SUNSHINE ON A RAINY DAY
Spice up your cooking with Joudie Kalla’s Middle-eastern dishes
We eat labneh almost every day – it’s like the Middle Eastern version of probiotic yoghurt.
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 40 minutes, plus rising
Cooking time: 25 minutes
200g fresh labneh
1 garlic clove, grated
2tsp red shatta (see below) 2 poached eggs, to serve
1tsp sumac
Small bunch of fresh dill
For the red shatta (makes 500g)
500g red chillies, stalks removed but keep the seeds
1tsp apple cider vinegar
1-2tbsp salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1tsp golden caster sugar
Small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley Olive oil
For the khubez taboon (makes 6)
300g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
200g bread flour
1 x 7g sachet instant yeast
1tsp caster sugar
3-4tbsp olive oil
1 Pulse the chillies in a blender – they should be rustic and chunky with some smooth bits. Transfer to a bowl, add all the other shatta ingredients except the olive oil, and mix until you have a thick paste.
Taste for flavour: you may want to add more or less of something, but in general the paste should be spicy and used sparingly. Once you have finished, add enough olive oil to cover the paste completely. It will keep like this in the fridge for weeks. 2 Combine all the taboon ingredients together with 1tbsp salt and 350ml warm water and set aside in a well-oiled bowl, covered with a tea towel, for about 30-45min. Once risen, divide the mixture into six balls, then roll each one out quite thinly on a floured surface. Place a dry frying pan over a medium heat, then cook the flattened dough one piece at a time, for 1–2min each side. As soon as you see it puffing up and browning slightly, turn it over and cook the other side. The bread should be fluffy and soft when cooked.
3 Mix the labneh and grated garlic in a bowl. If you can’t find labneh, use very thick Greek yogurt.
4 Put your taboon breads on a plate and slather the garlic labneh on top. Drizzle 1tsp of the red shatta over each bread. Place one poached egg on each taboon bread. Season with salt and pepper, scatter over a little sumac and dill, and serve. Shatta and fish are traditionally eaten by the coast, and this is very much a Gazan delicacy.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes
1 x 1.5kg sea bass, scaled and gutted 1/2 lemon, cut into half-moon slices (cook the remaining half with the fish) 1/4 quantity green shatta
(see next page)
Crushed dried rose petals, to serve
GARLIC LABNEH, SHATTA AND POACHED EGG ON TABOON BREAD GREEN SHATTAMARINATED SEA BASS WITH CRUSHED DRIED ROSE PETALS
For the green shatta (makes 500g) 500g green chillies, stalks removed but keep the seeds
1tsp apple cider vinegar
1-2tbsp salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1tsp golden caster sugar
Small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley Olive oil
1 Pulse the chillies in a blender – they should be rustic and chunky with some smooth bits. Transfer to a bowl, add all the other shatta ingredients, except the olive oil, and mix together until you have a thick paste. Taste for flavour: you may want to add more or less of something, but in general the paste should be spicy and used sparingly. Once you have finished, add the olive oil to cover the paste completely. It will keep like this in the fridge for weeks.
2 Preheat the oven to 200ºc (180ºc fan) mark 6. Place the fish on a piece of baking parchment inside a baking dish and make three cuts on each side of the fish, then sprinkle the top and insides with 1tsp salt. Add the lemon half-moons into the incisions that you have made, then place some of the shatta inside and on top of the fish, and put the remaining half lemon into the dish.
3 Place in the oven for 40-45min until the eyes are opaque and the fish has a slightly charred effect to it. 4 Remove from the oven and drizzle with the remaining shatta. Scatter some dried rose petals over the top. Not only does the colour of the roses look fabulous against the green of the sauce, but the taste is really delicate, creating a lovely balance of flavours.