This garlicky aubergine and tomato dip is the most moreish dish I’ve eaten in a long while.
Rich, deeply flavoured and velvety soft, it is delicious spooned onto warm bread.
I had visions of taking the leftovers for my work lunch. However the rest of the family fell upon this dip like a pack of starved hyenas.
I’ll be doubling the recipe next time. Continue reading
I’ve made salad olivieh before, but this version is a knock-out. The roasted fennel and mustard seeds add lovely warmth to the dressing, and the Greek yogurt makes it less cloying than dressings made with mayonnaise. Continue reading
The addition of pistachio nuts adds richness and texture to these lamb burgers.
Sometimes I roll this mixture into meatballs to fill pitta breads, or form it into kebabs to grill on the barbeque. Continue reading
Borani are Persian dips or side dishes of thick yogurt combined with vegetables and herbs. I’ve come across aubergine, spinach, and courgette before, but beet borani was a new one.
Beets are so often paired with sharp flavours like vinegar or lemon, which masks their flavour, but that’s not happening here. Just the mild tang of the yogurt, and woodsy dried mint to play against the earthiness of the beets.
Beet borani is most startlingly gorgeous fuschia colour – the girls adored it on sight. Having made it with both raw and cooked beetroot, I’m surprised at how little difference cooking makes to the taste or texture of the finished dish. Continue reading
This turmeric chicken dish was one of the first recipes I made when our new cooker was installed. I was so used to our almost fifty-year-old gas hob (recently condemned by the gas man) that I’d long adapted my cooking to its idiosyncracies. What a treat to cook on a hob that is actually level! To reduce a sauce in five minutes instead of fifteen!
This dish would be delicious whatever you cook it on. I served it with steamed couscous tossed with chopped herbs and feta cheese. The original recipe comes from the Five and Spice website, who adapted it from The New Persian Kitchen by Louisa Shafia. So I’ll cite them both – to give credit where credit is due. Continue reading
Tonight’s dinner comes from Iran – chicken fessenjoon (chicken cooked in a pomegranate-walnut sauce) – served over steamed rice. While I was seeking out dried golden plums at the Persian grocers, I picked up some dried limes as well. I broke a couple up in the mortar before steeping in boiling water to make a delicious lime tea. This recipe is from the Food 52 website (with minor adjustments). Continue reading
Ten More Bites 