Daring Cooks – February 2010 – Mezze
The 2010 February Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.
I really loved this challenge. I’d never made pita before and there were so many different ways you could take the meal.
I made the mezze for dinner one night for my boyfriend and myself. There were two required elements for the challenge – pita bread and hummus. The pita bread was easy, tasty and turned out perfectly. I made a half batch and still we ate it over the next two days as well.
The hummus wasn’t quite as successful. I used peanut butter instead of tahini and the end result tasted like garlicky peanut butter that wasn’t quite right.
As well as the pita and hummus, I also made Tunisian potato & olive salad and lamb meatballs. Both of these were great – but I was particularly fond of the salad. I’ll definitely be making it again. It tasted even better the next day after the flavours all had a chance to mingle.
I served this all with added olives & haloumi.
Pita Bread – Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
Prep time: 20 minutes to make, 90 minutes to rise and about 45 minutes to cook
2 teaspoons regular dry yeast (.43 ounces/12.1 grams)
2.5 cups lukewarm water (21 ounces/591 grams)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour (may use a combination of 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, or a combination of alternative flours for gluten free pita) (17.5 -21 ounces/497-596 grams)
1 tablespoon table salt (.50 ounces/15 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (.95 ounces/29 ml)
Directions:
1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.
2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).
4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.
5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 to 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn’t puff up, don’t worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.
Hummus – Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.
1.5 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/301 grams)
2-2.5 lemons, juiced (3 ounces/89ml)
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
a big pinch of salt
4 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment) (1.5 ounces/45 grams)
additional flavorings (optional) I would use about 1/3 cup or a few ounces to start, and add more to taste
Directions:
1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.
Aromatic Lamb Meatballs – from Feast by Nigella Lawson
1 pound ground lamb
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons semolina
1 egg
Vegetable oil, for frying
Put the lamb into a bowl and add the scallions. Sprinkle over the spices, salt, and semolina, and then beat the egg adding to the bowl. Work everything together thoroughly with your hands, and then cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and scoop out a scant teaspoon of the mixture. Roll in your hands to form the meatball and place on the lined baking sheet. Have a bowl of cold water beside you to dampen your hands with; this helps them not get too sticky for rolling the meatballs.
When you are ready to cook them, heat about 1/2-inch of oil in a frying pan. Line another baking sheet with kitchen towel, and when the oil is hot, fry the meatballs in batches without overcrowding the pan. Cook them for about a minute a side, or until golden brown all over.
Tunisian Potato & Olive Salad
1 pound tiny creamer potatoes
Salt, as needed
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Generous sprinkling of each, cumin and paprika (I added quite a lot of paprika)
Tiny pinch of cayenne pepper
2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped
15 to 20 oil-cured black Mediterranean olives
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste
Place the potatoes in a pot with water to cover; add 1 teaspoon salt and the sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender (timing depends on the size and age of the potatoes).
Drain the potatoes, return them to the pan and shake in the dry pan for a few minutes, until thoroughly dry.
Cut the potatoes into thick slices, several per potato, or into quarters. Place in a bowl and toss with the cumin, paprika, cayenne, garlic and olives. Dress with the olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve, or serve at room temperature.
Serves 4 to 6.
(Found here http://www.sudairy.com/mer/recipes/potato.html )
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Thank you so much for participating in the mezze challenge! Your pita is just perfect and looks really delicious. I’m sorry that the hummus didn’t work well for you, but I am in love with that potato salad. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it.
I am sooo going to make the potato olive salad for the hubby. I hate olives, but he could live on them! The pita bread looks really nice. Good job on the challenge!
Beautiful and delicious looking mezze;. LOVE the Tunisian potato-olive salad!
Nice Mezze!