Middle Eastern lunch

We hosted a lunch at our home a few weeks ago - with Middle Eastern dishes as a theme. I am a bit of a fan of this style of cooking. Unlike many of my friends I have never travelled to the Middle East but I just love the flavours and colours of their traditional food.One day I may get there.....
While cooking these delicious dishes I thought of the many women and children caught up in conflict in that part of the world. All they want is peace, food and shelter, to feel safe and loved. I am very lucky to have it all in my life........
In planning this banquet, the 'Eat your Books' app was again very useful. I found great recipes in Jerusalem, Made in Morocco and Turkey, all books I have used often.
The menu included Lamb Shawarma, Beef and Quince (I would have used Lamb Stuffed Quince but hollowing out all those quinces looked like hard work). I also made Chicken Pilaf, Saffron Rice with Barberries and herbs, Hummus of course, Roasted Cauliflower & Hazelnut salad, Carrots with mint and pomegranate, Orange Semolina cake, delicious Spice Cookies and of course my Quince paste with lovely cheeses from our local deli Gambonis. The Ottolenghi Spice Cookies were a star addition to the desserts. They were truly delicious and easy to make.
A good friend of mine said the only way to cook rice was the Middle Eastern traditional way of the cooking, by frying the rice first in a little butter, add the stock, boil for about 15 minutes or so and finish off with a placing a clean tea towel tightly wrapped around the lid and leaving the rice to steam cook, infusing the flavours.
I really enjoyed the day and all the preparation and practice with these dishes. In the end our lunch raised over $1,000 for Dyslexia services so I was pretty pleased about that.

Cauliflower salad with hazelnuts

Carrot salad

Saffron rice with barberries

Spice Cookies - so yummy!

Hunters Chicken Stew (Pollo alla Cacciatora)

This is a simple rustic dish, easy to prepare, looks impressive and great for a crowd. I have made it quite a few times as it something you prepare and pop in the oven and enjoy a wine (or two) while you chat with your friends and wait for it to cook. the smell wafting from the kitchen is just divine.
Just remember you need to marinate the chicken, best to do it the night before, and you need to reserve the marinade to return to the dish after you brown the chicken pieces. Don't do what I did once and throw the marinade out by mistake. A reminder to self,  'read the recipe before starting'! Mmmmmmm.
I slightly adapted Jamie Oliver's version found in 'Jamie's Italy'. Instead of tinned tomatoes I slow roasted a heap of over- ripe fresh tomatoes and added those to my dish. A great way to use up that abundant tomato harvest.  I tossed some of my lovely homegrown rosemary, garlic and bay leaves into the recipe too - very satisfying to have those so fresh in the garden at this time of the year.
Jamie recommends to serve this with cannellini beans and a salad but you could just serve with a side of fresh crusty bread smeared with loads of lovely butter. Great for sopping up that gorgeous sauce. I added a pile of small potatoes to the dish, a bit of a favourite combo of mine.
Hunters Chicken Stew (Pollo alla Cacciatora)
Ingredients
1 x 2kg chicken or equivalent amount of chicken pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 bay leaves
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 cloves of garlic (1 crushed, 2 sliced)
1/2 bottle of Chianti (I just used a cheapish Shiraz)
flour for dusting and extra virgin olive oil
6 anchovy fillets
a handful of green or black olives, stoned
2 x 400g tins of plum or Italian tomatoes or equivalent slow roasted ripe tomatoes with just a little water added ( I added a little too much)
Method
Season chicken pieces and put them in a bowl with the bay leaves, rosemary sprigs, and the crushed garlic and cover with the wine. Leave to marinate for at least an hour but preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180 or 350F. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with paper towels.
Dust your chicken pieces with flour and shake off excess. Heat a pan with a little olive oil and brown chicken evenly on both sides.
Place pan back on heat, add sliced garlic. Fry gently until golden brown, add the anchovies, olives, tomatoes (break them up a little) and chicken pieces and reserved marinade.
Bring to the boil, cover with a lid or foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and rosemary sprigs and serve.

I should have reduced the sauce a little more at the first stage. It wasn't wasted - I just scooped it up with a large soup spoon!

I love the flavours in this dish

Pumpkin and herbs

Right now I have Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme growing in my winter garden. It is about the only thing I have to harvest apart from my Silver Beet or Chard (as it is sometimes called). I do like pumpkin soup in winter but prefer to make my own. I rarely order it from a restaurant menu cos it so easy to make - at home! Yes, it can be a little boring but if you get the right recipe, pumpkin makes a great, inexpensive, nutritious meal for the family! This soup recipe came from 'Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone' by Deborah Madison. I came across her book in 2010 when staying with Jules and Jane in Hudson, New York. It is a classic book the size of a 'brick' and has been reprinted many times. It can be bought on Amazon and I would recommend it to anyone interested in vegetarian cooking.
For this soup I was inspired to do two things - make my own vegetable stock and fry little sage leaves. I must be a bit weird but they are rather lovely things to fry and are delicious subtle little treat to include on your spoon of pumpkin soup (along with a little bit of the melted cheese!) Trust me it is worth the trouble - YUM!
Winter Pumpkin Soup with Fried Sage Leaves
1 to 1.5 kg of pumpkin
1/4 c olive oil
6 garlic cloves
12 whole sage leaves - plus 2 tbsp chopped
2 onions finely chopped
4 thyme sprigs - finely chopped or 1/4 tsp dried
1/4 c chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper
2000ml water or vegetable stock (make your own with celery, carrots, chard, onions, fresh herbs etc)
1/2 cup strong cheese
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cut pumpkin into big chunks, remove seeds, brush with oil, stuff with garlic, place cut side down and bake until tender for about 30mins. In a small fry pan heat the olive oil then drop the sage leaves and fry for only a minute, remove and drain on a paper towel and reserve. Transfer the oil to a larger pot, add chopped onion, chopped sage, thyme and parsley. Cook until onions are lightly browned. Scoop the pumpkin flesh into the pot along with any juices in the roasting pan, add the peeled garlic, 1 1/2 tsp salt and the water/stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer partially covered for 25 minutes. If the soup becomes too thick just more stock or water to thin it out. Taste for seasonings. When cooled slightly, I used a hand held kitchen whizz to smooth/refine the soup. Reheat, ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with a little cheese and add a couple of the fried sage leaves on top to garnish.

Makes about 6 adult portions

Pumpkin and herbs

Right now I have Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme growing in my winter garden. It is about the only thing I have to harvest apart from my Silver Beet or Chard (as it is sometimes called). I do like pumpkin soup in winter but prefer to make my own. I rarely order it from a restaurant menu cos it so easy to make - at home! Yes, it can be a little boring but if you get the right recipe, pumpkin makes a great, inexpensive, nutritious meal for the family! This soup recipe came from 'Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone' by Deborah Madison. I came across her book in 2010 when staying with Jules and Jane in Hudson, New York. It is a classic book the size of a 'brick' and has been reprinted many times. It can be bought on Amazon and I would recommend it to anyone interested in vegetarian cooking.
For this soup I was inspired to do two things - make my own vegetable stock and fry little sage leaves. I must be a bit weird but they are rather lovely things to fry and are delicious subtle little treat to include on your spoon of pumpkin soup (along with a little bit of the melted cheese!) Trust me it is worth the trouble - YUM!
Winter Pumpkin Soup with Fried Sage Leaves
1 to 1.5 kg of pumpkin
1/4 c olive oil
6 garlic cloves
12 whole sage leaves - plus 2 tbsp chopped
2 onions finely chopped
4 thyme sprigs - finely chopped or 1/4 tsp dried
1/4 c chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper
2000ml water or vegetable stock (make your own with celery, carrots, chard, onions, fresh herbs etc)
1/2 cup strong cheese
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cut pumpkin into big chunks, remove seeds, brush with oil, stuff with garlic, place cut side down and bake until tender for about 30mins. In a small fry pan heat the olive oil then drop the sage leaves and fry for only a minute, remove and drain on a paper towel and reserve. Transfer the oil to a larger pot, add chopped onion, chopped sage, thyme and parsley. Cook until onions are lightly browned. Scoop the pumpkin flesh into the pot along with any juices in the roasting pan, add the peeled garlic, 1 1/2 tsp salt and the water/stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer partially covered for 25 minutes. If the soup becomes too thick just more stock or water to thin it out. Taste for seasonings. When cooled slightly, I used a hand held kitchen whizz to smooth/refine the soup. Reheat, ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with a little cheese and add a couple of the fried sage leaves on top to garnish.

Makes about 6 adult portions