Food of Tunisia

I am enjoying this years summer holiday sunny Tunisia.  This is not the first time I have visited North Africa - trips to Cairo, Luxor and Sharm el Shake have already introduced me to the wide range of foods from this area and the odd tummy bugs that comes with them.  My hotel is only half board but this means I get to enjoy a wide range of breakfast and dinner food items.  Being mostly buffet style I am excited that this will give me maximin opportunity to try a range of different things.  Since my hotel has WIFI I am able to sample, report back and post articles while I am here.  This is the first of who knows how many mini blog posts about the range of food I have eaten while I am here.  I will write about the food I try at the hotel, local area and when on day trips, further afield.

Early drafts of my posts my be limited with terminology - I am not sure how much time I will give to researching posts against sunbathing by the pool, but I intend to 'jazz' up my posts on return so it will just depend on if you are reading this while I am there or a few months after I get back.

I should point out that my trip overlaps with the religious holiday of Ramadan and therefor 98% of the Tunisian  population (the muslim percentage) are fasting during the day and only eating/drinking/smoking and 'all the rest' when the sun sets at night until it raises in the morning.   At first this has made me feel strange - ordering food and consuming it in front of people who are not allowed to eat themselves. But over time I soon became accustomed to their ways and it has not restricted what I am eating and doing.  It is interesting to see though, as soon as the sun sets, around 7:45pm everyone - taxis, hotel staff and general public stop what they are doing to rush off somewhere eat and drink.  I watched as the waiter serving us nipped off to sit down with the other waiters to eat or the hotel reception staff eating in the back even though there are people waiting.  It must be extremely challenging to last the whole day in this heat without eating or drinking a thing.  I might be able to manage with no food but no water would be very difficult to do.

My hope is I will be inspired to recreate some items I have sampled here when I get back home - thats the plan anyway.

So, here is mini post number 1....  the first few days.

Well my first meal in Tunisia was burger and chips!  I know, not the best of starts.  I normally would simply leave this part of the post as it is - I ate a burger!  But I thought I would briefly mention that although it was only a burger I have already noticed the flavours of Africa creeping in.  My burger tasted strange, but not in a bad way, in a slightly spiced sort of way.  The beef seemed to be flavoured with simple spices, nothing too over the top that would put a person who does not like spices off, but in a light hint of something extra way.  Combined with the cheese and large of amounts of mayo they insist in spreading on, this was a nice quick meal that filled a hole after my 3am start that day.

My hotel is one of those that serves a wide range of interesting items but does not seem to label them well, or in fact not at all.  Some items I can guess what they are by looking, some do have the odd label, but many things are interestingly new to me.  I am the sort of person that gives pretty much anything ago so I must apologies for the state of my plate loads of food in the photos here.  My plate often ends up be a mixture of everything...some nice...some not.  Here goes a brief description of some of the items that seemed interesting.

Starting with a pudding.  This is best described as a custard tart without the pasty.   With a slight flavouring of hazelnut from the crunchy topping I quite enjoyed this custardy dessert.  This is something I could replicate quite easily back home.  

Evening meal, at a local restaurant, consisted of chicken kebabs, rice, chips and salad.  Yes, all on one plate and this was the meal.  The chicken kebab was very nice, sorry no photo, and was simply cooked on the BBQ and tasted of lime with light spices.  Very simple, but nice.  The rice was basic plain rice and the chips were rather overcooked and more like crunchy crisps in parts!  I keep seeing salads over here served with lime and orange segments, it seems to be the norm.  While eating my chicken kebab I did have to remove the odd bit of lime skin from my mouth.  The image shown was taken at the start of the meal and the dips where relatively basic - garlic mayo, red hot paste, something with cheese in, thousand island and finally olives (which I don't like, tired and still don't like)  

So far I have not sampled anything I would consider to be true Tunisian, next post hopefully...

  

Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

I think hazelnuts are my favourite nut.  They are great on their own, mixed with chocolate, chopped on top of ice cream and flavoured in coffee - if you have never tried a hazelnut latte I highly recommend you do.

This cake is taken from Rachel Allen BAKE and was a recipe I intended to make a few weeks ago although the lack of hazelnuts in my local supermarket put a stop to it.  This is a relatively simple cake with regards to ingredients but it has a slightly more time consuming element to the bake.  Having to whisk both the egg yolks and whites separately and combine later  this is definitely one of those cakes that will produce more washing up than normal.

Flour free, and therefor gluten free (if you also adapt the baking powder), this cake can be eaten by anyone - assuming of course you must like nuts.  

The recipe has a footnote that suggests swapping cinnamon for chocolate.  I have decide to include both chocolate and cinnamon in my cake.  The quantity of cinnamon to chocolate is so small I am sure it wont corrupt the overall flavour.  Anyway, I often sprinkle cinnamon over my hot chocolate so I am sure this cake will taste fine.

This cake is light to eat with a delicate flavour of hazelnuts and chocolate.  Make sure you process as much as possible and double check you have not escaped pieces - you don't want to find a nut chunk.  Due to the high nut contain this cake keeps well for a few days in a airtight container.  Enjoy with coffee - maybe a hazelnut latte.

Italian 'Chocolate' Hazelnut Cake
by Rachel Allen

Serves 6-8

200g hazelnuts (with skins on)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50g chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
100g butter, softened
5 eggs, separated
175g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

24cm spring-form/loose bottomed tin

Preheat the oven to 170C (150C fan).  Butter and line the sides and base of the tin with greaseproof paper.

Grind the hazelnuts with the baking powder, chocolate and ground cinnamon in a food processor until fine.  Add the butter and combine (about 10 seconds).

 

 


Place the egg yolks and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk and work on full power until the mixture becomes 'moussey' and holds a trail when you lift the beater.  About 5 minutes.

 

Add the hazelnut mixture and vanilla and whisk until combined.

In a large 'spotlessly clean' bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks.  Gently fold this into the nut mixture in three stages, carefully,  so you don't knock out too much air.

 

Pour in the tin and bake for 60 minutes, until firm and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Don't check on this cake until the hour is up, it may collapse if you do..

     

Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before, gently, turning out.  You may find the rise in the cake retreats and you end up with a flat cake, this is normal, however a sunken cake isn't.

Leave to cool completely before cutting and serving -  dust with cocoa powder if you like.

Enjoy.

Goat's Cheese, Red Onion and Pepper Tart

Well, so much for publishing two posts a week.  I had all intentions of posting on Tuesday but time just escaped me.  This week has been a long one - work, meetings, training courses and late nights.  It is also the week I finally upgraded my 6 year old mac to the latest 27inch iMac.  Having only just managed to transfer all my old files, music and other important data today I am now ready to just get on and start using it.

Today's post is based on a recipe I tried at a local 'posh' cafe called the Bottle Kiln in West Hallam, Derbyshire.  They are well known for their tasty, yet expensive, pies, tarts and quiches.  This recipe is loosely based on something I tried there recently and contains two of my favourite ingredients - goats cheese and red onion.

This is a light delicate tart with flavours that don't overpower each other.  The pastry contains dried thyme that adds a gentle hint without too much fragrance.  You could add fresh thyme if you have it in the garden but I feel that thyme is one of the few herbs that work well dried.  Served with a simple salad this dish is perfect for outdoor eating.   

Call it a quiche if you like, I have decided to name this a tart due to its thinner appearance.  I am not a vegetarian, I love all food, this tart is perfect for all.  






Goat Cheese, Red Onion and Pepper Tart

Serves 6

For the thyme pastry
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme (1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped)
110g cold unsalted butter
3 tbsp icy cold water

For the filling
1 large red onion
1 large red pepper
100g goats cheese (the crumbly variety)
3 large eggs
230ml double cream
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

25cm tart tin, loose bottom (I do not have a quiche dish)

Start by slicing the onion in half.  Then half again, and once more.  You should end up with 8 pieces.  Think Terry's Chocolate Orange.  Place on a baking sheet.

 

Do the same to the red pepper.  Place on the baking sheet - you are not cooking them just yet so set aside.

Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan).

Make the pastry by placing the flour, salt and thyme in a food processor.  Pulse together (I consider a pulse to be 2 seconds).  

Add the cold butter and process for 10 seconds, you should end up with a dry crumb mixture.  Add 1 tbsp icy water and pulse, add another and pulse again, add the final tbsp and give it the final pulse.  The mixture should start to come together but not form a ball. 

Gather the pasty in to a ball and place in a plastic bag (or wrap in cling film) and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.   While the pasty is chilling, put the onion and pepper in the hot oven.  Dry roast for 20 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.

When the pastry is chilled, roll out on a floured surface and line the tart tin.  Bake in the oven (same temp) for 12 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.  Reduce oven temp to 180C (160C fan).

In a jug, whisk together the cream, eggs and thyme.  Add the salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Arrange the onions, peppers and goats cheese in the baked case.  I pulled the onion chunks apart to spread them out better.

Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven.  Pour over the egg mix and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool.  Serve warm or chilled.

Enjoy.

 

Dutch Pear Cake

I was recently flicking through the pages of Rachel Allen's BAKE and I came across her recipe for Dutch Apple Cake.  A family favourite she says.  Unfortunately I did not have any apples so I was about to turn the page when I noticed the footnote - variation: Raspberry and Pear.  Now I didn't have any raspberries but I did have some pears so I thought I would give this recipe a go and see what it turned out like.

The batter is very liquid and foamy.  Made in a strange way to normal cakes - maybe this is the Dutch part of the cake?  After whisking the eggs and sugar you pour in the melted butter and milk.  Then fold in the flour.  I ended up with a runny airy mix and wondered if it was suppose to be like that?  Rachel seems to say it is, there was no picture in the book, so I had to take her word.

This is truly one of the lightest gentlest sponge cake I have ever made.  I was surprised how the pears floating on top sunk to the bottom during cooking.  The house filled with the gentle scent of pear and orange.  On removing from the oven I noted the shiny cracked top, dusted with sugar, and the very bubbly sponge around the edges.  Removing was easy with the over hang from the parchment paper.  Served warm this cake is lovely.  Light orange scented sponge covering perfectly baked sweet pears.  I can see how this has become a family favourite in the Allen household.  The next day this cake became less crumbly and easier to handle.  

Warm or cold, served with coffee, this is a cake I will be making again.

Dutch Pear Cake
by Rachel Allen

2 eggs
175g caster sugar & 15g more for dusting later
1 tsp vanilla extract
85g butter
75ml milk
zest of orange
125g plain flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 ripe pears

20x20cm square cake tin

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).  Butter and over-line the tin.

Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with the whisk. On high, whisk for 5 minutes until you get a pale thick mixture.  It will leave a trail on the whisk.  You can do this with a handheld mixer too, you just wont be able to do the next step...

 

While its whisking, peel the pears and slice in to half moons.  Zest the orange.  Or do all this after you have whisked with the handheld.

 

Melt the butter with the milk.  With the mixer on high, pour in the milk/butter mixture in a steady stream.  You will get a very liquid foamy mixture.

 

Add in the orange zest.

Sift in the flour and baking powder.  Fold in with a large spoon.  Do not over mix, but be careful of flour lumps, make sure you mix completely.

Pour in to the baking tin and arrange the pear slices on top.  They will start to sink in to the mix - this is normal.

Sprinkle the top with the 15g of caster sugar and put in the hot oven for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, reduce the temp to 180C (160C fan) and cook for a further 23 minutes.  It should be will risen and golden brown.

 

Allow to cool in the tin before lifting out with the hangover - expect it to crumble a little on top, this adds to the overall look.  Dust with icing sugar.

Serve warm with cream.  Or cold later.  Expect a light sponge with a soft/wet bottom.

Enjoy.

Behind the Cupboard Door (A Kitchen Tour)

I have decided to write a different type of post today, not a recipe, but a tour of my kitchen.  This is the place I spend a lot of time, obsess over and clean like mad.  My kitchen is my  tiny haven.   I would love one day to have a large space just like those celebrity cooks but for now I have to make due with this tiny, yet practical, room.

Four years ago I had the old kitchen ripped out and replaced with the closest thing I could get to my 'dream' kitchen.  A design based on space allowance and unfortunately limited  budget.  This post takes you behind the scenes, behind the cupboard doors, in the drawers and under the sink.  Full exposure.

For readers that don't know me - this is me!  For friends and family I feel you are about to get an insight in to my slightly OCD ways.

NOTE: The photos you are about to see have not been stage...yes...I am this obsessive... 

Lets start with the cupboard I seem to be in the most.  This is the plate and glasses space.  I have 8 of everything...not because I can seat 8 around my dinner table, but because I would just hate to have odd plates when people call round.  Also, if one should break you have a spare (although I would go straight out again and buy a replacement).  Most of my plates are from good old IKEA and as you see they are white (a trend you will see a lot).  White is great for any type of meal and I feel the plate should not draw attention away from the food.

As for glasses, well, rows make up my 'everyday' collection, again 6 or 8 of everything.  Mugs are basic black.  I am not one for random items.  It must be a collection and to me a collection means 4 or more.  I can appreciate other peoples collections of items, not all matching, or even collections of items where the colour scheme is the same, I do like it...just not in this house.

The cupboard above holds my collection of serving plates, dessert plates, cake stand and coffee item collection.  Ok, so here I do have a few stray colours that found there way in.   My coffee collection consists of espresso mugs, milk frothing jugs and sugar/cocoa shakers.  Stored carefully in its protective case is my mezzaluna, thank you Nigella, perfect for quickly chopping chocolate, herbs or nuts.  

I also converted the space under the stairs in to a small but useable pantry.  Here I store larger items, items I should not really have brought and those 'odd' things that would mess up the look of my cupboards if I attempted to squeeze them in.

The everyday food cupboard contains my tea, coffee beans (no instant in this house), sugar and seasoning items.  Bread, eggs and pasta can be found here too.  I tend to use fresh herbs where possible but I like to keep a collection of spices and some dried herbs.  You may notice a slight obsession with gravy (the result of a Tesco shopping error) and a range of packet mixes.    I use Maldon set salt in all my cooking, its perfect for sweet and savoury dishes.   I don't tend to eat much bread, often buying it for one or two slices and then finding a mouldy mound a week or so later.  This space also stores veg not suitable for storing in the fridge - onions, garlic and other items, but the Tesco shop hasn't arrived yet so  like Mother Hubbered the cupboards are bare.  

The baking cupboard.  Here I store, just like a supermarket, tins and jars, baking powder and flours, sugars and extracts.  I try not to allow things to hide away at the back but this cupboard has a bit of a mixture so I have to accept it won't be perfectly laid out.  The other half of the cupboard is tins and yes, behind the chopped tomatoes you will find another tin of chopped tomatoes  and likewise with the rest (it is my mini supermarket).  I would have loved one of those pull out larder floor to ceiling drawers but space just would not allow.

Normally I like everything to be hidden away, neat and tidy, but this open shelving area came about by accident.  It started with a single shelf for storing my cookbook collection.  I then added the next shelf down - a shelf to store my coffee presses, blender jugs and the odd cookbook.  After that I had an idea.  Due to my limited worktop space I thought it would be good to have a shelf that I could store my food processor and blender.  These two items are very heavy so under the shelf I added some brackets to support the additional weight.    Behind the fridge is  a range of plugs so both the processor and blender are always plugged in ready to go.  The only issue I have is the feed tube catches the top of the shelf above so I need to do some height adjustments.   Next shelf down supports some cocktail glasses (that wont fit in the cupboard), tabletop salt pigs, pastry cutters and scales.  The final shelf holds my pasta pan, immersion stick blender and there are two hooks to store my whisk and dough hook attachments for the Kenwood.  Hidden out of sight below is my Dyson handheld vacuum perfect for cleaning up after a messy cook.

Yes, I have one of those horrible hatch things...no idea why...its not like my house is massive and requires quicker access from kitchen to table.  This hatch is not used, the other side has a bookcase covering it, therefore I decided to use this as a storage area for some utensils.  Measuring cups, tongs, microplane and candy thermometer are stored here.  Sea-salt pig and pepper always close at hand.    Sugar and milk jug ready for guests.  Digital timer is a must.  Next is my Voodoo Knife block, a present from a few years past, black to match the kitchen.  I could do with some new knives as the ones that came with it are ok but not really perfect.  I often have to get the knife sharpener out to take off the dull edges.

I only have three drawers in my kitchen.  I made an error when planning and instead of getting the five drawer I ended up with the three.  Top holds cutlery (8 of each...) middle drawer holds all the other utensils I can't hang (or want too) and the bottom larger drawer is my plastic item graveyard.  I would love more drawer space for tablecloths,  bits and pieces etc  but they would simply not fit.  I admit that the middle drawer is a mess - however its an organised mess and I do try and keep it tidy.

Between the cooker and sink is a corner cupboard with pull out shelfs.  You can't really tell from the photo but these shelfs pull out all the way so getting to items at the back is easy.  I   prefer to have stainless steel cookware and mixing bowls.  I dislike non-stick pans (the black coating always spoils it for me) and find that as long as you look after your pans they will continue to look great for years.  The little blue handle sticking out of the top pan is my single fried egg pan, I could not find it in black so blue had to do.  This space is also great for storing oversized baking pans and casserole dishes.  You may also spot my coffee bean grinder.  I would like a burr grinder for more precise grinding - its on my santa list.

I also have a drawer under the oven, to store baking sheets and parchment paper.

The extractor cupboard houses tall items like breakfast cereals and bottles.  Here I keep my collection of vitamin pills, plasters (hopefully I never need them), pens for lists and those little tubs of sauce you get in fast food chains - you never know when you need some BBQ sauce but don't want to buy a whole bottle.  I don't drink wine, but I do use it in my cooking, therefore I tend to by miniature bottles and keep them here for whenever they are needed.  This space also doubles as a drinks cabinet however its a little bare at the moment with only one tiny bottle of vodka tucked away.  I am not a drinker but normally  this space hides a few bottles of spirits ready for those nights when cake will not do.

And finally, under the sink, I did say this was an 'access all areas' post.  Most of the space under my sink is taken up by the waste disposal and a jumble of tubing from the washing machine, dishwasher and overflow pipes.  Nothing special under here, just the normal cleaning products and cleaning cloths.  I really don't like anything on display so I keep all the wash sponges, scrub brushes and other cloths hidden in this space, placed in a metal tub.  

I have an issue with power points in my kitchen...technically I only have 3 usable ones, with the rest taken up by appliances.  Therefore I decided to fix a four point extension lead under the sink (well away from water etc) and I use this for my stand mixer and other items.  Its a lifesaver!

So, that's my kitchen, behind the doors, the hidden world of slightly obsessive stacking, organising and displaying.  Tiny it may be, but everything is at hand, everything has its place and everything is useful to me.  Hoped you enjoyed being nosy.

Next post will be a recipe :-)