Ejja - Libyan Omelet/Frittata - عجة

Ejja is an egg-based dish similar to an omelet or frittata, made with chopped potatoes, tomatoes, chillies and fresh herbs such as coriander or parsley. This recipe is traditionally cooked in the oven but it may be cooked in a frying pan too. It is perfect for the iftar table with Libyan soup, or wrapped inside a piece of ftat, Libyan stove top flat bread.

Ingredients
(serves 6)


1 medium potato
1 tomato
1 chilli (devein or replace with paprika if you want less heat)
2 cups chopped parsley
1 cup coriander 

1 cup chopped onion and spring onion
1 teacup milk
4 eggs
3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
black pepper, salt to taste

Chop all the ingredients, chopping quite small.

Saute the potatoes.

Saute the onions.
 

Put the onions and potatoes, add the other ingredients.

Add the milk, breadcrumbs and flour. The mixture should be thick.

Put some oil in the pan, wait until it gets hot and add the mixture. Flip to the other side after a few minutes when the bottom is set.

Alternatively, grease a casserole with oil. Place in the oven for a few minutes, then remove and add the mixture. Leave in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Serve warm, with soup, bread or wrapped inside ftat as below.

Green Broad Bean and Artichoke Salad - Salatet Fool Akhdar - مدمس فول أخضر ليبي

This salad is  healthy, easy to put together and bursting with flavour. It is both simple and versatile. The green broad beans can be served warm with rice, or cold as a fresh tasting side dish eaten with bread to soak up the dressing. Leftovers make an excellent packed lunch.  The artichoke is an optional extra which lifts the dish to another level. We use frozen green broad beans and frozen artichoke bottoms which can be found at middle-eastern grocers. 

Serves 6 as side dish, 2 as main

Ingredients

400g green broad beans

6 artichoke bottoms 

1 red chili

1 green chili

1 garlic clove

Generous drizzle of olive oil 

Salt to taste

Juice of half a Lemon

Boil green broad-beans and artichoke bottoms until fork-tender.

Pulse garlic with red and green chilies in the mixer.

Add salt, lemon juice and olive oil to make the dressing.

Drain the beans and artichoke bottoms, dice the artichoke, then mix in the dressing while the vegetables are still steaming hot. Serve warm or cold.

Filo Pastry Meat Pie : Bureek Tajin (رقاق باللحم المفروم (قلاش

Bureek Tajin (also known as Suniyet Ruqaq in Egypt) is a  meat pie served as a side dish, and is a popular accompaniment to soup during Ramadan. Leftovers make a great snack or light meal the next day.

The pie  is  made of two layers of thin dough (each made up of several sheets of filo or Egyptian ruqaq) sandwiching minced meat. As there is no fiddly shaping and stuffing its an easy way to make a large amount of pastry.

Serves 8 as Side dish

Ingredients

 1 pack filo pastry 400g

100 g melted butter or 50g melted butter + 1 cup corn oil

Filling

500g minced meat

2 onions, finely chopped 

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (optional)

1/2 a nutmeg, freshly grated
1 tablespoon mixed spices (hrarat)

salt and  pepper to taste

Glaze 

1 egg mixed with 1 cup milk, salt and peper

1 cup stock

Melt the butter and mix with oil

Grease a large oven proof dish about (30x40 cm) with butter.

Divide the filo pastry sheets into two equal piles, then wrap each in a towel. Cover the bottom of the dish with filo, trim and use a second sheet if necessary. Brush with a little melted butter then add another layer of filo, continue until you have used half the pastry.

Soften the onion in a little oil or butter, add the minced meat and the spices, cover until cooked. 

Spread the prepared filling evenly on top of the filo pastry, then cover with the remaining sheets ,brush with a little melted butter in between the layers .

Spread the last of the melted butter over the top layer, cut into large squares and place in the middle of the hot oven  about 220 °C.  

When the top layer has turned golden (about 10 minutes), remove from oven then spoon about 1 cup of stock over the cracks and the edges of the tray. 

Whisk the egg with the cup of milk, add salt and pepper to taste. Then spoon the egg mix over the  the whole tajin surface and around the edges. Return to the oven until all the liquid absorbed, about 20 minutes.

When cooked remove the Bureek Tajeen from the oven and leave to cool before cutting along the marks you have made. 

Eggs with Chard: Silq bil Dahi سلق بالدحي

Silq bil dahi is a breakfast or supper dish of sautéed chard with fried eggs drizzled with lemon juice and oilve oil. It's a simple quick meal making it  a popular choice for the pre-dawn suhoor in Ramadan.

Ingredients
3 eggs
10-15 chard leaves
Olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Wash the chard, lay the leaves on top of each other and chop width-ways into broad strips. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan, add the chard and stir occasionally.

When the chard has cooked push aside to make spaces in the pan, then crack the eggs into the 'holes'.

Cook until the eggs have set, then turn off the heat and cover. Leave for a few minutes to finish cooking. 

Salt and pepper to taste , drizzle with olive oil and lots of lemon juice and serve with hot flat bread.

Dried Fruit Salad: Khoshaf خشاف

Khoshaf is a refreshing fruit salad made of stewed dried fruits, with a sprinkling of nuts and orangeblossom water.  It is served throughout the Arab world during Ramadan.

Khoshaf is typically served in small portions, just to break the fast before Sunset prayers and then the sit-down meal. It can be made in batches and stored in an air-tight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. This khoshaf recipe is from Eastern Libya, but is also popular in the West of the country where the traditional khoshaf is made with just raisins and fenugreek.

Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
3 cups dried fruits (figs, apricots, prunes...etc)
1/2 cup pine-nuts or halved blanched almonds
1 cup raisins/sultanas
1 fresh banana, sliced
3 tablespoons orange blossom water
Generous sprinkle of dessicated coconut (optional)

Deseed and chop the dried fruits.

Place in a pan with the raisins, cover with water, bring to the boil then turn off the heat . Leave for 15 minutes, then cool in the fridge for at least an hour.

Add the orange blossom water, pine-nuts/almonds and the banana slices.

Sprinkle with dessicated coconut. Serve chilled in small bowls.

Egg Omelette Sandwich, with Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes, Harissa and Olives

The tuna and harissa sandwich is a well established Libyan tradition. Chilli paste (harissa) spices up a plain tuna sandwich into something else, and the two definitely go hand in hand. But that's not the only option. Homemade harissa is delicious spread on fresh barley/wheat bread, and there is a variety of other fillings and toppings. One alternative is harissa (homemade or commercial) with a layer of cheese spread and egg omelette, and sliced homemade sun-dried tomatoes and olives. A drizzle of olive oil on top, and it doesn't feel like too much of a betrayal of the tuna!

Tomato, Cucumber and Olive Salad with Crab Apples - Salata Arabiya bil Tufah Albaladi سلطة عربية بالتفاح البلدي

There are many varieties of salata arabiya in Libya, unified by tomatoes being the main ingredient. This makes the salad very liquid, perfect for eating with barley bread or zumita paste formed into fingers. This version includes small sour apples (which grow wild in libya).

Serves 4 

Ingredients
6 tomatoes 
2 crab apples, diced
1 medium onion or 4 spring onions, chopped
1 cup chopped parsley and / coriander 
1 cup grated or finely diced  Arab cucumbers


Dressing
6 tomato pulps
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt to taste
Lemon Juice to taste
Topping

1/2 a cup of pitted black olives 
extra crab apple slices
Serving Suggestions
Add canned tuna 
Mix in Barley bread cubes
Eat with Zumita paste formed into fingers
Scoop up with flat bread

Finely chop the parsley, dice the apples and onion, and grate the cucumbers.

Remove the pulp from the 6  tomatoes and set aside. Dice the flesh.

 Place the 6 tomato pulps in the mixer, then add salt to taste and lots of lemon juice.

Mix the chopped ingredients together with the tomato dressing,  Drizzle with olive oil before serving and top with olives.

In the Western mountain region they eat Salata Arabiya with Zumita fingers. Zumita is made mainly from barley which is first roasted and then ground to a powder.  Mixed with water and olive oil it makes a nutritious paste.

Adding tuna and bite-size bread pieces makes Salata Arabiya a full meal, often eaten for lunch especially in  hot summer days.