Betingan Makdous Food

BETINGAN MAKDOUS (STUFFED AUBERGINE PICKLE IN OLIVE OIL)

Steps:

• Wipe clean the aubergines.
• Poach aubergines in salted water for about 15 minutes until soft and then set aside to cool.
• Once cool, squeeze very gently to get rid of the water.
• To make the stuffing, mix the chopped walnuts, chopped garlic and dry chilli flakes together and season with salt and pepper.
• Cut a slit lengthwise down the middle of each aubergine but not right through, leaving the ends so as to form a pocket.
• Stuff with the walnut mixture.
• Pack the aubergines stem ends up in a completely sterile glass jar with a firm seal and cover with olive oil from time to time as you pack in the layers of aubergines.
• Make sure the aubergines are submerged in oil.
• Keep refrigerated until rich flavour develops, for about a week before serving.
• This will keep for a month in a refrigerator.

ARTICHOKE HEARTS IN OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Cube the onions, potatoes and the carrots (1/4 inch thick).
• Next, cut out artichoke hearts. Here is a great way to do it: http://localfoods.about.com/od/preparationtips/ss/ArtichokeHearts.htm. It has pictures as well. Remember to rub the artichoke heart with lemon to prevent it from turning brown.
• In a pan sweat the onions in olive oil, then add other vegetables (including the artichoke hearts). Add salt and fry in low heat 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Pour water over the vegetables (enough to cover) and let it cook in low heat till the vegetables are all soft (15 minutes).
• Once cooked put the artichoke hearts on a plate and fill the centers with the vegetables. Cover the top with a piece of fresh dill weed.
• Serve cold.

FATTET AL BETINGAN MAHSHI

Steps:

• For the eggplant stuffing, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet. Put in the meat and cook for about 10 minutes, adding salt, pepper, cinnamon, and allspice, and crushing the meat with a fork and turning it over until it is cooked and the liquid has evaporated.
• In a small skillet, fry the pine nuts in a drop of oil, shaking the pan to brown them lightly all over. Stir half the pine nuts into the meat.
• Wash and dry the eggplants and hollow them out with a corer (see page 315). Fill them with the meat-and-pine-nut mixture. (Use the eggplant flesh for another dish.)
• Make the tomato sauce in a wide pan or baking pan. Put in the tomatoes with the sugar, a little salt and pepper, and, if you like, the pomegranate concentrate. Stir well and simmer for 5 minutes. Put in the eggplants, and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, or until the eggplants are very soft, turning them over once.
• Open out the pita breads, cutting around them with scissors or a serrated knife, and separating them into halves. Toast them under the broiler until they are crisp and lightly browned.
• Mix the yogurt with the garlic, if using.
• Just before serving, assemble the different components in a wide and deep serving dish. Break the toast into small pieces with your hands into the bottom of the dish. Take the eggplants out of the tomato sauce, and pour the tomato sauce over the toast, which will become soft and bloated. Pour the yogurt all over, and arrange the stuffed eggplants on top. Then sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts.
• Instead of cooking the eggplants in the tomato sauce, fry them in enough medium-hot oil to half-cover them, turning to cook them all over. The skins (there is no bare flesh) stop them from absorbing the oil. Lift them out and drain on paper towels.
• Mix 2 tablespoons tahina paste with the yogurt.

GARLIC ROASTED GRAPE TOMATOES IN OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400*F.
• In a roasting pan, toss the tomatoes with the garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoons of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
• Roast the tomatoes for about 20 minutes, until they burst and their skins begin to shrivel, stirring once halfway through.
• Pour the remaining 2/3 cup olive oil into a medium bowl; crush the rosemary and oregano between your fingers and submerge in the oil.
• Add the tomatoes and their juices, stir gently, and let stand for 30 minutes before using.
• Store remainder in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving.