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

Bulgar Wheat, Corn and Zucchini Salad

I am just loving the beautiful corn on the cob in the shops at the moment. It is so good to eat, so tasty and sweet. It reminds me of my childhood going through very tall rows of corn growing in our vegetable patch, always searching for the biggest cob and picking it straight off the stalks. We ate it steaming hot with piles of butter, salt and pepper. Even now (although I don't - that would be greedy!) I could easily eat two large cobs in one sitting.
One time, during one of those corn picking expeditions, I came out in a terrible red itchy rash all over my bare arms and legs. I remember (at the time) feeling quite worried I might be seriously ill but I am pleased to say I recovered fairly quickly from the generous dusting of pollen. To this day I am still very allergic to many forms of vegetable, grass and tree pollens.
This Ruth Pretty recipe is a good one to use during the corn season (when or if you ever get sick of eating buttery corn off the cob). Actually I made it for the first time last year, and it ended up being one of the great platters for my birthday (and our wedding) party celebrations.
If you are like me and always in a bit of a hurry, it is fine to use a kitchen whizz to chop up the onions and herbs together. You may prefer to do it the old fashioned way so the onion is a little chunkier. I couldn't get fresh dill locally so used a little dried dill instead which was fine.
I love the crunch and the colour of this salad. And not only does it provide another way to eat fresh corn, it's a great recipe to use up all those excess zucchinis growing in your garden too. 
It's delicious served on its own or as a side dish at at BBQ or summer lunch.
Last week I helped delivered some meals to a Bellyful (vegetarian) client. It was perfect timing to arrive on her doorstep with a portion of this salad, as she was wondering what to have for her lunch!

Bulgar Wheat, Corn and Zucchini Salad

Ruth Pretty – SST Jan 2012

Serves 5-6 or 10-12 as part of an array of salads

Ingredients

¾ c bulgar wheat

4 cups of boiling water

2 corn cobs, cooked and cooled

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 zucchini, finely sliced (use a vegetable peeler)

½ red onion, finely chopped

¼ cup finely chopped dill

½ cup finely chopped Italian parsley

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

1tsp flaky salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

Place the bulgar wheat into a large bowl and add boiling water. Stir, cover and set aside to soak for 45 minutes.

Drain through a large sieve, discarding the water.

Transfer the bulgar wheat to a clean tea towel, wring to extract the excess water and tip into a large bowl. ( I forgot to do this step but draining it in the sieve for about 30 mins was ok).

Slice kernels from the corn cobs and add to the bulgar wheat. Add the chilli, zucchini, onion, dill and parsley.

Pour the lemon juice and oil into a jug with S & P. Whisk well.

Pour dressing over the bulgar wheat mix, toss ingredients together.

Cover the salad with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or overnight for the flavours to develop or keep for up to 3 days.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

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.

Farro and Pearl Barley continued...

If you are like me you will have childhood memories of the ubiquitous pearl barley. It was always the standard addition to our mothers homemade vegetable soup, often boiled so long it turned to mush. But (luckily for us) it is now appearing in so many different other ways. I really love the texture of this nutritious grain (note my risotto post using pearl barley). I looks like I'm in a bit of a grain phase at the moment! 

Last week I found myself with the remaining pieces of a 2kg pumpkin. I also had an ongoing problem with a large hoard of things in my pantry, space was limited, so the thinking cap went on. What to produce that would deal with the pumpkin and hopefully use up some of the items that keep tumbling out of my pantry. Low and behold this recipe appeared in our Sunday paper. It is totally delicious and should be very appealing to any lover of vegetables and if you make some adjustments prefect for my gluten free and vegan friends and of course leaving out the meat, to vegetarians!
The recipe is in the similar vein to the Farro recipe I posted last month. However, this one uses pearl barley which has the advantage of being easier to find and is a little less expensive than Farro. The whole meal would work out to be less than $10. The addition of smoked paprika sits nicely with the chorizo and gives the dish a different sort of flavour. Sorry I do not have a photo of the final dish but the recipe is detailed below.
Yesterday I cooked another dish along a similar vein - created by Ginny Grant in Cuisine -  but you add 2tbsp of pomegranate molasses and 1tbsp of olive oil to the cooked warm grain (for this I used a mixture of farro and pearl barley) and the pumpkin was roasted with 1tbsp of pomegranate molasses. Two roast onions are added and a little feta crumbled on top of the salad. I served it as a vegetarian main but for meat lovers it would be great as a side with BBQ lamb.
I finished the dish with a garnish of fresh pomegranate seeds, it looked lovely and tasted delicious. In fact the bowl was almost licked clean!
http://cuisine.co.nz/cuisine.nsf/recipes/farro-roasted-pumpkin-red-onion-salad?Opendocument&HighLight=2,farro,roasted,pumpkin
So give these grains a try, they add a wonderful chewy texture to your salads and definitely make a change from rice and couscous salads for the summer BBQ's.
Warm pearl barley, roasted pumpkin and chorizo salad

Fiona Smith – SST November 2013

Ingredients

1/2 - 3/4 cup pearl barley

1 kg pumpkin, peeled and cubed 2cm (drizzle with honey for a sweeter flavour if desired)

1 tsp dried oregano or 1tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

Juice and finely grated zest from a lemon

2 tsp red or white wine vinegar

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ c pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds)

200g chorizo, slice 1cm (leave out if vegetarian dish preferred)

½ cup fresh coriander chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C.

Rinse pearl barley under cold water and drain. Cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain.

Toss the pumpkin with the oregano and oil and season with salt.

Spread out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cook in oven for

20-25 minutes, turning once, until tender.

In a large serving bowl, whisk together paprika, lemon juice and zest,

vinegar and extra virgin olive oil then stir in warm barley and mix well.

Heat a fry pan over a medium heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and cook for a minute shaking

the pan, until they pop. Set aside.

Heat the pan or grill till hot, cook the chorizo for 2-3 minutes on each side until brown.

Add the pumpkin, chorizo and coriander to the pearl barley mix and toss all together.

Sprinkle with pumpkins seeds and serve.

Serves 4-6

Note – Gluten free option - substitute gluten free chorizo and quinoa for barley

Farro, pearl barley, roast pumpkin and onion salad with pomegranate

A salad using Farro

Always on the lookout for something a little different, I spotted this recipe for Cypriot Salad in the latest Cuisine magazine. It's a great wholesome recipe for a vegetarian main or for meat lovers, a lovely accompaniment for chicken or lamb.
I thought it would be the perfect dish for a recent celebration lunch and (if there were leftovers) a great dish to take to a couple of vegetarians in the family who have recently had a new baby. We all know what those first few weeks are like! And yes, they were most grateful for the leftovers, this dish in particular as it contained no dairy (apart from the garnish of a dollop of yoghurt), perfect for their Vegan guest staying over to help with said baby.
It contains Farro, a grain I had not used before. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farro. It comes from the wheat family, a nice change from bulgar wheat, easy to cook, very filling and tasty.
I had a bit of a challenge sourcing Farro but finally found a 500g bag at Moore Wilson's http://www.moorewilson.co.nz/, a great shop in Wellington where almost anything can be found. I would recommend a visit, think a 'toy shop' for cooks and food lovers!
I love experimenting with new ingredients, sometimes they end up languishing in my pantry but more often than not they end up as a favourite. In this case one to be used for special occasions as Farro is imported and not cheap! To find it, you might have to shop around. A good organic shop or health store will have it but I find once something has caught on - more people bring it in and the price tends to come down a bit.
I always smile to myself and think of my mother when I cook new dishes, she was not a fancy cook and once considered Couscous (instead of spuds) a 'bit posh'. I suppose in her day feeding a hungry family of five, (without all the fancy gadgets and the variety of food we have now) it was always a mission to get a meal on the table, on time, within a weekly budget. The only thing considered exotic or fancy back in those days would have been a stir fry!
Cypriot salad can be prepared the night before, by cooking the Farro and lentils and roasting the pumpkin. You can then assemble everything and add the dressing closer to serving. I really like all the nuts and seeds in this salad too, they make a lovely crunchy addition to the Farro's chewy texture. And if you love Moroccan flavours, you will love this. I have included the link to the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
http://cuisine.co.nz/cuisine.nsf/recipes/cypriot-salad-with-roast-pumpkin-currants?Opendocument&HighLight=2,cypriot,salad

The humble cabbage made a bit special

When I was younger you couldn't pay me to eat cabbage, I found it very bland and boring. I have grown to appreciate a little cabbage in my stir fries (adds a bit crunch to the dish) and in coleslaw but have never really been a fan of the humble cabbage so seldom buy or cook it . That is until I discovered Johnsons Coleslaw. I am not sure of the significance of the name, certainly not named after me - but this is a winner!
I came across the recipe last year in an article in the NZ House and Garden. It is so easy, goes with all sorts of dishes and perfect to serve for a crowd at a party (I happen to be having one this weekend). It will keep for about 3 days in the fridge, lovely in a sandwich along with whatever salad items you have on hand, great with chunks of ham or chicken. For lunch I smeared some homemade hummus on a wholemeal wrap, added a big chunk of cheese, slices of beetroot and a big scoop of the coleslaw - absolutely delicious.
You may have to hunt a bit for the celery seeds as not all supermarkets sell them. I managed to find them in a local food speciality store. Also, I have made the recipe using 1/2 of cabbage, still tasted great. I was in a bit of a hurry so used the slicing accessory in my kitchen whizz to prepare the onion and cabbage but a purist would carefully slice the vegetables......Here it is and I hope you like it as much as I do.

Johnsons Coleslaw 
1/4- 1/2 large cabbage
1 onion, halved and finely sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup of white wine vinegar (I used cider vinegar - it was just as nice)
just a little over 1/4 cup neutral oil (like rice bran or sunflower/salad/cooking oil)
Good 1/2 tsp celery seeds
Combine cabbage and onion in a bowl -sprinkle sugar over. (I combined it in the pot with the rest of the ingredients and it was ok as well)
Heat together vinegar, oil and celery seeds, seasoned well with salt and pepper until boiling.
Pour over cabbage and onion while still hot then cover salad and refrigerate for a few hours or r overnight.
Toss together and shake/pour off excess liquid before serving.

Beetroot, fennel and celeriac salad

It is now the time for all three of these vegetables to have their day in the sunshine. I love them all and this recipe caught my eye for its simplicity and unusualness (is that a word?) It is a very easy salad to make, you just need to set time aside to cook everything separately and assemble later. Perfect as a side dish with a beef or chicken main or as a starter on its own. I found this recipe in the vegetable section of the Dominion Post and have slightly altered it to suit my taste. I love the flavours (they work well together) and the crunch of the fennel! To save time (and power) I roast the beetroot when I have other things to bake.

celeriac is ugly looking but tastes great!

Beetroot, fennel and celeriac salad
4 medium sized beetroot
1 large fennel bulb
1 large celeriac bulb
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1tbsp red wine vinegar
Rocket leaves
Thoroughly wash beetroot and trim off stalk and root bits. Roast in tin foil with a little oil and S and P for about 1.5 hours - test with a skewer without opening the foil - when cool peel off beetroot skin and cut into wedges.
Trim off fluffy ends and the hard root part of  the fennel, slice thinly and fry in a little olive oil for a one minute to turn golden brown. Cool
Peel the hard skin off the celeriac, cut into large chip type pieces, fry in a little oil for a 1 minute each side until browned, put aside to cool.
Assemble all ingredients together just before you serve (at room temperature), that way the beetroot does not colour everything pink! Gently toss oil and vinegar into the salad, add salt and pepper to taste and serve on a bed of rocket or green salad. Big fabulous flavours, really delicious!
Serves about 4-6 people.

Beetroot, fennel and celeriac salad

It is now the time for all three of these vegetables to have their day in the sunshine. I love them all and this recipe caught my eye for its simplicity and unusualness (is that a word?) It is a very easy salad to make, you just need to set time aside to cook everything separately and assemble later. Perfect as a side dish with a beef or chicken main or as a starter on its own. I found this recipe in the vegetable section of the Dominion Post and have slightly altered it to suit my taste. I love the flavours (they work well together) and the crunch of the fennel! To save time (and power) I roast the beetroot when I have other things to bake.

celeriac is ugly looking but tastes great!

Beetroot, fennel and celeriac salad
4 medium sized beetroot
1 large fennel bulb
1 large celeriac bulb
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1tbsp red wine vinegar
Rocket leaves
Thoroughly wash beetroot and trim off stalk and root bits. Roast in tin foil with a little oil and S and P for about 1.5 hours - test with a skewer without opening the foil - when cool peel off beetroot skin and cut into wedges.
Trim off fluffy ends and the hard root part of  the fennel, slice thinly and fry in a little olive oil for a one minute to turn golden brown. Cool
Peel the hard skin off the celeriac, cut into large chip type pieces, fry in a little oil for a 1 minute each side until browned, put aside to cool.
Assemble all ingredients together just before you serve (at room temperature), that way the beetroot does not colour everything pink! Gently toss oil and vinegar into the salad, add salt and pepper to taste and serve on a bed of rocket or green salad. Big fabulous flavours, really delicious!
Serves about 4-6 people.

Easter labours

Well the Turkish meal was a huge success and worth all the work (over 2 days!). The salads were perfect as' left overs' for the vegetarians at a gathering the next day, the extra day often intensifies the flavour anyway. At lunch we talked a lot about food.  I have been given a lovely vegetarian book called Plenty and had spotted a beautiful Moroccan Carrot & Orange salad, it was highly recommended and is next on the menu agenda, possibly when my daughter comes to stay!

In the meantime I have been given about 10kg of Quinces. I remember having Quince jam as a child (and not really liking the flavour or texture) will attempt to make Quince paste (lovely with cheese) for the first time ever, in fact any sort of paste for that matter. The donor of the Quinces also gave me the recipe, it involves standing and stirring for 2-3 hours (watching for hot spits from the mixture!) I have visions of reading my book while keeping an eye out to avoid the dangerous missiles, could be interesting. The recipe includes lots of tips on how to make it set, I'm nervous as I want to ensure my labour is worth it and my friends and family get to enjoy the result (and of course like it), wish me luck!

Easter labours

Well the Turkish meal was a huge success and worth all the work (over 2 days!). The salads were perfect as' left overs' for the vegetarians at a gathering the next day, the extra day often intensifies the flavour anyway. At lunch we talked a lot about food.  I have been given a lovely vegetarian book called Plenty and had spotted a beautiful Moroccan Carrot & Orange salad, it was highly recommended and is next on the menu agenda, possibly when my daughter comes to stay!

In the meantime I have been given about 10kg of Quinces. I remember having Quince jam as a child (and not really liking the flavour or texture) will attempt to make Quince paste (lovely with cheese) for the first time ever, in fact any sort of paste for that matter. The donor of the Quinces also gave me the recipe, it involves standing and stirring for 2-3 hours (watching for hot spits from the mixture!) I have visions of reading my book while keeping an eye out to avoid the dangerous missiles, could be interesting. The recipe includes lots of tips on how to make it set, I'm nervous as I want to ensure my labour is worth it and my friends and family get to enjoy the result (and of course like it), wish me luck!