Its been more than a year since I last posted! Apologies to those of you that have been following and must have given up on me by now! I promise that I’m still faithful to my kitchen and to my cooking, even if sometimes “life” does get in the way. I am now left with a backlog of pictures and recipes cooked throughout the year, and frankly, I’m at a total loss as to which to post and when. So lets just start with the most recent prepared just a few days ago.

The holiday season was quite busy this year. It so happens that a lot of the expats on our island, have decided to stay put this winter, so there was a fury of parties flying back and forth, and an over abundance of super delicious food, and fantastic company.

This past Thursday we had a few friends over, for an overdue and long promised middle-eastern meal.

We started with a spread of various appetizers: hummus, homemade labneh, mehamara (my style), and tabouleh. All with arabic bread ofcourse.

I then served one central dish: Maklouba Palestinian style.

Its basically chicken, eggplant, zucchini, and rice. Each cooked separately, then assembled in layers to be presented in one dish, which gets turned over (upside down) in the last minute. Hence the name Maklouba, which in Arabic means upside down.

A bit of an ambitious choice on my part considering that I’m a one woman kitchen! Also considering that “this” one woman does not have the same energy as in the past, and tends to tire somewhat faster these days. But with some organization it can definitely be undertaken, and believe me it will be worth the effort as this is one dish that is meant to impress!!!

There are many versions of Maklouba out there: Palestinian, Syrian, or Lebanese. Some with lamb, some with ground beef, some with chicken, but all with vegetables and with rice. I happen to like this one.

Oh and I forgot: for dessert I made a Baklava with pistachio nuts, which was a great success. Recipe to follow later today or tomorrow.

Now back to the Maklouba!

Ingredients:

Chicken:

2 double chicken breasts (meaning 4 individual breasts cut horizontally into two each, giving a total of 8 relatively medium pieces)

2 chicken legs (w/bones) separate drum sticks from thighs

marinade mix:

½ a tsp of each of the following spices: turmeric, cumin, coriander, allspice, clove, paprika, salt, and juice of one lemon

rub all over the chicken pieces, cover, and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

1 large onion cut into thin wedges

Vegetables:

4 medium eggplants sliced length wise 1cm thick

4 medium zucchini sliced length wise 1cm thick

2 large onions sliced into thickish wedges

2 large tomatoes peeled and sliced 1cm thick

Rice:

2 cups rice

2 cups boiling water

1 tsps turmeric

salt

mix together in a bowl and set aside till ready to use

Method:

Chicken:

Brown the chicken pieces in a bit of olive oil in a large pan till lightly coloured on both sides

remove from pan and set aside

put the onion wedges in the same pan and saute till soft-ish

put the chicken back in the pan and deglaze with some white wine

add water (a little at a time in order to roast and not boil)

cover the pan and simmer till the chicken is tender and there is enough gravy in the pan to use for later

remove the chicken and set aside till ready to use

adjust the gravy: you will need about 2 cups worth, so you may need to add some water to it, probably a soup cube as well, and bring to the boil once

set that aside as well

P.S. Up to this point the chicken can be prepared the day before.

 

Vegetables:

line a couple of oven trays with parchment paper

oil the paper and sprinkle some sea salt on it

place the eggplant slices next to one another (you may need to use both trays to hold all the eggplant)

brush the top of the slices with olive oil, and sprinkle with a bit more sea salt

bake in preheated oven, set on max, with fan on

third shelf and above it

switch trays half way through

check frequently on colour. Should be slightly coloured (not brown!)

repeat above procedure with the zucchini slices (oiling & salting the parchment paper first, then oiling & salting the zucchini slices)

if there is enough room in one of the trays, place the onion wedges as well

repeat as above until slightly coloured (the zucchini will need a lot less time than the eggplant, so remember to check on it frequently

Assembling:

you will need a large heavy bottom pan with a lid

 

start assembling your ingredients in the following order to build up the layers of your Maklouba

tomato slices

chicken pieces

half the eggplant slices

half the onion

half the zucchini slices

the pre-soaked rice

the remaining eggplant

the remaining onions

the remaining zucchini

pour the gravy from the chicken on top

place a flat dish to keep everything in place

cover the pan and simmer for 40 mns or until rice is cooked

Test rice for done-ness. Remove pan from heat and keep covered (about 20-30mns) till ready to serve.

Now the tricky part: Remove the lid, place a large round serving dish on top of the pan, hold from both sides, and flip over and into the serving dish.

Enjoy!