Posts tagged flatbread

Carrot & Red lentil Dhal

January 31, 2019 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

or no reason other than me, my other half cooks…rarely. But he can cook. Well and naturally. Its the ideas bit that, like many people, makes him begrudge the thought of it, especially for someone else.

But tonight was my night! Or his night I should say. A late spinning class for me and a WFH day for him meant he was on duty and as I pumped out the sweat of a long day I thought wildy about what he had chosen.

Door open – curry house smells. Good start.

hilst I know he can cook, I never know quite what to expect. He once told me he was making orange chicken. Yes, quite literally chicken cooked in orange juice which, after I laughed (and gagged) our way home, was delicious. So I’ve learned to trust him. And what I like most is the imagination of someone else that makes me eat things I wouldn’t have thought of.

here are occasions when you try something for the first time, where your brain stores the sensory information and captures it with a special binding memory. These occasions when you think back to that first taste. Where the memories are supported by the moment, the place, the need or desire for that food, the weather! These are memories that get better with time and sit on thrones in your mind ready to be disappointingly not as good as you remember.

This I found out the easy way as I recreated this dish for him this evening. One which I see being a weekly dinner staple. That first taste was devine. A mix of ‘not-having-a-clue-what-on-earth-this-would-taste-like’ and pure desire.

weet, filling, hearty and can be eaten with pillowey soft flatbreads or naan and fingers if you really want. He did. We enjoyed it.

Adapted from Healthy Food Guide (for which I will now read more often)

Ingredients

Serves 3 hungry people, add a handful more lentils for 4.

1tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
500g carrot, grated
1 tbsp curry powder
500ml vegetable stock
100g red lentils
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
4 naans/flatbread (see here)
Coriander to serve
Yoghurt to serve, add some lime for a zing

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the mustard and cumin seeds and let them sizzle and pop. Stir in the carrot and the curry powder and let the carrot sweat for about 10 minutes.
Add the lentils and stock and stir. Simmer for 30 minutes until cooked and reduced.
Loosen the peanut butter with a bit of hot water if thick, and then whisk it into the lentil, making sure it disperses.
Season and simmer for a few more minutes until a nice thick consistency (up to you).
Serve on, or alongside warm pitta, naan bread or homemade flat breads. Add a dollop of yoghurt and some coriander and serve.

Chicken Satay

July 12, 2017 Comments Off read Poultry

usually feel that people fall into a love or hate category when it comes to peanut butter, the later being of rarity these days what with all the dreamy varieties and versions available. I embrace all that can be combined with it favouring the blackcurrant jam toast. However if you’ve not tried celery sticks dipped in peanut butter yet then you can thank me later for the introduction. Having mentioned the vast choice we now have for this delicious American spread, sadly I hate to admit that a cheap jar works wonders here. Save your fancy and expensive cashew, pecan and peanut blend for your sourdough toast at brunch y’all.

With no need to continue my expressive love of peanut butter, chicken satay is like a warm hug when wrapped comfortingly in the soft hand of a loveable flatbread with a crunchy, fresh salad. And this recipe really can be served in many ways as mentioned below. I prefer whole thighs rather than diced breast as they have far more flavour and texture. Served with a spoonful of the rich, spicy sauce, a zesty salad and some pillowey flatbreads. Alternatively, chop, coat and wrap the chicken and salad in the mits of a floury flatbread or flat wrap and dive in hands or face only. Use any combination of salad you like but whatever you do, coat liberally with lemon! It cuts through the rich and creamy peanut sauce welcomingly and essentially.

NOTE: If you haven’t tried making peanut butter before its really really simple provided you have a food processor! See here

Adapted from Nigel Slater.

Serves 4

Chicken Satay

4-8 chicken thighs, de-bonded (allow for 1-2 each depending on starter/main serving size)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Thumb ginger, grated
1 tbsp lemongrass paste
1 large red chilli, chopped finely
1-2 limes
125ml crunchy peanut butter
250ml water
Bunch coriander, chopped
Sunflower or light, flavourless oil.

Salad & Sides

1 cucumber, chopped into batons
4 little gems lettuce, leaves picked
Handful radishes, sliced finely
Bunch spring onions, sliced as preferred
1 lemon
Handful coriander, chopped
Flatbreads (homemade, see here)

Preheat the oven to 190°C and begin with the chicken. Heat a hot frying pan with a tbsp of sunflower oil on a high heat. Fry the chicken skin side down until crispy and golden. Turn the thighs over and seal on the other side. Remove from the pan and place in a baking tray. Finish cooking in the oven for about 15-20 minutes while you make the sauce.
Using the same pan, reduce the heat and soften the chopped onion for about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli and lemongrass and fry for just a few minutes being careful not to burn it – the garlic in particular.
Next add the peanut butter and stir well and continuously to combine with the aromats. Reduce the heat to a low and add half the water. Stir to combine.
The sauce will bubble and thicken as you do this so add the rest of the water when needed, a whisk is useful here.
Keep on a very low heat to warm through, adding a splash more water if you require a thinner consistency.
Add the salad ingredients to a large bowl and squeeze over a generous squeeze of lemon and seasoning.
By now the chicken should have finished cooking, remove from the oven and set aside to rest for a moment while you put the final touches to the sauce.
Add the juice of 1 large lime. Taste – if it needs more to cut through the richness then add another squeeze. Add a handful of the coriander and stir to combine saving the remaining herbs for serving.
Serving is up to you – I prefer to place the thighs gently in the sauce to ensure the skin you worked hard to crisp up remains crispy and then serve the whole dish on the table for people to help themselves from – thighs and sauce scattered with the leftover coriander. Alternatively, you can chop the chicken pieces into bite sized chucks and stir thoughout the sauce to coat entirely and serve in your flatbreads/lettuce leaves like a wrap.

Chana Dahl and Flatbread

February 13, 2017 Comments Off read Seafood, Vegetables and Salads

e all know our favourite comfort foods on a cold, challenging day or just after a bit of a tough one be it winter or summer. They usually consist of English favourites like bangers and mash or a hearty pie. Mine vary throughout the seasons but usually consist of a creamy coconut rice topped with Asian salmon (recipe here) or a big bowl of fish soup. But dahl is another comfort food altogether and one that so effortlessly lives up to the job.

There are many types of dahl, made from varying pulses. Having sampled ‘Dishmoon‘s’ infamous black dahl I’ve been on a quest to make a rival recipe! I religiously order it with every visit to Dishoom. I even have a colleague who orders a portion with the bill so he gets a bowl ‘to go’. Its that good! However, I’ll be confidently honest here and admit that my attempt at a black dahl (recipe here) ticked the box for me in terms of flavour and decadence.

However, this variation is suitably named as ‘Speedy dahl’. The flavour is there but you don’t get the depth that you get from a slow cooked and infused recipe with commitment of time and love. So, after a long run around London last Sunday afternoon, a cold bitter chill in the air and a deserving appetite I set my pan on the hob to master a new recipe. Serve in bowlfuls with roti, naan, chapatis or flatbread alone or refined here with a piece of elegantly friend sea bass, it’ll offer the comfort you need. Its a hug in a bowl…..

Serves 4

3 tsp cumin and coriander seeds
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
3 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
Knob ginger (about 35g), finely pounded with a pestle & mortar/grated
1 large garlic clove, finely pounded with a pestle & mortar/grated
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
600ml coconut milk
250g yellow split peas (rinsed well)
3-4 small green chillies, finely chopped
4 fresh curry leaves
1-2 limes
Coriander, roughly chopped

To start, drain the split peas well in 4-5 changes of water then allow them to sit in a bowl of water while you start the dahl.
Dry fry the cumin, coriander and mustard seeds in a hot frying pan until fragrant. Next pound in a pestle and mortar.
Add the turmeric, garam masala and set aside
Heat the coconut oil in a hot frying pan and sweat the onion of ragout 10 minutes until soft and beginning to carmalise.
Next add the ginger, garlic and chopped chillies and cook for a few more minutes.
Add the dry spices (and a touch more coconut oil if needed) and stir all to combine, frying the spiced onions for 2-3 minutes more.
Add the tomatoes, coconut milk and the curry leaves. Drain the split peas and add these too.
Bring to the simmer and then allow to bubble slowly and gently for about 1 – 1.1/2 hours (alternatively pop in a low 150°C oven with a lid on) until the split peas become tender and begin to break down. Keep an eye on it while it simmers so it doesn’t catch on the bottom. Add a touch of water if its drying out.
After this time and the lentils are soft, remove from the heat. Use a potato masher to gently ‘mush’ the lentils into a paste. This is just to make it thicker, you don’t need to aim for a smooth dahl.
Taste and season well and add the juice of at least 1 lime or more if required. It should lift the taste of the whole dahl.
Scatter with the coriander and the dahl is ready to serve!

I served mine with fennel seed flatbreads (recipe here). Amend the spice/seeds as needed.

Lahmacun Meatballs

February 6, 2017 Comments Off read Meat

ahmacun is like a Turkish meat pizza which I’ve sampled in my many escapades to my favourite middle eastern restaurants and holiday destinations. Pizza you say? In a very loose sense. A thin dough topped with a layer of spiced minced meat and a scattering of tasty salad. However, I’ve been experimenting with textures and I decided to turn mine into meatballs – maintaining the spices and flavours of a traditional Lahmacun serving them on a warm pillowy nigella seed flecked flatbread and topped with a fresh crunchy raw salad.

This would make an excellent dinner party starter in a mini version or a light meal or lunch.

Serves 4 (Makes approx. 16 meatballs)

Meatballs

500g minced beef
1 small onion, diced finely
1 small red chilli, diced
1tsp (heaped) ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon, smoked paprika
50g toasted pine nuts (dry fry in a hot pan until beginning to turn golden and release a nutty aroma!)
Handful flat leaf parsley, chopped

Nigella Seed Flatbreads

250g self raising flour
150ml warm water
1 1/2tbsp nigella seeds
Salt and pepper

Salad

1 bag radishes, thinly sliced
1 small cucumber, cubed into 1cm dice
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced into half moons
Small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 little gem lettuces, chopped (optional)
1/2 lemon
Tahini

You’ll need 3 large bowl, one for each component to get yourself started. A large frying pan and preheat the oven to 180°C.

Start by making the meatballs. Mix all the ingredients in your first large bowl and combine with your hands, squeezing the mixture together to ensure all the flavours are dispersed. Don’t overwork or pound the meat however. Season well. Taking golf ball sized chunks, roll into meatballs and place on a plate. Continue until you’ve used up all the meat and you have around 16 meatballs. Cover the plate and chill in the fridge until needed.
Next, make the flatbread dough. Combine the flours, salt and pepper and seeds in your second bowl. Pour in the water and mix with a fork. As it comes together, get your hands in and combine into a dough. It shouldn’t be dry but nor should it be sticky. Depending on the texture, add a tough more water/flour to enable you to roll into a smooth ball. Knead for 2-3 minutes on a clean floured worktop. Set aside in a floured bowl and cover with cling film and leave to rest for about 20 minutes or so.
Assemble the salad. Combine all ingredients in your final bowl except the tahini and lemon. Season and then set aside until ready to serve.
Begin the cooking – remove the meatballs from the fridge! Heat a splash of vegetable or light olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat and fry the meatballs on all sides until they are golden and a nice crust has formed on the outside. Line a baking tray with foil and add the meatballs (the rest of the cooking can be done in the oven). Scrunch up the foil around them to keep them sealed ask they cook and stay moist. Place int he oven for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, fry your flatbreads. Heat a dry frying pan over a high heat (you will likely need your extractor fan on here) Take your dough, divide into 4 balls. On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out into a small saucer size about the thickness of a 10p piece. When the pan is hot, add one flatbread at a time and fry on both sides, turning when beginning to brown and char in places. The dough will ideally bubble up and create air pockets but it doesn’t matter if not.
As you fry and complete each one, wrap them in a pile in a clean tea towel to keep them warm and soft until needed.
Once the flatbreads are toasted and the meatballs are ready, remove them from the oven.
Dress the salad with the lemon juice and toss to combine.
To serve, top each flatbread with 3-4 meatballs. Add a large handful or salad over the top and drizzle with the tahini if you like.

(A lime and mint yoghurt would also go down well here instead of tahini if wanted)

Enjoy!

Chickpea Curry, Coconut Yoghurt, Naan and Mango Chutney

October 24, 2016 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

am not a vegetarian (lets just make that clear) but sometimes meat just isn’t required. When flavour is so prominent there is sometimes no need for it and this curry certainly has a big punch of spice. If you’re going to make a curry, don’t be timid, the more spice the better in my eyes! And I reassure you that you won’t miss the meat in this one – chickpeas make a substantial replacement. However feel free to replace with diced chicken, whole chicken legs, chunky white fish or even lamb. Or keep it vegetarian but pulse free with chunky cauliflower or broccoli or stirring through some spinach at the end.

Homemade flatbreads, sweet mango chutney and a cooling coconut yoghurt are the perfect side dishes. Who needs a takeaway….

Serves 4

Curry

2 x cans chickpeas, drained
1 can (full fat) coconut milk
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 large/ 2 small red onions roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 red chilli, chopped
1 thumb piece ginger, grated
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp fengrueek seed
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp each ground cumin, coriander, garam marasal, curry powder, tumeric
5 cardamon pods
Bunch coriander
1 lime
Spinach or extra vegetable optional

Yoghurt & Flatbread

250g plain yoghurt
2 large handfuls desiccated coconut
500g self raising flour
1 tbsp nigella seeds
Milk
Mango chutney to serve

Start by mixing the flatbread dough. Add the flour, nigella seeds and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Add a small splash of milk (a little at a time) mixing as you go until you have a smooth dough that is not too wet. If you do add too much milk just counteract with some extra flour. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes until combined and smooth. Leave the dough ball to rest in a floured bowl while you make the curry.
Start the curry by toasting the whole spices in a hot dry frying pan for a few minutes to release the fragrance. When you smell them toasting remove from the heat and add to a pestle and mortar and grind well. Add the dry spices and set aside.
Heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan/saucepan (bear in mind you will need the curry in a saucepan later so use whatever is easiest) and gently soften the red onion for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and fry for a few more minutes.
Next add the spices to the onion mix and fry for about 2 minutes adding a splash more oil if needed.
Next add the tinned tomatoes and simmer gently for a minute mixing well to incorporate the onion spice mixture before adding the coconut milk to the sauce.
At this stage I recommend transferring the sauce to a saucepan with a lid if you haven’t already. Simmer gently for 5-10 minutes to thicken the sauce before adding the chickpeas. Season to taste and keep on the simmer while you make the flatbreads and yoghurt. Add a splash of water for a thinner sauce or simmer to reduce for a more concentrated texture (depending on preference)
Toast the coconut in a dry frying pan until just turning golden. Remove and add to the yoghurt. Set aside.
Take the rested flatbread dough and divide out into generous golf ball sized rounds. Roll into flatbreads, the thickness of a 10p piece and set each aside. Heat a dry frying pan on high and turn on the extractor fan! Dry fry the flatbreads on each side. They should puff up a little in pockets and char a little. You’ll have to play with your own hob temperature but a high heat is needed. Continue with all the breads, wrapping them in a pile in a clean tea towel to keep them warm and soft after each one.
(If adding any vegetables, add to the hot curry now and simmer until cooked.)
When the breads and yoghurt are done and the mango chutney is at hand and ready to go, chop a large handful or coriander and the stems and add to the curry. Squeeze in the juice of the lime and taste and adjust the flavour as needed.
Serve the curry in large warm bowls topped with the yoghurt, chutney and a scattering of coriander. Dip in your flatbreads to your hearts content.

Spice Roasted Sweet Potato Soup, Lime-cardamon Yoghurt, Coconut Flatbread

January 18, 2014 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

Some relaxing blogging always starts the weekend off well. After a long week, it was nice to slow down and take my time over lunch instead of dashing home from work and being caped in my apron and up to my eyes in ingredients before I could even take off my coat! I love to constantly use different flavours and it really is the easiest thing to inspire a standard recipe by adding a few flavourful touches. If you haven’t got a stocked pantry of store cupboard ingredients then I highly recommend investing in a few essentials to be at hand and add to your cooking (see here). My store cupboard is by no means complete…storage space and budget don’t allow my dream pantry so for now I stick to the most useful ingredients.

This warming soup is smooth, creamy and cinnamon scented. Sweet potatoes have natural sweetness which goes really well with cinnamon and ingredients like maple syrup so the lime and cardamon yoghurt is a lovely fresh addition to top it off. Coconut flatbreads (just because) are heavenly.

Serves 4

Soup

800g sweet potato, peeled, chopped into chunks
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped finely
2 pints of good, hot chicken or vegetable stock

Lime Cardamon Yoghurt

150g plain natural yoghurt
½ lime – zest and juice
Few mint/coriander leaves
3-4 cardamon pods

Coconut Flatbreads

15g dessicated coconut
75-80ml coconut milk/water
125g flour
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel and chop you sweet potatoes into chunky pieces and add to a large roasting tray. Throw in your garlic cloves, whole and unpeeled.
Drizzle with a couple of generous tablespoons of olive oil or sunflower oil and scatter over the cumin seeds, cinnamon and some generous seasoning. Mix until coated in the spices and roast for 30 minutes. Toss half way through cooking.
Meanwhile, sweat and soften the onion in a little oil in a saucepan over the hob and prepare your stock.
Make the flatbreads by combining the flour, seasoning and coconut in a large bowl. Add in your liquid and mix with a fork until combined. Bring together to form a smooth dough, adding a little more liquid if needed. Knead for a few minutes and then set aside to rest.
For the yoghurt, combine in a bowl with the lime juice, zest, finely chopped mint and some salt and pepper. Bash the cardamon pods to remove the seeds inside. Grind these as fine as you can in a pestle and mortar and add to the yoghurt. Stir to combine then set aside.
Once the potatoes are ready remove from the oven and pick out the garlic cloves. Add the potatoes to the sweating onion. Squeeze the roasted and sweet garlic pulp from their skins and add with the potatoes.
Add the stock and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the flavours are combined and the potatoes are really tender.
Puree with a hand blender until silky and smooth. Add a little more stock to thin the soup if you like.
Keep warm while you cook the flatbreads. Heat a frying pan over a high heat. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and roll each out thinly on a floured surface. Fry each in a the dry hot pan for a few minutes each side until a lightly charred and they begin to puff up slightly.
Serve warm immediately (or keep warm in the oven) with a generous warming bowl of spiced soup drizzled with the fresh yoghurt.

Pulled Barbeque Pork with Spicy Slaw and Flatbread

March 26, 2013 Comments Off read Meat

I never thought clearing out my university fridge and freezer before the end of term could be so delicious. With the ever amazing help of Jamie Oliver’s barbeque sauce (see here), this slow cooked pulled pork shoulder was a greasily delicious end to a tiring term and brought a stomachful of summer hope to a cold March that has well and truly outstayed its welcome. A crunchy homemade coleslaw is a great and simple side without the sickly addition of buckets of mayo you often find your ‘healthy’ cabbage swimming in in the supermarket. Wrapped protectively in a snug wholemeal flatbread…….if only my dissertation had been on food….

500g pork shoulder
1 quantity of marinade (recipe here)
2 carrots
1 parsnip
3 small raw beetroot
500g yoghurt
1 lime
5 spring onions, finely chopped
1 heaped tsp of the following mix of ground spices (toast 1tsp of each fennel, cumin, coriander and fenugreek seed with 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamon pods and 1 star anise in a dry frying pan until hot, fragrant and beginning to pop, remove and grind in a pestle and mortar until fine).
Bunch mint, chopped
Bunch coriander, chopped
Punnet of cress
250g wholemeal flour
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds

Begin with the pork. Cover the pork in the marinade in a large heavy based casserole dish and leave in the fridge overnight to infuse the flavours. The next day, preheat the oven to 170.
Place a lid on the dish and slowly cook for 3 hours, basting in the sauce about 3 times.
Meanwhile, make the coleslaw. This is easiest shredded in a food processor with the appropriate blade attachment or you can grate by hand.Grate the carrot, parsnip and beetroot into a large dish
Add the chopped herbs.
Combine the zest of the lime and the juice to the yoghurt with some seasoning and a tbsp of mayonnaise and the spice mix to make the dressing.
Only before serving, dress the coleslaw in the dressing and scatter over the cress.
For the flatbreads, mix the flour, cumin seeds, oil and 150ml warm water in a bowl and mix to form a ball of dough. Divide into about 6 pieces and roll thinly into discs. Before serving, fry each for a few minutes each side in a really hot dry frying pan until beginning to char and puff up. Keep warm wrapped in a teatowel while you fry them all and finish the pork.
After 3 hours, the pork should be nicely cooked and tender. Remove from the oven, spoon off the liquid fat that has melted from the pork and discard, leaving the remaining marinade.
Leave to rest for about 20 minutes. Then, cut off any of the skin and fat and discard. Next shred using a couple of forks and mix int he remaining marinade left in the dish.
Serve with the coleslaw and flatbreads and come extra yoghurt if you like!

For some light amusement, here is a picture of the first cut of pork from our first attempt at keeping pigs last year. Yes they were accidently overfed….yes that is 50% fat to 50% meat….and yes the butcher could not make sausages with those pigs because they were so obese. We have since refined our animal handling and will be dining on a model piece of pork this Easter, thankfully for our arteries (and theirs…RIP).

Spicy Lamb Patties, Coconut Flatbreads, Lime yoghurt – Beer

February 15, 2013 Comments Off read Meat

I love this type of food. Fresh, simple and filled with flavour this is one from the archive but is actually something I crave in the spring when the sun starts to shine! This looks like a long list but most of the ingredients will be in your pantry and all you need to do is simply throw them together! So when the Spring sun makes an appearance, take a little forage in the pantry for this perfect sharing-style meal for all your buddies with a couple of cold beers….

Spicy lamb patties

500g lamb mince
1 tsp flaky salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
½ tsp cumin seed
1tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ras el hanout
1-2 tsp smoked sweet paprika (depending on your hot levels)

Lime yoghurt

250g thick Greek yoghurt
Handful of chopped mint, or coriander
Grated zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Coconut flatbreads

250g plain flour
150ml warm water
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Large handful of dessicated coconut

Start with the lamb patties. Combine all the dry spices in a pestle and mortar and grind together.
Using your hands, take golf ball sized pieces of lamb mince and roll in your hands and slightly flatten to form mini burger-like patties (alternatively make large burgers). Roll generously in the dry rub until coated and place on a plate. Continue until you have used up all the lamb and then cover the patties with cling film and chill.
Now make the flatbread dough. Sieve out the flour and add the oil, seasoning and the dessicated coconut. Make a well in the centre and add the warm water.
Using a fork, mix to combine until you have a dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until it comes together.
Place the dough ball in a floured bowl and cover with cling film to rest.
Meanwhile make the yoghurt by combining all the ingredients and alter to taste with a bit more of anything you think it needs.
Heat a large non-stick pan over a high heat and put on the extractor fan. Now, take walnut sized pieces of dough and roll out on a floured surface until you have about 6-8 flatbreads about 2mm thick. Fry over a high heat in a frying pan for a few minutes each side.They will puff up as they cook. If the heat gets to high and they char and burn before they are cooked through, turn the heat down a little. You just want a little charring and the coconut to toast. Complete with the remaining dough, wrapping them in a tea towel afterwards as you go to keep them warm and soft.
Now heat some oil in the same pan over a high heat and fry the lamb patties for about 2-3 minutes each side until cooked through. The outside will look burnt but it will just be the spices charring and forming a crust for the juicy insides.

Serve the patties wrapped tightly in the warm flatbreads with the cool yoghurt and some fresh lemony dressed salad leaves in one small edible pouch.

Alternatively, I frequently cook this all on the barbeque in the summertime….

Turkish lamb-stuffed flatbreads with cacik

January 24, 2013 Comments Off read Meat

These are like a Turkish inspired ‘pasty’ I’ve been meaning to attempt for ages from a long ago copy of Vogue’s ‘Entertaining and Travel’ magazine I picked up on my travels down under. They are like a lamb pasty but with a fresh, vibrant cooling yoghurt, called cacik which is a bit like tzatziki.

Makes 8 small or 6 larger pittas

185g bread flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp dried yeast
pinch of toasted and crushed cumin seeds,
Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
500g minced lamb
1 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli flakes
50g tomato puree
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
40g pie nuts, roasted
Bunch of coriander
1 lemon, zest and wedges to serve

Cacik

250g Greek yoghurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped mint
½ garlic clove, crushed
1 lime, zest and juice

Begin with the cacik by combining all the ingredients with some salt and pepper and chill until needed.
For the flatbread dough, sift the flour, baking powder, yeast, a large pinch of salt and the cumin seed into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add a splash of oil and 125ml of warm water and mix with a fork to form a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until elastic. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
To make the lamb filling, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a pan and cook the onion until soft. Add the lamb and cook until browned. Add the spices, tomato puree, pomegranate molasses and 2 tbsp of water and cook for a few more minutes until fragrant.
Add the pine nuts and a large handful of chopped coriander and the zest of 1 lemon.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Divide the dough into 6 or 8 pieces and role thinly onto a floured surface into a rough circle shape.
Place 1/8 or 1/6 of the mixture onto one side of the dough and brush a little water around the outside. Fold over and press the edges together gently to seal, squashing the pitta down to flatten it if you can without breaking it. Repeat with the remaining mixture to make about 6-8 ‘pasties’.
Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and heat a splash of olive oil. Fry the stuffed flatbreads, about 2 at a time, until golden. Place in the oven to keep warm and to heat through while you finish the rest.
Scatter oven some extra coriander and serve with the cooling cacik and lemon wedges.

Made really small, these would make a great little canape or starter!

Barbeque Chicken and an Italian Stuffed Flatbread

September 9, 2012 Comments Off read Poultry

Balmy summer evenings and a seduceable glowing barbeque like this evening, consistently bring out this beauty of a recipe and reinforce my opinion that Jamie Oliver, is in fact, descended from God! Ok…….this may be taking it a little far, but this cheeky barbeque marinade from ‘Jamie at Home’, is without doubt my most favourite and not a summer goes by that we don’t devour this, with smiles and sticky faces. Its great for coating a leg of lamb, rack of pork ribs or, in our case, a spatchcoked chicken- its devine. Served alongside a fresh, cleansing coleslaw and a cry-worthy Italian stuffed bread, supper is done and dusted……

Marinade

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
5 cloves
bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 bulb garlic, crushed
4 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
130ml tomato ketchup
8 tbsp olive oil
10 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
1 spatchcoked chicken or your chosen meat

Grind the cumin, fennel seeds and cloves in a pestle and mortar with some salt and pepper.
Chop the thyme and rosemary leaves and combine with the orange zest, juice and garlic and place into a large bowl with the spices. Mix together.
Add the rest of the your ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Now add your chosen meat and coat completely with the marinade to cover all the surfaces. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge to marinade for as long as possible or at least an hour.
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180°C. Cover the chicken with foil and roast for about 1 hour to cook the majority of it and release the juices. Finally, finish the cooking on the barbeque, which will crisp the skin and the outside and give a crunchy texture. Use the excess marinade to baste the chicken as it cooks.

This flatbread is absolutely delicious. I filled mine with a rich, punchy blue cheese but any good melter does the job. A (and I stress- good quality) buffalo mozzarella is stringy and mild or a personal favourite for its meltworthy quality, taleggio is tasty and gooey but here I have used a blue cheese which is just down-right decadent and rich. It was a little overpowering if I’m honest but it makes a lovely alternative to a hunk of filling, stodgy bread as it is lighter, crispier and doesn’t steal the show from the main event- the chicken (did I mention is was amazing yet…………?)

200g strong white bread flour
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
150g cheese, taleggio, buffalo mozzarella, blue cheese or any other good quality melting cheese
Flaky maldon salt
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked

Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the oil, a pinch of salt and 100ml of warm water.
Mix with a spoon or fork until combined into a smooth dough (you may need a splash more water depending on your flour). Form into a smooth ball and place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 30 minutes
Then, knead the dough for a few minutes until elastic and smooth. Divide into two and place back in the bowl to rest for 15 minutes, covered.
Preheat the oven to 225°C . Roll one half of the dough as thinly as possible (a couple of mm) into a large circle and place on a lined baking tray. Grate the cheese over the top and a pinch salt if you want.
Roll out the other halve of the dough to the same size and place over the cheese. Pinch the edges together to seal in the cheese.
Scatter the top with salt, rosemary and a drizzle of oil. Make a couple of slits in the top to let out the steam.
Bake for 25 minutes until crisp and golden. You may need to check the underneath of the bread to check it is crispy towards the end. If not, return to the oven directly onto the racks without the tray for a few minutes.

Finally, a lovely tangy coleslaw. Any, in fact, will do but I however got carried away and opted for a lovely Thai infused/Asian Slaw which- I know, I know, does not go ideally with a barbeque chicken and an Italian, cheesy bread, but, all the same, our hungry stomaches didn’t protest too much….

Slaw

½ a red cabbage
4 carrots
2 spring onions
1 bunch coriander
1 handful of salted peanuts

Dressing

8 tbsp lime juice
Zest from 1 lime
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sesame seed oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 good pinches of brown sugar
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 garlic clove, grated
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
1 large bunch of chopped basil and coriander leaves

Using the shredding attachment on a food processor, shred the cabbage and carrots, separately, then combine in a large bowl.
Slice and finely chop the spring onions and add to the cabbage mix and add a handful of chopped coriander.
To make the dressing, mix together all the ingredients in a jam jar and shake thoroughly together until combined. When ready to serve the salad, coat the cabbage in the dressing and top with the salted peanuts.
Serve!