Moroccan Spice Mix (Edible Christmas Gifts)

Edible Xmas gifts are a passion of mine, because most people I know don't need more stuff and home made consumables are such a nice thing to give. I've tended to try and go on the healthy side the last few years, making Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce Gift Packs, Cornbread in a Jar (2 kinds) and Bean Soup in a Jar. Also in keeping with the less-sugary-treats theme (but so much 'healthy') I've also made lots of infused vodkas - chilli, raspberry and strawberry lime.

I've been blogging for years now, and still trying to come up with new and different ideas to share for home made Xmas pressies. This year* I've gone with a theme of home made spice blends, giving away my own home made Garam Masala and also this beautiful Moroccan Spice blend. I like to try and give some guidance with my gifts though, so I've written a basic recipe on the label to help my recipients use it up.

* actually, I'll let you in on something. I hate to spoil the surprises for my family and friends by blogging about their Xmas presents before they even get them, so each year I blog about last years home made Xmas gifts. These spice blends were part of my gifts last year :)

I've started by toasting some of my spices, because I just love to do it. You can simplify the whole process and just mix pre-ground spices if you prefer. Get some little jars with good sealing lids, so the spice blend keeps nice and fresh for as long as possible. If you want to add the the gift you could combine it with some good quality couscous, a jar of Preserved Lemons or even a tagine. 

Moroccan Spice Mix

Ingredients

3 cinnamon sticks (you can substitute 1/4 cup ground cinnamon)

1/4 cup black peppercorns (you can substitute ground black pepper)

1-2 dried chillis (more or less to taste, you can substitute 1/4 cup cayenne pepper)

1/2 cup cumin seeds (you can substitute ground cumin)

1/2 cup ground ginger

1/4 cup smoked paprika

1/4 cup turmeric

To make: 

1. Combine the cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, dried chillis and cumin seeds in a dry frypan and toast until fragrant. Crush in a spice grinder/coffee grinder/food processor/mortar and pestle into a fine powder. 

2. Add in the ground ginger, smoked paprika and turmeric. 

3. Divide into small jars with tight sealing lids. 

Makes about 2 1/2 cups spice mix, will keep for several months. 

Write a label with a basic recipe if you like, here is what mine said:

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Things have been quiet here lately, as I've had so many things going on. I've been hanging on to this very special and very easy recipe for some time (since Jamaica month) so that I still had something absolutely delicious to share with you at a time when I have no time to cook or photograph food! These baked jerk sweet potato chips, inspired by Jamaica's ubiquitous jerk seasoning, were simply superb. I couldn't stop eating them and they were all gone very quickly!

They're great for when you're entertaining, because you can chop up your sweet potatoes and have them coated in your jerk seasoning and ready to go nice and early. Then just spread them out on a tray and stick in the oven for just 20 minutes or so before serving. If you're making for a group though, I advise making plenty because they were so very popular when I made them.

You can play around a bit with the quantities of the seasoning mix, according to your personal preferences. Make all the teaspoon and tablespoons nice and generous though :)

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients
2 tsp allspice  
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp thyme leaves
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, very finely minced
1/2 scotch bonnet chilli, very finely minced (substitute 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, if you like)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large sweet potatoes

To Make
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
2. Combine the allspice, cinnamon, thyme leaves, brown sugar, garlic and chilli and mix well. Add the olive oil and stir into a smooth paste. 
3. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into chip shapes, keeping them all roughly the same size (otherwise they will all need different amounts of cooking time). Toss the sweet potatoes in the jerk seasoning, coating well. At this stage to can put them in the fridge, and cook later.
4. Spray a baking tray lightly with cooking spray and spread the chips out evenly. Try not to crowd them too much, you may need two trays. 
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until soft on the inside and a darkish caramelised brown on the surface (see picture). Serve hot. 

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jamaican Rum Punch

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Jamaican Peanut Punch

Gizzada (Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts)

Old-time Jamaican Lemonade

Jamaican Ginger Cake

Pineapple Salsa

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

[The Best] Curried Potatoes

Potato curry is such a perfect dish, the potatoes are superb consistency just waiting to soak up the delicious flavours of your curry sauce. These curried potatoes are genuinely some of the best I have ever eaten (that is a really tough call!). It's made here with potato as the absolute star, but you could adapt it to be a more general veggie curry by using a range of different vegetables. This is the perfect dish to make for a potluck or party though, just exactly as it is.

The chilli in it is definitely optional, in fact I think it's just perfect without it. But you can throw in the jalapeño if you really don't like your curries mild! This recipe makes a fairly large serving, perfect for taking to a potluck or serving up at a dinner party. If you're making it for a smaller crowd or as a side dish for a family diner, try just making half.


Curried Potatoes

Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 onions, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 lg carrot, diced
1kg chat potatoes, peeled and halved
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1 cup vegetable stock
1 jalapeño, finely chopped (optional)
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Shallots (green parts only), to garnish

To Make
1. Heat oil in a wok and add the onion and garlic. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, until translucent.
2. Add the curry powder and allspice and fry for about another minute. Then add the carrot and potatoes. Cook for a further 4 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, vegetable stock, jalapeño, balsamic vinegar and one cup of water. Bring to a boil and the reduce heat. Simmer, covered for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and cooked through.
4. Serve with rice and garnished with fresh chopped shallots.

Serves 4-6.

Make Your Own Garam Masala

A little while ago, I had a kitchen epiphany. I had a lovely dish brewing in my brain, it was going to be gorgeous and spicy. I headed to my spice rack only to find none of the star ingredient I had in mind - garam masala. Much as I hate making a trip to the shops for just one item, down I went to get the all important garam masala, only to find the shelf completely bare. I was irrationally frustrated by this, and grumped my way back home. It took a surprising amount of time for me to realise that, of course, garam masala is just a blend of spices which are all present on my insanely well-stocked spice 'rack' (I use the inverted commas there because no one rack could possibly contain all my spices, so they are in fact in there separate clusters all around my kitchen).

I couldn't quite believe I'd been so silly. So I made some myself. I have not bought garam masala since that day, because making it was easy, fun and meant that I could tweak it to include more of the spices I love the most. Making spice blends also has the benefit of making your house smell ridiculously yummy. Plus - look how much darker and richer my home made mix is compared to the months-old stuff that has been sitting in the supermarket.

My Garam Masala Blend

Ingredients
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
3 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns

To Make:
1. Combine all spices in a frypan and dry roast gently until fragrant and just toasted. Allow to cool slightly and then grind into a fine powder using a spice grinders, a mortar and pestle or a food processor which has a spice grinding attachment. Keep in sealed jars and use generously.

NOTE - If you don't have whole spices and don't want to go out and get them all, you can combine the same quantities of ground 
spices in a jar and use that. However, roasting them yourself before grinding really adds richness and brings out the flavours, so it's definitely preferable.

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

The cornerstone of Jamaican savoury food is Jerk seasoning, used on just about anything (although mostly meat!). I've made some jerk tofu to get us started on Jamaican month and made it into BBQ skewers with pineapple. The photograph here is from before they were cooked, because after they were cooked they were gobbled up immediately :)

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Ingredients
375g hard tofu, drained and pressed and cut into cubes
1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into cubes
2-3 shallots, cut into 1 inch lengths

Jerk Marinade:
2 shallots, chopped
2.5 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 scotch bonnet chilli (if you don't like it hot, use only a quarter)
3 tbsp lime juice
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp oil

To Make:
1. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor (or mortar and pestle) and purée into a smooth paste.
2. Pour the marinade all over the tofu cubes and mix well. Marinade overnight, or for at least a couple of hours. Mix or toss the tofu every so often to make sure the marinade is coating all the tofu.
3. If using wooden skewers, soak in water while you get all the ingredients ready to thread.
4. Cut your pineapple and shallots and thread these onto the skewers with the tofu. Once finished drizzle any marinade left all over the skewers.
5. BBQ until the tofu is browned and starting to go crispy and the pineapple is golden brown and starting to caramelise. You may need to add a little oil to the BBQ if it is too dry. Eat straight away while they're hot.

Makes approximately 17 skewers.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Jamaica.

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jamaican Rum Punch

Jamaican Peanut Punch

Gizzada (Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts)

Old-time Jamaican Lemonade

Jamaican Ginger Cake

Pineapple Salsa

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Oranjebitter - Dutch Orange Bitters (Vegan Virtual Potluck 5)

Remember when we had Netherlands month on the blog? Of course you don't, it was ages ago! This recipe for Oranjebitter (Orange Bitters) is from way back then but I was holding onto it for a special occasion. The return of the spectacular Virtual Vegan Potluck is the perfect time to share this one with you, not only because I'm in the beverages category - but also because the (optional) theme ingredient this time around is Citrus.

Cue: Orange Bitters. You might be wondering what orange bitters is, and thinking that the use of the word "bitter" in the title is not so appealing. Ever had a Lemon, Lime & Bitters? They use Angostura bitters. Dutch Orange Bitters (Oranjebitter) is another type of bitters, but an orange flavoured one - pretty self explanatory.

Their uses are very broad, they make a great aperitif, digestif and cocktail ingredient. One of the easiest ways to use your orange bitters is to make yourself a Lemon, Lime & Orange Bitters. Just swap out your angostura bitters for orange. There are many cocktails which specifically used orange bitters, but you can also use it to drizzle over ice cream, to flavour cakes and desserts or just to drink on ice if you love the taste of bitter orange (if you're a marmalade lover, then you probably do love the taste of bitter orange!). If you're keen to just drink it as a dessert, you can whip up a simple sugar syrup (gently heat 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar to dissolve and then cool to room temperature) and then add the orange bitters to taste.

Because it's been such a long time since Netherlands month, I'll remind you of some of the delicious vegan recipes I shared:

Lazybones Buns (Luilakbollen)

Speculaas (Spice Biscuits)

Hollandse Stroopkoek (Syrup & Beer Cake)

Gevulde Speculaas

Naked Babies in the Grass

Dutch Orange Bitters (Oranjebitter)

Ingredients

1 lemon, washed

1 orange, washed

5 cardamom pods

3 tbsp sugar

2 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1/3 vanilla bean

2 cups vodka

To Make

1. Use a potato peeler to thinly peel the orange and lemon. Juice them both and then set the juice aside, but save the seeds. Lay the peel and the seeds out on a tray and dry them in a warmed oven until dried out and crisp.

2. Place the peel, seeds, cardamom pods and sugar in a mortar and pestle and crush up just a little bit.

3. Combine all ingredients in a medium sized jar and pour the reserved orange and lemon juice and the vodka over the top. Shake well and put the lid on nice and tight.

4. Leave in a cool, dark place for 2-3 weeks to infuse, taking it out and shaking it up every couple of days.

5. You can leave it as long as you like, and taste it every so often until you get it as strong and bitter as you like. When you like how it tastes, strain through a tea strainer lined with filter paper to get a clear golden liquid. Stores in the cupboard for 12-18 months. 

Makes 2 1/2 - 3 cups. 

A quick note- I've photographed mine before I strained it out, to show the ingredients infusing in the jar, which is why it's still quite cloudy in my pictures. The final result after straining will be clearer.

Cocktails using Orange Bitters:

Yule Mule

This is part of the Virtual Vegan Potluck #5, so please use the buttons below to check out what other delicious recipes have been brought to the potluck:

Or, if you'd like to start at the beginning and work your way through, click here.

Thanks for stopping in and enjoy the potluck! If you like what you see on the blog and want to keep in touch, I recommend liking the Gormandize facebook page so that you can get my new recipes all up in your feed!

In case you're interested.... this month is Myanmar (Burmese) Food Month on the blog.

This month I'm featuring vegan recipes from Myanmar (Burma).

Check out my other Burmese recipe posts:

Vegan Fish Sauce

Ohn No Khao Swe with Chickpea Tofu

Burmese Tomato Salad

Gin Thoke (Ginger Salad)

Burmese Sticky Rice Cake

Soetkoekies (Vegan)

I always find making cut out biscuits therapeutic, rolling out the dough and cutting out each one and then carefully transferring them to the tray and cutting out the next batch while the first batch are baking. I don't bake biscuits very often (because then I would eat biscuits very often), but I love putting some music on and spending an afternoon baking. I also love port. True, I love it. That makes this recipe just perfect. Have a little glass of port while you roll and bake & enjoy your afternoon! It's cold and rainy today and I wish I was at home drinking port and baking instead of here at work!

Soetkoekies

Ingredients
250g flour (I use wholemeal)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
100g castor sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
60g ground almonds
125g vegan margarine or butter
1/3 cup apple sauce
30ml port
Slivered almonds, to decorate

To Make
1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then rub the butter in with your fingers until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the apple sauce and port and mix into a stiff dough. If it's too sticky (sticking to your fingers while you mix) add a bit more flour until it's not sticky anymore. If it is too dry and crumbly (won't come together in a smooth ball) then add a little more port.
2. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. Heat oven to 180 degrees C.
4. Cut the dough into quarters and roll out a quarter at a time to about 5mm thick, then cut into whatever shapes you like. Place each biscuit on a tray lined with baking paper. Decorate each with a few slivered almonds.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes (or until just starting to turn golden brown), turn the tray about halfway through to ensure even baking.
6. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool complete and then store in an airtight jar or container.

Makes about 2 dozen (depends on the size of your biscuit cutters).

This month I'm featuring recipes from South Africa.

Check out my other South African recipe posts:

Vegan Milk Tart

South African Tomato Chutney

Chakalaka

Mzoura (Tunisian Harissa Parsnips)

Parsnips are often a vegetable which gets undervalued, a lot of people dismiss them without giving them a chance or just don't got near them in the first place because of some childhood memory of mushy boiled unflavoured parsnips. Well, I love parsnips - if they're cooked right! They add a beautiful hearty nutty flavour to soups and stews. They were just delicious in my Swede & Parsnip Cottage Pies. They're perfect for all kinds of comfort food (potato and parsnip mash anyone?). These simple but really tasty Tunisian spiced parsnips really impressed. I cooked them up as side veggies for one of my dinner parties and they ended up being a favourite of many of my guests!

Mzoura (Tunisian Harissa Parsnips)

Ingredients

800g parsnips, peeled and sliced

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp harisa paste or harisa spice mix

2 tbsp agave nectar

Fresh coriander, to garnish (optional)

To Make

1. Boil the parsnips until only just tender. Drain well and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large frypan and add the onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is softened.

3. Add the cumin, corander and harissa. Fry for about 30 seconds and then add the parsnips and about 1/2 cup water. Simmer until the water is gone and then add the agave nectar and stir to coat completely. Heat through and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 as a side veggie. Perfect for potlucks.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Tunisia!

Check out my other Tunisian recipe posts:

Cooked Carrot & Olive Salad

{Baked} Tunisian Yoyo (Orange Flavoured Doughnuts)

Hlalem (Tunisian Pasta and Beans)

Sweet Potato, Olive & Caper Briks

Sesame & Chilli Fried Potatoes

I'd sound like a broken record if I told you again how much I adore tahini - if you've ever read this blog before then you probably know it already! So I won't. Wait, I just did. Oh well.....

It's hard to pass up the opportunity to make fried potatoes of any variety - and these ones in particular. In this recipe you make a bit of a home made tahini with toasted sesame seeds and spices, fry it up with some potatoes & chillies and then sit back and eat it straight out of the pan with a fork. Or serve it up on nice plates to dinner guests - it's your choice!

Ingredients
500g potatoes
1/2 cup unhulled sesame seeds
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 green chillis, chopped
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder (just leave this out if you don't have any)
Juice of 1 lemon

To Make
1. Peel the potatoes and chop into wedges, keeping them all roughly the same size. Boil in water until just tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In a dry (preferably non stick) frypan, toast the sesame seeds until golden. Transfer to a food processor and blitz into a powder.
3. Heat the oil in a large (preferably non stick!) frypan, and add the chillies and fenugreek seeds. Fry until the fenugreek is golden brown and then add the spices and fry for a further 15 seconds. Then add the sesame seed powder and stir well, to make a paste.
4. Add the drained potatoes and toss well to coat in the sesame chilli paste.Turn the heat down to low and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. The potatoes should be cooked through, but not starting to break up yet.
5. Add the lemon juice, stir through and remove from the heat. Serve.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Nepal!

Check out my other Nepali/Nepalese recipe posts:

Tomato Achar

Aloo Roti (Potato Roti)

Semolina Halva

Vegetable Momo with Chilli Sesame Dipping Sauce

Chilli Grapefruit & Orange Salad

Saag Tarkari

Raspberry, Lime & Black Pepper Salad Dressing

I've been cooking with a lot of gorgeous olive oil lately sent to me by Bertolli - they sent me some bottles of their different types of olive oil so that I could experiment with using different types for different uses. I'll confess, I have never in the past given thought to which type of olive oil was better for different styles of cooking so it has been great to use different types and learn as I go. Bertolli sent me three different types of their olive oil - Extra Virgin, Classic and Light. Their light olive oil was perfect for frying, and I made these amazing healthy Chilli Tofu Lettuce Wraps using it, the light olive oil really tasted light and didn't make the fried tofu oily at all.

When it comes to salad dressing though, you really want the flavour of an extra virgin olive oil. It mixes well into dressings and brings out the flavour of the other ingredients. With warmer weather on the way I wanted to make a pretty special salad dressing to celebrate. Raspberries are something that it always special to me because generally they're expensive, so they're a real treat. You can use frozen raspberries for this recipe as well, just make sure you thaw them out completely first.

This post is also part of my Veganmofo My Spice Rack theme, using black pepper from my spice rack.

Raspberry, Lime and Black Pepper Salad Dressing

Ingredients
2 tbsp fresh rapberries
1 tbsp Bertolli extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp cracked black pepper

To Make
1. Crush the raspberries roughly with the back of a fork, they don't have to be smooth though.
2. Combine the raspberries with all the other ingredients in a jar and shake well. Can be made in advance and stored in the fridge.

What to put it on?
This dressing has a delicious strong flavour, so goes well to make a fairly plain salad something special. Try drizzling it over some lettuce, cucumber, tomato and avocado to really make your salad shine. Or, toss with baby spinach, thinly sliced fennel and toasted almonds for something a bit more fancy.

A quick note on this post: I received free olive oil from Bertolli to use on my blog, however, I am not being paid for this post nor am I an ambassador for this brand.

Egyptian Orange Olive Salad with Cumin

I love trying new salads, and with spring well and truly here now it's the perfect time to be experimenting with them. I found this beautiful salad on (shifty eyes) wikirecipes. I know, it's not the most reliable source of information. But it was listed with the Egyptian recipes and even though I really wasn't sure if it was authentic at all, I thought it sounded delicious so I decided to make it  anyway - maybe an Egyptian reader can tell me whether it is the kind of thing that Egyptians would actually eat :)

In the end though, it didn't matter if it was authentic or not because it was really, really tasty and I will definitely make this again. It is a fresh and light salad which makes a perfect accompaniment to heavier, carby-er main dishes.

This Orange & Olive Salad is flavoured with ground cumin - which is not an exotic spice but it's not something I normally put in salads in ground form (I often do use toasted cumin seeds in salads which is delicious!), so it was nice to learn a new use for this incredible spice.

Cumin
Cumin is a cooks best friend, it has amazing flavour and enhances any curries, soups, casseroles and salads you could dream to put them in. It is believed to be indingenous to the middle east and has a strong history in Egypt.  Cumin seeds have been found in the pyramids of the pharoahs, they were used by Egyptians in their mummifying process. There is also references in the Old and New Testaments of the bible to cumin. In ancient Rome, cumin was a symbol of greed and the miserly emperor Marcus Aurelius was nicknamed "Cuminus".

Reference: Hemphill, 2006

For my month of spices I'm using Spice Notes and Recipes by Ian Hemphill as my reference tool to learn about spices and for all the information above. Thanks Ian for writing such a great and informative book! 

Orange and Olive Salad with Cumin

Ingredients
8 navel oranges, sliced and with skin and pith sliced off
1/2 cup halved marinated black olives
1 small Spanish onion, peeled and sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

To Make
1. Combine the orange slices, olives and onion in a salad bowl.
2. Mix the lemon juice, cumin, olive oil, salt and pepper in a jar and shake well.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and allow to sit for 20 minutes to let the flavour meld. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 6-8 as a side salad.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Egypt.

Check out my other Egyptian recipe posts:

Preserved Lemons

Limoonada (Egyptian Lemonade)

Mesa'a'ah (Spicy Eggplant)

'Ancient Egyptian Peasant' Beer Onions

Creamy Tahini Sauce

Ful Medames

Khoshaf

Mesa'a'ah (Egyptian Spicy Eggplant)

Had to take a couple of days break from Mofo blogging because I've been flat out at work, but I'm back to it now! My themes for this month are Egyptian food and 'My Spice Rack' and this delicious dish is part of both of those themes. This eggplant dish is called mesa'a'ah or sometimes spelled mesa'a'a or even just mesa'a - I don't know which one is most accurate because I'm just a chick with the internet. This dish uses allspice for flavour, a common ingredient in Egyptian and middle eastern dishes.

Allspice
Given it's confusing name, you would be forgiven for thinking that allspice was a spice blend. It is actually made from a dried unripe berry and is also sometimes referred to as 'Pimento' (which, confusingly, is the Spanish word for pepper). Allspice has a long history - the Aztecs added allspice and vanilla to their chocolate drinks and the Mayan Indians used it in embalming. It is also commonly used as an aid to preservation and even after the invention of refrigeration practices, it still appears in some preserved meats and in Scandinavian canned fish.It is also often used as a substitute for cloves, as it can achieve a much more subtle clove flavour. Allspice contains the same volatile oil (eugenol) as cloves and, surprisingly, as basil. Hence it is a spice which compliments tomatoes very well.

Reference: Hemphill, 2006

For my month of spices I'm using Spice Notes and Recipes by Ian Hemphill as my reference tool to learn about spices and for all the information above. Thanks Ian for writing such a great and informative book! 

Mesa'a'ah

Ingredients
3 large eggplants
2 tbsp olive oil (you will need more if your pan is not non stick)
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 jalapeños (fresh or preserved), chopped (you can use less if you don't like it too hot)
2 x 400g tins chopped or crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 tsp allspice
Salt and pepper to taste

To Make
1. Preheat the oven to 180.
2. Slice the eggplant thickly. Heat the oil in a large frypan and fry the eggplant on both sides until just softened (doesn't need to be completely cooked). The eggplant soaks up the oil so you will have to replenish the oil between batches, if you use a non stick frypan you will use less oil.
3. Place about half the eggplant pieces in a layer along the bottom of a large lasagne dish. Top with the onions and jalapeños and then layer the remaining eggplant over the top.
4. Combine the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, water, allspice and salt and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 5 minutes and then pour it all over the eggplant.
5. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for about 45-50 minutes (or until the onion is cooked through).

Serves 4-6.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Egypt.

Check out my other Egyptian recipe posts:

Preserved Lemons

Limoonada (Egyptian Lemonade)

Orange and Olive Salad with Cumin

'Ancient Egyptian Peasant' Beer Onions

Creamy Tahini Sauce

Ful Medames

Khoshaf

How to Make Your Own Preserved Lemons (Egyptian Style)

A lot of middle eastern cuisines use tangy preserved lemons either in dishes or as an accompaniment. It's delicious! But have you seen how expensive a jar of preserved lemons can be? Ouch. This month I'm exploring Egyptian cuisine. They use preserved lemon commonly as a side or an accompaniment to the main meal. I really wanted to do this but didn't want to spend $10 on a small jar of preserved lemons at my supermarket. The solution is to make my own - I got a much bigger jar for much less money :)

It isn't difficult and the result was delicious. Commonly in Egypt lemons are preserved in brine with things like nigella seeds and safflower to flavour. I didn't have any safflower in the house sadly (I've substituted peppercorns) but I did have some nigella seeds and conveniently this month I am doing Vegan Mofo with the theme "My Spice Rack" in which I try to use up lots of the spices which I rarely use. Nigella seeds are definitely something I'm keen to find more uses for - I've got a big jar of them but I'm not really sure what to do with them. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Nigella Seeds

Nigella seeds (Nigella satvia), also sometimes referred to (incorrectly) as Black Cumin (Carum bulbocastanum), is native Western Asia and Southern Europe. According to online sources Nigella satvia has been used in Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine and in Aryuvedic medicine. That's somewhat my area so I pulled down my Materia Medica and had a look. Nigella satvia doesn't appear in my Materia Medica of Chinese Herbal Medicine so I cannot vouch for the claim that it was used in TCM. It may, however, have been used in Ayurvedic medicine (not my area!). Most commonly, nigella seeds can be found sprinkled on top of Turkish bread and some naan breads. The spice compliments carbohydrates particularly well and so if often used on bread or in potato dishes.

Reference: Hemphill, 2006

For my month of spices I'm using Spice Notes and Recipes by Ian Hemphill as my reference tool to learn about spices and for all the information above. Thanks Ian for writing such a great and informative book! 

Egyptian Preserved Lemon

Ingredients
1 cup boiling hot water
1 tsp salt
5 lemons
1-2 tbsp nigella seeds
1-2 tbsp whole peppercorns

To Make
1. Dissolve the salt in the cup of boiling water and then set aside to cool. Crack open some of the peppercorns using the side of a knife or a mortar and pestle (but don't crush them up).
2. Scrub the lemons and slice either in 1 cm thick slices or you can cut them into quarters or eighths, whatever you like. Place the lemons in a saucepan and cover with water.
3. Place over a low heat until the water is not quite boiling yet. This will soften the lemons up but not cook them (don't let the water come to a simmer). Remove from the water immediately so they don't continue cooking (but keep the water).
4. Grab a sealable jar and wash well with hot water. Place the lemon slices in layers in the jar and sprinkle some nigella seeds and peppercorns over each layer. When you have crammed all your lemons into the jar add the cup of salty water. The lemons should be completely immersed in the liquid - if you need a bit more liquid you can use a bit of the water you had the lemons in.
5. Seal the jar and store in a dark place for 2-3 weeks. After 2-3 weeks store the jar in the fridge and use as needed.

Preserved lemons can be eaten whole, including the skin.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Egypt.

Check out my other Egyptian recipe posts:

Limoonada (Egyptian Lemonade)

Mesa'a'ah (Spicy Eggplant)

Orange and Olive Salad with Cumin

'Ancient Egyptian Peasant' Beer Onions

Creamy Tahini Sauce

Ful Medames

Khoshaf

Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Cupcakes

It's day 3 of Vegan Mofo and thus far I'm managing to keep up with posting! My theme this year is My Spice Rack. I've got so many spices piled up in my kitchen that I thought I had better start thinking of ways to use them all up! Yesterday I posted a Spicy Chickpea Salad with Olive Hummus Dressing which used 4 spices from my shelf. Today, only one, but it's an interesting one!

Chinese Five Spice
Chinese Five Spice is a blend of star anise, fennel seeds, cassia, black pepper and cloves. It is used in many Asian recipes but usually in combination with meat, although it can be added to stir fried vegetables. In place of the meat, it could be used as a rub or a marinade for tofu or other meat substitutes. But I wanted to do something a bit different with it. So I made dessert, a bit unusual! The zing of the Five Spice gives these Chocolate Cupcakes something pretty special and a couple of my friends went pretty crazy over these babies. Start of adding just a 1/2 tsp of five spice to the mix and then taste it. If you can't really taste the Chinese Five Spice then add some more and taste again. I ended up using a whole teaspoon, but it's something you can make to taste.

Reference: Hemphill, 2006

For my month of spices I'm using Spice Notes and Recipes by Ian Hemphill as my reference tool to learn about spices and for all the information above. Thanks Ian for writing such a great and informative book! 

Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 cup oat milk (or soy milk)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (or to taste)

To Make
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the oat milk, sugar, canola oil and vanilla extract.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until all combined.
4. Fill your cupcake baking tray with liners and fill them 3/4 full of batter.
5. Bake for 23 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool. To serve, dust with icing sugar or ice with a chocolate buttercream icing or a chocolate ganache - whatever you feel like!

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Cupcakes pictured here with my

Lemon and Orange Cupcakes.

Gevulde Speculaas (Dutch Spiced Almond Pie)

This pie is one of the best things I've cooked all year - I can't recommend it enough! It's a great idea, the pastry is made from delicious spiced Speculaas dough and it's filled with gorgeous almonds. There isn't much else to say - just go and make it and you won't be sorry!

I've adapted this from a recipe on a great blog called The Dutch Table, which has loads of Dutch recipes. It's also run by a very nice person called Nicole who was more than helpful in advising me on my Dutch food month. It's so lovely to meet new and friendly people all over the world. Of course, being me - I have changed it up a bit to suit my personal taste! I just can't help myself.

Gevulde Speculaas
Adapted from The Dutch Table

Ingredients 
1 batch of Speculaas Dough (note: preferably needs to be made the night before)
1 cup blanched almonds
1 cup confectioners/icing sugar
1/3 cup water
1 pinch cinnamon

To Make
1. Hop over to this recipe and make the Speculaas dough the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Soak the blanched almonds in hot water for fifteen minutes.
3. Drain the almonds and set aside some for decorating (between 10-14 should do it). Place the remaining in a food processor and process until coarsely chopped, should only take a few pulses.
4. Tip the chopped almonds into a bowl and stir through the sugar, cinnamon and water.
5. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut in in half. Place on a floured bench space. Dust your rolling pin with flour and roll out half of the dough to a circle which will fit across the bottom of your pie dish (use a medium to large size shallow pie dish - preferably with a removable bottom!).
6. Transfer the rolled out pastry to the bottom of the dish. It might break up a bit as you move it, but just patch it up but pressing more dough into it (doesn't have to be neat, nobody will see it).
7. Spread the almond filling on top of the pie base. Roll out the top and place it on the top of the pie. Use any remaining pastry to decorate the top and press the almonds you set aside into the top.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and cooked on top.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from The Netherlands.

Check out my other Dutch recipe posts:

Lazybones Buns (Luilakbollen)

Naked Babies in the Grass

Speculaas (Spice Biscuits)

Hollandse Stroopkoek (Syrup & Beer Cake)