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!

Multi-grain salad

   Feeding vegetarians always poses the problem 'what should I cook?' as I am always looking for something to surprise and satisfy the recipient. This time I also wanted a recipe that looked a little 'Christmassy' and 'summery' for them. And this recipe was a winner. I just love the way it looks and tastes. Pomegranates are available for a such a short period over summer, it is a perfect way to use them. I just love the colour they introduce to dishes.
   The dish serves about 4 - 6 but I found you can add extra to bulk it up and serve more. It comes with a carrot and harissa puree but I did not make it for our Christmas table.
   I made it again to take to a post wedding lunch, held on a really lovely sunny day (the pohutukawa was out and the gods were smiling). The great thing is the salad ingredients can be organised the day before and just assembled when needed.

The Pohutukawa is stunning this summer

Multi-grain Salad - Albion Canteen, Napier - as in Cuisine Issue #166 (p.50)
For the Salad (slightly adapted by me)
3 cups of cooked mixed grains (barley, farro, freekeh or quinoa or brown rice)
1 cup mixed toasted nuts and seeds (almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
1/3 cup chia seeds
4 tbsp preserved lemon finely chopped
4 tbsp cranberries (or chopped dates, apricots or currants - a mixture of all is lovely)
1 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley ( only used a small amount as my parsley had gone to seed)
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched and refreshed in cold water - well drained
Gently mix altogether - add the following dressing until salad is well covered (I found I didn't need it all)
For a garnish I also added the seeds of 1/2 pomegranate - looks really nice with the green of the broccoli
Dressing
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
zest and juice of one orange
200ml mild olive oil
Mix in a sealed jar

Broccoli, Brown Rice and Cashew Salad

If you don't like broccoli - look away now!
When the man of the house suggested another meal made with broccoli I was happy to oblige. (He found the recipe in an online newspaper - he couldn't remember which one but I have made sure the author has been noted).
Although a much maligned vegetable, broccoli is very good for you - full of those vitamins and minerals our bodies need to make us healthy, and of course it provides excellent roughage for our inner bits.
I particularly like this recipe as it includes everything in one dish - carbs, nuts and vegetables all taken care of. How easy is that?
Actually our pooch (Sadie) has a daily serving of broccoli, she is in her 17th year and still going strong. Having said that, she has had a few health issues over the last year. She is now pretty deaf ( handy, as she no longer shakes during thunder and lightening storms) and is a little slower than she used to be.
At times I call her a bit of a grumpy dowager as she takes a bit of a dislike for most other dogs on our daily wander around the neighbourhood (and the odd human!).

We are convinced her longevity is due to two walks a day and a dinner helping of a few florets of cooked broccoli strategically poked into her meal! She is not keen on any stalks (tosses them aside if you please) but finely diced, we can ensure all the broccoli is eaten. She likes a bit of grated carrot too!
Taking Sadie's lead, when making this salad make sure you cut the florets quite small. I left them a little too big, they need to be bite sized pieces.
And if you plan to keep some leftovers for the next day, don't add all the dressing to the salad, it can make it a little soggy.
I had a few beans in our garden, lightly blanched they were a perfect addition to this salad. Throw in some blanched fresh asparagus when it is in season too.
There are so many lovely flavours in this salad. Great for Vegans too.We had it as main for dinner but it is perfect as a salad side dish with BBQ chicken or steak. 

Broccoli, Brown Rice and Cashew Salad

From Bite – Jo Elwin

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked brown rice - cooled

1 large broccoli, cut into little florets and blanched for a few minutes – cool under cold water and drain well

2 spring onions, finely chopped

3 cups of mixed lettuce leaves

1 cup of Cherry tomatoes, cut in half

¼ c mint leaves, sliced

¼ c coriander leaves, sliced

½ c toasted cashews

2tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Method

Place broccoli in large bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the nuts and seeds.

Dressing

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Mirin (or rice vinegar)

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp Tahini

Mix the soy, sesame oil, mirin, and grated ginger together in a jug. Place the tahini in a bowl and slowly add the soy mixture, whisking to combine.

Pour over the salad and toss lightly to combine.

Sprinkle with cashew nuts and sesame seeds before serving.

What to do with those leftovers!

We purchased a ham for the holidays, I am not sure why as we struggle (every year) to get through it all before we are heartily sick of it! We are not huge meat eaters in this house but I think my rationale for buying said ham was so we had something quick and easy in the fridge during the holiday break if we had unexpected friends or family drop in to visit.
It was a nice ham but having it for nearly every meal and every sandwich for 2 weeks it was really time to call it a day and use what was left for a big main dish - and I fancied a risotto.
A search through all my books and files produced little, interestingly I could not find a single recipe using up ham in this way. Rather than Google for inspiration  I decided to experiment and produced a simple dish that used all the chunks of ham I cut off the bone. (I boiled the bones with the remaining meat to freeze for Pea and Ham soup at a later date).
You could use this basic recipe for any sort of risotto, chicken (left overs again?) and/or mushroom and by using summer and spring vegetables such as zucchini, carrots or even pumpkin. The most important part is to use a good risotto rice - I use Arborio. You can easily buy it from a good supermarket or from a speciality store. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arborio_rice

 It is also important to use a good lightly seasoned stock (not the powdered stuff)  - vegetable or chicken. Here I used homemade chicken stock (not my ham stock - might make the dish too salty). Have it simmering on the cook top in a large pot, use a ladle and add the stock to the dish as it is absorbed by the rice. With my ham I did not need to add extra seasoning but if using other meat or vegetables check for flavour and add salt and pepper as desired.
This is not a dish you set on the stove and walk away and leave, you have to lovingly watch its progress and add the stock as needed.

apologies for date in photo - now removed from my camera!

 Ham and Pea Risotto  (serves 2-4 people depending on your serving size)
1 onion -  finely chopped 
a little vegetable oil
Chopped ham
1 cup of Arborio rice - rinsed until cold water (use more rice if feeding more)
1 cup of frozen peas (add a little more if wanting a larger dish)
2 - 5 cups of chicken stock

In a large frying pan or large wide shallow pot ( my one is called a 'cooking kettle'), lightly cook the onion until translucent.
Add the rice and 1 cup of stock, stir and simmer gently until absorbed - add another ladle of stock.
Continue in this way for about 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Add the ham and peas towards the end of the cooking to heat through.
Serve while nice and warm.

Humble but delicious on a wet Sunday night.

San Francisco Casserole - Easy rice vegetarian dish

I am a Rice Cooker convert. I used to scoff at such inventions but now I am hooked. It makes cooking all types of rice so effortless (with no 'boiling over the stove incidents'!) I am also a huge fan of vegetarian food. The preparation thereof is often labour intensive so cooking rice this way often makes it easier and quicker. I usually cook double the amount of rice and freeze what I do not need. It really comes in handy for cooking vegetarian rissoles etc. 

I am not certain of the origins of this recipe but it was given to me by Elaine who said it's origin is Australian as she got it from her Aussie friend. I have no idea why it's called a San Francisco Casserole!

1 large bunch silver beet (or chard) - tasty way to use a vegetable that grows prolifically in my garden!

4 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1tsp dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp dried mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 cups cooked rice (brown rice is best and nicer)

2 cups sharp cheese, grated

Cook, drain well and chop the silver beet 

Beat eggs and add remaining ingredients (leave the rice, cheese and silver beet to last to ensure the mixture is well combined). Pour into a well greased dish and bake uncovered in a moderate oven (180 degrees Celsius) for approximately 45 minutes. Watch it doesn't brown too quickly, cover with a little tinfoil towards the end of cooking to prevent this. 

Sprinkle extra cheese on top for the last 5-10 minutes.

It is delicious and children love it! 

San Francisco Casserole - Easy rice vegetarian dish

I am a Rice Cooker convert. I used to scoff at such inventions but now I am hooked. It makes cooking all types of rice so effortless (with no 'boiling over the stove incidents'!) I am also a huge fan of vegetarian food. The preparation thereof is often labour intensive so cooking rice this way often makes it easier and quicker. I usually cook double the amount of rice and freeze what I do not need. It really comes in handy for cooking vegetarian rissoles etc. 

I am not certain of the origins of this recipe but it was given to me by Elaine who said it's origin is Australian as she got it from her Aussie friend. I have no idea why it's called a San Francisco Casserole!

1 large bunch silver beet (or chard) - tasty way to use a vegetable that grows prolifically in my garden!

4 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1tsp dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp dried mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 cups cooked rice (brown rice is best and nicer)

2 cups sharp cheese, grated

Cook, drain well and chop the silver beet 

Beat eggs and add remaining ingredients (leave the rice, cheese and silver beet to last to ensure the mixture is well combined). Pour into a well greased dish and bake uncovered in a moderate oven (180 degrees Celsius) for approximately 45 minutes. Watch it doesn't brown too quickly, cover with a little tinfoil towards the end of cooking to prevent this. 

Sprinkle extra cheese on top for the last 5-10 minutes.

It is delicious and children love it!