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"

Frozen Yoghurt (& my heart is melting)

Frozen yoghurt, who would have thought I would actually make it myself??? I used to buy this cooling healthy dessert in the middle of the Arabian desert, in Riyadh, as an alternative to fatty ice-creams, from the flagship store in Tahlia Street or the mall. I used to love going to FreshBerry and Yogen Fruz and it's such a pity these brands are not in Romania. :( You could go to the shop, choose from different flavours and the toppings made me feel like I was a child in a chocolate factory: nuts, almonds, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cherries, pomegranates, the sky is the limit.


Here, winters are long and horrible, but summers are mercilessly hot.
It snowed last night, hopefully for the last time, but today I had a sudden craving for frozen yoghurt. Yoghurt is a staple in Turkish, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines and I make the most of it almost daily: raita, tzatziki, cacik, lassi, yoghurt and cucumber soup, labneh, ayran- the list is long and I will never be bored with the variety of choices.

frozen mixed berries

Frozen Yoghurt with Mixed Berries, Crushed Almonds and Honey

a small bag of frozen mixed berries (300 gr)

2 tbs of honey

4-5 tbs of full-fat yoghurt (3.5%) 

2 tbs of single cream

a handful of freshly crushed almonds 

If you don't have an ice-cream machine (like me) :( and if you love ice-cream, but worry about the content of sugar, cream and fat, then frozen yoghurt is the perfect choice: it's healthy and it's insanely delicious!!!!!!!! 

Mix the frozen berries with honey. Use a vertical blender to pulverise the berries with the yoghurt and the cream, and add a handful of freshly crushed almonds, as they will make your treat crunchier and even yummier.

Pour this mixture in a tupperware container, cover, store in the freezer for an hour and enjoy one of the most delicious and healthiest dessert on planet Earth.

vibrant colour, healthy treat

smooth & crunchy

Lassi on the Rocks

Between me and lassi there is a love story! 


The first time I had lassi was in the Indian restaurant in Ramada Continental Hotel in Jeddah. 
The restaurant is open-space, the food and the service are both excellent, and the Indian staff is friendly and attentive.
One evening, the waiter offered me a drink on the house. It was a glass of lassi with honey and almonds. 
So, I fell in love with it and when I came back home, I decided to make lassi as well. The wonderful thing about lassi is that it is so versatile and you can play with a variety of fruit, vegetables and spices. 


According to Wikipedia, "lassi (Punjabi: ਲੱਸੀ, Hindi: लस्सी, Urdu: لسی,) is a popular and traditional Punjabi yogurt-based drink of India and Pakistan. It is made by blending yogurt with water or milk and Indian spices.Traditional lassi is a savory drink sometimes flavored with ground roasted cumin while sweet lassi on the other hand is blended with sugar or fruits instead of spices. [...] With a little turmeric powder mixed in, it is also used as a folk remedy for gastroenteritis". 

Savoury lassi is the actually the first entry to this blog. 

http://lemonlovenotes.blogspot.com/2010/11/quick-snack-irish-style-tamis-with.html

Yoghurt with cumin seeds, mint, salt and lime juice. 
It goes so well with freshly baked bread: French baguette, pita, tamis, or naan bread.

Summery "Fru Fru" Lassi

Yoghurt with honey and blackberries.


I made this lassi in July when I went to the farmers' market and bought fresh blackberries. 
Since now it's cold and winter and fresh forest fruit are not readily available, you could give it a shot and try buying them frozen from the supermarket. 

"I don't give a fig" Lassi

Actually, how nonsensical this saying is! It doesn't do justice to figs. I love figs. These wonderful delicate fruit, slightly sweet and full of calcium and vitamin K, remind me of the Bible.


"Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, be queen over us.’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Must I give up my sweetness and my good produce, and must I go to wave over the other trees?" Judges 9/10, 11.

Yoghurt with figs, banana, cinnamon, orange blossom water.


"Honey, I'm home" Lassi is another favourite of mine. 

Yoghurt with honey, banana, cinnamon, nutmeg. I usually have it early in the morning with a handful of cereals or oatmeal to replace a big breakfast.


There are so many ways of making lassi. One could use walnuts, pistachios, almonds, mango, peaches, mint, papaya, strawberries, raspberries, cardamom, saffron, cucumber, chives, avocado, crushed ice, you name it. Be creative. Try out your own version. However, as I learned from trial and error, lassi doesn't blend well with citrus fruit, kiwi or pomegranate. 


Lassi is very easy to make and, basically,  all you need is a vertical blender and the ingredients of your choice.

Naan. Nan. Nang ... and a slice of history

Naan bread reminds me of... Saudi Arabia. It's because I had it there so many times, either in private homes or restaurants. I must admit, home-made naan bread is much better than the one served in restaurants. It's softer, creamier, sweeter.
There are many Naan recipes that you can find either online or in Indian cookbooks, but here is my version.

Naan with honey and onion seeds

What you need:

3 cups of white flour

1 slice of butter

3 big spoonfuls of yoghourt

1/4 cup of warm full-fat milk

15 g fresh yeast

a spoon of honey (for extra sweetness)

a pinch of salt

garlic

onion seeds

extra virgin olive oil (for moisture)

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm milk and melted butter and honey, mix lightly. Add the yoghourt and let it rest for a couple of minutes.

2. In a deep bowl, mix the flour, salt, garlic (freshly grated or powder), onion seeds.

3. Pour the dissolved yeast (no. 1) onto the flour and knead till the dough becomes smooth. Let it rest in a warm place.

4. When it raises and doubles in volume, you know it's baking time. You can now be as creative as you wish and shape the naan in a variety of forms. You can take a small ball of dough and flatten it and make small naans, or you can make tamis style.
Put it in the oven (@ 200 degrees Celsius) for 5 minutes- watch them, they bake and swell quite quickly.

Options

Because naan is eaten hot with curries, dips (raita, chutney), or tarkha dahl, you probably won't have the chance to use all the dough. So, wrap it tightly in plastic foil and let it snooze in the fridge.

You might want to.... revamp it later! :)

Here is my Naan...a l'italienne.

So I came back home late the other night and I wasn't in the mood to fix dinner or make something special.  As I looked in the fridge, I found the rest of the dough and asked my husband: would you fancy a pizza?
Although he said that naan would definitely not rhyme with Italian, I decided to give it a try and make a Naan...pizza. Call it fusion!

Method

I flattened the dough and once I had a thin base I brushed it with olive oil.

I opened a can of diced tomatoes from Cirio (http://www.cirio.co.uk)- they are very handy especially in winter- and I added some Camargue salt with basil, a pinch of rosmary and a clove of garlic.

I brushed the pizza with the tomato sauce and I sprinkled the grated mozzarella, then I finely sliced a green pepper and some slices of salami. I used Salam de Sibiu, the original. (http://www.sibiusalami.com)

source: www.phoneline.ro

After less than 10 minutes in the oven we had a surprisingly delicious meal, accompanied by a glass of Prahova Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Well, a sip or two on my part and more for Mike.

Food for thought
I find that sometimes when you are a bit adventurous in the kitchen and you are not afraid to experiment and sample ingredients, you can make amazing discoveries. Well, sometimes you make amazing mistakes as well :) but intuition and common sense can save you from kitchen disasters.
For my naan I used milk instead of water and honey instead of sugar. I think that gave my naan bread an extra wow factor. It was so sweet, tender and velvety.

Salam de Sibiu is one of oldest Romanian brands which has survived Communism and managed not to be swamped up by other similar products, even though the competition is fierce. I wonder if people outside Romania  have heard of this brand of salami or if they have ever tasted it? Don't want to use my blog to boast its taste, flavour  or qualities (just because I am Romanian), but it's really good! So good that on the Romanian market alone there are many (cheaper) versions of Salam de Sibiu. But they are, as I just said, mere copies.
If you want to read more about Salam de Sibiu, check out this link: http://www.sibiusalami.com/history.html