For the love of Oren's

 I am currently in the UK, and therefore a long way away from my usual take-out haunts. This includes Oren's Hummus, where my go-to order is one of the hummus bowls. The combination of silky smooth, faintly (but not overpoweringly) garlicky hummus topped with spiced tender shawarma chicken or golden roasted cauliflower would be enough to lure me in, but add to that the amazing pillowy flatbread, with which to scoop it all up, and I'm a regular. 

So when my son sent me a cool recipe for hummus, that he invented (thanks Evan!), I knew just what I wanted to do with it. Since I am catering for my pescatarian mother at the moment, I went the cauliflower route for me, and simply added some shrimp (simply sautéed with a dusting of smoked paprika) to mum's bowl. The result was delicious, if I do say so myself. Oren's hasn't lost itself any customers (the flatbread I bought to accompany the bowls wasn't a patch on theirs), but at least I know I can get my fix when I'm not in their neighborhood.

Hummus Bowls with Smoky Roasted Cauliflower

Serves 3 with hummus to spare

Hummus recipe courtesy of Evan Farrar

Hummus:

2 15oz cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup tahini

1 cup pickled jalapeños

2 cloves garlic

1/2 lemon

1 bunch fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)

Cauliflower:

1 head cauliflower, broken/cut into bitesize florets

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C).

2. Spray a baking tray with olive oil. In a large bowl, mix the cauliflower with the olive oil, paprika and cumin. Arrange the cauliflower over the prepared baking tray, and put in the oven for 20 minutes. 

3. While the cauliflower roasts, put the tahini, garlic and juice of half a lemon into a food processor and blend, gradually adding iced water, one TBSP at a time, until it is lighter in color and smooth.

4. Rinse and drain the cans of chickpeas and add to the food processor with a hefty pinch of salt. Blend until almost smooth, adding more iced water to get the consistency you want.

5. Add the pickled jalapeños and a bunch of cilantro (thicker stems removed, but smaller stems fine) to the food processor, and blend until completely smooth (this takes some time, but you want it completely silky smooth).

6. When the 20 minutes on the cauliflower is up, take it out of the oven and add the olives - toss to combine, and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, by which point the cauliflower should be tender and browning nicely.

7. Serve in a wide bowl, with the hummus spread over the bottom, and the cauliflower/olive mixture piled on top, with plenty of flat bread to mop up every last drop :-)

Foolproof Indeed!

When you give your cookbook a title that includes the word 'foolproof,' you've got to be pretty sure about yourself. When you combine that with the word 'one-pot' though, you are going to suck in even an old cynic like myself. So it was then, that I invested in the book Foolproof Veggie One-Pot by Alan Rosenthal. And I have to say, Mr Rosenthal has thus far come up trumps. Not only are the recipes easy to follow, and involving just one pot, they also seem to be remarkably successful. They come out in the way they are supposed to, with the timings included, AND they are some of the tastiest I have tried recently. 

Of all the recipes I have so far dabbled with, this one is definitely a keeper. Two of my favorite ingredients at the moment are smoked paprika and lemon, so with both of those in attendance at the table, I was a happy bunny indeed. I am currently staying with my sister and family, and her two teenage sons' tastes are somewhat difficult to satisfy, unless it involves the words spag, bol, pesto or burger. However, this went down quickly, and with only the exception of a few stray artichoke quarters plonked on the side of one plate. Success indeed! May your tastebuds be also suitably tickled.

Baked Spanish Rice with Artichokes, Green Olives and Roasted Red Peppers

Adapted from Foolproof Veggie One-Pot by Alan Rosenthal
Serves 4

4 TBSP olive oil

1 fennel bulb, finely chopped (preserve the fennel fronds and roughly chop for garnish)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

2 bay leaves

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp saffron fronds

1/2 14oz can chopped tomatoes

9oz paella rice (e.g. Bomba)

3 cups hot vegetable stock

juice of half a lemon

1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 oz green olives

7 oz marinated artichokes, drained

5 oz roasted red peppers from a jar, cut into strips

sea salt and ground black pepper

To serve:

lemon wedges

chopped fennel fronds

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

8 oz mayonnaise

large garlic clove, minced

1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C.

2. Heat oil in a wide shallow ovenproof dish over medium heat, and then add the chopped fennel, red bell pepper and onion, chili flakes, bay leaves and a pinch of salt. Saute for 10 minutes until the vegetables have softened. Add garlic and saute for a minute more until fragrant.

3. Add paprika and saffron and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for a further minute, before adding the chopped tomatoes and stirring to combine. After a couple of minutes, add the stock, lemon juice, rice and chick peas, plus 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, and mix together.

4. Dot over the green olives before putting the dish into the oven (uncovered). Cook for 25 minutes.

5. Remove the dish from the oven, and arrange the artichokes and roasted red peppers over the top. Return to the oven for 5 minutes more.

6. While the dish cooks, mix the mayonnaise with the garlic to serve.

7. Once the dish is cooked, sprinkle the fennel fronds and parsley over the top, and serve with the mayonnaise and lemon wedges to squeeze over.

It's been a while. You're probably wondering if we've all starved! I am pleased to report that quite the reverse has been happening since I last went on a posting spree. Firstly, my business BiteSize Baking has been thriving, meaning that anyone in the house at risk of imminent starvation has a ready supply of leftover cupcakes to revive them. And secondly, we are now a household of just two, since the youngest went off to college. What this means, in practice, is that I still cook, fail to cook an appropriately small amount, and there are therefore always leftovers in the fridge for those who hunger to consume. Suffice to say then, no starving has been going on in these parts. 

Were we starving though, I can think of no better meal with which to break that fast, than a bowl of comforting, ooey-gooey, cheesy risotto. And if you hunger for just that, then this recipe is definitely a keeper. Instead of rice, the base is orzo, meaning that it is a little less labor-intensive, as it doesn't need constant stirring while cooking. And instead of the usual parmesan gooeyness, this recipe uses gorgonzola. I realize that blue cheese isn't to everyone's liking, but if you have waverers around your table, and they are not already swayed by the fact that blue cheeses contains high levels of zinc, so is good for the brain, contains probiotics good for digestion, AND has anti-inflammatory properties, then this might well be THE blue cheese to sway them, the gateway cheese, as it were, since gorgonzola is delicate, soft, not as stinkily 'blue' as some, and quite frankly delicious.

This is an apt description, since the original recipe comes from a British magazine called Delicious. If you are ever in the UK and craving some food porn, it is a great choice to pick up. 

Gorgonzola, Walnut and Leek Risotto

adapted from Delicious Magazine, UK

serves 3

1/2 cup walnut pieces

2 TBSP butter

1 white/yellow onion, chopped

2 leeks, trimmed and sliced

6 oz orzo

7 fl oz dry white wine

17 fl oz vegetable stock

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 oz gorgonzola dolce

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and black pepper

1. Pour the vegetable stock into a small saucepan with a lid, and put on low heat to keep hot. 

2. In a dry skillet, toast the walnut pieces until lightly golden. Then put them aside to cool before chopping into smaller pieces.

3. In the same skillet, melt the butter, then add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook over a medium heat until softened. Add the leeks and cook for 5-10 minutes more until the leeks are also soft, but not browning.

4. Add the orzo and stir to coat in the butter before pouring in the wine. Bubble on the stove, stirring constantly until the wine is almost evaporated before beginning to add the stock, a couple of ladle-fulls at a time.

5. Continue to cook, adding more stock each time it is soaked up. You don't need to stir constantly as with a rice risotto, but keep an eye on it to make sure the pan doesn't dry up and orzo start to stick. 

6. Once all the stock is used up, if the orzo still isn't cooked, add some boiling water and continue to cook until the orzo is the desired consistency. Taste and season more if needed.

7. Stir in most of the chopped walnuts, most of the parsley and all the cheese and lemon juice and mix to combine. 

8. Serve in bowls topped with the remaining walnuts and parsley.