Shurpa – Lamb and Vegetable Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lb fresh lamb, preferably on the bone
• 1 large onion
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 potatoes, 4 medium potatoes are ideal. But I am trying to cut our potato intake to a minimum.
• 10 cups of plain water and 11 cups of pre-boiled water
• 1 cup of chickpeas previously soaked in water (optional)
• salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin

Directions:
Wash the lamb on the bone and place it in a large pot. Pour over 10 cups of water and bring the water to boil in medium heat. As soon as the water starts slightly boiling, discard the water. I do this in order to reduce the smell that lamb meat usually has and to clean out the meat to have a clear bullion.
Once you emptied the pot return it back to the stove and add 11 cups of pre-boiled water. Bring it to boil again but keep the heat on medium. Do not overboil the water. When the water starts boiling, more foam will appear on the surface of the soup. Using either a spoon or a spatula, remove the foam. The water of the soup should be clear. Keep on simmering the soup in medium-low heat. Cover the lid of the pot half way and cook the meat for at least 2 hours.
Clean all vegetables, wash them and cut them accordingly: cut the onions in half circles. Thinly slice tomato, cut carrots in smaller pieces, julienne green bell peppers, cut potatoes in half (if smaller) or in fours.
Open the lid of the pot and turn the heat to medium. When the meat is almost cooked, first add onions to the soup. Stir in the cumin, black pepper and salt as desired. Cook onions for about 15 minutes and add tomatoes. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.
When the tomato slices are nice and soft, add the remaining vegetables and cook until they are soft enough to be consumed (for approximately 20 minutes).
Place equal portions of vegetables to meat and pour over the soup. You can also shred the meat and get rid of the bony part. Serve with dills or cilantro. Viola!!!

Lahmacun

Ingredients for the dough:

• 1 tsp dry active yeast
• 0,5 tsp sugar
• 1+1/2 cup of warm water
• 4,5 cups of flour (you can use pain wheat)+
• Little oil to brush the dough

Ingredients for the topping:

• 12 oz of minced beef or lamb (I always use 85 % lean beef)
• 1 big onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp of butter
• 1,5 cups of fresh curly parsley
• 1 cup of fresh mint
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 tsp of chili pepper
• 1 jalapeno (optional) (I personally use pickled hot peppers instead of jalapenos)
• 1 tsp paprika (optional)
• 1 tsp of cumin (optional)
• salt according to your own taste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• little oil to brush the dough

10-12 lehmacuns

Directions for the dough: In a small bowl mix yeast and the sugar. Add 1/2 cup of warm water, stir well, close the lid (or cover with plate). You can leave the bowl on the counter but I usually put it somewhere warm. Warmness accelerates the process and better activates the yeast. Activating yeast is important to have a better rising dough. Keep the mixture warm for about 15 minutes without opening the lid. When the time is up, you should have a nice foamy liquid. Even if you do not, still keep it and make the dough. It will still work.
In a large bowl combine the remaining water, flour and the yeast mixture.
Mix everything well and kneed it into a nice soft, springy dough. It should be soft as your ear lobes. Add flour or water as needed. A well-kneaded dough will be much easier to work with later. Keep this in mind!
Coat the dough with just a little bit of oil, cover with damp cloth and leave it to rise in a warm place. I usually cover the bowl with the lid and bundle it up nicely to have a good volume dough. Give it a rest for around 1 hour before you take it out from the cover. When you do take the dough out, make sure it has doubled in size.
Once the time is up, open up the lid and punch the dough a little. Flour the working surface and drop the dough. Cut it into pieces smaller than a tennis ball but larger that a golf ball. You should have about 10-12 pieces.
Roll each one and place on the floured surface. Cover with a damp cloth and let it stand until your topping is ready (20 min). Turn the oven on and keep it at 420 F.

Directions for the topping:
Wash the greens well and chop them nicely. I usually wash and soak parsley with mint in water prior to using them. This way all the dirt remains in the water.
Cut the onion and garlic in pieces, put the pieces into a chopper and chop until nicely minced.
Heat the skillet in medium-high, melt the butter, add onion+garlic mixture, saute for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low, close the lid and simmer for 2 more minutes. Take the skillet off the burner and cool the onion mixture.
Peel the skin off tomato and cut it to very small pieces. A lot of people like to seed the tomatoes. I don’t like it, since it also removes all the juice from the tomato. But if you feel like seeding the tomato, go ahead.
Have all the ingredients in one big bowl. At this point, add chili pepper, salt, cumin, lemon juice, paprika, chopped jalapenos (or chopped pickled hot peppers) and mix everything very well. I am stressing this – the ingredients MUST be well mixed!
The dough is well rested at this point. Take one by one and roll into a round, flat circle or an oval measuring up to 5 mm in height. I like my Lahmacuns very thin. This way they come out a little crispy. My husband likes them much softer so I make his portion a little thicker but no more than 5-8 mm.
Some use pizza stones to bake Lahmacuns. While it is a good alternative for the original brick ovens, in my opinion, it is not very practical. So, I suggest using regular baking sheets. Sprinkle some non-fat cooking spray (or just a little oil will work), place rolled dough on the sheet, slightly brush with some olive oil (canola oil works too) top up with 2 Tbsp of the ready topping. Spread the topping evenly and very thinly.
I place 2 doughs in one regular 11″x17″ size baking sheet. If you have bigger sheets and want to use those, you are more than welcome to do so. 3 baking sheets are enough to keep the whole process going pretty fast. Put two baking sheets in the oven at a time. The top one usually gets baked faster. When you take the ready batch out, rotate the bottom one to the top and place a new batch on the lower rack.
The oven should remain at 420F – not too high and not too low. Since you are going to be constantly opening the oven, the temperature ideally will stay at about 370F. Cooked Lahmacuns are crispy at the ends and softer in the middle. Corners usually get nicely tanned. Take them off the baking sheet to a wider container and cover with a towel until you are done with every single one of them. Humidity under the towel will soften Lahmacuns, making it very easy for you to roll them around the fresh ingredients you might want to use.
Pace yourself, the process is a little overwhelming. But the end result is worth every minute of your time in the kitchen. We really enjoy Lahmacuns rolled around onions, some fresh curly parsley and hand-squeezed lemon juice.

Circassian Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 full chicken breasts (both halves)
• 4 tablespoons olive or walnut oil
• 4 teaspoons paprika
• 1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
• 3 chopped garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 slices of bread, crusts removed
• 1 quart chicken stock
• Salt
• Black pepper
• The juice of a lemon

Method

1 Bring the chicken stock to a simmer and add the chicken breasts. Add some water if there is not enough liquid to cover the meat. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat.
2 Meanwhile, heat the olive or walnut oil in a small pot over low heat and add the paprika. Stir well to combine. Heat until you can smell the aroma of the paprika, then turn off the heat.
3 Tear the bread into chunks and put into a bowl. Ladle out about a cup or two of the chicken broth and pour it over the bread.
4 Set aside ½ cup of walnuts and put in a bowl with the green onions and 1 tablespoon of the parsley.
5 Put the rest of the walnuts into a food processor with the garlic, the cayenne, about a teaspoon of salt, the rest of the parsley and the soaked bread. Buzz to make a thick, relatively chunky paste. If it needs a bit more chicken broth to loosen up, add some a tablespoon at a time.
6 Stir the paprika-oil, then pour it into the food processor and buzz to combine. Taste the mixture to see if it needs salt.
7 Pull the skin off the chicken breasts and tear the meat into shreds. Put it in the bowl with the unchopped walnuts, green onions and such.
8 Add the walnut-paprika paste from the food processor to the bowl and stir gently to combine everything thoroughly. Add black pepper and lemon juice to taste and stir one more time to combine.
Yield: Serves 4-6.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips
• Salt
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp Peanut, grapeseed or canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 head of iceberg lettuce or Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/2 sweet bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 3-4 scallions, sliced
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• Chow mein noodles, to taste (skip for gluten-free option)

Dressing:

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce for gluten-free option)
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 1/4 cup peanut, grapeseed or canola oil

Method

1 Heat both oils over high heat in a large saute pan for 1 minute, then add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle chicken strips with a little salt and add them to the pan. Stir-fry the chicken over high heat until cooked through, 3-6 minutes depending on how hot your burner gets. Drain and set aside to cool.
2 In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Adjust to taste. In a large bowl, toss the chicken and salad ingredients together. Just before serving, toss with dressin and top with the chow mein noodles.
Yield: Serves 4-6.

Bulgur Wheat and Shrimp Salad

1 cup bulgur wheat

3 cups water

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1 carrot, coarsely grated

• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 can (8 ounces) baby corn, sliced into rounds
• 1/2 cucumber, diced
• 7 ounces peeled cooked shrimp

Lime and chilli dressing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried chilies
• Salt and pepper to taste

1

Put the bulgur wheat in a saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the bulgur is tender and all of the water has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Spread in a flat dish and allow to cool slightly.

2

Combine the onion, carrot, tomato, corn, cucumber, and shrimp in a large salad bowl. Add the bulgur and stir together.

3

For the dressing, place the oil, lime juice, garlic, and chilies in a small bowl; add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk with a fork. Stir the dressing into the salad, tossing to coat all the ingredients evenly. Cover the salad and keep it in the refrigerator if not serving immediately. Serves 4.

Rustic Grilled Vegetable and Rigatoni Salad

8 ounces rigatoni

1 large red pepper, seeded and halved

2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 medium eggplant, trimmed and sliced lengthways

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped capers

1 large garlic clove, crushed (optional)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

1

Cook the rigatoni in boiling water for 10 to 12 minutes, or according to package directions, until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold running water, then drain thoroughly and set aside to cool.

2

Preheat the broiler or a grill to high. Broil or grill the pepper halves, skin side up, until blistered and blackened, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in a plastic zippered bag, then leave until cool enough to handle.

3

Broil or grill the tomatoes and eggplant for about 5 minutes. Turn the vegetables so that they cook evenly, and remove the pieces as they are ready. Place the tomato wedges in a large salad bowl. Set the eggplant slices aside on a plate to cool slightly.

4

Cut the eggplant slices into 1-inch strips and add to the tomatoes. Peel the peppers and cut them into 1-inch strips, then add to the salad bowl. Mix in the pasta.

5

In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar or lemon juice with the olive oil, basil, capers, garlic, if using, and Parmesan cheese. Lightly toss this dressing into the salad. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set the salad aside to marinate for about 30 minutes so that the flavors can infuse before serving.

Chicken Chow mein

• a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½–1 fresh red chilli, to your taste
• 1 large skinless chicken breast, preferably
free-range or organic
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 spring onions
• a small bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 bok choi
optional: 4 shiitake mushrooms
• 100g (2 bundles) medium egg noodles
• groundnut oil
• 1 heaped teaspoon cornflour
• 1 x 220g tin of water chestnuts
• 2–3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 small lime

To prepare your stir-fry
• Put a large pan of water on to boil
• Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic
• Finely slice the chilli
• Slice the chicken into finger-sized strips and lightly season with salt and pepper
• Cut the ends off your spring onions and finely slice
• Pick the coriander leaves and put to one side, and finely chop the coriander stalks
• Halve the bok choi lengthways
• If using the mushrooms, either tear into pieces or leave whole
 
To cook your stir-fry
• Preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and once it’s very, very hot add a good lug of groundnut oil and swirl it around
• Stir in the chicken strips and cook for a couple of minutes, until the chicken browns slightly
• Add the ginger, garlic, chilli, coriander stalks, mushrooms (if using) and half the spring onions
• Stir-fry for 30 seconds, keeping everything moving round the wok quickly
• Add your noodles and bok choi to the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, no longer
• Meanwhile, add the cornflour, water chestnuts and their water to the wok and give it another good shake to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom
• Remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• Halve the lime, squeeze the juice of one half into the pan and mix well
• Drain the noodles and bok choi in a colander over a bowl, reserving a little of the cooking water
• Stir in the noodles and bok choi, with a little of the cooking water to loosen if necessary, and mix well
• Have a taste and season with more soy sauce if needed