• chick peas- 250 gms
• Tahina – 40-50 gms ..look for the ones from lebanon, habibi ibrahim will be most upset if its an israeli tahina paste, and not kanater abu naoum or mounir bissat from good old lebanon.
• garlic- 2-3 cloves peeled
• lemon juice- from1 lemon . alternatively you can use a citric acid dissolved in water.
• soda bicarb- 1/4 tsp to soak the chickpeas.
• salt- to taste.

method.

soak the chickpeas overnight with soda bicarb and plenty of water. the next day the soaking and soda will have softened the skins of the chickpeas.

these then should be drained and washed very thoroughly. Put it with some fresh water and cook, for really very long. Chef ibrahim hadla, would famously take one chickpea and throw it on the wall. it should be cooked so much that it will stick to the wall.

after they are cooked till really soft and mushy. drain and wash these very well in water.let them soak in a bowl of cold water and let the skins float on top.take these skins off and discard.

then you need a good food processor.like a food chopper, moulinex or any similar ones. at work we used one called robot coupe, which is the mercedes benz of food processors. start to blend .also add a few crushed ice cubes to the mix or really chilled water about 20 mls or so..

this will make the mixture very light and airy and fluffy.add in the tahina and garlic,salt and lemon juice.it should be slightly garlickly , and lemony, but most importantly very very creamy and smooth.

arrange in a flat- ish sort of dish nd then top it with some fruity good quality olive oil, and enjoy with pita bread.

this can be topped with toasted pine nuts or small cubes of lamb/ beef sauteed with onions garlic and some lemon juice as well.

Sahten as they say in arabic, or Bon appetit.

Dedicated to le petit fleur de liban!!!! god how much we laughed when chef ibrahim used to say that.

you will need

1. lamb mince- 200 gms
2. onion chopped- 1 no / 150 gms
3. garlic- 2-3 cloves chopped
4. bayleaf-1 no
5. baharat powder- 1/2 teaspoon ( you can make this one at home and use for shawarma etc, needs cinnamon, cloves, some green cardamom  and some pepper, quite strong on the cloves)
6. cinnamon powder as well again -1//4 tsp
7. black pepper powder-1/4 tsp
8. Gum arabic/ gundar/ gond- 1/2 tsp- pounded with some rock salt to a fine powder
9. Basmati rice- 250 gms soaked in cold water and washed well.
10. Saffron strands- 8-10
11. oil+Butter mix-25 ml

Process

• heat oil and add onions and garlic, lightly brown and then add the mince, which has to be really well browned and caramelised.
• then add the spice powders and stir fry even more. add bayleaf and the rice and continue to stir fry till the rice is well coated with the mince and the oil . that will make the rice grains quite separate and nice when the mix has cooked.add in the gum arabic powder.
• Add in enough hot stock or water (you can add some chicken stock powder to cheat) to cover the rice and a little more still.
• Top with the saffron which you must have soaked in a little water.(what you dint know that?.Then get out of here).
• cover with a lid for about 15 minutes on a low heat .
• Serve with roasted lamb as an accompaniment.you can top the rice with almonds, cashew, pistachio ..

yes, came out pretty good, even tho, we used a not so great fish.but this recipe is great for cooking even a not so great fish.the following recipe will serve 4 , if served on its own with some salad and rice, or upto 10 if u have a huge spread .

1. Whole fish – 1kg cleaned , and gutted , scaled, and washed with cold water. ideally use a fish like snapper, or grouper. but, any fish shld work. fresh is best, and minimal amt of bones ideal.if u are fussed abt bones, thenuse fillets, but just not the same.
2. fresh lemon-1 nos
3. onions peeled- 250 gms
4. bell peppers -150 gms or abt 1 good sized one.
5. chopped tomatoes – 400 gms can, or fresh abt 750 gms.
6. cumin pdr- abt 10 gms
7. coriander pdr- abt 20 gms
8. olive oil- pomace abt 20 gms, aand extra virgin abt 10 gms
9. fresh garlic – lots of it. atleast 35- 40 gms
10. fresh flat leaf parsley- lots.
11. fresh coriander – lots
12. salt and peppper to taste
13. roasted or fried pine nuts- to garnish, but not essential, just adds to the stuff clogging up ur arteries, and makes the fish even more tasty.

• umm now make the sauce first.
• saute chopped onions, garlic, in pomace, till lightly borwned. then add the bell peppers,cumin, coriander pdr, and tomatoes.
• simmer till thick,and pizza sauce consistency.
• pat fish dry, squeeze lemon, and salt and pepper on it.
• put in deep roasting pan, or ovenabale container ,and pour the sauce over the fish.
• cook at 350 deg F or 160 C, till half done.
• sprinkle with lots of fresh herbs , chopped, and the pine nuts,a nd the extra virgin olive oil
• finish to cook in the oven.
• serve with steamed rice, saffron rice, cuban bread, baguette, whatever u want to soak….up the oily rich sauce
• TAA DDAAA..

• heat  the pomace olive oil, add garlic, onions, and saute saute add tomato paste and chili flakes and  hold. now 2 ways to go ahead.
• either you roast the vegeables in an oven and add or u blanch in oil, and add, all depends on which direction yr heart decides to take, burst the arteries, or not soo much.oh the tomatoes dont fry pls.
• then add some stock to the sauteed mix and simmer with the vegetables.add the saffron.hold.
• heat some more stock up and add the couscous. and some extra virgin olive oil this time. add just enough to cover up the cous cous, and let it soak in the stock. take off the fire and over and keep. stir through with a fork, and hope that you haven’t over cooked it.
• serve the cous cous with the vegetables on the side the juice of the vegetables should be nice and reddish , and little bit oily  u know just luscious..yeah yeah thats the way forward.