dibis w'rashi (iraqi date & tahini spread)

Breakfast time. Lunch time. Snack time.

This spread is highly addictive. Sweet and sticky from date molasses, nutty and moreish from the sesame paste.

It takes seconds to mix together and even less time to devour.

The first time I tried something like this was at Efendy, when they mixed grape molasses with tahini for one of the most wonderful sweet and nutty breakfast spreads I’ve ever had the pleasure to taste.

A friend since explained that pekmez, as it’s known in Turkey, is most commonly made with molasses from grape, carob or mulberry.

This version uses date syrup, more popular in Iraq where the date/tahini combinations is known as dibis w’rashi.

After you’ve tried this version, you might want to give the grape, carob or mulberry versions a go too. And it’s not hard to use up the excess molasses either:
- Mix through porridge or natural yoghurt
- Use as a sweetener in black tea or coffee
- Drizzle over ice cream
- Blend with ice cream into a shake
- Stir through rice pilaf with nuts and sultanas
- Substitute for sugar (weight for weight) in a cookie recipe

Dibis w'Rashi (Iraqi date syrup & tahini spread)

Anna’s very own recipe. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons (100ml) date syrup
1 tablespoon (20ml) tahini
Squeeze of lemon juice (no more than a teaspoon)

Method:
Mix together until well blended.

baba ganoush

baba ghanoush - baba ghanouj - baba ghannoug

This was the first time I’ve made baba ganoush. Jonas had made it once before, which is strange because Jonas hates eggplant.

Nonetheless it was my first time in the driver’s seat and I was determined to make the best version I could.

Recently, I’d been at my friend Suzy’s house and – while she redesigned my blog with pretty new banner, favicon and business cards – I stuffed my face with delicious, intensely smoky baba ganoush from her local grocer.

The memory was vivid in my mouth and so I reached out to the man I knew would have the best baba ganoush recipe on the interweb: Fouad from The Food Blog.

On top of delivering the most delicious baba ganoush you ever will find, Fouad’s recipe is presented as a whimsical poem and is full of tips at each step, like not overpowering your eggplant with lemon and garlic, or only mixing with a fork to ensure the right textural consistency.

His advice is sage. His baba ganoush is divine.

This is how I turned his poem into my own recipe.

Baba Ganoush

Anna’s recipe based on Fouad’s poem. Serves 8 as a dip.

Ingredients:
3 eggplants (aubergines)
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Pierce eggplants with a fork or knife all over (to prevent explosions).

2. Blacken over fire – best to use charcoal (the ONLY way according to Fouad) but gas or BBQ flames are a good alternative. This can take around 15 minutes or so. You want the whole eggplant to be completely black (smokiness) and limp (cooked flesh).

3. Put the hot eggplants in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, or seal in a plastic bag. The steam from the hot eggplants keeps cooking them and helps the skin loosen from the flesh.

4. When completely cool, peel off the skin but don’t fuss over tiny specks of charred skin.

5. Drain the flesh very well (maybe leave over a strainer for an hour or so).

6. Add to the eggplant the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt and crush with a fork.

7. When well mixed, drizzle in olive oil and whip through.

8. Taste to ensure right ratio of tahini, lemon, garlic and salt.

9. Serve drizzled with olive oil and, if you want a little colour, a sprinkle of sumac.

Eat with abandon!

persian pomegranate soup

Ash-e Anār

I first heard of this Persian soup when a friend gave me the gorgeously designed 2006 Marsha Mehran novel called Pomegranate Soup.

Despite my lukewarm response to the book, I had an overwhelming urge to slurp down this sour, tangy soup rich with Middle Eastern flavours and aromas.

When I finally made it, I wasn’t disappointed. The pomegranates give it a sour, earthy flavour and the lamb adds intensity and richness.

This type of Iranian stew is thick and hearty with chunky ingredients. I highly recommend it.

Persian Pomegranate Soup (Ash-e Anar)

Anna’s adaptation of various bloggers' recipes. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1kg lamb, diced
2 onions, thinly diced
6 garlic cloves
½ cup yellow split peas
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups (1 litre) beef stock
2 cups (500ml) water
½ cup parsley & coriander tender stems, very finely chopped
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
1 small beetroot, peeled & diced finely
¼ cup basmati rice
2 cups pomegranate juice*
¼ cup pomegranate molasses
1 cup green scallions, chopped
½ cup fresh coriander, chopped
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped for garnish
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped for garnish

Method:
1. In a large pot, brown the lamb in batches and then set aside,

2. Next add in the onion and garlic cloves and cook until tender.

3. Add in split peas, salt, black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon stick and Aleppo pepper and stir for a minute.

4. Add stock and 2 cups water. Bring to the boil then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Stir in rice, mint, parsley and coriander stems and beetroot. Simmer, partially covered, for another 20 minutes.

6. Add the lamb and its juices, the pomegranate juice and pomegranate molasses. Simmer for 10 minutes.

7. Taste soup to balance out sweet and sour. Add more pomegranate juice (or lemon juice) to increase acidity or a little sugar for sweetness.

8. Add scallions (green parts), coriander, parsley and lemon zest and simmer for another 5 minutes until herbs have wilted slightly.

9. Ladle soup into serving bowls then garnish with pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs.

Note: *I managed to get around 2 cups from 3 very large and juicy pomegranates.


This recipe, with pomegranate as the theme ingredient, is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Simona from Briciole.

orange cakes w figs, quince & rose

Happy Australia Day!

This is my 600th post since I started this blog in May 2006, so I’m celebrating with one of my favourite and most elegant recreations: replicas of Orange Cake w Persian Fig & Quince from Newtown’s Black Star Pastry.

Black Star Pastry is an amazing little café / patisserie with very pretty little cakes and cookies and great coffee. If you’re ever in Newtown you must make a pit stop to refuel on Lamb Shank & Red Wine Pies, Spinach & Mushroom Pithiviers, Earl Grey Macarons, Lemon Meringue w Basil Jelly or Strawberry, Watermelon & Rose Cake. Delish.

I made these gorgeous little cupcakes for Tia Bicky’s birthday after I promised her that if she stuck to her cholesterol reduction diet I’d make her this pretty cake as a reward.

It was amazingly easy to make and assemble, but was extraordinarily delicious.

I rate this as one of the best cupcakes I have ever made. I’m told Tia’s work colleagues loved them too.

Today marks the 223rd year since King George III sent Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet to set up a little penal colony on the ass-end of the earth.

Australia is a strange place. It’s big, it’s empty and it’s harsh. (sounds like a 4WD ad)

Aussies regularly call Australia the “lucky country” in reference to all things favourable about our island home. What many Aussies don’t realise was that this is part of a quote from the 1964 book "The Lucky Country" by Donald Horne, and that the author was being ironic and actually critical of Australia. Horne argued that while most industrialised nations created wealth by the intelligence of it’s population and the development of innovative technology, Australia just relied on its rich natural resources. The full quote is actually “Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck”.

Yep. Quote reference fail, big time.

Over the last 20yrs, Australia has transformed from a backwater, with a serious lack of imagination beyond a narrow Anglo-Celtic heritage, to a vibrant and multifaceted hub that I’m proud to hail from.

In 2001 my home, Sydney, gives me a wonderful lifestyle in a multicultural, cosmopolitan city. But I can’t help wondering why, when my ancestors got their first look at this place, they didn’t turn around and high tail it back to where ever they came from.

We have three levels of government in Australia: local, state and federal. One thing I am particularly proud of at the moment is that every single person representing me in my political system, in all three levels of Government, is a woman. It’s pretty amazing and I'm proud to see it happen:

Local Government
Clover Moore, Mayor of the City of Sydney (first woman elected into this position)

State Government
Carmel Tebbutt, Member for Marrickville (and Deputy Premier)
Kristina Keneally, Premier of NSW (first woman to hold this position)
Marie Bashir, Governor of NSW (first woman to hold this position)

Federal Government
Tanya Plibersek, Member for Sydney
Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia (first woman to hold this position)
Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia (first woman to hold this position)
Queen Elizabeth II

Yes, the Queen of Britain is also the Queen of Australia. But for how much longer...? I'm referencing republicanism here peoples, not regicide.

Alright, enough about Australia. Oprah has promoted Australia pretty heavily recently, so I can take a break.

What you’re really reading this blog for is the food!

Persian Orange Cakes w Figs, Quince & Rose

Anna’s recreation of the Black Star Pastry cake. Makes 12 cakes.

Ingredients:
Middle Eastern Orange Cake batter (from my recipe index)
50g quince paste, cut into small cubes
4-6 dried figs, quartered
12 pistachio nuts, blanched & quartered
1 tablespoon dried rose petals
185g butter, softened
2 ¼ cups icing sugar mixture
2 tablespoon natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest

Method:

1. Make orange cake as per this previously posted recipe, only use cupcake or friand tins.

2. When cakes have cooled, make the icing by beating the butter until pale. Gradually add icing sugar mixture yoghurt, lemon juice and zest. Beat until combined.

3. Assemble cakes by topping with lemon yoghurt frosting, then decorating with pieces of quince paste, figs, pistachios and rose petals.

Note: for dried rose petals and pistachios, I recommend Pariya products.

greg malouf's raw rhubarb salad

First things first. Raw rhubarb is not poisonous.

I’m glad we cleared that up. Now we can move onto the fun stuff.

This salad is wonderful.

I first saw it in an August 2007 issue of delicious Magazine and I have been meaning to make it for the past three years, but as these stories always unfold, something has always gotten in the way.

It was a recipe by Lebanese-Australian Greg Malouf, cooked with Skye Gyngell at her Petersham Nurseries Café (London), and was served as part of an extravagant Middle Eastern banquet that included pigeon b’stilla, lobster tagine and smoky paprika & parsley tartare.

I have never been more jealous of other diners.

Last week, after a nice wander to the Eveleigh farmers markets with Tia Bicky, I impulsively bought some goat cutlets and a huge bunch of ruby red rhubarb.

I rarely ever buy rhubarb. And now there was a lot of it.
Bright, shiny and fresh. And mountains of it.

I was going to have to come up with some nifty ways to cook it, then I remembered the salad and became a woman on a mission.

Luckily, everything else was already in the fridge! What are the chances?
It was meant to be.

The rhubarb, so sour and tangy, provides all the acidity you need for this salad and thus no acidulent is used in the dressing (lemon, vinegar etc). Lemon zest is used, but its contribution is more aromatic than acidic.

I heartily recommend this salad. It tastes healthy and delicious all at once.

Raw Rhubarb & Feta Salad

Recipe by Greg Malouf from delicious Magazine August 2007. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 rhubarb stalks, cleaned well
Handful of small salad leaves (eg mache, baby spinach)
200g sheep’s milk feta
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sumac, for sprinkling

Method:

1. Slice rhubarb into very thin strips.

2. Toss rhubarb, lemon zest and salad leaves with half the olive oil.

3. Plate salad leaves and then crumble feta on top.

4. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Dust with sumac.



I served this salad as the first of a three course rhubarb inspired meal:
• Raw Rhubarb & Feta Salad
• Grilled Goat Cutlets w Rhubarb Agrodolce Sauce
• Vanilla, Rhubarb & Strawberry Compote w Chocolate Custard

All the rhubarb was used up and I also made a side of wine braised purple heirloom carrots. Everything tasted wonderful.

beyaz peynirli yumurta, turkish feta & parsley eggs

This is a great, easy breakfast.

This is a Turkish-style egg dish, so it’s not too far from your traditional brekkie fare.

But it’s eggs with a twist. Herbs and tangy cheese and a pinch of tart sumac.

Easy. Flavoursome. A winner.

Beyaz Peynirli Yumurta
(Turkish Feta & Parsley Eggs)

Based on Binnur’s recipe. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
100g feta, crumbled coarsely
4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
1 tablespoon finely sliced white scallions
½ teaspoon sumac
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Olive oil, to fry

Method:

1. In a bowl, combine the feta, scallions, herbs, sumac and pepper.

2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.

3. Crack all eggs into a bowl. When the frying pan is hot, add the eggs.

4. Immediately sprinkle the feta mixture over the eggs.

5. Cook for approximately 8 minutes, or until the eggs have almost cooked but the yolk is still runny and the feta has started to melt slightly.

Serve hot with Turkish bread.

ottolenghi's radish & broad bean salad

Ali Beggs texted me last night to say I must be reading her mind.

First she was after a banana cake recipe, and I posted my banana bread on the blog.

Next she was planning dinner at Efendy, and I had posted my glorious Let’s Do Brunch experience.

She was starting to wonder what was going on, so she texted me to double check I wasn’t cooking broad beans too . . .

Well, now that you mention it . . . . .

This happens to be one of the best salads I’ve eaten in a long time and it comes from my favourite cookbook of the moment, Ottolenghi.

The recipes inside this book are so special. The ingredients are (mostly) easy to find and cheap to buy yet the way they’re put together and the flavours that surround them seem fresh and vibrant and unique.

This salad is a perfect example, using common ingredients in a unique combination which (most importantly!) tastes delicious.

Please do try it.

You too Ali Beggs!

Radish & Broad Bean Salad w Green Tahini Sauce

Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
500g shelled broad beans, fresh or frozen

350g small radishes

½ red onion, very thinly sliced

2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander

30g preserved lemon, finely chopped

Juice of 2 lemons

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 thick pita breads

Salt and black pepper

200ml Green tahini sauce (see below)

Method:

1. Place the broad beans in a pan of boiling water and simmer for 1–2 minutes, depending on size.

2. Drain through a large colander and rinse in plenty of cold water to refresh them. Remove the beans from their skins by gently squeezing each one with your fingertips.

3. Cut the radishes into 6 wedges each.

4. Mix with the broad beans, onion, coriander, preserved lemon, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil and cumin. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. To serve, pile a mound of salad in one corner of each serving plate, pour the tahini sauce into a small bowl and stand it next to the salad. Serve with pita bread.

Note: you can see from our photos we decided to add some spring peas too.

Green Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:
150ml tahini paste
150ml water
80ml lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, crushed

½ teaspoon salt

30g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped if making by hand

Method:

1. If using a food processor or a blender, process together all the ingredients except the parsley until creamy and smooth. If it is too thick, add more water. Add the parsley and turn the machine on again for a second or two. Taste for seasoning.

2. If making by hand, thoroughly whisk the tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic and salt together. Stir in the chopped parsley, then taste and add more salt if needed.

This is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, this week hosted by Chris from Mele Cotte.

let's do brunch at efendy

Black Sea pancake with figs, walnuts & grape molasses

I have had the best day.

Woke up late (for me anyway), had a nice chat to the people at Polka Dot Cookies before meeting Tia Bicky and jumping on two buses to reach Balmain for our 11am booking for Let’s Do Brunch at Efendy.

Wow.The team at Efendy put on an amazing breakfast that won me over in so many ways. The food was delicious, beautifully presented and provided Bicky and I enough sustenance to shop, shop, shop until 5pm.

Sahlep

Although it didn’t seem to be listed on the drinks menu, my request for a cup of sahlep (orchid milk) was quickly fulfilled and served in a pretty hug mug, dusted liberally with cinnamon.


In April 2006, one month before I started writing this blog, I spent six lovely days in Istanbul with my sister Stinky. We had such a wonderful time and one particularly evocative aspect of our holiday was the delicious food we experienced.Ah, the memories of Istanbul were coming back.

As the Efendy waiters started to deliver our breakfast mezes, I was transported to our daily breakfast in Istanbul: slices of tomato, cucumber, olives and lightly salted cheese. In fact I ate so much salty cheese in Istanbul that I even remember the Turkish word for cheese (peynirli in case you’re wondering).

These meze could have been identical, except the quality at Efendy was much higher and included some crispy peynirli börek, cigar-shaped rolls of filo stuffed with cheese.

Turkish bread came warm with two sides of sweet preserves. The first was one of my all time favourites, sour cherries (I remember this word too: vişne) and the rich Tahini Pekmez, an exotic blend of grape molasses and sesame paste that's truly delicious. I know I’m going to buy grape molasses just so I can make this and eat it on toast in the mornings.

Triangles of feta were simply superb. The best feta I’ve had in a long time. They were hard, dense and crumbly under the fork but melted into creaminess once you gobbled it up. The flavour was intense, just the way I like it, and I learnt the chef imports this cheese (organic and 80% cows milk) direct from Turkey.

Bicky, who has a cholesterol problem and hasn’t been eating cheese for months, couldn’t help herself after she tasted this feta!

Out came the main courses next. There were five options to choose from and Bicky and I finally selected two to share between us.

Kıymalı was like an egg dish with flecks of lamb meat, capsicum and tomato. It was a homely, hearty version of scrambled eggs, listed on the Efendy menu as “village style eggs”. It was soft and warming, a good defence against the traitorous spring weather, which was sunny but bitingly cold with an icy wind.

Our sweet course was the Incirli Kaygana, which the menu describes as a Black Sea style pancake. It’s thick and eggy. It was topped with perfectly balanced red grape syrup that wasn’t oversweet, crumbs of walnuts and sliced figs softened by the syrup. Mmmmm.

Bicky, always thinking back to her Mexican context, likened it to a Turkish flan.

We finished our pancake off with a glass of soothing, warm apple tea. I have to say I love the stuff, even if I do recall elma çay being more popular with tourists than the Turks.

The other options included Menemen (scrambled eggs, tomato, banana pepper, onion and parsley); Hellim (poached eggs, grilled halloumi, asparagus & tomatoes ); or Kallavi (2 fried eggs, grilled plate of sucuk sausages, mushroom, tomato & pastırma).

I have heard so many good things about Efendy since it opened in 2007 and now I’m kicking myself that I hadn’t visited sooner. There’s so much more I want to try from the breakfast, al a carte and meze menus (they serve çilbir, çökertme kebabı and dondurma). I need to bring Jonas to experience it too!

When I got home this evening and began to write about my delicious meal, I had questions about some of the thing I’d eaten. I called Efendy and owner/chef Somer Sivrioglu came over to the phone. He was so warm and generous, more than happy to talk about his food and how it was prepared. Not only is he a star in the kitchen, but he seems like a lovely guy.

No wonder the word efendi means gentleman in Turkish.

Visiting this restaurant has made me remember how much I loved Turkish food during my time in Istanbul. I will be back to Efendy.

Teşekkür ederim, Somer!

(And that’s all the Turkish words I remember).

celebrating the abundance of middle eastern cooking

Image supplied by Fairfax

An abridged version of this article is posted on sbs.com.au/food

I was bristling with anticipation to see Yotam Ottolenghi in the flesh. His Notting Hill café has been getting rave reviews from London bloggers and I’ve been giving my Ottolenghi cookbook a solid workout ever since I got it for my birthday.

Image supplied by Fairfax

Here I was at the World Chef Showcase watching the inspirational Ottolenghi whose glamorous salads, roasts and cakes are easily within reach for most home cooks, making his food all the more exciting and delicious.

He charmed the audience with his jests, humility and good humour.

Although he claims he’s “not a fusion person”, he did say he likes to take something familiar and give it a little twist. “Where ever it comes from I’m happy to take it as long as the flavours are bold, the colours are strong and it’s not overly complicated”.

For the tasting sample, he made a simple salad of quinoa, dried Iranian lime and feta that was absolutely divine! There was so much flavour: strong tang from the lime, freshness from the herbs, wonderful texture from the quinoa and wild rice and the whole dish was heavily scented with olive oil.

When Ottolenghi arrived in London from Jerusalem, he was horrified by the terrible state of take away food in the UK. He was determined to take food out from behind glass cabinets, bringing it closer to the end user and celebrating it with sensual abundance. His success has revolutionised take away food in London, giving the UK something that the Middle East and continental Europe had always enjoyed.

Later in a discussion between MC Helen Greenwood and food writer Mary Taylor Simeti, Simeti said of Sicilian food “it’s unexpectedly sophisticated. Not so much in the ingredients but in the way they’re combined”. I think this applies to Ottolenghi’s cooking as well.

Image supplied by Fairfax

After Ottolenghi was finished, the stage was dominated by Lebanese foodies Abla Amad (the darling septuagenarian from Melbourne who opened her famous restaurant, Abla’s, in 1979) and Kamal Mouzawak (founder of Beirut’s first farmers markets and a keen culinary activist and foodie).

Abla was so funny. Her unpolished presentation style was refreshing and she oscillated from shy, young girl proudly displaying her tray of baklava to a bossy grandmother admonishing the audience and Mouzawak for not keeping up with her train of thought. It was very amusing, if a little disjointed.

Abla’s baklava was one of the best I’ve ever tasted. Ever. It was perfectly crunchy and not overly sweet. Two sticky thumbs up from me.

She made it in a unique and efficient way, by rolling the filo around cashew crumbs rather than layering it. She also used less butter in the process, but at the end stage pours the butter over the top, causing the audience to gasp at the amount that was used. Alba was humorously indignant at our gasps, protesting in her thick accent “heeey, not eeeven half cup!”.

Image supplied by Fairfax

But for me the dynamic and articulate Mouzawak was the star of this session. He explained how food can be used as positive resistance, a way to bring people together. He called it a gastro-political awakening because everyone eats and no matter whether they are sea or mountain people, from the east or the west, are Muslims or Christians - they all share their love of food in a united Lebanese eating culture.

As he watched Abla make the baklava he said that she was perpetuating her village and its history through the preparation of her food and that she brought the best part of her culture to Australia through her cuisine.

Mouzawak demonstrated two Lebanese desserts with ties to Christian holidays and we were able to taste the strange and colourful Amhyieh, made from cracked whole wheat grains, nuts, dried fruits and orange blossom water.

It was an interesting dessert, quite nice in small quantities, with savouriness from the grains that made it moreish and comforting, like a sweet Middle Eastern porridge with an occasional fresh burst of pomegranate.

Mouzawak’s passion for Lebanese cooking and culture was evident and I walked away pleased that I’d discovered him. I’m positive Kamal Mouzawak is very well known in Lebanon, but I’d never heard of him before and now I’ll follow his movements. I’m sure that these types of discoveries were a goal of the Showcase.

As Yotam Ottolenghi said about participating in the Showcase, “with all the big name chefs that are here, it’s made me feel very special”, and that’s how I’ve felt too.

chicken w sumac, za’atar & lemon (m’sakhan)

How does a recipe for Palestinian M’sakhan, a London restaurant, an Aussie blogger, a birthday present and Barcelona all come together into one story?

Because my wonderful pal , Nicki, gave me this cookbook from the London restaurant Ottolenghi for my birthday when we celebrated together in Barcelona!

This birthday I gained an extremely unwanted year, forcibly prodding me into a new decade, something I was not at all pleased about.

Despite this anxiety-ridden turn of events, I managed to celebrate the hideous day with some of my closest friends and my sisters in Barcelona.

Who can complain about that?

Well, I still cried a little but when I blew the candles out.
It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to, right?

But seriously, what are the chances that so many of your peeps can be on the other side of the world at the same time to meet you in one of Europe’s party cities? It was amazing!

And with my June birthday now a distant memory, last weekend I spent my time busily leafing through the Ottolenghi cookbook, marking out the most beautiful recipes.

There are so many that have caught my eye, but I want to share these particularly exciting options with you:
• Cucumber & Poppy Seed Salad
• Puy Lentils, Sour Cherries, Bacon & Gorgonzola
• Jerusalem Artichoke & Rocket Soup
• Lamb & Beef Meatballs Baked in Tahini
• Roast Pork Belly w Gooseberry, Ginger & Elderflower Relish
• Seared Tuna w Pistachio Crust & Papaya Salsa
• Cheddar & Caraway Cheese Straws
• Lavender & Honey Teacakes
• Plum, Marzipan & Cinnamon Muffins
• Prune & Brandy Truffles

But my cookbook will be used first to make this adaptation of the Palestinian Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar & Lemon (M’sakhan).

As the Ottolenghi crew explain, it’s great served with a garlicky-yoghurt sauce with lemon and warm pita bread. I also made an Ottolenghi salad of Radish, Broad Beans & Green Tahini to go on the side.

The results? DELICIOUS!

Palestinian Roast Chicken w Sumac, Za’atar & Lemon (M’sakhan)

Anna’s adaptation from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
2 chicken marylands
Red onion, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon smoky paprika
¼ teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons sumac
1 lemon
200ml chicken stock
1 teaspoon smoked sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
2 tablespoons za’atar
50g pine nuts
20g butter
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method:

1. Wash then juice the lemon, then cut the juiced fruit into slices.

2. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the onions, garlic, lemon juices and slices, cinnamon, smoky paprika, allspice, sumac, salt and pepper. Marinate overnight or at least a few hours.

3. Preheat oven to 200’C.

4. Put the chicken and all its marinade in a baking dish, ensuring the chicken is flat and not touching each other. Put the chicken skin side up.

5. Sprinkle the za’atar over the chicken and onions then roast for 30 – 40 minutes until the chicken is coloured and just cooked through.

6. In the meantime, melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the nuts with a pinch of salt until golden, stirring constantly. Drain on kitchen paper.

7. Transfer the hot chicken to serving plates and finish with chopped parsley, toasted nuts and a drizzle of olive oil.

I've blogged about sumac before as a Weekend Herb Blogging ingredient, so I'm going to pinch the content directly from my own post. Apologies to myself.

Commence!

Sumac is the name of all 250 species of flowering plants from the genus Rhus.

Also known as sumach, sumak, summak, tanner’s sumach, sommacco, zumaque and sammak, in this particular case sumac refers to the spice created from grinding the Rhus coriaria’s dried berries. This produces a tart, sour deep red-purple powder which is extremely popular in Arabic, Levant, Persian and Turkish cuisine.

Sumac berries form tight clusters of red drupes or bobs. They are harvested just before ripeness and sun dried. In growing regions you can buy whole dried berries whereas the rest of us need to make do with sumac powders. The powder keeps in an airtight container for several months.

The Rhus coriaria comes from the Mediterranean but sumac in general grows in subtropical and warm temperate regions throughout the world. It has been used in Mediterranean cooking since Ancient Rome and is a major souring agent in Middle Eastern cooking, replacing lemon juice, tamarind and vinegars.

There are numerous ways to employ sumac in your kitchen:
• on kebabs, fish or chicken before grilling
• popular in salad dressings, marinades, stews and casseroles
• enhances the flavour of fresh tomatoes and avocados
• mixed with yoghurt and fresh herbs as a dip or sauce
• dusted over feta or labneh cheese
• mixed with olive oil as a dip with bread
• common ingredient in za'atar (a spice mix)

North American sumac is also employed for culinary purposes. Native Americans used smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) and staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) to make rhus juice, also known as sumac-ade or Indian lemonade. They would soak the sumac berry clusters in water to remove the essence then strain and sweeten the liquid.

Other North American sumac includes Rhus glabra, an excellent leather tanner which produces flexible, light weight and almost white leather products, and Rhus toxicodendron, also known as Poison Ivy.

Sumac is said to have diuretic effects and the assist bowel problems and fever. In the Middle East a sour drink is made from sumac to relieve indigestion.

And one last weird fact: dried sumac wood glows under UV lighting. Who would have thought!

That’s it for WHB for another week. Check out the recap with our host Janet from The Taste Space.

References & Photo Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumac
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SumacFruit.JPG
http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/sumac.html
http://www.taste.com.au/how+to/articles/52/sumac

muhammara - syrian pepper spread

Traditionally muhammara is a Syrian spread made from sun-dried Aleppo peppers, ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses, as well as a variety of spices.

In Australia we can’t buy the sun-dried peppers so I used char-grilled peppers instead. Also, I believe the traditional recipe uses bulgur wheat, rather than the breadcrumbs I have used.

Muhammara is great as a dip or spread on bread and toast, like a Middle Eastern crostino or bruschetta.

Called Acuka in western Turkey, muhammara can also be served as a sauce for meat and fish.

Muhammara (Syrian Walnut & Red Pepper Dip)
 
Anna’s version of various internet recipes. Makes 2 cups.


Ingredients:
2 small red capsicums (peppers)
40g walnuts
20g pine nuts
20g pumpkin seeds
1 small onion, chopped finely
1/3 cup olive oil
¼ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper

Method:

1. Using tongs, hold capsicum over gas flame until the skins are blackened. Quickly place in a plastic bag and seal. The steam will help loosen the skin.

2. When they’ve cooled, peel off blacken skin then slice and remove seeds. Cut into strips.

3. Dry roast nuts and pumpkin seeds in a frying pan until toasted and slightly golden.

4. Pulse nuts in a food processor with breadcrumbs until finely chopped.


5. Heat some of the olive oil in a frying pan, then sauté onion and cumin seeds until onion is softened.

6. Add onion to food processor with capsicum, sumac, Aleppo pepper, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses and sea salt. Blend until smooth.

7. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the remaining olive oil until the dip loosens then thickens.

8. Serve with Lebanese or pita bread, garnished with pomegranate seeds.

Note: to save time you could purchase char-grilled capsicums (peppers). Muhammara keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for around 4 days.

This is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, this week hosted by Marija from Palachinka, a beautiful Serbian blog.

I chose capsicums/peppers for my WHB ingredient because I have hated them as long as I can remember. I have continually tasted them throughout the years (probably once monthly) just hoping that suddenly I will have changed my mind.

But alas - despite their pretty shiny skins and regardless of their fresh, crispy rawness or sweet, soft char-grilled form - I just didn't like them.

Until this June.
Something miraculous happened and suddenly I can eat them!

Perhaps it was my recent overdose on pimientos de gernika and pimientos de padron when there were nought other vegetables to be found in Spanish restaurants?

Whatever it was, capsicum is starting to taste good.
And that's worth celebrating.