PERSPECTIVES/ THE CONSULTING GROUP, LLC
  • Home
    • Who We Serve
    • How We Work
    • Services >
      • Concept Development
      • Strategic Planning
      • Brand Development
      • Operations
      • HACCP / Food Safety
      • Menu / Product Development
      • Marketing / Research
      • Design
      • Market Planning / Site Analysis
  • Why Perspectives?
    • About Us
    • Principals
    • Mission Statement
    • Code of Ethics
  • Clients
    • Testimonials
    • Client List
  • Contact Us
    • Phone, Address & Contact
  • Covid-19 Survival Guide
  • Perspectives On Food

Cooking Lesson #315: Lebanese Flatbread (Man'oushe)

6/30/2021

0 Comments

 

…from the California Kitchen

Lebanese Manoushe Flatbreads
How you doin’? I can’t help but smile when I tell this story, although it’s always better told in person over cocktails. We were contacted on the internet to submit our credentials to develop a unique Lebanese restaurant concept for people in Azerbaijan. One week later we were awarded the project and were asked to come to Baku to meet with the client. Little did we know that this would turn out to be something of a James Bond novel type story visiting many cities and countries in Europe and the Mid-East.
 
The first thing we had to do was find out where Baku, Azerbaijan was. We found it’s a small country located in a crack between Georgia and Iran—not the safest place in the world considering that there had been a state of war (shooting war) between Armenia and Azerbaijan for years (and it still goes on today). Of course, one never knows what the Iranians are up to.
 
We were supposed to meet our client in London and travel to Baku with him so he could get us into his country. After waiting a week for Azer, eating at many of the Lebanese restaurants in London we found that he couldn’t get into the UK due to passport irregularities and never showed—a little unsettling to say the very least. Joan and I hopped on plane to now meet Azer at the airport in Baku.
 
After clearing customs (which wasn’t all that easy), we finally connected with Azer and were whisked to a new hotel, unpacked and had our first business meeting… here is the gist of the meeting. A Russian-Azerbaijani (formerly KGB… yes, for real) living in Baku wanted to open a chain of Lebanese restaurants in capitol cities across Europe. The targets (pardon the pun) were Kiev, Berlin, Paris, London and Washington, DC. It sounded like a secret agent’s hot list to us. So, we put our on trench coats and started on the “mission.”
 
I must reiterate… this was the strangest project we ever worked on—the details could and will fill a book someday. In the meantime, rest assured we were not involved in any illicit or covert activities for either side.
 
We developed a restaurant concept named SPOT and opened the first unit in Berlin in a vacated 3-story McDonald’s that was built directly over Adolph Hitler’s Berlin bunker where he took his own life—no kidding. As we dug down deep to fix a foundation leak, we found numerous artifacts—Nazi rifles, helmets, medals and papers that we had to turn over to the German government. This was one helluva experience and I swear it’s all true.
 
SPOT’s food was fabulous! Our company did a great job in the test kitchen to bring authentic pre-war Lebanese food to the customers of SPOT. I still get a hankering for Man'oushe and Hummus. Man'oushe is a delicious puffy bread that is made in a hot deck oven. It is often topped with za'atar, a popular mix of herbs and spices served in the Middle East.
 
This recipe is easy and delicious! The flatbread can accommodate other types of toppings on it. The toppings vary from minced meat, feta cheese, fresh herbs like mint, cucumber, tomato and za'atar and is great dipped in hummus.
 
Okay, here's the Man'oushe (bread) recipe so you can begin to taste the flavors of old Beirut, by way of Berlin and Baku.
 
Prep time:  30 minutes
Proof time: 1 hour
Bake time:  7 minutes
Yield:  12 pieces
 
Ingredients
For the dough

2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons honey
3 teaspoons dry yest
6 cups bread flour
3 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
 
Semolina (for the baking; not the dough)
 
For the za'atar topping (optional)
2/3 cup za'atar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
 
Directions
To make the dough
  1. Mix the honey with warm water.
  2. Sprinkle the dry yeast over the honey water and mix; allow to activate.
  3. In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the rest of the dough ingredients including yeast mixture. Mix to incorporate and then knead for 10 minutes.
  4. Form into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with food film and leave the dough to rise double its size; about 1 hour.
To make the za'atar topping
  1. Mix the topping ingredients, set aside. Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best taste.
To put it all together
  1. Preheat the oven at 500ºF with a pizza stone on the highest rack for at least 30 minutes. If you don’t have a pizza stone, turn a sheet pan upside down and use that instead.
  2. Place risen dough on a working surface that has been lightly sprinkled with semolina. Lightly knead into a log and cut it into 12 equal pieces.
  3. Form each piece into a ball.
  4. Take a ball and roll it 1/4-inch thick.
  5. Slide it onto a pizza peel that has also been sprinkled with some semolina.
  6. Spoon some topping on top and spread all around leaving 1/2-inch edges.
  7. Bake for 7 minutes or until it puffs and turns golden brown around the edges. Continue with the rest of the balls while baking.
ChefSecrets: How To Achieve Flatbreads With Air Pockets--The combination of high oven temperature, pizza stone, using a higher rack, thin dough and controlling the air pockets are the keys to get that rustic puffy, flatbread look with air pockets.

How To Serve
  1. These flatbreads are best served hot-out-of-the-oven with some hummus, feta cheese, tomato and mint leaves on the side. Use the balance of the topping as dipping sauce.
  2. Keep them under a kitchen towel to keep them warm before serving.

Quip of the Day: “I recently purchased a toilet brush. Long story short—I’m going back to toilet paper as soon as possible.”
-------------------------------------------
Do you have a question or comment?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
-------------------------------------------
To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#Baking #Snack #Appetizer #Bread #Flatbread #Manoushe #Lebanese #Berlin #Baku #Azerbaijan #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                          ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    For over 4 decades collaboration and vision have been the cornerstones of our approach to developing innovative solutions. We fuel innovation, uncover opportunities, discover trends and embrace sustainability, turning imaginative ideas into profitable realities.

    We are expert in the following areas: Strategic Planning, Concept and Brand Development, Market Research, Operations Systems Planning, Operations Programming, Menu Planning & Inventory Optimization, Product Development, Training Programs, HACCP / Sanitation / Food Safety, Co-Packer Evaluation & Coordination, Food Processing & Facility Plant Design.

    Categories

    All
    Air Fryer
    Appetizers
    Baking
    Beef
    B'Fast/Brunch
    Chicken
    Cocktails
    Condiments
    Confections
    Dessert
    Dinner
    Entrees
    Gluten Free
    Gluten-Free
    Happy Hour
    Health & Beauty
    Healthy Recipes
    Holiday Recipes
    Instant Pot
    Instant-pot
    Keto
    Kids
    Lunch
    Lunch/Brunch
    Pets
    Pork
    Poultry
    Poulty
    Salads
    Sauces
    Seafood
    Sides
    Snacks
    Soups
    Sous Vide
    Special Edition
    Turkey
    Veal
    Vegetarian

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020

www.perspectives-la.com
Copyright © 2021 Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC  | Henderson, NV 89052 |   310-477-8877
  • Home
    • Who We Serve
    • How We Work
    • Services >
      • Concept Development
      • Strategic Planning
      • Brand Development
      • Operations
      • HACCP / Food Safety
      • Menu / Product Development
      • Marketing / Research
      • Design
      • Market Planning / Site Analysis
  • Why Perspectives?
    • About Us
    • Principals
    • Mission Statement
    • Code of Ethics
  • Clients
    • Testimonials
    • Client List
  • Contact Us
    • Phone, Address & Contact
  • Covid-19 Survival Guide
  • Perspectives On Food