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Mini Cheese Flatbreads with Mint
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Home » Rose Water & Orange Blossoms Blog – Fresh and Classic Lebanese Recipes » Stories and Recipes » Breads » Mini Cheese Flatbreads with Mint
These mini cheese flatbreads with mint are a Lebanese tradition, part of the mana’eesh, the man’oushe flatbread family and just one of the many variations of toppings used. I love making cheese flatbreads in little rounds using my fatayar dough recipe, party-ready and so soft and tender. The topping is out-of-this-world flavorful, with halloumi, labne, scallions, and dried mint (if you haven’t tried my Mint Salts from Maureen Abood Market yet, I know you’ll love them!).
I can’t imagine two guys more different than Camille Abood and Anthony Bourdain. Dad, a brilliant attorney who trained in the seminary for the priesthood. Bourdain, also brilliant, and, well, you know.
Yet I’m surprised by the thoughts I’ve been having in the wake of Bourdain’s death. Anthony Bourdain reminds me of, or rather much more accurately, makes me think of my father.
Maybe this connection is happening just because whenever something really awful happens in the world, I want my dad. Maybe it’s because this weekend is Father’s Day and pretty much everything is making me think of Dad. Maybe it’s because the end of June will mark the 18th anniversary of his passing. Probably it’s all of that, and more.
My relationship with Bourdain is similar to yours, in that we didn’t know him, but we feel like we did. The show he shot in Lebanon in 2006 when the Israeli-Lebanese war broke out was what first drew me to him. This was the same summer Chris and Ruth were in Lebanon adopting John, and getting Ruth home with the baby was dramatic and difficult and took true grit and bravery on Ruth’s part.
And then, a couple of short years later, we lost Ruth. Anything we could see that shed light on her time in Lebanon, we were riveted. Also, I hadn’t been to Lebanon yet when this episode of No Reservations came out, and was sorting through my fear/reservations/want to go/need to go/fear/reservations feelings. Then, in 2012, I went. Then, in 2013, I met Bourdain as a fan at his “No Guts No Glory” show in East Lansing. We talked about Beirut and Lebanese food. Then, in 2014, I asked him to review and write a blurb for my book. I wanted to hug the man like my father, but with a big Lebanese spread to express my thanks better than words could.
No matter how I got here, the Dad-Bourdain thoughts are swimming around in my head freely. Both men liked a certain raw-ness in life. Both never met a person they couldn’t talk with. Both were supremely generous (Bourdain had no need to spend time on the cookbook of a non-celebrity chef, did he? He was generous, and cared about Lebanon, so he did it).
Learning that Bourdain killed himself struck such a painful cord throughout the world. For me, I just keep thinking what my dad would say. Dad was a counselor in every sense of the word, an attorney who dove deep and drove hard at the truth. He could talk you through, into, or out of anything. He was especially adept at facing suffering with others. There’s not a reason to think about it, but I think that if Dad knew Anthony Bourdain, Anthony Bourdain would still be here.
The strongest connection I keep thinking of, though, is OF COURSE! the food. My father was not a traveling man. He was happiest in his own house, his own bed, his own kitchen. He was not a food explorer like Bourdain.
But the eating! The savoring! The necessary marriage of people, story, and the food! To watch Dad eat anything was to crave that food for the rest of your life. Same Bourdain.
Seems like I have for a long time chased after the recipes of the Lebanese foods my dad loved. But too, I think of how much I wish I could hand him plate after plate of the new recipes I’m developing all of the time, classics and inventive dishes, to see what he’d think of them.
That’s especially true of anything pizza-esque. No better appetizer in my dad’s book than a pizza. Get one for the table while we look over the menu!
The cheese flatbreads, mini mana’eesh, man’oushe: case in point. Little soft pillows of goodness, with melty minted cheese and labne. I’d like to watch Dad, Bourdain, any lover of food eat these, and set the lifelong craving in play.
I’ve auditioned many a dough recipe for these little beauties, and my fatayar dough wins it. The flavor and texture of this dough are spot on, and with no second rise, these soft little breads come together more swiftly. Serve them as part of a maza or as an appetizer with a glass of wine. Bake them ahead, and freeze them wrapped very well. Thaw and revive in a low oven. Store the fresh flatbreads in an airtight container for a couple of days, warming in a low oven before serving.
For the dough:
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water, about 80 degrees, divided
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup neutral oil, such as canola or safflower
Proof the yeast by dissolving it in ¼ cup of the warm water with the sugar and letting it activate for about 15 minutes.
Whisk together the flour and salt in a mixer bowl or medium bowl. Create a well in the center and add the oil and proofed yeast mixture. Using a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment or by hand, slowly work the wet ingredients into the dry, adding the remaining 3/4 cup water slowly.
Knead by hand or with the dough hook in the mixer until the dough is very soft, smooth, and tacky/sticky to the touch (but it should not leave dough on your fingers when touched).
In a clean bowl at least twice the size of the dough, lightly coat the dough and the sides of the bowl with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 90 minutes (don't go much longer than that, though).
While the dough rises, make the filling. In a medium bowl, combine the halloumi, labne, scallions, and dried mint.
When the dough is ready, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
To shape the flatbreads, roll out half of the dough at a time to about 1/4-inch. Use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, or the top of a glass, to cut out circles. Position these as close together as possible. Using a spatula or by hand, transfer the circles to one of the pans. Repeat this same process with the second half of the dough.
Spread about a teaspoon of the filling on top of each little circle. Brush the tops with olive oil.
Bake one sheet at a time for 12-15 minutes, or until the breads are light golden brown.
Serve the cheese breads warm or at room temperature.
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Source: https://www.maureenabood.com/mini-cheese-flatbreads-with-mint/
Healthy Turkey Chili
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Today calls for the BEST Turkey Chili! October is showing off here in all the right ways—football, flannel, flame-colored leaves, and footwear (yay, BOOTS)—so the time felt right to reshare this classic healthy turkey chili recipe. It’s packed with lean protein and veggies, can be a spicy turkey chili if you like (or not spicy if that’s your family’s preference), and a few readers have even reported entering it into chili cookoffs and emerging at the top. That officially makes it an award-winning turkey chili recipe too!
In addition to the season, chili has been big on my brain, as I spent most of this past weekend working on a new healthy chili recipe for my upcoming cookbook. After several test batches, a run to the store for additional storage containers, and subjecting Ben to multiple blind taste tests, I’ve had an ample amount of time to reflect on the qualities that take a chili from “good enough” to “gobble it up.”
I’m pleased to report I nailed it! Like every recipe in my book, that upcoming chili is gobble-it-up-good, a highly unofficial term that I am officially adopting as a cookbook recipe standard.
Since I can’t share that chili recipe yet (AHHH you are going to love it!), I wanted to share this healthy turkey chili in the meantime. It’s fall, we need chili, and this recipe shares many of the same qualities I seek from my pot of chili.
This turkey chili recipe is classic in flavor, thick in texture, and ready for any and all of your favorite chili toppings.
I opted to use ground turkey (my preference), but you could easily use lean ground beef and still have a healthy chili, if that’s more your style. Lots of chunky vegetables ensure this chili is still plenty wholesome.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, I need to ask you a Very Important Turkey Chili Question.
Beans or No Beans?
I’m typically in camp “beans” (reference: Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili, Crockpot White Chicken Chili, and turkey Instant Pot Chili), but for this particular turkey chili recipe, I decided to take a walk on the no-bean chili side and omit them.
I reasoned I could taste the chili at the very end of its cooking time and add them at the last minute if I felt the recipe was lacking.
Verdict: I loved the Healthy Turkey Chili without beans. It’s plenty thick, rich, and filling on its own, and I felt that the no-bean route allowed the savoriness of the meat and the depth of the spices to shine.
That said, if you are a firm believer that chili should have beans and want to toss in a can of pintos or red kidneys, your Healthy Turkey Chili will still be fabulous.
I owe this Healthy Turkey Chili recipe to my friend Lexi. She released her first cookbook last year, Lexi’s Clean Kitchen, and it is packed with 150 (yes, 1-5-0) recipes that use whole foods and are Paleo friendly, this turkey chili included.
My version of Lexi’s healthy turkey chili recipe follows her formula—brown the aromatics, add the turkey and a heap of colorful veggies, spice it up, let simmer—with a few shortcuts and adjustment of spices to suit our tastes.
The biggest shortcut is the cook time. The original healthy turkey chili recipe calls for slowly simmering chili on the stove for three hours, which I am sure gives it incredible depth of flavor. I hope to try it that way one snowy weekend when I’ve adequately planned ahead.
Because I was running behind schedule the day I made this Healthy Turkey Chili (typical), I decided to see if I could speed it along by cranking up the heat from a gentle simmer to a more aggressive boil.
In 45 minutes, I had a gloriously thick, aromatic pot of Healthy Turkey Chili that we devoured all week long. I can only imagine how wonderful it will be when I cook it the low, slow way that Lexi suggests. (If your preferred low and slow method is a healthy turkey chili crockpot adaptation, check out my Slow Cooker Turkey Quinoa Chili.)
Recommended Tools to Make Healthy Turkey Chili
The BEST turkey chili! A thick, rich healthy turkey chili with just the right amount of spice. Award winning recipe that will be your new favorite!
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easy Homemade Soup Recipe, Healthy Turkey Chili
Servings: 8 servings (16 cups of very thick chili)
Calories: 227 kcal
Author: Erin
FOR THE HEALTHY TURKEY CHILI:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 medium onions diced
- 2 bell peppers any color, cored and chopped
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled and cubed (optional—I added it!)
- 2 pounds ground turkey I used 93% lean*
- 1 1/2-2 cups water more as needed
- 1 can tomato sauce (15 ounces)
- 1 can diced tomatoes in their juices (14.5 ounces)
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch red pepper flakes
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
- Sliced fresh avocado
- Thinly sliced jalapeño
- Shredded cheese
- Plain non-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Freshly chopped cilantro
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Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, and sweet potato. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, until soft.
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Add the turkey and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often to break up the chunks.
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Once the meat is browned, add 1 1/2 cups water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes in their juices, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a moderate bubble. Let cook, uncovered, until the chili thickens, about 45 minutes, stirring every so often so that the chili does not stick to the bottom. If the chili becomes too thick, add a little water to reach your desired consistency.
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Toward the end of the cooking time, taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Add more cayenne pepper for an extra kick and more salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot with desired toppings.
- Lexi's original version of the chili calls for slowly simmering it (in lieu of my "moderate bubble") on the stove for 3 hours, adding more water as needed. Since I started cooking the chili later in the day (ahem, I was running late), I cooked it more quickly, which you will see reflected in the recipe directions.
- Want to add beans? Lexi suggests adding 1 (15-ounce) can black beans and/or 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans.
- Store leftover chili in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for 3 months.
Nutrition Facts
Healthy Turkey Chili
Amount Per Serving (1 (of 8), about 2 cups)
Calories 227 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 15%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 91mg 30%
Sodium 741mg 31%
Total Carbohydrates 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Sugars 4g
Protein 24g 48%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Source: https://www.wellplated.com/healthy-turkey-chili/
