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Posts Tagged ‘Dried mint’

This is a cheat recipe using a packet of shop-bought stuffed pasta. It makes a delicious lunch!

Lazy mantí – serves 2

  • 300g pack of shop-bought stuffed pasta
  • 50g butter
  • 1 tsp pul biber chilli flakes
  • 150g natural yoghurt
  • 1 scant tsp dried mint

Cook the pasta in lots of salty boiling water according to the timings on the pack, then drain into a sieve.

Return the pasta pan to the heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, stir in the pul biber, then remove from the heat.

Season the yoghurt with salt and pepper and loosen with a little water – you’re looking for double cream consistency.

Divide the pasta between warm bowls and pour over the yoghurt, then drizzle over the pul biber butter, sprinkle with dried mint and season generously with black pepper.

(Original recipe from Persiana Everyday by Sabrina Ghayour, Aster, 2022.)

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We’ve made a salad like this before but this one is fresher and makes a great side dish for a crowd. We served it with some spicy baked salmon.

Georgian kidney bean salad – serves 6 to 8

  • 2 x 400g tins kidney beans (we used 300g dried kidney beans, rinse then soak in 3 times the volume of cold water for 5 hours. Drain and put into a saucepan covered by an inch with cold water, then boil hard for 30 minutes, stirring to prevent any sticking)
  • 50g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 2 heaped tsp dried mint
  • 2 banana shallots, very thinly sliced into rings
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp pul biber chilli flakes
  • Maldon salt & fresh ground black pepper

If you are using tinned beans, drain them rinse well under a cold tap to get rid of the briny liquid. Shake the beans dry, then tip into a large bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredints to the bowl and fold together gently, you don’t want to crush the beans. Season well with salt and pepper, stir again and leave at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.

Stir well again before serving.

(Original recipe from Persiana Everyday by Sabrina Ghayour, Aster, 2022.)

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Every year we get a Christmas gift of a cookbook, well we demand it really. This year’s was Med by Claudia Roden and we made this soup as soon as we got home. The flavours are unusual and very delicate but it’s really lovely.

Yoghurt soup with orzo & chickpeas – serves 4

  • 50g orzo
  • 700ml chicken stock (or you can use veg stock)
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 250g Greek-styke yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp dried mint
  • a good pinch of saffron threads
  • 120g tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • extra virgin olive oil, sumac & chilli powder (to garnish)

Cook the orzo in salty boiling water according to the pack instructions, then drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to the boil in another saucepan.

Put the egg yolk and cornflour into a bowl and whisk with a fork until smooth. Put a large spoonful of the yoghurt into the bowl and beat to combine, then beat in the rest of the yoghurt. Stir in the mint, saffron and some black pepper.

Remove the stock from the heat and add the yoghurt mixture, whisking continuously. Stir over a very low heat until beginning to simmer, then cook for 3-5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the chickpeas and heat through and season with salt to taste.

Mix the orzo into the soup just before serving.

Divide between warm bowls and garnish with the sumac, chilli powder and olive oil.

(Original recipe from Med A Cookbook by Claudia Roden, Ebury Press, 2021.)

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