Veal Meatballs in Pomegranate Molasses

This is a flavour sensation served with the cucumber salad and the jeweled rice below. It has been tweaked slightly from a recipe by John Gregory-Smith.

800gms veal mince (or beef)

8 garlic cloves mashed to a paste with salt

1 tsp allspice

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp chilli flakes

Salt and black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Drizzle of pomegranate molasses (depends on how much sauce you want)

Pomegranate arils to sprinkle

Chopped parsley or coriander to sprinkle

Halved pistachios (dry roasted first if you prefer)

1) Put the mince, garlic and spices in a bowl and season. Using your hands, pommel the meat to mix and to break down the fibres of the meat.

2) Roll the meat into evenly sized, fat sausage shapes. You should get 8-10 out of the mix.

3) Fry the sausagy balls on a medium heat, turning every couple of minutes so they brown on all sides. This should take 8-10 minutes.

4) Drizzle the pomegranate molasses over the balls. Cook for another minute or so.

5) Serve topped with sprinkles

Cucumber, Tahini and Sesame Salad

This is a lovely soothing salad by Alison Roman. I've used dill instead of coriander and changed the sesame oil from roasted. Use roasted if serving with more Asian flavoured dishes.

3 tbsp tahini (preferably best Lebanese)

1 tbsp sesame oil (preferably none toasted)

3 tbsp water (or more)

1 cucumber

1 small red onion thinly sliced

Grated zest of 2 lemons

Juice of half a lemon

1 tsp ground sumac

3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Handful of roughly chopped dill

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1) Whisk the tahini, sesame oil and water and season with salt and pepper. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes. Add more water and whisk again if it goes too thick. It should be creamy and silken – not claggy.

2) Thinly slice the cucumbers and put in a bowl, add the sliced onions, lemon juice and zest, sumac and a generous grinding of salt. Then mix gently.

3) On a serving plate, spread the tahini sauce out across the base, then pile the salad on top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the sesame and the dill.

Jewelled Rice

This is adapted from a Honey and Co. Recipe, and is utterly delicious. You're aiming for a contrast of citrus, salty and sweet 

250 gms basmati rice

2 tbsp olive oil

375 mls water

½ heaped tsp salt

Half a cinnamon stick

Dried lime with holes stabbed in it with a skewer

Juice of the other half of the lime

Half a lime finely chopped

Arils from a whole pomegranate

100 gms dried cranberries

3 or 4 spring onions finely sliced

1) Wash the rice in a sieve under cold running water until it runs clear. Drain.

2) Heat the oil in a small saucepan add the cinnamon stick and the dried lime and stir. Then add the rice and coat the rice in the oil. Add the water and salt. Put the lid on and bring to the boil. Then turn down to the lowest heat on the smallest ring. Cook for 7-8 minutes. Turn the heat off, lift lid, add folded tea towel and replace lid. Leave for at least five minutes then turn out into a bowl and fluff the rice with a fork, removing the cinnamon stick and the dried lime.

3) Add the rest of the ingredients and gently mix so you have even distribution and no ricey clumps.

Herby Chicken with Tahini Sauce

Adapted from a John Gregory Smith Recipe, this is great served with plain rice (see cooking method above), and Roasted Lemon, Tomato and Pomegranate salad.

6 fat cloves of garlic

Large handful of Parsley

Large handful of dill

1 heaped tsp ground coriander

½ heaped tsp cumin

1 tsp chilli flakes

3 tbsp olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

1kg skinless, boneless chicken thighs

120 ml tahini

150 ml water

Juice of 1 ½ lemons

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions halved and thinly sliced

Handful of toasted flaked almonds

Small handful of shredded mint

1) Put the garlic, parsley dill, coriander, cumin, chilli, oil and lemon in the goblet of a hand wazzer, and wazz until smoothish

2) Put the chicken in a bowl and poor over the paste and mix it into the chicken pieces until coated. Cover with cling and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours – or longer.

3) Heat oven to 180 fan. Spread the marinated chicken on a baking tray and cook for 20-25 minutes.

4) Whisk together the tahini, water, lemon juice, coriander and cumin.

5) Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onions until golden. Lower the heat and pour in the tahini sauce and warm through.

6) Pour the sauce onto a serving plate, top with the cooked chicken and sprinkle with the almonds and the mint.

Roast Lemon, Tomato and Pomegranate Salad

This is a simplified version of an Ottolenghi recipe, it’s utterly delicious and becoming a regular on our dinner menu. 

2 lemons, quartered length ways and thinly sliced width ways

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

3 cups cherry tomatoes halved

½ tsp ground allspice

Handful of roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

Large handful of shredded mint leaves

Arils from 1 pomegranate

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Salt and black pepper 

1) Preheat the oven to 200 Fan. Put the lemons slices in a baking tray and sprinkle the sugar and the tsp of salt over them. Drizzle with 3 tbsp of oil, mix and oven for about 10 minutes. The lemons should be slightly browned and chewy. Allow to cool.

2) Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and gently mix. Taste to see whether it needs more salt and pepper and eat with joy in your heart!

Brussels Sprout, Apple and Chickpea Salad

This simple salad is a great thing. Don’t be put off by the sprouts. Original recipe by Claus Meyer.

1 clove of garlic mashed to a paste with salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

15 Brussels sprouts, halved and finely shredded

Half a jar of chickpeas

2 tbsp small capers, drained but not rinsed

1 smallish bunch of parsley roughly chopped

2 apples quartered, cored, then each quarter cut in half widthways and cut into thin wedges

1) Whisk together the garlic oil and lemon juice and zest

2) Put the other ingredients in a bowl and pour over the dressing. Prepare the apples last, so they don’t have enough time to go brown. Taste for salt and pepper, tasting for a balance between sweet, sharp and salty.

Orange, Fennel, Radish and Black Olive salad

We can take no credit for this brilliant salad. The recipe is from Alison Roman’s Nothing Fancy. With this recipe you are aiming for a balance between sweet, sharp and salty, so that your saliva glands don’t know quite what to do with themselves. It is lovely served with meatballs (pork and beef, or lamb), generously flavoured with chopped  dried apricots, preserved lemon peel, garlic, spring onions and dried mint.

10-12 oily black olives e.g. the Greek ones in jars or the French ones with herbs

50-60ml of extra virgin olive oil

4 Oranges, top and bottom cut off and then peel and pith cut off around the sides

3 generous teaspoons of honey

1 Fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced down the length

Juice of half a lemon

Salt

6-8 Radishes sliced

1) Pit the olives and chop. Put in a small bowl, pour over the olive oil and set aside.

2) Slice the oranges across (about half a centimetre thick), line the bottom of a shallow bowl and drizzle with the honey.

3) Put the fennel slices in a mixing bowl, pour over the lemon and season with an over generous amount of salt. The fennel should taste sharp and very salty.

4) Scatter the oranges with the fennel, scatter the sliced radishes over the fennel and spoon over the olives and their oil.

Chicken, Pomegranate and Walnut Stew

This is adapted from a Sabrina Ghayour recipe. It is very lovely indeed on a cold evening. The addition of roasted cumin gives a depth of flavour, and we’ve reduced the amount of walnuts to keep it vaguely affordable.

 1 rounded tbsp plain flour

200gms walnuts finely ground

600mls water

2 onions finely chopped

4tbsp olive oil

800 gms Chicken thighs (any is fine – bones, no bones etc - and weight approximate)

200mls pomegranate molasses

2tsps cumin seeds, roasted and finely ground

Arils from ½ pomegranate

Steamed basmati rice

1) In a saucepan on a medium heat, toast the flour until it changes colour, stirring constantly. Add the walnuts and still for a few minutes until they small toasty.

2) Add the water, stir and bring to a simmer, put the lid on and turn the heat to low. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, fry the onions in the oil on a medium heat

4) Add the chicken to the onions and lightly brown on both sides

5) After around 45 minutes, stir the pomegranate molasses and the cumin into the walnut mixture and then pour that mixture into the chicken pan, stir, bring to a simmer, cover and cook on a very low heat for around 2 hours, stirring occasionally – especially towards the end of the cooking time, and doo add a bit more water if you think it needs it - leaving you plenty of times to de-seed your pomegranate and cook some rice.

6) Serve the stew with the rice and sprinkled with the pomegranate arils

Spinach and Feta Borekas

These lovely things are adapted from a Honey and Co recipe. They are really nice served with tahini sauce – 3tbsp tahini, 5 water, 1 clove crushed garlic, juice of half a lemon, salt pepper – and a simple salad – use the sauce as a dressing too if you want. If you want to turn them into a flavour sensation, then mix up 2tsps mustard seeds, 2tsps caraway seeds, 2tsps nigella seeds, 2tsps sesame seeds and 1tsp chilli flakes. When you make each of the borekas, brush beaten egg along the edge of the pastry that you have just pressed together and dip into the seeds, so you have a little spicy edge. Emit the top sprinkle of nigella. 

150gms cold butter chopped into small pieces

150gms soured cream

300gms plain flour

1 egg yolk

½ tsp salt

Pinch sugar

Extra flour for rolling

400gms spinach roughly chopped

50gms feta

50gms kashkaval grated (or use any rubbery cheese)

Small bunch dill chopped (or heaped tsp dried)

Heaped tsp dried thyme

Salt and pepper

1 egg

Milk

Nigella seeds (or sesame if you fancy)

1) Put the butter, cream, flour, egg, salt and sugar in a bowl. Using your fingers, rub it all together. You want even-ish distribution of ingredients, but still be able to see flecks of butter on the surface of the pastry, so don’t work it too much. Press it all together into a ball, cover with cling-film and put in the fridge for an hour.

2) Cook the spinach in a large pan on a high heat until nearly all the moisture has evaporated. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.

3) Once the spinach has cooled a little, add both cheeses, herbs and salt and pepper. Taste to see whether it needs more of anything – to your personal taste. Add whatever it needs and then mix in the egg.

4) Preheat your oven to 180 Fan

5) Cut your chilled pastry in half, flour your rolling surface and your rolling pin and roll out the first half of the pastry as thin as you can. Then, using a large wine glass cut as many disks as you can from the pastry. Then repeat with the other half of the pastry. Then roll out your scraps of pastry to squeeze out a last few disks. You should get around 30 with an IKEA red wine glass.

6) Grease a

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Tahini Yoghurt and Dukkah

Combining recipe ideas from Anna Jones and Jamie Oliver. Although the Dukkah is a bit of a hassle, the recipe makes loads and keeps in a jar for ages. Sprinkle it on fried eggs, avocado toasts, roasted tomatoes or any simple roasted veg for little hits of flavour – a great thing to have around if some of your household prefer it a little spicy and others don’t. 

Handful of hazel nuts

4tbsp coriander seeds

3tblsp sesame seeds

2tbsp cumin seeds

1tsp black pepper corns

2tsp fennel seeds

2tsps dried mint

1tsp salt

20 Brussels sprouts trimmed and cut in half – or cauliflower or broccoli

2 red onions peeled, halved and cut into small wedges

Olive oil to coat

300gms Greek yoghurt

3-4tbsp tahini

Grated zest of a lemon

Salt and pepper

Mint and dill roughly chopped

1) Preheat your oven to 180 fan

2) Put the sprouts (or cauliflower) and the onions in a baking try and drizzle with oil – stir to coat and season and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes. If using broccoli, oven the onions for around 10 minutes first before adding the broccoli, but the overall cooking time should be the same.

3) Put the nuts, coriander, sesame, cumin, pepper and fennel on a baking tray and oven for 8 minutes. Allow to cool, put in a food processor and wazz until you have a mix of powder and whole spices still. Stir in the mint and salt and store in a jar until needed.

3) Mix the yoghurt, tahini and lemon zest and season. Spread across the base of a serving plate.

4) When the veg is cooked to your liking, pile them on top of the yoghurt mixture, sprinkle with as much Dukkah as you fancy and then with as many herbs as you like – if you have them

Granola

We've had loads of requests for this recipe, and it is proper easy to make, moreish and nutritious.  

500gms Rolled oats – the bigger the flakes the better

50gms Sunflower seeds

50gms roughly chopped walnuts

50gms flaked almonds

Runny honey – enough to coat – maybe 4tbsp

100gms Sultanas

50gms dates, sliced

25gms dried apricots, chopped

25gms dried cranberries

1) Preheat your oven to 150 fan

2) Mix the oats, seeds, nuts and honey together really thoroughly in a large mixing bowl, spread out in a large baking tin and put in the oven for around half an hour, turning every 8 minutes or so, so that the edges don’t burn. The granola will be ready when the oats change colour slightly.

3) Give one last turn and sprinkle the fruit over the top. Put back in the oven for another 5 minutes or so until the fruit melts slightly.

Harissa Roasted Carrots on Lime Avocado

This is great if you catch the carrots while this still have a little bit of bite to contrast with the creamy avocado. 

Harissa

10 pointy red peppers roasted on a gas flame or under a hot grill

6 cloves of garlic

1 small tin of tomato paste

3 heaped tsps cumin seeds

3 heaped tsps. Caraway seeds

2 tbsps red wine vinegar

2 heaped tsps smoked paprika

1 tsp chilli flakes

8 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Roasted Carrots

500 gms Carrots peeled and halved lengthways

Harissa to coat the carrots generously

Salt

Avocado Mash

2 large or 3 small avocados

2 cloves garlic mashed to a paste with salt

Juice of a lime – or more if you like

Salt and pepper

Sprinkles

Pistachios to sprinkle

Pomegranate seeds to sprinkle

Shredded mint to sprinkle

1) Put all the harissa ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor and process to as smooth a paste as possible

2) Stir in the olive oil and preheat your oven to 180 fan

3) Put the carrots in a large baking tray, coat with the harissa and bake for around 25 minutes. They should be tender and have a nice spicy crust on them.

4) Scoop out the flesh from the avocado, mash and add the garlic and lime juice, and season

5) Spread the avocado mash on a plate, arrange the carrots on the avocado and top with the sprinkles

Labneh with Roasted Beetroot, Pistachios and Dukkah

Labneh is cheese made out of yoghurt. The tangier and better the yoghurt the more complex the flavour of the cheese. You could also add herbs, lemon zest and / or chilli to the cheese if you want a full on flavour sensation.

500 gms Yoghurt

3 medium beetroots

Salt

Zest of 2 lemons

Generous squeeze lemon juice

Salt

Dukkah (see recipe above)

Olive oil

1) To make the labneh, tip the yoghurt into the centre of a muslin cloth that is lining a sieve and leave over a bowl for 24 hours. If you don’t have the cloth, a fine sieve on its own with be fine.

2) Preheat oven to 180 Fan

3) Pour nice generous piles of salt onto a baking tray – enough to sit the beetroots on – and roast for an hour and a half or until a knife goes through them easily

4) When cool enough to handle, peel, quarter and cut them into 2-3mm slices

5) Mix the beetroots with the lemon zest, juice and a good sprinkle of dukkah

6) Spread the labneh out on a serving plate. Arrange the beetroot over. Sprinkle with the pistachios and more dukkah and drizzle with a little olive oil. Some shredded mint on top would be lovely too.

Red Cabbage Pilaf

This is great comfort food and tastes way better than it looks! We combined ideas from a couple of Sabrina Ghayour recipes for this one. 

250ml basmati Rice washed in a sieve until the water runs clear-ish and drain thoroughly

1 tbsp olive oil

375ml water

Salt

2 heaped tsp coriander seeds

2 heaped tsp cumin seeds

2 heaped tsp nigella seeds

1 heaped tsp fennel seeds

Scant half teaspoon chilli flakes

4 tbsp olive oil

3 onions halved and finely sliced

6 cloves of garlic finely chopped

Half a red cabbage shredded

250gms Greek yoghurt

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1) Cook the rice on the smallest ring on your cooker. Heat the tbsp. olive oil and stir the rice around for a minute to coat. Add the water and some salt. Put the lid on a bring to the boil. As soon as there is a good head of steam – and without taking the lid off – turn to the lowest heat and leave for about 8 minutes. Take the lide off and check that the rice is just starting to catch on the bottom of the pan – this is ready. Cover with a tea towel and put the lid back on.

2) Heat a large cast iron pan or very large frying pan on a medium flame and add the spices. Toast until fragrant (about a minute), and then add the oil and the onions. Cook until they start t brown at the edges and then add the garlic, cooking until the onions are sweet and caramelised.

3) Add the cabbage to the pot with some salt and pepper – don’t be shy with the salt - and stir fry.

4) While the cabbage is cooking mix the yoghurt, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper together and leave to stand.

5) When the cabbage in the texture you like, turn off the heat. Then fluff up the rice and mix into the cabbage mixture. Serve with the yoghurt on the side.

Chargrilled Red Cabbage with Smokey Tomatoes and Tahini

Don't be put off by the different parts to this recipe, as it is pretty quick to make. If you don't have za'atar, then leave out, or add a heaped teaspoon of dried thyme or oregano. The basic recipe idea is from Rebel Recipes - a great source of inspiration for vegan cooking - but goes brilliantly with a blackened roast chicken. 

Tomato sauce

1 onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice

1 heaped tbsp Za’atar

2 heaped tsps sweet smoked paprika

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp chilli flakes

Salt and pepper

Tahini sauce

4 tbsp tahini

1 plump garlic clove mashed to a paste

Juice of ½ a lemon

8 tbsp cold water

Salt and pepper

Cabbage

Half a red cabbage cut into about 6 wedges

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Shredded mint

1) To make the tomato sauce, fry the onion and garlic in the oil until the onion is golden

2) Add the tomatoes and the spices / seasoning and ten rinse the tin with a little water and add to the pot. The water gives the spices a little more liquid to absorb. Bring to a simmer and let it bloop on a low heat to a thick-ish sauce,

3) Whisk together the tahini sauce ingredients, adding a little more water if it is too thick

4) While your sauce is cooking, heat a ridged griddle pan on the highest heat. Drizzle your cabbage wedges with olive oil and season.

5) Add your cabbage to the hot griddle. Leave on the griddle for around 8 minutes until you have lovely charring lines. Then turn over and leave for around another 5 minutes. The cabbage should be nice a charred but still have some shape (and texture).

6) Spread the tomato sauce on a serving plate, arrange the cabbage on top, drizzle over the tahini and sprinkle over the shredded mint.