Kibbeh Bel Sayniyeh

Knafeh Nabulsia كنافة نابلسية

Kaak bel Ajweh كعك بالعجوة

An immersive, all-day cooking workshop on Victoria Day Holiday Monday!

in 2016, The Depanneur reached out to the Syrian newcomer community and has been delighting in the delicious results ever since. Our Newcomer Kitchen project has become something of a local sensation, serving up 50 meals of traditional Syrian home cooking every week.

In that time, many people have expressed interest in learning some of these fabulous recipes, so for this holiday Monday, The Dep and Newcomer Kitchen are teaming up to offer a full-day, hands-on workshop delving into a some of our most popular Syrian dishes. The class will cover a number of delicious and traditional Syrian recipes, and will include a light meze lunch and food to take home.

— Morning —
Kibbeh is one of the most quintessentially Syrian dishes; I’ve been told that there are some 22 different kinds from Damascus alone! In this class we’ll be learning how to make 2 of them:

Kibbeh Lahmeh
One of the the most traditional and famous Syrian dishes. Bulgur wheat, finely ground halal beef and spices are combined and formed into small football-shaped dumplings to be stuffed with a spiced mixture of ground beef and toasted pine nuts. They are then fried to give them a dark auburn and crisp exterior.

Kibbeh Bel Sayniyeh
This is a more unique vegetarian kibbeh, made from two layers of bulgur and potato dough sandwiching a filling of chopped potato, mushrooms, nuts, spices and pomegranate seeds. It is then artfully pre-sliced and decorated with blanched almonds before being baked.

LUNCH
You’ll enjoy a light lunch of your still-warm kibbes along with a selection of Syrian mezzes, salads and dips, tea and sweets.

— Afternoon —
The afternoon will focus on baking 2 very delicious Syrian desserts showcasing some of the special ingredients of the region.

Knafeh Nabulsia
This dessert combines knafeh, a finely shredded wheat pastry, with a base of mild white cheese (known as Nabulsi, originally from the Palestinian city of Nablus). It is baked until the pastry is golden and the cheese soft and gooey, then it is all doused with a scented sugar syrup. This dish is recorded in the Levant as far back as the 10th century, but the Ottoman Empire spread variations of it to across much of the Middle East.

Kaak bel Ajweh
Delicious, date-stuffed cookies flavoured with vanilla, anise, sesame seeds and mahlab, a spice derived from cherry kernels that imparts a lovely marzipan aroma. These cookies are popular in Lebanon around Easter, where they are known as “Crown” cookies, their ring shape are thought to evoke Jesus’ crown of thorns.

The day will wrap up with an afternoon coffee break and chance to enjoy your freshly-made sweets.

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$125 +HST

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Newcomer Kitchen is a new project that invites groups of Syrian refugee women to use our kitchen to cook traditional Syrian dishes in a fun, social setting. Meals are prepared and packaged, and then sold online for pickup or delivery to pay for all the ingredients and provide an honorarium for the cooks. The project now supports over 55 women and paid out over $30,000 directly into the community in 2016.

Learn more about the Newcomer Kitchen project.

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Every Monday, The Depanneur invites TO’s best culinary talents to lead fun, hands-on workshops.

Learn more about Workshops at The Depanneur