Sumac and onion flat breads
Ingredients
Pack small Arabic flat breads
Sumac
1 medium red onion
Light olive oil
Method
Step 1: Cut the onion into thin strips and fry in a light olive oil on a low heat for around 30 minutes until soft and almost caramelized. Season with a pinch of salt.
Step 2: Lay the flat breads on oven trays and brush with a little of the light olive oil.
Step 3: Top the flat breads with the onion and a good covering of sumac. You can also add other spices if you wish such as ground cumin or ground coriander.
Step 4: Grill for 2-3 minutes until the breads are toasting and the topping is sizzling.
Serve hot!
TIP: Serve these up alongside some homemade hummus or taramasalata
Miso aubergines
Ingredients
3 large aubergines
Brown miso
Harissa or chili paste
Light olive oil
Method
Step 1: Cut the aubergines into thick slices, starting from the top (stalk) down to the base of the aubergine. Discard the first and last slice (can be used for another dish), and use only the slices with a cut side on both sides.
Step 2: In a frying pan add a generous amount of light olive oil. Fry the aubergine on a high heat on both sides until nice a golden.
Step 3: Lay the aubergine slices on oven trays. Mix 2 tablespoons of brown miso with 1 teaspoon of harissa (or to your liking, depending on how spicy you like it!). For the children, you can do a miso only version. it’s just as yummy!
Step 4: Put the aubergines in the oven for 20 minutes until the top is browned.
Step 5: Serve with any sort or aromatic rice, cous cous, quinoa, salad, wok fried vegetables. The miso aubergine is the perfect accompaniment.
TIP: These make a great main meal, but can also be dished up as a tasty side
Pistachio tart
Ingredients
1 pre-prepared pastry tart case
3 eggs
1 cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup melted butter
Pinch salt
Pinch cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup whole shelled pistachios
Method
Step 1: In a bowl whisk together the eggs, honey, sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon and vanilla essence.
Step 2: Pour the mixture into the pastry case.
Step 3: Carefully lay the whole pistachios on top of the mixture, covering the entire pie.
Step 4: Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes.
TIP: This makes the perfect iftar or suhoor dessert. It is also a lovely tart to make to give as a Ramadan gift. It’s so pretty!
Date and honey cake
Ingredients
6 Medjool dates
½ cup honey
1.5 cups of self-raising flour
2 eggs
½ cup melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
Method
Step 1: In a bowl carefully combine the eggs, butter, flour and baking powder.
Step 2: Cut the dates into small pieces and add to the cake mix with the honey.
Step 3: Transfer the mixture into a round or rectangle cake tin, lined with baking parchment.
Step 4: Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Serve with a drizzling
of honey on top and some Arabic coffee!.
TIP: Kids can wash this down with a glass of icy cold fresh milk. Yum!
