shain

Couscous with vegetables and chickpea stew.

Salad for dinner couldn't get much better. Gado gado - spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, soy beans, rice noodles, crunchy stir fried green beans, warm and crispy pan fried soft tofu, warm boiled eggs, peanuts, puffed rice, chili. Sauce made of peanut butter, tamarind, coconut, ginger, palm sugar and a few more things. Stirred:

Chiming in... Firstly, as for Ottolenghi & Sami recpie, knowing their work, I'm sure it will yield good results, but there are a few things that I think are not ideal. The amount of tahini is on the high end of the spectrum, but not unheard of. The amount of baking soda is also high. I'd also recommend that you take a look at Kenji's article about hummus in Serious Eats. Hes explanations are very good and he's recipe is not far from my own. My perspective is focused around hummus as is popular in Israel and Palestine, I'm sadly less familiar with hummus as common in the neighboring countries. One should remember that it's a very old dish, and there are endless versions. In Israel (and as far as I know also the surrounding countries), hummus is not "creatively" flavored. Hummus with beats, roasted peppers, sundried tomates, etc, while often very tasty, is not considered hummus by Israelis (and there are people with quite a strong feeling about it ). Garlic, cumin, chili and sometimes a small amount of cooked onion or carrots are the only flavoring I ever saw added, and all in a nuanced fashion. A common mistake is to add a large amount of those - hummus should (usually) be mellow, smooth, creamy and rich in both flavor and texture. No olive oil in hummus, all the fat should come from tahini. The oil goes only on top. Lemon juice is another important ingredient and it's amount varies. I prefer my hummus with just enough acidity to break the richness, but not to taste sour at all. Some likes it much more tangy. A rule of thumb is that the warmer a hummus is to be served, the less lemon it needs. A warm and acidic hummus is quite bad. Often a garlic-lemon sauce is served along the hummus or poured on top of it. And if talking about temperature, hummus should never be served below room temp, and some styles (often more modern ones) are served warm. I like mine best when it's warm. The chickpeas - the most important thing is to cook them well and then cook them some more. Let the heat make the hard work for the blender. When cooked well enough, you can make a decently smooth hummus even with a mortar and pestle. It's really best to use dry and not canned, but if you have to use canned you will need to cook them some more until they are as soft as described. When using dried, soak them well and cook with lightly salted water. A pressure cooker does wonders but otherwise add a small amount of baking powder. Use the smallest cultivar of chickpeas that you can find. Peeling the chickpeas is usually not necessary (think of the shops selling gallons a day). If cooked enough, the peel will mostly dissolve. Very large chickpeas might have an overly thick peel, I'll try to find some other types. Blend the chickpeas while warm, and use their cooking water. Add tahini, I like mine not too heavy on it - about one half of the chickpeas dry weight or one thourth of their cooked weight. Some like much more. Choosing the right tahini is a whole other story, but make sure to used one made of hulled tahini (mot wholemeal). It should be nutty, sweet and not bitter. Add enough water for the hummus to be as thick as a Greek yogurt, it should flow a little. Add lemon to taste (when at serving temp), as well as salt, and little garlic. Cumin and chili are optional. The common toppings around here are whole chickpeas (get some out of the pot before they get too soft), ful (cooked fava beans) with plenty of cumin, boiled egg, tahini sauce, chopped or sliced raw onion, ground spiced meat, pan fried mushrooms, pine nuts. Make sure to have some good pita bread. Pita chips are not usually served with hummus in Israel. I like pitas that are fluffy and soft (more like a steamed bun then a tortilla). Naan bread also works great. If you are tired of hummus, look into masabacha and ful medames. So my recipe: Yields two servings when without toppings. - 160 g small dry chickpeas, soaked overnight - 1 teaspoon salt + more to taste - 90 g tahini (stir well before use) - 60-75 g lemon juice (2-3 tablespoons) - 1 clove of garlic (not a large one) - 1 teaspoon cumin - Cook chickpeas with salt until falling apart tender. - Drain and let chill to serving temp (warm). Reserve cooking water. - Add tahini and blend smooth, adding cooking water until it is as thick as Greek yogurt. - Add lemon garlic, cumin. Maybe more salt or a touch of chili.

Feijoa and apple crumble (with coconut and brown sugar).

Pasta with light cream sauce, scallions and herbs (thyme, tarragon, sage, chives, chili, garlic). Spinach and tortilla salad, with onion, plenty of sumac, vinegar, dates syrup (slian). Very nice, tart, salty and mildly sweet. Roughly based on an recipe by Ottolenghi.

Okonomiyaki

Bourekas filled with smoky eggplants (roasted over open flame), Bulgarian sirene cheese, mushrooms.

Huevos rancheros (of sorts), served with tortilla chips in lieu of fresh ones (I can't manage to find frozen corn tortillas anywhere as of recently )

Latkes for Hanukkah. Unpeeled grated potatoes, with plenty of onion, well squeezed and drained, bound with matzoh meal and eggs. Served with brown sugar and sour cream (and absolutely no applesauce for me, please).

Hazelnuts, popped rice, dark chocolate, caramel, salt.

Frittata with smoked mozzarella, fried mushrooms, spinach, garlic, smoked paprika.

Yes, it looks fabulous. I'm guessing this is finger lime on top? What's the base?

Yes, parsnip should work, maybe even turnip.

Thanks @ElsieD. Recipe here:

Ingredients 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into lateral halves (450 g) 3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters (950 g) 700 g pumpkin, peeled into quarters About 20 grams of butter 1 onion, peeled and chopped (130 g) 2 parsley roots peeled and chopped (2, 100 g) A quarter teaspoon of hot pepper Spoon of thyme 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed or anise (optional) 1 Tbsp ginger root, finely chopped (15 g) 5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped 8.5 cups hot water 3 tablespoons chopped parsley 1.5 teaspoon cinnamon 3 teaspoons beer yeast 2-2.5 teaspoons of salt 2 tablespoons wine vinegar To serve (you can choose what you want from the following): Roasted pumpkin seeds Small croutons cinnamon paprika Sour cream Egg noodles Preparation Cut the pumpkin, carrot and potato into very large cubes. Place them on a baking pan without baking paper. Set the oven to 200 degrees. Place the vegetables in the cold oven. When the oven reaches the temperature, remove the pan and mix the vegetables with 2/3 to 1/2 of the butter to cover. Bake the vegetables until soft and lightly brown - about an hour and a half. In the meantime, fry the onion and the parsley roots with the remaining butter, until soft, but not brown. About 4-5 minutes. Add the thyme, the bay leaves, the hot pepper, the seeds of the guard, the ginger and the garlic. Fry in a medium to low heat for about a minute or two, until aromatic. Add the baked vegetables, including all their liquids and the pieces stuck to the pan. (Use hot water to help the pieces break free from the pan) Add the water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook in a very simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add the cinnamon, beer yeast, 2 teaspoons of salt and parsley. Grind in a food processor or blender until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add more hot water. Add the vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add salt, chili and vinegar to taste. Mix well and serve. (Always mix before taking a portion of the pot.) Serve with roasted pumpkin seeds or croutons; Paprika, chili powder or cinnamon and also sour cream. The soup tastes better when it is not boiling hot.

@mm84321 You can't just leave pictures like that without elaborating Dinner at my place was kong pao tofu & eggplant and mushrooms in ginger-garlic sauce - spicy-sweet.

Roasted butternut squash, carrots and sweet potato. Chili, ginger, cinnamon.

Penne Alla Norma.

Kibbeh Saniyeh. One with meat and chickpeas, the other with mushrooms, lentils and chickpeas. Both flavored with caramelized onion, and heavily spiced with lightly cinnamony baharat and a crisp dough.

Polenta with fresh corn, topped with pan fried mushrooms. Garden grown radishes, buttered and peppered.

Cauliflower gratin, lentils stew with roasted carrots and butternut squash, caramelized onion, star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg and a little coconut cream.

Lentil soup with fried noodles and gremolata.

The strings cutter thingy? That's awesome, I wish I haven't had cut all my shrooms already so that I could try it.

I use a chef knife, pressing it down without dragging. Works great.

It took me a few iterations to make it work. The recipe I started from was mostly just pasta in ricotta, with chopped walnuts and pepper. I also once tried blending nuts with the ricotta but eventually concluded that the ricotta flavor and creamy texture both gets lost when used as a sauce, while the walnuts gets lost if mixed with the ricotta, so I ended up sort of switching their roles.