Palestinian Cuisine Classic Meat Filling

By

Be open to all accessible possibilities

One of the most basic and essential recipes in Arabic cuisine. This recipe is used widely across the board, and is one worth perfecting, as in so many occasions it lends itself beautifully to transform a regular not-so-exciting dish into another worth celebrating.

Because this recipe is widely used, it is wise to have it ready and available to use any time. Therefore, this recipe can be carried out, making as many portions as you would like, then frozen in portions, ready to use whenever needed. This allows you to create beautiful meals in less time, very important for those of us who work, and run tight schedules yet still want to sit for a proper, healthy and delicious home-cooked meal. Since you are at it, make sure it is organic 🙂

The meat filling can be made using fresh minced meat, then frozen for up to 4 months. So an hour’s make gives you 4 months of options and accessible possibilities! Here is how it’s made…

Ingredients

Serves: 4 Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • 1Kg organic minced lamb or beef
  • 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 2 tsp DS Meat & Poultry Spice Mix
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp DS Premium Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  •  Salt flakes and black pepper to taste
  • 3 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Toast the pine nuts and set aside until ready to use.

Place the meat in a sieve, then sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes. Season with the spices and rub to incorporate.

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil together with the chopped onion and crushed garlic. Gently soften without browning. Add the minced meat, and stir. Season with salt and black pepper and stir all to coat. Cook stirring occasionally until all the liquids run out and the meat is browned. Remove from heat.

Add the toasted pine nuts, chopped parsley and stir to mix. Set aside to cool slightly. Stuffing is now ready to use.

If you wish to freeze it, then divide into the desired portions, place in freezer-safe containers/bags and seal well. Freeze up to 4 months. Thaw and use as you would a fresh cooked one.

Ways to use this meat stuffing

  • This stuffing can be added to eggs to make the classic Arabic breakfast/dinner scrambled eggs with meat stuffing.
  • It is the traditional meat stuffing used across the board in Arabic cuisine to stuff vegetables, such as Kusa for the Mukhshi dish, a dish of stuffed kusa cooked in yogurt sauce. Also to stuff eggplants which are then cooked in Tomato Sauce for the traditional Sheik Al Mukhshi dish….
  • This meat stuffing is also traditionally made to be used as garnish for lavish dishes such as making a simple rice pilaf more impressive and rich where this meat filling is sprinkled on top the rice in the serving dish. also on top of the different Fattah dishes such as eggplant fatteh (these are usually appetiser dishes made by layering fried/toasted bread or rice topped with a sauce a vegetable type and at times also topped with yogurt then garnished with this meat filling.
  • This is the same meat filling used in the making of many savoury pastries such as the Arabic samboosik, fatayer lahmeh (meat filled pastries)…etc.

with that said do let your imagination roam and find other uses for this delicious meat filling.

This recipe is from the repertoire of over 280 recipes in my book Plated Heirlooms. The book contains recipes from all sections of the Palestinian cuisine, starting with Mooneh (pantry recipes) to dessert and everything in between. Plated Heirlooms is a documentation of recipes and cuisine rationale as well as the compiled story of the cuisine.

All Plated Heirlooms recipes come with background information and thorough descriptions that in the end tie up with the rest of the book’s narrative to explain to you the formation and makings of Palestinian cuisine.

You can order “Plated Heirlooms” here and we will ship it to you anywhere in the world.

You may also like…