Tag: Cooking

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International chefs cooking Lebanese with local ladies

Enjoying a rural light lunch at Noha's guesthouse

It is always a pleasure to have them back!

The chefs are back to Lebanon for a professional culinary seminar at Le Cordon Bleu which opened recently in Tabarja – Jounieh. The four-week seminar, during July-August 2017, not only included classes with professional chefs but also cooking sessions with local people.

The collaboration between FHF and the Chefs’ Cut continues for the third year: Chefs from around the globe participated in two cooking sessions with hosts on darb el karam – Food Heritage Trail in the West Bekaa, and harvested seasonal fruits with a local farmer from the Shouf trail.

The experience was fun as always, and the hosts were happy to receive the guests – in their houses this time! – and share valuable information about their local cuisine and ingredients!

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News

FHF facilitates healthy eating at school!

Preparing and cleaning the coarse bulgur for the moujaddara
Preparing and cleaning the coarse bulgur for the moujaddara

FHF established Al Hiraki Kitchen in Malaak’s school for Syrian Refugees in Minyara, Akkar in May 2016. The idea was to provide healthy meals to around 250 children attending the school to help them through their growth and learning process and offer them nutritious food they probably lack or have limited access to at home.

Group work: menu development
Group work: menu development

Accordingly, 2 empty classrooms were turned into a community kitchen were a team of 15 Syrian girls and mothers would prepare hot meals and sandwiches on a daily basis. A set of training on food safety, healthy nutrition, recipes’ standardization and menu development were provided to the kitchen’s team by FHF.

The ladies were very excited on the first day of cooking
The ladies were very excited on the first day of cooking

On June 1st, the nice smell of bulgur moujadara invaded the school as the ladies were testing their first recipe!

Malaak kids enjoying their first meal at school
The school kids obviously enjoyed their 1st meal as their dishes emptied one after the other
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News

SlowMed Team @ Akleh: Cooking A Traditional Recipe From Aarsal

Discussing History of the recipe

On Sunday December 7, 2014, Akleh, our community kitchen in Beirut, became the stage  for a filming session to document the preparation of “Makhlouta“, a traditional recipe from Aarsal. The SlowMed team in Lebanon composed of a chef, a dietitian, three camera men and their coordinator interviewed and cooked with Ms. Halime el Houjeiri, the president of Aarsal Food Processing Coop.

Ingredients

Makhlouta is a dish commonly prepared in mountain villages during winter and is often associated to the lent period. In Aarsal, this substantial dish is usually prepared in winter and is served hot.

Adding lentils

Halime explained that in Aarsal, Makhlouta is made by boiling chickpeas, beans, lentils, bulgur wheat, potatoes and onions, no stir-frying involved. Salt is the only condiment added.

Finishing with Olive Oil

A generous portion of extra virgin olive oil is responsible for the rich aroma of Makhlouta which combines very well with the earthy flavour of lentils and the buttery flavour of beans and chickpeas. Halime amused the team with proverbs from her area that hail chickpeas as a substitute for meat while serving them their lunch, with the “Akleh” of the day being: Makhlouta!

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Food Tourism Activities

Making Tomato Paste

Tomato paste, like many other preserves in the Lebanese repertoire of moune, is a way to conserve foods for consumption during the scarce winter season, and for the times when that tomatoes are not fresh and available.

tomato sauce
Enjoying tomato picking at a local farm

Freshly picked tomatoes are cleaned and juiced, either manually or using a tomato juicer, discarding at this stage both skin and seeds, usually composted or used as feed for chicken. The juice is then heated – traditionally over wood fire – until the juice thickens to reach the right concentration, reducing to at least half the original volume.

tomato sauce
Making tomato paste the traditional way, on wood fire

On the food trail, regional differences between West Bekaa and Higher Shouf can be appreciated in tomato concentrate making.

In Higher Shouf, the tomato paste is not too concentrated, made from Jabaliye tomatoes and reduced over wood fire. It is often eaten raw in a sandwich with fresh oregano leaves and olive oil, and is also used in cooking.

tomato sauce 1
Can you smell that? 🙂

In West Bekaa, many leave the tomato concentrate to further dry in the blistering heat of the sun for 2-3 days, becoming a thick paste, mainly used in cooking.

Tomato Paste Kherbet Qanafar
The thick paste is then dried under the burning summer sun 

On the food trail, several hosts open their houses for tourists to join in tomato harvesting and tomato paste making.

tomato sauce