I hardly ever cook with couscous, despite its obvious advantages (so quick and easy!), as S is not a fan, texturally (one of the few things he doesn't like, so I can't complain). He was into this idea though, so we gave it a whirl.
~6 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
1 cup couscous
boiling water
olive oil
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
~10 capers, chopped
~10 black olives, chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp za'atar
juice of 1/2 lime
red wine vinegar
salt+pepper
Heat the oven to 450F. Put the couscous in a bowl and cover with boiling water (up to about 5 mm above the level of the couscous in the bowl). Cover the bowl with a lid or plate and leave to steam.
Meanwhile, heat ~1 tsp olive oil in a pan and then fry the sunflower and pumpkin seeds with a little salt. When lightly browned, transfer seeds to a bowl. Add another tsp of olive oil to the pan and when hot add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring often, until softened. Add the remaining ingredients (except the mushrooms), including the couscous (check it is soft and fluffy first), and taste for seasoning, adding vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Place the mushrooms on it, gill side up. Using a teaspoon, squish as much couscous mixture as you like all over the gill surface of each mushroom (I made them about an inch thick with couscous in the middle, curving down towards the edges - if you leave the stem on build the couscous mixture around it, if not just put it all over). Put in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the mushrooms are fragrant and have softened to release their juices, and the couscous on top is golden and crisp (the underneath couscous will still be soft, try a thinner layer if you'd rather it was all crispy).
Turns out that as the baking makes the upper layer of couscous crispy this creates some textural variety and defuses S's texture issues. I also enjoyed the combination of crispy outside and surprising, softly steaming, inner couscous with the juicy mushroom. Could have perhaps used even more herbs (double?), I thought, but anyway this was simple, comforting and subtly tasty.
Showing posts with label za'atar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label za'atar. Show all posts
Monday, March 11, 2013
Sunday, September 9, 2012
High speed bread!
This is exciting! After making flatbreads the other day, I was initially thinking: yeah, this is awesome, we can make these any old night, they don't take long. Then I thought about it a bit more and realised that realistically, for a weeknight supper, even a 40 minute rising time just isn't going to cut it...
Then, somewhere on the internet, I stumbled across this method (also here). It's a no-knead, minimal rising time bread method - absolute minimum effort. You just mix up the dough, leave it at room temp for a few hours, then either use it right away or (this is the best bit) transfer it to the fridge and keep it there for up to 2 weeks, using it as and when you need it, with just a little resting time required for oven-baked loaves. Sounded amazing - too good to be true?!
So I decided to try it out - I mixed up a batch one evening last week and this morning (~3 days after the initial mix making) I decided to make the bread: the quantity I'd mixed up should have been sufficient for 2 loaves, so I used half for a loaf baked in the oven, and made instant za'atar flatbreads out of the other half.
(NOTE: I usually make half the quantity below at a time, which is enough for 2 good sized pizzas and a couple of flatbreads, or 3-4 pizzas, or a couple of batches of flatbreads - this seems to be our usual intake over the couple of weeks the dough is good for)
1 1/2 tbsp dry yeast (3 tbsp / 25 g fresh yeast)
1 1/2 tbsp salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (+more for dusting)
3 cups lukewarm water
cornmeal
In a large bowl, mix yeast, salt and water. Then mix in the flour, just until there are no dry patches. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature for 2 to 5 hours.
Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks.
For a small loaf:
(takes ~2 hour 10 min)
Cut off a grapefruit-size piece (~1/4 of the total quantity) with a sharp knife. Stretch in hands to make a small oval with a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Sprinkle baking tray with cornmeal, then put the shaped dough on it. Let rest for 40 minutes (or an hour and 40 min if dough refrigerated). Meanwhile, heat the oven to 450F. Put an ovenproof dish of water in the bottom of the oven. When ready to bake, slash the top of the loaf three times with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with flour or za'atar or seeds. Put the tray in the oven and bake for ~30 min, until browned and sounding hollow when tapped. Allow to cool before eating.
For flatbreads:
(takes only the time needed to roll out and cook the breads = 5-7 min per flatbread; this made about 6 so about 35 min)
Cut off a satsuma sized piece of dough (for small ones - use more for bigger ones). Flour a surface and rolling pin well, then roll out the dough piece into an approximate circle about 2 mm thick. Coat one side of the rolled out piece with a little olive oil (or could use veg oil, or marg). Heat a frying pan, then place the prepared dough piece oil side down in it. Cover and cook for about 2.5 minutes on that side, then flip (optionally sprinkle new top side with za'atar, salt, seeds, similar), cover and cook about 2.5 minutes on the other side. Keep warm while you cook more lumps of dough the same way, until you have the desired number of flatbreads.
Note: for garlic naan, while you are preparing the flatbreads as above, melt about 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 chopped garlic clove per flatbread together in the microwave or in a pan. Pour / spread a tbsp of mixture per bread as soon as it is cooked. Great with curry.
For pizza:
(takes only the time needed to shape dough, followed by about 20 min in the oven)
Put the oven on to heat to 400F, and put a pizza stone or cast iron in if you have one. Grab an orange sized piece of dough. Flour a clean surface generously, then squash, pull and roll the dough into the desired shape. Aim for a thickness of approx. 0.7cm - we have found that too thin ends up rather crispy-crunchy while too fat ends up a little doughy - no big deal if it's a bit off through, totally edible in any form. If using pizza stone, lay a piece of parchment paper big enough to fit the pizza base onto a flat, movable surface (large chopping board or upside down baking tray), then put the dough on top. If using a normal baking tray just move the dough directly to the baking tray. Arrange sauce and toppings on top of the base, then put straight in the oven for the baking tray, or slide together with the paper onto the hot stone if doing it that way. Bake for ~20 min, until lightly browned.
The flatbreads were brill, definitely a great anytime quick recipe and a great summer recipe as it is bread without oven. The za'atar sprinkled on top made them extra tasty (think I am having another za'atar moment). Pizza works similarly well.
The bread came out less well, but that is probably because I missed the bit about resting it for 1 hour 40 min and only rested it for 40 min (this was the recommendation if you're using a pizza stone: I don't have one). It's tasty and edible, just the crumb is a bit dense and the loaf is therefore a bit small. Hmm, an hour and 40 min is a bit long...
S and I ate all the flatbreads for a Sunday breakfast (he had ~4 1/2, I had ~1 1/2). Meanwhile, I let the loaf rise, then baked it and also mixed up a new batch to put in the fridge. This seemed like quite a good combination / approach - instant bread plus bread for a bit later plus bread for sometime in the next 2 weeks, all in the same kitchen session.
Edit: I've been making flatbreads a lot, and experimenting with rolling stuff in the middle (in the style of these) - did some with za'atar and nigella seed, and some with some cooked spelt berries I had in the fridge - the former were fine but not really worth the bother when you can just sprinkle on top instead, the latter were a bit random in original thought but were actually really good - made the white-flour flatbread into a chunkier, more texturally interesting wholegrain version with very little bother.
Then, somewhere on the internet, I stumbled across this method (also here). It's a no-knead, minimal rising time bread method - absolute minimum effort. You just mix up the dough, leave it at room temp for a few hours, then either use it right away or (this is the best bit) transfer it to the fridge and keep it there for up to 2 weeks, using it as and when you need it, with just a little resting time required for oven-baked loaves. Sounded amazing - too good to be true?!
So I decided to try it out - I mixed up a batch one evening last week and this morning (~3 days after the initial mix making) I decided to make the bread: the quantity I'd mixed up should have been sufficient for 2 loaves, so I used half for a loaf baked in the oven, and made instant za'atar flatbreads out of the other half.
(NOTE: I usually make half the quantity below at a time, which is enough for 2 good sized pizzas and a couple of flatbreads, or 3-4 pizzas, or a couple of batches of flatbreads - this seems to be our usual intake over the couple of weeks the dough is good for)
1 1/2 tbsp dry yeast (3 tbsp / 25 g fresh yeast)
1 1/2 tbsp salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (+more for dusting)
3 cups lukewarm water
cornmeal
In a large bowl, mix yeast, salt and water. Then mix in the flour, just until there are no dry patches. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature for 2 to 5 hours.
Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks.
For a small loaf:
(takes ~2 hour 10 min)
Cut off a grapefruit-size piece (~1/4 of the total quantity) with a sharp knife. Stretch in hands to make a small oval with a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Sprinkle baking tray with cornmeal, then put the shaped dough on it. Let rest for 40 minutes (or an hour and 40 min if dough refrigerated). Meanwhile, heat the oven to 450F. Put an ovenproof dish of water in the bottom of the oven. When ready to bake, slash the top of the loaf three times with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with flour or za'atar or seeds. Put the tray in the oven and bake for ~30 min, until browned and sounding hollow when tapped. Allow to cool before eating.
For flatbreads:
(takes only the time needed to roll out and cook the breads = 5-7 min per flatbread; this made about 6 so about 35 min)
Cut off a satsuma sized piece of dough (for small ones - use more for bigger ones). Flour a surface and rolling pin well, then roll out the dough piece into an approximate circle about 2 mm thick. Coat one side of the rolled out piece with a little olive oil (or could use veg oil, or marg). Heat a frying pan, then place the prepared dough piece oil side down in it. Cover and cook for about 2.5 minutes on that side, then flip (optionally sprinkle new top side with za'atar, salt, seeds, similar), cover and cook about 2.5 minutes on the other side. Keep warm while you cook more lumps of dough the same way, until you have the desired number of flatbreads.
Note: for garlic naan, while you are preparing the flatbreads as above, melt about 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 chopped garlic clove per flatbread together in the microwave or in a pan. Pour / spread a tbsp of mixture per bread as soon as it is cooked. Great with curry.
For pizza:
(takes only the time needed to shape dough, followed by about 20 min in the oven)
Put the oven on to heat to 400F, and put a pizza stone or cast iron in if you have one. Grab an orange sized piece of dough. Flour a clean surface generously, then squash, pull and roll the dough into the desired shape. Aim for a thickness of approx. 0.7cm - we have found that too thin ends up rather crispy-crunchy while too fat ends up a little doughy - no big deal if it's a bit off through, totally edible in any form. If using pizza stone, lay a piece of parchment paper big enough to fit the pizza base onto a flat, movable surface (large chopping board or upside down baking tray), then put the dough on top. If using a normal baking tray just move the dough directly to the baking tray. Arrange sauce and toppings on top of the base, then put straight in the oven for the baking tray, or slide together with the paper onto the hot stone if doing it that way. Bake for ~20 min, until lightly browned.
The flatbreads were brill, definitely a great anytime quick recipe and a great summer recipe as it is bread without oven. The za'atar sprinkled on top made them extra tasty (think I am having another za'atar moment). Pizza works similarly well.
The bread came out less well, but that is probably because I missed the bit about resting it for 1 hour 40 min and only rested it for 40 min (this was the recommendation if you're using a pizza stone: I don't have one). It's tasty and edible, just the crumb is a bit dense and the loaf is therefore a bit small. Hmm, an hour and 40 min is a bit long...
S and I ate all the flatbreads for a Sunday breakfast (he had ~4 1/2, I had ~1 1/2). Meanwhile, I let the loaf rise, then baked it and also mixed up a new batch to put in the fridge. This seemed like quite a good combination / approach - instant bread plus bread for a bit later plus bread for sometime in the next 2 weeks, all in the same kitchen session.
Edit: I've been making flatbreads a lot, and experimenting with rolling stuff in the middle (in the style of these) - did some with za'atar and nigella seed, and some with some cooked spelt berries I had in the fridge - the former were fine but not really worth the bother when you can just sprinkle on top instead, the latter were a bit random in original thought but were actually really good - made the white-flour flatbread into a chunkier, more texturally interesting wholegrain version with very little bother.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Polenta + olive oil crackers / spiced carrot and tofu spread
 |
| Broken piece of cracker with carrot stuff |
I came across these recipes for crackers by Dan Lepard in the Guardian. Although S was away this weekend and I therefore had to rein in my cooking tendencies through lack of willing tummies, Sarah from the lab next door had a barbeque on Sunday and I decided this was a good enough opportunity to make some crackers.
I liked the look of both recipes, but decided to go for the olive oil / polenta one, as a) I am quite into polenta right now (and also just cracked open a huge tub of honey I bought for some unknown reason that made sense at the time), b) they are more naturally dairy/egg-free - I'm always using olive oil, marg not so much, and c) it would have been silly to do both... right?
Polenta and olive oil crackers
25g uncooked polenta or coarse cornmeal
1 tsp honey
50ml olive oil
300g plain flour, plus more for rolling
½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
Pour 75ml boiling water over the polenta, stir and leave to swell for five minutes. Stir in the honey and oil. Tip the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, add the polenta and about 50ml cold water, and mix to a dough. Knead for 10-15 seconds, until smooth, then wrap well and leave for 15 minutes, to make it easier to roll. Pinch off walnut-sized balls of dough (about 30g), roll very thinly into slipper shapes and lay on a tray lined with nonstick paper. Brush with water and bake at 200C (180C fan-assisted)/390F/gas mark 6 for 10-12 minutes, until golden and crisp. Made about 24 (more than the quoted 15).
They worked like a dream - super simple, dough rolled out really nice, cracky and texturally exciting. Pleasant, slightly salty taste perfect to eat with cheese or with something else... Like? This was the next question - decided I should make something to go with them to take to the BBQ. Was liking a firm tofu / za'atar mash-up as a combo, so ran with that...
Spiced carrot and tofu spread
Half a pack (~8oz) firm tofu
3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp za'atar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
pinch cayenne
small piece garlic (~1/5 clove)
salt and pepper
~ 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
Prepare the carrots and put them in a steamer. Steam for 10-15 min until a fork goes in easily. Put into a blender with the rest of the ingredients. Pulse until fairly smooth, but stopping before it is completely homogenised - felt like a slightly lumpy texture would be more appealing.
Crackers and spread both went down well at the party, including with S+C's baby Lenora (who is nearly 1 and has 8 teeth) - confirming the concern I felt when prepping the spread that it was a bit like babyfood (quite yummy babyfood though!).
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The best bread I ever made: black olive and sesame bread
I came across this recipe on the Guardian website. It looked not too taxing and sounded yummy. Had an evening on my own since S is away right now, so decided to give it a try...
330g jar pitted kalamata olives in brine (used a ~300g tin of black, pitted olives in brine from Trader Joes)
1 tsp fast-action yeast
1 tsp dark brown sugar (used regular sugar)
50g sesame seeds, plus an extra tablespoon to finish
350g strong white flour, plus more for shaping
1 tbsp dried oregano (instead of oregano, thyme and sumac, I used za'atar)
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp sumac, optional but good
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
Drain the olives, then measure the liquid and top up with warm water to make 250ml (had the right amount of liquid). Cut the olives in half lengthways. Put the strained olives and the liquid into a bowl, then stir in the yeast, sugar and 50g of sesame seeds. Add the flour, mix to a soft, sticky dough, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
Give the dough a short, 10-second knead in the bowl. Cover and leave for 10 minutes more. Repeat this quick knead twice more at 10-minute intervals, then leave the dough, covered, for 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, line the base of a tray with nonstick baking paper, tip za'atar (or finely ground herbs) on to a large dinner plate and mix with a tablespoon of sesame seeds and lemon zest. On another plate, have ready a wet square of kitchen towel.
Pat the dough into a rectangle on a clean worktop dusted with a little flour, then roll it up tightly into a snug scroll, making sure all the olives are tucked in. Next, tightly roll the ends of the loaf, so they pinch in and the loaf has a shape a bit like a lemon. Roll the loaf on the wet towel, then roll it in the herb and spice mix. Place on the tray seam-side down, cover and leave to rise for 90 minutes. Slash the top and bake at 220C (200C fan-assisted)/425F/gas mark 7 for about 40 minutes.
Super tasty - am having a za'atar moment right now, so happy to use that. And the nuttiness of sesame plus salty olive taste is wonderful, yet an unusual enough combination to make for a loaf I definitely wouldn't be able to buy. And I loved the idea of using the brine from the olives - reducing waste and adding taste and colour to the crumb.
Just ate some with a little salad of TJ's cherry tomatoes (they're excellent right now), and freshly-picked mixed baby leaves: rocket and lettuce from the balcony, mustard greens and chives from the community garden (am in my first real week of salad harvest - eating it almost every day!), dressed with olive oil+balsamic vinegar and toasted sunflower seeds... yummm
330g jar pitted kalamata olives in brine (used a ~300g tin of black, pitted olives in brine from Trader Joes)
1 tsp fast-action yeast
1 tsp dark brown sugar (used regular sugar)
50g sesame seeds, plus an extra tablespoon to finish
350g strong white flour, plus more for shaping
1 tbsp dried oregano (instead of oregano, thyme and sumac, I used za'atar)
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp sumac, optional but good
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
Drain the olives, then measure the liquid and top up with warm water to make 250ml (had the right amount of liquid). Cut the olives in half lengthways. Put the strained olives and the liquid into a bowl, then stir in the yeast, sugar and 50g of sesame seeds. Add the flour, mix to a soft, sticky dough, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
Give the dough a short, 10-second knead in the bowl. Cover and leave for 10 minutes more. Repeat this quick knead twice more at 10-minute intervals, then leave the dough, covered, for 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, line the base of a tray with nonstick baking paper, tip za'atar (or finely ground herbs) on to a large dinner plate and mix with a tablespoon of sesame seeds and lemon zest. On another plate, have ready a wet square of kitchen towel.
Pat the dough into a rectangle on a clean worktop dusted with a little flour, then roll it up tightly into a snug scroll, making sure all the olives are tucked in. Next, tightly roll the ends of the loaf, so they pinch in and the loaf has a shape a bit like a lemon. Roll the loaf on the wet towel, then roll it in the herb and spice mix. Place on the tray seam-side down, cover and leave to rise for 90 minutes. Slash the top and bake at 220C (200C fan-assisted)/425F/gas mark 7 for about 40 minutes.
 |
| Bad photo doesn't do amazing bread justice |
Just ate some with a little salad of TJ's cherry tomatoes (they're excellent right now), and freshly-picked mixed baby leaves: rocket and lettuce from the balcony, mustard greens and chives from the community garden (am in my first real week of salad harvest - eating it almost every day!), dressed with olive oil+balsamic vinegar and toasted sunflower seeds... yummm
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Barley, green stuff and marinated tofu
I was looking for things to do with the za'atar I bought at the Armenian store - found this:
ottolenghi pearl barley tabbouleh @ Guardian
Serves four.
40g pearl barley
100g feta (substituted firm tofu, well drained)
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp za'atar
½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
¼ tsp ground cumin
80g parsley, leaves and stems (may have been a bit short, was still fine)
4 spring onions (about 40g in total), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed (just used one - am nervous of too much raw garlic)
40g cashew nuts, lightly toasted and crushed roughly
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice (used a poblano - no spice to it anyway)
½ tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp lemon juice
60ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Put the pearl barley in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 30-35 minutes, until tender but still with a bite. Drain into a fine sieve, shake to remove all the water and transfer to a large bowl.
Break the feta/tofu into rough pieces about 2cm in size, and mix in a small bowl with the olive oil, za'atar, coriander seeds and cumin. Gently mix together and leave to marinate while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Chop the parsley finely and place in a bowl with the spring onion, garlic, cashew nuts, green pepper, allspice, lemon juice, olive oil and cooked pearl barley. Mix well together and season to taste.
To serve, divide the salad between four plates and top with the marinated feta/tofu.
It was good - liked the green tastes and spices. The marinade worked well on the tofu - texturally different than feta would have been but still good I think. I like za'atar.
ottolenghi pearl barley tabbouleh @ Guardian
Serves four.
40g pearl barley
100g feta (substituted firm tofu, well drained)
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp za'atar
½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
¼ tsp ground cumin
80g parsley, leaves and stems (may have been a bit short, was still fine)
4 spring onions (about 40g in total), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed (just used one - am nervous of too much raw garlic)
40g cashew nuts, lightly toasted and crushed roughly
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice (used a poblano - no spice to it anyway)
½ tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp lemon juice
60ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Put the pearl barley in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 30-35 minutes, until tender but still with a bite. Drain into a fine sieve, shake to remove all the water and transfer to a large bowl.
Break the feta/tofu into rough pieces about 2cm in size, and mix in a small bowl with the olive oil, za'atar, coriander seeds and cumin. Gently mix together and leave to marinate while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Chop the parsley finely and place in a bowl with the spring onion, garlic, cashew nuts, green pepper, allspice, lemon juice, olive oil and cooked pearl barley. Mix well together and season to taste.
To serve, divide the salad between four plates and top with the marinated feta/tofu.
It was good - liked the green tastes and spices. The marinade worked well on the tofu - texturally different than feta would have been but still good I think. I like za'atar.
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