How to make | Olive Oil Mushrooms | Futtr bi Zeit | Mediterranean Mushrooms | Chef Chaza Smith

Olive Oil Mushrooms | Futtr bil Zeit
Chef Chaza favorite from her childhood, Futtr bil Zeit is an Olive Oil Mushroom dish cooked with Garlic, Cilantro and Lemon Juice

Eat it with Rice and make it a meal, or just enjoy it like Chef Chaza and plate it with toasted Pita Bread.  Futtr bi Zeit (Olive Oil Mushrooms, or Arabic Mushrooms) compliments many occasions, from a snack to buffet to entre, it’s a hardy dish that prepares quickly and easily!

 

Time to Prepare:  15  Minutes

 

Click HERE to view Chef Chaza Smith preparing Olive Oil Mushrooms on YouTube

 

Ingredients for Mushrooms in Olive Oil:

2 lbs x Mushrooms (any kind, Chef prefers White or Portobello when available)

1 x Lemon

3 Cloves x Garlic

1 Head/Bunch x Cilantro

1 Cup x Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

 

Preheat Oil in a pot to Medium-High.  Wash and clean the Mushrooms, then remove the stems and slice Mushrooms (Chef saves the stems in her freezer to later use for future Mushroom stocks).  Pour Mushrooms into the heated Oil.  Don’t Salt (yet)!

While Mushrooms are cooking (and shrinking) in the Oil, de-stem and chop the washed Cilantro (Chef saves those stems to later use for future Veggie broths).  Peel the Garlic and put Garlic into a Mortar, to Mortal and Pestle.  Add Salt, and smash the Garlic into a smooth paste in the Mortar using the Pestle.  Add a large pinch on Salt (to taste) and the juice of the whole Lemon to the Garlic mash.  Add two tablespoons of Olive Oil too.  It should smell delicious!

Add Pepper to the Mushrooms cooking in Oil (do not Salt yet!).  After about 7 to 10 minutes, Mushrooms should be sufficiently cooked (don’t worry, it’s very difficult to over-cook Mushrooms!), removed the Mushroom-cooking pot from the heat, and add the Mortared-and-Pestled Garlic mash, and the chopped Cilantro to the hot Mushrooms.

It’s ready to serve, enjoy!

Arabic Yogurt Cucumber Sauce | Leban bil Khyar

Yogurt with Cucumbers and Garlic
Known to Chef as Leban bil Hier (Yogurt with Cucumbers), this savory sauce pair well with one of Chef’s other favorites, Mjedrah.

Leban bil Hier (Yogurt with Cucumbers) features bold and savory Garlicy flavors floating amongst a soft and subtle yogurt sauce intermingled with fresh and crispy cucumber shavings.  A perfect side for Mjedrah!

Time to prepare:  5 Minutes

Special tools:  Mortar and Pestle

 

Ingredients for Laban bil Khyar (Arabic Yogurt Cucumber Mint Garlic sauce):

2 x Persian Cucumbers

2 Cups x Greek Yogurt

2 x Cloves of Garlic

1/2 Tsp x Dried Mint

1 Tbsp x Olive Oil

Salt

 

How to make Leban bil Kuhar / Yogurt with Cucumber Sauce…

Grate the Cucumbers.  Add them to the yogurt, along with 3 large pinches of salt (more salt makes is more saucy/watery).  Peel the Garlic.  Put the Garlic with a large pinch of Salt into a mortar.  Smash the garlic into a paste like mixture in a Mortar and Pestle.  Add the Garlic paste into the yogurt, along with the olive oil and gently combine all the ingredients.  It should be ready to serve.