Middle East
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Continue readingThis braised eggs with beef and smoked aubergine is a very comforting dish, rich in Middle Eastern flavors as tradition dictates with Yotam Ottolenghi. This recipe is quite surprising, it is an incredibly balanced mix of ingredients and flavors. Ottolenghi always knew how to enhance vegetables by highlighting the flavors of the Middle East. In this dish, the aubergine with its smoky flavour goes perfectly with all these spices: cinnamon, chili pepper, cumin, as well as sumac with its tangy taste which perfectly seasons the eggs with runny yolks. And of course the famous tahini sauce, an essential, it is…
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Continue readingLook how beautiful is this baked mint rice with pomegranate and olive salsa. It’s not only colourful and flavourful it’s also an easy side dish to make. Ottolenghi said : “that cooking rice PERFECTLY is one of those things that shouldn’t be complicated but can be surprisingly difficult, for some”. And he’s right. If you have never baked rice before, you are about to learn an easy technique that will allow you to have the perfect fluffy rice every time in no time. How to make this baked mint rice with its pomegranate & olive salsa ? This dish has…
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Continue readingWe can’t say good bye to the autumn without making a pumpkin soup. Especially that the Winter is coming closer and the days are getting cooler and cooler, which means we all need a big bowl of a warm and delicious soup. For that reason I’ve decided to make this amazing Ottolenghi « pumpkin, saffron and orange soup ». A recipe from his wonderful book “Simple”. This soup is silky, smooth and full of flavours. Roasting the pumpkin makes all the difference, it intensifies its flavour and sweetness, which balanced perfectly with the saffron, the orange and the rose harissa. What is rose harissa ? Harissa is…
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Continue readingThese Raspberry Crumble Bars are screaming Middle East. All Middle Eastern flavours are here : tahini, halva, sumac and rose water. And guess what ? I love it. They are so delicious, melting in the mouth, buttery with a nutty taste from the tahini. They are so easy to make, and by using the same crumble mix for both the top and the base of these bars, that makes them super quick to put together. All you need to do is to scatter the halva over the pre-baked crust, then the raspberries filling gets spooned over it, finally top with the…
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Continue readingTahchin is a famous Persian dish made with basmati rice which is perfectly flavoured with saffron, mixed with egg yolks, yoghurt and neutral oil or melted butter in my case. This classic dish is so versatile. You can add a layer of meat, mostly shredded chicken, or keep it vegetarian by adding dried fruits. As you can keep things very simple and bake the rice without any additional fillings. The “Tahchin” is soo good and represents perfectly the persian cuisine. It has all the flavours of Iran. The crispy golden crust on the outside called “Tahdig”, and a beautiful yellow melted and moist rice inside, wonderfully flavoured with saffron. Without forgetting the…
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Continue readingToday, I share with you a Michelin-Starred chef Greg Malouf’s recipe, from his book “Suqar” which means sugar in arabic. It’s one of my favourites desserts and sweets books, the spirit of this book is about how to make a classic Middle Eastern desserts very modern with a European touch. I already shared with you “saffron – blood orange brûlée”, it was wonderful. We can say that the Muhallabeya, mahalabia or mhalabeya is the equivalent of “panna cotta” in the Middle East (without gelatine). This dessert is intrinsically simple in terms of ingredients and technique. One of the reasons why it’s a very popular homemade…
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Continue readingIf you like spicy food, and you always keep a jar of harissa (Moroccan chilli paste) or jalapeños or the famous sriracha sauce in your fridge, this recipe is definitely for you. I made this recipe for my better half, he put hot sauce on everything, regardless of the food he’s eating. Shatta is a chilli paste that is quite popular in Middle Eastern and Egyptian cuisine. In Morocco we have the famous harissa, which looks like the shatta, but contains different ingredients and requires different technique. I never heard of shatta before I came to live here in Dubaï.…