Salad revival Italian style :

Perfect Partners

What better fit is there than a platter of Italian meats and cheeses. The list is endless – off the top of my head, pepperoni, Parma ham, salami, bresaola, mortadella, prosciutto. The same is true of cheeses, gorgonzola, fontina, robiola, taleggio (my favourite) ricotta – which is particularly yummy drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Arranged on a platter, place a bowl of oil and vinegar in the centre – two parts extra virgin olive oil to one part balsamic vinegar.

Now is the time I refer you to the previous post “Fruit and Nut Sides” - meat, cheese, fruit and nuts - serve your meat and cheese with the dates and almonds!

So, your Italian sharing platters are :

Mushroom Salad

Frittata

Stromboli

Dates wrapped in Parma ham

Spiced almonds

Mixed meat and cheese platter

By the way, if you live in the sticks and don't have a decent cheese shop or deli to hand I can save your legs – Robiola is difficult to get hold of – as an alternative you could try ordinary cream cheese or Boursin – I know, I know Boursin isn't Italian but needs must!

Holidays bring deals in the supermarkets – I know that Italian meats can be expensive but keep your eyes peeled – they are usually on offer, especially at this time of year.

If you are treating yourself any time soon, here's a photo of the book I mentioned “Cicchetti”

Worth every penny – you won't regret it.

Salad revival Italian style :

Fruit and Nut sides

Dates wrapped in Parma ham

Makes 20

1 tsp vegetable oil for greasing

20 dried dates – pitted

20 small cubes of parmesan or other hard cheese

10 slices of Palma ham, halved

Pre-heat oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5.

Lightly grease a baking tray large enough to fit all the dates.

Place a cube of cheese in each date and wrap in a half slice of Parma ham. If you need to you can secure each date with a wooden cocktail stick. Lay the dates on the tray and bake for 10 minutes or until the ham crisps up.

Serve hot.

I've served these to guests who do not like dates and have converted – the combination of flavours is perfect – sweetness of dates, saltiness of ham and zing of cheese.

Spiced almonds

Serves 4-6

1 tsp olive oil

200g blanched almonds

coarse sea salt

¼ tsp smoked paprika

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the almonds and toss over the heat for 5 minutes until golden.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the nuts to a bowl, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible. Sprinkle the nuts generously with coarse sea salt and the paprika, toss the nuts to coat them in the seasoning. Leave to cool then transfer to a serving dish.

Another great “make ahead” side and definitely in the “keep it simple” category.

Salad revival Italian style :

Stromboli for the salad

As with mezze traditions and with our new sharing plates we should serve bread too.

I give you “Stromboli”. This is a recipe for those guests you are expecting that you know are going to say …. “I don't like … “.

If you are expecting a mixed age group or just want something different for supper this is the fastest pizza you'll ever make. It cheats in that you use a ready-made pizza base – if you're a purist knock yourself out and make your own base – in my defence my mission is to make your life easy.

Stromboli

400g prepared pizza dough or ready-made base

4 tbsp tomato paste

100g thinly sliced salami

120g baby spinach

100g thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

Generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic Italian seasoning

Pre-heat your oven 220fan/200c/Gas 8. Place a large baking tray in the oven.

Place a dampened J cloth on your work surface. Place a piece of baking parchment on top of the cloth – it will stop it sliding – make sure you leave enough to get hold of – you're going to lift it onto the hot baking tray that's in the oven at the moment. Unroll the pizza dough gently on the parchment.

Spread the tomato paste onto the base. Add the slices of salami, followed by the spinach and then the mozzarella and sprinkle with the oregano or garlic Italian seasoning. Roll up the base from the shortest side and brush with the olive oil - make sure it's seam-side down when placed on the tray.

WITH CARE remove the tray from the oven and then carefully lift the parchment and the rolled up pizza onto it. Place back in the oven for 20/25 minutes until golden brown – check at 20 minutes.

When removed from the oven slice into portions to suit and serve.

Choose any of your favourite pizza toppings to create your own Stromboli – the fastest pizza ever.

Asda for the prepared pizza dough - £1.30 per 400g pack.

I know it's a tired cliché but – here are a couple of photos of the one I made earlier!

Salad revival continued!

If all things Italian is your bag then you might like what follows.

Way back in the blog I mentioned “Cicchetti” or to us ordinary mortals the Italian style of mezze or tapas.

Here's a few salad sharing plate ideas in the Italian style.

Fresh Mushroom Salad

or Insalata di funghi freschi

Serves 8

300g chestnut mushrooms

150g parmesan shavings

3tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of ½ lemon

3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

salt and white pepper

Clean and trim the mushrooms and slice thinly. Mix gently with the parmesan shavings. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt and white pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the mushrooms and parmesan and serve immediately.

I think you'd have to agree that it doesn't get much easier! To save yourself even more time you can prep, box and fridge the mushrooms and ditto the parmesan shavings. Make up the dressing and keep in a screw top jar in the fridge. You're ready to roll in a minute – two at the most.

This recipe comes from a book called “Cicchetti” also mentioned previously – more on this little gem to follow.

Another all time winner for me would be frittata – everyone loves it and it is just as tasty served cold as it is hot.

Frittata

Serves 4

4 large eggs

400g cooked new potatoes, cubed

1 medium onion, finely chopped or 4 spring onions finely chopped

glug of rapeseed oil (2 tbsp)

black pepper

2 handfuls of grated mature cheddar cheese (50g approx)

1-2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

I use my trusted large frying pan for this task – the one I'm always droning on about - suitable to use in the oven as well as on the hob. I make this point because if you use this recipe then you'll be placing the frying pan under the grill – if you use an ordinary frying pan you may damage the handle, not to mention safety issues!

To begin, turn on your grill but before doing so check that the frying pan will slide easily into the space leaving at least two inches gap between the pan and the grill itself otherwise you'll burn the top and the middle won't be cooked.

Sauté the onion in a little rapeseed oil until softened. Add the cooked cubed potatoes. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl, add two large handfuls of cheese and black pepper.

Add the egg and cheese mixture to the onions and potatoes and cook on a medium heat on the hob for 2/3 minutes. Then place the pan under the grill and allow to cook for 2/3 minutes. REMOVE THE PAN USING OVEN GLOVES. Using a fish slice gently flatten down the frittata so that you break the top – you'll find that the egg mixture is still not quite cooked. Place the pan back under the grill for another2/3 minutes or until it is golden brown.

You have unlimited options to add to your frittata – you could begin with sautéing 200g diced chorizo which, as we know gives the declicious spicy oil. Then add the onions and potatoes as above.

To serve slide your cooked frittata onto a wooden board. Frittata looks impressive and inviting served hot and whole – you could if you prefer use a small circular cutter and cut individual portions – hot or cold. Sprinkle with the parsley either way!

Side for your “Salads”: Chickpeas

Did you think that chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) were just used as an ingredient in hummus – think again!

Cheeky Chickpeas!

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

2 tbsp olive oil

salt

Pre-heat your oven 210fan/230c/Gas 8

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Lay the chickpeas on kitchen roll and pat dry.

Place the chickpeas in a bowl and toss them in the oil. Season with salt. ** Add optional spices.

Spread the chickpeas on a non-stick baking tray and bake for 30 minutes – shake gently after 15 minutes – check again after a further 10 minutes – the chickpeas should be golden brown – note to self, do not walk away! Ovens vary as do the size of the actual chickpeas and you do not want them to burn and spoil.

Check out these photographs.

If you like spice you could mix together a pinch of chilli, sweet paprika and garlic powders or any spice you like – sumac would work well. Sprinkle the spices over the chickpeas and mix well at ** above.

You could use them as texture to top a salad – warm or cold – or just munch away from the bowl – I warn you they are moreish!

Sides for your “Salads”: Broad beans et al.

Broad beans with smoked bacon and walnuts

Serves 6 with other sides

60g walnuts

125g of smoked bacon

4 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed

or 4 tsps of garlic paste

450g broad beans, blanched in boiling

water for 2 minutes (defrost if using frozen)

small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

Heat a large frying pan until hot, then add the walnuts and dry fry for 3 minutes shaking the pan, until they are toasted. Set aside.

Add the bacon and garlic to the pan and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the bacon is crispy. Add the broad beans, season with salt and black pepper and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, stir through the parsley and walnuts before serving.

What I'm about to suggest goes above and beyond the call of duty!

You need to peel the broad beans – in other words take off the tough outer skin. I warn you this is a laborious task and you'll call me names - sometimes you've just got to get on with it. By all means leave the outer skin on if you can't be bothered but you are depriving yourself and your guests of the beautiful bright green bean – if grey is your colour with the skin on, then so be it.

There is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel – blanch and peel the broad beans when you've time – ahead of when you need them – watch rubbish daytime television to pass the time whilst peeling!

P.s. Optional additions – cubed feta cheese – cooked leftover chicken or cooked prawns.

Sides for your “Salads”: Spanish Spuds

Spanish Spuds

800g potatoes, cut into cubes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

1 garlic clove, chopped finely or

1 tsp garlic paste

1 medium red chilli, seeds removed

chopped finely

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

Pot of soured cream to serve

Boil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the onion until it colours. Add the garlic and spices, fry for 2 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and tip into the mixture. Turn to a high heat and shake the pan so that the potatoes are covered with the onion/spice mixture. Cook for 10 minutes until tender. Serve with soured cream.

This side would be a great addition to your sharing plates – bags of flavour, particularly if you're serving a fish platter. Different to the traditional tapas dish “patatas bravas” in serving with the soured cream and not tomato sauce. In addition to which the soured cream is served on the side of the side – if you get my drift – some like it, some don't.

The recipe given is for a large quantity – it's difficult to say how many servings – I would say eight to ten – you could halve the quantities if you wish but I've learnt from experience that whatever is leftover you'll absolutely, definitely and without doubt use!

Sides for your “Salads”: Pide

Perfect Pide

If you are going to go to town with your sharing plates then it would be rude not to include sides too.

Here's my first bread suggestion - mentioned in Mmmm – Mezze - Pide – I think it's actually pronounced pee-day. I first made this whilst training and it is truly scrumptious and well worth the effort.

You can choose whether you use the salt, oil and sesame seeds as a topping or roll in semolina and then sprinkle over it before baking.

Pide

one sachet of easy-blend yeast – 7g

pinch of salt

700g plain white flour

plus extra

1 egg

100ml olive oil

30g sesame seeds and coarse sea salt

for garnish or 2 tbsp semolina to roll

plus extra to sprinkle

Put the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast and the olive oil reserving a little to brush over the bread prior to proving.

Mix until the dough forms into a firm ball, leaving the sides of the bowl. Cover with a clean damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Lightly oil two baking sheets.

Knock down the dough - divide into two, shape each into a round ball and then roll each in 1 tbsp of semolina . Roll out into two circles and place on the baking sheets. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sea salt, the reserved oil and sesame seeds. Alternatively you can sprinkle with additional semolina. Leave to prove for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Pre-heat your oven 210c/190fan/Gas 7.

Using your fingertips make dimples all over the surface – as you see in focaccia.

Bake in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and when the base is tapped the bread sounds hollow.

Sounds good to me!

The “salad” story so far …

Your list of options is growing already :

Halloumi and Pomegranate Salad

Potato and Olive Salad

with chorizo alternative

A “greenery free” warm salad supper that ticks all the boxes. Serve these two dishes with chicken fillets seasoned with a spicy paste.

Chicken Rub

Serves 4

1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander and garam masala, three cloves of garlic paste, add 2 tbsp of rapeseed oil and mix to a paste.

4 Chicken fillets

Use a frying pan that is suitable to transfer to the oven. Preheat the oven 180 fan/200c/Gas 6.

Heat your pan, then add a drop of oil (of your choice) and a knob of butter.

Season your fillets and then spread with the paste. Seal the fillets on both sides, pop the pan into the oven. Timing depends on the size of your fillets – 20/25 minutes – check after 20 minutes.

I'd suggest that you make double the quantity of the Pomegranate Dressing so that you've extra to drizzle over the chicken if desired. If the dressing is not required then place in a screw top jar and fridge.

Ta dah!

On the cold front: …and the green front

Fabulous Fattoush Salad

Making sure I cater for everyone's taste – try this on for size.

Fattoush is another Lebanese salad, this time cold.

You'll find different versions, all hit the spot, here's one of them :

Serves 4

200g radishes, sliced thinly

half a cucumber, diced

200g cherry tomates, halved

2 shallots, finely diced

Romaine lettuce, shredded into 1-2cm pieces

2tbsp chopped mint

100g Pomegranate Seeds

25g walnuts or pistachios, toasted and chopped

half green pepper, finely sliced

2 pitta breads

Dressing

2 cloves garlic paste

juice of half lemon

3 tsps sumac

150ml extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Mix the dressing and set aside.

With the exception of the pitta breads place all the remaining ingredients in a large salad bowl and mix gently. Add the dressing and toss the salad . Toast the pitta breads and then cut into small strips, add to the salad bowl and mix again.

I think pomegranate seeds look glorious in any dish, however not so enjoyable to eat - if you feel the same way you can omit the Pomegranate Seeds and use the Pomegranate Dressing (from the Halloumi and Pomegranate Salad) in place of the Dressing given above.

If you can't get hold of Romaine lettuce use Little Gem instead.

Happy slicing and dicing!

Don't do green?

I know there are many out there who quite simply “don't do green”. Salad doesn't necessarily have to be green – it doesn't have to be cold either, despite what the purists may say.

Lets expand the mezze concept - a mezze serves both hot and cold salads so why can't we. Furthermore what's wrong with mixing it up – or if you want to use modern speak - fusion of different culinary cultures to create your own style of larger “salad” sharing plates.

I'll stop waffling and illustrate with an example :

Potato and Olive Salad

Serves 4/6

500g new potatoes

3tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of ½ lemon

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

pinch of chilli pepper

salt

bunch of flat leaf parsley chopped

medium mild red or white onion, chopped finely

12 black olives

Peel the potatoes and boil them in salted water until tender. Drain and cut in half – quarters if large, leave whole if small.

Mix the oil with the lemon juice, paprika, cumin, chilli and salt.

While still warm turn the potatoes in the dressing, add the parsley, onion and olives and mix gently.

This recipe came from Claudia Roden's Arabesque. It is recommended that this recipe is made in advance so that the dressing and flavours are absorbed.

Why not tweak this recipe. Fry 200g of diced chorizo and use the delicious oil from it as part of your dressing adding an extra dimension and I think a worthwhile candidate for your first sharing plate shabang. What's wrong with Moroccan and Spanish – after all tapas is to Spain what mezze is to Morocco.

Why not serve it warm instead.

Please note no greenery – and I should clarify that the parsley in the recipe I class as garnish and technically not greenery – that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it – if you're really anti then you can always leave the parsley out but you might want to break the habits of a lifetime and try it.

An added bonus – this salad dish can be vegetarian or not!

Love 'em or hate 'em.. salads

Love 'em or hate 'em

… salads

Defined as …. “a cold dish of vegetables or herbs (either raw or pre-cooked) generally mixed, with or without oil and vinegar or other dressing, sometimes including egg, meat, fish etc.” This is a kind and generous definition!

If you mention the word “salad” it conjures up different images for different people.

If you are of a certain age, as an example, there's a vision of a limp lettuce leaf, a slice of boiled egg – ditto of tomato and lets not forget cucumber. Traditionally, this not so tasty morsel was served – I use the term loosely – on Saturday or Sunday “teatime”. If you were expecting visitors for tea and wanted to really push the boat out then you'd add a tin of pink salmon, bones and all!

I remember saying that I was scarred for life from the buffet experience in the 70ies. My recollections of salad for tea come a very close second.

You have to bear in mind that in those days no-one had heard of such exotic ingredients like avocado let alone served on a salad plate.

We are creatures of habit and cold food means warm weather, sadly in the UK our weather is so unpredictable – how many times have you planned to eat al fresco and been relegated indoors, drenched and freezing! May be our aversion to salads emanates from lousy weather.

One bad habit we have is we don't take enough time to enjoy our food – “graze” is not a particularly attractive word – I can't help but see a field full of cows – but food should be savoured and enjoyed over a period of time, so perhaps we need to go back to basics and change our perception of “salad”.

In the coming posts we'll explore and see if we can turn the tide a little and revive our tired salad brains.

Class Time - What the Ladies had to say

Thank you so much for a wonderful experience.  Food was fab and so good to try something a little different especially when it is someone else's gamble.

Halloumi & Pomegranate Salad

Delicious …

Perfect sharing starter – good for sittiing around a table chatting …

Great warm salad – good starter for all to sit round and just dip into – loved the dressing …

Excellent food and ideas …

The starter was brilliant – so tasty – will be so handy …

Superb – what more can I say?

Slow cooked leg of pork

with Calvados cream sauce

The sauce and meat was delicious …

Inspiration, value, excellent  ...

Pork can be dry and I would always have put gravy with it but the cream sauce was beautiful and velvety and the earthy vegetables made a beautiful plate of food …

Simple dish but really tasty …

Really easy and absolutely lovely

Chocolate Truffle no churn ice cream

Calorie free and guilt free!!! -  NOT  ...

Something to indulge in on those days when the family needs to be indulged …

10/10 ...

Didn't want to stop eating it!! …

Very rich – easy to do.  Can do other variations with mint chocolate or even without chocolate chunks …

Wicked and so yummy …

Thank you for taking so much time and effort in arranging a wonderful evening plus you are so patient with your audience!

Class Time - The Ice Cream

Remember the recent post for the Chocolate truffle no-churn ice cream taken from “delicious.” magazine March issue - here's another alternative. All you need to do is substitute the milk chocolate, chopped into small chunks with a 125g bag of Terry's chocolate orange minis - they are miniature segments of “whole chocolate orange” fame – cut the segments in half and fold into your ice cream mixture. They are widely available in all the major supermarkets.

Check out these cute pots – I wanted the ice cream to look good and I think these do the trick – you'd never believe they are paper baking cases and not ceramic but I thought they'd make perfect disposable ice cream pots. They are sold in different colours – fuscia, pale pink, pale blue and what you see below – aqua. 60mm – 24 pack - £2.95.

For those who live in the Northamptonshire, UK area and in particular Finedon, there's a hidden gem called SCS Packinging – Units 1 & 2 Orchard Road, Finedon, Wellingborough, NN9 5JG – 01933 681681 - email : sales@scspackaging.co.uk – www.scspackaging.co.uk.

They have a small shop open to the public – or should I say Aladdin's cave! If you want anything packaging related or cake making stuff, from boards of every shape and size to paste, decorations and a fab selection of great quality serviettes – this is the place for you!

P.s. Want to make the most of your ice cream treat? Did you know that you can unroll the rim of the pot, open it out like a flower – turn it inside out and lick it clean of ice cream.

How much fun would that be!

Class Time - The Sauce

Before you begin to make your sauce, time for the leftover veggies – try and make sure your parsnips and potatoes are of a similar size. Place in a foil tray and drizzle with rapeseed or similar oil and season with salt and black pepper. Pop into a pre-heated oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6 for 25 minutes to allow them to finish roasting and become crisp.

Calvados cream sauce

15g unsalted butter

15g plain flour

1 tsp garlic paste or 1 clove, crushed

glug of Calvados

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

200ml stock

300ml double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – add the garlic paste and mustard and then, on a high heat, add the Calvados – cook on high for 1-2 mins. Add the cold stock straight into the sauce and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve in bowls with the veggies and then the pork and drizzle with your sauce.

This sauce re-heats very well so you could make ahead, cover and fridge.

Class Time - The Main

Halloumi and Pomegranate Salad

Slow cooked leg of pork

with Calvados cream sauce

Chocolate truffle and orange no churn ice cream

You've already seen the Halloumi and Pomegranate Salad in “My mezze … contribution that is” … I think I'll let the Ladies do the talking!

… the main

This dish would be ideal for mid week. If you subscribe to the multi-tasking method when you're spending time in your kitchen, prepare more veggies and par boil or roast them - whatever you fancy – for the sake of this exercise I par boiled parsnips and potatoes.

Slow cooked pork with

Calvados cream sauce

1.5kg ish joint of pork – boned and rolled

1 vegetable stock pot/cube

generous sprinkle of dried herbs – sage or

thyme

2 tsps of garlic paste

Place your pork in the slow cooker and, if you are using a stock pot, mix the garlic and stock together and spread over the joint. Sprinkle with herbs. Switch your slow cooker on low and leave it for 8 hours.

Here it is :

In readiness for the sauce, you'll need to reserve approximately 200ml of stock from the cooked pork - strain, cover and fridge until cold and ready for use.

It looks good enough to eat!

Book alert!

The previous three posts bring me to another suggestion for your already creaking book shelves.

There are some books that are destined to stay on your shelves gathering dust and there are others, as in this case, that become invaluable and form part of an ever growing reference library. If it's possible to become attached to inanimate objects, books do it for me!

If you've enjoyed the “sharing” theme and want to know more, why not try Claudia Roden's “Arabesque A taste of Morocco, Turkey & Lebanon”. This jewel was first published in 2005 so I suppose in today's terms of cookery book publication it's probably not on the best seller list.

This book is bursting at the seams with history and information from all three Countries mentioned along with recipes covering starters, mezze, mains and desserts.

If you liked the posts on tagines and mezze you'll love it.

I know that these days the fashion is to up-date or re-work a recipe and there may be certain circumstances where it's appropriate, but there are some books where the expression “if it ain't broke don't fix it” most definitely applies and this book is one of them.

Is your appetite suitably whetted? If so, there are more jewels from Claudia Roden – A New Book of Middle Eastern Food, Tamarind & Saffron, Mediterranean Cookery – the list goes on.

Inspirational!

My mezze …

contribution that is

As you've come to expect with me, what follows is my take on a Lebanese mezze dish which formed the appetiser for my class :

Halloumi and pomegranate salad

Serves 6 as an appetiser

50g walnuts, toasted and chopped

250g Halloumi – sliced

salt and black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

cherry tomatoes, halved

Warm the oil in a frying pan. Season and fry the sliced halloumi for 1-2 minutes each side – set aside and keep warm, add the tomatoes and repeat. Serve in small bowls, sprinkle with walnuts and drizzle with dressing.

Pomegranate Dressing

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

juice of two limes

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

Generous pinch of nigella seeds

1-2 tsps sumac

Mix all the ingredients together. Drizzle over the halloumi and tomatoes.

Serve with warmed mini pitta breads or

rustic bread of your choice

By the way – if you have bottled lime juice in your pantry 2 tbsp of juice = 1 lime.

Mmmm – Mezze

… or meze or kemia

Lebanon, Turkey and Morocco respectively. The spirit of mezze is that of a sociable, sharing experience.

There's something really decadent about picking and choosing from small bowls or plates, using your fingers and delicious bread.

Everything changes when you're sat round a table, you are much more likely to try dishes you've not tasted before or even to re-visit a dish you've previously disliked. It's like the salad bar principle, because you can serve yourself and there's no pressure - if a dish looks colourful and therefore tempting you give it a go and who knows – you might like it!

I think the other crucial ingredient is good bread – not just for dipping but to use almost like a piece of cutlery picking up small pieces of food. Once again there are loads to choose from and if you don't want to go to the bother of making your own you can buy great varieties, pitta I suppose being the most widely available. If you are lucky enough to live in an area that has an artisan bakery you're sure to find a rustic bread that will fit the bill for your mezze. One to put on your list is “pide” - a Turkish bread that uses semolina and it is absolutely delicious.

There are so many mezze dishes to choose from – some you can make ahead so the flavours can infuse – a bonus when catering for the guests. There are the popular dishes that we're all familiar with, hummus made with chickpeas, tarama (which is known as taramasalata in Greece) made with smoked cod's roe and baba ganoush (ghanouj) made with aubergine.

If you think about it you can transfer the same principle of sharing plates, appetisers, call them what you will, all over the world – Tapas in Spain, Cicchetti in Italy to name but two.

Whatever Country takes your fancy the end result is the same – who doesn't like tearing and sharing bread and dipping in.

As usual, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

P.s. If you can't find pide then Italian focaccia is a good alternative.

Talking of Tagines

… which I know we weren't, but in a roundabout sorta way we were - the tagine is a cooking pot used for slow cooking meat and vegetables.

The North African tagine is smaller and shallower than the Middle Eastern which is larger and deeper.

This slow cooking method is similar to stewing except that we would generally stew meat and vegetables in liquid – i.e. water or stock. The tagine is so shaped – it has a distinctive tall, conical shaped lid, so that the water formed from the ingredients turns into vapour, running down the sides of the conical lid inside, to the edges of the base ingredients. The meat and/or vegetables brown which you would not get with the stewing method where the ingredients are submerged in water.

The tagine was generally made out of clay or earthenware and sat cooking gently over a fire with the heat dispersing evenly all around the tagine – the end result is a naturally reduced sauce.

These cooking vessels were used for centuries before such luxuries as ovens. Which begs the question – when you consider how small a tagine is – what happens when there's a party – good question – answer – cook the food in giant pots, made out of copper, aluminium or stainless steel and you can buy or rent – known as “qdra”.

With “street” and “souk” food the stews are cooked in saucepans as they are in the poorer areas and more remote countryside too - known as “marqa”.

The word nowadays, though completely incorrect, has come to mean the contents of the pot, i.e. a stew in its various forms, for example - “M'quali” are cooked in oil and containing saffron and ginger and the sauce is yellow. “M'hammer” are cooked in olive oil or butter and spiced with cumin and paprika and the sauce is red.

So, in restaurants the “tagines” or “stews” are made in the larger pots and then transferred to the smaller tagines to serve at table.

If you are a lover of the sweet and savoury combination of flavours then this is the cuisine for you since the “stew” is very often enhanced with either apricots, dates, prunes and/or honey – I could go on!