Hawawshy

(from Fifi's Deli)

This means 'spiced mince meat and bread'. This snack has different names throughout the countries in the Mediterranean, but I prefer the name, Hawawshy. This snack is perfect for picnics or banquet.

Ingredients:

1 Kg Beef Mince
1 Medium Yellow/Spanish Onion (Finely Chopped)
1 Green Bell Pepper (Finely Chopped)
1 Tomato (Diced into small pieces)
1 Bunch of Cilantro (Chopped)
8 Medium Sized Pita Bread
1/4 Cup Olive Oil or Rice Bran Oil for brushing the bread

Spices:

Approximately one tablespoon of each

Cinnamon (2 dried sticks)
Nutmeg (1/4 of a ball, because it is very strong)
Sweet Pepper(Allspice)
Cloves
Coriander
3 Bay Leaves
Cardamom

.Put all the ingredients, in a small pan and stir until fragrant.
.Afterwards, put it in a grinder to ground the spices.
.Take one heaped tablespoon from the mixture, and keep the rest in a sealed jar.

Method:

1. Combine the spices, vegetables and meat. Mix throughly together by hand, with a little bit of salt and pepper to season.

2. Open the pita bread, to form a pocket. Stuff the pita bread pockets, with the meat mixture.

3. Brush the pita bread with olive oil, and wrap them with foil.

4. Put the pockets, on a tray, into the oven with a temperature of 220 C, for up to 40 minutes.

5. Serve with a simple green salad

Julia Child's Turkey Orloff

For Champaign-Taste's Julia Child Challenge, I fixed Turkey Orloff, described in Julia Child & Company as

Turkey breast scallopini gratinéed with mushrooms, onion, rice, and cheese.

This recipe serves 8. (I halved it for my experiment.)

1/4 c. plain raw white rice
1-1/2 sticks butter
1 egg + 2 egg yolks
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms
handful fresh parsley (enough to make 3 T. minced)
1/2 t. tarragon
pepper
12 or more turkey breast slices
1 T. vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
3 cups hot turkey or chicken stock
1/2 c. low-fat cottage cheese
1 c. lightly pressed down coarsely grated mozzarella cheese

Rice and onion soubise

Preheat oven to 325 deg. Drop the rice into a saucepan with 2 quarts rapidly boiling salted water and boil uncovered for exactly 5 minutes; drain immediately and reserve.


Chop onions roughly, and then mince in food processor. Melt 4 T. butter in a baking dish, stir in the onions, the drained rice, and 1/4 t. salt, mixing well to coat with the butter; cover the dish and bake for 1 hour, stirring up once or twice until the rice is completely tender and beginning to turn a golden yellow. When the rice is done and still warm, beat in the egg; taste carefully and correct seasoning.

Mushroom Duxelles


While rice and onoin soubise is cooking , trim and wash mushrooms. Chop into tiny pieces in the food processor, and remove. Mince the parsley in processor afterward. By handfuls, either twist mushrooms hard in the corner of a towel or squeeze through a potato ricer to extract as much of the juices as possible. Saute the mushrooms in 2 T. butter stirring and tossing until mushroom pieces begin to separate—5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tarragon and parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir half of the mixture into the cooked rice and onion soubise; reserve the rest.

Preparing the Turkey Scallopini

Pound the slices between 2 sheets of waxed paper (I used Glad Press & Seal) to expand them about double, and thin them down to half.

Salt and pepper the slices lightly, dredge in flour and shake off excess, saute for about a minute on each side in 1 T. of oil and 2 T butter (more if needed), just to stiffen them and barely cook through. Set slices aside on a plate as you finish them.

The gratenéing sauce

Make a turkey velouté sauce as follows. Melt 4 T. butter over moderate heat; blend in flour, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until flour and butter foam and froth together for 2 minutes without turning more than a golden yellow. Remover from heat and, when this roux stops bubbling, pour in 2 cups of hot turkey or chicken stock and blend vigorously with a wire whip. Return to heat, stirring and boiling slowly for 2 minutes.

In the food processor or an electric blender, puree the egg yolks with the cottage cheese. Beat the hot sauce into the cheese mixture

Assembling the dish

Butter the inside of the dish, and spread a thin layer of sauce in bottom of dish. Make a neat and slightly overlapping patttern of the turkey slices down the center of the dish, spreading each, as you go, with the soubise. Spoon remaining mushroom duxelles down the sides. Spoon remaining sauce over the turkey and spread the mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake approximately 25 minutes in 400-degree oven.

Should be served promptly