The back catalogue – koftas or burgers

This is another idea for your mezze or thali – it is great for little fingers to handle and we all know how much the kiddies like getting messy!

Koftas

makes 25/30 ish

500g of minced lamb

*salt and black pepper

*2 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tsps of paste

*1 tsp of ground cumin

*1 tsp of ground coriander

*pinch of garam masala

*pinch of chilli powder

1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste

1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

kitchen gloves or damp hands

Rapeseed oil for shallow frying

a foil tray 23cms x 23cms

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the ingredients marked * and mix well. Add the tomato paste and the egg and combine. If you find the mixture too wet, then sprinkle a little plain flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

Using either gloves or damp hands your mixture should aim to be the size of a walnut (or 1 heaped teaspoon). Roll the mixture between your hands and when you've 8 or so heat the oil in a large frying pan. Seal the koftas on a low heat and carefully shake the pan to turn them – use tongs if you are accident prone!

At this stage you can continue to cook the koftas in the pan or you can transfer to an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Alternatively let the koftas cool once sealed, transfer to freezer bags and freeze until required. Defrost and then place in a foil tray and warm in a pre-heated oven as above for 15 minutes.

You can “size” the koftas to suit. You could even turn them into a kofta burger.

I'd serve bowls of raita and mango for dipping too.

Next … an idea for little fingers

The back catalogue - Chicken salad …

… for the Thali

This “salad” is excellent hot or cold and is a great idea to include as part of a mezze or thali as they say in India!

It stands perfectly well on its own but better still as part of a party table. It's convenient in that you can marinade overnight and just pop into the oven when you're ready.

Tandoori chicken tikka salad

Serves 4

700g (1lb 8oz) chicken breast, cut

into chunks

Marinade

1½ tbsps ginger and garlic paste

½ tsp salt

1½ tsps green chilli paste

2½ tbsps white vinegar

5 tbsps vegetable oil

1½ tsps turmeric

1½ tsps red chilli powder

1½ tsps cumin powder

2 tsps garam masala

160g (5½ oz) Greek yoghurt

or low fat version

For the dressing

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1½ tbsps balsamic vinegar

1½ tsps brown sugar

¼ tsp coarse black pepper

¼ tsp cumin powder

pinch of salt

In a bowl mix the chicken pieces with the ginger and garlic paste, salt, green chilli paste and the white vinegar and leave to one side.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the oil and turmeric. Add the red chilli powder, cumin poweder and garam masala to the bowl then mix well before adding the yoghurt. Combine the mixture thoroughly.

Add the chicken pieces to the yoghurt mixture. Use your hands to ensure the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the yoghurt marinade. Leave the chicken to marinade for at least an hour. You can leave it in the marinade overnight, this way the chicken will absorb all the flavours thoroughly.

Once the chicken has been marinated, place the pieces on an oven tray. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 20-25 minutes.

If you prefer a vegetarian or vegan version you can use Quorn pieces.

You'll not be disappointed!

The back catalogue – Middle Eastern main

… for the mezze

My favourite piece of kitchen kit is my slow cooker, it's a modern equivalent of the Middle Eastern cooking pot the tagine - the main difference being it uses liquid to cook the meat slowly – the results are the same, tender, melt in the mouth but with a bonus of a spiced gravy.

The word “stew” does not conjure up appetising thoughts. My back catalogue idea for a Middle Eastern main is many years old. The original recipe came from “Nigella Bites” called Aromatic Lamb-Shank Stew. The recipe serves whole shanks and includes lentils and also suggests serving with couscous.

What follows is my version which was tailored to suit my family and what they love and, more to the point, don't love!

4 tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil

6 lamb shanks

2 onions, finely chopped

4 tsps garlic paste

sprinkle of salt

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

2 tsps cinnamon

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

black pepper

3 tbsps honey

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp Marsala

Using the oil, brown the shanks and place in your slow cooker. Fry the onion and garlic paste until soft, sprinkling with salt. Stir in the turmeric, ginger, chilli, cinnamon and nutmeg and season with pepper. Add the honey, soy and Marsala. Tip the mixture over the shanks and cover with boiling water. Leave for as long as you like. 4 to 6 hours. Remove the shanks and strip off the meat – add the meat back to the gravy in the slow cooker.

The lamb is ready to serve when you are, fridge until required. You can cook ahead and freeze if that's more convenient, it gets better!

My mob isn't wild about couscous, however, they do love roast potatoes, so I serve this “stew” with the biggest pan of roasties I can. There's loads of spicy gravy and roast potatoes somehow fit. New potatoes would work just as well, just not as crunchy.

Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen food disappear quite so fast – absolutely nothing left – so, if you like the idea of a spicy roast “main” then this is for you, it's worth every second of prep and it's not complicated.

Then there's the thali ...

The back catalogue – the spuds

The following potato recipe would be a great addition to your mezze. It's different to the traditional tapas dish “patatas bravas” - quite obviously because it doesn't contain the traditional tomato sauce. The soured cream is served separately which gives your guests a choice.

Here goes :

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.

I realise the recipe given is for a large quantity – it's difficult to say how many servings – it depends on the size of appetites - I would say eight to ten. You could halve the quantities if you wish but I've learnt from experience that potato based dishes are very popular. If you have leftovers they'd soon vanish the following day – part of a lunch box or a cold supper?

Next up, Middle Eastern and Indian mains ...

The back catalogue – the pide photos

If you want to keep it simple add a sprinkle of celery salt and/or garlic granules and a sprinkle of grated cheese – any cheese that melts will do!

Have a look :

 

I sprinkled mine with extra semolina and

Nigella seeds

More sprinkles – this time grated cheese

It makes a great snack served with bowls of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dunking – a glug of each – a glug = 2 tablespoons.

Make sure you've serviettes ready or may be even a bib!

Then there's the spuds ...

The back catalogue – pide

Don't be scared – this is not difficult. All you have to think about is are you around the house in a morning or an afternoon, to be able to complete the stages, none of which are long winded, it's perfect to slot in around the chores you know you've got to tackle so why not get home-made bread as a bonus!

Here goes :

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

Pide

one sachet of easy-blend yeast – 7g

pinch of salt

700g plain white flour

plus extra

1 egg, beaten

100ml olive oil

400ml lukewarm water

30g sesame seeds and coarse sea salt

2 tbsp semolina

or extra semolina and Nigella seeds 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, add the water.

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. 1 – 1½ hours.

Lightly flour 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 and shape into two ovals 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 and Nigella seeds. Leave to prove for 30 minutes in a warm place.

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

Make dimples all over the surface of the bread – use your index finger vertically into the bread and you'll achieve the same size.

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

From the recipe given you'll get two pide – 30x20cms or 12x8” in old money.

You don't have to be an accomplished bread maker – it's easy. There are variations on the theme of pide in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In Turkey there are pide street food shops called “pideci”.

You can top pide with your favourite ingredients – feta, mozzarella, cheese with leek and potato – break an egg in the middle and bake with the bread.

Here's a photo or two ...

The back catalogue

I took my own advice and had a look through the back catalogue – a voyage of discovery!

Hoping that we'll be able to be more sociable and get together with our family and friends, here are some ideas from the back catalogue of dishes that can be what you want them to be – portable for a picnic – al fresco in your garden or even indoors at the dining table.

You can cheat if you want and buy some of the elements, it's entirely up to you – where there's a recipe I'll give you an alternative or as near to, that you can buy.

These ideas are based on a Mezze … or is it Thali, Tapas or Cicchetti - a selection of dishes suitable for all of the above venues.

It'll be fun to mix it up - Middle Eastern, Indian, Spanish and Italian, whatever takes your fancy.

Everything changes when you're sat round a table, inside or out - 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 tempting you give it a go and who knows – you might like it!

There's something really decadent about picking and choosing from a table laden with different tempting dishes. Another essential must be delicious bread.

Speaking of delicious bread – you can buy great varieties, sourdough, focaccia stuffed with olives or not, wraps, the list is endless. Most supermarkets have a good selection of freshly baked artisan breads or you may be lucky and have an artisan bakery on your doorstep. One of my favourites is “Pide” (pronounced pee-day) - a Turkish bread that uses semolina – a perfect addition to a mezze style of eating.

There are so many mezze dishes to choose from – there are the usual suspects that we're all familiar with and that are available ready-made - 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, to name but three.

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

You can make your own pide if you fancy having a go …