Daring Cooks - Mezze

People adopt smug smiles for various reasons. Maybe you know something that no-one else does. A juicy secret definitely ups the smug factor (or at least it does for me!) Smug smiles can also be caused by the knowledge that you are somewhat (in some way at least) superior to someone else.



Sometimes you are not necessarily good at something, but certainly better than the average person out there. Something a whole slew of people realised in this past week with the whole facebook login fiasco. If you don't know what I'm talking about now - Daring Fireball has a great summary of the events that ensued when ReadWriteWeb wrote an article about facebook which resulted in unintentionally hilarious comments from confused facebook users.  It's one of those things that can make even the most un-savvy computer user feel like Bill Gates . Smugness on tap!

The 2010 February Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid. Our mezze had to include (but was not limited to): pita Bread (from scratch) and hummus. My hummus was a dismal FAIL, so I won't include a recipe for that. The pita bread though, was a HUGE success. I don't think I'll ever go back to buying ready made pita again.

And if you've never felt smug in your life, I can almost guarantee you that a bout of bread making will rectify that. Not because it's very complicated or even difficult. It's just that hardly anyone still does it anymore. And as such it has become quite awe-inspiring when someone does venture into the kitchen to exercise their kneading prowess.

Fast is not a word I'd use to describe making pita bread from scratch. But in the same breath, it's very low-maintenance. Mix, let rest, knead, let rest, roll out & bake for a few minutes. Active time is probably 30 minutes tops. The rest is just sitting back and waiting for the yeast to do the work. Producing perfectly fresh chewy, pillowy pita bread with (almost) no effort. Now that's something to feel smug about.

Pita Bread
Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Makes 8

2 tsp instant dry yeast

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

2 cups white bread flour

1 cup brown bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

1. In a large bowl combine yeast, water and half of the flour. Stir 100 times in the same direction to activate the gluten. Cover and allow to rest for 1 1/2 hours.

2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well, then gradually add more flour until the dough comes together. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Roll dough into a ball, lightly coat with olive oil, place in large bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave to rise until double in volume (45 mins to 1 hour)

3. Preheat oven to 230C. Gently punch down the dough, and divide in 8 equal pieces. Flatten each piece and roll out to a circle approx 1/2 cm thick. Lay the rolled out pita dough pieces next to each other (not on top of each other) and cover with a dish towel until ready to bake. 

4. Place two pita rounds at a time (or more if you have a large enough oven) onto a rectangle of heavy duty foil (or baking sheet or pizza stone), then place on oven rack. Bake for 2 - 3 minutes, or until bread puffs up like a balloon. Remove fom oven and wrap in a large kitchen towel to keep warm and soft while you bake the remaining breads. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

 

Nutritional info (per pita): Calories 142.9, Total fat 2.3 g, Saturated fat 0.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat0.3 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.3 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 436.5 mg, Potassium 21.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 26.5 g, Dietary fiber 2.3 g, Sugars 0.0 g, Protein 4.6 g

Zucchini Puree with Tomatoes

  
Boy it really must seem like I'm a negative Nellie, but lemme have just this one more gripe. And then I'll be perky & positive for a few days. Pinky swear.

So you get two types of people: 

a) go-getters
b) lazy asses



I am not afraid (but a teensy little bit ashamed) to admit that I fit neatly into the last category. Of course I sometimes kick into gear, but mostly the laziness takes over and wrestles me down. I like to call it the path of least resistance... Having said that though, I also understand that if you want to be a lazy ass, you also give up your rights to complain when things are done by someone else. You need to pick your poison I think. 

Which is why it grates me so when I have to take care of something that is actually supposed to be someone else's job (am I talking about my dear colleague again? Perhaps...), and then that person has the audacity to point out everything that is wrong with the completed task. Bite me!

*Breathe in, breathe out*

Let's move on to more pleasant subjects though, shall we? Like food. Specifically Moroccan food. More specifically Moroccan mezze. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm you know you want some. This zucchini puree is about as easy as they come. Boil/steam your babymarrows, mash them up roughly with a fork and toss with a garlicy tomato sauce. Lovely as a dip or thickly scooped onto crusty bread. Can be made ahead and kept in the fridge (covered) for a few hours or even a few days. Low maintenance. Perfect for lazy asses.

I'm submitting this to Regional Recipes (February's theme is the Middle East), hosted by Joanne of Eats Well With Others and created by Darlene from Blazing Hot Wok. 

Zucchini Puree with Tomatoes

(Slada Bil Gharaa Wal Tamatem)

Adapted from Arabesque (Claudia Roden)

Serves 3 - 4 as part of a mezze selection

250g zucchini, cut into thickish slices

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tin whole peeled tomatoes (with juice)

salt & black pepper, to taste

fresh parsley or coriander to garnish (optional)

1. Steam the zucchini until tender. Remove from heat and roughly mash with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook over medium heat until sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Gently combine tomatoes and zucchini and spoon into a serving bowl. Allow to cool down, then garnish with fresh herbs and serve with crusty bread and other mezze.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 36.8, Total fat 1.9 g, Saturated fat 0.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.3 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.1 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 43.1 mg, Potassium 443.9 mg, Total carbohydrate 4.0 g, Dietary fiber 1.2 g, Sugars 0.8 g, Protein 2.5 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 52.4 %

Spicy Mexican Beef Skewers

It's Taste&Create time again! This month my allocated partner was Katie, from One Little Corner of the World. Katie is a teacher by day, blogger by night and in her own words feels that cooking is in her blood. Hey, I can relate to that!

Pastas seems to be Katie's big speciality, but with the current three month long heatwave we're experiencing (otherwise known as summer), I decided to skip past the pastas and turn my attention to something a little bit more weather appropriate.  And how glad am I that I did!

The spice mixture elevated these beef skewers from simple to sublime. TheHusband even commented that the flavour reminds him of biltong.** Now if that isn't high praise, then I don't know what is! Thanks Katie - we will be making this rub again.

Spicy Mexican Beef Skewers

Spice rub adapted from One Little Corner of the World

Serves 4 as main course

(Serves 6 - 8 as appetizers)

500g beef, cubed

1/2 medium onion, cut into chunks

For the spice rub:

1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp peri-peri or chili powder
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp dried oregano

1. In a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind all the ingredients for the rub together until finely ground.

2. Apply spice mixture to the beef and, using your hands, coat evenly.

3. Thread beef cubes onto skewers, alternating with onion.

4. Grill in the oven (or on the bbq) for 10 - 15 minutes or until done to your liking.

Serve with a big salad on the side.

Nutritional info (per main course serving): Calories 276.3 , Total fat 10.6 g, Saturated fat 3.9 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.5 g, Monounsaturated fat 4.6 g, Cholesterol 111.3 mg, Sodium 1255.8 mg, Potassium 584.6 mg, Total carbohydrate 4.9 g, Dietary fiber 1.0 g, Sugars 0.1 g, Protein 38.6 g

Good source of: Vitamin B12 59.4 %, Selenium 59.3 %, Zinc 55.4 %, Phosphorus 32.2 %, Iron 31.2 %, Vitamin B6 30.7 %, Niacin 27.6 %

** For non-South Africans, biltong is our national obsession. It's an absolute must to snack on while watching rugby (our other national obsession). Some people claim that it's similar to beef jerky, while others scoff at the mere idea that anything could come close to it's unique taste.