Tasty Reads 2 – Persiana – Sabrina Ghayour

Persiana – Sabrina Ghayour

Confession time. I have a massive girl crush on Sabrina Ghayour, author of Persiana. Not in some weird way, I just want us to be friends, maybe even best friends. Mainly so I could go round to her house and whilst we chatted about boys and bras, she could make me all the gorgeous things in this book. I would bring wine. Then I could sleep over and we could put curlers in our hair and have a pillow fight.

This book. OMG, this book. Opening this book was like falling in love. Seriously. The photography is amazing. This is hard core drool worthy food porn. Persiana is my easily my favourite cookbook of the year; it may well become my favourite ever (sorry Nigella, I’ve got a new bestie…)

Recipes marked to cook: 75

Yep, pretty much all of them.

I actually feel bad I haven’t made more things from it. Paleo got in the way. but as at 30 November, this is the tally.

p10 Broad Beans with Garlic Dill & Eggs (made)

Loved it. Except for double podding the broad beans which took forever!!! Tried it with edamame and it was not so good. Sadly, looks like I will be double podding for some time as this was amazing.

p12 Aubergine Chermoula
p15 Yogurt with Cucumber, Garlic & Dill / Cacik
p17 Marinated Feta
p20 Yogurt, Cucumber & Mint / Maast O Khiar
p33 Turkish Feta Pasty Cigars / Sigara Borek Peynir
p35 Salt Cod Fritters
p36 Pistachio Feta Dip
p38 Safavid-Style Beef Pastries

p41 Baked Eggs with Feta, Harissa, Tomato Sauce and Coriander (made)

Loved the flavour combination! This is pretty much my ideal meal. One dish. Eggs, Cheese, tomatoes, chilli.

p45Lahmacun (made)

This one didn’t do it for me. I like meat on my pizza to be quite chunky and even though I did not chop the meat through as much as Sabrina recommended it was still too paste like for me. Use this same mix and make tiny little meatballs to scatter over the top of the pizza base and you’d have a winner from me. On the other hand, he really liked it.

p46 Spiced Lamb Kefta
p48 Spice Salted Squid
p53 Eastern Style Focaccia
p55 Persian Flatbread / Naan Barbari
p60 Persian Bejewelled Rice / Morassa Polow

p 63 Persian Basmati Rice / Chelo (Made)

I love a claypot rice and this is very similar. Mine didn’t work out exactly as per the picture but I think it was an ok first attempt. And Sabrina does say even the experienced cook sometimes needs a bit of luck to pull this off.

Sabrina’s:

Mine:

p65 Rice With Lentils and Crispy Onions / Mojardara
p68 Spicy Prawn Rice / Maygoo Polow
p72 Lamb Biryani

p78 Spiced Vegetable Soup (Made)

Delicious!

p83 Persian Saffron Chicken, Fennel and Barberry Stew

p85 Chicken, Walnut and Pomegranate Stew / Khoresh-e-Fesenjan (Made)

This photo does not do justice to this delicious dish. Either in how good it tasted or how pretty it was. Sorry. But take my word for it. This was really good!

p88 Lamb Shank, Black Garlic and Tomato Tagine
p91 Persian Dried Lime, Lamb and Split Pea Stew / Khoresh – e – Gheymeh
p93 Seared Lamb and Apricot Stew
p94 Lamb, Butternut Squash, Prune and Tamarind Tagine
p96 Pomegranate Soup With Meatballs / Ash-e Anar
p99 Seafood and Saffron Stew
p104 Saffron and Rosemary Chicken Fillets
p109 Ras el Hanout Chicken Wraps
p110 Harissa and Preserved Lemon Roasted Poussins
p114 Saffron and Lemon Chicken / Joojeh Kabab
p117 Lamb and Sour Cherry Meatballs
p119 Mechouia-Style Lamb Leg with Cumin Dipping Salt
p120 Spiced Rack Of Lamb With Pomegranate Sauce
p122 Turkish Adana Kofte Kebabs
p125 Tray- Baked Rose Petal Lamb Chops With Chilli And Herbs
p127 Lamb and Pistachio Patties / Fistikli Kebap
p128 Spice Perfumed Shoulder of Lamb
p130 Seared Beef with Pomegranate and Balsamic Dressing

p135 Cod in Tamarind, Coriander and Fenugreek Seeds (made)

Cod in Tamarind, Coriander and Fenugreek Sauce

I made this during my weeks of Paleo. I just left out the flour and pinch of sugar from the original recipe. I don’t think the flour made much of a difference except for maybe bringing our the turmeric colour in the sauce, but my sauce was very tamarind tangy. Which I love. Even when I was a little girl, when my mum would make a curry I would dip a spoon in the tamarind and just eat it straight off the spoon. If you’re not equally minded, add the sugar! Also, we don’t have cod so I used monkfish. I loved this!!!

p136 Prawns With Sumac, Coriander, Lemon and Garlic
p138 Citrus Spiced Salmon
p140 Belly Stuffed Rainbow Trout / Mahi Shekampor
p143 Scallops And Shaved Fennel With Saffron, Honey, & Citrus Vinaigrette
p144 Za’atar Cod With Relish
p147 Bandari Monkfish Tails
p150 Blood Orange and Radicchio Salad
p152 Barley Salad With Griddled Broccoli and Za’Atar

p154 Radish, Cucumber and Red Onion Salad With Mint And Orange Blossom Dressing (Made)

Lovely!!! Fresh and Zingy!

p157 Puy Lentil And Quinoa Salad With Lentil And Sumac
p160 Tomato Salad With Pomegranate Molasses / Gavurdagi Salatasi
p163 Turkish White Bean Salad / Piyaz
p173 Chicken And Artichoke Salad With Yogurt Dressing
p176 Fennel And Apple Salad With Dill and Pomegranate Seeds

p178 Shirazi Salad (Made)

Totally Yum!!!!

p181 Red Rice Salad With Barberries, Grilled Vegetables And Toasted Almonds
p183 Fattoush Salad

P184 Chargrilled Aubergines With Saffron Yogurt Parsley and Pickled Chillies (Made)

The very first thing I made and one of my favourite things ever!

p186 Date And Tamarind Sauce
p193 Harissa Marinated Asparagus
p198 Butternut Squash With Pistachio, Pesto, Feta and Pomegranate Seeds

p201 Turmeric and Cumin Roasted Potatoes (Made)

I could not find the photo’s of these. They were pretty good though!

p204 Za’atar Roasted Squash With Spiced Yogurt And Pickled Chillies

P209 Spiced Carrot, Pistachio and Almond Cake With Rosewater Cream

OMG. One of the best things I have ever eaten. I got so giddy over this cake I tweeted Sabrina to tell her about it. She didn’t tweet back so maybe that best friends thing is a non-starter. However, in a year of good cakes, this and the Amanda Hesser Almond Cake are standout winners. This is how good this cake is….I cut some slices of this to take to work and I started eating the crumbs. Then I had a piece, Then another. I had three pieces of carrot cake for breakfast that morning and I am completely unrepentent. It’s that good. Also, the most compliments I have ever received from the work crew about my baking.

You MUST make this! Sorry for the shitty photo though. Too busy shoving this glorious thing into my face to take anything decent.

p210 Baklava
p216 Pistachio and Lemon Shortbreads
p217 Strawberry and Pineapple Carpaccio with Basil And Mint Sugars
p221 Cinnamon and Citrus Almond And Pastry Cigars
p223 Eastern Mess
p226 Pistachio, Honey And Orange Blossom Ice Cream

p229 Pistachio Rose And Rasberry Madeleines (Made)

Superb!

p232 Syrup Poached Apricots With Walnuts and Clotted Cream

I am so looking forward to cooking so much more from this!!! Let me know what you like on the list and I will cook it sooner!

You can find the recipes for a few of the things I have cooked and some on the list here:

The Guardian Persiana Recipes

If you have Persiana or you cook any of these recipes please let me know how they turned out, I would love to see them! And let me know if you love this book as much as I do!

Signature 1

24
Nov
2014

Cheesy Eggplant and Salami Sandwiches

categories: Eggplant, Salami, Sandwiches, Starters, Tomatoes

Memories, misty water colour memories….

As I enter week two of Paleo, there is one recipe that I made earlier this year that is lingering in my mind as containing pretty much all the sins of Paleo but all the glories of delicious food. Funny, the things I thought I would be craving – coffee, chocolate, hummus…not so much…but if you put one of these in front of my right now, I would step on you to get one.

I found this recipe in the same folder I found the recipe for the Smoked Trout Empanadas.I’ve changed it a bit to include the chili and the original chopped the salami and mozzarella and mixed them together.

I’m not sure if the lure here is:

The gooey, melty cheese
The crispy breadcrumbs
The spicy salami
The silky sauteed eggplant
The slighty sweet tomato sauce
The little hit of chilli
Or all of the above

But believe me, the sirens are singing this song loud and strong. And you will be too if you make them. So crispy, so cheesy, so gooooood….

I’m not going to say much this time (because I might cry). I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Trying to remember, the way we were…

Have a fabulous week!

PLEASE eat some cheese for me.

Signature 1

[yumprint-recipe id=’11’]

21
Nov
2014

Paleo Diary – Part 1

categories: Bacon, Book Club, Eggs, Kale, Paleo

Dear Paleo Diary,

As a group we decided that our December book club option would be “healthy”. We had three options to choose from – a gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free dessert book – yeah I know…why bother right? The second was tempting. It was a book espousing the benefits of the alkaline diet. I was utterly sold on the health benefits then I read that the book was endorsed by Victoria Beckham. I refuse to take recipe endorsements from someone who looks like they haven’t eaten in the last 15 years, so, the only choice for me this time round was Paleo

Plus, I have a teeny tiny secret crush on Pete…just try take a deep look into those baby blue eyes and tell me I’m wrong. Bad move. You would have had a much better chance to point out that the mouthwateringly super delicious kebab he’s holding is made from beef heart. Yecchhh…

Come back Posh Spice, all is forgiven.

Then again, he has lovely white teeth too.

So, via a process of reasoning that was basically…I’d rather eat the pages of the book..posh spice…you’re hot…I’m going paleo. And in the words of those modern-day philosophers George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley

If you’re gonna do it, do it right”

I’m doing this all the way. Two weeks of paleo meals should be enough for me to judge the book and the diet. And you know paleo should be easy, it’s meat and veggies right?. Which is pretty much what I already eat. This is going to be great!!!! I can’t wait…

One Week Ago

Dear Paleo Diary,

You don’t mind of I call you Pete do you? It makes feel like I’m actually talking to you. Ok, now I don’t want to sound like some whiny little bitch right from the start but I thought this was supposed to be meat and veggies.

So how come I have just spent a small fortune buy a ton of stuff, some of which I had never ever heard of?

Buckwheat
Linseeds
Slippery Elm Powder
Chia Seeds
Maca Powder
Pau D’arco Capsules
Goji Berries
Cacao Powder

They refused to sell me the magnesium chloride I needed for the cashew turmeric spread. They said they sell it as bath salts and they could not condone me eating it.

WTF Pete? Seriously. What? The? Fuck?

And for the love of hopscotching Jesus:

Macadamia Nuts
Almonds
Cashews
Pine Nuts
Pepitas
Sunflower Seeds

Do you have any idea how much all that is going to cost? And that’s just for the muesli.

If I turn over the next page and you tell me I also need to buy quinoa, I’m going to find you and punch you right in your pearlywhite teeth.

Twice.

Once for the quinoa. Once for calling your daughter Chilli. Can we all just get over the foodie people naming their children after ingredients? They’re children. Not recipe inspirations.

Bastard.

Saturday.

Dear Pete,

My shopping bill for the week is DOUBLE what is normally is. But my seeds and nuts are soaking for my muesli and crackers.

I’m on top of this.

I did buy another book on Paleo because I found your breakfast and work lunch options a little limited. Also, I looked into making some of your cultured or fermented vegetables. They take a minimum of two weeks to ferment so that’s not happening. I have some kimchi in my fridge. That will have to do.

Getting worried. How will I survive without my basic food groups – cheese, chocolate and chickpeas? What about booze? Is that Paleo? Surely those cavemen were fermenting something? And now we come to one of the problems I am having with this Paleo diet thing. Everyone seems to have their own idea of what is and isn’t allowed.

A couple of sites I looked at were kind of ambivalent about alcohol. They were a little bit like…well, you really shouldn’t but if you feel you must then some choices are more Paleo than others. Other sites? Absolutely forbid it.

Same with bacon.

Really, annoyingly same with the buckwheat which is now soaking for my crackers and muesli….

Bastard.

Sunday

Pete, you gobshite,

I already hate this. And it’s only Day One. Woke up dying for a cup of coffee.

Coffee is another one of those yes / no / maybe items on Paleo.

I had bought almond milk for my muesli so I was good for the dairy.

Turns out coffee with almond milk and no sugar sucks. Bye bye coffee, it was fun knowing you.

I put my crackers in the oven, where they needed to cook for 6-8 hours and tootled off to Body Balance class. BTW – they looked disgusting. Overnight they had gone all gelatinous and gloopy. See the photo above.

Back from Body Balance and quite hungry. However, my crackers still have another seven hours to cook and don’t get me started on the muesli.

Breakfast

A slice of ham
Half an avocado
A peach.

The muesli is a hot mess. Pete, you say to dry the soaked nuts and seeds with paper towel or a dish cloth. Problem is, the chia has gone all to jelly and sticks to everything Eventually I decide to put the nuts in the oven with the crackers to dry them out,

Lunch

A slice of ham
Half an avocado
A handful of almonds.

3:00pm

The crackers are done and they are awesome. The muesli ingredients are still wet. Decision time. I can cook some Paleo muffins from the other book so I will have something for breakfast tomorrow.

But then the nuts will need to come out of the oven because they need to cook at 50º. And the muffins need to cook at a normal temperature.

4:00pm

Nuts out, muffins in. If sounds like some vague sexual innuendo so be it. I’m too hungry to care.

5:00pm.

The muffins are good. Well they would have been, if I could have tasted them. I ate the first one so quickly I burnt all my taste buds off.

5:30pm

Have started making the Lamb Harira which will be my lunch for the next few days. Quelle surprise the buckwheat needs to soak overnight and the soup needs to cook for four hours.

NOT. FUCKING. HAPPENING.

The buckwheat is going to soak for considerably less than that. At which time it will be added to the soup. According to some websites I shouldn’t even be eating it anyway. The only reason I’m even bothering with it is that I had to buy it specially so there is no way I’m not using it.

10:00pm

The harira is ready. It’s a bit more like a stew than a soup, I think the buckwheat sucked up some of the liquid. Tastes pretty damn good though. Mind you, a wet paper bag would taste good about now.

11:00pm

The m****er f***king muesli is still not dry.

I’m fed up and I’m going to bed.

Best thing I’ve eaten all day was the muffins. And they came from the other book.

Bastard. I hate you. And your baby blue eyes.

PS. They say one the side effects of the Paleo diet is a certain crankiness. Thank goodness I haven’t experienced anything like that and I am still my sweet and sunny self.

Have a fabulous week. And eat some cheese and hummus for me!!!

Signature 1

[yumprint-recipe id=’9′]

Two Weeks Ago

17
Nov
2014

Century Scallop Ceviche with Ancho Chillies (Spice Peddler)

categories: Ancho, Mexico, Scallops, Spice Peddler, Starters

About a billion years ago, the wonderful team at the Spice Peddlers sent me some fabulous Ancho Chillies to have my evil way with. I had never cooked with Ancho chillies before so this was a totally new and delicious experience for me.

I also have a new manifesto for my Spice Peddler treats – I’m going to try to cook one thing in the spirit of which it was intended and then I’m going to go kind of out there with the next one. So, to familiarise myself with the anchos and also to push my own boundaries I decided to make a ceviche. I have always been terrified to make sashimi or any “raw” fish at home in case it killed me. And before you start shouting, I am aware that ceviche is technically cooked but it’s not like it’s been crumbed, fried and coated with cheese is it?

Ancho Scallop Ceviche3 — Ancho Scallop Ceviche

But I did it and hey, still alive!!!

And it was super delish!!!!

So why the century ceviche I hear you ask? First I am fond of alliteration but second…the last post I wrote was the hundredth for this blog!!!

So let’s all raise a glass of something (Jenny, I hope it’s another of those Joan Crawford Cocktails) and join in as I do a little celebratory dance….

It seems fitting to celebrate this milestone by showing off some of the ingredients from the amazing team at the Spice Peddlers. They have been such big supporters of this blog and I, in turn adore them and their products!!! The ancho chilles were a very dark blackish red colour, and quite fleshy. They were not not very hot at all but were quite fruity and had a touch of sweetness ( this actually went really well with the scallops which are also slightly sweet.

The perceptive of you may have noticed from the photos that my ceviche is loaded onto a very un-Mexican pappadam. I guess traditionally this should be a tortilla chip. However, we had gobbled all of them with Joan Crawford Danti-Chips and I couldn’t be bothered going back to the shops so pappadams it was. And in some weird Indo-Mexican affinity they actually worked quite well with the ceviche.

The last 100 posts have been super fun to do and I am really looking forward to the next 100. In fact, I have so many ideas for posts at the moment, I feel like I have the next 100 already planned.

I was going to end this with one of my favourite ever Blur songs “End of A Century” then I realised the key lyric is “End of a century, it’s nothing special” which is completely wrong because whilst I love doing this you guys are what makes it special. Thanks to you all for reading and your comments, it is always lovely to hear from you.

You’re the best.

Around.

So, as you wax on, wax off this week, make it fabulous!

Signature 1

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:17]

09
Nov
2014

Joan Crawford Inspired Dinner For Two

categories: Blue Cheese, Books, Persiana, Potato, Starters, Steak

A few weeks ago Jenny at Silver Screen Suppers invited her readers to celebrate the launch of her book of Joan Crawford recipes by taking part in a cookalong. I was so excited to be a part of this and I set Melbourne Cup Day as the day because strangely enough, I was going to be at the races on the actual day.

Jenny very kindly provided us with three of Joan’s recipes. One was for Crepes Suzette. Having recently had Crepes Suzette expertly cooked for me at the Lotus Blanc in Cambodia, I thought I might give this a miss. I wasn’t sure my attempts at flipping and flaming would compare. However, I was well and truly up for the other two, starting with

Joan’s Crawford’s Danti-Chips

Joan Crawford's Danti-Chips — Joan Crawford’s Danti-Chips

I was so excited about these. I was even more excited when the jars of devilled ham were two for one at the local supermarket.

And then, dear readers, I made a newbie, amateur, doofus mistake. Because logic should tell you that when you are confronted with a jar of pink paste called Devilled Ham, you just need to accept that all it contains is ham and…other….stuff. Don’t ever go wondering what that other stuff might be. For the love of all that’s good in the world….

DO NOT EVER READ THE LABEL ON THE BACK OF THE JAR OF DEVILLED HAM.

And yes, I am shouting at you. Because it was over a week ago and I still feel sick thinking about it. And you know, Deviled Ham was one of my pleasures in life. Admittedly not high on the list but it was there. And now it has gone. Forever. Just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

I’m not going to tell you what was in it. Just don’t read the label. Even though now you really want to. I know you do. do not give into the temptation. Imagine that jar of Peck’s Paste is local Nazi Colonel and you are an oversexed French Cafe owner hiding some English airmen and a priceless painting of The Fallen Madonna with The Big Boobies and resist!

(And if you had absolutely no idea what that last bit was about, your parents obviously didn’t watch enough British sit coms during your formative years….

You can find out more about that particular tangent here:

‘Allo ‘Allo)

So anyway, I chose the vegetarian option. I used a mushroom and spinach tapenade for my chips. He had the devilled ham, Far be it from me to spoil anyone’s enjoyment of life the way mine has been destroyed. Plus, we have two jars of it to get through. Ignorance? Bliss.

These do look really pretty though don’t they? And they tasted really delicious. I added some chopped up pickled chillies to my pickle garnish and they went really well with the other flavours as well as adding a little colour.

We ate these mid’-afternoon whilst watching the races. And believe me, it took no time at all for that plate to become this…

STEAK WITH ROQUEFORT

Later on in the evening it was time for the second of Joan’s recipes and….it’s making my mouth water even as I think about it.

Ooooohhhhh yeah…Steak with Roquefort come on down. (Although technically mine was Steak with Stilton as the local supermarket does not stock Roquefort).

Joan Crawford's Steak with Roquefort — Joan Crawford’s Steak with Roquefort

We had this with some kale and beans I also doubled up with a book club recipe and made the Turmeric and Cumin Potatoes from Persiana. Which were also super!

Meal to remember!!!!!

Steak and any sort of blue cheese is amazing. And Joan’s little twist with the….not telling…you need to buy the book to find out….is awesome!

Oh, and if, like me you happen to have some leftover corn chips from the Danti-Chips and some leftover roquefort mixture from the steak you can combine these with any leftover kale and some very finely chopped red onions to create a delicious spin on Nachos the night after!

Hopefully Joan would approve!!!

Thanks Jenny for the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this!!!! I loved the recipes and can’t wait to see the rest of the book!

I think it’s only fair this week to have the sign off to come from the lady herself. Have a fabulous week – maybe think about how you can add some old Hollywood glamour into your life. And buy Jenny’s book! If the recipes I tried are any reflection it will be awesome!!!

Link here:

Cooking with Joan Crawford

And remember