Suzy Eats

Kefta is made by grinding meat and mixing it with an assortment of spices. It can be shaped into meatballs or cylinders of meat or even a meatloaf and can be cooked in a wide variety of ways. Beef and lamb are the most two common choices of meat for kefta, but I also use turkey as well for a healthy alternative. Lean meat is preferred in this meal so that it does not become too oily. Kefta can be grilled, roasted, baked, fried, steamed, poached, or broiled.  Kefta can be served with a yogurt dip, tomato or tahini sauce. There are many other options as well. Bread and vegetables can also be used to make a sandwich or you can cook kefta on a skewer. Other names of kefta is kofta, kufta, kafteh, keftes and kyuftah. It can be found all over the Mediterranean region and in other places such as India and Romania.

Below is a recipe for Homemade Tomato Pine-Nut Kefta. I baked this version and used half turkey and half ground beef for a healthier version 🙂

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 pounds ground – beef, lamb or turkey
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 c water

How to:
Read the rest of this entry »

Labneh is a type of yogurt that is thick and concentrated. All of the excess liquid is strained to obtain this texture. Traditionally it is eaten plain, but there are many variations of labneh. The one below has a spicy and nutty feel. Labneh can be substituted for Greek yogurt. It is usually served with pita bread or pita chips.

Serves: 8-12

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 bunch green onions
• 16 ounces of labneh
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• olive oil, olives, tomatoes for garnish

How To:

 1. Finely chop the parsley, green onions, walnuts. I used a mixure and added them all and pressed “chop”. It works great just make sure they do not get too fine.

Read the rest of this entry »

I have blogged a fava bean dip recipe in the past…but I have recently discovered Egyptian Fava Bean Dip (courtesy of my husband) and LOVE it.  It is similar to the original recipe…only better 🙂 Fava beans are a staple food in Egypt and are eaten by all Egyptians. In fact, fava bean dip is considered the national dish of Egypt. If you are interested in reading more about the health benefits, please refer to a previous post: http://suzyeats.com/fava-beans-what-can-a-fava-bean-do-for-me-mediterranean-healthy/.

Ingredients

• 32 ounces of fava beans
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Place the fava beans in a large bowl. Add water and soak the fava beans in water overnight.  Keep them covered to maintain freshness.

Read the rest of this entry »

I love hummus, and I love pomegranate.  So I wanted to try a new dish….pomegranate hummus. It is a traditional hummus recipe with all the more flavor and healthy benefits. The pomegranate makes for a sweeter hummus taste 🙂 For all of the health benefits of hummus click here: http://suzyeats.com/all-about-hummus/. For the recipe see below 🙂

Ingredients

•  1 pomegranate
• 32 ounces of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 4 tablespoons of tahini paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup cold water
• sumac for garnish (optional)
• olive oil for garnish

Directions

1. Soak chickpeas in water over night.

Read the rest of this entry »

As you know, I am still out of town in DC. I wanted to share some of my older, first posts. This is one of my favorites…..YELLOW RICE

When I make a stew, I ALWAYS make “yellow” basmati rice as the side. My husband does not understand why I always make this “yellow” rice. He eats it, but with comments and smirks …. In other words, “why don’t you make “white” rice?”. Finally, yesterday, I realized that my husband thought yellow and white rice were two completely different types of rice. I realized that he must not be the only one who had that thought. So I would like to clarify that when rice is “yellow” it is because TUMERIC is added to “white” rice. The rice is actually not “yellow” by nature.

So what is TUMERIC???

Tumeric belongs to the ginger family. It is has been used for thousands of years.

I am also going to tell you why I ALWAYS make “yellow” rice:

1.  Its easy! I sprinkle 1 teaspoon of tumeric for 1 cup of rice.
2. It has antiseptic and antibacterial properties…(you can even use it directly on a scrape or burn)
3. It helps treat people who have psoriasis and can help with various benign tumors
4. It can help prevent prostate and breast cancer (there are numerous studies on this!!!)
5. Chinese medicine has been using it for 100′s of years for depression

There are more reasons why tumeric is one of my favorite spices but these are the main ones. I say sprinkle tumeric on everything. It can only help, and my husband is going to have to eat white rice when we are not eating at home