284. Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies (Alfajore)

Seeing how dulce de leche is of Latino origins, it's only natural that these alfajor gems of cookies stem from the same place.
Fun fact of the day? These typical Latino cookies are of Arab origin; that's right: Arab  :)
The proof is in the name: alfajor comes from (الفاخر) which literally translates to "the luxurious one."
It's not far-fetched at all, the Muslims conquered modern day Spain and settled there for quite a bit, so it's only natural that we have created our own mark in its culture.

283. Dulce de Leche

Dulce de leche translates literally from Spanish to "candy of milk."
There is a difference between caramel and dulce de leche, in that a traditional caramel is strictly burnt sugar (maybe with some water), whereas dulce de leche is, well, candied milk.
I briefly outlined the making of dulce de leche way back in my Banoffee recipe, but seeing how diverse its uses are, I decided to post a how-to specially dedicated to it.

282. Smoked Salmon & Spinach Quiche

It's about time for another quiche recipe.
This quiche is a vamped-up version of the humble spinach quiche: it has slices of the cured salmon I've made earlier.
The original recipe, from Bernard, uses smoked salmon, so by all means use that if you don't have home-made cured salmon on hand.
The quiche is meant to be a deep one, and the recipe outlined below is sufficient for a 20cm (8 inch) round tin.

281. Gravlax: Beetroot Cured Salmon

Gravlax (aka gravad laks) is a Swedish (or generally Scandinavian) way to cure salmon.
If you like smoked salmon, then you will love the cured version.
The salmon fillet is somewhat "cooked" while buried in a flavored mixture of salt and sugar for 72 hours (3 days).

280. Russian Blini

Blini are a Russian form of pancake, often used as a base for caviar and smoked salmon canapé.
They are of various sizes, and are sturdy and usually round.
It is very common to find them in most supermarkets at the end of year for the holidays.

279. Roasted Rosemary Chestnuts

We can't let December pass without hearty roasted chestnuts can we?!
Without roasted chestnuts, it would be like winter never came.
My favorite method included a single ingredient: chestnuts. I would score them with an X, and dry-fry them covered in a pot over the stove.

278. Zarshk Barberry Pilaf

Zarsk pilaf, of barberry rice, is seriously good, accompanied by some form of meat, or even by itself with some salad.
This barberry rice is the equivalent of perfume for your taste buds.
It is so simple yet the result is fantastical.
I have eaten this in a restaurant, so this is my adaptation of what I tasted: basically rice, zarshk, and rosewater.

277. Gingerbread Cookies

The spice flavor in these cookies is so cosy and warm, and accompanied with a tall glass of milk it will make the tummy sing with happiness!
I thought they originated from Medieval Europe, but it turns out it was Armenian monks that brought it there.
The spices, oh the spices! It's like delicious medicine! It tastes and feels so right and wholesome for the body.

276. Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich

There is this Arab food channel I like to watch from time to time.
My favorite part is when they have these mini-recipe advertising a certain food product, and suggestions of how to cook using them.
The whole recipe-advert lasts maybe 60 seconds or less, but I really like them.
Life is in the details, so I've heard.

275. Mixed Pickles

What do you do when you have an abundance of vegetable crop?
Thank God for your blessings.
And then? Make pickles of course!
This is a pickle recipe (طرشي مشكل) I picked up from my dear brother-in-law, who is a fantastic cook.
You can really use anything you happened to have an had: the recipe is very forgiving.

274. Iraqi Turnip Beetroot Pickles

Despite the popularity of cucumber pickles in both Iraq and the Arab world in general, this vivid colored turnip-beetroot pickle is a firm staple and favorite in any Iraqi household.
Using pure, wholesome ingredients, without the adulteration of processed additives is the essence of Iraqi cooking.

273. Moules Frites: Mussels and Fries

Moules frites is a classic French bistro dish that we really do not appreciate enough.
I think we scare ourselves off from trying new foods.
The hardest part about making mussels is cleaning them.
Cooking is actually the easy part. Really easy.
Good news? You can buy them already cleaned, so that's the hard part over with!
The ingredients are so few, because the mussels themselves are quite flavorsome.

272. Beetroot Kubba

Legend has it that Halab, the Syrian city most notorious for its kubba, has a thousand variations of kubba in its repertoire.
One thousand.
And I believe it, too.
I am not striving to cover each of these thousand kubba, but since I do harbor a particular soft spot for anything kubba, I cannot pass the opportunity of learning a new recipe.

271. Broccoli Stir-Fry

This broccoli sauté is Chinese-inspired, and is almost as simple as it gets.
The garlic and the soy sauce are the major flavorings, and the broccoli and the soy bean sprouts are the star.
You can easily change around the vegetables, substituting cauliflower, or snow peas, or adding silver beet...
The recipe is really versatile so have no fear in experimenting.

270. Indian Mava Cake

What is mava, you might ask.
A very good question, especially that the word never caught my attention until about ten days ago.
In the words of tartelette, mava is a reduction of milk and/or cream that gives a thick spread complementing the butter and other ingredients in the cakes.
If you are lucky enough to easily buy ready-made mava, by all means do so instead of making your own.
How did it come to my attention, you might also ask.

269. Baby Pumpkin with Mushroom Rice Stuffing

This is a hearty vegetarian meal, very filling and satisfying.
The original recipe from Everyday Food uses acorn squash, but in my opinion you can really just use any small vegetable from the pumpkin family, be it acorn squash, butternut squash, or baby pumpkin (as I did).
I also increased the mushroom ratio, because really after they are cooked they whither to almost nothing.
Plus, we like mushroom :)

268. Zaatar Pinwheel Bites

The zaatar fest continues!
After Zaatar Manaeesh, Zaatar Swirl Buns, and Zaatar Toasties, I found Zaatar Pinwheel Bites!
These nuggets of zaatar are a creation of Taste of Beirut, who enjoys them for breakfast and at all hours of the day. Highly recommended to follow suite ;)
This zaatar recipe, although very similar in concept to the other zaatar rec

267. Spicy-Sweet Glazed Shrimps

These spicy-sweet glazed shrimps were a delight to make as well as to eat!
They seriously defied my expectations and the flavor was, in a word, amazing.
I used a cast iron grill pan that was placed over the stove burner, which is absolutely perfect for indoor grilling, regardless of the season.
The glaze is composed of only two ingredients: chili paste and honey. These are not to be underestimated: they pack a huge punch of flavor.

266. Spanish Omelette Tortilla

Tortilla de patatas is a Spanish tapas recipe thats that is almost as famous as the Spanish paella.
This version is the classic at its absolute simple best: eggs, onion, and poato.
There are, however, countless variations which are only limited by the imagination.

265. Zait wa Zaatar: Zaatar Toasties

Zeit wa zaatar (زيت و زعتر) is a tale as old as time. It literally translates to oil and zaatar. I always use olive oil, but you can use what you want.
It really is too simple, but merits a mention nevertheless.
My mother (الله يرحمها) used to feed it to us as children, always saying how it sharpens the mind and memory.
I didn't mind zaatar as a child. Now as an adult, I actually crave it.

264. DIY Zaatar Spice Mix

You can easily obtain a ready-mixed bag of zaatar, but it's always handy to know how to do things on your own.  I assume that if you can lay your hands on a bag or sumac, lurking not far away is a bag of zaatar spice mix. But still ;)

263. Ginger-Scented Panettone



Panettone is somewhere in the middle of being a bread and a cake.

It is an Italian loaf commonly made and enjoyed around the time of New Year.
The original panettone recipe takes days of proofing and has a sourdough base sponge.

262. Baked Rouget Fish Fillets with Broccoli

This is a fifteen minute meal if I ever saw one.
I used rouget fish, filleted and pin-boned, but really you may apply the recipe to almost all fish fillets.
An express "marination" is whipped up in which the fillets are flipped in and immediately baked at the top shelf a very hot oven for literally minutes.
During the baking, the broccoli is steamed and the sauce made.
Fifteen minutes is all it takes to make a healthy and delicious meal.

261. Cucumber Dill Pickles

Pickles have a special place in the hierarchy of Arab food. They are merely accessories to the food, but it's more complicated than that. We really take pride in our pickles, compare recipes and techniques, make gatherings to pickle together, and share the finished result with friends and family.
So, needless to say, there are several types of pickles, and more than one way to make one type.

260. Pistachio Tuiles

Tuiles are a French cookie, distinguished by their thin and crisp texture, and slightly concave appearance.
A tuile is French literally translates to "tile", and truly when stacked with a little over-lap, they most certainly do resemble roof tiles.

259. Pistachio Biscotti

Biscotti are a twice-baked Italian cookie, invented hundreds of years ago, and are perfect to take on long journeys because they are dried, have a long life, and are nutritious.
Typical ingredients in a biscotti are: flour, eggs, sugar, and some form of nuts.
The biscotti are first baked as a loaf, cooled, then sliced and baked again to completely de-hydrate and crisp them up.

258. Opéra Patisserie

The other day I passed by Opéra Patisserie to pick up some dessert.
The fact that there were no customers made me have the courage to get snap-happy.
The pictures are from my mobile phone, so the quality isn't excellent.
None the less, I liked the outcome and wanted to share the beautiful pictures.

257. Pumpkin Cheesecake

I finally took the dive to use pumpkin in a dessert.
I chose pumpkin cheesecake, using home-made pumpkin puree, and topped it with home-made salted caramel sauce.
It was quite the show stopper.

256. Pumpkin Puree

I have mentioned before that utilizing pumpkin in desserts is a strange and foreign concept for me.
But quite often I come across a can of pumpkin puree in the supermarket which reminds me that it is quite common to do so.

255. Caramel Sauce

Caramel sauce is fantastic.
Salted caramel anything is even better.
There are innumerable uses for caramel sauce: as a dip for apples, drizzled over ice cream, over apple tart, over brownies, over cheesecake... really your imagination is the limit.

254. Tray-Baked Salmon with Green Beans

Salmon is such a convenient fish to cook.
Most adults and kids like it, it takes almost no time to cook, and it needs little more than a sprinkle of salt to get it up and going.
This particular recipe I have been making for years, and is a definite family favorite.