Hummus Dip

Ingredients

1x 400g can chick peas, drained, rinsed 

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons tahini paste (sesame paste)

Up to ½ cup olive oil

Method

Blend all ingredients together in a mini food processor until smooth. Add oil last, a little at a time. Depending on the taste and consistency you like, add as much as necessary up to the 1/2 cup.

Serve with paprika sprinkled on top and extra olive oil drizzled over the top.

Turkish Rice Pilaf

There's a charcoal chicken takeaway place just up the road from where I live and I love eating the rice that is served with the chicken. Wanting to recreate the meal at home one day, I had a go at making my own Turkish rice pilaf. I'm not sure how authentic this Turkish rice pilaf recipe is but it tastes pretty similar to the take away place and was quite easy to whip up.

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice

⅓ cup risoni pasta

2 cups chicken stock

Olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon onion powder

Method

1. Drizzle 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat and add the risoni when the oil has warmed up. Sautee the risoni until it browns.
2. Add the rice and combine until everything is coated with the oil and toast together for about a minute. Add the stock (there will be a sizzle and steam) and a generous pinch of salt, bring to a boil, and cover. Drop the stove to very low and let cook for 20 minutes. Do not lift the cover to stir or even check progress.
3. Once the 20 minutes has passed, uncover and stir the rice. If it still has some liquid in it, leave the cover off and keep over low heat, stirring frequently until it has evaporated. Drizzle over a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Serve.

Beef Shakshuka with Smoked Eggplant

This is a modern take on the classic Middle Eastern breakfast dish, Shakshuka. It's a pretty impressive one-pan meal and really fills you up!

Recipe adapted from Yottam Ottolenghi

Ingredients

4 eggplants (aubergines) (1.1kg gross)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 large onion, finely chopped (200g net)
6 garlic cloves, finely diced (20g net)
¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (add up to ½ teaspoon for extra heat)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons tomato paste
300g beef mince
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (100g net)
2 teaspoons (15g) finely chopped preserved lemon
4 eggs
¾ teaspoon sumac
3 teaspoons chopped parsley

Tahini sauce
40g tahini paste
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons water

Method

Use a sharp knife to pierce the eggplant in a few places and place each directly over a naked flame on the stovetop. Cook on medium heat, turning occasionally with metal tongs, for 20 minutes, or until outside is totally burnt and eggplant starts to collapse on itself.

Alternatively, place the pierced eggplant on baking tray lined with foil and place under a hot grill, turning every 20 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from tray and place in a colander. Cut a single slit in each eggplant, from top to base, and allow the juices to strain. Once cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh, avoiding all black skin, and set aside. You should have about 370 g eggplant flesh.

To make the tahini sauce, whisk together the ingredients until thick and rich. You may need to add a splash of water if it is stiff.

Heat the olive oil in a medium, heavy-based frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the onion, garlic, chilli, cinnamon and cumin and sauté for 6 minutes, until softened and coloured a bit. Add the beef, salt and some black pepper. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring, for 5–6 minutes, or until browned well. Mix in the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, preserved lemon and eggplant flesh and cook for another 5 minutes. Add up to 90 ml of water if the sauce is becoming very thick. Make four small wells in the mix and break an egg into each. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, until the eggwhites are cooked but the yolks are still runny. Covering the pan with a lid will hasten the process but will make the yolks look a bit cloudy.

Remove from the heat and dot with dollops of tahini sauce, sprinkle with sumac and finish with the parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately.

Tabouli

Ingredients

¼ cup burghul (cracked wheat)
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
¼ cup mint leaves, chopped 
1 tomato, chopped
½ small red onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice

Method

Place burghul in a small bowl. Cover with cold water. Stand for 15 minutes. Drain. Use the back of a large metal spoon to press out excess water. Transfer burghul to a large bowl. Add parsley, mint, tomato, onion, olive oil and lemon juice. Mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.