Tag Archives: lunch

Irish Soda Bread

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A carton of buttermilk will keep in the fridge, unopened, for at least a month, so I always have one on hand to make Irish soda bread. This bread doesn’t contain yeast, so it’s quick to make. Delicious eaten fresh or toasted next day.

The owner of a bed and breakfast near Cork many moons ago taught me to make soda bread. She used sour milk – something people often ended up with in the days before refrigeration, when the recipe originated. As far as the method goes, our lovely Irish hostess said “just mix it up wit yer two hands”. As it’s a bit sticky, I usually use a spoon. I replace the sour milk with buttermilk, but a mixture of half plain yoghurt and half fresh milk also works well. You can use self-raising flour or plain flour with the addition of baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.

This is a very flexible recipe. Use white flour or wholemeal as I have with these rolls, or half and half. Leave out the oats and use more flour. If you like, add a little honey. Grated cheese, herbs, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, dried fruit or nuts also help to ring the changes. Top with oats, sesame seeds or poppy seeds. The options are endless.

The recipe makes one large loaf or about a dozen small rolls. I recently bought a baking mold for 8 tiny loaf shapes and was dying to use it, so I ended up with eight loaves and four round rolls. As you can see in the photo, I sliced some of the loaves and topped them with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers and red onion. Delicious.

Irish Soda Bread3 cups wholemeal self-raising flour, sifted
Or 3 cups plain four + 1 tsp each baking powder and baking soda
1 cup porridge oats (see note)
1 Tbs honey (optional)
1 Tbs vegetable oil
600ml buttermilk
Extra oats

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. I usually add a dash of water to the buttermilk container, swish it round and add that too. The mixture should be soft and slightly sticky – not as dry as a normal bread dough. Don’t over mix or knead. Place heaped tablespoonfuls onto a tray lined with baking paper. Or spoon into greased muffin tins or mini-loaf tins. Sprinkle with extra oats.

Irish Soda Bread with Smoked SalmonAlternatively, to make one large loaf, tip dough onto a floured surface and use floured hands to form it into a flattened round shape, place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or in a large greased loaf tin and sprinkle with extra oats. Bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove from oven and cool on baking racks. A large loaf will take longer than rolls – around 45 mins.

Makes one large loaf or 12 rolls

Notes: You can use quick cooking oats or ordinary stone-ground ones. If using the latter give them a quick whiz in the food processor, to break them up a bit.

Syrian Pita Bread with Falafel

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I’ve made some lifelong friends through chance encounters – on trains, planes, buses, in doggy parks and supermarket queues. The kids say “Mum talks to everyone”, but I like to think that when two lives cross there’s a reason.

Eva Rishan works as a doctor’s receptionist and we got chatting while I was waiting for my turn. Eva was born in Syria, emigrated to Australia in 1989 and has since been joined by her parents, several siblings and their families.

Eva invited me and my family to join her family for what she called a Syrian all day breakfast. Number one son James and I went early, so that Eva’s mother Renelle could show us how to make pita bread and falafel. Renelle’s English is limited but cooking is an international language and it wasn’t long before we were both busy chopping and mixing.

The large back verandah has been enclosed with a corrugated iron roof and roll-down plastic blinds, in order to accommodate big family gatherings and keep the smokers out of the main house. Smoking – both ordinary cigarettes and flavoured tobacco smoke, inhaled through a hookah pipe – is still very popular among Syrians.

The rest of our family (three) and the rest of Eva’s family (I lost count) arrived in time for lunch. There were over 30 of us altogether, including numerous kids. The mountain of pita bread was soon disappearing, filled with crispy warm falafel, hummus and a selection of pickles and salads. My contribution was an Apple Strudel which went down well for dessert with some strawberries and whipped cream.

It was great fun to be part of a Syrian family for a day.

Syrian Pita Bread with Felafel

Pita bread
3½ tsp dry yeast
¾ cup warm water
6 cups plain flour
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
1 Tbs olive oil
About 1½ cups warm milk

Mix yeast with warm water and put aside for 10 minutes. Place flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add  yeast mixture, gradually adding enough warm milk to hold the dough together. Knead dough until smooth and elastic but very slightly sticky, then leave in a bowl in a warm place – near a heater for example – covered with plastic wrap for an hour or two to rise, while you make the falafel.

Cut dough into 12 and roll into balls. Preheat oven to it’s highest setting and heat up a pizza stone in the oven if you have one. Roll out each ball to a circle about 20 cm in diameter, then bake for 5-10 mins or until puffed and slightly browned. This will result in pocket-style pita breads which you can fill with falafel and salad. If preferred, stretch the circles out into much thinner pita breads, about 40 cm in diameter, as you can see in the photos. There’s quite a knack to this, but Renelle can do it in her sleep! These are rolled around the fillings like a wrap.

Makes 12

Falafel
375g dry chick peas
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped coriander
1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda, extra
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
¼ tsp each ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg
2 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs plain flour
Oil for frying (canola, sunflower or rice oil)
Sesame seeds

Place chickpeas in a bowl and cover generously with cold water. Mix in bicarbonate of soda and leave to soak overnight then drain. Using a food processor or a meat mincer, finely chop chick peas, onion, garlic, parsley and coriander. Add flour, salt, pepper, spices, extra bicarbonate of soda and oil. By hand or using a special gadget called a falafel scoop form mixture into small patties, dipping it into cold water between each.

Heat 4-6cm oil in a large deep frying pan or wok. When hot fry falafel on both sides until golden, remove and drain, then roll immediately in sesame seeds. Don’t overcrowd the pan – falafel should cook quite quickly otherwise they will be dry. Serve warm with pita bread, salads and hummus.

Makes about 50

Hummus

This recipe using canned chickpeas is quick to make and easy to halve.

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2/3 cup tahini paste, stirred
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
Garnish: (optional)
Chopped parsley
Toasted pine nuts
Extra olive oil
Paprika

Place chick peas in food processor with remaining ingredients. Process, adding enough water to give the consistency of a dip. Keep in the fridge, covered, until needed. To serve, add a little water if Hummus has become too stiff, then spread onto a shallow dish and decorate with chopped parsley, toasted pine nuts, paprika and a drizzle of olive oil. The garnish is optional, but it looks and tastes great. Serve at room temperature with pita bread.

Makes about 3 cups

Carrot and Ginger Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Cashews

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As the weather in Canberra turned cold and wintry we discovered that our crop of carrots had got out of hand and become humongous. Their fate was sealed.

This is my basic creamy smooth soup recipe which can be adapted for any veggies – parsnip, asparagus (though you may have to sieve the strings out), pumpkin, sweet potato or a mix. The addition of ginger goes particularly well with root vegetables but leave it out if you prefer. Sometimes I add a clove or two of garlic when frying the onion.

If using spinach or broccoli, you might like to add a potato, to give the soup a bit more consistency. You can use leeks instead of onions and top with croutons instead of nuts, or just some chopped parsley. Try using a whole cauliflower (you can use most of the stalk) and serving the soup topped with grated cheese, or a hot slice of toasted cheese on toast, made from a French stick. Instead of ginger, with the green veggies try adding a bit of grated nutmeg, cinnamon or mixed spice. Vegetarians can just omit the pancetta.

Make a couple of batches of soup at the weekend, adding everything except the milk, to have ready in the fridge for the week ahead.

Carrot and Ginger Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Cashews

50g butter
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
1.2 kg carrots, peeled and chopped
Chicken or vegetable stock to cover (home-made or use cubes)
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger (or a bit more if you love ginger!)
Milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To serve:
4 slices pancetta, prosciutto or similar ham (I used Aldi’s black forest ham)
4 Tbs raw cashew nuts
Finely chopped parsley or coriander
Cream or sour cream

Heat butter in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook onion gently till soft but not browned. Add carrots, ginger and enough stock to just cover the veggies. Simmer 25 mins or until carrots are cooked. Cool a bit then blend in a blender or food processor until smooth. Recipe can be made ahead to this point and kept in the fridge for several days.

Put soup back in the pan and add enough milk (or if preferred a mixture of milk and water) to make to desired consistency. Season to taste with S and P. Place pancetta on a tray lined with baking paper and cook in a very hot oven 220ºC for 5-10 mins or until crispy, remove, cool then break into chunks. Toast cashews in a dry frying pan over moderate heat.

Reheat soup and serve garnished with the pancetta, nuts, herbs and a swirl of cream.

Serves 4-6

Steak Tartare with Pommes Gaufrettes

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On the menu of a restaurant in Geneva where we once ate Steak Tartare was translated as Raw Meat. Doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?

SBS Television’s French Food Safari with Maeve O’Meara and chef Guillaume Brahimi recently featured his Steak Tartare served with Pommes Gaufrettes. Now when it comes to kitchen gadgets I have to confess that I’m pretty well stocked, but I didn’t have the special mandoline cutter you need to make these lacey potato chips. So of course I simply had to get one. The Børner Wave Waffle Cutter from Germany cost just $20 including postage when I ordered it online. I couldn’t wait for it to arrive.

Matthew is very fond of Steak Tartare and I don’t mind it once in a while, so I decided to try my new gadget last weekend. Guillaume’s Tartare recipe includes tomato ketchup, but I prefer to use olive oil and lemon juice as I think ketchup can be a bit overpowering. The photo makes it looks a bit like an uncooked burger. But when all’s said and done, that’s what it is – raw meat!

Pommes Gaufrettes:
2 medium potatoes, peeled
Vegetable oil to fry (see note)photo
Tartare:
320g good quality lean beef, trimmed (see note)
2 tsp capers, chopped
2 Tbs finely diced cornichons or gherkins
2 shallots or spring onions, finely diced
2 Tbs snipped chives
2 Tbs finely chopped parsley
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco sauce or a little wasabi paste
1 tsp cognac or brandy
1 egg yolk
Salt, freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice, to taste
To serve:
A lightly dressed green salad (I used rocket)

Slice potatoes with a waffle cutter or an ordinary mandoline and place in cold water to remove starch. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Heat oil and fry potatoes in batches, until crisp and golden, then drain on paper towels. The oil needs to be very hot so they cook quickly. Test with one first.

Very finely dice the beef by hand. Mix all ingredients for Tartare. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Form into quenelle shapes with two spoons, or use a stacking ring or biscuit cutter to form into a neat round shape on 4 serving plates.

Garnish with Pommes Gaufrettes and a small green salad.

Serves 4

Notes:

  • Meat should be very fresh but it doesn’t have to be fillet. So long as it’s lean and very finely diced with a very sharp knife you can use topside or round steak.
  • You don’t need a deep fat fryer to cook the potatoes. I used about 2cm of oil in a medium sized frying pan and cooked them in two batches.
  • If preferred serve the Tartare with garlicky bread croutons made from a French loaf.

 

Moroccan Chicken

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This is another great recipe from Delicious magazine, with a few slight changes and variations. A perfect mid-week dinner, with some leftovers for sandwiches.

The original recipe uses 2 Tbs of Ras el Hanout – a Moroccan spice blend available in some specialist shops. But it’s not difficult to make, so I have explained how to do this. Don’t worry if you’re missing one of the spices, just add something else.

In the salad the original recipe uses freekeh – an ancient, but now new and trendy grain. I used pearl barley instead. You could also substitute burghul (cracked wheat) or couscous. The second time I made this dish I served the chicken and onions on mashed sweet potato instead of the grain salad, which was also very tasty.

Costco sells two small punnets of fresh pomegranate seeds for about $10. Freeze them in ice cube trays, then you can whip a couple out to garnish dishes like this and add a splash of colour.

Moroccan Chicken

1.5kg whole chicken
2 Tbs Ras al Hanout (see below)
1 tsp salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
2-3 large onions, peeled and very thickly sliced
Grain salad:
1 cup barley
1 can lentils (or cook some dried lentils)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or a mix
2 Tbs capers, rinsed and drained
½ cup dried cranberries, raisins or sultanas
1 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 cup flat parsley leaves, finely chopped
½ cup mint leaves, finely chopped
Dressing:
2-3 Tbs lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
To serve:
2 Tbs pomegranate molasses (see below)
Thick Greek-style plain yoghurt
Seeds from 1 pomegranate (optional)
Rocket salad

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Rinse and pat chicken dry with paper towels. Mix Ras el Hanout with the salt, pepper and the 2 Tbs oil and brush all over the chicken, both sides and inside. Place onion slices in a roasting pan and sit chicken on top. Roast for between an hour and a quarter and an hour and a half, or until juices run clear when thickest part of chicken thigh is pierced with a skewer. After about 40 mins of cooking, turn chicken over and about 20 mins before it’s ready, turn it back over again. When you turn the chicken, move the onions around a bit so they don’t burn. Add about ¼ cup of water if they’re starting to burn and stick.

Meanwhile cook barley in boiling salted water for about 30 mins or until al dente. When almost cooked add the drained lentils. When barley is cooked drain both and place in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mix dressing ingredients and mix with grains.

When chicken is cooked brush all over with Pomegranate Molasses then cover loosely with foil, turn off the oven and leave it in there for 10-20 mins or until you are ready to serve. The chicken will continue to cook, resulting in meat that is almost falling off the bone, but we liked it that way.

Carve chicken into portions and serve with some of the onions on a bed of grain salad. Top with a dollop of yoghurt and some pomegranate seeds and serve a rocket salad, dressed simply with a little olive oil and lemon juice, on the side.

Serves 4-6

Notes:

Ras al Hanout: An Australian tablespoon = 20 mls and a teaspoon = 5 mls. So to make 2 Tbs of spice mix you need 8 tsp of ground spices. Mix together 1 tsp of each of the following: cumin, coriander, paprika, ginger, cardamom or fenugreek and turmeric. Then add ½ tsp each of cloves and nutmeg. And ½ to 1 tsp chilli powder, to taste. For kids you may prefer to leave the chilli out altogether.

Pomegranate Molasses: a sweet and sour sauce from Morocco available in some specialist shops. If you don’t have any either leave it out, or substitute 1 Tbs Thai Sweet Chilli sauce or honey mixed with 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar.

Variations: instead of serving chicken on grain salad, serve it on mashed sweet potato or pumpkin (add butter, S and P).

Spanish Omelette

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When I was sixteen I sailed from Southampton to Bilbao to spend the Easter school holidays with a Spanish family. I had been studying Spanish several times a week for six months, but most of it was stuck somewhere at the back of my head.

The Zubia family of five lived in an apartment in Bilbao. Nobody spoke a word of English, so I had to speak Spanish to survive. Needless to say, when I returned to the UK three weeks later I had made enormous progress and have never looked back. A month of language immersion in your teens is worth a year when you’re of a more mature age.

I was intrigued by a household which bought olive oil in 4 litre cans and used it to cook absolutely everything. My mother kept a very small bottle in the medicine cabinet and used it to treat earache.

Señora Zubia taught me to make several dishes, including Spanish omelette, which I still make according to her recipe below.

Bars in Spain serve a wide selection of tapas, mostly at room temperature and displayed along the top of the bar. When something takes your fancy you just point and the barman brings you as many servings as required for your group. On leaving patrons tell the barman what they’ve had and he adds up the bill. It’s all done on honesty.

Spanish omelette is usually served at room temperature, but have it hot if you prefer.

Spanish Omelette
1 large onion
4 large potatoes or 6 medium
6 eggs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
To serve:
Roasted red capsicums (peppers) and aioli (optional)

Peel and chop onion as finely as possible. Heat a good slug of olive oil in a medium-sized non-stick frying pan, add onion and cook gently until soft. Meanwhile peel potatoes and cut into 2cm dice. Remove onions from the pan, add more oil if necessary (there should be a generous amount), add potatoes and cook gently, turning often, until they are cooked through but not browned. Remove potatoes from the pan and put with the onions in a sieve, so excess oil drains off.

Tip off all but 2-3 Tbs of oil. If there’s not enough oil left in the pan add some that has drained from the potatoes and onion.  Place eggs in a bowl and beat with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, then mix in the potatoes and onions. Tip mixture into frying pan and spread out evenly. Cook for 8-10 minutes over moderate heat, or until set and underneath is golden. Check by lifting slightly with a spatula. Run spatula around the edge to make sure the omelette hasn’t stuck to the pan.

Place a large dinner plate over the frying pan and quickly invert so you end up with the omelette on the plate, cooked side up. Carefully slide back into the frying pan and cook the other side, which will take about 5 minutes. Serve at room temperature with roasted red peppers and aioli – for which there are plenty of recipes online, or just add some crushed garlic to mayonnaise, for a quick version. Cut into 3-4 cm squares Spanish Omelette makes great finger food, or tapas, to use the Spanish word.

Serves 4-6

 

 

Beef Carpaccio with Walnut Pesto

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This recipe was inspired by a carpaccio I ate recently at The European, a restaurant which opened in the Canberra suburb of Kingston in November last year. Unfortunately the establishment didn’t survive and recently closed its doors.

The carpaccio shown in the photo is probably larger than you would need as a starter. We had it for lunch.

Beef Carpaccio with Walnut Pesto

300-400 fillet of beef, trimmed (see note below)
Walnut pesto:
1 cup walnuts
1 small clove garlic, crushed
Pinch salt
About 1/3 cup olive oil
Topping:
About 4 Tbs diced black or green olive flesh
About 4 Tbs coarsely chopped walnuts
Some microherbs or small coriander leaves
About 4 Tbs coarsely grated Parmesan
To serve:
Truffle oil or extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
8 quick Grissini (see below) or purchased Grissini

Make Grissini (see below). Trim meat and put in the freezer (see note below). Make pesto: place walnuts and garlic in food processor and process. With motor running add enough olive oil to make a thick paste, stopping halfway to scrape down the sides. This can be made ahead and keeps for at least a week.

Thinly slice beef (this is easier to do if the meat is semi-frozen) and arrange down the middle of four serving plates, in overlapping circles. Smear some walnut pesto down each side. You will probably have some beef and some pesto left over.

Sprinkle with the olives, walnuts, herbs or coriander and the Parmesan. Drizzle with truffle or olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Arrange two Grissini on top of each serving and serve with a salt and pepper mill.

Serves 4-6

Note: I bought a one kilo vacuum pack of beef fillet from Aldi, cut off about 500g from the wide end for the carpaccio and trimmed off the small amount of visible fat and tendon. I then rolled the meat tightly in plastic wrap to achieve a neat cylinder about 4cm in diameter. I put it in the freezer for a couple of hours, so it was semi-frozen and easy to slice thinly. I cut the rest of the beef into strips and froze it to make a Stroganoff.

Quick Grissini

Grissini are usually made with bread dough. This is a quick version.

2 sheets bought puff pastry, thawed
4 Tbs finely grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lay pastry sheets on a work surface. Sprinkle with parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Press the cheese and seasonings into the meat with the heel of your hand. Cut pastry into thin strips about 1 cm wide then twist into spirals. Bake in a hot oven on biscuit trays lined with paper for about 15 mins or until golden brown and crisp. Turn them over halfway through the cooking.

Makes about 20

Smoked Trout Salad with Tamarind Dressing

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One whole smoked trout is enough to make a light meal for two people. Whole hot-smoked trout are sold in supermarkets in Australia in vacuum packs. The use by date usually allows you to keep them for a week or two in the fridge before they need to be eaten. Handy for those occasions when you peer into the fridge thinking “What can I make for dinner with what I’ve got?”

Carefully remove the flesh in large chunks, discarding the skin and bones. I definitely have to wear my reading glasses to do this! Mix with freshly cooked pasta, adding a splash of cream and a few capers or chopped dill. Some halved baby tomatoes or rocket leaves are an optional addition.

Or make this Asian salad which is perfect for a hot summer’s day.

Smoked Trout Salad with Asian Dressing

Tamarind Dressing:
3 spring onions or small shallots
1 clove garlic
½ small red chilli, seeded and chopped
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
2 Tbs roasted peanuts
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 Tbs tamarind paste (sold in jars)
3 Tbs water or more
3 Tbs palm sugar, chopped, or substitute brown sugar
Salad:
1 smoked trout, flesh removed, bones and skin discarded
2-3 cups small salad leaves
1 Tbs finely chopped lime (skin and flesh)
2 Tbs roasted peanuts, chopped
½ cup coriander leaves
Extra virgin olive oil

Dressing: Place onions, garlic, chilli and peanuts in food processor and process until you have a paste, stopping to scrape down the sides halfway. Place paste in a saucepan with remaining dressing ingredients. Simmer for 3-4 minutes then leave to cool. It should be thick and a bit sticky but you may need to add a bit more water to get the right consistency.

Meanwhile arrange salad leaves on two plates. Top with the trout pieces, the lime, peanuts and coriander leaves. Drizzle with some of the sauce, then drizzle a little olive oil around the edge of the plate. Any leftover dressing is delicious served with cold roast meats.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter

Note: some supermarkets sell smoked trout fillets without skin or bones.

Variation: to serve as finger food, separate the leaves of 2 heads of chicory (witloof or witlof) and top each with a piece of smoked trout, the remaining toppings and some of the dressing.

Thai Green Mango Salad

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My friend Jurate who lives in the Sydney suburb of Haberfield gave me 3 green mangoes. Actually the tree is in her neighbour’s garden, but he’s happy for her to take the fruit that hangs on her side of the fence.

We’ve been to Thailand so many times, I’ve lost count. When travelling back to Australia from Europe we find a few days of relaxation, massage, great food and swimming is the perfect way to break the journey and get over some of the jet lag.

I used the mangoes to make one of our favourite Thai dishes, Green Mango Salad and it was delicious.

Thai Green Mango Salad

3 green mangoes, peeled and coarsely grated or cut into fine julienne
3 spring onions or 1 small red onion, finely sliced
½ cup fresh grated coconut or desiccated coconut
¼ cup Thai or ordinary basil, shredded
¼ cup coriander, coarsely chopped
Dressing:
Juice of 2 limes
2-3 Tbs palm sugar, crushed, or brown sugar
1 Tbs Thai sweet chilli sauce
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 Tbs fish sauce
To garnish:
Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
About 20 cooked prawns, peeled

Mix salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix dressing and taste – it should have a nice balance of sweet, salty, sour and hot. Mix dressing with salad, then serve garnished with the peanuts and prawns.

Serves 4

Note: green mangoes are usually available in Asian shops. If liked you can bulk up this salad by adding 2-3 cups of beansprouts.

Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds

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Israeli-born Yotam Ottolenghi trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London. He then worked at the Michelin starred restaurant The Capital and later in the pastry section of the Kensington Place restaurant. He went on to become head pastry chef at Baker and Spice in Chelsea, where he met his Palestinian life partner Sami Tamimi. In 2002 their first delicatessen opened in Notting Hill. They have since opened three more establishments, selling some of the best takeaway food in London. Together Yotam and Sami have also co-authored several cook books.

Their culinary style is bold and often influenced by Middle Eastern flavours. This scrumptious salad comes from their book Jerusalem and came highly recommended by my daughter Catherine. The pan fried pita croutons idea is one you can use in other salads. You could do them with or without the nuts and use walnuts, pecans, pine nuts or macadamias to ring the changes. You could also use halved raisins if you don’t have any dates.

Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds

1 Tbs white wine vinegar
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
100g pitted dates, cut into 1cm pieces
30g unsalted butter
2 Tbs olive oil
2 small pitas, split in two horizontally then torn into 3-4cm pieces
75g whole almonds (not skinned), roughly chopped
2 tsp Sumac
½ tsp chilli flakes (I used dried crushed whole chillies)
150g baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
1-2 Tbs lemon juice
salt

Place vinegar, onion and dates in a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and mix well. Leave to marinate for 20 mins then drain off any remaining vinegar and discard.

Heat butter and half the oil in a medium frying pan. Add pita and almonds and cook, stirring all the time, for 4-6 mins over medium heat until golden. Watch carefully the nuts don’t burn. Remove from heat and mix in the sumac, chilli and ¼ tsp salt.

To serve, mix spinach leaves with the pita and almonds. Add the dates and red onion, the remaining Tbs of oil, lemon juice to taste and another pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately in one large salad bowl or on individual plates.

Serves 4-6 as a side salad or 2 as a main course

Note: Sumac is a Middle Eastern ground spice available in ethnic markets and gourmet grocers.