With this incessant sunshine the pace of life changes. I feel all we are good for is to flop down somewhere warm, the only occasional movement being the lifting of a cold glass of lime, mint and ginger soda to our lips, and the only words spoken are the ones to our punkah wallah to increase the fanning speed.And with that in mind, our meals have been made with the minimum of time and effort this week. But they have by no means suffered in flavour. We've had chicken thighs, poached and shredded and tossed in a peanut butter, sesame oil and soy sauce along the lines of bang bang chicken. The cucumber and spring onion a refreshing breeze through the richness as we suffered the tension of a penalty shootout.One evening I slowly roasted tomatoes with garlic and harissa in the cocotte in plenty of olive oil then stirred in cooked chickpeas and spinach and served that with some five minute lamb kebabs laced with cardamom and cumin. This cocotte method is fantastic, something you can do in the background and once cooled you stuff the tomatoes and their juices into kilner jars and keep them in the fridge to use during the week. There is no need to buy tinned tomatoes if you do this and the flavour and intensity is out of this world.And last night we had kasha, (toasted buckwheat) simmered in double the amount of water and mixed through with sautéed onions, chestnut mushrooms a good lump of butter and a healthy squeeze of lemon juice. On top of this I added salmon fillets I'd seasoned and then rolled around in za'tar. A quick flash in the frying pan and supper was ready.So today's recipe is for this versatile spice mix. You can, of course, buy it ready made, but if this way, being homemade, it's in your hands how it tastes. You can take charge of your own flavours as you see fit.Trying to give a definitive ingredient list for a spice blend is the culinary equivalent of describing music. Just as there is not one dahl recipe, when you are mixing, blending and tweaking spices around a theme -- in this case a Middle Eastern sesame seeds one -- the variations are infinite and based on personal preference. Just bear in mind that the sesame seeds should take up roughly half of the total mixture. Whether or not you toast them is up to you. I don't because I find the flavour becomes too strongly nutty, and there is enough going on already. You can replace the marjoram with dried winter savoury if you like and add a pinch of black sesame seeds as I do.Give it a little bash in the pestle and mortar to release some of the cumin oil and store in a jar to use on grilled lemon chicken breasts or to add to lamb cutlets before chargrilling and serving with aubergine and chick peas. You could also sprinkle it over grilled courgettes or roast strips of red pepper too. It can go on flatbreads before grilled or be mixed with olive oil and used as a dip for after.IngredientsSesame seedsGround sumacDried oreganoDried marjoramCumin seedsSaltMethodHalf fill a bowl with sesame seeds then divide the remaining space with a pinch of black sesame seeds if you have any, sumac, dried oregano, dried marjoram, cumin seeds (you can toast these first if you like, try it and see which you prefer) and a pinch of salt.Bash it about a little with a pestle and it's ready.
Za'atar day night fever
in Recipes
It's normally always there, lingering in the back of the cupboard, the lid slightly encrusted with a beige residue and the oil separated from the paste, sitting on top in a questionable pool. Then there is a fight to get the near solidified clay out of the bottom and not bend the spoon. And that's all before you discover you haven't got a tin of chickpeas anyway so have to go to the shop. Again.But fear not! This homemade tahini will save the day. And if there's ever a houmous crisis in the shops again, you can whip up your own in a jiffy. And then you can put it in a jar in the fridge and the whole family dip a carrot stick in it for lunch on Saturday then forget about it until you throw it away a week later as you wonder why you bother.Of course, this all depends on you having a bag of sesame seeds in the cupboard. I'd suggest that it is a staple worth having, and really, it's nicer making your own tahini anyway. It just (as with most things that are freshly made) tastes so much better. And you know it only has what you put in it in it.MethodTo make a jam jar sized amount of fresh tahini, sprinkle sesame seeds all over an oven tray, you can be very generous. Heat the oven to 180c and roast the seeds until they start to colour a little and toast. Stir them round occasionally so they don't burn.Leave to cool a little then put in the food processor and blitz until you have a crumbly mix. Slowly add in some neutral oil, such as groundnut or rapeseed and keep blending until you have a creamy paste. Transfer to a jar and keep in the fridge.Apart from houmous -- which I would recommend making using dried chickpeas for a better finished dish, but, if you only have tinned I'm not going to judge you -- tahini can be used in dressings, sauces with some yoghurt, drizzled over roast carrots or even put into ice cream. And what's more, there's a little more cupboard space and the satisfaction of the homemade.