A Dubai Food and Travel Blog
This is such a vibrant salad. Considering it is so hot here, even over Christmas, not everyone wants a bowl of hot roasted vegetables. It’s easy to prepare before-hand and features plenty of local and seasonal ingredients. It’s wonderful with turkey, but also makes a great accompaniment to grilled seafood. Ingredients: 500g pumpkin, peeled and…
I’ve been inspired by the region – hard not to be really. Last year, we made a gingerbread house, and it turned out quite nicely. But the snow on the roof and the Hansel and Gretel theme doesn’t really gel in this part of the world. So, here is a Middle-Eastern-Appropriate gingerbread, both in flavour…
Ok – this is not the easiest part of a Christmas Dinner, and so breaks my usual slap-dash rules of only 3-4 steps. Sorry about that – nothing to do. It is however not a hard recipe as far as roast turkeys go – just a simple roast, no brining or anything like that. Let’s…
It’s silly season again, that’s why. Only time for silliness, nothing else. In the midst, I have been preparing some Christmas recipes for Ahlan Gourmet. They are a twist on the original, and bring a little of the Middle East into the traditional English recipes.The first is Batheeth pies – a replacement to mince pies,…
I’ve just discovered that you can cook quinoa in a rice cooker. This means no more sticky-together or crunchy bits, no more burned quinoa stuck to the bottom of the pan, and no more constant checking. Just plop in 2 cups of quinoa to 4 cups of water, turn it on and go away. As…
I have a new tagine. It’s a fancy one – Staub. It cost way too much, but it’s the first tagine I’ve had that does the full job – it works on the stovetop, and in the oven. Until now, I’ve used a 45 year old enamel pot that came to me through my mother…
I’ve just returned from Jordan, inspired. Some people think all Arabic food is the same, and living in Dubai, I can tell you I’ve had tabouleh and hummus up to here (imagine me gesturing at my larynx).However, I’ve recently been delving into the different cuisines of the area, and have also been treated to an…
Shakshouka (or shakshuka) is a dish I first tried at Baker and Spice, Dubai. It hails from Northern Africa, but other areas over the middle east, and the Ottoman empire also lay a claim to it’s invention. Simply, it is baked eggs in a rich sauce. This is fairly close to the version found in…
The United Arab Emirates is officially 40 years a nation, as of December 2, yet considering many believe Mesopotamia to have been the birthplace of civilization, and factoring the nomadic nature of the people who have previously populated the Arabian Peninsular, it’s hard to celebrate the day without bringing in some truly old arts. And…