Lebanese Flatbread with Sun-dried Tomato Basil Pesto

The French have their baguette and the Labanese have their man'ooshe - a flatbread that is shaped like a round pizza and eaten for breakfast with various toppings. 

This flatbread is widely available in every street bakery in Lebanon. It is commonly served with a spread  called Za'tar made from a special fruit called Sumac, sesame seeds and salt and topped with tomatoes , onions and salads of choice wrapped up and enjoyed.The man'ooshe can also be used  as a pizza base and topped with your favourite cheese and toppings. Since I won't be able to make authentic Za'tar, I've improvised with a sun-dried tomato basil version which was delicious served freshly baked from the oven. 

The bread is crisp on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. It's really easy to make and seriously addictive. It's important to eat it fresh though, as it turned slightly hard when kept overnight. 

Lebanese Flatbread with Sun-dried Tomato Basil Pesto (6 pieces)

Adapted from Bill Granger

Ingredients

For the bread

• 300g strong white flour 

• 150g strong wholemeal flour 

• 1½ tsp instant yeast 

• 1 tsp caster sugar 

• 1 tsp sea salt 
• 
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

For the paste

• A handful of basil leaves (about 20)
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 tbsp of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes or olive oil

To serve

• Greek yoghurt
• Extra basil leaves

Method

• For the bread, place the flours, yeast, sugar and salt into a bowl, and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre then pour in 250ml of tepid water (slightly warm) and stir to form a soft dough. Tip out on to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 1 minute. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a cloth, then set aside for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• In a blender, blend the basil leaves and sun-dried tomatoes and oil till it forms a paste.
• Preheat the oven to 250C/480F/Gas8. Divide the dough into 6 rounds and use a rolling pin to roll them out into flatbreads. Dust an oven tray with flour. Transfer the breads to the tray and spread with topping. Bake for 5 minutes until light-golden and lightly crisp like a pizza. 
• Serve with basil leaves sprinkled over it and Greek yoghurt.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: West Asia hosted by Shannon from Just As Delish.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

Lavender-Lemon Polenta Cake

The Rosemary Lemon Polenta Cake from the book Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory by Lou Seibert Pappas is the next bake for the members of The Home Bakers. The Home Bakers  is hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours. If you are keen to join us, please contact Joyce. 

You are probably wondering where is the rosemary in the cake since you don't see anything green in the photos. This particular recipe is really interesting because it gives you an option between using rosemary or lavender - which will give different the cake a different aroma and flavour. I have a fresh rosemary plant but choose to use dried lavender as its been a while since I have baked with lavender. Besides, I have always wanted to make a lavender cake. 

The lavender flowers steeped in the buttermilk blends well with the lemon and makes the cake both aromatic and refreshing. This cake has fine, moist crumbs and a melt in the mouth type of texture. 

I baked half the recipe in a loaf tin and this is my scaled down list of ingredients. Please go to Angela of The Charmed Cupcake for the full recipe. 

Cake Batter

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary or fresh lavender blossoms, or 3/4 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms
• 1/4 cup finely ground polenta or cornmeal
• 113 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar (I used about half this amount)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 heaped teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt

Lavender-Lemon Syrup

• 1/6 cup sugar
• 1/6 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/6 cup water
• 1 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary or fresh lavender blossoms or 3/4 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms

This is for Herbs on Saturday hosted by Lavender and Lovage. 

Chicken Cacciatora

Sometime ago, a friend gave me a bottle of white wine and since no one drinks wine at home, it was just sitting in my pantry. I finally decided to use the wine to cook this delicious Chicken Cacciatora recipe from Delia Smith. 

This dish brings me fond memories of my mother's cooking because she used to make this often when I was young. The aroma of succulent pieces of chicken gently simmering away in a concoction of white wine and tomato sauce is simply irresistible. 

The tomato sauce is thick with the aroma of onions and rosemary and is very flavourful and it goes wonderfully with the chicken pieces served over steaming rice or pasta. 

This is for Cook like a Star, Delia Smith blog hop event, hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake. Grab the HTML Code for the event here. This is my last Cook Like A Star post for the month. Thank you to everyone who took part and for your support!

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Doreen from my little favourite DIY, at this post.

This is for Made with Love Mondays by Javelin Warrior. 

Chicken Cacciatora (Serves 4)

From Delia Smith's How to Cook Book Two and The Delia Collection: Chicken

• 1 x 3 lb (1.35 kg) Traditional Free Range chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
•  1 tablespoon olive oil
•  2 large-ish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
•  1 lb 8 oz (700 g) ripe red tomatoes
•  2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
•  1 level tablespoon tomato purée (I used about 10 tbsp for more sauce)
•  1 level tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, bruised and finely chopped
•  1 bay leaf
•  10 fl oz (275 ml) dry white wine (I used normal white wine)
•  1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
•  salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method

• First of all heat the oil in the casserole over a high heat and season the chicken joints with salt and pepper. Then, when the oil gets really hot and begins to shimmer, fry the chicken – in 2 batches – to brown it well on all sides: remove the first batch to a plate while you tackle the second; each joint needs to be a lovely golden-brown colour all over. When the second batch is ready, remove it to join the rest.
• Now add the onions to the casserole, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until they are softened and nicely browned at the edges. Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes. To do this, pour boiling water over them and leave them for exactly 1 minute before draining and slipping off their skins (protect your hands with a cloth if they are too hot), then chop them quite small.
• When the onions are browned, add the garlic to the casserole, let this cook for about 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, tomato purée, rosemary, bay leaf, white wine and white wine vinegar. Now add some seasoning and bring it up to the boil, then let it bubble and reduce (without covering) to about half its original volume, which will take about 20 minutes. Now add the chicken pieces, stir them around a bit, then put the lid on and allow to simmer gently for 40 minutes (I reduced the simmering time to about 20 mins as I wanted to retain the tenderness in the chicken), until the chicken joints are cooked through. This is good served with green tagliatelle, noodles, rice or a simple vegetable.

Tomato Herb Bread

When I saw Zoe at Bake for Happy Kids's Tomato Bread, I was attracted by the colour and I knew it was going to a hit with my family of bread lovers. 

The bread turned out to be a beautiful orangey-red which makes it so gorgeous and appetising. It is soft, fluffy and extremely aromatic from the tomatoes as well as the various types of herbs in the dough. I added some sun-dried tomatoes to the dough and I could taste bits of that in the bread which added a lovely touch. The cheese and additional parsley for toppings made this bread extra delicious. 

This bread is a perfect sandwich loaf - I served my very own gourmet sandwiches with roasted vegetables and home-made hummus for my family's lunch over the weekend. Do you think my sandwich looks like that from the deli? :) A big thumbs up from my family for this recipe!

Tomato Bread with Rosemary
Adapted from Bake for Happy Kids; original recipe from Magic Bread by Alex Goh

Note: This recipe requires an overnight wait for the dough and a further 3 hours to complete 

Ingredients:

A

• 100 g bread flour
• 70 g boiling water

B

• 400 g bread flour
• 45 g sugar
• 8 g salt
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley (I replaced with fresh rosemary)
• 1 tbsp Italian mixed herbs
• 8 g instant yeast

C

• 125 g tomato (blend until fine) (Replace with 80g tomatoes paste and 40g water)
• 20 g tomato paste
• 120 g cold water
• 35 g olive oil
• 50 g of sun-dried tomatoes, diced finely (my own addition)

Toppings:

• Mayonnaise (I did not use)
• Grated cheddar cheese 
• Chopped fresh parsley

Method:

• Add the boiling water from A into flour, mix until well-blended to form dough. Cover and set aside to cool. Keep it into refrigerator for at least 12 hrs.
• Mix B until well-blended. Add in A and C, knead until smooth and elastic. Let it proof for 40 min. (I proof mine for 1 hr)
• Divide the dough into 80 g each and mould it round. Let it rest for 10 min. 
• Flatten the dough and roll it into oblong shape. Place the individual oblong shapes besides each other in the bread pan. Let it proof for 50 min. (I proof mine for another 1 hr)
• Egg wash the surface and sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese on top. Pipe some mayonnaise over it and sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley.
• Bake at 190°C for 15 min.

Note: 

I made one loaf (9x3x3 inches) and 4 small buns. For the large loaf, I put two rounds of dough that was enough to fill the tin. Any left over was turned into small buns. 

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Doreen from my little favourite DIY, at this post.

This is for Herbs on Saturday hosted by London Busy Body.

This is for Bake Your Own Bread by Roxana's Home Baking. 

This is for Yeast Spotting at the Wild Yeast Blog.

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

I’m a huge fan of Thai food and this Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad is not only easy to do but is perfect as a light meal after all the feasting during Christmas.

The secret is really in the sauce which is made of readily available kitchen sauces, which most of us would already have the pantry.

The dish is salty, sweet, spicy and crunchy (raw vegetables and peanuts) all it once. It is very aromatic from the basil leaves and very refreshing. The addition of mint leaves gives additional flavour and goes well with the basil. 

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad (4 servings)

A Martha Stewart recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds (550 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced crosswise or minced
• Spicy Asian Dressing* (recipe below)
• Coarse salt
• 3 1/2 ounces (100 g) Chinese rice noodles, broken in half if long (I use Tang Hoon/Glass Noodles)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 2 carrots, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
• Bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, fresh mint leaves, red-pepper flakes, and sliced scallion greens, for garnish (optional)

Method

1. Place chicken and half of dressing in a resealable plastic bag (reserve remaining dressing). Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or refrigerate up to overnight).
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until tender. Drain, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a platter.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken (do not crowd skillet) until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to platter on top of noodles.
4. Top with carrots, cucumber, and basil. Drizzle with reserved dressing, and sprinkle with garnishes, if desired.

Spicy Asian Dressing
Ingredients

• 4 thinly sliced scallion whites
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (I used 1/2 tsp reduced salt fish sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Method

1. In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients.

Rosemary Focaccia

A few years back, I received a pot of rosemary as a birthday gift and fell in love with the herb’s amazing fragrance.  It is wonderful to be able to pluck the herb off the pot and use it to cook and  bake. How much fresher can it possibly get?

When that first rosemary plant finally withered after two years, I quickly got another pot and it is now blooming beautifully. I have used the rosemary to bake salmon, chicken and bread and the herb gives the dish a distinctive flavour.  I also love the way it leaves a refreshing fragrance on your hands after you handle it.

Here is a great rosemary focaccia recipe by celebrity chef and baker Paul Hollywood from The Great British Bakeoff  - a competition where homebakers battle it out to be crowned the Great British Bake Off’s Best Amateur Baker. I am really happy with the way the focaccia turned out. It is filled with pockets of air which are the trademark of a successful focaccia.

The recipe is simple with few ingredients and very easy to make. The only thing is that it will give your arms a great workout with all the kneading. You can also knead the dough in your mixer or breadmachine.

Rosemary Focaccia (20 x 30 cm)

Ingredients

• 250 g white bread flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 7 g dried instant yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200ml cold water
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, cut into pieces
• olive oil, for drizzling
• fine sea salt, for sprinkling
• left over rosemary, for sprinkling

Method

• Place the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil and 150ml of the water into a large bowl. Gently stir with your hand or a wooden spoon to form a dough then knead the dough in the bowl for five minutes, gradually adding the remaining 50ml of water.
• Stretch the dough by hand in the bowl, tuck the sides into the centre, turn the bowl 80 degrees and repeat the process for about five minutes.

• Tip the dough onto an oiled work surface and continue kneading for five more minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size.

• Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper. Flatten the dough  onto a baking sheet, pushing to the corners, then leave to prove for one hour.

• Preheat the oven to 220°C.  Drizzle the loaves with oil, sprinkle with fine sea salt then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. When cooked, drizzle with a little more olive oil and fresh rosemary and serve or warm.