Eggplant & fava beans with eggs

Bitinjan w Ful ma' Beyd

·      2 medium eggplants (around 1 lb 6 oz/ 630g)

·      1/2 cup/ 80ml olive oil, plus more to serve

·      salt and black pepper

·      1 onion, finely chopped (1¼ cups/ 175g)

·      6 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste

·      1 small piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated (¾ oz/ 20g)

·      1 green chile, finely chopped, seeds and all (¾ oz/ 20g)

·      1 tsp chile flakes

·      1 tsp ground cumin

·      ½ tsp ground cinnamon

·      1½ tsp tomato paste

·      2 plum tomatoes, chopped into ¾-inch / 2cm chunks (10½ oz / 300g)

·      1x 14-oz / 400g can of diced tomatoes

·      1x 14-oz / 400g can of fava beans, drained

·      1¼ cups/ 300ml water

·      ¾cup/ 15g fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, plus more to serve

·      4 large eggs

·      ¼cup/ 30g sumac onions

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Cut the eggplants into 1½-inch / 4cm chunks and place in a large bowl. Mix well with 2½ tbsp/ 40ml of the oil, ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then spread out on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until completely softened and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the eggplant is roasting, make the sauce. Put the remaining oil into a large saute pan and place over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 7 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic, ginger, green chi le, chi le flakes, spices and tomato paste and cook for another minute, or until fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes, canned tomatoes, fava beans, water, 1¼ teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Decrease the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Add the eggplant chunks and cook for 3 minutes more. Stir in the cilantro, then decrease the heat to medium-low. Make 4 wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each well. Use a fork to gently swirl the egg whites a little bit, taking care not to break the yolks.

Simmer gently for 7-8 minutes, until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny. You can cover the pan with a lid for the last few minutes (to speed up the process).

Leave to settle and cool for a couple of minutes, then garnish with the sumac onions, additional cilantro, a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt on the eggs.

Smoky chickpeas with cilantro tahini

Hummus Hab bil Tahinia w al Kuzbara

·      2 x 14-oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

·      4 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

·      ½ tsp smoked paprika

·      ½ tsp Aleppo Chile flakes (or regular dried Chile flakes)

·      ½ tsp sweet paprika

·      ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

·      salt

·      2 tbsp lemon juice

·      1 recipe tahini sauce (page 32)

·      1½ cups | 30g fresh cilantro, chopped, plus a few more leaves to garnish

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Put the chickpeas into a medium bowl with the olive oil, spices and a heaping ¼ teaspoon of salt, and mix well. Spread the chickpea mixture on a parchment-lined baking dish and roast for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the lemon juice, mix and leave to cool.

Place the tahini sauce and cilantro in a blender or food processor and mix for a couple of minutes, until they form a smooth paste.

When ready to serve, spread the tahini sauce on a serving plate, pile the chickpeas in the middle and garnish with a few cilantro leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Lemon & pistachio cookies

Ma'akaroon

·      1 cup/ 125g pistachios, finely ground

·      1¼ cups/ 125g almond flour

·      ½ cup/ 100g granulated sugar

·      ½ tsp mastic, ground heaping

·      ¼ tsp baking powder

·      Salt

·      2 tsp finely chopped preserved lemon

·      1 tsp lemon zest

·      1 tsp vanilla bean paste

·      1 tbsp runny honey

·      1 egg, lightly whisked

·      1 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

·      2-3 tbsp confectioners' sugar, sifted

Put the ground pistachios, almond flour, granulated sugar, mastic, baking powder and1/s teaspoon of salt into a large bowl and mix well, just enough to combine everything together. Add the preserved lemon, lemon zest, vanilla, honey, egg and butter and give everything a good stir, using a wooden spoon or spatula. The mixture should be slightly sticky.

Place the confectioners' sugar on a large plate and start rolling the batter into walnut-size balls, about 1 oz/ 30g each. Gently roll the balls in the confectioners' sugar, making sure that they are well coated on all sides. Arrange on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, evenly spaced out. Cover the baking sheet and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they start to get a bit of color. Leave them to cool completely before serving.

Once the cookies have been rolled, they can be kept in the freezer, in an airtight container, for a few weeks. When they are already baked, they will keep in an airtight container for 5 days.