shain

There are two ways in which I make this dish, in first one, listed here, I use one pot to cook the vegetables and beans together. In the other I dice the vegetables and lightly saute them separately in butter. In both the vegetables are blended. The first version has a cleaner flavor, the second a slightly browned, heartier one. I'm not sure which I like better. Ingredients: 450 g dried brown Borlotti beans, soaked overnight 2 onions cut into quarters (250-300 g) 1 large carrot or two small, peeled and halved (150-200 g) 3 medium-sized celery branches, with leaves, halved 2 rosemary branches + a few leaves to serve A small sage branch 1 teaspoon fennel seeds or anise seeds 2.5 teaspoons of salt 6 garlic cloves 2-3 teaspoons "nutritional yeast" (if not using stock) Black pepper, generously One or two tablespoons of lemon juice About 400 g small hollow pasta, such as: Ditalini (rings) or Gnocchini (small shells) 1 teaspoon salt To serve: Olive oil, use an aromatic one Plenty of black pepper Grated parmesan/pecorino cheese (optional, prefer a nutty cheese over a sharp one) A few rosemary leaves preparation In pressure cooker, place the beans, onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, sage, fennel seeds, garlic yeast and salt. Cover with stock or water. Cook until the beans are tender (about 25 minutes under high pressure). Remove the rosemary and sage branches and discard them. Remove a third of the beans, along with any vegetable, and blend smooth. Mix back with the whole beans. Add a little water if the dish is too thick. Add black pepper generously and a spoon or two of lemon juice. Add more salt if needed. To serve: Heat well. Add pasta to each dish. Drizzle with aromatic olive oil, sprinkle with some ground black pepper, a few rosemary leaves, and parmesan cheese.

Pasta e fagioli.

Sweet potatoes with tahini and peanuts.Black lentils in coconut cream, chili and mint.

Thai red curry with tofu, butternut, peanuts, coconut milk, charred onion and a few extra spices. RIce noodles with beetroot, panang curry paste, coconut milk, cashew, lemongrass, anise, nutmeg.

Apples, oat brown sugar and pecan muffins.

Jachnun, haminados eggs and spicy-sweet minty tomato sauce. While not the most photogenic food item out there, if you never had a good jachnun, with soft buttery layers and butterscotch aroma from a night-long bake, you are missing out The eggs are also baked all night. The sauce is made of raw grated tomates, mint, spicy red schug and a touch of sugar.

@blue_dolphin Those are made of quark cheese, eggs, a little flour, sugar and vanilla. They are boiled then rolled in sugar and buttery breadcrumbs. I guess I just toasted the crumbs darker than is traditional, hence the color. Actually my parents used to call them by the Hungarian name of túrógombóc (which I was earlier too lazy to check how to spell), images for those looks darker as well.

A casserole of mallow, onion and sirene cheese, with zaatar and lemon zest. Freekeh (green smoked wheat) cooked to risotto texture, with chickpeas and mushrooms, sage, garlic and smoked paprika.

Topfenknödel.

Selek is indeed beetroot. The dough is made of semolina and eggs. Some versions add meat to the dough. I make my dough drier and more pasta like, in order to be able to roll it thinly in a pasta machine. Not very traditional, but works great.

@Okanagancook True. Textures are important in any dish, and smooth soups are calling for contrast. This reminds me that under the soup surface are thin rice noodles (chewy noodles are another way to add texture and IMO are too often reserved for clear soups).

Kibbeh Selek ~ semolina dough kibbeh with vegetarian filling of chopped chickpeas, mushrooms and lentils (the original is made of minced meat), flavored with bahart and browned onion. Cooked in a beetroot (selek) soup, with plenty of celery, bay leaves, chickpeas. Flavored with allspice, chili and paprika. Served with couscous.

Spaghetti in lemon (zest and juice), butter, stir fried zucchini, dill, toasted bread crumbs.

Sweet potato and carrot soup with indian spices (ginger, turmeric, chili, cumin, black pepper, fennel seeds, fenugreek, curry leaves). Topped with yogurt, and a mixture of pistachios, butter, cilantro and orange zest.

Pancakes with caramelized pecans and maple syrup.

Dosa, begun basanti (eggplant in mustard, poppy and yogurt sauce). Mango chutney. Black lentils in coconut milk and tamarind with paneer and browned onion. Crisp roasted potatoes with cumin, coriander seeds, poppy and mustard.

Here you go:

Updated June 2020 to match my current formula. Ingrdients Seeds: 20g sesame seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds (5g) 15g poppy seeds 30g flax seeds 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (5g) 30g sunflower seeds Porridge: 130g oat bran (or wheat bran) and/or corn meal 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 540g water Dough: 130 g cold water 3g fresh yeast / 1.5 g dry yeast 670g strong bread flour 17g Salt 30g dark malt syrup 5g apple cider vinegar or wine vinegar (1 tsp) Preparation One to three days before baking: Dry roast the seeds sesame, poppy and coriander. Add flax and caraway. Lightly mince in a morter and pestle to release flavors. Toast the sunflower seeds and add to the rest. ~ Cook the bran (and cornmeal) with the water, covered over low flame, until cooked into a porridge. Cool completely. ~ Add cold water, yeast, cinnamon, flour, salt, malt and vinegar. In a mixer, knead/mix for 5-7 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Repeat kneading and resting about 4 times, until the dough is strong well developed. Cover and refrigerate overnight (and up to 3 nights). Prepare for baking: Grease the bottom of a 24 cm wide pot with a thin layer of oil. If the pot does not have an anti-stick coating, sprinkle with a thin layer of semolina or cornmeal. ~ Remove the dough from the refrigerator between 60 minutes (on a warm day) and two hours (on a cool day) before the baking. (It is better to err in the direction of a shorter proof). Gently separate the dough from the sides of the bowl and give it a roughly round shape. Pour the dough into the oiled pot and gently press it to fill the pot evenly. Cover the pot and allow the dough to rise until it almost doubles its volume and looks soft and airy (the time approximation is as mentioned above). ~ At least 45 minutes before baking, place an iron plate or baking stone on a shelf in the bottom third of the oven and heat it to 230 degrees C. ~ After the dough has risen and the oven is hot: Optionally, sprinkle the dough with sunflower seeds, poppy and flax for decoration. Score the dough if desired. Spray some water on the dough, sides of pot and lid. Bake covered for about 40 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 20-25 minutes until the bread is very brown and the internal temperature is at least 97 degrees C. Remove the pot from the oven and remove the bread from it (wait a little for it to cool). Allow to cool on a cooling rack for one hour before slicing. ~ For serving, return the bread to the oven for about 10 minutes (this is not mandatory, but will yield a crisper, less chewy crust, and a warm loaf). 2020's bake:

@liamsaunt If you had made a coffee table book with pictures of sandwiches, I'd surely buy it Freshly baked oatmeal porridge and seeds bread. Egg en cocotte with cream, mushrooms and nutmeg.

Eastern European three beans stew, with peppers, tomatoes, celery, carrots, tarragon. With nokedly and sour cream.

Cornmeal gnocchi with mushrooms & chestnuts in browned butter, sage, chives.

Bread pudding with bananas, coconut ,hazelnut, raisins and rum.

Sweet potato and goat cheese cannelloni.

Home made pasta in roasted pepper sauce with capers, olives, feta, roasted eggplants and chives.

Here is an image of a few chickpea varieties, for hummus, the small "Bulgarian" on the top right is preferred by many, the large variety on the bottom right is not very good for hummus, since its peel is thick and it is slow to cook. This is my favorite tahini - Al Karwan, seems to be rather costly on Amazon. Al Arz is also quite nice, but more expensive. Achva tahini is sold for a better price, it's very common is Israel, and quite OK. Lets agree to disagree