“A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Ingredients:
– 4 eggs
– 3 large garlic clothes
– 1/2 bunch dill
– 3 tsp mayonnaise
– 1/3 tsp salt
Method:
1 Boil eggs, peel them, cut in halves and carefully remove yolks
2 Combine eggs yolk, mayonnaise, finely chopped dill and salt and put the mixture in the eggs halves
3 Serve cold
When you see a good move, look for a better one.
– Emanuel Lasker
Ingredients (2 servings):
– 2 aubergines;
– 150 g Gorgonzola;
– 4-6 cherry tomatoes;
– 4-6 garlic clothes;
– olive oil;
– parsley;
– salt/pepper
– baguette for serving.
Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2 Cut aubergines into stripes 0.5 cm length and transfer on the baking paper.
3 Sprinkle aubergines with olive oil and salt. Transfer the baking tray in the oven for 20-30 minutes until slightly golden.
4 Grate garlic, cut Gorgonzola into cubes, cut cherry tomatoes into rounds.
5 Transfer garlic, then tomatoes’ rounds, then Gorgonzola cubes on the aubergines’ stripes.
6 Bake for another 10 minutes, sprinkle with black pepper and parsley. Serve with fresh baguette.
May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.
J.R.R. Tolkien
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 !
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 !
It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.
Maud Hart Lovelace
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 😉
Sometimes,’ said Pooh, ‘the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.
A.A. Milne
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 ! ☀️ ☀️☀️
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
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 !
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 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 !
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
Lao Tzu
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 !
After moral poisoning, one requires physical remedies and a bottle of champagne.
Stendhal, The Red and the Black
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 !
You would not enjoy Nietzsche, sir. He is fundamentally unsound.
P.G. Wodehouse
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 !
Ce fut le temps sous de clairs ciels…
Paul Verlaine
Ingredients (2 servings):
– 130g canned tuna fish
– 120g Almette or another soft creamy cheese
– 1/2 chopped onion
– 1/2 finely chopped dill bunch
– 1 teaspoon lemon juice
– 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
– pinch of salt & a bit of black pepper
– 6-8 triangle slices of rye bread
– one sprig of green onions for serving
Method:
1 Prepare tuna mixture = tuna fish + cheese + chopped onion + chopped dill + mayonnaise + lemon juice + salt + pepper
2 Cut rye bread into triangle slices and toast them if you prefer them toasted 😉
3 Put the tuna mixture on the slices, enjoy it and have a great Sunday !
Les paroles d’amour, qui sont toujours les mêmes, prennent le goût des lèvres dont elles sortent.
– Guy de Maupassant
Ingredients (for 2 servings):
– 4 slices of whole grain rye bread (it’s way tastier with rye bread than with wheat one !)
– 100g soft goat cheese
– 25g dried cranberries
– 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
– 20g miner’s lettuce for serving
Method:
1 Put soft goat cheese on the rye bread slices
2 Put dried cranberries and chopped walnuts over the goat cheese
3 Serve with miner’s lettuce and enjoy it some Sunday morning when spring is about to come and everything is about to change … and with a nice book 😉
“…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
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 !
Love... to cooking ! 