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. 

Yogurt cocoa muffins

These muffins had originally to be a cake, a yogurt cake. In fact, with a sort of childhood nostalgia, my initial intention was to prepare the cake which probably represents my very first approach to baking. Actually this yogurt cake is very popular in Italy (and in France also), probably all moms make it and let their children help, as it is super easy. The peculiarity, if you will, is that all ingredients (to be precise most of all) are measured using the yogurt cup, in particular the "Italian" yogurt cup which is 125 ml (actually now things are a bit different than when I was a child and it is possible to find also other sizes but most yogurts still come in a 125 ml cup). To be honest this way of measuring ingredients is not much different than the US cup-based method...Anyway, even if not so precise (especially if children do the measuring) it is very very easy: no scale needed, no grams, ml or other units of measure; even younger kids can do it. And it's funny too.

Banana cake with chocolate chips

Before making this recipe I did not take into great consideration banana cakes or breads. I thought of them as "second choice" cakes, made not much for the love of banana cakes as for using some overripe bananas sitting in the kitchen. Maybe because I don't like bananas (probably I didn't eat even as a child) or because most of the banana cakes I've tried had walnuts inside (and I have a sort of allergy to walnuts); or maybe the strange color that bananas give to the cake or... I don't know exactly, but I had never considered to make a banana cake before. But I have a two years old son who has a strange relation with bananas: there are days when I have to go out and buy bananas because he sees another kid eating a banana on the beach and wants one too; but there are also other days - usually when I have plenty of bananas in the kitchen- in which he looks at bananas as they were the last food in the world he would eat. And so the poor bananas, after becoming more and more yellow, finally turn brown and seem to say: "please decide what to do with us". If there is just one too ripe banana, I can throw it, but if they are more I think it's a shame. And just too many overripe bananas are the origin of this cake which made me change idea about banana cakes. Because it is delicious, much more than I ever expected.

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.

Greek Yogurt and Chocolate Chips Muffins

I had not planned in advance to make these yogurt and chocolate chip muffins; the idea came when I noticed that I had in the fridge a cup of plain Greek yogurt very close to the expiry date. Nobody at home likes to eat this kind of yogurt on its own, but I usually keep some in the fridge for "potential use" as an ingredient. Yogurt is not the only food I use to buy in advance, to have it on hand just in case. And sometimes what I buy is much more bizarre and, consequently, less versatile than yogurt: it may range from a particular preserve or jam or chutney, to a sauce, to a mix of spices, to a type of grain, to a never tasted cheese. Most of the time I choose these items while hanging around supermarket or grocery store aisles looking for something else, written down on my shopping list; but I also like to buy local specialties when I travel, so I usually bring home edible souvenirs. Not considering purchases made during holidays and travels, where the idea is to bring home something to remember visited places, in the other cases, beyond my impulse buying there are remote, faded memories of particular ingredients required in recipes that I have seen somewhere; a magazine, a cookbook, a website? Who knows! But unfortunately most of the times I do not stumble upon those recipes anymore and so my purchases are actually quite useless. Or better, when I find them in the pantry or worst in the fridge, usually very close to expiring (and I don't like to throw food), I have to choose one out of two alternatives: the first is to to search a recipe requiring some of the stuff I have. So I consult all my cookbooks and food magazines, surf the web, search in my favorite food blogs and, in case I find some inspiration, what I usually have to do is to go and buy many other ingredients that I do not have at home. What a waste of time! The second chance, that I follow more often, is to pretend to be a Masterchef participant and create a dish (preferably and hopefully edible) based on one selected ingredient, or more than one for an even more challenging task.

I know it is pretty weird but I cannot resist; when I go shopping I have to buy something, be it a cup of yogurt or sour cream or a new spice or a jam, that I may need in future!

This time, with the yogurt on hand, the job was quite easy, then I chose to go for the creative route and make something sweet for breakfast.

Chewy cocoa cookies with chocolate chips

I spent almost two months in Italy, on holidays, and the blog had a vacation too. Not because I did not cook or try new recipes; in fact I made several interesting trials, mainly sweets and pasta recipes, that I want to make again soon and share on the blog. But, how can I say, the context was not ideal for working at the blog. The main issue was actually how to take decent pictures: in a "normal" family food is prepared to be eaten; it has to be good and tasty, how it looks is of secondary importance, especially if it is supposed to be served straight away after preparation (think for example to a plate of pasta). And so I did not feel like involving the whole family (I mean both mine and my husband's where I stayed during these months) in the weird rite of taking pictures of the plates before eating them, even if really deserving to be shared, and desisted from publishing on the blog. But now I am back home, where I can take more time to prepare a (sort of) photographic set, arrange food in a nice manner and take as many pictures as I want (even if sometimes no one of them comes out good enough to be published).  

And the first thing I want to share after summer holidays is a recipe for cookies, better, a recipe for chocolate cookies. Is there anything better than chocolate to make anyone happy, even if he or she has to come back to work? Very interesting is the fact that these cookies are really easy and fast to make: in less than one hour you will have a delicious, rich and flavorful treat perfect as a dessert as well as an elegant snack, with a cup of coffee or tea (but also with some liquor like rum). And also they are not too fat and heavy: in fact the amount of butter is relatively low and there is no egg in the batter (there is plain yogurt instead). 

I made these cookies many times, changing only the type of cocoa and yogurt because I think that they are wonderful this way, but if you want to try alternative versions you can refer to the suggestions of the blog Orangette, where I found the recipe.

Mixed Berries and Apple Muffins

Like for these soft "cookie-buns" with milk chocolate chunks that I published a few weeks ago, this recipe was not intended for the blog because somehow improvised with ingredients I had on hand and, most important of all, conceived just with the intention of preparing something healthy and yummy for my child's "merenda" (this is how in Italy we call kids afternoon snack). Instead of giving him simply an apple, as I often do, I wanted to use apples as the main ingredient of a more nutritious, yet light and sane, snack.  I had at home some green apples (I am not a fan of their sour taste, I don't even know why I bought them, maybe just to change: I always buy Golden apples or red apples, like Gala, but rarely Granny Smith) and also frozen mixed berries that I wanted to combine. Since I wanted to put in place this idea straightaway, I searched for help on the internet, which is perfect if you have only a little time (I love referring to cooking books or magazines, but searching for inspiration there requires much more time than putting some key-words on Google); I hope that my work on this blog could help people who like me search for a quick inspiration when deciding to cook something. Since I wanted to make something also easy to handle (my child is only two years old) I tough of making a batch of muffins with apples and berries as main ingredients.

I found several inspiring recipes, but I was searching for something also healthy, that for me means possibly with no butter, very little sugar or better sugar substitutes, whole grain flours, etc. And so the final inspiration came from a recipe published on a blog that I did not know before (sallybakingaddiction), but perfectly in line with my requests. Of course I did not have on hand part of the ingredients the recipe called for, like applesauce, yogurt, blackberries (I had mixed berries instead); also I wanted to swap white whole wheat flour used in the original recipe for spelt flour (for which I have a particular affection as showed in these bread, cake, and cookies) and, as I have recently tried with great satisfaction the local laban (an Arab yogurt drink) in this raspberry laban cake, I wanted to use it again in this recipe to replace yogurt and milk. Well, the end of the story is that these muffins came out very good: super moist, packed with healthy fruits, not too sweet and really enjoyable. These berries and apple muffins are the demonstration that healthy sweets can be also very good!

Raspberry laban cake

That breakfast is one the most important meals of the day is well-known: after the night rest our body needs to fuel for engaging in morning activities and performing well, and so it is recommended that everybody, and especially children, takes a balanced mix of nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibers, vitamins and minerals).
This is, in a nutshell, the theory. In practice, at least in my case, what I prefer to eat in the morning is something sweet, and my child (two years old) has a sweet tooth too. For this reason I like to have in hand every day some home-made cake or tarte or cookies to eat for breakfast with  milk, tea and coffee (the baby has of course only the milk). And, as I have already said when published these soft cookies, I always try to make something as healthy and light as possible (a little or no butter, not too much sugar, etc.) but at the same time tasty. This time I wanted to make a cake with fruit, raspberries in particular, because I had bought some packs for another dessert (coming soon because it is really worth trying!!!!); and I also wanted to try one local product I had never tried before: laban which is an Arab yogurt drink (but similar drinks are used also in other Middle Eastern countries), usually drunk to replenish all the water and salts the body need in the hot weather of these countries. It is thicker than milk but more liquid than yogurt and with a sour taste; I wanted to use it instead of any of them or maybe buttermilk, not easy to find here. I had noticed on the Gourmet magazine website a cake with raspberries and buttermilk and took inspiration from that recipe to make mine (I used much less sugar, self-raising flour instead of the regular one plus leaveners, less butter, no eggs, more fruit and, of course, laban). And the cake came out very good, soft, moist and light; it is really easy and fast to make, also kids can help and enjoy, and it is perfect both for breakfast, an afternoon tea and - why not?- as a light dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a lukewarm crème anglaise.
Just one comment: I don't like very sweet cakes so I am always careful with sugar, but in this case, if using raspberries, which are a bit sour, it is possible to use more sugar than me for having a sweeter result, and to add vanilla extract or swap lemon zests for it. Also raspberries can be replaced with other berries or fruits of your preference.

Soft "cookie-buns" with milk chocolate chunks: an idea for kids breakfast and snack

In my original intention this recipe should have not been published on the blog, because it was an experiment, a real experiment that only the family should have tried. I had to make something for my kid's breakfast, and I wanted that it was first of all healthy, then easy and fast, but also tasty (sometimes healthy things are not really appetizing, especially for kids). With this goal in my mind I put together a mix of flours (all-purpose and whole grain spelt), some unrefined cane sugar, a good amount of plain yogurt (in order to eliminate any kind of oil or butter), one egg to keep everything together, baking powder to add softness and milk chocolate and vanilla to balance the yogurt sourness. What came out was something in the middle between a cookie and a soft bread, not too sweet, airy and really enjoyable; it's difficult to believe it does not contain any butter.
A very satisfying result both for me and my kid: he was happy to eat them and me to have achieved all of my objectives. So I changed my mind and decided to share the recipe: I thought that maybe there are many other moms wishing to make something easy, fast, healthy and yummy for their children (and - why not - also for themselves) and this recipe is perfect.
Moreover it is very versatile: you can change the filling depending on what is available in your pantry and decide to use chocolate or nuts or dried fruit or a mix of all; you can also modify the size, choosing a small or a bigger one, with a different result in terms of tenderness (be careful to adapt baking time to the selected size); or finally you can shape the dough into balls or into small hot-dog buns or whatever your fantasy suggests.
After deciding to share the recipe the most difficult task was to find an adequate name for the final "product": it is not properly a cookies, but not even a brioche (that would require a much longer rising time) not even a bread. After some thinking I coined the name "cookie-buns" because they remind me at the same time a cookie and a bun. If anyone finds a better name I will be very happy to re-name them.

Apple - spelt flour cake

I confess I have never been a big fan of apple cakes or tartes. Probably because those I tried or I was offered always turned out to be far from my tastes: now too sweet, then too buttery, now with too much cinnamon (which I'm actually not really fond of), then so humid to be difficult  to swallow. And this is why when it comes to choose which cake to prepare, apple cakes are usually at the bottom of the list.
But this time I felt like making an apple cake to eat at breakfast, since I and my child love to eat something sweet in the morning and I like that this treats are healthy. I had a look at the note book on which I write down inspiring recipes and, among the very few apple cake recipes I have taken note of, I found one containing spelt flour in the batter. Since I love the texture and taste of  spelt flour and in particular the whole-grain one, I wanted to give a chance to apple cake. I made some changes to the original recipe (I hadn't even taken note of the source so I cannot mention it) and came out with this recipe which I - and also some guests who tried it - did really like and think it's worth sharing.