Aubergine, halloumi and sweet pepper stacks

I’ll come right out and admit it, I have an inability to follow recipes. Whether it's down to impatience or a touch of kitchen-related ADHD I have no idea. When I cook it’s usually based on something I am familiar with, or something I have eaten and want to try to recreate, or maybe I’ve found some ingredients in the kitchen cupboard and wonder how they'll go together (as an aside, in my student days out of desperation I made a pizza topped with harissa, sweetcorn, cheese triangles and peanuts as I had nothing else in the house. It was edible but not one of my finest moments…). To me it seems an anathema to read a book and follow directions. Having said that, I do own an extensive library of cookery books, and there's no better way to spend a cold rainy afternoon than curled up on the sofa with a book pouring over the recipes. Or indeed sitting in the shade on a sunny day, book on lap. But follow a recipe? It’s not that I think I can improve on the original, more that I end up fine tuning it to my own taste. The recipe calls for walnuts? Eh… I’ll use that quarter bag of chopped hazelnuts languishing in the back of the cupboard. Everything’s fried? I wonder whether I could bake it… The end result is probably more ‘inspired’ by the original than a facsimile. For that reason I never took to conventional baking, if I’m given precise quantities to measure out then I lose interest. I function much better with vague instructions such as “half a packet of this and a few handfuls of that…”

My current cook book obsession is the Comptoir Libanais Express book that I picked up last time I was in London, an instant favourite for the food and also for the glorious photographs and graphics. And that leads me on to the aubergine stacks, I love aubergines. They are probably one of my favourite vegetables, and I love tomatoes as well, however decent flavoured large tomatoes are pretty much scarce at this time of year (at least in my local stores) and if you do find anything larger than a cherry tomato then it’ll taste of nothing and be as tough as old boots. However sweet peppers are abundant and always tasty especially when oven roasted de-skinned and tossed in a balsamic vinegar and herby marinade overnight, and so the recipe metamorphoses…

This recipe is very much a 'prepare the bits and pieces ahead' type of affair, and other than the initial grilling of the aubergines, halloumi and peppers the actual preparation takes minutes. The original recipe (which can be found here) showcases the vegetables in their natural form, I had some leftover muhammara in the fridge and decided to spread that on the aubergine slices as I stacked them up, acting as a flavoured adhesive. The quantities below make 4 stacks (with some leftover halloumi to nibble on...)

Ingredients

1 large aubergine

2 red sweet peppers

1 block of halloumi

3 tablespoons of muhammara (optional)

1 bunch of coriander

A few sprigs of tarragon (optional, but gives a nice aniseedy twang to the sauce)

1 tablespoon of zaatar

Olive oil

Lemon juice 

Salt to taste

1. Cut the aubergines into rounds, brush with olive oil and gril until soft. 

2. Cut the sweet peppers into large wedges and roast in the oven until the skin starts to blacken, allow to cool and then remove the skins. Ideally this should be done the day before, I tossed the skinned peppers in a bag with some dried mixed herbs, olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar

3. Slice three quarters of the halloumi and grill until golden brown. Grate the remaining halloumi, the Comptoir Libanais recipe suggests rinsing to remove some of the salt, however I tasted the cheese I had and it wasn't particulary salty. As I wasn't adding any seasoning to the aubergines I decided to omit the rinsing step

4. Preheat the oven to 200C, while the oven is heating prepare the aubergine stacks using 3 aubergine slices per stack. Place an aubergine slice on a baking tray, top with some of the muhammara (if using) then a piece of red pepper. Add another aubergine slice, some more muhammara and then top with the grilled halloumi. Finally place the remaining aubergine slice on top and sprinkle over a little of the grated halloumi

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until sizzling

6. While the aubergine stacks are baking prepare the zaatar sauce. In a blender add the coriander, tarragon, zaatar, lemon juice and a glug of olive oil. Blend and adjust seasoning to your taste 

6. Drizzle some of the sauce on top of the stacks and eat!

Chickpea, chocolate and pistachio pudding

While I am an avid collector of cookery books, I rarely use them for recipes, more for reading or for inspiration. However, I recently bought a copy of the Comptoir Libanais Express cook book and whilst flicking through the pages a recipe caught my attention - one for a chickpea and chocolate dessert. I have to say I was both repulsed and also intrigued by the idea. While I like to think I am pretty open minded as far as food goes (if it's veggie then I'll eat absolutely anything) I have a problem with sweet beans. Some things, as far as my mind goes, are meant to be savoury, and while I am happy to make cookies and halva using chickpea flour, in my mind cooked chickpeas themselves are savoury and the thought of making a pudding with them seemed to be the antithesis of all that is right in the world.

However, I do love a challenge, and was curious so I decided to try and make it. I've adapted the recipe somewhat, the original called for gelatine (I substituted cornflour / cornstarch), and used ground almonds (I've substituted pistachios). I also added some orange blossom water, and rather than a chocolate (or carob) sauce I decided on an orange blossom syrup. 
So... what was the end result like? Actually very nice. The texture was a little grainy, though that was more due to me not having a decent blender and doing the best I could with a stick blender, the taste was quite delicious though. I put a couple of the desserts in the freezer, as I think it could work quite well as a dairy free ice cream...

Ingredients
1 400g can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
400ml almond milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
50 g honey (to make it vegan use agave syrup)
5 tablespoons cornflour
100g pistachios
125g dark chocolate
2 tablespoons orange blossom water
Rose water syrup
Chopped pistachios 
Rose petals (optional)

1. Add the chickpeas and almond milk to a pan, bring to the boil then turn off the heat and leave for 15-20 minutesto infuse
2. Pour off around 50ml of the almond milk and add to the cornflour, mixing well until you have a smooth lumpess paste
3. Blend the chickpeas, almond milk and cocoa powder until smooth
4. Pour the mixture back into the pan, add the honey and chocolate. Heat gently until the chocolate has fully melted
5. Stir in the cornflour and almond milk mixture and continue to cook on a low heat for around 5 minutes
6. Turn off the heat and add the ground pistachios and orange blossom water
7. Pour the mixture into ramekins (makes enough for around 6) and leave to cool before refrigerating for a few hours
8. To serve tip out on a plate and decorate with nuts and rose petals. Delicious with a fragrant orange blossom syrup (2 parts sugar to one part water, orange blossom water added to taste)

 

Aubergine and chickpea fattet

It's winter and time for comfort food... I could never buy into the 'carbs are the enemy' mentality popular these days as the thought of life devoid of bread, rice and pasta seems to be a very sad existence indeed. When in need of something warm and nourishing I tend to look eastwards and feeling in need of something more substantial for breakfast than porridge I decided on Fattet.  
Fattet (or fatteh / fette) is a dish found over the Middle East, its base being stale fried pita or flatbread (the name comes from the Arabic word for crumbs). There are quite a few different variations of fattet, fattet hummus where a layer of steamed chickpeas cover the bread, or fattet makdous where fried aubergine is added to name but two. The resulting delicious mixture is then usually topped with a yoghurt tahini sauce. Inspired by the delicious fattet moussaka (with the Middle Eastern vegetarian moussaka rather than the Greek style) I ate last weekend, I decided to go for that option, combining the aubergine with a spicy tomato sauce. Also, rather than fry the bread and aubergine I baked them in the oven, while maybe not quite as unctious as the fried version, it tasted perfectly acceptable and probably saved quite a few hundred calories. Don't be put off by the daunting list of ingredients, most of them are for the moussaka (which could be omitted if you want to go with the basic but delicious fattet hummus)

Ingredients
3 pita breads
1 can of chickpeas
1 large aubergine
1 red onion (sliced)
3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds 
1 can of tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon harissa
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin
Olive oil
1 handful pine nuts
3 tablespoons low fat yoghurt
3 tablespoons tahini
Pinch of salt
Squeeze of lemon juice
Hot water (to thin sauce)
Fresh coriander
Fresh parsley 

1. Prick the aubergine and bake for around 30 minutes until soft, take out the oven and allow to cool before cutting into large cubes
2. While the aubergine is baking, cut the pita bread into squares (approximately 1 x 1 inch) and spread over a baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil (optional) and sprinkle the cumin and caraway seeds over the top and bake for around 10 minutes until golden brown. 
3. For the moussaka: Fry the onion and garlic until softened, stir in the ground spices, harissa, vinegar and tomatoes. I also like to add some pureed soaked ancho chillies which give a delicious smokey flavour. Stir and add the cubed cooked aubergine. Turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, at the end of cooking stir in the chopped coriander and parsley
4. Heat the chickpeas 
5. For the tahini yoghurt sauce: Mix in a bowl, add salt to taste and a squeeze of lemon juice. Thin the sauce to a pourable consistency with a little boiling water
6. To assemble the fattet: Add some of the bread to the bottom of a bowl, top with a couple of spoonfuls of the aubergine moussaka and some of the chickpeas. Add a bit more bread and repeat. Top with the yoghurt tahini sauce and a sprinkling of pine nuts. Eat!

Koshari (rice with lentils, pasta and chick peas)

I posted a recipe for mujadarra a while back, a delicious rice and lentil concoction found all over the Middle East, rice and lentils are probably one of my 'go to' comfort foods. Easy and quick to make and utterly delicious and satisfying. Nothing like a double dose of carbs to ease a troubled soul. Double dose you say? Pah! I laugh on your double dose, what about a triple, quadruple or even quintuple dose of carbs? Yep, now we're talking, and we're talking koshari!

The Egyptian take on mujadarra. It has the rice and lentils, but snuggling up to them are vermicelli, pasta and chick peas all smothered in a spicy tomato sauce and topped off with fried onions. Oh yeah!
I've side-stepped from tradition slightly with this recipe, it's probably more of a pimped up koshari than the type you'd encounter on the streets of Cairo, as I decided to make the sauce with some canned cherry tomatos and ancho chillies, I also had no ditalini pasta (short macaroni tubes) so mine is the lightweight 4-carb version, but immensely satisfying all the same. I made this with a packet of ready cooked puy lentils - you could use canned brown lentils or cook your own lentils from fresh. As for the sauce, wing it! The ancho chilli gives it a lovely rich smokey flavour, but I've had koshari with a variety of sauces from the thinner vinegary end of the spectrum to the thicker lucious side. It's all good!

Ingredients
200g rice (rinsed)
100g vermicelli
250g cooked lentils
1 can of chick peas
Water (or vegetable stock)
Olive oil

For the sauce
400g can of cherry tomatoes 
4 cloves of garlic (crushed) 
1 large red onion thinly sliced
4 large ancho chillies (soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes)
1 tsp cumin (ground)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
Salt to taste
Balsamic vinegar

1. Rince the rice to remove some of the excess starch. Roughly break the vermicelli and fry in olive oil until toasted and golden, add a pinch of salt, stir in the rice and cover with boiling water or stock (I'm not giving amounts here, I pour in the water until it's around 1.5 cm from the top of the rice, it's a pretty forgiving recipe as the pasta soaks up any excess water). Turn up the heat and boil vigorously for 1 minute, then turn down to the lowest heat, cover the pan with a cloth and put on the lid and cook for 30 minutes
2. While the rice and pasta are cooking, prepare the sauce
3. For the sauce, fry the crushed garlic and half of the onion in olive oil until softened
4. Toast the cumin, caraway and coriander seeds in a dry pan for a couple of minutes and then grind.
5. Drain the ancho chillis (reserving a little of the soaking liquid) and deseed them. Put in a blender and pulse until they form a smooth paste. Add this to the onion and garlic mixture and fry for a few minutes
6. Add the tomatoes, ground spices and balsamic vinegar and simmer on a low heat for around 30 minutes. Season to taste, if you want a spicier sauce add a spoonful or two of harissa
7. Once the rice is cooked, stir in the lentils and chick peas and put the lid back on. I usually leave things to mingle while I am frying the onions for the topping
8. Fry the remaining thinly sliced onion until crispy and caramelised
9. To serve, spoon the rice, lentils and chick pea mixture on a plate, add a ladle or two of the tomato sauce and top with a handful of crispy fried onions. Delicious!

Besara (broad bean / fava bean dip)

I was prompted to upload this recipe after hearing my mother wax lyrical about the humble broad bean (fava bean) the other night. Her theory being that mother nature must have known just how special they were because unlike peas and their simple unadorned pod, broad beans are swaddled in a luxurious fur lined casing that befits their role as king of the beans.
Broad beans are a much maligned pulse in a lot of Western (or specifically Northern European) cooking, however head further south and they take on a much more important role. None more  so than in Egypt where in addition to being the star of the ultimate breakfast food fuul medames, they are also found in the Egyptian version of falafel (taameya) and fuul nabet (sprouted bean soup) to name just a few dishes. 

Egyptian bean dishes traditionally use the dried fava beans, I had fresh frozen, while the flavour is perhaps not as concentrated and rich as the slow cooked dried beans, I decided that I would try making the fava bean dip known as besara (or bessara, b'ssara etc depending on transliteration). While traditionally Egyptian it is also found in Morocco. If you want to go down the more traditional route then substitute the 500g fresh beans for dried. Soak them overnight and then cook according to your preference.

Ingredients
500g fresh broad beans (or frozen)
1 large bunch of coriander
1 large bunch of dill
1 large bunch of parsley
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
Salt and pepper to taste 

For the tasha (garlic and coriander seasoning):
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin

1. Add the beans to water and boil for around 10 minutes, drain (reserving a little of the cooking liquid) and once cool enough to handle, take off the skins. This is time consuming. Ideally for this part of the recipe it helps to have a mother who's idea of a good evening is watching antiques shows on TV whilst skinning broad beans :)
2. Once the beans are skinned (you don't have to be too obsessive about it, but really the taste and texture is so much better) add them to a blender with a good glug of olive oil, the fresh coriander, dill and parsley, crushed garlic and blend until smooth. If the resulting mixture is too thick then add a little of the cooking liquid until you have the desired consistency and season to taste
3. To make the tasha seasoning (so called because when you add the hot oil to the bean mixture it makes a "tssssha" sound) heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the remaining crushed garlic until it is lightly browned, add the coriander and cumin and cook for another few minutes then pour the hot oil and spice mixture into the pureed beans
4. To serve, transfer into a deep serving plate and top with some fried onions. Delicious! 

Sahlab

The weather is getting decidedly chilly. While by rights we should have summer for at least a few more weeks, the wintery chill in the mornings is ominous. I have to say I am a summer person, I function far better in daylight and the thoughts of dark dreary northern European winter mornings does not fill me with joy. What does fill me with joy is the thought of hot sahlab to drink.

Sahlab (or sahleb, salep etc) is hot thick milky drink (or sometimes dessert) popular throughout the Middle East and Turkey. It’s made from sahlab flour which comes from the ground dried roots of a particular species of orchid. While it doesn’t have much in the way of taste (other than being slightly ‘earthy’) it acts as a thickening agent giving a distinct texture. True sahlab itself is not too easy to come by outside of Turkey (or other sahlab drinking countries), and most of the commercially available sahlab mixes contain artificial flavours and cornflour as a thickening agent due to cost/scarcity. The recipe below gives both options, but using cornflour gives perfectly acceptable results.   

Ingredients
2 cups of milk
1/2 tsp ground mastic (optional)
2 tablespoons cornflour (or 1 tablespoon sahlab powder)
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
2 tablespoons sugar
Raisins, pistachios and coconut for garnish    

 1. Pour the milk in a saucepan, add the sugar and place over a medium heat
Cornflour version: As the milk warms up, pour a little into a container and mix it with the cornflour (and mastic if using) until you've got a smooth paste, keep to one side
2. Sahlab version: Bring the milk to the boil then add the sahlab in small amounts whisking constantly so you don’t get lumps
Cornflour version: Bring the milk to the boil and add the cornflour/mastic paste and whisk constantly so you don't get lumps
3. Continue to whisk for around 5 minutes, lower the heat slightly and then add the orange blossom water and stir well
4. Ladle into mugs, sprinkle with raisins, nuts and coconut and serve hot with a spoon

Date maamouls

It's always fun to play with new kitchen toys, and my beautiful hand carved maamoul mould is my newest. I already posted a recipe for the pistachio filled maamouls a couple of weeks ago, this time I'm going for the other main traditional filling - dates. Nature's chocolate... the desert's candy... simply divine... 

I used medjool dates to make the filling here, lucious plump beauties. If you can't get a hold of them and are using standard dried dates, soak them for a bit longer in the rose water, overnight if possible so they soak up all that goodness. If all you can find in your supermarket is the so-called 'ready to eat' dates then frankly I wouldn't bother! I am not sure what they do to them, but whatever it is seems to render them useless for cooking.

Ingredients
300g semolina
100g white flour
150g margarine / ghee
50g caster sugar
1/4 tsp ground mastic (optional)
1/4 tsp mahleb (optional)
1/4 tsp yeast
100ml orange blossom or rose water 

For the date filling
8 medjool dates
Pinch of cinnamon
Orange blossom water

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, melt the margarine or ghee and pour in, along with the orange blossom or rose water. Mix together until it comes together in a large dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for around 4 hours. I should point out, in that time nothing particularly magical happens, it doesn't transform in size, the waiting period is more to allow the semolina to absorb the fat
2. While the dough is resting, blitz the dates in a blender, with the cinnamon and orange blossom water. You want a fairly thick textured paste
3. Pinch golf ball sized (or walnut, depending on your frame of reference) pieces of the dough and roll into balls. With this quantity you should have enough to make around 20 (ish) maamouls
4. Take a ball into one hand and flatten out with the heel of your other hand. Pinch off a teaspoonful of the date paste and roll into a ball. Place this in the middle of the flattened dough circle and close the dough around it to encase fully
5. At this point squish it in your maamoul mould, traditionally the oval ones are used for nut fillings, and the round for date. If you don't have a mould then you can decorate a pattern on the top with a fork
6. Arrange the maamouls on a baking tray covered with greaseproof paper and bake in an oven preheated to ~190C for 15-20minutes. You want the bottom golden, but the top to be lightly coloured
7. Cool, and dust with icing sugar to serve