Eat The Rainbow

By Gilly Balcombe

Summer comes and our thoughts turn to delicious salads, barbecues in the garden…food that’s easy to prepare, easy to eat and just delicious, making the most of the season’s bounty and the warm weather. Though if it’s very warm, don’t forget the hats, the sunshades, the parasols, the water and the sun cream – shame to spoil a lovely day for the lack of a few basic essentials! Now where did I read that you should pace yourself in the heat by alternating a pint of water for each pint of beer or glass of wine you consume…?!

We’ve covered the scrumptiousness of your actual barbecue in earlier editions of Cibare, along with salads that complement your favourite grilled meats, kebabs etc. This time let’s turn to the Middle East for a bit of summer inspiration, with the wonderful spices that are available and the beautiful produce too. You’ll find all these recipes really simple to make, and they’ll bring a slightly different vibe to your al fresco lunch or dinner. And if you’re feeling too hot to stand at the grill cooking, all of these will be great as part of a mezze (or picky bits in the garden if you prefer!).

MATBUCHA

Ingredients: 6 red peppers 6 ripe tomatoes 1 or 2 red or green chillies (according to your preferred level of heat!), deseeded and finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, crushed 4 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp Himalayan or good sea salt 1 tsp ground coriander 1 to 1.5 tsp ground cumin .5 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper (again according to your preferred level of heat)

Method: Char the peppers over a flame or under a grill. Once the skin is charred and the peppers have cooled, carefully peel off all the skin and remove the cores, pith and seeds. Flatten them on to a chopping board and dice the flesh.

While the peppers are searing, skin the tomatoes by scoring a small cross in the base of each one, then putting them in boiling water till the skin starts to lift at the X. Peel off the skin, cut the tomatoes in half and scrape out the seeds, as well as the fibrous green part where the stem was once attached. Dice the flesh.

Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan then add the diced peppers and tomatoes. Stir well over a medium heat and after a few minutes cooking, add the crushed garlic and the finely chopped chillies. Raise the heat until the mixture starts to bubble then return to a medium heat. Add the salt and all the spices.

Keep cooking the mixture on a low to medium heat until all the ingredients are soft, most of the liquid has cooked off and your Matbucha has an almost spread like consistency. Don’t forget to stir from time to time to prevent sticking! It will probably take about an hour to an hour and a half to do this.

Allow the salad to cool and store it in an airtight container in your fridge. Be warned! The flavours do develop, and you will find it tastes spicier on day two and three than it does on day one!

Absolutely delicious served as part of a mezze, mixed with hummus, or used as a relish on your summer BBQ burgers! ‘TRAFFIC LIGHT’ PEPPER SALAD Gather one red, one yellow and one green pepper, one medium sized red onion and a cucumber.

Remove the cores, seeds and pith of the peppers and dice them.

Peel and dice the onion. Top, tail and dice the cucumber. Do ensure that you chop them all to a similar size, whether you prefer large or small dice!

Put all the diced vegetables into a large bowl and stir to combine…it looks so pretty!

Serve with a jar of your favourite salad dressing, or wedges of lemon, a jug of olive oil and seasoning on the side. Za’atar or sumac to sprinkle over the top are good choices, as they are both tasty Middle Eastern spices and they really complement the olive oil and lemon. If you dress it at the last minute, the salad itself will keep well for a few days in the fridge, in an airtight container.

It will also provide the base for all sorts of salad bowls – we sometimes add avocado to the mix and if you want to turn it into a salad meal and add protein, tuna, flaked salmon, cubes of cheese and slices of chargrilled chicken are all brilliant accompaniments that can be stirred in at the last minute. Add some croutons and you have all your food groups!

MY FAVOURITE EASY PEASY HUMMUS With thanks to John Gregory-Smith for the original recipe!

Ingredients: 1 tall tin of chickpeas (400g yielding approx 265g of the pulses) Juice of ½ to 1 lemon (depending on how much lemon you prefer) 1 generous tbsp tahini (sesame paste) 1 nice fat garlic clove, peeled and cut into 4 to 6 pieces ½ salt ½ tsp cumin

Method: Drain the chickpeas and reserve the liquid in a jug.

Put all the other ingredients into a food processor and start blitzing, slowly adding the reserved chickpea ‘juice’ till you reach your desired consistency. If you are unsure of the quantity of lemon juice, start with the lesser amount and taste, then add more if required. Seasonings can also be adjusted.

NB More chickpea liquid and more blitzing will give you a very creamy consistency, slightly less will give your hummus a little more texture.

Will keep for a few days in the fridge in an airtight container. Serve scattered with toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil, or with chopped parsley and a sprinkling of paprika, tahina sauce … the possibilities are endless. Once you’ve mastered the basic hummus recipe (and let’s face it, it’s a doddle), you can make it with all sorts of different seasonings and added ingredients. My other half’s favourite way to eat this is to take a good blob of hummus, top it with Matbucha and tahina sauce, stir and scoop with pita or any other favourite flatbread!

TAHINA SAUCE

In a small bowl mix tahini (sesame paste), one crushed garlic clove, the juice of one lemon, chopped parsley to taste (I always keep a bag of it in the freezer, much easier and no waste!) and salt to taste. Stir in cold water to thin the dressing down to the desired consistency. It shouldn’t be too thick; you should be able to spoon it and mix it easily over your salad or in your hummus. Also scrumptious drizzled over grilled chicken or lamb skewers or kofta. Store in the fridge in an airtight jar – an old jam jar will do nicely.

And there you have it…salads and spreads that can be made very simply to wow your family and friends – a little bird told me that her husband stood over her watching as she made the Matbucha salad, then ran off with it and refused to give it back!! Now that’s what I call a success!