First make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk 125g flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp nigella seeds, then add 95g yoghurt. Pull together into a ball, tip on to a floured surface and knead for two minutes. Now rest in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a damp tea towel.
Season 200g lamb mince with salt and black pepper. Finely chop 1/2 onion and warm a large pan over a medium-high heat. Add 1,5 tbsp oil followed by the mince, onion, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp Turkish pul biber and saute for six to eight minutes.
Add a finely chopped garlic clove, cook for a further two to three minutes, then add 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses and 100ml water, and cook for 10 minutes, until the lamb looks sticky and glossy.
Adjust the seasoning to taste.
Mix 100g yoghurt with a tbsp olive oil, 1/2 crushed garlic clove and 1/4 cucumber, cut into small cubes, then season, chop 8 leaves ofmint and stir it in.
To cook the flatbreads, warm clarified butter in a large pan over a high heat. Divide the dough into 2 balls and roll each out on a floured surface to 15-20cm – the thinner, the better. Once the pan is hot, cook each flatbread for a few minutes on each side until puffed up and blistered.
Serve immediately with the spiced lamb, a generous spoonful of cucumber yoghurt, 10 quartered radishes and some whole mint leaves; a drizzle of tahini (loosened with cold water) is also delicious.
This is a nod to Istanbul street food. Traditionally, sardines from the Bosphorus are fried or grilled, and served in a pita bread with an onion salad. In Kurdish chef Melek Erdal's version, he fills grilled pitta with pan-fried sardines and a herby onion potato salad.
Put 400g halved red skin potatoes in a deep pan and cover with water by 1cm. Add a teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Cook until cooked through but still firm. Drain and set aside. Peel once cool – the skins should slip off easily.
Now for the onions. Put 2,5 tbsp oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat, add 2 peeled, halved and thinly sliced onions, a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper, and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until they begin to brown and reduce by half. Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cumin and15g currants, caramelise for a further 10 minutes, then leave to cool.
In a large bowl, mix 3 spring onions, 20g finely chopped parsley, 10g finely chopped dill, 15g capers, 1 tbsp olive oil, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then stir in the skinned potatoes.
For the green sauce, roughly pulse-blend 15gbasil, 10g mint leaves, 1/2 green birds-eye chilli, deseeded. Juice and zestof 1/2 lemon, 2 tbsp olive oil. A pinch of salt and 1 tsp pepper until coarse and not too smooth.
Stir half the sauce into the potato bowl.
Mix the rest with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, then sprinkle with 1/4 tsp sumac and some dill, and set aside.
Clean 4 sardines – you can ask your fishmonger to do this, or cut down the middle lengthways and push the insides out with your thumb. Wash in a bowl of water, then cut off their heads. Butterfly the sardines by running your thumbs down the inside spine and opening up slightly.
Mix 40g semolina and 1/3 teaspoon of salt on a plate and gently pat the fish in the mix on both sides, dusting off the excess. Place the sardines flat on a plate and leave to rest in the fridge while you prep the salad.
Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a high heat and add the fish, fanning them out like a flower. Cook on a medium-high heat for six minutes on one side and two minutes on the other.
Serve the sardines and potato salad on a platter or stuff them all into grilled pittabreads with an extra drizzle of green sauce and molasse
First, marinate 350g skinless and boneless chicken thighs. Put 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon, 3/4 tbsp ground cumin, 1,5 tbsp rose petals, finely ground in a mortar, 1/4 tsp caster sugarin a small frying pan and toast on medium-high heat for one to two minutes, until fragrant. Tip into a medium bowl, add the chicken and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, toss to coat and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes (or overnight in the fridge).
For the fesenjoon, put a tablespoon of oil, 80g onions, halved and thinly sliced and 80g grated carrots in a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes, until softened and starting to caramelise. Add 10 ml oil and 30g toasted and blitzed walnuts, and cook for another two minutes, stirring so the mix doesn’t catch. Pour in 125 ml chickenstock, 19 ml pomegranate molasses, 1/8 tsp caster sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 30-35 minutes, until thickened. Take off the heat and set aside.
Divide the chicken equally between 4 skewers (presoaked if using wooden ones) and brush all over with ghee or clarified butter. Put a large griddle pan on a medium-high heat and, once hot, turn the heat to medium and grill the chicken for three minutes on each side, brushing with more ghee when turning them over. Remove from the pan and set aside for five minutes.
For the shirazi salad mix 1/4cucumber (halved, deseeded and cut into ½cm cubes),1/4red onion (peeled and finely chopped), 100g quartered cherry tomatoes, 30g pomegranate seeds, 1/2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp roughly chopped mint leaves in a medium bowl with a pinc of salt, and divide between 2 plates.
Arrange two chicken skewers on each plate and serve with the warm fesenjoon sauce spooned on top.
In a shallow bowl, mix together 3 tbsp of Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce, 2 level tsp of dried chilli flakes, a grinding of black pepper and a couple of good pinches of sugar. Put a couple of large peeled prawns into the marinade and set aside for 30 minutes.
Peel a large and thoroughly chilled wedge of watermelon and slice into bite size pieces roughly 1 cm in thickness, picking out the seeds with a point of a knife as you go.
Mix together the juice of a lime, some finely chopped mint leaves and, if you wish, coriander leaves then toss the melon in it. Put the pieces of melon on small serving plates.
Sprinkle a tbsp of rice flour over the prawns and toss them around. They will be coated in a very light batter. It is fine if it goes a little lumpy – like tempura.
Heat 200ml of groundnut oil in a shallow pan or wok, add the prawns and let them fry for 2 or 3 minutes till golden, turn and repeat for a further minute till golden and lightly crisp.
Remove the prawns from the heat and place on the chilled watermelon and serve.
The joy of this is the contrast between each mouthful of hot, umami-rich prawns and ice-cold watermelon.
First make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk 125g flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp nigella seeds, then add 95g yoghurt. Pull together into a ball, tip on to a floured surface and knead for two minutes. Now rest in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a damp tea towel.
Bash out 4 boneless chicken thighs until it’s all of a fairly even thickness.
Put a small pan on a medium heat, then add 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp ground coriander, 2 cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground, ¼ tsp cinnamon powder,¼ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg and toast until fragrant.
Whisk into ½ tsp salt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed, … then rub the mix all over the chicken and put in a sealed container in the fridge for between three and eight hours.
Cut the chicken into thin strips, then thread one end of each strip on to a metal skewer. Put a second skewer through the other end of each strip, and push the strips down to the far end of the skewers, so they’re tightly packed
Heat the grill to medium and find a tray over which you can balance the skewers so they’re suspended rather than touching the base.
Time to make Zhoug sauce.
Roughly chop 14g coriander and 12g parsley. Add to a food processor with 2 crushed cloves of garlic and a de-seeded and roughly chopped jalapeno and pulse several times. Add 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp salt, a pinch of sugar, 2 tbsp water and 3 tbsp olive oil. Run until a rough sauce is made, stopping to scrape down as needed. The sauce should have texture and liquid.
Then make a lemon garlic tahini sauce : using a food processor, mix 1 tbsp lemon juice, the zest of 1/2 lemon, 60g tahini, 2 tbsp hacked coriander, a pinch of salt, 1 crushed cloves of garlic, a few tbsp dill and a tsp za'atar together. While the food processor is running, add 40 ml water and process until mixture is the consistency of honey. Stop to scrape down as needed. Garnish with a few more herbs. Store in a tightly covered jar, upside down. Mixture will separate. Stir back together if needed.
Finally prepare a cucumber and red onion salsa : mix 1/2 red onion, finely diced, 1/2 gratedcucumber, 1 tbsp hacked dill, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1,2 tbsp sumac, 1,2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt. In the end I added some cherry tomatoes.
To cook the flatbreads, warm clarified butter in a large pan over a high heat. Divide the dough into 2 balls and roll each out on a floured surface to 15-20cm – the thinner, the better. Once the pan is hot, cook each flatbread for a few minutes on each side until puffed up and blistered.
Then its time to grill the chicken for five minutes, then turn over and grill for another five minutes – the chicken should be charred and cooked through.
Put 130g fine bulgur and 1 tsp each of salt, aleppo chilli, dried mint andblack pepper in a bowl and stir in enough boiling water to just cover them. Cover with a cloth or tray to trap the steam and set aside to cook through.
Add 1 heaped tbsp salça (or regular tomato paste)to the bulgur along with 6 tbsp olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon and mix thoroughly with your hands, kneading it almost as you would dough.
Add a handful of finely chopped parsley and 2 finely chopped spring onions and stir and mix thoroughly again, scrunching and kneading it. Add 5-6 leaves of romano lettuce (chopped into 1 cm pieces) and a diced tomato, give everything a gentle stir to combine, then sprinkle in 100g pomegranate seeds.
Heat the oven to 210°C (190°C fan).
Rub 2 filets of salmon (120g each) with a drizzle of oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp sumac and 1/2 tsp aleppo chilli flakes, brush with 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Serve the salmon on the kisir (bulgur). Drizzle with some extra pomegranate molasses and serve with a mixture of green leaves on the side.
First, quarter and de-stone 4 perfectly ripeapricots. Put a griddle pan on a medium-high heat and ventilate the kitchen. Lightly oil the pan, then add the apricots and grill for 1-2 minutes on each side, until softened and charred.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix 1 tbsp runny honey, 3/4 tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 tbsp olive oil to make the marinade. Add the apricots and leave to cool completely.
To make the dip, crumble 100g rindless goat’s cheese into a small food processor along with the zest of a lemon, 100g ricotta and 1/6 of a teaspoon of flaked salt. Blitz for 45 seconds, scraping down the sides as you go, until fully incorporated. Remove and put in the fridge until ready to serve.
Bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add 50g peas, blanch for 15 seconds, then drain and plunge into iced water to cool quickly. Once cooled, drain and leave to one side.
To serve, spoon the dip into the centre of 2 shallow bowls. Use the back of a spoon to make a large well in the centre. Drain the apricots and reserve the marinade.
Put the apricots in a large bowl with the peas, 1 tbsp chopped mint, 1 tbsp chopped dill, 10g toasted and crushed walnuts, 1/16 tsp chilli flakes, 1/8 teaspoon of flaked salt and a good grind of black pepper, toss gently to coat, then spoon into the wells of the smaller bowls.
Serve with a tablespoon of the marinade drizzled on top and flatbread on the side.
Put a small saute pan on a medium-high heat and add 45g light brown sugar, 60ml cider vinegar, 1 finely chopped red chilli and 15g grated ginger. Stir and cook for four minutes until syrupy and bubbling.
Add 3 stonedpeaches, chopped into 1cm pieces, 1 tsp black mustard seeds and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and cook for another five minutes, until softened but not completely broken down. Set aside to cool and thicken.
To marinate the lamb, put 250g lamb rump, 2 peeled and crushed cloves of garlic and 3/4 tbsp lemon juice in a bowl with one and a half teaspoons of salt and a good grind of pepper. Mix well and marinate for an hour, or overnight.
Heat the oven to 240°C (220°C fan). Rub a tablespoon of the oil into the lamb and put in a medium frying pan on medium-high heat. Lay in the lamb fat side down and cook for three to four minutes, until deeply golden. Now sear the lamb for two to three minutes on each side, then transfer to the oven for six minutes – this will cook the rumps to medium-rare, so give them plus or minus two minutes in the oven depending on your desired doneness. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan on medium-high heat and, once hot, add 3/4 tsp cumin seeds and take off the heat. Stir in a pinch of salt and leave to cool
Cut the lamb at an angle into ½cm-thick slices and arrange on a platter. Drizzle the cumin oil over the top, then sprinkle with 1/2 tsp aleppo chilli and 1/2 teaspoon of flaky salt.
Scatter 2 trimmed and finely sliced spring onions and 5g finely chopped parsley leaves on top and serve with the peach chutney on the side.
Gently scrub 350g of new potatoes, removing any flaky skins with your thumb.Boil them in ca 20 minutes, depending on their size. Test them with a skewer – it should slide through effortlessly.
Drain the potatoes, cut each one in half and put them in a large bowl.
While the potatoes are cooking, make the dressing. Put 2 tsp of mustard into a small bowl, add 2 egg yolks, a pinch of salt, then slowly beat in 150ml of groundnut or sunflower oil and 100ml of olive oil. Do this drop by drop at first, then quickening to a steady stream, until you have a thick mayonnaise. Mix in enough warm water to loosen the consistency so it will coat the back of a spoon.
Roughly tear 5g each of basil and parsley leaves and stir into the mayonnaise, then check the seasoning
Drop the potatoes into the mayonnaise while they are still warm. Spoon the dressing over the potatoes and leave for 10 minutes.
Tear 250g of smoked salmon into large pieces and add to the potatoes and 4 finely sliced radishes
(You could, of course, use a good-quality commercial mayo instead of making it yourself. Perk up the store-bought stuff with a shot of lemon juice, or better still, a tablespoon of juice from the pickle jar.)
To prepare the chickpeas in the original way it's done in Tel Aviv: soak 150g chickpeas in water water with 1/2 tsp baking soda, for at least 12 hrs
The next day pre-heat the oven to 190°C. Cut the underside from a bulb of garlic, lightly oil a piece of alu foil, place the garlic upright on the oiled foil and close the packet and put in the oven for 40 mins.
Blacken 2 red paprika's under the grill, cool in a plastic bag, peel and slice into strips.
Hack the rind of 1/4 preserved lemon very finely.
Take your highest (soup)pan, drain the chickpeas that have been soaking overnight, put them in the hot pan with 1/2 tsp baking soda and a little bit of water. Bake them for 3 mins, keep stirring and if necessary add water to avoid burning.
Transfer the pan to the sink and fill with2 liters of cold water. As soon as the peas are cold enough massage them between your hands to remove the skins.
Turn the tap at full power, the peas will stay at the bottom and the skins will float to the surface. Pour out the water to remove the skins. Repeat this a few times
Transfer the peas to a low pan, refresh the water, the peas should be under 3 cm of water, and bring to the boil.
Skim off the foam and add a clove of garlic. Put on the lid and boil on a low fire till you can crush a ckickpea between 2 fingers, which will be after 30-35 mins.
In the meantime softly fry a sliced red onion and 6 cloves of black garlic, in a glug of oil, stirring from time to time.
Slice an aubergine into small cubes and add to the onion. Season with salt and fry for another 10 mins.
Add 1 tsp ras el hanout or Baharat, 1/2 tsp pimentos de la vera (dulce) and 1 tsp harissa, stir well and fry 2 minutes.
Add the chickpeas, a 400g can of tomato, 2 tsp tomato paste, the preserved lemon and the red paprika. Softly boil for 20 mins to create a thick sauce.
Squeeze the cloves of popped garlic into a bowl. Add 50g tahini, 1 tbsp lemon juice and whisk, then slowly add about 50 ml water, bit by bit, to a sauce with the thickness of mayonaise. Taste and season with salt and maybe a bit more lemon juice.
Cube 150g watermelon, halve 100g cherry tomatoes and peel and cube an avocado.
Make a dressing from 1,5 tbsp white miso, 1/4 tbsp soy sauce, 1,5 tbsp archaide oil, a few drops of sesame oil, 1 gr of grated fresh ginger, 1/2 tsp runny honey and 1/2 tsp sushi vinegar
Serve with cress and 2 tbsp popped buckwheat or Quinoa
(A Blend Brothers recipe)
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