Syria: Aleppo Cherry Meatballs and Orzo Barley Rice with Jajik Cucumber Salad and Huhammara Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Dip

Siting at the crossroads between Asia, Africa and Europe, Syria has a rich historical tapestry that spans tens of thousands of years. Syria was one of the first places in the World where focused food-farming and agriculture emerged. Syria also played a pivotal role in ancient and medieval times as a trading hub along the ‘Silk Road’ network of trade and migration routes that exchanged goods, culture, and ideas between the East, the Mediterranean, and the West.

 

The Silk Road brought exotic Asian spices to Syria, such as cinnamon and cardamom, enriching the local culinary traditions of using ingredients like wheat, barley, lentils, and olive oil that were staples from the country's agricultural heritage. Syrian cuisine is a testament to the country's historical significance, blending flavours from the Middle East, and beyond.

 

Describing the defining features of Syrian food culture is a lot like  giving advice about buying real estate. Why? Because it’s all about location, location, location. Being one of only a  few countries in the World that is part of Western Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean ensures that Syrian cooks have three rich veins of  food traditions to draw upon. This has resulted in a cuisine that is layered with flavours and brimming with fragrance. Syrian cuisine typically features spices like allspice, clove, and the fragrant Aleppo pepper. 

 

Several of the country's most famous dishes are classified as Levantine, referring to the region in the South Eastern Mediterranean that includes countries like Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. Sadly, the ongoing conflict in modern Syria has disrupted the food culture, displacing communities and endangering traditional recipes. Nevertheless, the resilience of Syrian cooks and their cuisine endures, keeping the flavours and food stories alive.  

our

SYRIAN

 

Menu included

 

ALEPPO CHERRY MEATBALLS

 

with

 

HUHAMMARA ROASTED RED PEPPER AND WALNUT DIP

 

JAJIK CUCUMBER SALAD

and

ORZO BARLEY RICE

with 

Toasted Pita bread

ALEPPO CHERRY MEATBALLS

 

Ingredients for the Meatballs:

·      1 kg lamb or beef mince (or whatever combination of mince you prefer)

·      1 tsp salt

·      2 tsp ground cinnamon

·      1 tsp allspice powder

·      ½ tsp finely ground fresh pepper

·      1 small onion, peeled and finely diced or grated

·      3 tbs (or more) of olive oil for frying

 

Ingredients for the Cherry Sauce:

·      400 gm sour Morello cherries (fresh, frozen or in a jar/tin) 

·      2 large onions peeled and diced finely

·      3 tbs butter

·      150gm sugar

·      ½ tsp ground cinnamon

·      ½ tsp ginger powder

·      1 heaped tbs pomegranate molasses

·      1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes or to taste 

·      salt to taste

·      water as required

 

Ingredients for the Garnish:

·      ½ bunch of fresh coriander, washed, picked and chopped

·      4 tbs pine nuts, dry toasted in a frypan

 

Ingredients for Serving:

·      Pita Pocket bread, toasted/warmed and cut in half

 

Notes about replacement Ingredients for the Cherry Sauce:

 

1.    This is not intended to be a hot and spicy sauce. Aleppo chilli is very mild, so if replacing it with other forms of chilli halve the amount 

2.    Morello are sour cherries so sweet cherries are not a suitable ingredient replacement. Options would be sour Montmorency or Balaton cherries

3.    If you are using jarred/tinned cherries for the sauce you will need to drain them before using. But before you throw away the liquid think of this:

a.    Jarred/tinned sour cherries tend to have been preserved in a sugary syrup which will likely have a delicious cherry flavour

b.    Before draining the cherries and discarding the preserving liquid you should taste it and if it has a nice sweet cherry taste  you can reserve the liquid  and use it instead of water when making the sauce

c.     Using the sweet preserving liquid from the jar/tin in the sauce could have the benefit of doubling up the cherry flavours but you don’t want to also double up on the sweetness, so if you use the cherry liquid, delete the 150 gms of sugar from the recipe, and only add sugar if you need to adjust the flavours along the way

 

 

Method:

1.    Lightly oil a tray or large platter

2.    Place all the meatball ingredients (except the oil) in a bowl and combine well with hands

3.    Roll mince mixture into balls slightly smaller than ping-pong balls and place on oiled tray

4.    Let the tray of meatballs rest in the fridge for at least ½ an hour to bind

5.    Whilst the meatballs are resting begin making the cherry sauce

6.    melt butter in a medium size saucepan on medium/low heat

7.    Add onions and sauté on radium heat without browning, stirring often with a wooden spoon until the onions become soft and translucent -  about 5 mins

8.    Add the rest of the cherry sauce ingredients and 2 tbs water to the saucepan

9.    Bring pan to the boil then turn back the heat and gently simmer the sauce for 25 mins stirring often with the wooden spoon

10.         As the sauce is cooking check the taste and adjust with extra salt/sugar to your taste

11.         Also keep an eye on the thickness of the sauce. It should be about as thick as gravy. If it gets too thick at any time add a few more tbs water and mix it in well with the wooden spoon – you may need to do this a few times. When the sauce is cooked cover it with a lid and switch off the heat

12.         Now it’s time to fry the meatballs

13.         Heat some oil in a heavy-based Dutch oven or similar and gently fry the meatballs on all sides until they are golden and cooked through – about 25 mins. If the pan dries out add some more oil as you go

NOTE: If you are cooking a lot of meatballs you might want to cook then in two batches to ensure they all get good contact with the bottom of the pot 

14.         When the meatballs are browned and cooked it is time to add the sauce. You do not want your sauce to be oily so if for some reason there is excess oil in the pan pour it off or use kitchen paper to absorb some of it away

15.         Now pour the cherry sauce over the meatballs

16.         Bring the sauce up to a boil  gently stirring with the wooden spoon to coat the meatballs in sauce and also use the spoon to scrap up any crisp bits from the pan bottom to add flavours and prevent sauce from burning

17.         Turn the heat back now and simmer for around 5 minutes for all the flavours to combine, stirring often and adjusting thickness of the sauce with water if necessary. If the sauce is not thick enough keep simmering for as long as it takes until the sauce reaches the right consistency 

18.         When the sauce is at the right consistency and the meatballs are coated it is time to pour it into a serving dish and top with the garnish of chopped fresh coriander and toasted pine nuts ready for the table

19.         Serve with/in toasted pita pockets with orzo rice, salad and dip sides

 

TIPS: 

Step 4: 

The timing for how long you rest the meatballs before cooking is flexible.  Recipe step 4 says ½ an hour,  but that is  a minimum time not a maximum time. The longer you rest the raw meatballs before cooking the more time the spice flavours have to infuse in the balls

 

Step 5: 

The timing for making the sauce is also flexible. You can follow  recipe step 5 and begin making the sauce while the meatballs are resting, or, you can make the sauce while you are browning the meatballs off. This just depends on your own timing preference. You may want to be relaxed and only do one thing at a time or you might be happy to have two pots on the go at the same time. 

 

FAQ:  

Why do I say you should use a wooden spoon to make the cherry sauce? 

Sour  cherries are much more acidic than sweet cherries and can react with a metal spoon giving the sauce a metallic aftertaste. A wooden spoon however will impart subtle yet valuable earthy flavours and fragrance to the sauce. 

 

 

HUHAMMARA ROASTED RED PEPPER AND WALNUT DIP

 

Ingredients:

·      3 large red peppers / capsicum

·      ½ cup dry breadcrumbs toasted

·      Juice of 1 lemon

·      1 tbs pomegranate molasses

·      2 tsp ground cumin

·      2 tsp Allepo chilli powder 

·      1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed

·      100 gm walnuts, broken into pieces and toasted in a dry frypan

·      3 tbs olive oil, or more

·      salt to taste

·      fresh parsley leaves to garnish

 

Ingredient NOTES:

If you can’t access Allepo chilli powder you can replace it with 1 tsp smoked paprika powder or half and half paprika powder and ground cayenne pepper. Depending on your heat preference use more or less cayenne here

 

Method:

1.    Prepare the red peppers by cutting in half, deseeding and removing stem

2.    Now grill the peppers on a BBQ or in a cast iron pan on the stove top until the skins are charred but not burnt

3.    Once charred pop the peppers in an oven-proof tray, cover with al-foil and roast in a pre-heated oven at 180 Celsius until soft -  about 20 minutes

4.    Remove the tray from the oven and leave it covered with the foil

5.    Sit the tray somewhere off the heat to allow the peppers to steam under the foil from the residual heat for about 10 mins to loosen their skin

6.    Once the peppers are cool enough to handle peel the skin off the peppers with your fingers and discard. Don’t worry if some skin sticks on it’s ok

7.    Now it is time to make the dip

8.    Put the peppers and all the other ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a smooth dip-like paste forms

9.     If the mixture becomes dry in the pulsing process keep adding more olive oil, drizzling  in small amounts at a time until a smooth paste forms

NOTE: Muhammara is traditionally hand ground by mortar and pestle and this would  enhance the flavours and textures of the dip. It would also possibly add half an hour to the preparation time. I used a food processor for this part as I was time poor. Totally up to you which method you chose

10.         To serve this dish to the table take a plate and use a spoon to spread the Muhammara thickly over the plate then garnish with parsley leaves

 

 

JAJIK CUCUMBER SALAD

 

Ingredients:

·      2 medium cucumber

·        2 cup grape tomato or baby Roma tomato (or other tomatoes you have)

·      ¼ cup  yoghurt

·      1 tbs lemon juice

·      1 handful fresh mint leaves, torn in half

·      fresh cracked black pepper to taste

·      Salt to taste

·      3-4 sprigs whole mint leaves for garnish

 

Ingredient NOTES:

This is a very forgiving recipe. Whilst the key ingredients list is important, the actual measurements are flexible. Put more or less of the key ingredients in to your salad to suit your taste and what you have on hand

 

Method:

1.    Wash the cucumber and tomatoes and dry

2.    Cut the cucumbers in half lengthways and slice into half rounds

3.    If using grape tomatoes cut them in half longways, if using baby Roma  tomatoes cut them in quarters lengthways

4.    Fold the tomatoes and cucumber together in a bowl

5.    Mix the yoghurts, lemon juice, black pepper, salt and torn mint to make a dressing then fold it through the tomatoes and cucumber

6.    Adjust flavours with extra salt, pepper or lemon juice as needed

7.    Serve topped with leaves of whole mint as garnish

 

ORZO BARLEY RICE

 

Ingredients:

·      1 cup long grain rice

·      ¼ cup pearl barley

·      2 tbs butter and an extra knob of butter for finishing the dish

·      2 ¾ cups chicken stock

·      ½ tsp allspice powder

·      1 tsp salt

·      2 tbs pine nuts

 

Ingredient NOTES:

Ø  There is a type of rice-shaped pasta in the USA that is called Orzo. This recipe is not referring to North American Orzo pasta, however, there are similar Syrian recipes to this one that do use small pasta instead of barley

Ø  If you want to use pasta instead of barley replace it with crushed vermicelli pasta and omit recipe Steps 1and 2 for washing and pre-soaking  the barley

 

Method:

1.    Wash the barley in cold water three times, pouring the water off each time

2.    Then cover the barley with cold water, let it soak for 10 minutes then tip it into a colander to drain off the water

3.    Melt 2 tbs butter in  a medium sized pot with a tight fitting lid (that will be needed later), and brown the barley in the butter for around 5 minutes

4.    Keep the heat low, add the allspice, salt, rice and pine nuts then sauté until the rice is coated in butter and spices, stirring often with a wooden spoon

5.    Pour in the chicken stock, turn the heat up and bring the pot to the boil stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and scrapping the bottom of the pot so the rice doesn’t stick until everything is bubbling away well

6.    Now cover the pot with the lid and don’t take the lid off until you are ready to serve the rice. Turn the heat back to low and let it steam for 20 minutes 

7.    After 20 mins turn the heat off and leave the pot where it is sitting on the heating element that is now cooling down for 10 minutes

8.    When you are ready to serve the rice take the lid off (tipping it away from you so you don’t get a steam burn on your wrist), add the last knob of butter to the pot and fluff it through the rice with a fork

 

These are  all Q-ZINE original recipes informed by multiple sources including:

https://spicykitchensecrets.com/aleppo-sour-cherry-meatballs/

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019343-meatballs-in-sour-cherry-sauce-kabab-karaz

https://www.mounaskitchen.com/post/kebab-karaz

https://allplants.com/blog/lifestyle/a-guide-to-muhammara#:~:text=Where%20does%20muhammara%20come%20from,Eastern%20Medditerenian%20of%20Western%20Asia.

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/muhammara

https://foolproofliving.com/muhammara-recipe/