Oriental Nights With A Savoury Hummus Trilogy

We spent 5 beautiful years living in Egypt and enjoyed traveling and discovering the incredible archeological, cultural and culinary treasures of this magic country.
One of the delicacies I enjoyed most were the delightful mezes (dips, small plates and salads) which are to be found all over the Middle East and some mediterranean countries.
Hummus has already conquered our tables a long time ago. We definitely prefer the home made one to the many offered ready made.
One of the virtues of this spread is it's fantastic versatility and how fun it is to play around a bit with different flavors and spices to add a multi-cultural touch.
Of course it's only half the fun when you don't add an oriental touch to your table as well when serving these delicacies.

We found this beautiful, handmade teapot holders in the Khan el Khalili Bazaar in Cairo

as well as this lovely tea glass

Hope this table setting serves as inspiration to awaken your creativity and try out different ways to give an interesting 1001 nights touch to accompany your Hummus Trilogy.
Have fun, I would be happy to know the results of your inventiveness :)

You need for the classic Hummus:

250g canned chickpeas, drained (keep the water apart)
2 tablespoon high quality Olive oil
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
2 medium garlic cloves
2-3 tablespoon of the chickpeas water (or normal water)
1 tablespoon Tahini paste (optional)
Salt for seasoning

about 1/2 tablespoon olive oil for serving
Finley chopped tomatoes or Paprika to sprinkle on the basic Hummus
Chopped ,flat parsley to sprinkle on the Curry Hummus
some whole chick peas to decorate the avocado parsley Hummus

Method:
Combine the chick peas, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, garlic cloves, cayenne pepper and water in the bowl of a food processor and process until obtaining a smooth and creamy Hummus.
If necessary add some additional water or olive oil.

Classic Hummus

-for the Curry Hummus just add 1/2 tablespoon yellow curry to the basic hummus paste

for the avocado Hummus add 1/2 a ripe avocado and 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley to the basic Hummus and blend in the food processor.

Enjoy!

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Sweet Valentine with delicate Crepes Suzette

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and my friends have very different opinions about the 14th of February.
There are the ones that prepare the celebration and gifts well in advance and get shining eyes  whenever somebody mentions this special day and then there are the ones that joined gladly the "Occupy VD´s " movement.
Here are some quotes I found about the subject which I wanted to share wit you, they are just so cool :)

"I don´t understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day.
When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon"

 Happy Single Awareness Day!

"If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?"

"Dear Cupid, next time hit us both!"

So what do you think - to Valentine or not to Valentine?
For me, its a kind of dilemma. On one hand I think its a great idea to celebrate love  and friendship  on the other hand why only one day of the year?
Honestly, I´m already a bit dizzy by seeing heart shapes and pink deco everywhere.
Can anyone tell me when the frenzy began that caused overcrowded restaurants, sold out chocolate stores and exhausted florists?
Not to forget that there are desperate people around, trying to live up the expectations and not to mention the ones of us who forgot, oops, to get a girlfriend or boyfriend just in time :)
We decided to take it easy this year. No queuing up in fancy restaurants, just a lovely, romantic dinner at home.

This was the romantic table our children prepared for us at Valentine´s Day last year.

And the highlight on a day like this, is of course, the dessert.
Crepes Suzette, delicate and with a light orange flavor touch, seemed a good choice.
This is what you need:

For the crepes:
100g flour
1 pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon caster sugar
170ml milk
60 ml water
25g unsalted butter, melted

About 2 spoonful unsalted butter to bake the crepes
Method:
Mix the ingredients (except for the butter to bake the crepes)in a blender until obtaining a smooth mixture.
Pour into a jug and let the mixture sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Brush a medium size nonstick  skillet with a bit of melted butter.

Heat over high heat, pour in just enough crepes mixture to cover the base of the skillet. and lower the temperature to medium.

Run a wide rubber spatula around the edges to loosen.

Turn and cook other side until golden brown.

 Cook until underside of the crepe is golden brown.

Fold crepes into halves, then into quarters and place into skillet again.
  

For the orange sauce:
1 spoonful sugar
40 g unsalted butter, melted
3 spoonful icing sugar
300 ml freshly pressed orange juice
2 spoonful Cointreau or Grand Manier
1 1/2 spoonful Brandy
Method:
melt butter in a large, flat pan, add sugar and let cook at low heat for about 2 minutes.

 
 Add orange juice bit by bit. Be careful as mixture might splash.

Increase temperature to medium and let cook until the mixture has reduced for about 1/3.
Apart, warm the folded crepes with the orange  sauce in skillet.
Let simmer at low heat for about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.
Immediately, pour Cointreau and Brandy over the crepes and ignite
Cook until flames subside. 


Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream (optional).

Serves about 6.
Enjoy!
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Thyme Polenta With Wild Mushrooms

The last suitcase is unpacked, winter cloth are stored and we are enjoying the warm summer climate in Lima.

Sunrise at Schipol Airport, Netherlands where we caught our flight to Lima

Despite of that , I still feel a bit as if my soul has not arrived yet, I suppose that this takes longer than a plane trip lasts.
The first excursion to the beach was fantastic but also literally painful as we underestimated how powerful the ultra violet sunrays can be, even with a clouded sky.

 View over the Yacht port in Lima

Enjoying Sunday at a popular beach

Anyhow now I'm sporting a new sleeping posture: prone position :)
As we had to upgrade our fridge content after a long absence( apart from a forgotten strawberry jam there was nothing else left), the dried Funghi Porcini that you can see in the picture caught my eye at the Super Market.
Since we all at home love Polenta, I though they would pair well.
And they did. The flavorful wild mushroom mix, together with the mild thyme aroma of the Polenta were a match  made in heaven and the only problem was: it all disappeared too quickly once served at the table.
You need:

For the polenta:

2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth (If you want to enhance the mushroom flavor replace 1/2 cup of broth with the water you soaked the dried Funghi Porcini in)

2 cups of milk

1 cup of

1 tblspoon butter

2 teaspoon of tried thyme

Salt to season

For the Mushroom stew:

2 tblspoon of oilve oil

1 tblspoon butter
80g of dried Funghi Porccini (can be replaced by 200g of fresh mushrooms like Portabello, Shitake etc.)

200g of fresh mushrooms (champignons),washed and diced

3 tomatoes. chopped

2 cloves of fresh, crushed garlic

1/2 cup of grated Grana Padano or Parmesano reggiano 

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 teaspoon of chopped ,flat parsley.

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

Rinse the dried Funghi under running water to eliminate impurities.

Soak them in 1/2l warm water for about 30 minutes.

Drain the funghis and save the soaking water, squeeze them to  eliminate excess liquid and chop them roughly.

Rinse and dice the fresh mushrooms.

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil together with the butter,

 Add crushed garlic and cook until soft, be careful not to brown the garlic.

Then add chopped tomatoes, fresh mushrooms and the Funghi Porcini.

Stir carefuly and cook about 5 to 8 minutes or until fresh mushrooms are soft.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and lemon juice.

Sprinkle with chopped flat parsley.

Polenta:

In a large pot, bring the vegetable broth together with  milk,  thyme and butter to a boil.

Remove the pot from heat and whisk in cornmeal in a regular flow.

Continue to whisk until water comes to a boil again.

Lower the heat to low and continue to cook stirring constantly until Polenta is thickened and creamy or cook according to packet instructions.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.

Season with salt if necessary.

You may wish to add a bit of fresh cream to this recipe. It gives extra taste and creaminess but makes the recipe also richer in calories. Up to you :))

Top Polenta with the mushroom mixture and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Serves about 4.

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Back To Black- Tagiatelle Nero With Herbed Shrimps

In a few days we will be traveling back to Peru, enjoying summer and the beach.
Right now it's all about packing our suitcases, heavily loaded with all the winter clothes and boots we had to bring over.
It's always a struggle not to exceed the allowed weight and as I feel always tempted to bring along some special goodies which I can't find anywhere else ,packing is all about decisions and priorities.
So many treats, so little space!
I don't know if I'm the only one who has to struggle with fitting everything in a 23kg suitcase when traveling in winter and for a long period of time but it's definitely not an easy task.
Any suggestions are most welcomed :)
But before we started our preparations, I invited family and friends over for a little fare well dinner and had fun cooking this Italian inspired dish which brings a bit of summer feeling in our cold winter.
These beautiful black Taglatielle add a touch of glamor to every table and are very easy to prepare.
Lots of flavor and little time in the kitchen is promised.
They delicate aroma of the black Tagliatelle, combined with the herbed shrimps and just a touch of lemon combines beautifully.
This gorgeous pasta is made of flower, eggs, salt and squid ink.
You can find them at gourmet super markets and /or specialty food stores.
Of course you can make the black Tagliatelle as well at home but the ink tends to stain not only your hands but  also your kitchen furniture and clothes so I prefer to buy the pasta ready made.
You need:

1/2kg (1 pound) Tagliatelle Nero
2 to 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 kg (1 pound) peeled and deveined shrimps
1 large tomato
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cloves garlic,peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method:
In a large pot bring bring water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt and cook tagliatelle al dente according to package instructions.

Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
In a large pan heat olive oil with the butter.

Add chopped garlic and chopped tomatoes.

 After one minute add shrimps and lemon zest.

Cook until shrimps are opaque and pinkish in color, sprinkle with parsely.

Toss pasta with 1/2 cup pasta water.

Then Ttss with shrimp mixture and parsley.

 Sprinkle with olive oil and serve immediately.

Enjoy!
Serves about 4.

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