Cheese Kubuz

Cheese Kubuz

This is my usual breakfast way back when I was in Abu Dhabi, I can have this almost everyday in the office not because it is my favorite but because it’s the quickest I could have. I am not having breakfast at home for some reasons, okay I admit I am lazy on mornings, so I’m having it in the office. Sadique, the office boy, knows what to buy for me from a nearby bakery. It’s “cheese kubuz” Little did I know that I am gaining weight because of cheese, but I wasn’t that conscious of its fat content. Anyway it is very tasty. Now I’m missing it and making it at home.

I often make flat breads and store them in a tightly sealed plastic in the fridge. I also use the same flat bread for making shawarma. So when laziness kicks in, either hubby or me just grab some and put cheese, pop it in the oven for 5 minutes, sprinkle with salt on top, then that makes a breakfast with a mug of coffee, (without sugar for me please).

Kubuz, Arabic bread, or Chinese pan cakes, whatever they call it, for me it is simply “flat bread” Normally, its dough is made of flour,water,salt and yeast. The dough rests for about an hour so it takes at least 1 hour and half to make it. But I’m fun of shortcuts especially when I’m quite hungry and can’t wait that long. I don’t see much difference with what I’m making at home with the one that from the bakery. Since I don’t rise the dough, I don’t use yeast. I use flour, salt, and warm water. Simply 3 ingredients. I use warm water to develop more gluten from the flour rapidly than that of room temperature.

How to make flat bread?

To make flat bread:
1 cup flour (sifted)
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup warm water

Mix salt and flour in a mixing bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon water at a time while mixing until it forms rough dough. Add water if it’s too dry, this depends of the strength of the flour you are using, add more water if necessary. Knead the dough in a floured flat surface for about 3 minutes or until dough becomes smooth and elastic. Form dough into sausage shape and cut 1 inch thick. Form each into a small ball and flatten with a rolling pin.

Crabmeat sandwich with sesame seeds

Crabmeat Sandwich with sesame seeds

I am a fan of Ainsley Harriot and saw him doing this in one of his TV shows. He used shrimp, but I don’t have fresh shrimps. So I settled with crab meat in sticks!

Ingredients:
Sliced sandwich bread
Crabmeat sticks
1 egg white
Dried sesame seeds
1 Tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon butter
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Slice the crabmeat sticks finely and place in a food processor or blender. Add egg white, salt & pepper and blitz until fine. Spread the mixture into sliced sandwiches. Run with the back of the spoon to flatten the mixture. Sprinkle sesame seeds and press with the back of the spoon.

Heat oil and butter in a pan and place the bread with crab mixture facing down. Cook for 2 minutes and turn to toast the other side. Don’t be tempted to add oil to avoid greasy sandwich.

crab sandwich

Sandwich Mini Towers

Sandwich Mini Towers

Ingredients:
Sandwich
100 g. Light cream cheese
1 can Fish Pâté
1 T. Chili sauce

Preparation:

Remove crusts of the sandwich. Mix chili sauce with cream cheese. Spread cream cheese mixture in one side and fish pâté on the other side of the sandwich. Put them together to assemble towers. Cut sandwich into quarts.

HOTDOG 'n EGG ROLL UPS

Hotdog 'n EGG Roll Ups

Ingredients:

2 hotdogs
2 eggs
1 T. olive oil
grated parmesan cheese

Procedure:

Heat a non-stick pan, spread oil and wipe off excess oil by wiping with a kitchen paper. Slightly beat eggs. Add half of the slightly beaten eggs; quickly swirl the pan to spread the mixture. Sprinkle evenly grated parmesan cheese. Place hotdogs in 1 edge and start rolling the egg. Cook the remaining egg the same way, and place the rolled up egg with hotdog in one edge and start rolling up. This will create a thicker layer of egg.

Slice the sausage-shaped egg and slice ½ inch thick. Serve with toasted bread. This makes a good breakfast.

In beating the eggs, it has to be beaten slightly. Don’t wait for bubbles to form and it has to be beaten right before cooking. No need of adding salt coz the parmesan cheese is quite salty.

Burger Sandwich

Burger

2 burger patties
1 white onion
Mozzarella cheese
Cucumber
Tomatoes
3 slices of bread







Procedure:
Slice thinly the onion and heat in a pan until wilted and becomes slight brown. Slice the tomatoes and cucumber thinly. Toast the slice bread and assemble the burger as desired. Here, I cut the sandwich with a round cookie cutter, the same size as the home made burger patties. Serve with fresh cucumber.

Mortadela n egg sandwich

Mortadella ‘n egg sandwich


Ingredients:

Sliced bread
Slices of Mortadella
2 slightly beaten eggs
Salt & pepper
Mozzarella cheese

Procedure:

Slice off the sides of the bread and toast in a preheated pan 2 minutes each side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan and wipe off with a kitchen paper. Spread the egg evenly by swirling the pan and cook quickly in a low fire. Remove from pan and set aside. Assemble the sandwich in layers alternately with mortadella, cheese and egg. Cut diagonally and serve.