They say that Italian food is the presentation of the unadulterated work of mother nature whereas French food is the work of the chef transforming ingredients through technique. I think Lebanese food occupies a space on the continuum closer to the Italian gastronomic philosophy than the French equivalent. Although many Lebanese align culturally with the French ideal, it is truer to find similarities within cuisines who share a similar climate, crop and everyday culinary ethos. But there are a multitude of pertinent characterising traits that differentiate the essence of Lebanese and Italian cuisine but one thing is omnipresent - the love of food in its pure form. That is to say that each ingredient is consistent with it's taste throughout the process of 'cooking' requiring very little coaxing out. Ideally, the simpler the better - few processes and few additional ingredients.

With that notion I delved into an assembly of some basic but homely Lebanese springtime favourites. Green almonds are seasonal treat (early April until the beginning of June) that are much underused in Europe but much loved by the Lebanese. Labneh is something I've discussed before but this version is slightly different. There is no real recipe here - proceed to make the labneh as indicated in the link above but make sure the straining period is even longer. You want to be able to form balls out of the labneh with dry hands. Once the balls are formed you should leave them in a humid place for a few hours so they dry out even more before immersing them in olive oil. Alternatively, to make shankleesh you should let the formed balls dry out even longer before rolling them in za'atar. The longer you leave to dry the stronger the taste. You can eat the labneh balls straight away but it's best to leave them to mature for a week.  All I added to the final dish was a sprinkle of fleur de sel and some extra virgin olive oil. This is my taste of early spring.

If I knew you were coming, I'd have baked a cake. But what use is waiting when I could have the cake all to myself? Luckily my gluttony is negated by the level of which my hunger is sated when I eat a slice of this cake. This is a cake that looks much more difficult to make than it actually is and is perfect as a dessert or as a part of an afternoon tea. Unfortunately by using fresh fruit the cake doesn't last beyond 2-3 days at room temperature but that shouldn't be a worry. I had a moment of inspiration a week or so ago after I posted on my twitter account that I had found frozen strawberries and ground almonds in my freezer. I asked my followers (that sounds ridiculous) for ideas but it seems they're much more shy and retiring than they make out! That wasn't a worry though as I soon had a flash of creativity. This is not a million miles away from a classic Lebanese cake known as sfouf that I made before (click here) but the emphasis here is less on spice and more on the interaction between a crumbly almond base and moist fruit pieces. This is definitely a crowd pleaser :-)



















Ingredients
a handful or so of strawberries (approx. 300g)
150g ground almonds
150g butter
125g caster sugar
125g self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
50g Marcona almonds (flaked)
icing sugar for dusting

Method
Heat your oven to 180C. Grease and line a 13'' cake tin. Mix all the ingredients minus the strawberries and the flaked almonds. The cake mixture should be quite thick but that's okay. Scoop half of the cake mixture into the cake tin and then layer with the whole strawberries. Pour on the remaining half of the cake mixture on top of the strawberries (you can use a moistened spatula to spread evenly). Top with the flaked almonds and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or so or until the surface of the cake is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and serve with a dusting of icing sugar. If you want to spoil yourself serve with clotted cream ice cream.

Watermelons are a big thing in my family. Actually, I think they might be a big thing in everyone's family. I think my family's obsession stems from my father; whose love of watermelon sometimes brings into question whether the love between man and fruit should really reach such heights. For him, a watermelon is a delicate thing, every stage has an intricate process. When we go to the market to pick out a watermelon he'll spend 15 to 20 minutes in ritual carefully choosing which watermelon we'd take back home with us. I don't know if this is a family thing (I mean we've never been great athletes or scholars but we may have the watermelon game down to a tee) but my dad seems to have an inner understanding of the complexities of the humble watermelon. He knows the significance of each shade of green on the outer skin and what each bump signifies (like a watermelon phrenologist) which helps him to consistently pick the most ripe, the most beautiful watermelons. So you can gather that this time of year our house is full of wonderful watermelons that are asking to be used up in creative ways and I think I have a really easy summery recipe to do just that.

















Watermelon and feta is not a new combination to most Lebanese people. It's a flavour pairing that has been around since my parents were in their youth (in the 60's) and it's a favourite summer snack around our household. It's rarely ever made into a salad but I think it works with a few added twists. I've used Greek feta in this recipe but my parents prefer using a Bulgarian cheese which is not too dissimilar to the Hellenic variety but has a more complex flavour. I've also included a few chopped almonds for a bit of a different texture but you can exclude them if you so wish. Here it is:

















Ingredients
500g watermelon - diced
115g feta cheese or similar - diced
handful of fresh mint - chopped
handful of fresh basil - torn
small handful of roasted almonds - finely chopped
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a little black pepper
2-3 shallots - really finely diced


















Method
This may just be the simplest recipe yet. Brace yourselves...


















Mix all the ingredients together. Let it sit for a few minutes. Try not to break up the cubes of cheese. Garnish with mint and serve with a side of olives.

I know what you're thinking. A stew? Are you crazy?! And the answer is...I may just be, but in my defence I tried to make this dish as light as possible! Anyway, the weather has been quite miserable lately and I wanted something comforting to eat. I could also say that I'm doing this for my Southern Hemisphere homies but that would be telling porkies. I think the issue here might be referring to this dish as a stew when if I had the mind for it I'd come up with a better name. Saying that, Koreans don't stop eating sundubu jjigae when the weatherman's map shows a sun with a smiley face on it, so why should I stop eating my stew? This is quite a filling dish but served in small portions with my honey-glazed carrots it can be transformed into a (relatively) summery evening meal.

















Shin of beef is my favourite stewing cut as I think the abundance of connective tissue not only increases the flavour of the accompanying gravy but holds the pieces of meat together really well when cooked for extended durations. I like big chunks of meat in my stews and I cut the meat quite thick and I did the same with the potatoes. I also love to blend my own spice mixes and I went for a really basic accompanying flavour - I tempered cumin seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds and dried chilli to release their oils before crushing them. I added Thai fish sauce to the liquid to bring out the beefiness of the beef (increased umami for that 'oh mummy!' reception). Marcona almonds are a more rounded sweeter variety of almond from Spain where they're often served fried and I used them here because I think the flavour they add works really well to bring this dish to life.

















I also just wanted to say that this is my 21st post and quite a few people (myself included) didn't think I'd make this blog even last a month but I've been really enjoying it. I've decided from now on to include more pictures in each entry so you lovely readers have more to gawk at. This blog is ever evolving so expect more changes along the way. I'm here for the long-haul.


Ingredients
Shin of Beef Stew
250-300g shin of beef diced
2 medium onions roughly chopped
2 smallish potatoes roughly diced
a handful or so of Marcona almonds
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon or so of rapeseed oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup water
2-3 teaspoons fish sauce (nam pla)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
a splash of white wine vinegar
a handful of chopped parsley
salt and pepper

















Honey and Sesame Glazed Carrots
12 new season carrots
2-3 tablespoons honey
1/2 lemon juiced
rind of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
salt and pepper

















Method
Shin of Beef Stew
Coat the beef in the flour and shake off the excess before frying the beef until browned in half of the rapeseed oil. Remove the beef and set aside. Add the rest of the oil and fry off the onions. When transluscent add the spice mix and fry for half a minute or so. Add the potatoes and the meat back into the pan or pot and add the stock and water. Add the remaining ingredients minus the parsley and salt and pepper. Bring to boil and cover. Simmer on a low heat for 3-4 hours. You need to check the pot every now and then because you might need to add a little bit of water half way through cooking. When done turn off the heat and add 3/4 of the chopped parsley, reserving some for the decoration. In a dry pan roast the almonds and then add those to the pot as well. Serve immediately or wait for it to cool down before serving with the honey and sesame seed glazed carrots.

Note: You can substitute the beef stock for a mixture of half beef stock and half Lebanese beer (such as Almaza) for an even deeper flavour.

















Honey and Sesame Glazed Carrots
Using a good vegetable peeler peel away the rough outer skin of the carrots. Add all the ingredients minus the sesame seeds into a baking tray and mix around well. You need to keep turning the carrots to produce an even glaze. This should take 15 or so minutes to cook on a lowish heat. You can leave it for as long or as little as you want (I'd say the minimum is 5 minutes to produce a good glaze). When you're happy with the colour of the carrots sprinkle evenly with the sesame seeds and serve next to the stew.