Gnewiyah - Tunisian Okra Stew

Ingredients:
1 medium sized onion, 1/2 kg meat for stewing (I used veal here), olive oil,
2-3 garlic, salt & black pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 3 tbs paprika, 2 tbs 1/ ground coriander,
tomato paste, water
red bell pepper, 1-2 handfuls of pearl onions, 3 cups okra

Brown the onions and meat in olive oil. Add pressed garlic (I grate it, 'cause I haven't found a proper garlic press since I moved here! Only plastic rubbish) and spices. Fry for a few more minutes, then add tomato paste and water to cover.
Cook for an hour or two, until the meat is nearly tender (less in a pressure cooker, which is what I use - I've grown to love it, saves me a lot of time).
Add the pepper, cut in strips, and pearl onions. Cook some more, then add the okra the last twenty minutes (be careful not to over-cook). Serve with bread.

Lablaabi - Chick pea soup

 

 Ingredients, 4 servings:

2 cans of chick peas (or 1 1/2 cup dried chick peas, soaked overnight and boiled), 5 cups of water, 1 stock cube,

6 garlic cloves, peeled, 1 bay leaf, 4 tsp cumin (freshly toasted and ground), 1 tbs harissa, 4 eggs, 3 tbs olive oil, juice of 1/2 a lemon, chopped parsley

Cook the chick peas in the stock, together with garlic and bay leaf (if using dry chick peas, cook for 45 minutes, add salt and cook another 15 minutes). Add spices and harissa and cook for 25 minutes whilst preparing the garnish (see below for ideas).

Add olive oil and lemon juice. Bring to a fierce boil and crack the eggs into the soup, bring the heat down and poach the eggs, without stirring for approximately five minutes or until the egg whites have hardened.

Garnish with parsley and serve or garnish with some of the suggestions below.

I was really surprised at how lovely this dish actually turned out to be, mashaa Allah! I'm not particularly fond of chick peas, cumin or garlic, but this is an absolute winner!

Egg-free Lablaabi

Lablaabi with poached egg

Garnish:

Tear some old, stale bread into soup bowls to pour the soup over (I won't do this again, the kids gave me minus points for the soggy bread!)

You can serve Lablaabi with, for example, olive oil, harissa, cumin, capers, tuna, olives, garlic, vinegar, lemon or lime juice, cilantro or parsley, and/or spring onions.

Lablaabi served with olive oil, olives, cumin, lemon and tuna.

 PS. there are variants of this soup in other parts of the world too.

Five minute chocolate cake

 

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 2 tablespoons whisked egg - can be omitted, but line the mug/bowl with fat or else it'll stick!
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• some kind of flavouring - vanilla or cinnamon for example

"Bake" for five minutes in the microwave and top with whipped cream and fruit.