Tag Archives: vegetarian

Lemon Feta Dip

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This recipe comes from a book called Sweet Paul Eat and Make by Paul Lowe who describes it as “the most blogged, tweeted and pinned recipe I have ever created.”

I made it this weekend and have to agree – it’s a keeper.

Following my grandmother’s rule of adding a little sugar to anything savoury and a little salt to anything sweet, to bring out the flavours, I added a touch of sugar to the original recipe. I also used some fresh red chilli to garnish as I have never seen red pepper flakes here.

Serve as a dip or as a spread in sandwiches or on bruschettas.

Lemon Feta Dip250g crumbled feta cheese (about 1 cup)
1 Tbs grated lemon rind
1-2 Tbs lemon juice (I used 2)
1 garlic clove, crushed
6 Tbs Extra Virgin olive oil
salt to taste
½ tsp sugar
To garnish:
Extra Virgin olive oil
Some finely chopped red chilli
A few cumin or fennel seeds
To serve:
Vegetable sticks, crackers or toasted baguette

Place feta in food processor with remaining ingredients and blitz until smooth. Scrape into serving dish and garnish with the oil, the chilli (or something else that’s red such as paprika powder or dried chilli flakes) and the cumin or fennel seeds.

Serve with vegetable sticks, crackers or toasted baguette.

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

Stuffed Eggplants

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If I had to become a vegetarian I would eat a lot of eggplant as it’s definitely the “meatiest” of all the vegetables – very filling and satisfying. This recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi and is delicious served warm or at room temperature.

Stuffed Eggplants2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli flakes or powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup olive oil
2 medium eggplants
150g fine cracked wheat (bulgar)
50g sultanas
2 Tbs chopped fresh coriander
2 Tbs chopped fresh mint
2 Tbs pitted green or black olives, halved
2 Tbs flaked almonds or pine nuts
2 Tbs finely chopped preserved lemon skin (from specialty shops)
3 spring onions, chopped
1½ Tbs lemon juice
To serve:
Greek yoghurt
Olive oil
Chopped coriander

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Mix garlic, cumin, coriander, chilli, paprika, salt and about two thirds of the oil. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise. Score flesh with deep diagonal criss-cross scores being careful not to cut through the skin. Spread spice mix evenly over the eggplants then bake 40 mins or until completely soft. Meanwhile cover cracked wheat with boiling water and leave for about 20 mins. Soak sultanas separately in some warm water for about 10 mins.

Drain sultanas and cracked wheat and place in a bowl with the remaining oil, herbs, olives, nuts, spring onion, lemon juice and preserved lemon. Season to taste..

Serve eggplants warm or at room temperature. Arrange on serving dish and spoon over the cracked wheat mixture, allowing some to fall over the sides. Garnish with a dollop of yoghurt, a drizzle of oil and some coriander.

Serves 4

Persimmon & Shaved Fennel Salad

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I’ve tried persimmons a few times and I have to say I wasn’t impressed. When firm and slightly underripe they were very astringent and by the time they tasted good they were so ripe as to be almost mushy.

The good news is that you can now buy a variety of persimmon called Fuyu which Woolworths are importing from New Zealand and which are non-astringent. I was inspired by my friend Franca to combine them with shaved fennel to make a delicious and unusual salad which goes particularly well with salmon.

Fuyu persimmons are ready to eat when they feel firm, like a tomato, not soft like a very ripe avocado.

Persimmon & Shaved Fennel Salad2 firm Fuyu persimmons
1 bulb of fennel
Dressing:
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar

Wash persimmons, remove calyx then halve and thinly slice downwards. Wash fennel, trim off stalks (saving a few green fronds) halve then shave into very thin slices using a very sharp knife or a mandoline.

Arrange persimmon and fennel in a serving bowl. Place all ingredients for dressing in a small jar with a lid and shake well. Drizzle over the salad then decorate with a few green fennel fronds.

Serves 4-6

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

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.

Baby Eggplants with Pickled Red Onions

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This quick and easy side dish is originally from Nigella Lawson. I’ve made it several times and adjusted it slightly by adding a touch of honey, which I think is an improvement. If preferred just leave it out.

It goes particularly well with lamb and is a perfect addition to a summer barbecue. It also makes a tasty lunch with the addition of crumbled goat’s cheese or feta and crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Recipes using eggplants usually require you to salt, drain, rinse and dry them. This process is said to draw out the bitterness, but to be honest I’m not convinced it makes much difference. You will be relieved to hear that you don’t need to do it in this recipe. As you can see in the photo, the eggplants I used weren’t really tiny ones, but they weren’t massive either. Use whatever you can find. If you leave the onions to pickle for longer, before adding the oil, they get softer. Any leftovers are very tasty.

Baby Eggplants with Pickled Red Onions500-700g small/baby eggplants (aubergines)
3 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs chopped fresh oregano or marjoram (or 3 tsp dried)
Salt
1-2 red onions, depending on size, halved and thinly sliced
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
¼ cup water
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp honey
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh oregano or marjoram, chopped, to garnish

Preheat oven to 200º C. Slice eggplants in half lengthwise. Keeping the stalks on makes the dish look more rustic. Place the regular olive oil in a shallow roasting pan and mix in the fresh or dried herbs. Rub the cut side of each eggplant in the oily mixture to coat it, then arrange them cut side up in the pan. Season with salt then bake for 15-25 minutes or until tender and starting to turn golden brown. Cooking time will depend on the size of the eggplants.

Meanwhile mix onion with vinegar, salt and water and set aside to macerate for an hour or more, mixing from time to time. Recipe can be made several hours ahead to this point.

To serve, arrange eggplants on a serving platter. Add the extra virgin olive oil, the garlic, honey and pepper to any juices left in the baking pan. Drain the onions, discarding liquid and add them to the pan and mix well. Distribute onions over the eggplants and sprinkle the fresh herbs over the top. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 4-6

Notes: substitute other fresh herbs in season such as coriander or basil. If liked, crumble some goat’s cheese or feta over the top to make the dish more filling.

Quick Gazpacho for Two

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Having just picked our first Lebanese cucumber I decided to whip up a quick gazpacho and serve it for lunch 10 minutes later. I have a good recipe which makes several litres and serves a crowd, but it takes more than 10 minutes to make. So I threw the cucumber into the food processor, added some other ingredients until it tasted right, and here it is.

Quick gazpacho for two2 cups tomato passata from a jar
1 small Lebanese cucumber, washed and ends trimmed
¼ cup olive oil
1 thick slice of onion, red or white
1 Tbs sweet chilli sauce
1 small clove garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Juice of ½ a lemon
Water
To garnish:
Greek yoghurt
1 small or ½ large avocado, diced
Fresh coriander or parsley, roughly chopped with scissors

Place all ingredients except garnish in a food processor and whiz till smooth. Add enough water to make to desired consistency (it won’t need much) and adjust seasoning, then whiz again. Chill until serving time, or if you’re in a hurry just add a couple of ice cubes when you add the water. Divide between two serving bowls. Garnish with a dollop of Greek yoghurt, some diced avocado and chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Optional extra: some home made croutons. You can also add some red capsicum or a touch of fresh chilli. Instead of avocado top with some diced cucumber and/or tomato.

Serves 2

Spicy Lentil and Chick Pea Salad

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Some friends are on my culinary wave length, so I know when they give me a recipe and say this is great I will like it. This lentil salad recipe came from my friend Lynne. I just added the chick peas which provide a nice flavour and texture contrast. Leave them out if you prefer. Spicy Lentil and Chick Pea Salad

1¼ cups (250g) green lentils
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 red capsicum (pepper) seeded and diced
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup sweet chilli sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs toasted sesame seeds
Pinch salt
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained

Place lentils in a saucepan and cover with plenty of water.  Bring to the boil and cook gently for 5 mins. Remove from heat and stand for 5 mins or until lentils are al dente. Time will vary according to the lentils you use, but don’t overcook or you won’t get a nice crisp salad. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Add remaining ingredients, then cool. Can be made a couple of days in advance and kept in the fridge, which only improves the flavour.

Serves 6

Roast Cauliflower

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I’ve always been a fan of green vegetables such as cauliflower, brussels sprouts and broccoli, which a lot of people don’t like. When I was growing up cauliflower was boiled – usually for far too long – and served with a knob of butter, or margarine, if you were lucky. Sometimes a parsley or a cheese sauce would vastly improve the situation. But when I think back to those over-boiled veggies, I realise it’s hardly surprising some people were put off eating them for life.

All those vegetables which were traditionally boiled in water are much nicer when roasted in the oven with olive oil. Asparagus for example takes on a whole new character when cooked in this way. If you’ve never roasted caulfilower, give it a try. You might even convert some members of the family who don’t normally like this vegetable.

Roast Cauliflower

1 small or half a large cauliflower, cut into large flowerets
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs pine nuts
1 slice bread, made into crumbs in food processor
2-3 Tbs snipped chives

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC. Place cauliflower in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle with cumin, paprika, salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Mix with fingers to coat thoroughly, then bake for 30-40 mins or until cooked “al dente”. About halfway through the cooking time give the cauliflower a stir and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and pine nuts.

Serve garnished with the chives, either hot or at room temperature. It’s even nice cold.

Serves 4-6