Hermann
Tahdig is a culinary highlight of Persian cooking. Perfectly steamed rice made better by giving it an incredibly crispy bottom layer. Traditionally, it’s made with butter and/or yoghurt, but I’ve always been craving a naturally plant-based version of this crispy rice. When I recently discovered how most locals bloom saffron, it was the perfect opportunity to use up the infused saffron water and finally sharpen my tahdig skills with nothing else but olive oil.
Idli are steamed fluffy rice cakes that are made from a fermented rice and lentil batter. A South Indian specialty, they are traditionally eaten for breakfast, but make a fantastic lunch or dinner, especially when paired with a sambar & coconut chutney.
This is not a traditional tabbouleh, but rather a tabbouleh-inspired salad to be served alongside the Pumpkin Kibbeh and Stuffed Grape Leaves for a festive Christmas spread. That way, it offers a bright and refreshing contrast to the heartier dishes.
These Lebanese Stuffed Grape Leaves make a fun Christmas starter, served on individual plates with a drizzle of olive oil, or on a platter in the middle of the table. They are called Warak Enab, which literally translates to grape leaves, and are traditionally filled with either a mix of rice and meat or, like in this recipe, with rice and plenty of aromatics.
A vegan Saag Paneer, with a handful of wild garlic – my favourite way to use up the abundance of fresh spinach that spring brings along.
Sourdough Flatbreads with an aromatic oil.
Cooked like this, these beans make a wonderful side, or add substance to a salad or soup, but I served them with a tangy herb dressing and a mustardy tahini sauce with dijon mustard and tahini. Very much inspired by Noor Murad’s wonderful green bean recipe in Ottolenghi’s Shelf Love (by the way a beautifully unconfined book to learn more about the art of layering flavours in true Ottolenghi style).
Vegan mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, olive oil and a crispy sage topping, with carbon-neutral potatoes.
Why use five shallots where a single onion will do? You, like me, might have disregarded shallots as that tedious member of the onion family that is just too small to bother with. But what they lack in size, they give back in flavour.