This recipe is neither French nor Italian but Middle Eastern. I first tasted molokhia when I lived in London at a Palestinian lady’s house. My good friend Stephanie and I wanted to learn English so in our 20′s we went to live in London (which needless to say was a long time ago!!). We rented two rooms at this wonderful lady’s house who was a writer mostly focusing on women condition in Islamic countries. That was the first time I ever tasted or heard about molokhia. She treated us with chicken molokhia once in a while which was a feast for us. Molokhia is basically the leaves of jute, a green leafy vegetable, a little bitter. Its texture is a little slimy like okra, so if you like okra, you’ll like molokhia.

Then we went back to France, time went by and living in a small town in France, molokhia was nowhere to be found in the markets in France. Not that long ago (about 20 years later), strolling down the frozen section of a middle eastern store in San Francisco, I found frozen molokhia. I could not believe it! Here I am with three bags of frozen molokhia, and no idea on how to prepare it.

After some intense searching, I found various recipes for molokhia, one of which is a Tunisian version and is made out of dry leaves and prepared with lamb and like a thick stew consistency. The one I tasted 20 years ago was made out of fresh leaves, with chicken and with a consistency of a soup and eaten as a soup. I found a recipe from Cairo similar to what I was used to, so Inspired myself from this recipe – It is usually served with rice but I was in the mood for quinoa, and it just works as well.

 Preparation for 2

• Fish broth
• 2 small tomatoes, peel, seeds removed, and diced
• 2 tbs chopped onion
• 1 bag frozen molokhia
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 3 tbs cilantro, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 8 shrimps, peeled and deveined
• salt and pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation

In a medium pot, heat fish stock, then add frozen molokhia, tomatoes, onions, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add cilantro. In a pan, add olive oil and garlic and cook until fragrant but don’t burn the garlic. Add to the molokhia pot and cook for a few minutes. In the meantime, saute shrimps and keep warm. Add lemon to molokhia, stir well and serve molokhia with shrimps and rice or quinoa.

My friend Laurent is French but he grew up in Tunis ( we keep each other company on the treadmill in the mornings), always shares with me his childhood memories about Tunisian cuisine and his culinary experiments (he is a fabulous cook and strangely enough we have the same culinary tastes). Yesterday morning he brought me some delicious molokhia he prepared (which is a typical Middle Eastern dish whose recipe varies from one country to another), and while eating it, It reminded me about my trip to Egypt and cruise on the Nile (the first Middle Eastern country I visited). When you start using some spices, you keep craving for more, and here I am, completely hooked on those exotic ingredients.

Thanks to Laurent, I discovered a wonderful Middle Eastern store Samirami in San Francisco, selling so many spices and Oriental products that became my supplier anytime I am in the mood for Middle Eastern flavors.

These days I have been hooked on Labne, which is a Kefir Cheese, similar to Greek yogurt but thicker, creamier and with a little salty flavor. It’s usually eaten with grilled pita, sprinkled with olive oil and za’atar (mixture of oregano, thyme, savory, sumac, sesame seeds and other middle eastern spices). Labne is delicious, and has little calories. I used toasted baguette, it might not be the most authentic bread to use, but it worked fine since I had no pita. The eggplant purée adds a smooth and velvety touch to this combination of textures. I added some green leafs to the lentils and roasted peppers for a little more robust flavor to the naturally nutty lentils and it was a very nice balance.

Labne, How did I manage to live all these years without you???? I have no idea…My life must have been so incomplete and I didn’t even know…

Ingredients for 2

For the lentils

• 150 g green lentils
• 1 carrot
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves
• 1 celery stick
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 bunch green cabbage, chards or any greens
• 3 tbs olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 scallion, chopped
• 2 tbs cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

For the eggplant purée

• 1 large eggplant
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• thyme
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper

For the labne tartine

• 2 slices toasted country bread
• 4 tbs labne
• za’atar to taste
• olive oil

Preparation

For the lentil salad

Cook lentils in water with carrot, onion, celery and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and let cook until the lentils are soft but not mushy. Drain and remove all the vegetables from the lentils and set aside

Cook cabbage in salted water. Drain and squeeze excess water. Chop in small pieces and set aside.

Roast red bell pepper under broiler on all sides, until the skin darkens. Remove from oven, let it cool in a plastic bag, peel and remove seeds. Dice in small pieces.

Mix greens, and red pepper with lentils.

Prepare dressing with mixing olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, salt and pepper. Pour on lentils and add cilantro and scallions. Toss well.

For the eggplant purée

Cut eggplants in two lengthwise. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add onions on top, sprinkle with thyme and cook in a pre-heated oven at 400F. When soft, remove from the oven, let it cool and scoop out the pulp of the eggplant.

In a mixer mix pulp, add lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and adjust with salt and pepper.

For the labne tartine

Grill each slices of country bread. Spread Labne, add za’atar and sprinkle with olive oil.

I  don’t cook with sumac very often but when I do, I make this dish and it’s been quite popular among chicken lovers. Sumac is a wonderful Middle Eastern spice, it enhances the flavor of the dish without altering its taste. Sumac is a little tree whose leaves turn red in fall somehow like maple trees and produces little round balls which contains little brownish grains.

I usually serve it with curried Israeli couscous and it makes an excellent combination with Middle Eastern flavors. Sumac is very used in Middle Eastern cuisine, it has a tangy flavor and is used somehow like lemon. If you are vegetarian, chicken can be replaced with white fish and it works beautifully too on light flavored fishes. This spice is one of the most delicate spice I know because of it’s subtle flavor, it will not overpower your dish like curry or cumin would but give it a very fresh and elegant after taste.

Ingredients for 4

• 1.5 lb chicken tenders or breasts cut in strips
• 2 tsp sumac
• juice of one lemon
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• cayenne pepper
• 3 tbs mint
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut chicken in small strips. Add sumac, cumin powder, cayenne, salt and pepper and let it marinate for about one hour or so.

In a small mixing bowl, mix lemon juice and olive oil.

Grill chicken in a grill pan. When grilled on the outside and still juicy in the middle, remove from pan, add olive oil/lemon juice mixture. Coat well. Sprinkle with mint and serve hot.