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Tag: Romaine

Jaffa Fattoush Salad with a Zesty Sumac and Pomegranate Dressing

I love to explore new places and I love to get lost. To my mind, it’s only way to discover a place. My Israeli friends think I am absolutely insane to walk out into the summer sun with no destination in mind but I walk in the shade and find the sanctuary of a tiny…

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To celebrate the beginning of summer, my brand spanking new Sicilian Supper Club menu launches in June featuring three delicious courses inspired by the street markets of Catania and Palermo including vibrant bruschetta with a tumble of the freshest cherry tomatoes roasted with fennel seeds and chilli flakes served with lemon-baked ricotta and a zingy salsa verde; the classic pasta all norma with a very special potato salad with fennel, red grapes, capers, chilli and fresh herbs and a zingy green salad; completed with a luscious summer plum and pistachio cake served with a subtle rose water mascarpone. See the full menu via the link in my profile and DM me over the weekend to receive priority booking when it opens on Monday. This is a rare opportunity to get yourself on the guest list for Supper Club because most people come back every month and openings don’t come up very often #cardamomanddill #asenseofplace #sicillianfood #vegetarian #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #foodtraveller
After a lengthy absence from the scene, I’m kind of back and so very grateful to announce that my Levantine mezze pop-up event at @northsouthyork on Wednesday 29th June is now fully booked. However, I can offer you priority booking for the next event on Wednesday 7th September if you DM me with a request (bookings actually open on 30th June). There’s a link to the June menu in my profile if you’re interested to take a look #cardamomanddill #asenseofplace #levantinefood #vegetarian #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #foodtraveller
It’s early morning at the top of Mercado del Capo in Palermo and the stalls are already piled high with this morning’s catch glistening with seawater, a playful light casting myriad rainbows across the benches. Mountains of lemons piled into baskets, purple garlic, wispy wild fennel fronds, briny sea salt, spicy red chillies, sacks of artichokes their trimmings tossed to the floor. Dark purple aubergines and red peppers peppers so shiny it’s as if they’ve been polished by hand. Arancini and panelle carelessly stuffed into soft sesame buns. Such a bounty for an early spring day, a feast for the senses. And then it starts, the chaos, the crowds, the calling and the tangle of humanity as you squeeze your way to your favourite stall, to your favourite vendor. The one with sparking eyes and his divine right to sell beautiful ingredients. He may, if you’re very lucky, choose to serve you, a pale faced stranger trying to act like a local. This just one of the simple seasonal dishes that came to mind during our daily walks along the narrow streets and alleys of the Albergheria and Capo districts and I made it for our supper last night. There’s a link to the recipe for this Sicilian mafalda corta pasta di Gragnano with lemon, roasted pistachios and wild rocket in my profile #cardamomanddill #asenseofplace #sicillianfood #italianfood #vegetarian #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #foodtraveller
Wishing you all a happy, peaceful and bountiful Easter #cardamomanddill #asenseofplace #vegetarian #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #foodtraveller
Scenes from the daily market in Catania, Sicily. Artichokes stuffed with garlic and parsley on the grill before being doused in olive oil and lemon to take away still warm wrapped in paper; succulent grilled red peppers; the sweetest onions cooked slowly over embers of a fire; myriad glittering fish and sea urchins caught just a few hours ago; mountains of shiny aubergines, wet garlic, blood oranges, gnarly lemons and the first of the summer berries. The hustle and bustle, the calling, the aromas, the colours and the sheer joy of it all in a troubled world #cardamomanddill #asenseofplace #sicillianfood #italianfood #streetfood #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #foodtraveller
‘Minne di Sant’Agata’, Saint Agatha's breasts - which this piece of street art depicts - is a traditional Sicilian pastry from Catania made during the Festival of Saint Agatha. The Italian historian Emanuele Ciaceri has claimed that the origins of the dessert may lie with the cults of Isis in ancient Egypt believing that the cakes were shaped like breasts to honor Isis' role as a mother goddess. The actual story behind them is too gruesome to talk about here but it’s a delicious little fancy (a semispherical shortcrust pastry filled with a combination of fresh sheep’s ricotta, dark chocolate, powdered sugar and candied fruit covered with a perfectly smooth, pure white icing and a blood red candied cherry placed in the middle) #cardamomanddill #asenseofplace #sicilianfood #minnedisantagata #streetart #vegetarian #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #foodtraveller
My solo supper last night was an homage to my friend Shai, superstar founder of @the_yafo_kitchen in Oxford; a plate of garlicky lemon-infused labneh with wild rocket leaves, glossy roasted grapes and cherry tomatoes with walnuts soaked in rich Basra date molasses spiked with cardamom, a condiment which is also lovely served with a salty white cheese or stirred into a bowl of very cold natural yoghurt for a gorgeous start to your day #cardamomanddill #asenseofplace #basradatesyrup #levantinefood #vegetarian #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #yogicdiet #intuitiveeating #cleaneating #naturaleating #eattherainbow #foodtraveller
English asparagus with a generous dollop of garlicky citrusy labneh, spicy green harissa, fresh mint and an almond and hazelnut dukkah served with Arabic flatbread, essentially the first course on next week’s Beirut Supper Club menu. To my mind, this is THE perfect mid week supper for spring (even during these bonkers snow storms). Get into the habit of always having the elements of this dish in your fridge/pantry and this lovely plate of food - and the inspiration for countless others - will come together in seconds. All the recipes are on my website #cardamomanddill #levantinefood #northafricanfood #englishasparagus #labneh #harissa #dukkah #vegetarian #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #yogicdiet #asenseofplace #intuitiveeating #cleaneating #wholefoods #naturaleating #foodtraveller
Poetry often starts outside of one's self – on a distant hill or near greenhouse shelf; our cultivations as the consideration of a grafted rose goes; the meandering, dripping of a stream or nose; submerging of our toes in chilling clarity – we see to the bottom, sometimes fooled by depth.
Saturday night’s fattoush, one of my favourite Lebanese salads. This version features salty seeded sourdough croutons, plum tomato wedges marinated in a zesty lime vinaigrette, crisp romaine, lots and lots of Palestinian za’atar, fresh oregano leaves, a generous handful of juicy pomegranate arils and fragrant hibiscus. Had this not been a side dish, I would have added some salty pops of barrel-aged feta too. There’s a link to the recipe in my profile #cardamomanddill #ullaprocope #arabiavalencia #arabiafinland #asenseofplace #fattoush #lebanesefood #levantinefood #vegetarian #vegan #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #yogicdiet #intuitiveeating #cleaneating #naturaleating #eattherainbow #foodtraveller
A few years ago, I made a lone trip to Ephesus, a port city in Turkey which was once revered as the most important and largest metropolis of the old Mediterranean world. As I gingerly walked its dusty streets, my sandalled feet slipping on stones worn down by time, I noticed the signs etched into the walls directing ancient peoples to Harbour Street, the great theatre, Marble Road, the Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates, the Temple of Hadrian, Scolastica Baths and countless others. There they all still stood, sun-bleached relics of an empire now lost but never forgotten. Coming across a tiny taverna surrounded by olive and pomegranate trees, I ordered a plate of sumptuous stuffed red peppers and a bowl of cool Turkish yoghurt stirred through with herbs and pul biber. I asked the owner Sami about the recipe and it turned out to be one of several given to him by his great Grandmother who was a daughter of Arak, an oasis in the Syrian desert. This is her recipe which I have no doubt has been handed down through generations. They feature on this week’s and next’s Supper Club menu and there’s a link to the recipe in my profile #cardamomanddill #levantinefood #asenseofplace #vegetarian #onmytable #mediterraneandiet #mindfuleating #consciouseating #cleaneating #wholefoods #naturaleating #foodtraveller
Hello dear friends, it’s been a while. As some of you know, both my parents have been very sick; we lost my beautiful Mum late last year and my beloved Father just last week. I vowed not to post again until after we’ve said our final goodbyes in a couple of weeks. However, as regular visitors to Ukraine, I want you to know how beautiful it is, how strong and loyal its people are and how much they respect their culture and traditions (you can see something of what I mean across my last three story highlights). Our friends in Kherson are under siege, those in the port city of Odesa go to their beds terrified of what might become of them overnight and others who have recently relocated to the west of the country are defiant yet deeply afraid. We are all afraid. Many of our friends in the UK and across Europe have asked us how they can help. There are many things you can do. An appeal has been launched by the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to help the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict. Fifteen UK aid agencies - including the British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children - are joining together to ask the public to donate. I’ll put the link in my profile. In the meantime, for accurate information on what is happening and to understand the other ways you can help, do follow the outstandingly wonderful and brave @oliahercules whose family is also under siege and in very real danger in Kherson Oblast. Please do everything you can to support her efforts - including #CookForUkraine - and, if you can, open up your homes to refugees as they travel across Europe to reach their families and friends #standwithukraine
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