After sharing Lamb Tongue and Tomato Stew from The Lebanese Kitchen (Phaidon Press, October 2012) by Salma Hage, here's a recipe for Election Day 2012.
Thought I would post it a day prior to it so you have time to gather the ingredients.
Shish Barak
From The Lebanese Kitchen (November 2012; $49.95; Hardcover)
Preparation time: 40-45 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Generous 2 cups (18 fl oz/500 ml) plain (natural) yogurt
1 egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup (2 oz/50 g) cold cooked rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley and mint, to serve
For the dough:
2 cups (8 oz/225 g) all-purpose (plain) flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the filling:
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 oz/175 g ground (minced) lamb
1 onion, finely diced
4 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
¼ teaspoon seven spices seasoning
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
First make the dough. Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl, add the oil and scant ½ cup (312 fl oz/100 m) water, and mix to a smooth soft dough. Wrap in plastic wrap (clingfilm) and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Make the filling. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the lamb, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes until evenly browned. Reduce the heat, add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until softened. Add
the pine nuts, mint, and seven spices seasoning and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, and let cool completely. To make the packages, roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to 1/8 inch/2 mm thick and stamp out 25 circles with a 3 ¼ inch/8 cm cutter. Take a circle and flatten it even more with your fingers. Add 1 teaspoon of the lamb mixture and fold over the edges to form packages.
Make sure no air is trapped inside the packages, otherwise they will break when boiled Repeat this until all the dough has been used. Put the yogurt and generous 2 cups (18 fl oz/500 ml) water into a large saucepan, add the egg, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Carefully add the parcels and cooked rice, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a small skillet or frying pan, add the garlic cloves, and cook, stirring frequently, for a few minutes until lightly golden. Add to the pan of packages. Serve immediately garnished with chopped parsley and mint
(* Recipe from 'The Lebanese Kitchen' by Salma Hage- Phaidon Press, October 22, 2012- reproduced with permission of the publisher, all rights reserved)