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18-03-2011

It’s Sunday late morning and I am waiting for my web designer Deni to finalize my blog. I am curious and impatient.  She is sitting at the kitchen table and doing what is needed. I am sipping coffee and going through my new cook magazines and wondering what to cook. I have a bag full of Arabic things (brought by Deni) – couscous, chick-peas (a small amount of which I have soaked from the previous day) spicy pickles and over a kilo of tahini, nice, ah?

In addition, the day before, I cut one big winter pumpkin and it looks like I can cook from it forever.

Suddenly, an idea for veggie wraps with some lentils and couscous salad comes on my mind. I am checking my cupboard - I have spices, roasted red peppers, already boiled lentil and I only need to go to the supermarket across the street to buy some spicy olives. (In Bulgaria grocery stores work every day so it is not a problem to get the missing ingredients).

I am taking a small saucepan, pouring the soaked chick-pea and water, and bringing it to a boil at medium temperature for 2 hours. Next time probably I will use canned chickpea because of the boiling time.

I am measuring one medium cup of couscous and putting it in another bowl, pouring some very hot water (almost boiling), the same amount as the couscous, and leaving it on a site to cool down.

Now I have to go to the grocery store, final check of my products and am going out.

I am back with some cut green olives coated in spices, some black pitted olives, few tomatoes and lemons. So the final decision is taken - this week In the Kitchen we will have Couscous salad, Spicy lentil dish with red onions and roasted peppers, hummus and a salad.

Deni is asking whether I have fruit jam because she has a dream for roasted pumpkin topped with some jam, mmmmmmm….not for me but we have both of them so I will do it.

Let’s start:

Couscous Salad:

The recipe is adopted from Good Food magazine*

Serves  4 people

Preparation time 30 minutes* 


Couscous should be soaked in  hot water for 30 minutes (do not boil just pour the water over it).Peel the carrots and grate them. Cut the olives and the parsley. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and season with salt, ground cumin and olive oil. At the end squeeze the lemon. Stir well, cover the bowl and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour.

Cooked Lentil Dish with Red Onions and Roasted Peppers:

Serves 4 people

Preparation time 30 minutes*

Cooking time 1 hour


Put the lentil to a boil in water for 40 - 60 minutes. It depends on the lentil - it is ready when you can easily smash the grain with a fork. When it is ready, drain and leave it on a site. Meanwhile, add the olive oil in a pan, put the sliced onions cover it with lid and stew for 5 to 10 minutes on a medium temperature. Add the spices and stir well, cook for another 2 minutes and add the boiled lentil, stir well add the tomato juice. Lower the temperature and leave the pan open until tomato juice is evaporated. Remove from the stove.Cut the peppers in small pieces and chop the parsley. For now leave them on a site.

 

Hummus

 Serves 4-6 people

Preparation time 15 minutes*- if you use canned chick-pea

Soak the grains in hot water for at least 3 hours. I left mine for one night.

Boil it in water for 2-3 hours – it is ready when you are able to smash it with fork. You can use canned chick-pea -  it is precooked and ready for use. Do not drain the extra water - you will need it when you strain the chick-pea.

Smash chilled chick-pea in a large bowl. Mix it with small amount of the left boiling water, garlic cloves, tahini and process it in a blender. At the end squeeze the lemon and season with salt according to your taste.

 

Green Salad:

Mix in a bowl sliced cabbage, green salad, tomatoes and cucumbers. Dress with olive oil salt and balsamic vinegar.

 

Roasted Pumpkin:

Serves a lot depending on your baking tin 

Cut the pumpkin in large pieces, do not peel it - remove only the seeds. Put in a large baking tin and bake one and a half hour at 190 degrees Celsius. It is ready when become brown on the top. When it is ready put in a dish and serve topped with fruit jam. It can be served warm or cold. 

* Preparation time remark*

In order to speed up the preparation time, couscous and chick-pea can be soaked from the previous day, or you can use canned chick-pea.

 

Arrangement:

Served on Arabic flat bread

With couscous:

Take a piece of Arabic flat bread, spread some hummus, add a little bid of the couscous salad, some sliced pickles and cabbage. Roll it up and serve with extra hummus and vegetables on a site. Another option is to cat the bread in four, spread the same ingredients at each part and serve as it is without rolling.

With lentil

Take a piece of Arabic bread, spread some of the lentil mixture, put diced peppers and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Roll up the wrap and serve with extra roasted peppers and cut tomatoes. Again, another option is to cut the bread in four pieces, spread the ingredients over them and serve.

As a Meal :

You can serve the lentil and couscous as separate dishes with sliced bread and green salad on a side.

Drinks:

When we talk about Arabic cuisine, it’s more than mandatory to prepare a jug of cold refreshing drink called ayran. It is nonalcoholic beverage prepared from yogurt, water and salt. I put some fresh mint leaves to mine. 

 

ENJOY!

 

Desi


Products:
grains » lentil
grains » cheakpeas
vegetables » peppers
vegetables » carrot







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