BAKING TIME!!!!

Good Morning!!!! :) Woke up today with an itch for baking a cake... Want it to be healthy, summer is almost here but without depriving my girls from a nice dessert. Have carrotts in the fridge and some whole meal flour, it couldn't be any better ! :) 
So here we go...

100% Wholemeal Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

• 200 gr Wholemeal flower
• 3 Eggs
• 100 gr Brown sugar
• 100 gr Sunflower oil
• 200 gr grated carrots
• 25 gr Walnuts
• 1 Orange (rind & juice)

Frosting:

• 125 gr margarine
• 250 gr Icing sugar
• ½ tsp Cinnamon powder

1. Beat eggs, sugar, orange and oil.
2. Mix in flour, carrots and chopped walnut.
3. Preheat oven 180 degree Celsius, gaz mark 4.
4. Bake for almost 45 minutes.
5. Let it cool down then top it with the frosting.

Tips:

• You can simply top the cake with cream cheese frosting.
• Toast some almond pieces and add them on top frosting.
• Or stay healthy and mix some granulated sugar with cinnamon powder and sprinkle them directly on the cake, gives a very nice taste without the heaviness of a frosting cream...
  
  
  

  Bon appétit!!!

OUR KAFTA ARAYESS

Arayess Kafta:
(Kebab meat) in Arabic Lebanese bread







Our Arayess were one of my favorite at the Bistro, takes 5 minutes only to prepare once you have the kafta ready. The best are the ones grilled on the barbecue if not simply bake it in the oven. Serve it with Pomegranate Syrup on the side (my favorite!) or yoghurt… Simply yummm!!!

Ingredients:

500 gr ground lamb or beef minced, you can mix both kinds
1 large onion finely chopped
1 small tomato finely chopped
1 tsp chili pepper paste (optional)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup fresh parsley chopped
50 gr of pine nuts roasted (optional)
5 tsp olive oil
4 Medium size Lebanese bread

Method:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except oil and mix well.  The mixture can be chilled for an hour in the fridge.
Open up the bread pieces and spread a heaped tablespoonful of meat mixture in a thin layer into one side of the bread and press down to close. Brush both sides of the bread with oil.  Grill them for a few minutes on each side Place on a baking tray and bake in the centre shelf of the oven for half an hour, turning once after 15 minutes, after it cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cut it in 4 pieces. Sprinkle each piece with chopped parsley and tomatoes.

Tips:
- I like to serve the Arayess with Pomegranate syrup on the side or you can simply offer it with yoghurt.
- A plate of Hummus would be perfect on the side too and some cocktail of..


Sahtein!! ☺

Fresh Tortellini in the oven

 Fresh Tortellini baked in the oven

-       750 gr of Fresh Tortellini (or use 2 packs of dry Tortellini of your choice)

-       1 tbsp of olive oil

-       120 gr smoked Turkey or Ham

-       300 gr Fresh Mushroom

-       Pinch of Herbs from Provence

-       1 cup powder milk

-       100 gr Emmental gruyere cheese grated

-       100 gr coarsely grated parmesan cheese

For the white sauce:

-       ¾ cup of all purpose flour

-       1 cup powder milk

-       4 cup of water

-       1 tsp salt

-       A small piece of butter

-       1 egg (optional)

-       Pinch of nutmeg powder

1-    Cook Pasta in large saucepan of boiling water, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes until it is al dente then drain it. Set it aside in an ovenproof dish (or Pyrex)

2-    Cut the turkey or ham into medium stripes, and the mushroom in thick slices cause it will shrink while cooking.

3-    Heat oil in a saucepan; add turkey, mushroom a bit of salt and cook it on low fire. Sprinkle it with herbs from Provence. 

4-    Mix the mixture with the tortellini and spread it well in the dish.

White sauce preparation:

1-    Mix the flour and the water until it dissolves completely, then put it on the fire. When it warms up just add a small piece of butter & salt. Keep on stirring while its thickening add the egg (optional) & keep mixing for a minute.

2-    Remove from fire as soon as the sauce gets a yoghurt consistency, we don’t want it to be very thick.

3-    Before you close the fire just add a pinch of nutmeg.

4-    Add the white sauce on the tortellini mixture without covering it completely.

5-     Add the Emmental on top of the white sauce, then finally sprinkle it with the Parmesan cheese.

Preheat the oven on 350 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes, then decrease the fire to 250 and bake the Tortellini for 20 min or until the cheese gets a color.

Tips:

-       You can use bacon instead of turkey or ham.

-       Serve it with a nice green herbs salad.

Bon Appetito 

Our Homemade Shawarma

Our Homemade Shawarma!!!

Ingredients:

-       1 kg tenderloin cut in slices for shawarma

-       400 gr of fat sheep (optional)

-       2 big onions roughly chopped

-       5 garlic pieces roughly chopped

-       2 tbsp shawarma spices

-       Bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon sticks

-       ½ cup of red wine

-       ½ cup of vinegar

-       ½ cup of lemon juice

-       ½ cup of olive oil

-       1 tsp of salt

-       1 tsp of nutmeg

-       3 to 4 grains of mastic “misk” crushed in to powder

-       1 orange peel

-       1 lemon peel

-       1 mandarin peel

1-   Mix the meat, fat, garlic, onions, bay leaves, cloves & cinnamon stick with the orange, lemon & mandarin peel then set aside.

2-   Dilute the wine, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, shawarma spices, nutmeg, mastic & salt. Add this mixture on the meat and keep refrigerated over night.

3-   Move the meat to a non sticking pan (with the fat if used) add on top tomato slices and bake it in the oven while mixing it from time to time to avoid drying.

Tips:

-       The Shawarma is served with Tahini sauce on the side and Arabic or Pytta bread.

-       The quality of tahini is very important look out for pale rather than dark.

-       Also you can prepare as side dishes in 4 different bowls: some chopped tomatoes, parsley, pickles and sliced onion with sumac.

Tahini Sauce:

Called in Arabic “Taratour”, it is a must have sauce next to Falafel, fried fish & all kinds of fried vegetables: Eggplant, cauliflower, courgettes …

It is very simple to make:

-       1 cup of tahini

-       2 garlic cloves

-        Drinking water

-        Salt

-       1 lemon juice

-        Fresh chopped parsley for decoration (optional)

1-   In a bowl mix together tahini and some water to have the consistency of yogurt. Then add the garlic & salt crushed in puree and blend.

2-   Add the Lemon juice to the mixture. Mix and adjust according 2 taste.

3-   Add the chopped parsley on the tahini sauce and keep it in the refrigerator until needed

Sahtein!!!!

Home made Chocolate Truffles

Very quick & simple recipe

Makes about 30 truffles

Ingredients:

225 g dark chocolate (70 to 75 % cocoa)

250 g white chocolate for pastries

20 gr cocoa

120 ml double cream

30 ml orange liqueur (Cointreau)

Preparation:

Melt the dark chocolate separately and 225 gr of white chocolate in a double boiler and add half the cream and liqueur in each bowl of chocolate, and allow to cool, make balls of dough about the size of a walnut leaving the surface granulated. Grate the remaining 25 grams of white chocolate and cover the white truffles. Then roll the dark chocolate truffles in cocoa powder to have a nice coating.

Tips:

-       U can also toast some flaked almonds or crush unsalted pistachio and roll them around the dark chocolate truffles.

-       The choice of chocolate is personal, it depends on your taste. Personally I prefer to use Lindt or Poulain brands.

-       You can use Rum or Brandy instead of Cointreau.

Enjoy!!

Carla's Biography

Carla Nasr Abouhamad is the founder and ex-Managing Partner of Carla’s Lebanese Bistro (www.carlasbistro.com). The latter was launched in 2005 after Carla moved to Bahrain with her husband 13 years ago. Homesick and lacking variety and choices of real Lebanese food, the way  “grandma used to cook”, the idea became more concrete when Carla fell in love with the bistro location; a charming all cobble stones compound that fit the bill perfectly. That’s how Carla’s Lebanese Bistro was born…

Initially Carla opened the bistro for lunch only, as a Lebanese Bistro with a European feel. The Bahraini press affectionately called it “Le Bistro Made in Lebanon”… 

Carla’s concept was to create a warm and welcoming space designed with retro feel, serving freshly cooked authentic Lebanese dishes. Her attention to details and her passion for Lebanese cuisine built the Bistro as a unique food experience with a twist, enjoyed by families, businessmen and Corporations in Bahrain and Saudi. Slowly but surely the bistro reputation grew from word of mouth and people flocked from all over Bahrain and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia to see the bistro and to soak the lively atmosphere and to savor the authentic cuisine. 

A buzzing atmosphere, and Carla being there every night added a personal touch to the place. Old pictures of the family were all over the walls and the menus, gave the restaurant a warm touch so people use to come and feel at home.

Today, Carla has sold the Bahrain franchise of the Bistro after deciding to move back home to Beirut, where similar ventures are on the way.