This is a beautifully nutritious late summer/autumn salad packed with flavours and textures. At its heart is a pile of fluffy couscous with gently spiced roasted chickpeas, baby sweet peppers, caramelised red onion and juicy cherry tomatoes wrapped in a tangy pomegranate dressing served with Greek yoghurt stirred through with chopped preserved lemon and mint,…
Tag: Cumin
Florentin M’sabaha, Chickpea Soup with a Preserved Lemon and Green Chilli Relish
This simple yet nourishing Levantine breakfast dish is a celebration of the humble legume slowly cooked with fresh rosemary, cumin and a little love and brought to life with a vibrant relish that packs a hot citrusy punch. It was first introduced to me by a friend I used to meet in Florentin – then…
Shuk Ha’Carmel Green Herb Falafel
“Wait. You’re telling me that you have never – NEVER! – eaten falafel?” he exclaimed, narrowly missing the turning onto Boulevard Rothchild as we made our way to dinner one impossibly hot and humid evening in downtown Tel Aviv. “No!” I replied, “I have never – NEVER! – eaten falafel!“. He looked at me with that…
Aleppo Muhammara, a Spicy Red Pepper and Roasted Walnut Dip
It was coming to the end of a long and sultry day as I languidly lay upon a heap of vintage embroidered cushions, the candle-lit lanterns flickering in the warm early evening breeze. The music in the background was haunting and exotic as if it were calling me from a far away place. I learned…
Caldo Gallego, a Spanish White Bean Soup with Sherry Vinegar and Mojo Verde
A beautiful bowl of love for early spring evenings, this beautiful aniseed-based broth with lightly braised haricot beans, tomatoes, courgette and fennel is seasoned with a really good Spanish sherry vinegar, chilli and fennel seeds but it’s the punchy mojo verde – a garlicky green herb and garlic sauce originating from the Canary Islands –…
Amirim Lemon-scented Labneh with Zhoug and Hazelnut and Thyme Dukkah
Labneh is a beautiful soft cheese simply made from strained yoghurt that can be eaten with pretty much everything and is a particularly good friend to rich and spicy mezze dishes. The first time I tasted it I was sat at a little linen-covered table on the edge of a vegetable garden in Amirim, an entirely vegetarian organic…
An Andalusian Lemon-scented White Bean Dip
These sunny high summer days are all the motivation we need push open the French windows and think about creating lighter and vibrant sharing plates. This vibrant vegan dip is inspired by a gorgeous little whitewashed bar high up in the Andalucían mountains where I was once served a warm tapa of plump white beans,…
A’isha’s Lemony Hummus with Cumin and Oregano
We sat under a pomegranate tree for shade. Our table was dappled with the shapes of leaves and ripening fruit as the sun played with the gentle breeze to create moving patterns that could never be captured. Laid across its white cloth were several large hand-painted plates and bowls within which vibrant food beckoned invitingly;…
Corfu Market Salad with Cumin-roasted Squash, Wild Rice and Black Beans with a Honey Mustard Dressing
I felt a little bit guilty about ordering a 500cl bottle of ice cold retsina at lunch time – errr, just after 12pm – following a hot hour of shopping at the farmer’s market in Corfu town last summer. Not for long though because it was such a pleasure to sit for another blissful hour…
Greek Slow-roasted Beetroot and Chickpea Dip with Lemon and Mint
Roasted beets are a year-round staple in our home; they’re fantastic for tossing in salads, alongside tangy feta cheese and lightly pickled red onions; as a sumptuous filling for fresh ravioli with goats cheese; incorporated into spicy veggie burgers; or, I have done here, combined with chickpeas and a few other ingredients to create a…
Cardamom and Dill 