Warm Greek Salad

Salads have a hard time in winter. Like bikinis, sunscreen and sandals they get reserved for the summer months and called horrible names like ‘rabbit food’. Okay, so maybe I’m the one who calls them that but still, they deserve a little better than to be kept for diets and silly cleanses.

I have two words for you: warm & salads. Why has no one thought of this earlier? It’s simply genius! The delicious, crunchy goodness of salads but served in a warm, cozy, snuggle-up-with-a-bowl-and-a-blanket kind of way. Once you’ve opened your mind to the possibility of warm salads, the possibilities are just endless. Think lentils tossed with wedges of roasted pumpkin and butternut scattered with a warm crispy sage dressing and toasted walnuts or how about a warm potato salad with caramelized garlic, dill and crème fraiche. Add roast chicken, grilled lamb or smoked salmon and you have a salad meal. I could go on and on.

To test my new-found warm salad epiphany, I took one of the most summery recipes I could think of and gave it the snuggly treatment. Greek salad is all about the ripest summery tomatoes, the plumpest olives the creamiest feta, peppery olive oil and the tang of proper balsamic. It’s greatness lies in its simplicity. But roast those ripe tomatoes until they blister and burst with flavour, and warm the plump olives to release their bitter oils, crumb the creamy feta and then fry it so it gets all gooey inside then pile it all on the plate and drizzle with the peppery olive oil and the splashy tang of the balsamic and you have a salad worthy of the name.

Warm Greek salad

Serves 4

200g baby tomatoes
½ red onion, finely sliced

½ cup Mediterranean Delicacies Calamata-style olives, drained and pitted

4 x 25g slabs Mediterranean Delicacies feta, drained well
Olive oil
1 cup dried breadcrumbs, seasoned

½ cucumber, sliced

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the baby tomatoes, red onion and olives on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast lightly until blistered but not completely soft. They should still keep their shape. Dip the feta slabs in a little olive oil then in breadcrumbs. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute the feta over high heat until golden and just soft. Remove from the pan and arrange on a plate. Top with the tomatoes, olives, onion and cucumber slices. Dress with the balsamic vinegar and oil. Serve with grilled lamb chops, chicken breasts or as is. 

*This post has been sponsored by Mediterranean Delicacies who make a fabulous range of yummy pesto, dips, phyllo pastry, olives and other delicious Med-style goodies. 

{GIVEAWAY} Mediterranean Delicacies are giving away TWO Morphy Richards Induction Cookers! Follow this link to enter their latest competition.

Visit my Facebook page, The Kate Tin, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest to get all updates on my posts and other sweet ramblings.

Homemade flatbreads with tabbouleh and hummus

I had my first taste of tabbouleh just a few weeks ago and was hooked. Okay, perhaps not my first taste but before this experience, the others simply didn’t count because this time, the tabbouleh was prepared by a Lebanese princess. It was the real deal; a recipe carefully translated over the phone all the way from Beirut from grandmother to granddaughter. So very special.

A good tabbouleh is made up of plenty of fresh flat-leaf parsley and mint, carefully shredded by hand to prevent bruising. It is said, that if you are a Lebanese woman and want to find a good husband, the key is to learn how to chop your parsley properly. And that pretty much sums up how important the parsley in authentic tabbouleh is! Serious stuff. Along with heaps of parsley and mint, it has olive oil, seasoning and some tomato and bulgar wheat. The parsley is the main ingredient here, not the wheat.

The flat breads are a delicious accompaniment to the salad as they add a great crunch, along with the velvety smoothness of the hummus, it’s a match made in heaven and a fantastic meal to serve for friends as everything can be placed in the centre of the table for people to help themselves.

Homemade flatbreads with tabbouleh and hummus

Serves 6

Flatbreads

300g self-raising flour

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups grated halloumi or crumbled feta (optional)

1 cup boiling water

1 cup chopped spring onion (optional)

Tabbouleh

2 bunches flat-leaf parsley (350g)

1 small bunch mint (50g)

2 cups Bulgar wheat

1 tomato, chopped

2 spring onions, chopped

100ml olive oil

juice of 2 lemons

Mediterranean Delicacies Low-fat hummus, to serve

For the flatbread, place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to form a soft dough. Set aside for 15 minutes to rest. Divide into 8 and roll out to 30cm long.

Heat a large pan or griddle pan and fry on both sides until golden and crisp.

Make the tabbouleh, chop the parsley finely using a very sharp knife. Mix through with the rest of the ingredients.

To serve, spread the flatbread with hummus and top with the tabbouleh.

*This post has been sponsored by Mediterranean Delicacies who make a fabulous range of yummy pesto, dips, phyllo pastry, olives and other delicious Med-style goodies. 






{GIVEAWAY} Mediterranean Delicacies are giving away TWO Morphy Richards Induction Cookers! Follow this link to enter their latest competition.

Visit my Facebook page, The Kate Tin, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest to get all updates on my posts and other sweet ramblings.

Moroccan lamb and aubergine tajine

There is something very magical about preparing a Moroccan tajine. It’s an almost therapeutic process; building up layer upon layer of flavour and spices to create a dish with rich complexity. But that’s not what I believe makes it so special; the magic lies in the vessel (also called a tajine) which is traditionally used to prepare the recipe – a clay terracotta bottom and dome-shaped lid designed for no other purpose. And that of course only serves to give its preparation a sense of occasion.

  

The tajine is designed to allow long, slow cooking so that the meat falls off the bone and the traditional earthenware clay pots infuse a rustic flavour to the dish. The conical lid allows pressure to build up inside – like a pressure cooker. The hollow knob on top of the lid was an old-fashioned way of keeping cooking time. Water was put into the knob and when this evaporated the tajine was ready. So clever.

Spicing is an intricate art to try and master when making any Moroccan food but getting just three principles right will get you quite far; the first is that spices are best when bought whole and ground fresh. Remember that ground spices have a very short shelf life, so if your bottles are a bit dusty, it’s time to ditch them. If you’re hesitant, think about the difference between the bite of freshly ground black pepper versus the dullness of the preground stuff. A spice or coffee grinder, and even a pestle and mortar, are a great investment if you want your dishes full of flavour.

Apart from the spices, this recipe has a bit of a twist; rather than using chunks of lamb, the meat is minced, spiced and rolled into kefta then wrapped in chargrilled aubergine and simmered in a tomato and date sauce. A swirl of cool tzatziki and a sprinkling of pine nuts is all that stands between you and a whirlwind tastebud trip to Marrakesh!

Moroccan lamb and aubergine tajine with tzatziki

Serves 4

2T chopped fresh coriander

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2t freshly chopped chilli

2T Moroccan rub spice mix

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

600g beef or lamb mince

Tomato date sauce

Olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tins chopped tomatoes

2t Moroccan rub spice mix

4 fresh dates, chopped

dried chilli, to taste

4 long aubergines, thinly sliced

2T chopped fresh parsley

To serve

Couscous

Mediterranean Delicacies Tzatziki

Toasted pine nuts

Make the keftas by mixing all the ingredients together and shaping them into sausages. Heat a little oil in a pan and brown them on all sides (they don’t need to be cooked through) and set aside. For the sauce, heat a little olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic until soft. Add the tomatoes, spices, dates and chilli and simmer gently.

Sprinkle the aubergine slices with salt and olive oil and place under a hot grill until golden brown and soft. Wrap each kefta in the aubergine slices and place the parcels into the sauce. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with couscous, minted yoghurt, pomegranate rubies and toasted pine nuts.

TIP To make your own Moroccan spice blend, mix 1/2t each of ground cinnamon, cumin, fennel, nutmeg and paprika and store in a sealed jar.

*This post has been sponsored by Mediterranean Delicacies who make a fabulous range of yummy pesto, dips, phyllo pastry, olives and other delicious Med-style goodies. 

{GIVEAWAY} Mediterranean Delicacies are giving away TWO Morphy Richards Induction Cookers! Follow this link to enter their latest competition.




Visit my Facebook page, The Kate Tin, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest to get all updates on my posts and other sweet ramblings.

Moroccan almond pastries

Phyllo pastry is one of those ingredients that I always have tucked away in my freezer. You can transform just about any ingredient into a super impressive and moreish meal by layering it with lashings of butter and wrapping it up in the flaky pastry. These nutty pastries are inspired by a Moroccan favourite called m’hencha  which means ‘the serpent’. It’s crispy coils hide a sweet orange-scented almond filling doused in a generous drizzling of honey. Replace the orange-blossom water with rose water and top with crystallized rose petals or rose syrup or swop out the almonds for ground pistachios for something special. Served with a simple glass of mint tea, it’s an exotic teatime treat that will transport you to a bustling Middle Eastern market with platters piled high with flaky phyllo delicacies.

Moroccan almond pastries

Serves 6-8

2½ cups ground almonds (see TIP)

½ cup castor sugar

1t ground cinnamon

2T orange-blossom water (or rose water)

250g unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs, separated

16 sheets Mediterranean Delicacies phyllo pastry

100g orange blossom honey

Combine the almonds, sugar and cinnamon.

Add the flower water, half of the butter and the egg yolks.

When combined chill for about 1 hour to firm.

Divide the almond mixture into eight portions.

Brush a phyllo sheet with butter and place another on top. (Cover the remaining sheets with a damp cloth to avoid them drying out).

Cut each sheet lengthwise into 3 long strips.

Place one portion of the almond mixture along a thin line along the one edge of the phyllo and roll it up, brushing the end with egg white to make it stick.

Roll the phyllo roll into a coil like a snake then arrange on a lined or greased baking sheet, making sure that the coils don’t unravel.

Repeat with the remaining phyllo and almond mixture.

Brush the top with butter and bake at 190˚C for 30 minutes or until golden.

Paint immediately with the warm honey. Serve with mint tea, if desired.

TIP: This is a great opportunity to use up all the rough ground almonds leftover from making macarons!

*This post has been sponsored by Mediterranean Delicacies who make a fabulous range of yummy pesto, dips, phyllo pastry, olives and other delicious Med-style goodies. 




{GIVEAWAY} Mediterranean Delicacies are giving away TWO Morphy Richards Induction Cookers! Follow this link to enter their latest competition.

Visit my Facebook page, The Kate Tin, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest to get all updates on my posts and other sweet ramblings.

Deep-fried ravioli with baked feta and pesto

Deep-fried ravioli - I must be going crazy right? 
I first got the idea to deep-fry the little pasta pockets when a memory came flooding back to me. It is one where my sister and I are sitting under the tablecloth of a table laden with fresh vegetables from my parent’s farm at a farmer’s market one chilly morning. We sat huddled together, stuffing sugary deep-fried pastries from a paper bag into our mouths. I loved those little morsels so much; they were crispy and sweet and so simple. The little old Italian lady who sold them each morning frugally kept the scraps leftover from her batches of fresh tortellini or fettuccini and transformed them into a delicacy by dunking them in hot oil and dredging them in icing sugar. I now know they’re called crostoli, but the memory gave me the idea to give filled pasta the same treatment (minus the sugar, of course). Then I discovered that everyone had been doing this already and nobody told me! So now, I'm sharing the joys of deep-fried pasta with you. 

I like to call this creation my posh chip ‘n dip because it’s fancy enough to look like you went to some effort, but doesn’t involve any form of kitchen slavery. Perfect with a glass of wine and good company to share it with.

Crispy ravioli bites with pesto-baked feta

Serves 4

2 slabs feta cheese, drained

Olive oil

3-4 springs thyme

4-5 garlic cloves, whole

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tub Mediterranean Delicacies Basil Pesto

250g store-bought fresh butternut or cheese ravioli

Oil, for deep-frying

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the feta on a large piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, a few sprigs of thyme and some whole garlic cloves, season well before wrapping up and baking for 10-15 minutes or until soft.

TIP You could easily do this on the braai - pop the foil parcel over the coals and you'll have a delicious warm dip in a few minutes. Oh, and don't forget to play around with flavours - chilli, smoked paprika, lemon zest - you get the idea...

Deep-fry the ravioli in hot oil (about 180C) until golden brown and crisp, then drain on paper towel. 

Serve the warm feta drizzled with lashings of basil pesto and the crispy ravioli for dipping.

*This post has been sponsored by Mediterranean Delicacies who make a fabulous range of yummy pesto, dips, phyllo pastry, olives and other delicious Med-style goodies. 






{GIVEAWAY} Mediterranean Delicacies are giving away TWO Morphy Richards Induction Cookers! Follow this link to enter their latest competition.

Visit my Facebook page, The Kate Tin, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest to get all updates on my posts and other sweet ramblings.