On Friday, the Financial Times ran an interview with Reem Kelani, who's playing at Greenbelt 09. Reem talked a lot about Palestinian cookery and gave the FT her favourite recipe. You can read the whole interview here, and here's the recipe for Reem's Chicken and onion mussakhan wraps:
Known as “muhammar” in Galilee and Nazareth, “mussakhan” can be made into wraps, or it can be made into a pizza, with the chicken and onion piled on to a thin dough base and baked. The latter is served as a main dish, while the wraps are served as a starter.
This is Reem Kelani’s recipe, and it comes from her sister’s mother-in-law, Izdihar Afyouni. It serves 4-6 people.
Ingredients
500g skinned and boneless chicken breasts
Juice of half a lemon
½ cup Palestinian extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to brush the wraps
1 tsp Palestinian mixed spices
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp sumac, plus extra for garnish
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted in a hot oven
2 large shraak (Palestinian flat bread) or markouk (Lebanese handkerchief bread)
Method
● Cut the chicken into long, thin strips and marinate with the lemon juice, half the olive oil, mixed spices and salt and pepper for at least two hours.
● Put the chicken in a pre-heated saucepan, cover and cook in its own marinade, shaking the pan every now and then for about half an hour. Then add 1 cup boiling water and cook until the water evaporates and the chicken is done.
● Fry the chopped onions in the remaining olive oil until cooked but not coloured – add a little water to let them cook thoroughly without caramelising.
● Add the sumac, toasted pine nuts and salt to taste. Cut the bread into rectangular pieces, making sure it is wide enough to roll over into wraps.
● Spread some of the onion and nuts mixture on each piece of bread, then spread some chicken over the onion, sprinkle a little more sumac and roll into long, cigar-shaped wraps.
If anyone cooks this, let us know how it goes!
