Bella Hyde, Author at Finding Feasts

How to make Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s Muhammara Dip

When I catered for a friend’s birthday party her request was cocktail / finger food. On the menu was this rich and tasty capsicum dip originating from Syria and Lebanon, known as Muhammara. Perfect for a cocktail party served with bread or crackers. It tastes amazing with poached eggs on toast for brekkie, or on sandwiches.

There are many recipes out there, but I could not go past Yotam Ottolenghi. The recipe calls for Aleppo chili flakes which are available at specialist grocers and Herbies the BEST most AMAZING spice people if you are in Australia. I had none so I substituted the Aleppo chili flakes with normal chili flakes, and I am pleased to say it worked out well. Finding pomegranate seeds in winter was another challenge hence again I omitted these.

Enjoy! Bella

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ETHIOPIAN CHICKEN CURRY | DORO WAT

A rainy weekend means a curry for dinner and this Ethiopian chicken curry known as Doro Wat, definitely packs a punch.

With slow cooked, fall off the bone chicken, coated in a rich and flavourful sauce made from a berbere spice mix, a red chilli-based spice mix, I guarantee you this dish will blow your mind!

A traditional Doro Wat is made by using a whole chicken which is cut into 12 pieces spicy. It is very, very spicy so if you are making this for those that are not prone to liking heat you might want to pull back on the chilli when making your own berber spice mix. Like all good curries this tastes better the next day.

Enjoy, Bella

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Smashed Pumpkin on sourdough with poached egg, Truffle oil & feta

Smashed pumpkin on sourdough with poached egg, truffle oil and feta is the perfect weekend brunch idea. It also makes a nice change from the traditional smashed avo on toast.

You can use left over roast pumpkin from the previous nights roast dinner or roast some pumpkin ahead of time. Finish the dish off with a drizzle of vino cotto, a sprinkling of parsley for freshness and I guarantee you will walk straight past the avo in the shopping isle!

Your taste buds will love it!

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Polish Brined gherkins [OGÓRKI KISZONE]

Summer means that my parents have an abundance of cucumbers and gherkins. They eat the cucumbers, the gherkins, well in good Polish tradition, they pickle them or preserve them in brine – a water solution which is flavoured with salt, pepper, garlic, horseradish, mustard seeds, bay leaves and the all important dill, is left to ferment over time. You can add chilli however I am keeping to mums basic traditional recipe.

As the brine ferments they become sour in flavour and take on the spice from the garlic and pepper. Mum sometimes adds fresh horseradish if it is available.

For fresh and crunchy gherkins you can pop open your jars on about the 4th day, if you can’t wait, however for a tangy and more fermented gherkin keep them fermenting around 2 – 4 weeks where their flavour will be bold and tangy, absolutely delish! Your brine will become a little cloudy which is absolutely ok.

After you have popped the lid and are ready to enjoy, these will keep in the fridge for up to a month….not in my house tho! Gone in a matter of days. Gherkins were a staple at my families breakfast, lunch and dinner table on a weekly basis. No Sunday brunch extravaganza would be complete without these making it to the dinning table.

Smacznego!

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How to make polish tomato soup [zupa pomidorowa]

There is nothing better than my mother’s tomato soup [zupa pomidorowa]. The soup is comforting, heartwarming and made with love. I still ask for this whenever I visit home, a perfect winter warmer with a dollop of cream and some crusty bread. At home mum would serve the soup with homemade noodles, gosh I still remember the joy of each spoonful, slurping up the soup and sucking up the long noodles, love in a bowl.

Growing up soups were a staple dish in our Polish household, there was enough made each week to last our family for several days. Like most other Polish families, Sundays we ate Rosół, a clear chicken broth with homemade noodles, carrots and fresh parsley. The broth would serve as the base for the tomato soup the following day.

The recipe I am sharing here has evolved over the years as my preference is for a more creamy, hearty version. This is achieved by using fresh, ripe tomatoes that have been roasted off in the oven with carrots, onions and leek – one of my favourite vegetables. Being in Sydney we are in winter now so the tomato season is over however I find that roasting the tomatoes off in the oven brings the slightly unripe ones back to life, giving them a lovely sweetness and a depth of flavour.

If you have a soup story to share, I’d love to hear about it.

Smacznego – Bella

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Polish cucumber salad – Mizeria

Polish cucumber salad – mizeria is a simple dish but crunchy cucumbers make it a perfect side dish for any hot meal.

End of last year I decided that I wanted to study nutrition and hence I enrolled in a course called Food as Medicine at Nature Care College. The first vegetable under the microscope was the humble cucumber.

Whilst learning about the nutritional benefits of this simple vegetable, childhood memories came flooding back of long Sunday lunches where mums crunchy mizeria was served as an accompaniment to the many dishes that filled our families lunch table. Did you know that a freshly sliced cucumber will lose up to 49% of its vitamin C content within the first three hours if it is left out in the fresh air! Luckily for the cucumber this dish almost disappears instantly as soon as it hits the table.

Mizeria translates to misery, however there is nothing ugly or miserable about this humble dish which traditionally consists of cucumbers, sour cream, dill and salt and pepper. Other versions call for chives as opposed to dill, sugar and vinegar or lemon. The skin is normally peeled for this salad however given that cucumber skins are high in important vitamins and minerals I keep their skins on. Cucumber skin contains silica which is said to add to the strength of our connective tissue. I think the skin also add to the colour and presentation of the dish.

On this occasion I steered away from the traditional sour cream and made mine with home made plain yogurt. Equally nice and indulgent if you ask me.

Nutritional value aside I’d be happy for a bowl of this salad with some new steamed potatoes. It’s the simple pleasures.

Smacznego! Bella

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How to make home made crackers from Flax seed

These home made crackers made from whole flax seeds are super easy to make and best of all healthy.

I love to snack at work, particularly on crackers. I normally take a handful each day to munch on either as a morning snack or afternoon ‘take me through to dinner, little pick me up’. As I get older I have been trying to monitor my salt in take to keep the blood pressure level low as opposed to eventually having take blood pressure medication. My family has a history of hypertension. Don’t get me wrong if the Doc says I need to have the medication then so be it. But in the mean time lets see what I can do naturally to maintain healthy blood pressure levels without having to take nasty medication.

The majority of store bought crackers have heaps of salt and other unhealthy additions. A few crackers daily and you are looking at several grams of salt weekly so this weekend I decided to make my own crackers and was surprised how super easy it was.

I borrowed this recipe from Chef, Pete Evans.

Flax seeds are high in dietary fibre, rich in antioxidants, vitamin B. It can lower cholesterol and blood pressure, prevent arthritis and some cancers. Flax seed has one of the most potent sources of omega 3 fatty acids. Research shows that omega 3 fatty acids can kill human cancel cells on the same culture. Flax seed is also good for the heart!

Health benefits aside, these flax seed crackers were super easy to make. I omitted the sprinkle of salt, added 1 tsp of smoked paprika and ta da, yummy crispy, crunchy crackers that last in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks although judging by how quickly they are disappearing I doubt they will last more then a few days. I have teamed up my flax seed crackers with home made garlic hummus.

Enjoy – Bella 🙂

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