paprika each works great. Check out the archives for a full list of my recipes featuring labneh, or check out a few of my favorites, listed below:

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labneh | strained yogurt

Print Recipe

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 12 hours
  • Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

  • 4 cups plain unstrained yogurt, either homemade or store-bought
  • 1 wooden spoon
  • 1 pitcher or other tall container to catch the whey
  • A long sheet of cheesecloth
  • For serving (optional): salt, za’atar (or another spice blend), and extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. Line a medium-sized bowl (approximately 1 quart) with several layers of cheesecloth. Make sure that the cheesecloth square is large enough to tie the corners around 1 quart of yogurt.
  2. Spoon the yogurt into the center of the cheesecloth-covered bowl, place the wooden spoon over the top then wrap the cheesecloth edges over the top, tying them around the wooden spoon.
  3. Place the ball inside the pitcher, with the wooden spoon allowing it to hang from the top. This will keep it away from the pooling whey, so that it can strain as it hangs.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap, give the fridge a sniff check to make sure there are no funky smells, and strain the labneh in the fridge for about 6-12 hours, depending on the consistency you want. It will be more like Greek yogurt after 6 hours and much firmer after 12. *
  5. To serve, spread thinly on a plate, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and spices.

Notes

* Don’t be surprised if the labneh loses a couple cups of whey during the straining process. You might need to empty the pitcher if the whey-line starts to get too close to the ball. Also don’t be surprised if the trickle of whey slows down dramatically after the first couple hours. It will lose most of its whey in the first 6 hours.

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assyrian egg rolls | burek

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Whenever someone immigrates, gets engaged or married, or visits from out of town, my grandmother celebrates the occasion by frying up a big plate of burek, which she usually serves unceremoniously on a plate lined with paper towels, since everyone is always lurking around the stove waiting for her to lift them out of the deep fryer. Burek doesn’t need to be served on fine china, dressed up with a fancy presentation, or served with a clever assortment of dipping sauces in order to be celebratory. It’s just inherently so! And if you make these for your next party, they will be the first thing to go (seriously, even if you triple the recipe), so make sure you save yourself a few in the back of the refrigerator, because they’re also fabulous left over (it’s a very cold-leftover-pizza experience).

This recipe is totally flexible—you can add more cheese, parsley, a clove or two of garlic, or a few pinches of allspice. My family loves to eat burek with salsa or Sriracha, but it’s also delicious just on its own. You can even make a special vegetarian version, with mushrooms instead of beef; I’ve included a note with the recipe about how to make this substitution. There are other vegetarian versions made with mostly cheese. Assyrian chef Lana Shlimon, who cooks Lebanese and Iraqi Assyrian food, recommends mixing a combination of mild and briny cheeses, for instance feta and mozzarella.

If you’d like to make your burek ahead of time, you can either roll them up the night before and then fry them at the last minute, or fry them earlier in the day and then later crisp them up in the oven before serving.

If you’re new to deep frying, don’t be intimidated! The thing is, it’s very easy if you know a few tricks. Just make sure to set up a safe deep fry station and to keep the heat at a constant temperature. If you do both, deep frying is a piece of cake. The easiest way to keep a constant temperature is to buy an inexpensive deep fry thermometer so that you can easily monitor and adjust the heat. As long as you keep it around 350°, the oil shouldn’t sputter or smoke. But if you don’t have a thermometer and need burek now, there are a few low tech workarounds. To keep your fry station safe, find a heavy pot, make sure you have several inches of space above the oil line so that it doesn’t bubble over, and keep the pot toward the back of the stove.

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assyrian egg rolls | burek

Print Recipe

  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: approximately 20 rolls

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil
  • 1 small onion (or half of a large onion), minced
  • 1 pound sirloin, minced finely into very small pieces (or ground) *
  • 1 cup loosely packed shredded mozzarella (not fresh mozzarella) *
  • 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 package large wonton wrappers (1 pound / 20 to 21 wontons)
  • 2 or 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl
  • 1 to 2 quarts oil for deep frying (e.g., peanut, canola, olive oil, but not extra virgin)

Instructions

  1. Make the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil has heated for a minute or two, add the minced onion and cook until it softens and becomes translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes.
  2. Once the minced onion has softened, turn the heat to medium-high and push the onion to the sides of the pan.
  3. Add the other tablespoon of neutral oil to the center of the pan and add the minced beef * to the center of the pan. Spread it out evenly and then let it sit there for about a minute while you season it with salt and pepper.
  4. After the beef has sat in the center for a minute, mix up the beef, trying not to disturb the onions, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan, and let it sit for another minute or two. Continue this pattern until it has browned nicely and any pooling liquid has been cooked off, about 6-7 minutes.
  5. Mix together the onions and the beef if they haven’t already mixed together.
  6. Take the beef and onions off the heat and let them cool (about 10 minutes).
  7. Stir in the mozzarella, parsley, and any additional salt and pepper.
  8. Set up a safe fry station on the stove or in a dedicated deep fryer. Turn the heat to medium so that the oil slowly rises to 350° F and keep an eye on it while you work.
  9. Wrap the burek: Place one wrapper on a cutting board.
  10. Put a couple spoon-fulls of the filling (approximately 2 tablespoons—pace yourself for 20 rolls) in the center of the wrapper in a diagonal line, from corner to corner, rather than side to side. Leave a large border all the way around the filling so that you can wrap it up.
  11. Place the wrapper so that the filling looks horizontal from your perspective and fold over the two side corners so that they meet in the middle. Then fold the triangle facing you over the top, and then roll everything tightly into a cylinder away from yourself. Make sure you roll them snugly, so that they don’t hold in big pockets of air.
  12. To seal the roll: raise the loose wonton flap, wet your fingers liberally, brush water all over the triangular wonton flap, and roll it back over until it sticks.
  13. Repeat with the remaining 19 or 20 rolls.
  14. Fry the burek: Once the oil has reached 350° F, add a few rolls at a time and fry for about 5 minutes, until golden-brown. Flip the burek over if they aren’t tumbling around on their own. Work in batches, don’t crowd the oil, and adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a temperature of 350° F.
  15. Once golden brown, remove the burek with a slotted spoon or spider and cool on a couple layers of paper towels.

Notes

* To make the vegetarian version, use 1 pound finely chopped mushrooms instead of minced beef and add an extra 1/2 cup of cheese. You’ll need to cook the mushrooms until they’ve given up their liquid and have begun to brown.

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