Lachmacun: Spicy Meat-topped Pita Bread

This is my most recent variation of Lachmacun, or ‘Arab Pizza’ as it is sometimes called. If you do not have time to make the dough, use a good quality, whole-wheat pita. Brush with olive oil and toast on the griddle or under the broiler. Then add the meat sauce and broil, again, briefly, topped with halved cherry tomatoes.

 

Lachmacun-unbaked-Sw

Of course it is better with home-made bread dough –I prefer to use my whole grain one— which I shape into longish flat-breads, let them rest a bit, then mix one egg into my versatile Spicy Meat Sauce so that it more or less keeps its shape as it bakes, and can be picked up and eaten without falling apart, as most Lachmacun do.

 

Lachmacun-Sw

 

Serves 2  (2 pieces)   (more…)

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Kapuska: Cabbage with Ground Meat and Farro

Kapuska bowls S

A kind of deconstructed stuffed cabbage leaves, this is a wonderful and most satisfying winter dish. It is inspired by Ozlem Warren’s Bulguru Lahana Kapuska.  I substituted wheat berries (farro) for the bulgur, and omitted the pepper paste, adding lots of Maras pepper. I used white wine and very little water as the cooking broth, plus some crushed canned tomatoes. (more…)

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Roasted Quince and Carrots with Garlic, Allspice and Turmeric

If you like, you can roast boned chicken legs together with the quince and carrots, basting them with the same combination of garlic, olive oil and spices (see variation).

chicken & quince carrots S

I know that quince is hardly a common ingredient for everybody, so I propose you roast instead a combination of cauliflower (briefly steamed first) and turnips if you have no quince. But do add a few tablespoons of lemon juice together with the olive oil and spices, since both cauliflower and turnips are sweet and lack the quince’s tartness that so well complements the roasted carrots’ flavor.

Quince cutting S

Quince Carrot Baked & UN S (more…)

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Tigania & Tomato-less Tigania

The first recipe is a more recent version with tomato, and is based on the tigania my neighbor, Zenobia Stefa, prepares every so often. The second is the older and most common tigania served in island taverns. Since in my house we hardly ever have occasions for a late night snack, I like to serve my tigania with tagliatelle or ziti, or with mashed potatoes, as a main course.

tigania-tziotiki-mall

Tigania

Serves 4-6
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