I know It's Been A While... Laffa Bread!!!

I've been enthusiastically baking laffa bread the last few Fridays. I'd been looking for a recipe for a long, LONG time. Since our move to the Midwest, we simply haven't had any, and there is none to be found within at least 400 or 500 miles. In any direction. I found this recipe and we all really love it. In truth, it's a simple pita recipe. The laffa is just made a bit differently than the pita. If you know of a better recipe than this, PLEASE leave for me in the comments or email me! Thanks!

Ingredients:
7 cups bread flour
one package dry yeast
3 cups water
2 tablespoons sugar (a bit more may be added if desired)
1 teaspoon salt (again, a bit more may be added for a saltier bread, but don't overdo it!)
4 tablespoons olive oil (I use the mild kind, but any will do).

Mix the yeast with the flour. Add water, sugar, salt and olive oil and knead for about 10 minutes, until dough is smooth, shiny, and slightly sticky. Add flour if needed (too wet) or water (if too dry).

Transfer dough to a large greased (I use olive oil) bowl (in truth, I just knead the dough in a giant bowl to begin with and when I'm done, I take out the dough, grease the giant bowl, and return the dough to the bowl). Generously rub top and sides with olive oil. Allow dough to rise to double its size.

Divide dough into 12 equal pieces (you may get one or two more, and that's fine). Roll each piece into a ball, place on a floured surface, cover with a damp towel (I just wet and use a paper towel) and allow to rest for ten minutes. Roll out each piece into a 12-14 inch round.

Now, there are two ways of baking:

Method 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. place rounds on a cookie sheet (covered with parchment paper) and bake for about ten minutes.

Method 2 (the one I use simply because I haven't tried Method 1 yet):

This is easiest of you have an electric burner.

Turn burner on to a medium high heat. place a large pan or wok BOTTOMS UP over the burner and bake the laffa on the bottom of the pan (I happen to have a new pan I never used, so this worked well for me). Bake until bubbles form and bottom of the laffa begins to develop some brown spots. Flip and bake other side. Make sure the laffa is COMPLETELY flat, otherwise you'll have unbaked edges. I use a spatula to flatten the bread when I turn it over.

Recently, I started using an 11"x11" stovetop griddle (two, actually, over the large burners). I use a slightly lower heat. This method takes far less time and I think they come out even better than baking them on an upside-down pan.

Remove from over or pan (depending on what method you use) and place inside a towel (any kitchen towel will do. Let cool for about a minute, and then immediately transfer into a plastic bag and close it up! The moisture from the heat is what will make the laffa very pliable, moist, and yummy. Keep adding laffas to the bag.

Enjoy warm. You may freeze these. When you reheat, reheat IN the plastic bag so they stay moist.

Hope you have as much fun making these as I do!

P.S. To make these into pitas:

Follow steps UP to the part where you divide the dough:

Divide dough into TWENTY equal parts, roll into balls, place on floured surface, and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Roll out each ball into a 10-12 inch round and about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes, just until the pitas swell up and begin to show golden spots. Avoid over-baking if you don't want to end up with giant pita chips.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Cover pitas with a kitchen towel for a few minutes to keep them soft. Enjoy!

Apricot Chicken

Tried this for the first time today. It's DELICIOUS!!

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut in cubes (about 2x1 inches each - ok, their not REALLY cubes:)
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, chopped - VARIATION: For faster, easier, cleaner cooking, you can liberally use onion powder instead.
2 tablespoons cider or white wine vinegar - I used the Cider vinegar since I couldn't find any kosher white wine vinegar.
12 dried pitted apricots, chopped in two
2 cups chicken soup
1 jar (15.25 oz) apricot preserves - I used the Smucker Low Sugar.
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish - Optional. I didn't bother.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and chicken. Season with salt and pepper (if using onion powder instead of an onion, add onion powder at this time as well). Lightly brown the chicken a few minutes on each side, add onions (if not using onion powder). Cook 5 minutes. Add vinegar to the pan and let it evaporate. Add apricots and stock. When stock comes to a bubble, add preserves and stir to combine. Cover pan, reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Serve chicken over rice pilaf, wild rice, or plain rice! Use this easy broccoli recipe for a side veggie.

Split Pea Soup! YUM!!

Ever go to a restaurant, order Split Pea Soup, and wonder how they make it and why it's smooth? I did, and I found a great recipe, which I have tailored a bit. Here, I will share it with you:

INGREDIENTS
Light olive oil (enough to cover bottom of a large pot)
2 medium-large onions
1 bag (16 oz) baby carrots
1 bunch celery (use all but the middle stalks, and be sure to cut off both ends)
1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup green split peas
8 cups water

DIRECTIONS
throw all the veggies in the food processor. Process well.
In a large pot, over medium heat, heat olive oil. Cook onion, carrot, celery for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in yellow and green split peas, and water. Season with some pareve chicken soup mix (if you want a meat soup, use 8 cups chicken broth instead), salt (go easy on the salt - you can always add some later), pepper, Mrs. Dash (or any salt-substitute seasoning), garlic powder, and a sprinkling of basil. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 2 1/2 hours, stirring frequently. Puree until smooth in food processor. Return to pot, heat through, and serve.

You are going to love this!!

Carrot kugel-My mom's recipe

4-5 middle sized carrots
2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoon. baking powder
2/3 c. orange juice
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon

-Shred the carrots

-Put all the ingredients in a food processor.

-Pour the mix into a baking pan

-Bake for at 350 for 45 mins

Yerushalmi Kugel

Ever go to the kosher market or deli and buy a Yerushalmi kugel because it looks good, but then you get it home, taste it, and it has no taste? That's because it's harder to make than other kugels since you have to caramelize the sugar (that means melting it in a pan until it liquifies and turns medium brown) and most restaurants don't take the time to do this. Instead they use brown sugar, and never enough of it.

Anyway, this Shabbos is Shabbos Mevarchim HaChodesh (Elul, people!), and there is a tradition, at least in Israel, to eat Yerushalmi Kugel on Shabbos Mevarchim (don't ask me why; I have no idea - I just love the kugel! Maybe it has something to do with the sweetness of this kugel and asking for a sweet month...). In any case, here's my mom's recipe, which is one I've never had to tweak because it's perfect just as it is...:)

Yerushalmi Kugel

What you'll need:

1 package of fine (really thin) noodles - cook slightly salted in water
Sugar
Oil (I use canola oil)
Salt and Pepper
Eggs

While noodles cook, caramelize sugar in pan - enough sugar to cover surface of a large pan - on a Medium/Low flame. You might want to start the sugar about five or ten minutes before you start the noodles. To caramelize sugar, stir often. It will begin to liquify. Make sure ALL the sugar is melted. 

When noodles are done, strain in colander, rinse and strain again.

Put in bowl and add:
1/2 cup oil
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup white sugar
Pinch of salt (or more, to taste, but don't overdo it)
Mix all these together BEFORE pouring in the caramelized sugar)
Caramelized sugar (pour slowly, mix while pouring the caramelized sugar - You might want to consider an extra set of hands for this step)
6 eggs - The eggs ABSOLUTELY have to in AFTER the caramelized sugar, otherwise you'll end up cooking the eggs and they won't do the kugel any good as an omelette...:)

Mix it all up (this isn't easy and may need two hands - the caramelized sugar begins to harden immediately, so you need to mix QUICKLY!), pour in pan, cover, bake on for about 1 hour 350. Half hour before it's done, uncover to let the kugel brown on top. This kugel is REALLY delicious, so try not to eat it all up before Shabbos!! :)

Have a wonderful, "G'bentchte" Chodesh!! And a Great Shabbos!!!

Pastrami flavored ribs

Let me start off by saying that this dish is not a classic Sephardi dish. I can recall some of the females in family preparing this on some occasions but to be honest with you, I do not know from where this recipe originates from.

Most of you are probably familiar with the hot pastrami served at kosher delis in NY. The pastrami flavor we are trying to imitate here is much spicier. The name pastırma is Turkish, and comes from "bastırma et" 'pressed meat'. The pastrami served in the Middle East has cumin paste that is used as a coating for the pastrami and this past is called çemen (lit. 'fenugreek') prepared with crushed cumin, fenugreek, garlic, and red paprika, or red pepper or paprika paste.

Pastrami flavored ribs for four people:

Igredients:

8 lamb ribs (make sure the ribs are cut off from each other vertically, like in the photo above)

For the çemen

1,5 tablespoons of crushed cumin
1,5 tablespoons of grinded fenugreek
fresh garlic, 4 cloves, mashed
1,5 tablespoons of red pepper (not sweet pepper)
or
you can grind 2 semi hot red paprikas instead

2 spoons of olive oil

8-10 skinned little potatoes to go along with the ribs

How to:

Flatten the lamb ribs with a meat hammer.

Poke little holes into the ribs with a toothpick. Mix the cemen ingredients in a little bowl and then pour it onto the ribs. Rub the ribs with the cemen ingredients. Make sure you really rub it in. Let the meat marinate for 4-5 hours. The longer the meat marinates the better it tastes.

Put the ribs in a clay pot.

Add half a glass of water into pot and if add the 8-10 skinned little potatoes in it. Cover the pot. Let it cook in the oven for 30-45 mins, at 400 degrees. Check the water level in the pot for every fifteen minutes, the water helps the meat and the potatoes to cook so don't let it all evaporate, add 100 ml to the pot if necessary.

Beta avon.

Chicken Soup! The Jewish Cure-All!!

Think this delectable broth is difficult to make? Well, you'd be wrong if you said yes!! Ready? Here goes:

What you'll need:
A bunch of Parsley
four or five stalks of celery
a large onion
1 package baby carrots (or regular carrots, but you'll have to peel them and cut them into bite size pieces)
one small butternut or acorn squash
Chicken (you can use three or four chicken breasts, or three or four leg/thighs, or a mix of both, and you can add soup bones if you like...)

Salt

Pepper

Chicken bullion (I use the Osem Chicken Soup Mix)

Optional:
Half a bunch of dill (wash and look for bugs)
1 parsnip (they look like white carrots, only thicker)

If you want, you can turn this into a beef soup by putting in diced stew meat instead of chicken and using beef bullion (also Osem) instead of chicken bullion. But be sure to cook the soup for an extra half hour or so (two hours instead of an hour and a half)

Wash half the parsley (or the whole bunch if it's a small bunch) really well and look bugs. Same with the celery. Peel the onions (and carrots if you're not using baby carrots) and the butternut or acorn squash. Cut the onion into four pieces. Break the celery into three pieces per stalk. If you're using regular carrots, cut them into one inch long pieces. Slice the butternut or acorn squash, take out the seeds, then cut the slices into two pieces each. If you are using a large squash, save half for next week. If you are only using half a bunch of parsley, save that for next week too, but not beyond that. Put all this and the rest of your bunch of celery back in the vegetable drawer of the fridge.

Take the skin off of half the chicken. Leave the rest on. The fat in the skin gives the soup some body. Put the chicken in a large pot (ask your wife which one she uses to cook soup). Place all the veggies on top of the chicken. Fill pot with water almost to top (leave about two inches; if you don't, when the soup starts to boil, it'll boil over and make a big mess). Add salt, pepper, and chicken bullion to taste. Remember, don't overdo the salt. You can always add salt later; you can't take it out if you put too much.

Bring to a boil on a medium-high flame (8 on an electric stove). After it boils, reduce heat to a medium low flame (3 on an electric stove). Allow to cook for about another hour and a half. Don't overcook. If you do, your veggies will be soggy.

You may strain the soup. I always do. I take off the rest of the skin. Get rid of the bones. I take out the parsley and celery as well. Strain the broth into another pot. Put back the carrots, squash, and onions if you like, as well as the chicken, into the broth. VOILA!! You've got the age old, well-tested, and even more well-known than penicillin anti-biotic: You've got Chicken Soup. A most powerful weapon in the everlasting struggle against colds, body aches, and other common ailments.

You also have a classic Shabbos dish! ENJOY and have a GREAT SHABBOS!!!