Spicy Hummus

I have experimented with many different hummus recipes and through trial and error, ended up with this one: My absolute favourite. While hummus is mostly thought of as an Israeli dish, this recipe draws more on the Turkish tradition of using the spices with the hummus.

Ingredients

250g dried chickpeas soaked overnight (or 500g tinned chickpeas)

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black pepper

2 red chillies de-seeded and roughly chopped*

1 tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

3 cloves garlic

100 ml Olive Oil

100g Tahini

Juice of 2 lemons (about 40 ml)

Handful of fresh coriander (leaf and stalks)

*For more spicy heat, leave the seeds in. For less heat, use just one larger mild chilli.

Method

1.     After soaking the chickpeas overnight, they should be boiled for 1 hour in good quality vegetable stock. (Skip this step if you are using canned chickpeas)

2.     While the chickpeas are cooking, prepare the spices: Dry roast the cumin and black pepper in a pan then grind them to a course powder in a pestle and mortar. Lightly fry the spice powder, garlic (whole), chillies and the fresh coriander (bash the stalks a bit before adding to the pan) in olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and then when starting to brown, remove from the heat and leave to marinate.

3.     Put the chickpeas into a blender. Save the cooking stock as it may be needed later.

4.     Add all the other ingredients and blend to a paste. Add some of the cooking water if needed.

To serve, sprinkle with smoked paprika. Great with raw sliced vegetables, pitta bread or as a side dish.

Red Lentil and Vegetable Soup (Middle Eastern)

This soup is a variation of red lentil and broccoli soup but with extra flavours, textures and colours. It is 100% vegetarian, delicious and scandalously healthy.

Ingredients

Basics

2 cups red lentils

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

Vegetable stock (about 500 cl)

2 cups coriander leaves (roughly chopped)

Harissa sauce.

Vegetables (all should be chopped or diced)

2 tomatoes

2 spring onions

1 carrot

6 asparagus sticks

1 green pepper

(You can experiment with other combinations of vegetables but this selection gives a good balance of flavours, textures and colours.)

Spices

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp  cumin seeds

1 tsp black pepper seeds

1 stick cinamon

Method

1.     Wash the lentils and remove any stones

2.     Place the lentils in a pot with the vegetable stock and simmer for 40 minutes (stirring occasionally and adding more stock if needed)

3.     Dry roast the cumin, coriander and pepper seeds and then grind them into a paste with the garlic and one cup of coriander leaves (using a pestle and mortar). Then fry in olive oil for 1 - 2 minutes. Once golden, add to the lentils. Also add the tomatoes to the lentils and cook for another 5 minutes.

4.     At this point, to obtain a smoother texture you may blend some or all of the lentils.

5.     Add the cinnamon stick and the harder vegetables (carrot and asparagus) and cook for another 5 – 6 minutes.

6.     Add the softer vegetables (spring onion and green pepper) and cook for another 5 – 6 minutes

7.     Serve with the coriander on top and harrisa sauce on the side.

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course.

Vegetable Tagine

Ingredients

Vegetables:

1 onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced)

1 carrot (diced)

2 ripe tomatoes

1 red pepper (diced)

1 green pepper (diced)

4 sticks of asparagus (sliced diagonally)

cup of broccoli (bite size pieces)

1 large red chilli (thinly sliced)

(You can choose, other vegetables such as aubergine, pumpkin, green beans, cauliflower, etc. Try to get a good mix of colours!)

Optional vegetables added towards the end of cooking:

Cup of chick peas (canned is ok but better to use dried, soaked overnight and cooked for an hour),

Cup of sweet corn (canned)

Cup of frozen peas

Spices:

1 tsp cumin seeds,

1 tsp smoked paprika,

1 cinnamon stick,

Quarter of a whole nutmeg freshly grated,

1 tsp turmeric

Black pepper

Other ingredients:

Salt,

Pinch of brown sugar,

Couscous,

Cup of herbs fresh chopped (choose a combination from coriander, parsley and mint)

Vegetable stock (about 1 litre)

Olive oil (3 -4 tsps)

Method

1. Fry the harder vegetables (onion, asparagus, and carrot ) with the cumin seeds for a few minutes in olive oil until starting to turn golden. (Use a tagine or a heavy saucepan with a lid)
2. Add the softer vegetables: peppers, garlic, broccoli, tomatoes and chilli and continue to fry for 2 more minutes
3. Add stock, turmeric, paprika, nutmeg and cinnamon. Simmer covered for 10 minutes.
4. Add some stock to the couscous, just enough to cover it.  Add a dash of olive oil, stir with a fork and set aside.
5. Add the optional vegetables (sweet corn, green peas, chick peas), sugar, salt and pepper (add more stock if needed). Cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Serve the vegetables in bowls, topped with the herbs and with couscous and harissa on the side.

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Spicy Rocket Salad

This recipe is pure vegetarian, highly nutritious and tastes absolutely delicious. It is a fusion of Turkish, European and Caribbean tastes. It can be a light meal on its own or an excellent accompaniment to fish or omelettes.

Ingredients

1 cup dried wheat

1 spring onion (or shallot) finely chopped

I grilled red pepper

2 handfuls of rocket (about 50g) roughly chopped

10 cherry tomatoes

Small tin of sweetcorn

Olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Dash of balsamic vinegar

Dash of West Indian Hot Pepper Sauce (or Tabasco)

Paprika (large pinch)

Freshly grated nutmeg

Handful of chopped herbs (parsley or coriander)

Vegetable stock

Sea Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Optional

1 chopped ripe avocado

4 Asparagus sticks, steamed and chopped diagonally

Method

1.     Rinse the wheat and boil in vegetable stock or lightly salted water for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and leave to cool.

2.     Chop the cherry tomatoes into quarters and place in the salad bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil. Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes. (The salt will draw out the juices from the tomatoes and form a sauce with the olive oil.)

3.     Add the wheat, onion, grilled pepper, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, Hot Pepper Sauce, Paprika and nutmeg to the salad bowl and mix well. Season with ground black pepper and another pinch of salt if needed. (At this point the salad can be left to stand while other items are being prepared. The flavours will infuse and mature)

4.     Add the rocket and herbs, mix well and serve.

Fish Tagine

Ingredients

300g White fish fillets

2 bell peppers (of different colour)

1 large tomato

1 onion

I small red chilli (deseeded)

Olive oil

Vegetable or fish stock (about 500 cl)

1 lemon

2 tsp tomato pulp

Herbs (coriander, parsley or mint, or any combination)

Sea salt (to taste)

Spices

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp  black pepper corns

1 tsp turmeric

1 cinnamon stick

½ tsp paprika

Method

1.     Dry roast the coriander, cumin and pepper seeds and grind to a powder in a pestle and mortar. Add the other spices (except the cinnamon) and mix well.

2.     Create a marinade in an oven dish using half the spices, juice of the lemon, dash of olive oil, pinch of salt and tomato pulp.

3.     Cut the fish into bite size pieces and soak in the marinade for at least 30 mins.

4.     Chop the onion, peppers and chilli and fry, in olive oil, over a medium heat for 3 – 4 minutes, in a large saucepan. Add the remainder of the spices and continue to fry for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes (chopped), the vegetable stock and the cinnamon stick and cook (covered over a medium heat) until all the vegetables are soft (about 20 minutes).

5.     Add the fish and the marinade and cook until the fish is just cooked (normally around 6 minutes). Add extra salt if needed.

6.     Serve with couscous, chopped herbs and harissa sauce.

Notes

1.     The fish should not be overcooked as it will impair the taste and texture. For this reason it is a good idea to marinate it to allow the flavours to infuse without actually cooking it.

Harissa Sauce

Most Middle Eastern dishes are very mildly spicy. However, it is very common to have this spicy Harissa Sauce on the side for those that like it hot.

Ingredients

2 tsp cumin seeds,

2 tsp coriander seeds,

1 tsp black pepper seeds,

Juice of 2 lemons,

4 tbsp olive oil,

1 large tomato,

4 tbsp tomatoes pulp,

4 dried chillies (soaked in water, deseeded and chopped),

4 fresh small red chillies (deseeded and chopped)

pinch of salt.

Method

1.     Dry roast the spices (cumin, coriander and black pepper) and then grind them to a powder in a pestle and mortar.

2.     Soak the tomato in boiling water for 1 minute, remove the skin and chop.

3.      Add spices, chillies, lemon juice, tomato, tomato pulp, olive oil and salt to the blender. Blend to a smooth paste.

Notes

1.     For a more spicy sauce, leave in the seeds of the chillies.

2.     One variation is to replace the tomato with grilled red pepper.

Red Lentil and Broccoli Soup (Middle Eastern)

There are many of recipes for Middle Eastern lentil soup. I wanted to make this one a bit special and I found that the broccoli provide the perfect counterpoint to the red lentils in terms of colour, texture and taste. This dish is great on cold winter’s nights.

Ingredients

2 cups red lentils

3 cloves garlic

2 cups of broccoli (cut into bite size pieces)

2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp  cumin seeds

1 tbsp olive oil

Vegetable stock (about 500 cl)

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup coriander leaves (roughly chopped)

Harissa sauce.

Method

1.     Wash the lentils and remove any stones

2.     Place the lentils in a pot with the vegetable stock and simmer for 40 minutes (stirring occasionally and adding more stock if needed)

3.     Dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds and then grind them into a paste with the garlic (using a pestle and mortar). Then fry in olive oil for 1 - 2 minutes. Once golden, add to the lentils.

4.     At this point, to obtain a smoother texture you may blend some or all of the lentils.

5.     Add the broccoli and simmer for around another 5 minutes (the broccoli should be cooked but not mushy)

6.     Season with salt and pepper (you may not need too much salt depending on the saltiness of the stock that was used).

7.     Serve with the coriander on top and harrisa sauce on the side.

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course.