Fattoush is a great summer salad perfect for eating al fresco with a friends or a barbeque. This is a rustic country salad from Syria and Lebanon that uses a dressing make from buttermilk. This gives the salad a smooth let sharp finish that makes it so refreshing.
Vanilla Panna Cotta must be one of the easiest desserts to make, but perhaps harder to get exactly right. Success depends on using the best ingredients and taking care to blend them perfectly. Read on to learn just how to do that.
How to make Hummus. It’s easy to make this classic middle eastern snack, better and fresher than the bought version. Its smooth healthy, and full of flavour. And once you have mastered the process there is a wealth of other flavours you can add to the basic mix.
I have chosen to use tinned chickpeas (also known as Garbanzo beans) for this as its less work. If you want to cook your own, make sure to buy decent quality chickpeas not the cheapest version. Open the packet and check for any small stones or debris present. Cover the chickpeas with cold water and leave overnight.
The following morning drain the chickpeas and put them into a large pan. Cover them with at least twice the amount of water as there is chickpeas and add 1tsp bicarbonate of soda.
Mix well and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Check to make sure they are cooked through, and if ready drain the contents of the pan and run cold water over the chickpeas. If you find you have cooked to many, then can be kept in the freezer for a couple of months.
While the tinned chickpeas are already cooked, to give us a nice smooth texture its best to cook them a little longer.
Tip the chickpeas with the juices into a saucepan and top up with some more water. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the pan and bring to the simmer. Reduce the heat so the pan is sitting at a steady simmer, pop on the lid and cook for 20 minutes.
Once the time is up, drain the chickpeas into a colander and rinse with cold water.
To make a really refined smooth hummus its best to remove the skin of the chickpeas. Now this is not traditional. The original hummus was a more rustic affair with everything just pounded together. You can if you wish sit there removing the skin from each chickpea one by one. But there is an easier way.
Tip the chickpeas into a large bowl and run cold water over them to two thirds fill the bowl with water. Get your hand in and agitate the chickpeas vigorously. This will remove the skins and they will start to flat to the surface. They can know be lifted from the water using a spider or slotted spoon. I like to do this two or three times, but don’t worry if you haven’t removed every last one.
As you probably know I like garlic, but we don’t want the garlic to be the dominate flavour in our hummus. We can use the lemon juice to ‘pickle’ the garlic and reduce is potency.
Peel the garlic and cut into thin slices. Put these into a small glass dish and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Put the dish to one side to sit for at least 10 minutes before use.
Make sure the chickpeas are well drained, then remove a few to garnish the finished Hummus.
Tip the chickpeas into the food processor and add the cumin, salt, garlic, and lemon juice, with a dash of water. Run the processor for a few seconds to break up the chickpeas.
Add the tahini and blend again, then add the olive oil. I like to use some olive oil in the recipe. Not all recipes for Hummus use it as the tahini is quite oily, but I prefer the texture and taste the oils adds.
You will need to use water to soften the texture as you blend the chickpeas. Don’t put too much in a one as you can’t remove it. Once you have a pleasing texture stop processing and have a taste.
If the Hummus tastes flat, try some more lemon juice and possible a pinch of salt. The right amount of lemon juice is crucial in getting the flavour balance right.
If you can, leave the Hummus for a couple of hours in the fridge for the flavours to develop.
I think Hummus is best served on a deep plate rather than a bowl. This makes it much easier to pick up the Hummus with flatbreads of vegetable sticks. Spread the Hummus around the plate using the back of a spoon. Pour some good olive oil into the groves made by the spoon, then sprinkle with chopped parsley. For an ideal accompaniment have a look at our post on making your own flatbreads.
Yes, there’s loads of options, try some of these. Add some basil pesto, ether mix it all through or leave it half mixed with swirls of pesto through the Hummus.
Sun blushed tomatoes. Chop them through the Hummus and use the oil from the jar in place of the olive oil in the recipe.
Soft green herbs, whatever you have fresh from the garden. Ether fold them in chopped or blend them in for a green coloured Hummus.
Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds and olive oil. Some varieties may also include some sesame oil for added punch. It is used as a thickening and flavouring ingredient in middle eastern cooking. Don’t just limit it to that, it makes a good dip, salad dressing, or just have it on toast!
Yes, try some peanut butter, Greek yoghurt or even Avocado to make the mix. You will need to bring up the seasoning. A dash of sesame oil could be added for authenticity.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
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8 Easy Summertime Fruit Drinks for all the family. If you are having a barbeque or just lying back enjoying the summer sun, there is nothing better than having a long cool drink on hand.
Halfway between a drink and a slush this Raspberry Cooler is a hit with children and adults alike.
In fact, you can serve it both ways at once. Spoon the sieved base into small containers as a raspberry slush for the children. Then simply dilute the rest of the slush into drinks for the adults.
This delicious Elderflower, Apple, and Mint Fizz is the easiest of all our summertime drink recipes. No special equipment needed and only takes a couple of minutes to make. So, it’s a great standby if friends turn up unexpectedly and need a quick cooling drink.
Don’t forget to look up our home page on Easy Summertime Coolers for more summertime drinks.
The elderflower cordial may be the only ingredient you don’t already have. The good news is that its easy to find with most supermarkets having it available. If you have never tried it, I would recommend you give it a try. Its more versatile than you think and can be used in baking, salad dressings and of course cocktails. Try a fruit salad of chilled melon sprinkled with the cordial – fantastic.
Pick the mint leaves and roll each one in your fingers. You don’t want to crush them, just lightly bruise the leaves. This will release some of the flavour without been too strong.
Wash and thinly slice the flesh off the apple working around the core Pop the sliced apple and mint leaves into a jug and pour the apple juice over the top.
Add the elderflower cordial, and lemon juice then mix well. Top up the jug with the sparkling mineral water and ice cubes.
Serve as cold as possible in chilled glasses with some of the apple slices and mint.
Enjoy Life !
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Classic Fruity Iced Tea, the flavour of tea with a hint of citrus to cool you down. The infusion is made the day before, then allowed to chill overnight.
This Coconut and Pineapple Cooler works in a similar way to our Creamy Mango Milkshake. The sharpness of the Pineapple and lime is offset with the richness of the coconut milk and sweetness of the syrup.
Drinking Chilled Watermelon Lemonade brings back memories of sitting back in the sun, eating chilled watermelon slices.
As with most of these cooler recipes the base can be made in advance and finished later. We are adding soda water and stock syrup to the watermelon juice to add sweetness and fizz. If that’s not to your liking, try using a good quality lemonade to mix with the watermelon juice.
And don’t forget to look up our home page on Easy Summertime Coolers for more summertime drinks.
soda water
stock syrup
Peel the watermelon keeping some long strips of peel to use as a glass stirrer. Cut the flesh into pieces and pop into the blender. Don’t worry about the seeds as we can remove them later. If you don’t have a jug blender, the stick version will work fine. Puree the fruit in the blender using the pulse control. Don’t over blend the fruit at full speed or the seeds will be crushed and make the juice bitter.
Pass the juice though the fine sieve into a Pyrex bowl. The best way to do this is to rub the juices through the sieve using the back of a small ladle. You will be surprised how well this works, leaving only the seeds and some watermelon fibre behind.
The watermelon juice can be kept in the fridge for up to three days or frozen.
Take a mixing jug and add 1 part of stock syrup to two parts of watermelon juice. Mix in 1-part chilled soda water and stir together, i.e., 100ml syrup, 200ml watermelon juice, 100ml soda water.
Add some ice cubes to a tall glass and drop in a couple of slices of orange and lemon. Tear of chop two or three leaves of mint, add them to the glass and fill the glass with the cooler. Decorate with some fruit and a stick of watermelon peel then serve.
Enjoy Life !
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
This Easy Creamy Mango Milkshake is a guaranteed hit with the kids, and who doesn’t like a milkshake?
This easy Lemon Barley Water is a British classic and a must for any outdoor event. This is not difficult to make but takes a little time to infuse and chill. Make it the day before to let it get as cold as possible before use. Once you have tasted the real thing, you will never go back to shop-bought cordial again.
This Easy, Family Citrus Peach Cooler takes just a few minutes to make using ingredients you may already have in the house. Making the base ahead of time speeds up the process of serving everybody and keeps everything as cold as possible.
Using tinned peaches makes the whole recipe quite simple. But if you have fresh peaches you need to use its np problem. Wash the fruit and remove the stones, then chop them up a little. follow the recipe for the blending adding in a tablespoon of Stock Syrup for each peach. One the fruit is blended pass the puree through a fine sieve to remove any traces of skin.
And don’t forget to look up our home page on Easy Summertime Coolers for more ideas for summertime drinks.
Open the tin of peach slices and tip the whole contents into the blender. Add the lemon and lime juice and blend to a smooth sauce. If the sauce has any stubborn lumps pass the sauce though a fine sieve. This should make about 400ml of base.
Store the sauce on a sealed jar in the fridge, (it should keep about four days) or freeze in large ice cubes ready for use when needed.
To serve the cooler, mix equal quantities of the peach base with lemonade and fresh orange juice. Add some thin slices of lime and lemon, add a handful of ice, and stir well.
Serve as cold as possible garnished with fruit slices, mint, and strawberries.
Try the recipe with other tinned fruits like pears or apricots.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Why not start your day with this Berry Fruit and Oat Smoothie. There’s no better time of year to make this smoothie and free up breakfast geting the day off to a good start. All the goodness of fresh fruit with the health benefits of natural honey and oats.
Its mid-summer, the tomatoes are ripening, and the courgettes are going wild. These Courgette and Tomato Tarts are an ideal way of using up this seasonal bounty. And impressing your guests.