Sleek

I love to eat Sleek. I’ve known this Syrian/ Lebanese dish for a long long time, and today I finally feel the time is right to share this recipe with you all.  Since the earliest of my love affair with Local Trini Syrian dishes this was on the top of the list followed closely together with Tabbouleh and Fatoush. I always wanted to recreate it at home since I liked Sleek so much. But, somehow I never got the time and you know how time really goes when you’re having as much fun as me posting recipes.

Sleek now has been a mainstay in my home and I’ve even gotten the time to experiment a little with the different grains like cous cous, bulgur wheat, quinoa and millet.  I didn’t bother to try spinach since I find that spinach takes time to cook, so I opted for pak choi or bok choi. The leaves wilt easily and cooks very fast. The black eyed peas is another story by itself, but I decided to pressure cook then as we usually do. So, I’ve been able to cut down the cooking time drastically when preparing the dish.

The last point of interest would be the browning or caramelizing of the onions which should be relatively easy; saute onions over a low fire until brown. Add a little water to prevent burning too much. And that’s about all there is to preparing this very simple, economic and healthy recipe. When I make this at home it’s not enough. My family really enjoy it. So, here’s my Trini style Syrian recipe Sleek.

SLEEK

2 bundles pak choi
1 cup black eyed peas
1 cup bulgur wheat, cous cous or quinoa, soaked
1 large onion, sliced
4 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
black pepper to taste, optional
3 cups water (for pak choi)

Wash and chop the pak choi leaves discarding the white stalks.  Place in 3 cups boiling water until wilted.

Drain and set aside.

Pressure cook the black eyed peas for 18 minutes. Drain.

In a large bowl mix the black eyed peas, bulgur wheat, pak choi, black pepper and salt.

In a medium sized pot heat the olive oil and caramelize the onions.

Note: As I’ve said before caramelizing onions is easy. Just take your time and let them brown slowly until you get the desired colour. I like mine light brown.

When the desired colour is reached add the mixture of black eyed peas and pak choi and toss for about 2 – 3 minutes.

This step is optional but you could pour the Sleek into a dish afterward. Allow to cool. Serve.

So how do you eat this? Well, if you’re vegetarian this dish is perfect as it is. You could have it with some meat on the side like garlic roasted chicken or lamb together with a side of green salad. That being said, I find that Sleek is so filling that I prefer to have it by itself.

Anyhow hope you enjoyed my take on Trini Syrian Sleek.

Print

Sleek

Course Vegetarian

Cuisine Syrian / Lebanese

Author Felix (Simply Trini Cooking)

Ingredients

• 2 bundles pak choi
• 1 cup black eyed peas
• 1 cup bulgur wheat cous cous or quinoa, soaked
• 1 large onion sliced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste optional
• 3 cups water for pak choi

Instructions

• Wash and chop the pak choi leaves discarding the white stalks. Place in 3 cups boiling water until wilted.
• Drain and set aside.
• Pressure cook the black eyed peas for 18 minutes. Drain.
• In a large bowl mix the black eyed peas, bulgur wheat, pak choi, black pepper and salt.
• In a medium sized pot heat the olive oil and caramelize the onions.
• Note: As I’ve said before caramelizing onions is easy. Just take your time and let them brown slowly until you get the desired colour. I like mine light brown.
• When the desired colour is reached add the mixture of black eyed peas and pak choi and toss for about 2 – 3 minutes.
• Optionally, pour the Sleek into a dish afterward. Allow to cool. Serve.

Ah gone 🙂