Frozen Sweet Labneh with Vanilla, Lemon & Blueberries

I guess we are never really ready for extreme temperatures, especially here in Romania. When it's cold, we moan it's unbearably cold, when it's hot, we ceaselessly complain about the heat. Though I am fine under the a/c 24/7 with either a glass of Saudi Champagne or frozen strained yoghurt aka labneh. :)

Some of my readers might know that I have a passion for strained full-fat yoghurt  and a quick search on this blog can unearth some amazing Middle Eastern dishes and  fusion combinations: savoury labneh, sweet labneh, labneh cheesecake with lime leaves etc

If labneh comes in endless delicious combinations, I thought to myself why not try my hand at frozen yoghurt with a touch of Middle East?

This is my version of frozen yoghurt, Middle Eastern style. :)

 Frozen Labneh with Vanilla, Lemon and Blueberries

                                                                

 900 gr of 7 % fat yoghurt      

                                                                 

100 gr double cream     

                                                                  

4 tbs of honey

200 gr of fresh blueberries coated in sugar (aprox 2 tbs)

lemon rind

2 tsp of vanilla extract

     

Method

Strain the yoghurt for 20 minutes and mix it with double cream, honey, vanilla extract and lemon rind. 

Cover the blueberries in sugar and leave them for 5 minutes to soak in all the sugar. 

The easiest part is when you pour the blueberries over the labneh mix and whisk lightly. Place in a container and freeze for 2-3 hours at -28 degrees C.

I plan on buying an ice-cream machine but until then freezing my labneh does the trick! :)

All I have to add is that it's mouth-watering and mind-blowing. The secret ingredient must be the lemon rind which imparts a delicate flavour and pairs perfectly with the blueberries and yoghurt. 

xoxo

Sweet Laban with Orange Blossom Water, Crushed Hazelnuts & Strawberries

Yesterday I bought fresh strawberries for the first time this season. Contrary to everything I believe in & stand up to, the strawberries have been...imported, not locally produced. They are big, shiny and what's worse, they must have been sprayed with chemicals and pesticides! I could resist anything but temptation! I was in the shop and I suddenly a boxful of bright red fruit eyed me. I had visions of French toasts early in the morning. I would fry them up in a sweet omelette, cover in snowy sugar & top with fresh strawberries. Once back home, I chickened out and the idea of a heavy dessert didn't sound so great afterall.

This is my own version of Strawberry French Toast Recipe that sheds drastically most of the calories and reminds you of the delicate taste of Middle Eastern desserts. xoxo

Sweet Laban w Orange Blossom Water, Hazelnuts & Fresh Strawberries

(my version of decadent French Toast with Strawberries)

Type of cusine: Middle Eastern/Fusion/Low Fat

I'll start by clarifying that laban means yoghurt in Arabic. :) When I lived in Saudi I would always buy dairy products from Almarai. I have always loved the grassy taste of fresh milk and yoghurt and it is such a pity I can't find this brand in Romania :(

I find that yoghurt inspires me to create beautiful sweet and savoury dishes and I always manage to put it to good use.

Ingredients

4 big tbs of full fat yoghurt

2 tsp of clear honey

1 tsp of preserved orange rind

2 tsp of orange blossom water

a handful of crushed hazelnuts (almonds or pistachios)

a handful of fresh strawberries

85% dark chocolate

Mix the yoghurt with the honey, hazelnuts, orange rind and orange blossom water. Top with slices of stawberries and freshly shredded chocolate.

That's it! Have you ever had such a quick and uber delicious/guilt-free dessert before?

This was the first time I have ever made it and decided that yes, it's worth blogging about it!

To make the toast however, fry a slice of brown bread or ciabatta in low-fat butter (less than 80% fat) and put the sweet laban mixture, fruit and chocolate on the bread. Pair with black coffee or green tea with mint. That's another a perfect breakfast. :))

Perfect Breakfast: Sweet Bulgur with Grapefruit Pulp Frosting & Orange Blossom Water

There is no denying that my favourite time of the day is morning and my favourite meal of the day is...guess what? - dinner! Well, I do my best not to skip breakfast and when I have more than ten minutes to spare in the kitchen, I experiment with something new. This is how my "Perfect Breakfast" series started on Lemon Love Notes.

This morning I revamped half a cup of bulgur,  I sweetened it and gave it a truly Middle Eastern treatment. I simply love bulgur and surely, there must be more than one way of cooking it, apart from using it in tabouleh or Bulgur Salad with Mint & Pomegranates *delicious*

Sweet Bulgur w Honey, Grapefruit Pulp Frosting & Pistachios

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern/Fusion

Ingredients

(for 2 persons)

half a cup of bulgur

2 tbs of clear honey

orange blossom water

the pulp of a freshly squeezed grapefruit

a handful of hydrated pistachios

orange rind preserve

la vie en rose

Method

Steam the bulgur until it becomes fluffy. 

Squeeze the grapefruit (drink the juice, keep the pulp) ;)

Hydrate the pistachios in warm water and shell them.

Once the bulgur soaks in all the water and becomes fluffy, pour a generous measure of orange blossom water and clear acacia honey, mix, cover and let the flavours mix for 10 minutes. Place the fluffy bulgur in a bowl, add 2 spoonfuls of grapefruit pulp frosting & sprinkle some pistachios. Finally, put the orange rind preserve on top for a bit of drama. 

I went for sweet bulgur this morning as I realized that I had forgotten to hydrate the wheat berries the night before. Bulgur is amazing in this combination; the grapefruit pulp boosts the flavours magically while the orange blossom water, orange rind preserve and pistachios pair so well. I will definitely repeat this experiment some time very, very soon! Maybe next time I'll follow Joumana's Sweet Bulgur with Grape Molasses or I'll spice it up with ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg. The sky is the limit :))

Dej Jawaneh

Whenever we go to El Bacha, our favourite Lebanese restaurant in Bucharest, we order various cold and hot starters, including dej jawaneh. Dej Jawaneh? That's chicken wings, cooked Lebanese style. They are served in a delicious minty and garlicky sauce I have many times tried to copy at home. Hélas, no matter how hard I tried, it never seemed to be quite like the real thing. However, when Joumana posted the Wings Lebanese-style recipe on her blog, I started drooling all over the screen thinking of all the nice meals & evenings we had at El Bacha. No more dreaming, I acted on the spot. I had tried and failed in the past in my pursuit to make perfect jawaneh, but with a trick I learned from Joumana, these jawaneh brought back the authentic smell and taste of the Middle East.

This is why I am blogging about them today. If they were not amazing, I wouldn't dare recommend them to you. 

Dej Jawaneh

inspired by and adapted from Taste of Beirut, my favourite Middle Eastern food blog

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern/Lebanese

Ingredients

500 gr of chicken wings

approx 3 lemon wedges

a pinch of salt

crushed garlic 

2 tsp of coriander

a pinch of cinnamon

a small bunch of parsley/fresh coriander, finely chopped

olive oil

zataar and sumac to decorate 

Method

Preheat the oven @ 160 degrees Celsius.

Rinse the chicken wings then dry them with a paper towel. Chop the parsley and crush the garlic cloves. Rub each wing with a lemon wedge and sprinkle the salt, coriander & cinnamon all over. Add the garlic and half of the parsley. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice and drip some olive oil. Toss. 

Ideally, marinate the wings for a couple of hours before you roast them in the oven for about 1h. Make sure to flip them two or three times before taking them out of the oven. This way they will roast evenly.

The idea is that the meat should be tender while the skin should be mildly crunchy (yet not burned).  Finally, add the other half of parsley and extra lemon juice, if you wish. Decorate with sumac or home made zataar. 

I love the sizzling sound they make when you squeeze the lemon juice and the unmistakable smell of ... a small bedouin town lost in the vastness of the Arabian desert. Grilled chicken, bukhari rice, yoghurt dips, Lipton with mint and lots of sugar :) - that's what I love about Middle Eastern food. Simplicity and scrumptiousness around the table. What more can I ask for? 

 

"In the villages, or in the tents of the nomads, there will often be no furniture. The guest room, mandarah, is spread with coloured rugs or carpets and with quilts, mattresses and cushions laid around the walls for people to sit on. Usually no chambers are furnished as bedrooms. The bed, during the day, is rolled up and placed to one side or, when one is available, in a small adjoining room called a khazneh which is used as a bedroom in winter. During the summer many people in the towns and villages sleep on the flat root tops. The center of the men's room, which is usually regarded as a reception room, is kept empty. The guests sit around with their backs to the walls.

All Middle Easterners are very hospitable. The unwritten rule is to please one's family, guests or hosts. It is a great honour to be a quest, but a greater honour to be a host. When an unexpected guest  arrives a space is immediately created for him at the head of the table and coffee is offered. He must never refuse, to do so is taken as an offence. 

When food is served it is brought either on a large dish or in numerous small dishes and placed on the ground in the middle of the room. The guest is then invited to join the family.  [...] Before he sits down at the table the guest will wash his hands with soap and water in a copper basin, or, at least, have some water poured over his right hand. He is then offered a napkin. He must never refuse dishes that have been sampled by others present at dinner, to do so will give great offence. He must comment on the delicacy of the aroma emanating from the meal, pay little compliments such as on the tenderness of the meat or the thinnest of the housewife's kibbeh or the sweetness of the baklava, etc. [...] The master of the house first begins to eat, the guests and others immediately follow his example. Neither knives of forks are used; the thumb and the two fingers of the right hand serve instead of those instruments; but spoons are used for soup,s or rice or other things that cannot easily be taken [...]

Each person breaks off a small piece of bread, dips it in the dish, and then conveys it to his mouth, together with a small portion of the meat or other contents if the dish. The piece of bread is generally doubled together, so as to enclose the morsel of meat.

...The above lines from Edward William Lane's brilliant book Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians are as true today as when they were first written in 1836. Very little has changed in the social and cultural attitudes of the average Middle Easterner. Perhaps he doesn't sit on the floor, but uses a table and chairs, knives and forks, has table napkins, several plates instead of one, but the traditional Middle Eastern manners and rules of etiquette still remain".

(Taken from Middle Eastern Cookery by Arto Der Haroutunian, a comprehensive book on Middle  Eastern cuisine I recommend with all my heart.)

Perfect Breakfast: Pink Buckwheat w Rosewater

This morning I woke up at 6 and in the stillness of the house I started planning my day over a cup of black honeyed coffee. Yes, I take honey in my coffee. :) I started working for a while till I got distracted by Pintrest. It was a constructive distraction though- it inspired me to create my own beautiful space around me. There are always tiny things that can easily go unnoticed in the whirlpool of life -a  quick snapshot of the sunrise, a dried rose resting at the bottom of the jar, loose green tea, the spritz of perfume on freshly showered skin, the chill out tunes of lounge.fm.

What has inspired me today (so far)

good morning, sunshine

Roses (detail) by Tarasov

frozen in a pink universe

pretty in pink

Last week I bought buckwheat. You may hum a long: "whaaat?" :)  Don't worry, I had held back before buying a bag of buckwheat, as I had no idea how to eat it. The woman in the shop said it was good in soups, but they always tell you that. Throw anything in hot water and you'll get soup ://

But after google-ing it, I was amazed to find out how packed with all the good stuff buckwheat is!

                                                 Nutrients in  Buckwheat

1.00 cup (168.00 grams)

Nutrient%Daily Value

manganese34%

tryptophan25%

magnesium21.4%

fiber18.1%

copper12.5%

Calories (154)8%

source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=1

While many people think that buckwheat is a cereal grain, it is actually a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel making it a suitable substitute for grains for people who are sensitive to wheat or other grains that contain protein glutens. Buckwheat flowers are very fragrant and are attractive to bees that use them to produce a special, strongly flavored, dark honey.  

(same source as above)

To cut the story short, I must say buckwheat is absolutely delicious, both in savory and delicately sweet dishes. 

A couple of nights ago I made a buckwheat salad with mushrooms and herbs and this morning....

Pink Buckwheat with flavoured yoghurt and rosewater

type of cuisine: fusion, healthy, low fat

What you have to know about buckwheat is that, immersed in warm water, it softens quite quickly. 

Ingredients

half a cup of buckwheat 

rose tea (to flavour the water)

2 tbs of rosewater (to flavour the yoghurt)

2 tbs of yoghurt

a handful of raspberries

2 tsp of honey

Preparation & Method

Pour warm water over the buckwheat, add 2-3 rose buds and let the buckwheat soften for at least 30 minutes. 

In the meantime puree the raspberries, mix them with clear honey, rosewater and yoghurt. 

Drain the buckwheat and pour the flavoured yoghurt over it. 

It is a great combination and rosewater + raspberries pair so well. I make my own flavoured yoghurt at home all the time. I wouldn't even dream of buying it from the supermarket. 

If you recall, last year I posted Gourmet Yoghurt for Foodies which will give you an idea how easy and drop dead gorgeous flavoured-yoghurt making is :)

#inlove

snapshot on Twitter @NiTuairisc

PS. This is my 100th post. 

Labneh Inspiration

This is not my first post on labneh, as you know. The beauty of labneh is that it suits both savoury and sweet dishes and that can be combined with herbs, veggies, fruit or seeds. It can be served as comfort food or as party food and it's also ideal for breakfast paired with brown bread and black coffee. I have been mulling over some dessert ideas lately to include this wonderful delicate cheese and hopefully one of these days I will post an original recipe.

I took these pictures earlier at breakfast. We had mini & maxi labneh sandwiches, coffee and Darjeeling, and a delicious vitamin booster with ginger, tangerine, banana & kiwi .

Savoury yoghurt cheese balls with chopped mint, zataar, extra virgin olive oil & lemon juice


When I lived in Saudi Arabia, I used to buy similar labneh  balls from Tamimi, a supermaket in Riyadh. They were sold in a jar, preserved in olive oil and their texture was slightly harder. Probably the balls were not made by hand. Maybe they had a special press to shape the balls and so, squeeze all the excess water out of them. 
However, now that I am back home I do everything by hand. I buy full fat yoghurt, I strain it and I shape the balls using my palms. 

When we have guests, I always prepare labneh for starter with different salads and Middle Eastern dips. 

Today I was playing around with ideas  and I came up with this delicious mini-sandwich . This way when you take a bite you really feel the creamy taste. 

Cut out small pieces of brown bread and place a yoghurt cheese ball on top. Sprinkle with extra zataar & mint.

You could also go a long way with a bigger slice of brown bread, just place a cheese ball in the middle, drip extra virgin olive oil carefully around it and sprinkle zataar and mint on top.
Spread the cheese on the bread with a butter knife and, if you want, sprinkle extra zataar  &mint for a more intense taste. 

I hope I have inspired you and if you haven't tried labneh before, tonight if you strain some yoghurt, tomorrow morning I promise, you will have an unforgettable breakfast . 

Labneh with Mint, Zataar & Pomegranates

We had some guests over for dinner and since we went for Italian for the main course, I decided to give to the starters a Middle Eastern slant. I love Middle Eastern food and I could eat Arab food daily. And why wouldn't I do so? I could cook Middle Eastern in my sleep - it's ridiculously easy, ingredients are readily available and it's healthy. 

I have written about labneh here and here and this dip is a variation of the savoury dish. 

Yoghurt cheese with pomegranates, mint and zataar 

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern

Drain the full fat yoghurt and place on a large plate. Press the labneh with a silicone spoon to make the ripples and the circles in the soft cheese. Sprinkle some salt, zataar, chopped mint and pomegranate seeds. Finally drip some extra virgin olive oil just before you serve. 

It won't take more than 30 minutes to drain the yoghurt (if you are in a mad rush) and less than 2 minutes to decorate. Enjoy. xx

Bulgur Salad with Mint & Pomegranates

I discovered bulgur the first time I ordered tabouleh @ El Bacha restaurant in Bucharest. I thought, wow, what a great salad, so fresh and bursting with all the good stuff. Parsley does wonders when you have a flu, for instance, as it's packed with vitamin K and vitamin C. 

There was a time when I was going around the shops here in Bucharest desperately looking for bulgur, to no avail...the magic ingredient was nowhere to be found. Things changed in the meantime and recently I found bulgur in some small specialized shops. Needless to say, I stocked up on it and used to the full!

Bulgur Salad with Mint, Parsley & Pomegranates and a hint of Zataar

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern/low fat/Fusion

This is a variation of tabouleh, basically we use 3/4 bulgur and 1/4 parsley and mint, plus we skip the tomatoes and replace them with pomegranate seeds. 

Ingredients

 half a cup of bulgur

a handful of fresh mint leaves

a handful of parsley

1/2 pomegranate 

a pinch of salt

lemon juice

extra virgin olive oil

zataar 

Method

Steam the bulgur until it becomes fluffy. Chop the mint and the parsley. Seed the pomegranates.

Once you have all the ingredients at hand, it's time you assembled the salad. Mix the bulgur with the mint & parsley, season with salt, add two tbs of extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Finally, add the pomegranate seeds and stir gently. Decorate with zataar.

I usually make this salad for parties. It goes well with the usual Lebanese dips such as moutabal, baba ganoush, labneh with cumin and mint & laban with garlic and olive oil. But it pairs well also with Beetroot raita with garam masala, recipe I promise I will post soon.

Until then, enjoy life, love and good food. xoxo

Ready for the party

A typical meal @ El Bacha should start with dips and salads, followed by hot meat dishes: beef sharhat, kebabs, dej jawaneh, and delicious mildly sweet Middle Eastern desserts. 

taken with Instagram

El Bacha Alba Iulia Square, Bucharest

Sweet Couscous with Baked Figs & Lebnah

Figs just do the trick for me. They give such an oomph to so many sweet or savoury dishes, taking them to new heights. They should be fresh and ripe to spice up & complement the following dishes:

* figs and prosciutto ruccolla salad

* honeyed fig scones

* sticky cinnamon baked figs with rosewater, labneh & pistachios

* savoury couscous with fig cubes, lemon and chives

* plum & fig  chutney

*labneh with figs, pistachios & honey

..... and many more.

Sweet Couscous with Baked Figs, Honey & Rosewater Labneh

adapted from Wholefood Kitchen by Ross Dobson

Type of cuisine: Moroccan with strong Middle Eastern influences

Ingredients

(for 2 people)

a cup of couscous

1 tbs of (unsalted) butter

2 tbs of honey

1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

3 fresh figs

(brown) sugar to sprinkle over the figs

------

4 tbs of home-made labneh

1 tbs of condensed milk (or honey)

2 tbs of rosewater

Method 

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C. 

Wash, halve the figs and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle some sugar over them and bake for around 20 minutes. 

Put the butter, honey, cinnamon, and couscous in a large bowl, pour enough hot water over to cover all and cover tightly with clingfilm or a lid. 

Mix the lebnah with honey/condensed milk and rosewater and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Return to the couscous and fluff it up with a fork and cover again. 

When the figs are soft & caramelized, take them out of the oven.

Serve in small bowls as in the picture above. 

This is a healthy and delicious option if you don't want to bake a cake. As a variation of this dish, in case you don't have figs, you could marinate sultanas and jumbo raisins in honeyed water with orange blossom water and mix them with couscous & chopped pistachios. 

Sweet Potato & Carrot Hummus

When it comes to hummus, I don't stick only to the classic version with chickpeas. Variety is the spice of life, so I have also tried sweet peas hummus, beet hummus, carrot hummus etc. It's always good to be open-minded.  I love new combinations and if it's something I make for the first time, I cook a very small quantity to test and sample. If it's good, I'll increase the measures, if it's bad, at least I'm not sorry to have tried. No regrets if it lands in the bin.

Some weekends ago I cooked a delicious roast sweet potato and carrot hummus after being inspired and blown away by Joumana's beautiful squash hummus. I just loved the bright colour of the squash and I could only imagine the taste. As I was drooling all over the screen, I had to think quickly of a replacement for squash as I had none in the house.
So I ended up with a sweet potato and carrot version that was absolutely addictive. It disappeared so fast :)

Roast Sweet Potato & Carrot Hummus

inspired by Squash Hummus by Taste of  Beirut *love*

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern/Fusion

Ingredients

4 carrots

2 sweet potatoes

2 tbs tahini paste

1 tsp toasted cumin seeds

2-3 cloves of garlic 

parsley/fresh coriander to sprinkle on top

Method

Chop roughly the carrots, the garlic and the sweet potatoes and place them on a baking sheet. Roast them for 40 minutes until the become tender. 

Mash the lot and add the tahini, the toasted cumin seeds and the chopped  parsley on top. 

Generally, when I make chickpea hummus I add coriander seeds and a squeeze of lemon juice, but this time I didn't because sweet potatoes are bold and they stand out. I feel they don't need to be spiced up. Sweet potatoes and carrots make a great team together, however you could easily make a fabulous carrot hummus as well as a sweet potato hummus. 

As autumn is in full swing, I am planning a pumpkin hummus asap. The sky is the limit :)

grilled courgette & chickpea salad, labneh w crushed mint & olive oil, mustard dip

Sunday lunch

Baked Eggs w Spinach & Labneh (Ottolenghi style)

In my (eternal) quest for guilt-free, yet delicious treats, I have come across this beautiful & absolutely mouth-watering comfort breakfast that will probably leave you drooling until you decide to make it yourselves. I recommend it warmly because it's healthy, low-fat, balanced, and it doesn't contain a drop of oil (unless you want to drizzle some on top at the end).

I am in a love/hate relationship with oil and that is because Romanian/Eastern European food tends to be so greasy, so I kind of go on the extremes sometimes. However, I love extra virgin olive oil that I use on a regular basis in cooking and as a skin moisturizer. 

Inspired by "Cilbir, which is Turkish poached eggs with yoghurt", Yotam Ottolenghi paired them with rocket and Greek yoghurt.  I transformed this beautiful recipe by using fresh spinach instead and my home-made labneh.

Baked Eggs with Steamed Spinach, Lebnah and Zataar

inspired by Baked eggs with yoghurt and chilli

Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Type of cuisine: Fusion/Middle Eastern

Ingredients

(serves 1) *

1 egg

300 g fresh spinach

a pinch of salt

zataar

labneh

extra virgin olive oil (optional)

* if you are cooking for more, you can increase the quantities

Preparation

Preheat the oven at 150 degrees.

Labneh is drained yoghurt and it's similar to a very soft spreadable cheese. It is recommended that you let the yoghurt drain overnight. 

Wash thoroughly the spinach and steam it. You can also add half a glass of water and a pinch of salt in a large pan and let it simmer till the leaves soften.

Don't use frozen spinach. Though I have never tried it with frozen spinach, I trust the taste is different. Fresh spinach is better. 

Method

Drain and transfer the spinach to a small ovenproof dish and made a circle in the middle. Break the egg into the hallow and bake it for 20-ish minutes or so. Once you see that the egg is cooked, decorate the dish with three or four labneh balls and finish by sprinkling some salt and zataar all over.

This is probably one of the easiest and healthiest dishes that I can think of and it's perfect for a laid-back breakfast or weekend brunch. 

(My First) Spinach Fritatta

I have come across this dish recently while browsing BBC Good Food magazine and I was lured by words such as "fast" and "easy". And even though I am not a beginner-amateur-chef-at-home, frankly, who wants to spend an hour in the kitchen in the morning? Certainly not me! :)

One thing I like about fritatta is that it's versatile and almost anything can go into it: potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, sweet peas, beans- you name it, the sky is the limit. 

*Instagram love*

I decided to go for spinach galore for my VEGETARIAN low fat fritatta :) Yes, put my own mark on it.

Type of cuisine: Spanish/European/Fusion

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Spinach &  Mushroom Fritatta with Cumin & Zataar

Ingredients

(for 2 persons)

4 free-range eggs

1/4 red onion

1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

approx 10 mushrooms

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

4 cherry tomatoes

spring onion

20 ml of low-fat single cream

salt with herbs

thyme

zataar

cumin

Italian hard cheese to sprinkle on top

Method

Dice the red onion, slice the mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, chop the spinach and the spring onions. Break the eggs and beat them. Season with salt flavoured with herbs, thyme, zataar, cumin. 

Fry the red onion in a wok or a low pot in a dash of extra virgin olive oil, add the mushrooms and wait for them to brown. Add the spinach, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, and the single cream and cover with a lid. That will allow them to simmer nicely. 

Once you see the spinach soften, pour the omelette on top and cover. I decided to cook it on the cooker instead of baking it in the oven. Finally, sprinkle some hard Italian cheese on top.

The result was amazing. I was totally taken aback. Spinach usually goes very well with eggs, but paired with zataar and cumin, it feels like an explosion of flavours in your mouth. It's so #simply #gourmet :)

a hungry fella with a big mouth :)

Perfect Breakfast (part two): Sweet Labneh with Rose Water, Honey, Figs & Pistachios

It's hard to define perfection (as nobody is perfect) but some things can come as close to perfection as we know it. In the fascinating world of  culinary delights many things can be just perfect.

My Savoury Labneh with Mint and Olive Oil was another example that showcases how something so  simple and unpretentious has a life of its own and can become a gourmet experience in itself. 

Simple things aren't bland by any means. Sometimes I find myself craving something as mundane as fish and chips or chicken and (bukhari) rice, the staple food in the Arab world. We turn things "gourmet" by just adding a few extra touches: a surprising combination of spices or an interesting pairing of ingredients. 

I dare say this dish is gourmet by revamping it and boosting its taste with  the delicate flavour of rose water, crunchy pistachios and giving it the soft sweetness of honey and figs. 

Sweet Yoghurt Cheese with Honey, Figs and Pistachios

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern/Fusion

Preparation time: 12 hours (to make the labneh, if you haven't done so) & 5 minutes for presentation/decoration

 labneh

rose water

honey

crushed pistachios

chopped mint

figs

Method

Mix the labneh with a spoonful of rose water.  Chop the mint, crush the pistachios, slice the figs. 

To decorate drizzle honey over the cheese & sprinkle the mint and the pistachios  on top. 

As a serving suggestion, I would recommend toasted ciabatta, if you don't have or haven't baked your own fresh tamis. Tamis is a flat Middle Eastern/Afghan bread that goes so well with dips. 

Because I didn't have tamis, I made use of what was handy :) I oven-toasted the ciabatta with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and honey. As you can see from the picture below, I spread the cheese on the bread and had the most delicious (fusion, I must say) sandwich ever tasted :) It's a great combination that I urge you to try asap.

A perfect breakfast calls for an unforgettable morning read: Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif. 

“Is it that happy stretch of time when the lovers set to chronicling their passion . when no glance , no tone of voice is so fleeting but it shines with significance . when each moment , each perception is brought out with care , unfolded like a precious gem from its layers of the softest tissue paper and laid in front of the beloved - turned this way and that , examined , considered.”   

“I'm taken over by this trunk. I'm practically living inside it. When I read the journals I feel as if I'm there, a hundred years ago. I'm putting together the whole picture and I know everything that happened and wasn't written down"

Perfect Breakfast: Labneh with Mint & Olive Oil

If you close your eyes and daydream of a bedouin tent in the middle of the desert, sun-kissed by a ball of fire, you might see the cosiness inside: a simple decor consisting mainly of Iranian-style carpets, cushions, trays of tea and semolina cakes bathed in rose water and loaded with pistachios and nuts. This scene could seem more or less idyllic, but it's certainly very close to reality.  Bedouins do exist as a desert-dwelling ethnic group in the Middle East and northern Africa and they are renowned for their hospitality, generosity, friendliness, and simple lifestyle. 

Breakfast is also defined by its sheer simplicity: labneh with extra virgin olive oil and fresh tamis. 

Labneh is a one of life's delicious treats that I discovered in Saudi Arabia. I have also found it in gourmet Arab traditional shops, but the price is steep. Labneh is sold either as spreadable cheese or in jars: small lebnah balls floating in a sea of rich olive oil. Traditionally, labneh is made of goat's milk; however,  I used rich sheep & cow's milk yoghurt (7% fat) which I strained overnight. In the morning, I used an ice-cream scoop to make labneh balls, drizzled olive oil over them, and sprinkled fresh mint on top. Delicious with fresh ciabatta and a cup of strong Arabica with cardamon!

Rich Strained Yoghurt with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Crushed Mint

1 kg of 7-8% fat yoghurt

a handful of fresh mint

extra virgin olive oil 

(salt)

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern

Preparation: 12 hours

Method

As its definition suggests, labneh is strained yoghurt, aka yoghurt cheese. To make labneh you need the following: 

yoghurt

a clean cloth/muslin  

a colander

a plate to keep the excess water

Line the colander with a clean cloth (which you have boiled to kill all possible germs). Pour the yoghurt in the cloth and let it strain overnight.  I used no salt as I wanted to have the option of having sweet labneh as well.

In the morning roll the cheese out of the cloth and store it in tuppeware. It will keep well for a couple of days in the fridge.

To make labneh balls scoop the cheese and place them on the plate. Sprinkle with olive oil and fresh crushed mint. It is absolutely delicious and goes perfectly with fresh bread, tamis or toasted ciabatta, believe it or not. 

Later, I will revamp and transform this delicious savoury dish into a sweet delight. Stay tuned :)

Until then, enjoy these beautiful photos (for which I take no credit) that will put this stunning - but easy - dish on the map.

 Inside a Bedouin Tent

stubbornluddite.blogspot.com

Photographer:Gary Latham  source: http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/

A smoky start to the day as a Bedouin tribesman cooks breakfast at camp near Wadi Razarah

Egypt In the Bedouin Tent Photograph - Egypt In the Bedouin tent 

source: fineartamerica.com

source: http://sakhal.blogspot.com/2011/07/sahara-women-portraits.html