Kreatopita – Meat Pie (Gullash Bil-Lahma Mafruma)

Kreatopita – Meat Pie (Gullash Bil-Lahma Mafruma)

Kreatopita is a meat pie that can be eaten as a main course with a salad or as a snack. It tastes great when it’s cold and is perfect to take with you at work or at a picnic.

To make the homemade butter phyllo which is similar to puff pastry, see instructions here but if you want to make something with less fuss you may use ready made puff pastry as well.

1 box Phyllo with butter

Ingredients:

½ kilo ground beef
2 medium size leeks chopped in slices (optional)
3 spring onions
½ bunch of dill finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup graviera cheese (I always use mozzarella)


Directions

Prepare the phyllo as per instructions.

Wash leeks and cut them into 1 cm slices and boil them until tender, then strain them.

In a skillet heat the olive oil and sauté the onions, add leeks and then add the ground meat and sauté. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Add the dill and let it cool down.

Roll out the bigger phyllo and place in an oiled 28 cm baking tin. Add the meat mixture and sprinkle with the graviera cheese. Put the second phyllo on top. Take both phyllos which join them by pressing and giving them a nice shape. Score with a sharp knife (superficially) in 8 pieces and brush with olive oil.

Preheat oven at 180ο C and bake for about one hour until a golden colour is achieved.
Warning this recipe is not mine. I just saved them for my future needs when the time is needed by my family :)
For more recipes , click the link below :
http://kopiaste.org/2007/11/meat-pie-kreatopita/

Oven Chicken with Potatoes

I was lazy that day and I made this recipe altogether and place it in the oven .I used 1 whole chicken cut into 4 , that's 2 chest and 2 legs with potatoes and carrots .

Number of serving : 4 persons

• Preparation time : 10 minutes
• Cook time : 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (cut into 4)
2 big potatoes
2 big carrots
2 Tbsp Olive Oil/ butter
1 Big Onion
1 Tbsp dried Oregano
1 liter Tomato Juice
3-4 Bay leaves
salt and black pepper to taste

Wash the chicken good, cut into 4 pieces . Then in a baking pan , add altogether the chicken with the rest of the ingredients . Cook in the oven for at least 1 hour or until the chicken is cook and the tomato juice is almost absorbed. Serve with Rice and green salad.

Egyptian Rice with Tomatoes

In Egypt there are more variations on rice cooking . We usually cook this rice if Tilapia fish is the viand for the day :) , supported with the presence of green salads .  Here , I am sharing with you how we do the simple steps .

Ingredients:

4 cups of rice
3 tbsp butter or 1/4 cup oil
3 tomatoes (blended )
salt to taste
4 cups  water for the tomatoes

Method:

Wash the rice, drained and set aside.Prepare your blended tomatoes by pulsing them in a food processor for 3-4 times with water. Then strain and keep the juice aside and discard the sediments. In a medium pot,  pour the oil then fry 2-3  scoops of the rice. When it turned reddish brown, add all the other rice , salt and tomato juice . Bring to boil then simmer for 20 minutes or until you find the rice is cook already.

Sfiha Arabian Meat Filled Pastry

Muslims observe fasting every Ramadhan which coincides with non-specific month for English calendar. These cookies or desserts are commonly seen in arab tables. Warning  this recipe is not mine. I just save them for my future coming ramadhania recipes :) For people who are interested, pliz visit these links :  
For pic source: http://boisefoodieguild.blogspot.com/2010/08/sfiha-arabian-meat-filled-pastry.html
For recipe source: http://www.rockinrs.com/Living%20Cookbook/SfihaArabianMeatFilledPastry.htm

Sfiha Arabian Meat Filled Pastry

These open-faced Arab meat pies, a kind of small pizza, also called laḥm bi’l-'ajīn, are made with Arabic-styled dough. The filling is made with spiced lamb or beef, onions, spices, and tomatoes, and basic thing is tahina paste. The name "ṣfīḥa" comes from the root word meaning "to flatten".

Ingredients - Dough

6 c All-Purpose Flour
2 c Yogurt, plain and unsweetened
1 c Olive Oil
1 t Sea Salt
1½ t Active Dry Yeast
2 t Honey, use a light, floral honey. Tupelo is good.
½ c Water (105°F)
1 t Baking Powder

Ingredients - Filling

1 lbs Ground Beef or Ground Lamb
2 med Onions, chopped
3 med Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/3 c Tahini paste
2 t Lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 T Pomegranate paste or Molasses
3-4 T Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
1 T Sfeeha spices

Ingredients - Sfeeha Spices

1 t Allspice, ground
¼ t Nutmeg, fresh grated
¼ t Cloves, ground
½ t Cinnamon
½ t Black Pepper freshly ground
¼ t Cardamom

Procedure - Sheefa Spices

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients. To keep, place in an airtight container.

Procedure - Dough

Add the honey and dissolve to the water. Add yeast and let bloom, if necessary. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add olive oil and mix. Add yogurt and yeast. Add enough warm water to make a ball that holds together. Knead vigorously for 10 minutes. Rub 1 T Olive Oil in the bowl and roll the dough ball in it to cover the dough. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 – 1½ hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Procedure - Filling

Pre-heat the oven to 475°F. The dough should be ready to use.
Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, heat the oil, add the onion, stir for a few minutes, and then add the meat and stir well. Add salt and the spices and continue cooking until the onions are translucent and meat liquids dry.

Remove from heat, add tomatoes and mix. Add tahina, lemon juice, pomegranate paste, and salt to season. Taste and see if you need to add any more salt or lemon juice. Cut dough in to walnut-size ball. Arrange on oiled baking tray. Press them flat and leave a 1 inch space between one another cause the pastry will become bigger while baking.

Put 1 tablespoon meat filling over each round dough piece. Press down with spoon while spreading to assure meat sticks to the dough. Bake in preheated oven, on high temperature, 475 ºF (260C). Most important here to bake the pastries on top third level rack, not the middle one. Needs like 10-15 minutes maximum, or till the bottom of the pastry becomes light golden.

Serve warm with yogurt or green salad.

Tips

Fried pine nuts can be added to the meat filling if you wish. give a great crunch.

Pistachio Baklawa

  Muslims observe fasting every Ramadhan which coincides with non-specific month for English calendar. These cookies or desserts are commonly seen in arab tables. Warning  this recipe is not mine. I just save them for my future coming ramadhania recipes :) For people who are interested, pliz visit this link :  
http://foodstuffsrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/08/ramadan-desserts.html


Ingredients

For the syrup:
2 cups sugar or 400 g
1 cup water or 250 ml
1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the baklawa:
15 sheets filo pastry, thawed if frozen
¾ cup butter or 150 g, melted
¼ cup caster sugar or 50 g
1 cup ground almonds or 100 g, mixed with the caster sugar

For the filling:
2½ cups pistachio nuts or 375 g
1 tablespoon blossom water
2 tablespoons rose water
1 tin NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk or 397 g
3 slices toast bread, crust removed

Preparation

To prepare the syrup:

In a small pot, dissolve sugar in water and bring to boil then simmer until it becomes a syrup. Stir in lemon juice and set aside to cool.

To prepare the filling:

Combine all ingredients for the filling in a blender; beat until well combined and set aside.

To prepare the baklawa:

Grease a 40cm x 30cm oven tray, place 1 sheet of filo pastry, brush with butter and repeat the same with 5 more sheets.

Carefully spoon the filling all over the pastry.

Place 1 sheet of filo pastry to cover the filling, brush with butter and sprinkle with a little of almond mixture.

Top with another sheet. Sprinkle with little almond mixture and repeat method with the remaining sheets.

Brush the surface with melted butter, then cut parallel lines through pastry and filling to get diamond shaped pieces.

Bake in a 185°C preheated hot oven for 25-30 minutes or until it becomes golden color.

Pour the cool syrup over the baklawa as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Baklava with honey syrup recipe

Muslims observe fasting every Ramadhan which coincides with non-specific month for English calendar. These cookies or desserts are commonly seen in arab tables. Warning  this recipe is not mine. I just save them for my future coming ramadhania recipes :) For people who are interested, pliz visit this link :  
http://foodstuffsrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/08/ramadan-desserts.html


Ingredients (serves 8)

3/4 cup sesame seeds
4 cups (400g) walnuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
8 sheets filo pastry
100g butter, melted

Honey syrup
1 small lemon
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a shallow baking tray.

2. Place sesame seeds in a small, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook, shaking pan gently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden and toasted. Transfer to a bowl. Add walnuts and cinnamon. Mix well.

3. Brush 1 pastry sheet with butter. Fold in half crossways to form a rectangle.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup walnut mixture evenly over pastry. Starting from one long end, roll up into a log. Brush with butter. Place on baking tray. Repeat with remaining pastry, butter and walnut mixture. Bake baklava for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool on baking tray.

5. Make honey syrup: Peel 1 large strip rind from lemon. Remove the pith. Juice half the lemon. Place lemon rind, lemon juice, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and 2 cups water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10 minutes or until honey syrup thickens slightly.
6. Pour hot honey syrup over cold baklava. Stand for 30 minutes or until baklava has absorbed syrup. Cut each baklava diagonally into 3 pieces. Serve.

Kunafa Bil-Jibn Recipe

  Muslims observe fasting every Ramadhan which coincides with non-specific month for English calendar. These cookies or desserts are commonly seen in arab tables. Warning  this recipe is not mine. I just save them for my future coming ramadhania recipes :) For people who are interested, pliz visit this link :  
http://foodstuffsrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/08/ramadan-desserts.html


Preparation time : 4 hours
Cooking time : 35 minutes

Ingredients

1½ kg akawi cheese, cut into thin slices
1½ cups plain flour or 210 g
1½ cups fine semolina or 240 g
1 cup ghee or 210 g, softened
1 tin NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk or 397 g
1 tablespoon blossom water
3 cups sugar syrup

Preparation

Soak cheese in room temperature water for 4 hours to remove the salt (change water every 1 hour). Drain and wrap the cheese in kitchen towel for 1hour to absorb any remaining water.

In a bowl, mix plain flour, fine semolina and ghee (reserve 2 tablespoons of ghee) then add NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk and blossom water.

Pour this dough in an oven tray until it is 4 cm thick and put in a 150°C preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the dough is dry (stir the dough with a spoon every 5-6 minutes to be crumble).

Remove the dough from the oven and set aside to cool to a room temperature.

Blend the dough in a blender until its smooth then sift using a rough sieve.

Grease with the remaining ghee a 30cm round oven non-stick shallow tray. Sprinkle the mixture over and press well to flatten evenly all over the tray. Bake in a 200°C preheated oven (downside heat) for 12-15 minutes with turning the tray from time to time to all sides until all sides become golden brown in color. Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile place the cheese in a bowl over boiling water until cheese is melted (discard any extra water as it appears using kitchen tissues paper).

Pour the melted cheese to flatten evenly all over the cooked kunafa dough.

Keep it to rest for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges of the kunafa using a knife before turning it over into a suitable dish.

Pour 1 cup syrup over the kunafa. Slice and serve it hot with the remaining sugar syrup aside.

Serving tips : Garnish with pistachio and serve with kunafa kaak.