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 %

Sweet Potato Salad with Green Olives (Slada Batata Hilwa)

What a week! What a month to be more specific. For most people, January is a month of loafing after the (preferably) long and lazy December holidays. But if you're an accountant at a company who decided (WHY??) to have a December year end, then January is going to be a rough month for you. Especially if you have auditors descending on you within 2 weeks of your return from holiday. Oy vey. But, *wipe sweat off my forehead*, luckily, it's all over now. Now I can breath again. And catch up with my google reader subscriptions (I confess, I'm a greedy greedy reader). And cook. And of course, blog!




This has got to be one of the best ways to eat sweet potatoes. The perfect balance between sweet, spicy and salty, I suspect even my mom (a self-confessed sweet-vegetable- hater) would be convinced after just one whiff of the delicious aroma. The flavours are very reminiscent of the same author's Orange, Olive & Red Onion Salad, which as you know, is a top contender for my favourite salad of all time. This comes a very close second. *Sigh* I think I should've been born in Morocco...

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.

Sweet Potato Salad with Green Olives
(Slada Batata Hilwa) 

Adapted from Arabesque (Claudia Roden)

Serves 4 (as side-dish)

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp olive oil

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, ground

1/2 tsp paprika

salt to taste

1 tbsp lemon juice

6 green olives, pitted and quartered

a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley

1. Gently saute onion in olive oil until soft and glassy. 

2. Add sweet potatoes and spices, stirfry for a few minutes, then add water, enough to just cover the sweet potatoes. Cover and simmer over medium low heat until potatoes are fully cooked and fragrant. 

3. Season to taste with salt, add lemon juice and stir olives through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve while still hot.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 110.9, Total fat 2.4 g, Saturated fat 0.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.3 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.3 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 38.3 mg, Potassium 456.8 mg, Total carbohydrate 20.7 g, Dietary fiber 3.8 g, Sugars 7.4 g, Protein 2.1 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 106.2 %, Manganese 25.0 %, Vitamin C 25.8 %, Vitamin B6 18.0 %