This is such a good side dish. We served it with roast lamb this time, but it would easily complement so many other dishes and can see us doing it alongside some grilled halloumi next time – highly recommended.
Sweet potatoes with tahini yoghurt & herb oil – serves 4 to 6
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm slices
4 tbsp olive oil
2 heaped tbsp ras el hanout
2 tbsp pine nuts
a good handful of pomegranate seeds
FOR THE HERB OIL:
15g flat leaf parsley
15g dill
15g coriander
juice of ½ lemon
3-4 tbsp olive oil
FOR THE TAHINI YOGHURT:
6 tbsp Greek-style yoghurt
4 tbsp tahini
Preheat the oven to 220C, Gas Mark 7 and line a large tray with baking paper.
Put the sweet potato slices onto the tray. Drizzzle over the olive oil, sprinkle with the ras el hanout and add plenty of salt, then use your hands to coat the sweet potatoes in the mixture. Spread out in a single layer and roast for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, make a herb oil by putting the herbs, lemon juice, olive oil (enough to allow the mixture to spin) and seasoning in a blender and whizz until smooth.
Mix the yoghurt with the tahini and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to a platter and pour over the tahini yoghurt followed by the herb oil, then scatter over the pine nuts and pomegrante seeds.
(Original recipe from Flavour by Sabrina Ghayour, Aster*, 2023.)
This is so simple for mid-week and the colours are just fab! Healthy too and generous portions.
Roast onion, chickpea & halloumi salad – serves 2
2 red onions, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges
400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp ras el hanout
extra virgin olive oil
250g cooked Puy lentils – we used a tin but you can of course cook them yourself or buy one of those pouches
100g roasted red peppers, cut into strips
a large handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
a large handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
250g packet of halloumi, sliced
2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7.
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread the onion wedges and chickpeas over the tray, then sprinkle with the ras el hanout and some salt and rub gently to coat, then drizzle with oil. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the chickpeas or golden and crunchy.
Meanwhile, mix the lentils, roast peppers, mint and half the chopped parsley in a bowl. Drizzle over 1 tbsp of oil and the pomegranate molasses and season well with salt and pepper. Mix well and divide between serving plates.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add a little oil, then fry the halloumi slices for a couple of minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Spoon the onions and chickpeas over the lentils, then top with the halloumi and scatter over the pomegranate seeds and parsley to serve.
(Original recipe from Lose Weight & Get Fit by Tom Kerridge, Bloomsbury Absolute, 2019.)
The flavours in this little Middle Eastern pie are stunning. You can make the filling up to a couple of days ahead and keep it in the fridge, the problem with this is trying to resist eating it. If your filo pastry is frozen you should defrost it in the fridge overnight, defrosting in haste causes the sheets to stick together. You can also re-freeze any sheets that you don’t use. Sarit and Itamar suggest serving with a rocket and orange salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. We had a green salad which worked fine too.
Wine Suggestion: we chose the Manciat-Poncet Pouilly Vinzelles which is a classic Chardonnay with good weight and a delightful balance of perfectly ripe fruit, vibrant freshness and judiciously handled oak. Aromatically broad and rich to counter the rich chicken flavours and natural minerality giving it all lift and vitality.
Chicken pastilla – serves 4-6
6 chicken thighs (about 800g)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
100g pitted dates
3 onions (about 300g), sliced thinly
1 cinnamon stick
1 dried chilli
2 tbsp ras el hanout
240ml water
1 packet of filo pastry (250g-270g)
60g melted butter
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Put a large frying pan over a medium heat. Put the chicken thighs into the pan, skin-side down, then season with 1 tsp of the salt and the pepper. After about 10-15 minutes the skin should be crisp and nicely coloured. Turn the thighs over and cook on the other side for about 5 minutes, then transfer to an oven-proof pan that can fit them all in one layer. Add the dates.
Add the sliced onions to the fat in the frying pan and add another tsp of salt. Cook until soft and starting to turn golden, then add the cinnamon stick, dried chilli and ras el hanout. Mix well together and cook for 30 seconds, then add the water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, pour over the chicken thighs, then cover the pan and put in the centre of the oven for 1 hour.
Check that the chicken is cooked, it should just fall off the bone. If not, return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Set the chicken aside until cool enough to handle.
Pour the contents of the pan into a sieve over a bowl, keep the cooking liquid. Pull the chicken from the bones and discard the skin, bones and any gristly bits. Remove the chilli and cinnamon stick. Mix the chicken with the cooked dates and onions, then add just enough of the liquid to bind it all together. You can prepare this part up to 2 days in advance and keep in the fridge until needed. Keep the extra liquid too and serve as a sauce on the side.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180 fan/gas 6.
Open the filo pastry packet and lay it out on a surface.
Carefully peel off the first sheet and brush with the melted butter, then fold into four and set aside (this will form the base of the pastilla).
Peel of the next sheet and butter it, then cover with another sheet and set aside. Repeat with two more sheets, so you have two sheets of double thickness.
Place one doubled sheet lengthways on the table, put the folded square in the centre of it, then lay the other doubled sheet on top at 90° to the first sheet, so you have a cross shape that is thickest in the middle.
Carefully lift the pastry and place in a 22-24cm ovenproof frying pan letting the sides hang over the edge. Fill with the chicken mixture and fold the corners over to cover it. It looks nice if its a bit crumpled so no need to be to neat about it. Brush the top of the pie with the rest of the melted butter and put into the centre of the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the pan around so it all crisps evenly, then cook for another 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden.
Meanwhile, heat the cooking liquid in a small pan.
Serve immediately with a jug of the sauce to pour over and a salad on the side.
(Original recipe from Honey & Co. by Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich, Saltyard Books, 2014.)
These are great for midweek, quite big, so they filled us up and tasted really good with the spicy yoghurt dip, some salad leaves and lemon. They are quite therapeutic to make too, or at least we thought so.
Wine Suggestion: A classic dish like fish cakes needs a classic match and Domaine de la Chauviniere’s Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur lie was our choice.
Fishcakes with ras el hanout and dill – serves 4
600g floury potatoes, cut into even chunks
300g skinless and boneless white fish
300ml milk
2½ tsp ras el hanout
zest of 2 lemons, plus 2 tbsp juice, and wedges to serve
small packet of dill, leaves finely chopped
1 large egg, beaten
85g dried breadcrumbs, we used Panko
4 tbsp sunflower oil
300g natural yoghurt
100g bag of salad leaves, to serve
Put the potatoes into a large saucepan, cover with cold salty water, bring to the boil, and cook for 18-20 minutes until cooked. Drain and leave to steam-dry in the pot, then mash.
Meanwhile, put the fish in another saucepan and pour over the milk and about 100ml of water, just to cover. Cover with a lid, bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and leave aside with the lid on to finish cooking. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and flake into large chunks with your hands.
Mix 2 tbsp of the poaching liquid into the mashed potatoes with 2 tsp of ras el hanout, the zest of 1 lemon, dill and seasoning. Carefully mix in the fish, trying not to let it break up too much further, you want nice chunks. Shape the potato mixture into 8 large fishcakes, keep them quite flat so they’re easy to brown. Dip each fishcake into the beaten egg, then the dried breadcrumbs to coat.
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the fishcakes and fry on each side for about 5 minutes over a medium heat. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t brown too much. Transfer the frying pan to the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes until piping hot.
Meanwhile, mix the yoghurt with the rest of the lemon zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice, ½ tsp ras el hanout and seasoning. Serve the fishcakes with salad, spiced yoghurt and lemon wedges.
(Original recipe by Katy Gilhooly in Good Food Magazine, December 2015.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 