All posts tagged: recipe

The Famous Labneh Tart

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You might have tried it or even seen it! I love serving the Labneh Tart as a starter for a typical Lebanese lunch with a twist. This tart translates my vision of modernity & tradition. First, it has what I love the most: “Labneh” and not any ordinary one, the Goat Labneh. Second, it has this fine art in the pastry with the “Pate Brisee”. The best part is that you get to top it with whatever you feel like tasting and drawing (or simply what’s left in the fridge). My trick is to have circular drawings so that each slice has a bit of everything! Ingredients: Tart brisee 300g Goat Labneh (I love using “Tanayel Les Fermes” or “Goodies” from Lebanon) 20ml Cooking Cream 1/2 White Onion Sumac, Salt, Pepper Possible Toppings: Black Olives Chopped Mint or Zaatar Mixture Sun-dried Tomatoes Thinly sliced Radish Sliced Spring Onions You can work the labneh mixture while the Pate Brisee is baking in the oven (refer to Pate Brisee recipe). 1. Put the onion in the mixer with 1/2 tsp of sumac, salt and pepper, …

The Tart Edition (2): Tarte Brisee

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Here it is! basic unsweetened pie crust, used for savory pies and salted tarts.

I just love this pie crust because I know it can’t get wrong with the topping. Besides, I get to have it in the freezer on standby for any occasion.

Now that it is summer and we need lots of freshness in our menus, I am certainly doing couple of those for my gatherings.

How to Zoodles (Zucchini noodles)

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I am back to Zoodle! It’s been a while I didn’t share any recipe and for my come back I am sharing my latest kitshy dish: the Zoodles, aka Zucchini noodles. A perfect gluten free and vegan recipe, refreshing for summer, light for the tummy and takes 10 minutes to be ready thanks to the spiral slicer “spiralizer”. I found this handy spiralizer at Crate & Barrel Dubai, press on the link for more details. Ingredients: For 2 servings (as a starter) 3 Zuchinis Bunch of cherry tomatoes 1 tbsp Olive Oil 1 tsp Basic Pesto Parmesan (optional) 1. Spiralize the zucchinis. 2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves. 3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the noodles with the tomatoes for a few minutes (keep it ardent). 4. Stir in the pesto and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until well incorporated. 5. To serve, dish up zoodles and top with basil leaves and shaved parmesan if you are not vegan! Check out my video with Arabic subtitles on …

Great Cappuccino Topping

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It’s me myself and my awesome cappuccino! Indulging mornings or afternoons need a savory crunchy cappuccino.This Praline topping has it all to make a major difference in the way you serve a latte or a cappuccino (anything that has a sumptuous mousse). It can be refrigerated for at least a month if it lasts that long 😉 Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup mixed nuts or just almonds 1. Heat the sugar over high heat to dissolve it by just tilting the pan carefully to move it around until color starts to change into caramel. 2. Quickly add the nuts and swirl them in the pan to coat them. 3. Transfer the praline to an oiled baking tray and let it cool for an 1 hour before breaking it. Tip: I’ve put it in plastic bag and smash the praline pieces with a rolling pin to get a dusty praline. Enjoy your Coffee. The Urban Apron

Carrot Cake

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I just love carrot cakes or maybe it is just the cream cheese frosting. This weekend was more about resting and indulging comfort food so I made the carrot cake with a ginger cream cheese frosting for a change and decorated the cake with pecans instead of adding them to the batter. I tried several recipes and came to this final one if you want a fluffy cake. As usual, I try to cut down as much as possible on sugar, I even tried to replace it with Agave syrup but the batter will get burnt quickly. Besides, it is always better to replace the vegetable oil with coconut oil or make it half half. Ingredients: 400g all purpose flour 3 large eggs at room temperature 300g vegetable oil OR 150g vegetable oil & 150g coconut oil 300g sugar 2 teaspoons of baking soda 2 teaspoons of baking powder 1 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg 3 cups of coarsely grated carrots 1/2 cup of chopped pecans (optional) Frosting: 450g cream cheese, at …

Baked Salmon & Honey Mustard

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Let me introduce you to my new favorite marinade, the Honey Mustard. It is simply divine on any meat, especially when you do it yourself (no need anymore to buy the supermarket sachets). I was happy to use the honey I brought from my home country, Lebanon. I filled my honey pantry supplies with sample jars from a boutique dedicated to honey: L’Atelier du Miel, known to be distinguished by its honey production method: they move the beehives all year long to follow the blossoming seasons, so that the bees are fed only on nectar of flowers and honeydew of trees. In fact, I tried the Thorns honey (Epines & fleurs d’été) for its intense taste of freshness that would go well with ginger and salmon. Ingredients: 4 Salmon Filets 2 tbs Olive oil 1 tbs grated Ginger 1 tbs Honey 2 tbs Mustard seed (Dijon a l’ancienne) Kosher Salt & Pepper – Combine the marinade ingredients: oil, ginger, honey and mustard. Keep some marinade sauce on the side to brush the salmon filets before serving. – Pour the marinade on the salmon filets in a zip-lock bag and …

Basil Pesto

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Tonight is Basil night with my homemade pesto! Doing the pesto at home has a really different taste than buying bottled ones. It’s beautiful over pasta or gnocchi topped with pine nuts and even better drizzled over some steamed veggies for a healthy mid week dinner. Ingredients: 1 cup basil leaves 1 garlic clove 2 tsp toasted pine nuts 1 tsp coarse salt ½ tsp pepper 2 tbs parmesan ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1. Strip the basil leaves from their stems, wash them and put them in the freezer for about 1 hour. >> This is a trick for to get a vibrant green pesto. 2. Put in the food processor the garlic, salt, pepper, and half the basil then pulse a few times to chop it coarsely; then add the remainder. 3. With the motor running, add olive oil in a thin stream until the garlic and basil come together to make a rough paste. 4. Then add the toasted pine nuts and the Parmesan until it forms a smooth paste with an even texture. …

Pizza Dough

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It is Pizza day! Sometimes we need carbs and cheese to get through the day. Pizza has it all! And the veggies will make us feel less guilty! Here is the dough recipe for 2 medium sized pizzas: Ingredients 3 cups Flour (keep a bit more for dusting) 1 cup Water (lukewarm) 1 tbs Instant dry yeast 2 tsp Salt 1 tsp Sugar 2 tbs Olive oil 1. Mix the yeast with water and leave for 5 minutes (till it has some sort of mousse on top). 2. Combine all dry ingredients in the robot. 3. Add the oil and the yeast mix. >> Mix until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is sticky add flour; if it is too dry add water. 4. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with a plastic wrap. Keep in a warm area for about 1 hour. The tip: you can do the dough overnight and keep it in the fridge until the next day! Bon Appetite, The Urban Apron