For many, the holidays are about connecting with family traditions, and cooking is one of the most enjoyable ways to connect, no matter where you’re from or which holidays you celebrate. To keep the season merry, we’re presenting a few recipes from Merrimack Valley’s finest chefs and restaurant owners. Perhaps they’ll change the ways you celebrate your holidays with those you care about the most.

Jocelyn’s Mediterranean Restaurant & Martini Lounge

For Jocelyn Maroun, co-owner of Jocelyn’s Mediterranean Restaurant & Martini Lounge in Salem, N.H., the holidays mean family, and, of course, food.

“I always loved spending time with my family for the holidays,” Maroun says. “Getting to connect with my two brothers and the rest of my family is always really important to me, especially if I haven’t seen them in a while.”

Jocelyn’s features a wide variety of Lebanese and American dishes, as well as many healthy Mediterranean offerings, such as hummus, tabbouleh, falafel and shawarma. The Riz Ala Dajaj, a classic Lebanese chicken, beef and rice dish, is easy to make and normally served on special occasions, such as Christmas or New Year’s.

“The Riz Ala Dajaj can be a main or side,” Maroun says. “We used to eat it every chance we got, whether it was for birthdays or holidays like Easter, Christmas and the New Year. It was always served with hummus, too, which is something you have to have as a Lebanese family. It was always a great time getting to catch up with family over food for the holidays.”

 

RIZ ALA DAJAJ

Start to finish: 2 hours
Serves: 6

5 pounds boiled whole chicken
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups cooked rice
3/4 cup pine nuts

Boil chicken with cinnamon stick and half of the salt. Reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken and coarsely shred off bones. Reserve chicken stock to add to rice. Cook ground beef in a deep pot and add remaining salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add rice and chicken stock to pot. Fry pine nuts with a little olive oil until golden.

To serve, place rice mixture on serving platter. Cover with beef, shredded chicken and pine nuts.

HUMMUS

Start to finish: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

2 cups chickpeas (canned or home-cooked), rinsed and drained
1 cup tahini paste (ground sesame paste)
1 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon water
Paprika
Parsley
Olive oil

Add the tahini and lemon juice in a blender to make a thick whipped paste. Add in the chickpeas, salt, garlic and water to make the dip creamier.

Garnish with paprika, parsley and olive oil.

BAKED KIBBEE

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours
Servings: 6

Filling:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound ground beef (not lean)
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Bulgur Mixture:
1 cup soaked bulgur wheat
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground beef (not lean)
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Filling:
Cook the chopped onion in olive oil. Add the beef, allspice, salt, cinnamon and pepper. Remove from the heat once cooked and stir in the pine nuts.

To Make Bulgur Mixture:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Pulse the onion in a food processor until finely chopped. Add beef, allspice, salt, cinnamon and pepper, and pulse until the onion is finely minced. Add the bulgur and mix with your hands to combine well.

For the Whole Dish:
Lightly grease a tray with olive oil. Press half of the bulgur mixture evenly onto the bottom and edge of the baking tray. Add filling evenly over the bulgur mixture. Spoon the remaining bulgur mixture over the filling and spread to cover the tray.

Brush the top with the remaining olive oil and score in a crosshatch pattern with a paring knife. Bake the kibbeh in the middle of the oven until cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes.

TABOULE

Start to finish: 30 minutes
Serves: 4-6

4 bunches parsley
3 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small bunch mint leaves
1 onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup bulgur wheat
2 large lemons
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
Black pepper to taste

Wash the parsley and remove most of the stem. In a small bowl, soak the bulgur wheat in water and set aside.

Finely and gently chop the dry parsley using a sharp knife and add to a large bowl. Add the sliced mint leaves, onion and chopped tomatoes. Drain the bulgur mixture and add to the bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, then mix. Adjust the lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

 

Jocelyn’s Mediterranean Restaurant & Martini Lounge
Salem, N.H.
(603) 870-0045
JocelynsRestaurantNH.com