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01May

Meat stuffed Syrian bread (Arayes), hummus and fattoush salad

Each and every culture has classic dishes, different approaches to mixing spices and different ways to prepare food and I love this, I love experimenting with new recipes, going to different shops looking for ingredients that are still unknown to me. And then I wait with bated breath for the final result. It’s like travelling without leaving your own kitchen. I have been meaning to make a simple but special dinner and decided to add a Lebanese twist to it. I must admit that Lebanese cuisine is not that unknown to me as I grew up with my grandma’s Lebanese cooking. However I feel it is time for me to give my own twist to these familiar recipes which bring back so many amazing childhood memories. Wish I could go back in time. I made 3 different recipes to make up my dinner menu but they are all very versatile. For instance Arayes are great as a light lunch or snack to have with friends and a bottle of beer or wine. The Hummus can also be used as a dip for vegetables, spread for sandwiches or added to fish, chicken or lamb. And lastly the salad, refreshing with the
4 mins read
1267 Views
23Apr

Almond and pear upside down cake with salted caramel

I am not even joking: you have to make this cake. It took me three attempts to perfect this recipe and yeah I am proud of how it turned out. The inspiration for this recipe came after I made some waaaaaay too sweet peach upside down cake. Plus I made a massive batch of salted caramel sauce like a month ago and have been struggling to figure out what to do with it. I put them in nice little jars to give them out as presents, but they turned out too salty because I did not listen to Nigella’s advice about being too confident on the amounts of salt you add! So before making this cake I added a little extra golden syrup and sugar but if you follow her recipe you should be alright. Also I have heard that upside down cakes are better served warm but I found that when this one reached room temperature it was heaven: the sauce soaked into it and it got gooier and gooier (this my new favourite comparative adjective). Another life changing discovery that came about while eating this cake (life changes while you’re eating) is that pears are not as boring as I thought they
3 mins read
1169 Views
25Mar

Sweetcorn and coconut cake

I worked in a cafe for four months and I was in charge of cakes. The recipe below was one of the most popular at the cafe, never failing to get positive feedback from customers. It is stupidly easy to make, if you have all the ingredients ready it takes five minutes to get the cake batter ready. Funny thing is I never thought such a traditional Brazilian recipe could be such a success with Europeans, so let’s see what you guys think. And if you want to make a lactose free version you can substitute the milk for coconut milk, soy or almond. It is also gluten free! The measure you use throughout this recipe is the tin the sweetcorn came in, so don’t bin it! Sweetcorn and coconut cake 3 eggs 1 tin of sweetcorn ¾ tin sugar 1 tin of cornmeal or polenta ¼ tin of oil 1 ½ tbsp baking powder 1 tin milk ½ tin desiccated coconut (if you can use fresh grated coconut even better) 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 2. Drain the sweetcorn and with exception of the coconut, add all ingredients into a blender and mix well. 3. Add the
2 mins read
879 Views
10Mar

Passion fruit Eton mess

This week we have a tropical twist on a British classic: Eton Mess. Quintessentially British it normally contains strawberries and cream and it is topped off with crushed meringue. Legend tell us that this dessert was created by mistake when students at Eton – a very, very privileged school in England- dropped a Pavlova that was topped with strawberries and cream. Whoever tripped that kid is a genius because this is in my top 5 of favourite desserts over here.  Favourite British desserts? Plural? I hear you ask…Well I think English food gets a really bad rep out there, people think it’s just fish and chips, bland cucumber sandwiches and tea. Well let me tell you it’s bloody amazing. The traditional and modern food around here should not be snubbed. The puddings (aka desserts) over here are amazing, and they are never just served on their own, oh no you have custard, you have ice cream, you have single cream, double cream, crème fraiche…They are anything but boring over here. So yeah, don’t come and talk to me about how rubbish British food is because I am about to prove you wrong. This is a twist on the classic mentioned above.
5 mins read
1315 Views
10Feb

Hot chilli hearts

Shops are overflowing with chocolate at the moment: truffles, biscuits, lollipops. All wrapped in pink with little roses and sprinkles. As a lady that made me think “why yes I love all these little sweet gifts on Valentine’s” but more often than not my better half doesn’t appreciate chocolate as much as I do. Especially when they are wrapped in pink heart-shaped boxes. He likes chilli, manly, puts-hair-on-your-chest fiery type ones. So I made him some red hot chilli biscuits. Heart-shaped ones because let’s not forget, it is Valentine’s after all. Cheddar and chilli biscuits (makes around 20) 100g Plain flour 100g Cold unsalted butter, diced 1 tsp cornflour 90g extra mature Cheddar, finely grated 1 red chili, finely diced 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1tsp salt 1/2 tsp Paprika Depending on how hot you like your food, adjust for measures of chili and cayenne pepper. And remember to protect your hands with gloves or a little plastic bag when removing seeds from chili! 1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix plain flour and butter with hands until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 2. Add all other ingredients and mix with hands until dough is homogeneous. Knead briefly onto a floured surface. The
2 mins read
703 Views
21Jan

The soup that will make you question your beliefs

A lot of people are very judgemental when it comes to soup. I am definitely not part of this group. When I was growing up I was surrounded by the opinion that soup is something you eat when you are feeling ill, but I have never let myself get influenced by this thought and more often than not I would be begging my Grandmother’s to make me soup. And let me tell you, it takes a lot to become a soup fan when you grow up in a town where the average temperature is 32 ̊ Celcius.  Since becoming an inhabitant of the north hemisphere my love for soups has intensified. I could make a list, on the spot, of the hundreds, hundreds of reasons I love soup. Here are a few:  -A good soup can warm you up in the winter months and cool you down when it’s hot (yes, believe you me, there are some delicious summer soups!)  -Yesterday’s soup is better than today’s soup. But this is a good thing, imagine leftovers that are better than when they were freshly cooked.  -I love playing with textures, creamy soups, with bitey vegetable, maybe croutons on top or sprinkled
4 mins read
705 Views