Seedy Pickle Juice Cracker Sticks
Saturday, April 17, 2021Crispy, aromatic and delicious gluten free cracker sticks that pair well with dips (I love it with homemade wild garlic pesto), soups or salads. You can also enjoy these healthy snacks by themselves whenever you need a quick pick-me-up. Instead of tossing your pickle juice out, put it to good use in this delicious cracker recipe. It adds a very pleasant briny flavour to the crackers. You can use water instead, but increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
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before baking | after baking |
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- Measure all dry ingredients and place them together in a mixing bowl. Heat the pickle juice and water in a saucepan until warm. Add to the seeds. Set aside, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
- Preheat oven to 140C/285F fan-forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Spoon the mixture onto prepared tray, spreading until 4-5mm-thick. Cut into 1 cm wide x 12cm long sticks with a pizza cutter. Bake for 1 hour or until golden and crisp. Cool completey on tray before separating them into sticks. Store the cracker sticks in a an airtight container for up to a week.
Middle Eastern Beef Mince Kebabs
Thursday, April 15, 2021These kebabs are easy to make and cook fast on a grill or pan. Serve them with flatbreads (or on a bed of greens), zesty sumac red onion salad and a garlic yoghurt dressing. Great for entertaining when friends are over or for family dinner.
Lebanese seven- spice and baharat are both Middle Eastern spice blends. Aleppo pepper, or pul biber, is flaked mild red Turkish chilli pepper. You can buy them both from Middle Eastern stores or online. These days you can find almost anything on Amazon. If you are interested in making your own spice blend, check out the recipes here and here.
Red Onion Salad | Kebabs |
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- Put the sliced onion into a bowl with the lemon juice and salt. Mix well and leave to macerate for 15 minutes.
- Put all the ingredients for the kebabs into a large bowl andthoroughly mix everything together until completely combined. Form into 6 sausage- shaped patties and thread the meat onto skewers.
- Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Cook half of the kebabs, without letting them touch, for 3-4 minutes on each side or until charred and juicy. Repeat with another half.
- Add the sumac and parsley to the macerated onions and mix well.
- Place a flat bread on a plate, then lay the kebabs on top and pile on the onions. Sprinkle with some more chopped parsley and roasted pine nuts. Serve with garlic yoghurt sauce. You can also serve them with rice, tabouli salad, hummus or baba ganoush (eggplant dip).
Crispy Battered Onion Rings with Garlic Yoghurt Dip
Wednesday, April 14, 2021There's just something special about a perfectly crunchy onion ring that explodes with flavour with each bite. A flavorful batter infused with honey, hot paprika, cumin and sparkling water is the secret to these popular delicious bites. Feel free to adjust the spices (cayenne, mustard, za'atar or garam masala) according to your taste and dunk them into your favourite dipping sauce (spicy ranch dip, mustard or just ketchup). They make a satisfying snack when you're on the run or a perfect side or appetizer for your juicy steak burger.
Garlic Yoghurt Dip | Onion Rings |
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- For the dip, combine everything in a bowl. Season to taste. Chill until ready for use.
- Peel the onions and slice them crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Separate each slice into individual rings and then remove the inner membrane of each ring.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, paparik, cumin and the salt. Use some of the flour mixture to coat the onion rings. Shake off the excess flour. Set aside.
- Now add honey and sparkling water into the flour mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Heat the lard in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 190C/375F. Line a large plate or baking tray with paper towels.
- Dip a small batch of onion rings in batter, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Carefully lower into the hot oil and deep-fry until crisp and golden, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place the onion rings on the prepared plate or baking tray to drain.
- Repeat with the remaining onion rings and batter. Serve onion rings hot or at room-temperature with the prepared garlic yoghurt dip.
White Bean, Cevapcici and Tomato Salad
Tuesday, April 13, 2021White bean, cevapcici and tomato salad is a simple but tasty food that is very quick and easy to prepare and bursting with flavours. It is perfect for a lunch or supper with your family. Cevapcici (aka Cevapi) is a type of casing-less, finger-sized sausage from the Balkans and southeastern Europe. I made white beans from the scratch with Instant Pot. It's cheaper, healthier and more flavourful, but a canned variety works just fine too. The cooking time can vary depending on the variety of white bean and quantity you're using. Instead of cevapcici, you can use shrimp or tuna for the salad too.
Dressing | Salad |
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- Whisk vinegar with garlic, mustard and sugar, then season with pink salt and black pepper. Gradually whisk in olive oil until emulsified and thick.
- Combine white beans, water, salt, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, garlic and bay leaf in your instant pot. Lock the lid, and turn the valve to sealing. Select 'pressure cook' and cook for 12 minutes. Once cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally on its own. Strain and set aside.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil and brown the sliced cevapcici on both sides. Turn off the heat and add beans to the skillet with half the dressing, gently toss to warm through, then transfer to a large serving platter.
- Add in tomatoes and herbs and gently toss to combine. Serve with remaining dressing.
Browned Butter Coffee Friands
Sunday, April 11, 2021Friands are small almond cakes, which are also known as financiers in France. They are moist, chewy, rich and perfectly dense. You don't need a special oval Friand pan to bake these, a standard muffin tin would work just fine. This recipe makes about 10 standard muffins or 6 rectangles (10x6.5x4cm). Coffee friands are the perfect accompaniment to your mid-morning or afternoon break. The remaining friands can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for a month.
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- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Brush six 140ml capacity non-stick mini loaf pans (or 10 regular muffin cups) with melted butter to lightly grease.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, then simmer for 5 minutes until golden brown (take care not to burn). Cool slightly.
- Combine the almond meal, confectioners' sugar, white spelt flour and coffee powder. Whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add to the dry ingredients, with the butter. Stir until just combined.
- Divide the batter among prepared pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool. Serve dusted with a little extra sifted confectioners' sugar, if desired.