Traditionally, our family has hosted a large come and go dinner on Christmas Eve immediately after our church service. There is normally a theme for the dinner that includes costumes, small but silly gifts and special decor. The menu is always centered around the theme. One year we chose Greek and everyone circled in our kitchen to sing the Oppah! song. It was loads of fun, and Middle Eastern food is delicious, healthy, and relatively easy to prepare. The menu we selected was perfect to feed a large crowd with varied tastes. Who doesn’t love shawarma?
Cissy’s Best Hummus
Yes, you can buy it and I love many store brands but this recipe from, Cissy Anklam, is out of this world. I never believed that boiling your own chickpeas would make a difference but it really does. Give it a try.
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, two large lemons
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finally minced
1 cup fresh tahini paste (If it smells of rancid oil, you need to get a fresh jar.)
3 teaspoons ground cumin
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Soak the chickpeas overnight night in water. Be sure that are covered by about 4 inches and add a large pinch of salt. Skim off or remove any chickpea skins once soaked. The following day drain chickpeas and put them in a large pot, add enough water to cover by at least 4 inches. Add baking soda and 2 teaspoons of the salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer until the chickpeas are very soft. It may take 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain chickpeas once they are very soft. Reserve about a fourth a cup of whole chickpeas for garnish.
Combine the rest of the chickpeas while they are still warm in the bowl of a food processor. Blend with the lemon juice, garlic, and remaining 1 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let mixture sit for a few minutes for the salt to dissolve and the flavors to develop. Then add in the tahini paste, and the cumin. Process a few minutes until a thick paste forms. With the machine running, slowly add in a few tablespoons of the ice water until a smooth paste forms. Add in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until mixture looks silky.
Store hummus in the refrigerator or spread hummus onto a large flat plate drizzle with olive oil and garnish with paprika for dusting and a few of the whole chickpeas.
Baba Ghanoush
Baba Ghanoush is simply described as hummus using grilled or roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas. We used to feed it to my daughter when she was a toddler. She would gobble it up by the plateful until she was old enough to realized that it was eggplant. It took years to get her to eat it again.
One of the employees at a local Mediterranean restaurant said that they always leave a little bit of the chard eggplant skin in the mix when they make their dip to give it a little smoky flavor. I think that is an absolutely delicious addition.
1 large eggplant, pricked several times with a fork.
1/4 cup fresh tahini paste
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Grill eggplant on all sides until it has many black spots and blisters on the flesh and feels very soft. Once eggplant is thoroughly cooked, transfer it to a baking sheet to cool until it is able to be handled. Peel and mash all pulp and seeds. Feel free to include a little bit of a charred skin for a smoky flavor.
Mix remaining ingredients in the food processor and allow to rest at least an hour before serving. The flavors improve with time.
Gyro Meatloaf
My son is a devoted Kiefer’s fanatic and he would eat a gyro every day of the week if allowed. Years ago, I found a recipe for gyro meat and this is as close as I could get to his favorite.
1 medium onion that has been very finely chopped in a food processor and allowed to drain on a paper towel
2 pounds ground lamb (We prefer a combination of 1 pound ground lamb and 1-pound lean ground beef)
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Once onion has thoroughly drained and most of the moisture has been removed. Combine all ingredients and shape into a loaf. Bake in a 350° oven for about an hour or until the mixture reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees. Allow gyro to rest a few minutes before thinly slicing.
Tabbouleh
I realize that there are a lot of instant mixes for tabbouli on the shelves, but this is a super easy recipe and the fresh flavors cannot be beaten. Give it a try and see if you like it better than your store-bought variety.
1 cup bulgur wheat
1 1/2 cup boiling water
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup good olive oil
3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 bunch green onions, thoroughly minced
About 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves thoroughly chopped
1 cup fresh parsley, thoroughly chopped
1 cucumber, unpeeled but seeded and cut medium diced (optional)
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in quarters or half
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine wheat, boiling water, lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir and allow to stand at room temperature for about an hour. Once all the water has been absorbed, fluff gently and mix in the green onions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, two additional teaspoons of salt and the pepper. Mix well, season to taste and serve immediately. Maybe refrigerated at this point.
Tzatziki Sauce
This cool cucumber dip is such a good contrast on a gyro. It is also a great change of pace on an occasional old fashion tomato sandwich.
2 cups plain Greek yogurt, drained as much as possible
1 cucumber, peeled, grated, and allowed to drain on paper towels
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
juice of one lemon
1tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon minced fresh dill, oregano, mint, or any combination
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Removing as much of the liquid as possible from the cucumber. Mix all ingredients and add additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Best made several hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.
Feta and Oregano Bread
For our Christmas party, we baked these in small loaf pans and sent them home as our party favors along with a small jar of olives and other Mediterranean treats.
2 cups of bread flour
2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon oregano, dried or fresh
3/4 cup warm water
1 ½ teaspoon yeast
½ teaspoon sugar
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
In a small measuring cup combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow yeast to activate and foam. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine flour, garlic powder, salt, honey, olive oil and oregano. Mix well. Add in yeast mixture and knead until dough becomes elastic, about five minutes. Add additional flour if dough is too wet. Combine feta into the dough and then place the dough ball into a bowl that has been coated with a little olive oil. Cover and allow to rise until double in size, about an hour.
After rising, push dough down and knead it on a floured surface. Form into a loaf and place in a well-greased loaf pan brush with olive oil. Allow to rise again for about an hour. Bake in a preheated for the degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove an allowed to cool before slicing
Feta dressing
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or mayonnaise
4 oz. or about 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 clove garlic, peeled and finally minced, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate several hours before you eat.
Chicken or Steak Greek Marinade
for Shawarma
Equal parts good olive oil mixed with good red wine vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon garlic salt, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, and 1 tablespoon dried rosemary. Makes together and pour over thinly slice pieces of chicken or London broil steak. Allow to marinate for at least four hours. Once your meat is marinated, you can sauté in a pan, grill until medium rare, or it is even better if you stack the thin slices on a vertical rotisserie cooker and cook for about 45 minutes.
Heat the reserved marinade in the microwave or in a sauté pan until it reaches a rolling boil and boil for about one minute. Once the meat is cooked pour the marinade back over it and use it as a dipping sauce.
*For our Christmas party, I absolutely insisted that we purchase a vertical rotisserie cooker. I found a cheap one on eBay thinking that I would probably use it once or twice and then send it to our church garage sale. It is become a regular appliance in our kitchen and I use it to make this quick and easy dinner.
Baklava
Baklava has to be one of the most indulgent desserts on the planet. For this particular celebration, family member Suzi Foote made a homemade baklava that was the best I’ve ever tasted. She even dried her own fruit for the dish. While it was spectacular, that level of cooking might not be a possibility for everyone. Baklava is a labor of love and takes some time but is always worth the effort.
However, my good friend Stacey Hight, made these super simple Baklava cups and I think they were perfectly delicious.
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice (from 1/2 small lemon)
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 packages (15 count, each) Mini Fillo Shells, frozen
2 cups nuts (I used 1 1/2 cups walnuts and 1/2 cup salted pistachios)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Melted chocolate chips to drizzle for garnish, optional
How to Make Baklava Cups:
Preheat Oven to 350˚F. In a small saucepan, combine syrup ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1/3 cup water and 1/4 cup honey. Bring to a boil over med/high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to low and keep at a light boil for 4 minutes without stirring. Remove syrup from heat and let cool at room temperature while preparing baklava cups.
For nut mixture:
In a food processor, pulse together 2 cups of nuts until coarsely chopped then transfer to a medium mixing bowl and stir in 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Add 3 Tablespoon melted butter and stir to combine.
Arrange 30 mini frozen phyllo cups on a rimmed baking sheet and divide nut mixture evenly between the cups (about 2 teaspoons per cup), patting down the tops with your fingertips. Bake for 10 minutes at 350˚F.
Once mini baklava cups are baked, immediately spoon cooled syrup over the nuts, adding 1 teaspoon to each one to let the syrup soak in then repeating with another 1/2 teaspoon of syrup until all of the syrup is used. Let rest at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight for the flavors to meld and the cups to soften.
Drizzle with chocolate, if desired and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Date Nut Bars or Balls
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 8-ounce container of chopped dates
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup chopped pecans
powdered sugar
In a large saucepan, melt butter on low heat. Add sugar and stir until well blended. Add dates and stir over medium heat until dates are dissolved and mixture is somewhat smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and add in rice cereal, vanilla, and chopped pecans. Stir well until blended.
At this point, you can form mixture into small balls and roll in powder sugar or you can spread mixture into a greased 9 x 13” pan, press to make and even thickness. Allow to cool and cut into 1-inch squares. Toss with powdered sugar.
