Istanbul and Beyond: Inspirations. Lamb, Leek and Chickpea Stew

I’m currently reading Istanbul & Beyond. There’s so much more to Turkish cuisine than the meat and salads that we usually see here. “Standing at the crossroads between the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Asia, Turkey boasts astonishingly rich and diverse culinary traditions. Journalist Robyn Eckhardt and her husband, photographer David Hagerman, have spent almost …

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Ajvar

The things I do for my colleagues. Ed mentioned that when he’d been on holiday in Croatia, he’d had this gorgeous dip made of aubergines and red peppers, and was bemoaning the fact that he hadn’t been able to find it since. I was pretty sure I’d be able to find a recipe, and I …

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To Fu or not To Fu…

(Sorry, had to be done.) For some reason, I had decided that I was going to make my own tofu. No I have no idea why, but I just fancied having a go, so I did. This is what happens when I am left on my own at home for any length of time with …

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Non meat meatballs

My friend Cat recently made these, and foxed her friends because she’s vegan, and these looked a lot like meat in her post. After some confusion, and explaining, the recipe for these rather lovely aubergine and olive balls was shared. Cat’s was from the Abel & Cole recipe book, and the one I’d seen was …

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Journey Bread–Methi Roti–Thepla

Well, sort of. Apart from the fact that I didn’t have any fresh or even any dried methi. (Fenugreek) so ground it was. Fenugreek is a herb that has staying power. It clings to you. Your hands, your clothes, your kitchen and your whole house if you use a lot of it, and don’t open …

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Dizi: Persian Lamb Stew, a variation

Since watching Nigel Slater’s Middle East, my poor brain's been utterly full of the foods cooked during the three episodes of that lovely programme. (Only 3. I WANT MORE!)To be honest, I think my grey matter has jumbled everything up rather, so the ingredients I bought last weekend became a dish 'inspired by' rather than …

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Stuffed Peppers

Sometimes, you just get a hankering for something, and there it is in the shop, looking at you all bright and shiny. I love red and yellow and orange peppers, although I never used to, but green eluded me. I find them bitter, most of the time, but then I had them chargrilled at a …

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Chicken, Garlic and Trahanas soup

There are days when you wake up, bounce out of bed and think “Yes, I can face the day.”Then there are days when you wake up, bounce out of bed, and slowly realise that no, today is not one to be faced, it’s going to be one to be endured because at some time in …

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More adventures in bread: light rye

I’m having such fun with the Even Faster No Knead Bread recipe. The usual white bread flour one has become a total staple, but I wanted to branch out a bit, so I bought some wholemeal rye flour. I use measuring cups, as it’s easier, and you can buy them in most supermarkets now or …

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Halloumi and Spinach Curry

I don’t know why I never thought to use halloumi in a curry before, seeing as it is virtually the same set of ingredients as paneer, but I guess I’m just so used to it being grilled or fried up in Mediterranean dishes that it never crossed my mind. Using it in a curry changed …

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