Kafta and Potatoes

If the title of this sounds familiar it's because I've posted something under this name once already. This is a completely different way of making Kafta and Potatoes, though, so bear with me! I really like it when Computer Man decides to take over dinner--I know, I've said that before, too. He usually does the grill or anything Lebanese which is fine with me since I don't have a huge desire to learn to cook Lebanese food. I know I probably should, but I just don't have the knack for it. It's something that's got to be "pure bread," if that makes any sense. So, again, I left it to him to put together this hot and savory dish that is definitely on his list of Comfort Food. My list looks much different, of course, but it's nice to get to taste some of the things his mom made so frequently since she's no longer with us to share those recipes. Luckily, she passed all her recipes down to one of her daughters, so Mario calls her up when he wants something. What's interesting, though, is that my mother-in-law NEVER told anyone her recipe for Falafel. She kept all of her recipes in a book--except the Falafel recipe--that one was in her head. When she passed away, someone in the family actually tried to steal that recipe book in hopes of finding that Falafel recipe; it was the big scandal of the week but everyone knew that no matter when no one could ever have that Falafel recipe. Crazy, right?! I hope you enjoy this comforting dish as much as we did, and know that it came from someone whose recipes were the envy of so many!

Kafta and Potatoes
Source: the in-laws
Yields: 6-8 servings

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 punch curly parsley
1 large yellow onion
1 rounded spoonful of cinnamon
salt and pepper
4 small cans tomato sauce + 4 cans of water
5 Russet potatoes

Note: you need a large metal baking pan for this, larger than 9x13 (I think ours is 10x14 or 11x15...it's pretty big). If you don't have that big of a pan, and you don't want to feed the entire Lebanese army like this recipe does, just cut all the measurements in half and use a smaller pan.

Preheat oven to 400. Tear the parsley leaves off and put in a bowl. You'll want to do this ahead of time when you're sitting on the couch watching your favorite show. Cover with water and allow to soak for a couple of hours. When you're ready to prepare the dish, drain the parsley and transfer it to a food processor (if you have a small food processor do it in two batches). Rough chop the onion and add to the parsley. Process until very fine and well combined. Put the hamburger in a large bowl, season with salt, pepper, and the cinnamon. Add the parsley/onion mixture. Using your hands, mix together until just combined; don't over work the meat or it will be tough. Peel the potatoes and slice lengthwise. Put them in a large pot and cover with water. Boil until the potatoes are almost cooked the whole way through--they will finish cooking in the oven. Take half of the potatoes and line a large metal baking pan with them. Make about 10 patties out of the hamburger mixture; you want the patties to be about 3 inches in diameter. Lay the patties over the potatoes and then over the patties with the rest of the potatoes. Pour the tomato sauce and the water over the whole thing and bake uncovered in the oven for about an hour and a half. Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and transfer to the stove top so the pan is on a front and back burner. Turn each burner on to medium-high and allow the dish to come to a boil and cause the sauce to thicken--about another 30 minutes. Serve alongside a salad and pita bread. Enjoy!


I love that my new camera captures the steam rising from the dish! (This is after the sauce has thickened on the stove top.)


Ahh, yes, the ugly Corelle dish with the dusty pink and blue rose pattern. I told you that we always have to use these when we have Lebanese food.


I prefer more potatoes than meat, so I just take one patty.

Chicken and Rice--Lebanese Style

I have to warn you that the measurements with this recipe are, well, not quite exact. That's because this recipe comes from a Lebanese family. They measure things in coffee cups--Arabic coffee cups. I remember one time my mom wanted a Tabbouleh recipe from Computer Man's mom. Well, after a poor translation, she was adding in AMERICAN coffee cups of things and wondering why there was so much of them! Computer Man laughed his head off and realized he hadn't translated the coffee cup part correctly, and why on earth would she question it? She didn't have any other coffee cups to choose from, so she used the "#1 Dad" mug! Funny stuff. Okay, in hindsight maybe it's not that funny of a story, but it gave us a laugh or two...or three. This made for a wonderful Sunday dinner that will be used many times over I'm sure! Enjoy!

Chicken and Rice--Lebanese Style
Source: The In-Laws :)
2 Cornish game hens
4 cinnamon sticks
2 T lemon juice
sprinkle of garlic salt (enough to cover top and bottom of chickens)
vegetable oil (enough to cover top and bottom of chickens)
Grill Mates Chicken Rub (enough to cover top and bottom of chickens)
a few turns of the pepper mill
2 cups rice
1 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.
Thoroughly wash the chickens and make sure all the blood and yuck is out. Put the two chickens and the 4 cinnamon sticks in a large stock pot and fill with water; bring to a boil on high. As soon as it starts foaming at the top, use a strainer to remove the foam the pot. After the "first foam," continue to remove the foam for 10 minutes. Remove chickens from pot and let all the water drain out of them. DON'T DRAIN THE WATER FROM THE STOCK POT! Transfer them to a large cookie sheet. Season both sides with oil, lemon juice, garlic salt, pepper, and chicken rub. Bake in oven until the side that's facing up is browned; flip them over and do the same thing. It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to cook these bad boys. While the chickens are cooking, put 1 T vegetable oil in the bottom of another pot on medium high. Scoop out the 2 cups of rice and put them in the hot oil; stir around to coat evenly. Add in the 1 T of cinnamon and a few sprinkles of salt. Put a strainer over this pot. Using the 1 cup scoop, take out 4 cups of the chicken broth and pour over rice through the strainer. Bring the rice to a boil; cover and simmer until the rice is fully cooked--it takes about 20 minutes, or so. When the rice and chicken are done, pull apart the chickens and place atop a bed of rice on your serving platter. Enjoy and be thankful you get to know a recipe from Computer Man's mother's vault--she rarely shared the secrets behind her cooking!

Kafta and Potatoes

Marrying into a Lebanese family was a bit daunting at first. I felt the pressure in recreating Mom's old recipes. Well, I just haven't mustered up the courage to take it on yet, so my husband joyfully accepts the task of making the Lebanese fare in our home. Take it away, honey!

Kafta
1 pound ground beef
1 bunch curly (not Italian) parsley
1 yellow onion
salt and pepper

Allow beef to defrost completely. Tear the parsley leaves off and let them sit in a bowl of water overnight, or at least for a few hours. Dry the parsley and put it into a food processor. Peel and roughly chop the onion; put it in the food processor with the parsley. Pulse until finely minced. Put the onion/parsley and the beef in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper (a few shakes of each). Take your rings off and wash your hands! Gently combine the beef and parsley/onion until just mixed--don't overmix. Shape into little logs (about 9), or patties (about 6), or 4 long logs and put on a metal skewer. Grill until well done.

Garlic and Olive Oil Potatoes
6 medium Russet potatoes, washed and chopped
1/2 c olive oil (basically, enough to drizzle over the potatoes twice)
1/2 stick butter, cubed
garlic salt
pepper

Get that grill fired up on low! Line a 9x13 METAL baking pan with foil; make sure the foil covers the sides, too. Drop the potatoes in the pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Using clean hands, toss the potatoes to cover well with the olive oil. Dot the cubes of butter throughout the pan. Cover the pan with more foil. Set on the grill and allow to cook for an hour. Thirty minutes into cooking is when you should put the kafta (above) on the grill.

Bazella u Riz

I met my husband on the internet when we were in high school. We talked online for four years until I was 18 and was allowed to meet him in person. We saw other people in high school; we were more like pen pals, but after meeting in person we knew we were meant to be together. My husband, Mario, was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and is the kind of guy who grew up with a mother who slaved all day in the kitchen to ensure a hot meal was ready for her family in the afternoon. She passed away last year, so not only do we all miss her greatly, we miss her cooking! There were a few prized recipes she took with her to heaven, but luckily we were able to squeeze a few secrets out of her.

My husband enjoys getting in the kitchen himself, and the grill is definitely his area of expertise. But, tonight, he got in to the kitchen to give me the night off (except that means I have to do dishes!). I don't know how to spell the Arabic name for this dish, so we just say "Peas and Rice." I think it's something like Bazella u Riz. No, I'm not going to find the Arabic characters for that--I have to work in the morning. I don't think the picture does this dish justice; it is my absolute favorite Lebanese dish. Mario surprised me one night when I came home from work with this dish. I was dead tired, sick as a dog with a migraine, and still had a full week of work ahead of me. I had no idea he had called his sister and asked for this recipe--I can't tell you how many nights we salivated over the thought of Peas and Rice. Okay, and I have to defend the plate that I used for the dish, too. You see, Mario's mom bought the ugliest Corelle possible back in the late 80s: mauve and country blue roses edge a sickening beige plate. BUT, we can't get rid of them because they belong to her...that would mean d-i-v-o-r-c-e and I love him too much! Nevertheless, the plates are really handy since they have a nice well and hold the perfect quantity of food. Please enjoy this dish as much as I do!

Bazella u Riz
1 lb. hamburger
4 small cans of tomato sauce
2 1/2 tomato sauce cans of water
1 yellow onion, finely chopped (I use the food processor)
2 cans of peas and carrots, drained and rinsed
1 can of peas, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 c. white rice (not instant)
3 c. water
a handful of fideos, or vermicelli
3 T. veg. oil
salt and pepper
pita bread for dipping (optional, but delicious and the traditional way of eating it)

In a large stock pot, saute the chopped onions in 2 T of oil, use another T. of oil if you feel like you need to. Once the onions are golden and transparent, add the hamburger, salt and pepper it, and brown it with the onions. The key here is to make sure you get the ground beef into very small pieces, big chunks of ground beef are not good in this dish. Once the hamburger is browned, add in all the peas and carrots and let them warm through. Then add in the tomato sauces and the cans of water. Cover and bring tomato sauce mixture to a bubble (on high!); stir regularly. Keep the sauce bubbling for at least 30 minutes to allow it to thicken. Then, take the lid off, sprinkle some more salt in, and reduce the heat to low and let simmer for another 20 or 30 minutes. You'll start the rice at this point and the two will be done perfectly on time. For the rice, begin by heating the remaining 1 T. of oil in a separate pot. Add the vermicelli and allow it to come to a golden brown. Add in the rice and water and bring the water to a boil; once it's boiling reduce heat to low, keep the rice covered, and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. To serve, plate the rice first. Spoon some of the tomato meat mixture over the rice. Serve with pita bread which you can basically use as spoon!