Category: Starter

Pita Bread

Pita Bread

Pita bread is one of those incredible foods that is so versatile and will just work with everything. Whilst now I prefer my pita dipped in hummus, back in primary school I used to stuff them with Mini Cheddars to make an improvised crisp/cheese sandwich. My culinary experiments have moved on a lot since then, but I still have a fondness for these bread pockets and they pair super well with the other meze dishes in this banquet!

Recipe

Makes 4 Pitas

Time: 20 minutes, plus proving and baking time

Ingredients

  • 250g Strong white bread flour
  • 7g Instant yeast
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 160ml Water
  • 2 tsp Olive oil

Method

  1. Put the flour, yeast and salt into a bowl and stir to combine. Be careful not to put the salt directly on top of the yeast as this will kill it and prevent your dough from rising. Add the oil and then slowly add the water, mixing as you do, to get a smooth dough.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a worktop and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth and stretchy. Place this dough into a clean bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size (about an hour).
  3. Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C and pop a baking tray in the oven to warm up.
  4. When the dough is ready turn it out onto your surface and knead for 20 seconds to knock out the air bubbles.
  5. Split the dough into 6 and roll each portion into a ball. Then lightly flour a surface and roll each ball out into a 5cm long oval.
  6. Take the tray out of the oven and lightly dust with flour. Put each pitta onto it and then bake for 5-10 minutes until they start to brown slightly.
  7. Serve with lots of hummus!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Stuffed Aubergines with Feta and Pomegranate

Stuffed Aubergines with Feta and Pomegranate

Inspiration for my recipes comes from loads of different places – books, websites, social media, tv shows, and everything in between. The other day I was watching the new TV series with Nigel Slater about his trip around the middle east – a very good watch if you come across it by the way. I’ve never done much middle eastern cooking but I’ve always wanted to as I love those kind of flavours, so when I saw his stuffed aubergine dish on the show I knew I wanted to do a little variation of my own.

This is the first time I’ve worked with roasted garlic and I’m definitely going to use more of it in the future. By roasting the cloves the pungent garlic flavour is muted and instead a caramelised, nutty flavour is created, which in this case goes really well with the earthy aubergine. I’ve also used coriander here as it adds some bright colour and a bitter herbal element which works really well in the dish. However, I’m not a big fan of coriander, and I’ll admit that I picked the leaves out of my portion when it came to eating it, so if you’re like me and the mere thought of coriander makes you recoil don’t worry, it’s not essential to the recipe.

 

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 20 minutes, plus cooking time

Ingredients

  • 2 Aubergines
  • 4 Garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 4 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1/2 Pomegranate
  • 100g Feta
  • 35g Runny honey
  • 4 tbsp Corriander (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper to season

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C.
  2. Cut each aubergine in half and then score the flesh into a criss-cross pattern, being careful not to pierce the skin.
  3. Put the aubergines, skin side up, and the garlic cloves into a roasting tin. Drizzle over the oil and sprinkle with the salt. Rub this into the flesh and then bake for 30 minutes, or utill soft.
  4. Take a spoon and scoop out the flesh from the aubergines, being careful not to tear the skin.
  5. Take the skin off the garlic. Then put this roasted garlic into a bowl with the aubergine and crush it all into a pulp. Then fold in 2/3 of the pomegranate seeds, the honey and 1/2 of the feta. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
  6. Spoon this mixture back into the aubergine skins. Crumble over the rest of the feta and then garnish with the rest of the pomegranate seeds and coriander leaves. Serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Tomato, Basil and Puy Lentil Salad

Tomato, Basil and Puy Lentil Salad

As promised here’s the starter dish I made for my friend Emma’s 18th Dinner Party the other day. Basil, tomato and mozerella is a match made in heaven, so it’s no wonder that when put on a plate all together it tastes insanely good! It’s also surprisingly simple and healthy for one of my dishes. With the puy lentils and mozerella there’s plenty of protein and all the tomatoes load up the plate with vitamins and fruity/vegetably goodness. These portions are fairly small as I was making them as a starter, but if you want to make this into a hearty meal you can just double all the quantities.

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 200g Puy Lentils
  • 8 Golden Cherry Tomatoes
  • 8 Cherry tomatoes
  • 2 Beef Tomatoes
  • 1 Ball of Mozzarella
  • 3 tsp Pesto
  • A few Basil leaves

Method

  1. Cook the puy lentils according to the packet instructions. Then spoon the puy lentils onto your plates.
  2. Slice the beef tomatoes into thin slices and then half the others and arrange them around the puy lentils.
  3. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and place on the plates.
  4. Spoon the pesto over the salad and finish with a drizzle of the pesto oil and garnish with the basil.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup

Over new year I spent some time in Northern Italy, and for me there’s nowhere where the food is better. One of the things that really sticks in my mind from the trips I’ve made out there is their tomatoes. It’s an odd thing to pick up on, but their tomatoes are 100% better than any you find in the UK. Because of volcanic soil they manage to grow ones which are full of an intense, sweet and sour flavour which makes incredible tomato sauces and soups.

Whilst we don’t have direct access to this incredible produce, the UK does have it’s fair share of delicious vegetables and this soup is a great way of making use of this. Especially now we’re hitting the cold and wet season, and everyone seems to be getting flu, a quick, warm and nourishing bowl of soup is what we need. Packed full of good stuff and deliciously filling this soup is a perfect mid-week winter warmer.

Recipe

Serves 6

Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 White onion
  • 2 Garlic cloves
  • 1 Medium Carrot
  • 1 Celery Stick
  • 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
  • 900g Ripe tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp Tomato puree
  • 2 Stock cubes
  • 1 Litre of boiling water
  • Salt and Pepper to season
  • Basil and Pine nuts to garnish

Method

1. Begin by prepping the vegetables. Peel and dice the onion, garlic and carrot. Then take the ends off the celery and chop it into chunks about the same size as the carrot.

2. Put the oil into a large saucepan and heat gently. Add the prepared vegetables once the oil just starts to bubble, and gently fry until the onions begin to caramelise – this’ll take about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile chop the tomatoes into chunks. Once the vegetables are ready add the tomatoes and puree to the mixture, stir to combine. Then leave with the lid on for 5 minutes to soften.

4. Next make up the  stock by putting two stock cubes into a jug and pouring over the boiling water. Stir with a fork until the stock cubes have dissolved.

5. Pour the stock over the vegetables and leave on a medium heat to gently simmer with the lid off for about 15 minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft and the liquid has reduced slightly.

6. Take a hand-blender and blend the soup until it’s as smooth as you want it. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Ladle into bowls and garnish with pine nuts and fresh basil. Serve with fresh bread and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Honey Glazed Duck Salad

Honey Glazed Duck Salad

There’s nothing like a warm meat salad in winter, and duck is one of the best meats out there for it. When cooked right it’s both crispy and moist, with a deliciously deep meaty flavour. It also goes really well with sticky sweet things, and so naturally it appeals to my sweet tooth.

I first cooked duck this way for a competition a few years ago. Scoring and crisping up the skin before cooking off the meat is the way to make the most out of this cut, as otherwise it can end up really dry and fatty. Then coating it in honey and five spice creates a stunning aroma which makes it hard to not eat immediately. I’ve also combined it with plums and lentils here to make a balanced, substantial salad, but you could easily mix and match these as you choose to suit your preferences.

Recipe

Serves 2

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp Butter
  • 2 Duck Breasts
  • 2 tbsp Runny honey
  • 1 tsp Five spice
  • 75g Pine nuts
  • 2 Handfuls of salad leaves
  • 200g Green lentils, cooked to packet instructions
  • 3 Plums, de-stoned and cut into 8
  • Olive oil to serve

Method

  1. Put the butter into a frying pan and melt gently over a medium heat.
  2. Trim the excess fat off the duck breasts and score the fat with a knife into a criss-cross shape.
  3. Put the duck fat-side down into the pan and fry until golden and caramelised.
  4. Turn the duck over onto the flesh side, add the honey and five spice, and fry for another 5 minutes on a gentle heat.
  5. Take the duck out of the pan and leave on a board or plate to rest for at least 8 minutes. Meanwhile put the pine nuts into the pan with the juices and lightly brown. Set aside for later.
  6. Put the salad leaves into two bowls. Sprinkle over the cooked lentils and plum pieces. Fan out the duck on the salad and spoon over the pine nuts. Finish the salad with more honey, the pan juices and olive oil and serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x