LITTLE SPINACH & FETA PASTRIES
500 g/1 lb. 2 oz. spinach leaves, trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
15 g/1 tablespoon butter
2 onions, chopped
3 heaped tablespoons pine nuts (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnishing)
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
150 g/5½ oz. feta cheese, crumbled with your fingers
1 small bunch of dill, finely chopped
plain/all-purpose flour, for dusting
450 g/16 oz. ready-prepared puff pastry
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
a 10-cm/4-inch round pastry cutter or cup
Serves 6
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
Steam the spinach until soft and floppy, then drain, refresh under running cold water and squeeze out the excess liquid with your hands. Place the spinach on a wooden board and chop it coarsely.
Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and stir in the onions to soften. Add the pine nuts and cook for 2–3 minutes until both begin to turn golden. Stir in the spinach, lemon juice and allspice and lightly toss in the crumbled feta and dill. Season the mixture with a little salt and pepper and let cool.
Lightly dust a surface with flour and thinly roll out the pastry. Using the pastry cutter or cup’s rim, cut out as many circles as you can, lightly dusting with flour. Take each circle and spoon a little of the spinach mixture in the middle. Pull up the sides to make a pyramid by pinching the edges with your fingertips – it does not matter if one of the sides opens during cooking, as that is part of the appeal.
Lightly oil two baking sheets and place the pastries on them. Brush the tops with a little oil and bake them in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
Roughly 5 minutes before taking the pastries out of the oven, spread the reserved tablespoon of pine nuts onto a small piece of aluminium foil and toast them in the oven until they turn golden brown. Once you have placed the little pastries on a plate, sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over them and serve while they are still hot.
4–6 large tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
150 g/¾ cup long-grain rice, rinsed
1 teaspoon tomato purée/paste
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped mint
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Serves 4
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.
Cut the tomato tops. Scoop out and reserve the soft pulp. Put the tomato shells upright in a large baking dish. Set aside with the caps until ready to bake.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan/skillet over low heat. Add the onion and fry until softened. Add the reserved tomato pulp, rice and tomato purée/paste. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the herbs and lemon zest.
Fill the tomato shells with the rice mixture and add the tops. Drizzle with the remaining oil, cover with foil and oven-bake for 1 hour until the rice is tender.
FALAFEL
225 g/1 cup dried chickpeas
1 small red onion, peeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 large bunch coriander/cilantro
1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley
2 slices rustic white bread, crusts removed
4 tablespoons olive oil
vegetable oil, for frying
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
TZATZIKI
1 cucumber
350 g/1½ cups natural/plain thick Greek yogurt
juice of ½ lemon
1 small bunch mint, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
sea salt
a deep-fat fryer
makes 20–30
Rinse the chickpeas, then let soak in plenty of water overnight.
Once soaked, put the chickpeas, along with all the other falafel ingredients except the vegetable oil in a food processor and blend to a rough paste. Avoid the temptation of blending it too much; the falafel should still have texture when you bite into it.
Heat the vegetable oil to 180°C (350°F) in a deep-fat fryer. Take 2 dessertspoons of falafel mix and shape them into a quenelle or ball shape. Fry the falafels in batches in the hot oil until they are very dark brown (they will colour quickly, but avoid the temptation to remove them from the oil too soon; they need to fry for at least 3–4 minutes in order to crisp up properly). Remove and let cool on a wire rack.
For the tzatziki, cut the cucumber in half lengthways. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds and discard. Grate the rest of the cucumber, then mix with a little salt and let drain in a colander for 10 minutes to remove the excess liquid. Stir the yogurt, lemon juice, mint and garlic into the cucumber.
Season with extra salt if necessary, and serve with the falafel.
4 aubergines/eggplants
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 generous tablespoon tahini paste
juice of 1 lemon
2–3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing
sea salt and ground black pepper, to season
a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds, chopped coriander/cilantro, ½ teaspoon toasted cumin seeds or a teaspoon of harissa paste, to garnish
Flatbreads (see page 127), to serve
Serves 6
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.
Put the aubergines/eggplants on an oiled baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the skins are blistered and blackened. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Scrape all the flesh from the aubergines/eggplants into a mixing bowl, discarding the skins. Add the garlic, tahini, most of the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Using a fork, mash the flesh into a chunky purée. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. If the paste is too thick or the taste of garlic is too strong, add a little more lemon juice and olive oil.
Sprinkle your chosen garnish on top, drizzle with a little olive oil and serve with the warm flatbreads.
35 ml/1¼ fl. oz. vodka
20 ml/⅔ fl. oz. triple sec
20 ml/⅔ fl. oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
25 ml/1 fl. oz. pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon agave nectar
½ teaspoon rosewater
ice cubes
fresh rose petals, to garnish
2 fridge-frosted mini martini glasses
Makes 2
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake until chilled and then strain into the chilled mini martini glasses. Garnish with rose petals.
SHREDDED PASTRY WITH CHEESE IN LEMON SYRUP
225 g/½ lb. ready-prepared kadaif (finely shredded filo/phyllo pastry)
120 g/½ cup ghee, melted
350 g/12 oz. dil peyniri or mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1–2 tablespoons shelled pistachios, coarsely ground
SYRUP
225 g/1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
125 ml/½ cup water
juice of 1 lemon
a shallow baking pan
Serves 4–6
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
First prepare the syrup. Put the sugar and water into a pan and bring it to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon juice, reduce the heat, and let the syrup simmer and thicken for about 15 minutes until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat and let the syrup cool. Chill it in the fridge if you like.
Put the kadaif into a bowl and separate the strands. Pour the melted ghee over them and, using your fingers, rub it all over the strands so that they are coated in it. Spread half the pastry in the bottom of your baking pan (the Turks use a round pan roughly 27 cm/11 inches in diameter) and press it down with your fingers. Lay the slices of cheese over the top and cover with the rest of the pastry, pressing it down firmly and tucking it down the sides.
Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake the pastry for about 45 minutes until it is golden brown. Loosen the edges of the pastry with a sharp knife and pour the cold syrup over it – the hot pastry will absorb most of the syrup, but you can pop it back into the oven for 2–3 minutes to ensure that it does. Scatter the pistachios over the top. Divide the pastry into squares or segments, depending on the shape of your baking pan, and serve while still hot, so that the cheese remains soft.
