Host Family Cookbook
We recently asked our wonderful host families for some of their favorite recipes, and we weren’t disappointed by the delicious results!
Sfouf
Let’s start with some dessert, shall we? Host mom Hafida walks us through the ingredients for this yummy almond dish in the video below. Sfouf is a Ramadan specialty in Morocco.
2. Moajanat
These za’atar and cheese pastries are a perfect and delicious snack, and a host family in Amman was kind enough to share their recipe with us! If you’re feeling creative, you can also swap out the za’atar and cheese for other fillings.
Za’atar and Cheese Moajanat
معجنات زعتر مع جبنة
Ingredients (المقادير):
2 cups of flour (كوب طحين)
2 teaspoons of baking powder (ملعقة صغيرة بيكنج باود)
½ cup of vegetable oil (كوب زيت)
¾ cups of yoghurt (كوب لبن)
2 cups of fresh chopped zaatar (كوب زعتر أخضر مفروم خشن)
2 cups of chopped white cheese, previously soaked in water (كوب جبنة بيضاء منقوعة ومفرومة)
½ cup of olive oil (كوب زيت زيتون)
Instructions:
Prepare the dough by mixing the dry ingredients in a bowl
Add the oil and yoghurt and mix well
Shape the dough into a ball and knead it for about 5 minutes
Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let rest in a warm place for at least 2 hours
Once the dough has rested, pull or cut it apart into even sized portions
Evenly divide the cheese and za’atar and tuck it into each dough ball
Space out the dough balls on a greased or non-stick baking sheet, and brush each with olive oil
Bake on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until golden
3. Kafteji
This Tunisian vegetable dish was offered up by a family in Tunis. Kafteji is usually eaten as a side dish in a meal.
Tunisian Kafteji by AL Laabidi
Serves 4
Ingredients:
6-7 medium sized potatoes
5 green peppers (can be hot or mild depending on your preference)
300 grams of pumpkin
4 eggs
3-4 tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
Garlic paste
Instructions:
Peel the potatoes and cut them French fry style
Fry the potatoes in oil, then set them aside
Slice the pumpkin into one cm thick pieces
Fry the pumpkin slices, then set them aside
Fry the peppers (no need to cut them)
Remove the seeds and skin from the peppers, then set them aside
Either change the oil or use another pan for the eggs
Fry the eggs
Use a separate pan to cook the tomatoes and season them with salt, pepper and garlic paste to taste
Cut the potatoes, pumpkin, peppers, eggs and tomatoes into medium sized cubes
Add all ingredients in a large mixing bowl in the order you prepared them: potatoes, pumpkin, pepper, eggs, tomatoes
Mix ingredients thoroughly
You may want to add more salt to taste
Optional: garnish with olives, olive oil, onions and/or parsley
4. Makmoora
Makmoora is a Jordanian chicken pie, where chicken and vegetables are stuffed in a thick dough and baked for hours. If you can stand to be patient, the reward is great! Take a look for yourself!
5. Atay
Atay is the Darija word for tea, but as everyone who has ever been to Morocco knows, tea is extra special there. Watch the video below to see how to make real Moroccan tea!
6. Chebekiya
As we began with sweets so we end with sweets, both sweet Hafida and her recipes. In this last video, she walks us through how to make chebekiya, which is a fried sweet dough soaked in honey.
Thank you to all our host families from Morocco, Jordan, and Tunisia for contributing to this cookbook and for making these delicious foods (and so many others) for our students every day.
