Ottolenghi's Balilah {The Perfect Healthy Snack}

Ottolenghi writes, "In Jerusalem, Balilah is a popular Palestinian street food consisting of fresh chickpeas seasoned with cumin and lemon juice and it makes the most gratifying snack." He also states, "On the corner of the souk in the Old City stood the very popular balilah man. He had large piles of freshly cooked chickpeas on his stall, steaming and beautifully decorated with parsley and lemon. Like a magician, he used to whip the balilah into a newspaper cone in a flash and serve it to the eager customer."

I don't know about you, but I am a bean lover and that sounds heavenly. I have wanted to make this recipe forever and I am so glad I have finally got around to it! It is the perfect snack!

This balilah is so quick and easy to whip together, especially with canned chickpeas. Simply drain the beans, add chopped parsley, sliced green onions, chopped lemon, olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Give it all a mix and you are good to go. Of course, I feel this is better even the next day when the flavors have had a chance to meld together. You can even add chopped tomato or cucumber, or even feta cheese. You can eat this as a snack on its own, or served in pita or with pita chips. You can eat it warm, room temp, or cold straight from the fridge. It is also great served over chicken or fish or thrown into a salad. It is so versatile and delicious and it certainly won't last long!

 

Balilah

Adapted from Jerusalem

by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

Serves 4, or more

1 cup dried or 2 (15oz.) cans  chickpeas

1 teaspoon baking soda, if using dried beans

1 cup chopped parsley

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 large lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil

2-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and freshly ground black pepper

If Using Dried Beans: The night before, put the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water at least twice their volume. Add the baking soda and leave at room temp to soak overnight. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a large saucepan. Cover with plenty of cold water and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, skim the surface of the water, then decrease the heat and simmer for1 to 1-1/2 hours, until the chickpeas are very soft but still retain their shape. 

If Using Canned Beans: Use two 15.5 oz. cans! Drain the chickpeas and place in a large bowl.

To Make The Balilah: Put the parsley and green onions in a large mixing bowl. Peel the lemon by topping and tailing it, placing on a board, and running a small sharp knife along its curves to remove the skin and white pith. Discard the skin, pith, and seeds and coarsely chop the flesh. Add the flesh and all of the juies to the bowl.

Once the chickpeas are ready, drain and add them to the bowl while they are still hot (If you are using canned beans you can heat them up if you like). Add the olive oil, cumin, 3/4 teaspoons salt, and a good grind of pepper. Mix well. Allow to cool down until just warm, taste for seasoning, and serve.

Hassan's Easy Eggs with Za'atar and Lemon {Cooking from Falastin!}

I preordered Sami Tamimi's Falastin so that I could get my hands on a copy as soon as possible.The hype was that it was going to be one of the hottest cookbook releases of the year. I can tell you now, that it is by far my favorite cookbook of the year! Sami's Falastin is one of the most beautiful cookbooks. It is full of Palestinian food, people, geography, history, language, land, identity, and culture. I found myself reading more like a novel than a cookbook.

Sami Tamimi's recipes have the Ottolenghi feel to them, but they also have a simplicity and ease that Ottolenghi's recipes do not. I found myself more taken with Sami's book than Ottolenghi's, which is heavy praise in itself. I quickly bookmarked over 50 recipes and found myself wanting to make everything from Hummus with Meatballs to Chicken Shawarma Pie to Sumac Onion and Herb Oil Buns. So many simply yet unique recipes that felt exciting and fun.

You will be seeing more of these recipes as we begin cooking with Sami and his new cookbook over at I Heart Cooking Clubs. For starters, I had to make the recipe that called to me first and that was these eggs, Hassan's Easy Eggs with Za'atar and Lemon.

 "These eggs will always remind Sami of his father, Hassan, who used to make them on the weekend for Sami and his siblings. It's proof,if ever proof were needed, that few things are not improved by the addition of some good-quality olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkle of za'atar."

 There is something about a plate of broken hard-boiled eggs with their sunny yellow yolks front and center. It's a welcome sight. It calls to me. Top the eggs off with a lemon juice, olive oil and za'atar mixture, some sliced green onions and hot pepper flakes and you have one delicious and welcoming platter. Simple, delicious, with a unique twist. These eggs feel both comforting and somewhat exotic.

Eat them on their own or put them inside of pita bread. Sami also says they pair well with cubed chunks of creamy avocado (I need to try that). 

This is a recipe that you can eat warm or cold. You can eat it for breakfast or lunch. You can serve it as an appetizer or a midday snack. Either way it is delicious and you can't go wrong!

 

Hassan's Easy Eggs with Za'atar and Lemon

Adapted from Falastin

by Sami Tamimi

Serves four

6 eggs

1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons oliveoil

1 tablespoon za'atar

salt and black pepper

2 green onions, finely sliced

1/8 teaspoon Aleppo chile flakes

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and carefully lower in the eggs. Boil for 5-6 minutes, then rinse at once under plenty of cold running water.

Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and za'atar and set aside.

Peel and roughly quarter the eggs, by hand so that they're not too neat, and arrange on a serving plate, yolk side up. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of black pepper and drizzle the lemon juice-olive oil mix over the top. Sprinkle with the green onions and chile flakes and serve at once.