Chicken On Salt!

Hello everybody.

Roasting over a bed of salt experience is still going on,today I tried it with whole small chicken and potatoes plus garlic of course.

Excellent delicious result,crispy from outside juicy from inside وnot dry and very well roasted. Guess next time I’ll do fish or veal.

Ingredients and method :
* 2 cups salt.
* 2 small whole chicken.
* head of garlic.
* potatoes.

*rosemary.
* salt, pepper, all spice, chili flakes and lemon slices.

* clean and dry chicken well then season inside out.
*insert lemon slices inside and tuck thighs well with a toothpick or rubber band.
* in a deep oven pan pour salt and spread it evenly.
* put the chicken, potatoes and garlic on top.
* add rosemary or oregano if you like.
* cover well then put in a moderately heated oven for 1 1/2 hours.
* uncover and drizzle a bit of olive oil on chicken,roast till golden.
* press out tender garlic and mix with some butter and yogurt to make a sauce or dip.

chicken over a bed of salt.

Really yummy,highly recommended

Pickled Eggplants( مخلل باذنجان)

Hello everybody.

Saw those lovely small eggplants yesterday just perfect for pickling for now and making makdous later on.

I combined two recipes together, so stuffing was a mix of tomatoes, garlic and chili peppers.

Ingredients and method :
# small eggplants.
# finely chopped tomatoes.
# minced garlic.
# hot green and red peppers.
# lemon slices and juice.
# salt, chili flakes.
Water and salt brine.

# boil eggplants till a bit tender.
# mince garlic with chili peppers then mix all with tomatoes, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon salt.
# stuff eggplants as much as you can.
# arrange them in a clean glass jar then add water salt brine.
# leave to be done for 1 week.

ready for storage.

How to Make Sun-dried Tomatoes?

Hello everybody.

Tomatoes are in season now and I do have plenty cause my hubby planted some in the farm and it all ripened in this heat, so better do something with it.

Searched for ways to make dried tomatoes, results were either in the oven for 5-7 hours which is something I’ll never do in this heat or sun-dried for 3 days and since weather is dry and hot these days so this was my option.

You simply cut ripe hard tomatoes to halves or quarters, remove seeds and watery bulb, sprinkle freely with salt and/or pepper, oregano and basil.

Spread all on a flat sieve or wooden tray, I flattened them on a metal mesh ( the one we use for BBQ) and leave them in the sun for three days or till completely dry .

Cover with cheese cloth or anything light to keep insects and dust away.

Will post end result when they’re done.

salt,pepper,oregano and basil on top.

Soft Pretzels.

Hello everybody.

Stayed home today,a relief after busy days and a chance to put away heavy clothes and boots, hoping that no more cold rainy days are coming.

Since I have leftovers for lunch from yesterday which was fresh new baby string beans in olive oil and I had time before lunch I tried this recipe, been searching for the most suitable and light one for a while and did this with slight changes.

I also made a simple cake since the oven is on and hot,been craving it since I made it for my brother’s colleagues last week.

Ingredients and method :
* 1 1/4 cups warm water.
* 2 tablespoons instant yeast.
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 5 cups flour.
* 1 tsp salt.
* 1 tablespoon butter.
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
* 1/2 cup baking soda.
* 4 cups boiled water.
* 1 egg yolk.
* some kosher or coarse salt.
* some melted butter.

* mix water, yeast, sugar till bubbly.
* mix flour, salt, butter and oil.
* add water yeast mixture and knead well.
* leave to rise for 40-50 minutes.
* make long ropes from the dough, this quantity makes 10-12.
* shape them into Pretzels.
* mix soda with hot water then dip each pretzel into it for few seconds.
* line them in a floured pan.
* brush with egg yolk then sprinkle with salt.
* leave to rise again then bake in a medium heated oven for 10-15 minutes.
* brush with a bit of butter to keep them shining then roast till golden.

Turned out amazingly delicious, kids loved them.

lovely !

so easy to do dough.

ready to go.

lunch and dessert.

will definitely do them again.

Chicken in Salt Crust.

Hello everybody.
After a discussion the other day between members of my group about fish in salt crust, I did a quick research and found out that it can be done with chicken as well, so today was my first trial.

I also did a layered veggie pot containing pumpkin, eggplants and potatoes with sweet peppers and tomatoes on top and full of herbs. Only cooked on low heat then drizzled with olive oil and roasted.

Ingredients and method of chicken :
* 1 whole chicken.
* onion,garlic, oregano, cinnamon sticks, cardamom and rosemary for stuffing the chicken.
* butter.
* for the dough you’ll need :
* 1 3/4 cups salt.
* 4 1/2 cups flour.
* tsp of oregano and mixed herbs.
* 1 cup water.
* mix all dough ingredients till easy to handle and stiff, you may need a bit more water.
* clean and dry chicken well then stuff inside with all stuffing mentioned ( you can change or add anything you like)
* rub butter, pepper and all spice all over chicken,or you can put butter in between flesh and skin.

* cover chicken with dough and seal completely very good.
* bake in a medium heated oven for 2 hours.
* crack open the crust and serve.
Note: crust must be discarded not eaten cause it’s too salty.

peeled crust.

chicken all wrapped.

final look after baking.

layered veggies.

Tomato Thyme Pastries.

Hello everybody.

End of a long holiday,rearranging Eid sweets and Arabic coffee stuff,back to cooking and kitchen work.

lunch was fava beans with rice,didn’t make much cause only me and my youngest son like it,so I made some pastries the old fashion way, dough is simple flour (whole grain and white),yeast,oil, salt then added some sesame seeds and black seeds (قزحه).

Filling was green thyme leaves,finely chopped onion rubbed with salt and pepper,finely chopped fresh tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes, salt,pepper and chili powder and a good amount of olive oil.

Make the dough into balls then spread them,fill and close as triangles,I filled the extra dough with cheese and turkey.

Roast Beef.

Hello everybody.

Bought this extremely tender roast beef last week and hadn’t got the chance to do it till today,you can cook it in many ways either baked or boiled with vegetables.

This time kids wanted it roasted and crispy,they didn’t even wait to make a gravy or any sauce, just sliced as a cold cut and they made different sandwiches, it was really good and well done.

Ingredients and method:

* piece of tender lean beef.

* some garlic cloves.

* salt and various mixed spices ( pepper ,mixed spices,roast spices,chili…etc)

* olive oil.

* cut garlic to slices and then made a deep cut into meat and insert it all over the piece.

* rub salt and spices all over the roast and leave for some time to be well absorbed.

* heat oil very well then place meat to be browned from all sides very well.

* put the meat on a rack and in the oven for 30-40 minutes till done,you can tell when no juices are out when you pinch it with a sharp knife.

* leave to stand and cool before cutting to slices or pieces according to how you want it.

* serve with sauteed potatoes or vegetables or salad.

What to cook today?

day by day cooking ideas

salt

Chicken On Salt!

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Pickled Eggplants( مخلل باذنجان)

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How to Make Sun-dried Tomatoes?

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Soft Pretzels.

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Chicken in Salt Crust.

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Roast Beef.

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