Beetroot and purslane salad with orange dressing

Unfortunately at this time of the year it is quite difficult to find fresh beetroots to cook from scratch.
In fact they are harvested between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn and then kept for the rest of the year (somehow like potatoes). Yesterday for example I found some fresh beets at the supermarket, but they do not have the greens on and are not as juicy as the fresh ones.
And, in any case, if you are craving beetroots when the season is over, you can always use the pre-cooked ones (sold in vacuum-sealed packages): not the same taste and versatility of the fresh ones, but still palatable.

I can't deny that I love beetroots really much; in fact at the moment it is probably one of the vegetables with more recipes on the blog  (check this link for viewing them).

Hummus (basic recipe)

Having spent few years in the Middle East, I've had many occasions to eat hummus.

Hummus is in fact a staple in the Middle East, where it is widely and easily available: you can taste it in most restaurants and cafes (and not only those serving middle eastern cuisine) or buy it fresh from supermarkets or have it delivered by take away / home delivery joints. 

Not all of the available options are equally good though: they may vary from light, creamy and full of flavor, to decent, to heavy or too strong in taste  (too much garlic or oil or use of not high quality ingredients).  

Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to taste a hummus made by a middle eastern home-cook: I really would have liked to try a homemade "family recipe"!

But hummus is actually very popular all across the world now.
And the reason is pretty clear to me: it is absolutely delicious! Also it can be served and eaten in different ways and different occasions: it can be an appetizer served along with bread (preferably pita) or fresh vegetables like in any traditional mezze spread (the Middle Eastern set of appetizers), but it goes well on sandwiches, with roasted / steamed / boiled / sauteed vegetables, as a sauce for vegetarian (see falafel) and non vegetarian "meatballs" and more. And to be honest, I can't resist having plain spoonfuls of hummus directly from the bowl.

Roasted pepper dip - my take on Muhammara

It's incredible how time flies!
When I published my previous post, at the end of June, I was not feeling like on holiday yet, but on the contrary I had the intention of writing something else before heading to Italy for my summer vacation and, most important, saying a "see you soon" to all my readers and wishing a lovely vacation to those - as lucky as me - able to take a break for a while.
But - and to be honest I can't exactly explain how - I am here to say "hello" only on the 5th of September, more than two months later. And even today what I can do is just a short and quick post, because of several other things to do. Unfortunately no time to share something about my summer in Italy. And probably when I have the time and the right concentration, it will be too late to be of interest to anyone.
But if any of you is curious to know something more about the time I spent in my home country, you can check my Instagram account where I shared quite a few pictures from Italy. It was a period of rest, also from the kitchen. time spent with the family and many aperitivi - mainly Aperol spritz, as you can see from the pictures.

But before leaving my desk, I want to share a recipe that I had made and pictured before going on holiday, still waiting to be published.

Beetroot and aubergine "fattoush" salad

This beetroot and aubergine "fattoush"is my favorite salad lately. 

Since the first time I prepared it, few weeks ago, I have been making again and again without getting bored of it. Actually each time I made it, I tried to refine the initial recipe with some variations until I finally found the "perfect" combination of ingredients, at least for my taste.

But, to be honest, this is not a recipe that I have developed totally by myself. In fact it was during a cooking demo - held at Bloomie's Kitchen by Troy Payne, head chef at Cle restaurant - that I had the chance to know and try for the first time the recipe, and actually loved it at the first taste.

Chef Troy described the recipe as his personal take on the fattoush salad, one of the most popular and prepared Middle Eastern dish; and also a way to make more appetizing two vegetables, aubergine and beetroot, that he personally doesn't rave about.

With this introduction, and considering the fact that, on the contrary, I love both aubergines and beets, as well as fattoush indeed, I couldn't not to like this salad!

Roasted aubergine with saffron yogurt

Something that I really enjoy when I cook is to try always new recipes, whether inspired by cookbooks, magazines, blogs or websites or developed by myself.
With the consequence that there are many recipes that I made only once, and not because they were not good or I didn't like, but just to try something different.

But despite this - good, bad, weird? - habit of mine, there are several recipes that I particularly love and regularly make. As is the case of this "roasted aubergine with saffron yoghurt", a recipe from the favorite of mine "Ottolenghi The Cookbook" (probably the most consulted cookbook in my bookshelf, from which I tried many recipes, some of them also posted on this blog - for more details check here).

Couscous and Mograbiah With Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Mograbiah (or Mograbieh or Mograbieuh or Lebanese couscous or, even more common, pearl couscous or giant couscous) is a recent discovery of mine; and unfortunately, because I like it much and I am now curious to try more and more recipes using this grain. Honestly speaking I have to say that I have a particular liking for all sorts of grain like couscous, bulgur, spelt, barley, rices (impossible to list) but also quinoa and buckweath and so on. I cannot say how many packets of different types of rice and grains are stored in my pantry...and as soon as I come across something new I cannot resist from buying.

And I sometimes wonder whether my love for any kind of grain as well as any other alternative to pasta is a reaction of mine to the Italian habit of "everyday pasta" I grew up with. But I know that mine is not a dislike for pasta (impossible) but just a great and insatiable curiosity for traditions, lifestyles and customs of different countries and cultures, and in particular for anything related to food which is one of the most powerful cultural expressions. Of course food is so powerful because it's one of the basic human primary needs, but also because it is able to give one of the greatest pleasures... But I'm going off topic as my initial intention was just to share a delicious and easy recipe in which Mograbiah is one of the main ingredients.

Shamandar: beetroot salad with yogurt tahini dressing

Beetroot is a vegetable I discovered (and loved) relatively late. In fact it doesn't belong to the culinary tradition of the Italian region I come from, the Marche region. At least until my twenties, when I moved to North of Italy (where instead beetroot are more common), I thought that beets were used just to make sugar (as farmers in my area, including my grandfather, used to grow only the sugar beets) but I had no idea of the existence of other edible varieties. And also, after discovering the table beetroot, it was not love at first sight. Because actually the first beets I tried were the pre-cooked ones sold in supermarkets in vacuum-sealed plastic packages: not that delicious, to be honest! But finally I had ash-roasted beetroot - some farmers use to make and sell, but I could also found them in some vegetable shops - and realized how good they can taste (even better than oven roasted as the flavor is more concentrated and with a light smoked taste). Since then my liking for beets has progressively increased. I have had, both at restaurants and at home, many different dishes made using beets, sometimes as main ingredient, other times mixed with different things: salads (one recipe I love here), risotto, soups, spreads (like this beetroot hummus), drinks, even cakes (beets and chocolate go particularly well together) . And I am always curious to try new ways of preparing and serving them. Middle Eastern cuisine - that I am enjoying much lately, also making some recipes at home - makes a quite extensive use of beets (and I am very glad of this), especially in salads, sides, and mezze, the Middle Eastern appetizer, in which a selection of different dishes are spread on the table for sharing among guests. One dish usually served as part of mezze is Shamandar, a sort of dip made of diced beets in a tahini (a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds) and yogurt dressing. 

Beetroot "hummus"

Hummus is an amazing Middle Eastern creation, a delicious spread never missing at any Levantine table but also popular - and rightly - across the world.
Hummus is an Arabic word meaning chickpeas, and in fact the main ingredient of this dip is boiled and mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. And this "original", classic version is really very good! But, starting from the most simple of the recipes for hummus, it is possible to create almost infinite possible versions, adding spices, herbs or other ingredients or modifying the proportions of the basic ingredients or also, in the most extreme variations, not even using chickpeas. At the moment, one of my favorite interpretations of hummus is exactly of one these alternative versions, where is used beetroot (boiled or baked) instead of chickpeas. Plus the same ingredients as the basic hummus recipe: tahini, a paste made of sesame seeds - a staple of the Middle Eastern cuisine- which adds a lovely nutty flavor; a bit of olive oil (better if extra-virgin) to make the spread moist; lemon juice for a sour balance and garlic which adds a pungent flavor.

Seafood, fennel and lime salad

I have previously said (see my post here) that "Ottolenghi The Cookbook" is my favorite cookbook at the moment. I have already tried several recipes and many others are in the pipeline.
Among the recipes I have already made- all very appreciated actually - this Seafood, fennel and lime salad is so far one of my favorite; I'll prepare it again and again, both for family meals and dinners with friends (future guests, be prepared to taste it sooner or later!).
When I first read this recipe in the book, I loved it immediately as it reminds me one of my favorite Italian seafood appetizers, insalata di mare (seafood salad), a simple dish of usually steamed or poached seafood (any type of fish can be used, but a seafood salad usually has prawns or shrimps and squids, and sometimes shellfish, scallops and/or other firm fish) that can come in several variants; the basic version is made dressing the seafood only with extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice, but it is possible to add many other ingredients in order to have different combinations of flavors and textures: capers, olives, citrus zests, raw or cooked vegetables (celery is commonly used in Italy, but also zucchini, carrots, cherry tomatoes, steamed potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes work well), herbs (parsley is the most popular) and spices ... the range of possible combinations is almost infinite.  Also it can be served warm or at room temperature.

Marinated eggplants with tahini and oregano

There is a book that is giving me great inspirations lately: "Ottolenghi The Cookbook" (not so original tough). Even if in my wishlist for a long time, this book is a relatively recent addition to my cookbook shelf. And since I bought it I'm trying one recipe after another.
When I get a new cookbook, I use to go through it in quite deep detail and place a sticker on the pages with the recipes I wish to try, so as to find them easily in future. Whit this book, after reading the first fifteen pages of recipes, I realized that I was placing a sticker on nearly all pages: the style of cooking, the ingredients used, the presentation, everything is so close to my taste that I really would like to make almost everything, from vegetables to meat and fish, to baked goods. And so I changed my approach and decided to give a sort of priority to the most inspiring recipes: I placed stickers just on those I want to make first, but even so the book is full of colored post-it jutting out from the pages. I have already prepared several dishes taken from the "to-do list" and I have to say that all of them came out very good, and sometimes even outstanding.

Kofta Kebabs with yogurt sauce

Even if I have been living in Dubai for almost one year now, this is the very first time I prepare  a Middle Eastern dish at home. What a shame! But I can always make up for lost time, considering in particular how much I love this flavorful and spicy cuisine.
Kofta (or kofte) kebabs are long meatballs, made with ground lamb or beef (or a mix of them or even other kinds of meat, like mutton), flavored with herbs and spices and grilled on skewers. The name kofta comes from the Persian word kufthe which means mashed (when meat grinders were not available, meat was first cut into small pieces then mashed in a sort of mortar). Koftas are very popular in Turkey where it is possible to find many local versions, but they are a traditional food in almost all Middle Eastern countries; variations occur also in North Africa, the Mediterranean area, Balkans and India. Koftas can be grilled (then they are named kofta kebabs) or cooked in several other ways: steamed, fried, or cooked in a gravy. There are also vegetarian versions (especially in India) where meat is substituted for lentils, potatoes or other vegetables. It is also possible to find kofta made with fish.

I had seen a recipe for kofta kebabs last summer, during my holidays in Italy, while leafing through an Italian cooking magazine (funny, isn't it?) and decided I had to try when back in Dubai, where finding ingredients (spices in particular) is much easier (and of course, cheaper). I did not follow exactly the recipe I had found in the magazine, but added some ingredients (garlic and cayenne pepper in particular) and increased the quantity of the spices. I know that there are several versions of kofta kebabs (as for all traditional dishes), and I cannot say if the one I made may be considered somehow "orthodox"; I only know it is delicious and easy to make.
I used a mix of lamb and beef ground meat, but it is possible to use all lamb or all beef or even other combinations: what I recommend is not to use low fat meat, in order to have tender and moist kofta.
Also I baked the kofta kebabs in the oven but - and probably this is the more traditional cooking technique - they can also be grilled or chargrilled. A yogurt sauce flavored with mint and parsley is a perfect, refreshing complement (also tzatziki works well); and don't forget some Arabic bread.