* Lebanese Chicken and Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients

8 cut up chicken pieces
8 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
salt to taste
ground white pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Place chicken and potatoes in a large baking dish. Season generously with salt and white pepper.

3. In a bowl, stir together garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Pour over chicken and potatoes. Cover dish with foil.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil, increase heat to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C), and cook until chicken and potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 592 | Total Fat: 30.5g | Cholesterol: 65mg

* Chicken, harissa and aubergine tagine

Ingredients

2 large aubergines
1¼ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
8 skinless chicken thighs, excess fat removed
1½ tbsp harissa paste
1 tbsp tomato puree
500ml chicken stock, cold
2 tsp cornflour
200g couscous
2 tbsp chopped coriander

Preparation

Heat the oven to Gas 6, 180ºC fan, 200ºC.

Lightly rub the aubergines with oil and place on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes, turning once.

Heat the remaining oil in a large, heavy-based casserole dish or tagine. Add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken to the dish, reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir in the harissa and tomato puree.

Pour in 400ml (14fl oz) of the stock and bring to a simmer. Remove the stalk from the cooked aubergines and cut them into chunks. Add to the chicken, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the chicken thighs are cooked and juices run clear.

Mix a little of the casserole liquid into the cornflour then stir back into the chicken to thicken. In a separate dish pour the remaining stock over the couscous and stir in the coriander. Spoon the couscous over the chicken and return the lid. Turn off the heat for 5 minutes until the couscous is cooked.

Fluff the couscous with a fork before serving.

* Rigatoni with Eggplant Basil Tomato Sauce & Riccota

Ingredients

500 gm rigatoni pasta
1 kg ripe tomatoes
1 big eggplant
1 large onion chopped
500 gm minced meat
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
10 garlic cloves sliced
¼ cup basil leaves
2 tbsp fresh thyme or oregano
½ tbsp paprika
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp garlic powder
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper



Directions

Prepare your eggplants by pealing them and cutting them into small cubes. Heat some olive oil and sauté the chopped onions in it, when the onions soften add the garlic and then the minced meat. Cook your meat and once it absorbs all its liquid add the eggplants, season with paprika, garlic powder and cinnamon. Peal your tomatoes and juice them and once the meat and eggplants are cooked add the tomatoes juice, the tomato pasta, the stock and the basil stripes. Let it cook on high heat till it comes to a boil and then taste again to make sure it doesn’t need any seasoning. Now, lower the heat and cover and the sauce cook very slowly till all gets mixed together, you need your eggplants to melt into the sauce and become part of it not stay in pieces.

While the sauce cooks, cook your pasta in boiling salted water but make sure you don’t cook it through as it will continue cooking in the oven while baking.

Now we assemble the dish, we mix the sauce with the pasta and we add the ricotta cheese, we put the pasta in the baking dish and we cover it with fresh mozzarella. Bake the dish till the pasta continues cooking and the cheese melt.

* Fish with vegetables

Ingredients:

6 Talapia fillets
2 large carrots chopped into big pieces
1 large squash chopped into big pieces
1 red onion (wings)
6 clove garlic mashed
1 ts cumin
2 ts salt
1/4 cup extra olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 ts black pepper
some leaves of green coriander
Preparation:


Heat the oven to 400 F
In a small bowl mix (garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin, lemon juice and olive oil)
In non stick tray, arrange the carrots, onions, squash and Talapia Fillet. Distribute the mixture on it by hand. leave the Talapia in marinate for one hour.
Cover the tray with foil, place the tray in the oven for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and leave the tray for extra 5 minutes in the oven.
Serve with white Rice and decorate with green coriander leaves

* Pizaa

Ingredient:

Dough ( see Pastry Dough Recipe )
Pizza sauce
cheese shredded
1 red onion chopped thin circles
1 bell pepper chopped thin circles
black olive chopped in half

Preparation:

Punch down the dough and divide into 2 pieces. This will make two 12 inch pizzas.
Shape each portion into a 12" circle either by hand or with a rolling pin, stretching out as necessary to achieve a thin dough. For a lighter crust, let the dough sit for a half hour after shaping before constructing pizza and baking.
Spread sauce over crust and top with cheese and desired toppings.
Allow to rest in a warm location for 15 minutes.
Bake in a 475 degree oven until crust is golden, about 10 minutes.

* Talapia Fillet

Ingredients:


6 Talapia fillet
6 clove garlic mashed
1 ts cumin
2 ts salt
1 ts apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 ts black pepper
1/4 cup green coriander
preparation:
In a small bowl mix (garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin, lemon juice, coriander, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar).
In non stick try, arrange the Talapia Fillet and distribute the mixture on it by your hand.
leave the Talapia in marinate for two hours.
Heat the oven to 400 F.
Put the try in oven for 15 minutes and turn over to another side, wait for 5 minutes.
Serve with white Rice and salad.