This is such a tasty, elegant and rather quick recipe to make for a party in any season, really. I’ve made them for Ramadan Iftar parties, Eid gatherings, family night dinners, special occasions, and even when I’ve catered fancy events downtown Chicago. Always use the best salmon you can find and the freshest greens you can find, as well.
The recipe in the video is super quick because it’s simpler in that the cream cheese is plain.
In the recipe below it is a blend of ingredients that is suitable for an elegant party.
It can easily be multiplied depending on how many you’ll serve.
Most guests will eat about 2-3 each on average.
Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Crudites
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of one large lemon
1/3 cup freshly chopped dill
Sea salt, to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon)
4 ounces smoked salmon (preferably wild)
1/3 cup diced cucumber
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (optional)
Arugula or spring greens leaves
Directions
If you have a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to break up the cream cheese and mix it together with the sour cream; if not, an electric beater works fine.
Add the lemon juice, fresh dill, salt and pepper. Roughly chop the salmon then gently fold it into the dip. Fold in the cucumber with a spoon or spatula.
Check the consistency and, if desired, add the heavy cream to create the consistency you prefer.
Refrigerate until serving. Keeps fresh for about 3 days in the fridge.
One of my all-time favorite recipes for drinks that truly hydrate without artificial sugars. This is great for a Spring or Summertime Ramadan when you really want something cool and refreshing and super hydrating for Iftar, too.
Don’t skimp on the fresh mint, either. That little detail at the end makes it extra special and tasty.
This recipe appeared first in my Summer Ramadan Cooking cookbook, which you can find on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.
If you’re a soup lover like me, a big pot of soup on a chilly Fall day is one of the best things you can do for yourself. I really love a good, hearty soup that I can have for at least two days or even just one and freeze the rest. Something with meat always feels like a main meal, too. If it has pasta or rice or bulgur, I see no need to have bread on the side, but that’s just me; it’s filling enough with one of those types of carbs.
One of my heartiest soup recipes I love to make in Fall & Winter is our traditional Italian Wedding Soup. I grew up on it. First, my Sicilian grandmother made it occasionally for the family Sunday dinner of 30+ people and then my mom started making it at home for us and I think she tweaked the recipe perfectly to our tastebuds, adding more cheese, meat and parsley to the meatball mixture. That soup takes more work, however, because it also has chicken in it, so this Meatball & Mini Ravioli Soup is like my shortcut version- similar taste in much less time.
In this recipe, I use small cheese-filled ravioli, which I found at Trader Joe’s. They take about 16-18 minutes to cook, so they are the last ingredient I add. The big ravioli just don’t make sense to me in this dish, but if you like that by all means use those instead. You could even skip the meatballs and get meat-filled ravioli (which I just thought of as I write this), but I really love the meatballs.
The very first step is to prepare those delicious meatballs. I was craving turkey protein for some odd reason (must be the Fall weather and thoughts of the upcoming Thanksgiving), but if you want to make the meatballs out of beef, chicken or even lamb, you can certainly do that.
I add a few special ingredients: Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, minced garlic, dried parsley and homemade breadcrumbs. My breadcrumbs are darker than what you might see in stores because I made them from whole wheat bread slices. You can definitely use the store-bought ones, of course, not adding extra work for yourself like me in this case…
Some people skip this next step of baking the meatballs in the oven and they instead cook the meatballs directly into the pot. You can do that, too, but I like the flavor they get when baked first. If I’m in a real hurry, I’ll skip this step and simply sauté them in the pot directly. If baking, do so in the oven at 350°F for 30 minutes. Remove and set aside.
The next thing I do is start the base for the soup: Sauté onions, tomatoes, garlic in olive oil. Add dried herbs like parsley, thyme, oregano, if you like. Watch the salt because you’ll be adding the meatballs which already have salt in them.
You can skip this next step if your meatballs have browned nicely in the oven: Sauté to brown them for added flavor directly in the pot, just for a few minutes then remove and set aside. *If you didnot bake them in the oven- please do this step.
Add as much water to fill the pot. In my Dutch oven, I add about 8 cups of water, gently pouring on top of the meatballs so as not to break them.
Once the liquid comes to a boil, allow the soup to cook for about 30 minutes over medium-high heat, covered. This makes the meatballs really moist.
When you’re about 20 minutes to finish time (or less, depending on the cooking time of the ravioli), it’s time to add these, too.
In my case, these needed to cook for 16-18 minutes. As I said, just follow your ravioli package’s directions. If you’re making homemade ravioli (you’ve just become my hero), they’ll cook for way less time, like under five minutes.
Taste and adjust for salt, pepper and any other spices and herbs. Reduce heat to a simmer, so as not to overcook the ravioli or burst them apart, which sometimes happens on too high of a heat/flame.
Once the ravioli is cooked, you’re ready to serve. Gently ladle into bowls with about 3 meatballs per person (that works in my house, but more or less depending on your own preference). Add some Parmesan cheese on top and serve. That’s an absolute must for me…
What’s your favorite hearty soup dish to cook in the Fall and/or Winter?
Meatball & Mini Ravioli Soup
A hearty, delicious one-pot soup meal that will warm and fill you up on a chilly Fall or Winter day.
Serves 8
For the Meatballs 1 pound ground turkey or beef 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon dried parsley 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 1 egg, slightly beatenFor the Soup 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup diced onion 1 tomato, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 8 cups water 1 pound dried mini raviolis Fresh Parmesan cheese, optional Fresh flat leaf parsley to top the soup, optional
Preparation
Optional step to prepare the meatballs if you will be baking them: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To prepare the meatball mixture: In a medium size bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs. Roll into small to medium size balls and place on a parchment-lined oven tray. Bake for 30 minutes then remove from oven and set aside. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion, tomato and garlic. Saut until soft and translucent. Add the baked or raw meatballs, then the water. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Cover and let cook for about 30 minutes- double the time if you’re adding raw meatballs instead of baked. Add the ravioli or pasta and cook according to the instructions on its packaging, over medium heat. Serve in individual bowls with 2-3 meatballs per bowl. Add fresh Parmesan and freshly chopped parsley, if you have it.
I had no idea what a hit these pita rolls would be. They seemed so easy to make and with such a familiar taste to them, I didn’t even think they would be very interesting to other people. When I instagrammed making these several months ago, so many people were intrigued and wanted the recipe. I totally understand why now- they’re so so easy to make and don’t take too many ingredients to put them together. For people who don’t like tabbouleh or hummus (if they exist), you don’t even really have to put them in the rolls, but they definitely taste better with the two, in my opinion.
Here’s how it goes:
Start with the best quality ingredients you can find, as with all recipes.
The same goes for olive oil and vinegar (i.e. date vinegar or apple cider vinegar). Don’t skimp on the good stuff if you can afford it. There truly is no replacement for real olive oil and the flavor you get with a dark vinegar like date vinegar is unique so if you choose to de-glaze this dish with another type of vinegar (i.e white), it will vary a bit.
You may have questions on the vinegar issue as it relates to halal, I know. So, please visit the vinegar page for what I understand and go by with regards to how I select it. I know
Get a good quality tabbouleh or make it yourself, of course! Here’s a link to my Tabbouleh recipe if you decide to spend a lot of time chopping. It’s quite therapeutic, really.
If you absolutely can’t find the boneless cubes, you can also just get their boneless skinless breast tenders and cut them up, which takes all about 2 minutes for a pound of meat.
Start with a large saute pan and add salt if you’re using a non-stick or a non-cast iron pan. This helps prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan during cooking, which often happens with skinless meats. Add just enough for the recipe to avoid over-salting.
You’re welcome.
Add the oil to pan now gently heat.
When the oil is hot (not burning), add the chicken, freshly ground pepper and any additional salt you think. Cook over medium high heat.
.
Let the chicken brown on one side then flip.
Flip again until they’re really nicely browned on all sides. You may need to stay right in front of the pan to do this, in order to avoid burning or pulling apart of any meat.
Now add the vinegar.
All at once. It will start to steam and evaporate just as soon as it hits the pan. Stay right in front of the pan to deglaze the oil and any scraps at the bottom of the pan with your spoon or spatula.
Keep doing this until all of the vinegar is ‘gone’- it’s really attaching itself to the meat.
It should look this beautiful by then, the deep dark color is due to the vinegar. Don’t worry if there’s a little oil left in the pan. That’s actually good because if you’re not eating this right away, you can store the chicken with this oil and re-heat in it so that it doesn’t dry out.
It’ll also give it a bit of a nice sheen.
This is not a greasy sandwich, but that extra oil is kind of nice if you want to add in the pita roll. We love it like that.
Those bite-size pieces are just wonderful, but you can always cut larger pieces if you prefer.
Here’s a video where I show how the same technique is done, although these chicken pieces are uncut (using boneless chicken tenders):
Now get out the hummus. This is a pre-made one, I know. That’s what makes it extra quick when you need things to be fast.
Take a heaping spoonful and spread it across the underside of one whole pita bread laid flat on a plate.
Now do one more heaping spoonful. It makes the sandwich more moist.
Next is the tabbouleh. Another ready-made version. I said I needed it done fast. But truth be told, I have at times made one thing homemade and store-bought the other. Whatever works for you.
Then, add as much chicken as you’ll like per sandwich. I like to divide the final mixture of chicken into fours so that I know I’ll have four evenly-made sandwiches.
Wanna roll? Or eat it open face? Well, you could do either one, really.
Let’s say we roll this time. Take one side of the bread and fold it completely over the ingredients lengthwise.
And, roll again.
Cut them in half, if you like, or just because you want to take photos. Everyone’s doing that these days….
I think we may find one day that there are more pictures of sandwiches and said pita rolls than there are of children in our families.
I crave Italian food in a hot and steamy summer because it reminds me of Sicilian tomato sauce cooking in my Nonna’s kitchen. She used to make gallons of sauce and jar them every summer so that the whole family would have plenty all winter long. That’s why, in the winter, all I want is the sauce from those jarred tomatoes, smothering some chicken in basil and melted Parmesan. It’s the perfect comfort food that is a nod to summer preservation of food, culture and traditions.
One dish I make a lot in the winter (simply because it is so easy and contains basically every one of my favorite ingredients), is this incredible Skillet ChickenParmesan which can be made eaten right out of the pan with some rustic Italian bread dunked in the sauce, or you can make some pretty scrumptious sandwiches out if it, too.
It all starts with great halal chicken, of course and then is prepared much like a regular Chicken Parmesan dish in that the meat is seasoned the same way, although it is cooked on the stove top instead of baked.
Then sauce and cheese are added straight into same skillet once the chicken is in.
The cheese melts so nicely, right into the fresh basil…that’s the best part of it all…
This is when you get to decide whether or not you want to enjoy this over spaghetti, on some rustic Italian bread as a sandwich fit for dinner…
…or right out of the pan…
I always seem to choose the sandwich. I’m an 80’s kid and we seem to have made sandwiches out of everything.
This is more like a gourmet Italian sub.
I can’t get enough of them, and I don’t have to look around at any restaurant to serve it up, especially when halal chicken is hard to come by in many Italian places, not to mention any of the issues around bread (i.e. the dough conditioners I talk about in the My Halal Kitchen cookbook) and cheese (i.e. enzymes and rennet that I also discuss in my cookbook), and anything else that might be processed or not so fresh.
It’s so good you’ll want to make it over and over again, trust me.
No time for the long version of Baked Chicken Parmesan? This is the perfect way to satisfy the craving for something Italian, filling and delicious, without all the fuss or time involved.
Prepare one bowl and two plates for the egg wash, bread crumbs, and breaded chicken.
Slice the chicken in half to thin it out, or alternatively, use a meat hammer to thin it out (this helps it to cook faster and more thoroughly). Cut chicken into 2-inch vertical strips.
Dip one piece of breaded chicken into the whisked egg and turn so that it is fully covered in the egg. Remove and place in the bread crumb mixture, then onto a separate plate. Repeat until all chicken has been breaded.
Place the chicken in the heated oil and cook until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until brown for the same amount of time.
Add the sauce to cover the meat. Slice the mozzarella and place directly on top of the sauce. Add the basil leaves, too.
Lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and turn off the heat. Add fresh parsley on top, if desired. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan, if you like.
Move chicken to a serving platter if serving over cooked spaghetti; remove each piece individually if placing on rustic bread for sandwiches.
If making sandwiches, place chicken on one half of a large slice of the bread, then close with the top half and cut. This is much easier than making two small halves.
I add a few special ingredients: 
