Category: Appetizer

Aubergine Rolls with Walnuts !

May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.

J.R.R. Tolkien
Aubergine rolls


Aubergine stripes ingredients:
– 2 aubergines
– olive oil for baking aubergines
– chopped parsley for serving

Filling ingredients:
– 150g (baked) walnuts
– 2-3 garlic cloves
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp black pepper
– 1 bunch dill
– 1/4 cup warm water

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 200C (400F)
2 Slice aubergines lengthways into 4mm thick stripes, put on the baking paper and brush well with olive oil
3 Add walnuts halves over the aubergines: bake them together for 25min at 200C (400F)
4 Combine and blend the filling ingredients (including baked walnuts) until smooth: put 1tsp of the filling on each aubergine stripe and roll the stripes up
5 Serve cold with chopped parsley !

Spinach and Feta Fatayer: amazing with coffee !

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.

J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

I love spinach fatayer: they are simple to make, amazing in taste. They serve great as an appetizer or as a snack with coffee or with soup!

Dough ingredients:
– 1 cup (1 cup=250ml) wheat flour
– 1/4 cup water
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt

Filling ingredients:
– 90g fresh chopped baby spinach
– 90g Feta cheese
– 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
– 1 tbsp lemon juice
– 2 tsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp pepper

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 220C
2 Filling: combine all filling ingredients and mix well with the hands
3 Dough: combine all dough ingredients in a bowl: knead the dough
4 Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and form a ball out of each of them
5 Roll out each ball into a 8-10cm diameter circle: put 1 tsp filling in the centre of each circle
6 Lift up ends of each circle to the centre to form Fatayers with your fingers
7 Put the Fatayers on the baking paper (sprinkle with Provence herbs or pepper or a little of olive oil): bake for 18 minutes at 220C
8 Serve with a cup of black coffee or black tea !

Pkhali: minced aubergines, champignons, walnuts and garlic !

It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.

Maud Hart Lovelace
Pkhali

Pkhali ingredients:
– 500g aubergines
– 200g onion
– 8 champignons
– 1-2 tbsp olive oil
– 2 garlic cloves
– 1 cup walnuts
– 1 tsp cardamom
– 1 tbsp vinegar
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp black pepper

Serving ingredients:
– pomegranate seeds
– parsley

Method:
1 Prepare Pkhali ingredients:
1.1 Peel aubergines and cut into ~1cm cubes
1.2 Chop onion
1.3 Slice champignons
1.4 Peel garlic cloves
1.5 Keep the walnuts for 5 minutes in hot water (to soften them a little), then dry them with a paper towel
2 Cook champignons, onion and aubergines
2.1 Fry chopped onion and sliced champignons for 7 minutes at medium heat with some olive oil
2.2 Add aubergine cubes and cook for another 15 minutes or until aubergines are soft
3 Combine cooked champignons, onion and aubergines with garlic, softened walnuts, cardamom, salt, pepper, and vinegar in a bowl: mash until smooth with an immersive blender
4 Put the bowl in the fridge for at least 2 hours
5 Take the bowl from the fridge and form with fingers ~2cm diameter balls.
6 Put the balls on the plate and decorate with pomegranate seeds and parsley: serve, it’s a really delicious appetiser !

Notes: you can use the same recipe as a delicious pate for the sandwiches 😉

Ciabatta Toasts with Goat Cheese and Figs !

Sometimes,’ said Pooh, ‘the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.

A.A. Milne
Toasts with Goat Cheese and Figs

Ingredients (for 8 toasts):
– 8 slices Ciabatta
– 6-8 ripe figs
– 100g creamy goat cheese
– 1 tbsp olive oil for toasting
– 1/2 tsp black pepper

Serving ingredients:
– 50g corn salad
– a few sprigs chopped green onions
– 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
– 1/2 tbsp chestnut honey

Method:
1 Brush both sides of Ciabatta slices with olive oil
2 Bake oiled Ciabatta slices for 5-7 minutes at 200C on the baking paper, let them cool down
3 Butter the toasts with goat cheese
4 Put the chopped figs over the goat cheese
5 Sprinkle the toasts with black pepper, chopped green onions, balsamic vinegar
6 Serve on the corn salad with a bit of honey !
7 Enjoy ! ☀️ ☀️☀️

Bruschetta with Tomatoes is always a good idea !

Certainly the heart has always something to tell about the future to those who listen to it. But what does the heart know? Scarce a little of what has already happened.

Alessandro Manzoni, The Betrothed
Bruschetta with Tomatoes Recipe

Ingredients (for 8 bruschetta):
– 8 slices Chiabatta
– 10 small ripe tomatoes
– 2 garlic cloves
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
– a few basil leaves
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp black pepper

Serving ingredients:
– 50g corn salad
– 50g grated parmesan

Directions:
1 Preheat the oven to 200C
2 Brush both sides of Ciabatta slices with olive oil
3 Bake oiled Ciabatta slices on the baking paper for 5-7 minutes at 200C
4 Rub one side of each toast with garlic
5 Cut tomatoes into 1cm cubes and drain extra juice
6 Combine tomato cubes with 1/2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp balsamic vinegar + 1/2 tsp salt + 1/4 tsp pepper + chopped basil: put the mixture on the toasts!
7 Serve bruschetta with fresh corn salad and grated parmesan
8 Enjoy !

Aubergine Rolls with Walnuts and Garlic !

I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer days – three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.

John Keats
Aubergine rolls with walnuts recipe

Aubergine ingredients:
– 2 aubergines
– olive oil for frying aubergines

Filling ingredients:
– 1/2 cup walnuts
– 2-3 garlic cloves
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp black pepper
– 1 bunch dill
– 1/4 cup warm water

Serving ingredients:
– parsley for serving
– pomegranate seeds for serving

Directions:
1 Cook aubergines:
1.1 Wash aubergines and slice them lengthways into 4mm thick stripes
1.2 Fry aubergine stripes on a skillet with olive oil until golden both sides
1.3 Put aubergine stripes on paper towels to absorb extra oil.
1.4 Let aubergine stripes cool down before filling
3 Prepare the filling: combine grated walnuts, grated garlic, salt, pepper and chopped dill in a bowl. Mix well and add water in small portions stirring constantly
4 Put 1/2-1 teaspoon filling over each aubergine stripe and roll them up
5 Put aubergine rolls in the fridge for 30-40 minutes before serving
6 Decorate with pomegranate seeds, parsley and dill. Serve as an appetiser !

Spinach and Feta Fatayer

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu
Spinach and Feta Fatayer

Dough ingredients:
– 1 cup (1 cup=250ml) wheat flour
– 1/4 cup warm water
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt

Filling ingredients:
– 90g fresh baby spinach
– 90g Feta cheese
– 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
– 1 tbsp lemon juice
– 2 tsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp pepper

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 220C
2 Combine flour+salt+warm water in a bowl: knead the dough well for 5-6 minutes
3 Make a filling:
3.1 combine chopped spinach & salt: mix well with the hands for 3-4 minutes to get juice from spinach
3.2 add feta & walnuts & oil & pepper to the spinach & salt, mix well
4 Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and form a ball out of each of them
5 Roll out each ball into a 8-10cm diameter circle: put 1 teaspoon of a filling in the centre of each circle
6 Lift up ends of each circle to the centre to form Fatayers with your fingers
7 Put the Fatayers on the baking paper: bake for 15 minutes at 220C
8 Serve with black coffee and lemon slices !

Strawberry-Roquefort Sandwich !

After moral poisoning, one requires physical remedies and a bottle of champagne.

Stendhal, The Red and the Black
Strawberry-Roquefort Sandwich

Ingredients (4 small sandwiches):
– 50g Roquefort cheese
– 10 strawberries
– 4 slices of rye bread
– a few sprigs of greens onions

Method:
1 Slice and toast rye bread pieces
2 Wash and chop green onions
3 Wash and slice strawberries
4 Butter Roquefort cheese over the rye bread pieces, put over strawberries pieces & decorate with chopped green onions
5 Enjoy !

Spinach Fatayer: serving ideas !

You would not enjoy Nietzsche, sir. He is fundamentally unsound.

P.G. Wodehouse
Spinach Fatayer

Spinach Fatayer Dough ingredients:
– 1 cup (1 cup=250ml) wheat flour
– 1/4 cup warm water
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt

Spinach Fatayer filling ingredients:
– 120g fresh baby spinach
– 1/2 small chopped onion
– 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
– 2 tbsp lemon juice
– 2 tsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp black pepper

Method:
1 Preheat the oven at 220C !
2 Combine flour+salt+warm water in a bowl: knead the dough well for 5-6 minutes
3 Make a filling: combine chopped spinach & onion & walnuts & oil & salt & pepper
4 Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and form balls out of them
5 Roll out each ball into a 8-10cm diameter circle: put 2 teaspoons of a filling in the centre of each circle
6 Lift up ends of each circle to the centre to form with your fingers rhombuses-like Fatayers 🙂
7 Put the Fatayers on a baking paper: bake for 15 minutes at 220C
8 Serve with a vegetable soup (see Leek-potato soup recipe here) or black coffee !

Spinach Fatayer Recipe

Spinach Fatayer !

“…Absorbed in the new scents, the sounds, and the sunlight…”

― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Absorbed in the new scents, the sounds, and the sunlight…

― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
Spinach Fatayer

Dough ingredients:
– 1 cup (1cup=250ml) wheat flour
– 1/4 cup warm water
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt

Filling ingredients:
– 200g fresh baby spinach
– 1 small onion
– 1/4 cup walnuts
– 3 tbsp lemon juice
– 2 tsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp pepper

Method:
1 Preheat the oven at 220C
2 Combine flour+salt+warm water in a bowl: knead a dough for 3-5 minutes
3 Make a filling: combine finely chopped spinach + onion + walnuts + oil + salt +pepper
4 Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and form balls out of them
5 Roll out each ball into a 8-10cm diameter circle: put 2 teaspoons of a filling in the middle of each circle
6 Lift up ends of each circle to the center to form with your fingers rhombuses-like Fatayers, like on the photo 😉
7 Put the Fatayers on a baking paper: bake for 15 minutes at 220C
8 Serve with a vegetable soup or black coffee !

error: Content is protected !!
%d bloggers like this: