How to cook spinach?

Of course, there are many ways but this is one of my favourites! I like cooking lovely purslane in a similar way to this as well. We need to wait for it to come into season I’m afraid:)

1. Wash the spinach, leave in a bowl full of water and a bit of apple vinegar as it cleans the bacteria.
2. If you’re using brown rice, boil it in a pan with water for 10 minutes to soften it a bit.  If you’re using white rice, skip this step.
3. Peel and chop up a big onion.
4. Peel and chop 2 or 3 tomatoes (or do it the easy way – buy some chopped tomatoes).
5. Heat some olive oil in a pan for a bit, then add the onions.
6. When they turn a bit yellowish, add the tomatoes.
7. Then add the spinach and stir well. Don’t be scared to use the whole pack! It will look like too much, but it will reduce a lot.
8. Then add a half a mug of rice to this mixture. (I like it with a lot of rice, but it depends on your choice).
9. Then add 1 or 2 mugs of warm water depending on how thick the mixture is. Stir them altogether, the water level shouldn’t be too high above the spinach – just slightly over…
10. Cook it for 10 more minutes then serve with a drizzle of lemon juice and a bit of yoghurt on the side.
    

Ember roasted Aubergine Pate

Aubergine is one of the main dishes of Mediterranean cuisine I suppose, but mainly an Ottoman heritage… It is native to India and had a long journey all around the world and grows pretty much everywhere.  Once I read on a book that there are 100 different ways of cooking aubergine in Ottoman cuisine. I am not sure I can make it that much but I will try to add new ones as I cook.

Funny enough, it is rich in nicotine, but it does not make you a passive smoker, so no worries! But I vividly remember when I quit smoking I adored aubergine…(Quit fags have aubergine instead?)

This recipe is particularly nice in summer, when you have picnics. We can call it `picnic aubergine`, as it is a very nice meze, you can have it like hommus, with some pitta bread or any bread really or as a side dish to your meat, sausages, or almost as a main course for piscaterians like myself.

Right let`s begin then:

Serves 4

What do I need to buy?

2 big aubergines
half a pack of feta cheese (if you don`t have enough you can replace it with some yoghurt)
3 – 4 cloves of crushed garlic
dill (optional could use parsley as well or may be coriander? It is all up to your taste)
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil

How do I cook it?

1. The best way to cook this is to have hot embers of course or a fireplace but if not, you can grill the aubergines till the skin turns dark and literally burns. But score through the skin a few lines so that the inside will cook better. (I would say grill about 20 – 25 minutes, but check occasionally as you might make the smoke alarm go off like mine!)
2. Remove the skins, don`t worry about little bits of leftover skins as they give nice smoked taste.
3. Put the flesh in a bowl, then add the crumbled feta, crushed garlic, more than half of lemon juice, a little bit of olive oil and half a spoonful of yoghurt and stir them well. Feta should become almost invisible, you can mash them if it is easier.
4. Add some chopped dill or parsley, have a taste if it is not lemony enough add more.
5. Serve on a flat plate topped with dill or parsley and possibly black olives.

Enjoy!

Lentil Kofte

Hello,

Well, I cooked these lovely lentil koftes for the Greek Easter weekend we had with friends, mostly drinking and eating lovely food.

It is very easy and a good mezze to have next to meaty stuff as well as by itself. Me? I can eat it even first thing in the morning

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 glass of red lentils
• 1 glass of bulgar wheat (fine bulgar)
• 5-6 spring onions
• 2 medium onions
• Spicy tomato paste (or preferably hot pepper paste, but it is hard to find)
• Hot pepper sauce, called Harissa, or just a red pepper
• Lettuce (little gem is preferable)
• A bunch of parsley
• Mint
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Water – 3/4 glasses

1. Boil the red lentils with 3 or 4 glasses of water until they get very soft – almost melting.
2. Add a glass of bulgar wheat to the lentil mixture. This will make the mixture dry out a bit, so that it is firm but not sticky. Let it cool down until you can hold it in your hands. Taste it – if the bulgar wheat inside the mixture is not soft enough, add half or a glass of hot water to soak it up.
3. Chop the onions finely and cook them in olive oil then add the pepper paste and harissa or red pepper, mix it well.
4. Add the onion and pepper mixture over your already cooled down lentil & bulgar wheat and mix them well.
5. Add some salt, black pepper and mint.
6. Chop the spring onions and parsley and add them to this mixture, stir well. It should not be too dry not too wet, make some balls with it and put them over little gem lettuce on a plate.
7. Cool it down for an hour or so before you eat it!

Tabbouleh – KISIR

“If you were leaving for a desert island which three mezes would you take along with you?” The reporter asks. Lebanese cook does not hesitate: “Tabbouleh, tabbouleh and tabbouleh.”

This was on BBC radio the other day while I was about to start making tabbouleh or Kısır as it is said in Turkish. And I do believe that it is one of the easiest and tastiest meze i ever had. Also very healthy as it is cooked with bulgar wheat.

It is one of the dishes my mom used to do for tea when her friends were coming over. In Lebanon, they like it is more like parsley salad. which I quite like as well. Ok, let’s begin then!

What do I need to buy?

• 1 Cup Bulgur Wheat (fine grained you can find two types of bulgur wheat either fine or for rice)
• 1/2 Cup olive oil
• 1/2 Cup lemon juice
• 2 – 3 tsbp of tomato and pepper paste
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cucumber
• 1 bunch flat parsley
• 1 bunch mint
• 5 -6 spring onions
• 2-3 ripe tomatoes finely chopped (optionally peeled)
• pomegranate sauce (optional and could be found in middle eastern shops)

How do I cook it then?

1. Cover the wheat in boiling water and let stand for five minutes it will absorb all the water
2. mix lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper then add half of it over the wheat.
3. Chop the spring onions, parsley, mint, tomatoes and cucumber.
4. Mix all the vegetables with bulgur wheat while stirring add the rest of the oil- lemon juice mixture.
5. If you can find some pomegranate sauce this is the time to add it. It has a sour taste so It is important not to add a lot if you put lemon juice already.
6. Refrigerate few hours but you can have it without refrigerating.
7. Tabbouleh is ready, you can have it with some iceberg lettuce a well, enjoy!

Courgette and peppers

Hello everybody!

After a long break, I am back with many recipes, but this time I won’t run away promise.

Now this is a very easy and healthy recipe. You can also keep thıs dısh in the fridge for few days so good for busy days at work. I will write alternative courgette recipes as it is one of the favorites for many vegetarians.

What do I need to buy?

2 or 3 courgettes depending on the size

2 medium size peppers (different colours look nice when you serve:)

onion

2- 3 cloves of garlic

olive oil

yoghurt

How do I cook it?

1. Chop the courgettes and peppers in cubes. Onions the same in another bowl.

2. Put the olive oil in the pan, and cook the finely chopped onions until they start turning yellowish. Do exactly the same with peppers.

3. Then add the courgettes, stir them altogether then let the courgettes leave and absorb their water back. You can pt the chopped garlic at this time. Simmer them for 15 minutes and after that your dinner is ready, serve it hot or cold with a spoonful of yoghurt and some toasted bread!