Tag Archives: healthy snack

Arabic Mezze

While I’m enjoying the time in my home-country, in Dubai is the month of Ramadan. It’s one of the important months for Muslims; during the month they are fasting (no food or drink) during the daytime. Traditionally, it’s normal to brake the fast with dates before Iftar. Iftar includes buffet tables with a large variety of dishes.

Mezze is a selection of small dishes, appetizers served before the main course in many countries like Turkey, Lebanon, UAE, Syria, Greece, Cyprus. There are vegetarian, fish or meat mezze. Arabic-style mezze platters often include marinated olives, fresh herbs such as mint and zaatar, labneh (thick yogurt), halloumi cheese, kofta (meatballs) and many others. I guess, almost everyone is familiar with classic hummus – pureed chickpea dip. I do like this tasty dip, it’s wonderful with roasted chicken or lamb kofta, or simply with bread. But this time I made unusual hummus -with roasted red bell peppers and pomegranate molasses; it turned out so delicious! I served the hummus with Arabic pita bread, olives and baked halloumi cheese.

Halloumi cheese is another tasty appetizer, which is pretty popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. Baked halloumi with touch of honey and thyme makes wonderful snack. Serve it warm with bread or salad.

Arabic Mezze: Roasted red pepper hummus & Baked halloumi

Servings: 4-6
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: easy
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Roasted red pepper hummus

Adapted from BBCFood

Ingredients

2 large red peppers

1 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot or 1/2 small brown onion

1 small garlic clove, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika (plain or smoked as you like)

1 can (400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2-3 tbsp fresh chopped coriander

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp orange juice

2 tsp pomegranate molasses (or add more lemon juice)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black/white pepper, to taste

Preparation

Cut peppers into halves and place them onto lined baking tray under the grill for 15 minutes, or roast covered in foil in preheated 180C oven for 30 minutes. Remove their skins.
In a small frying pan, heat olive oil, add onion and fry over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, add garlic and cumin and saute for a minute more.
In a food processor, add peppers, fried onion, paprika, chickpeas, coriander, lemon and orange juices, molasses if using and pulse several times. Add extra virgin olive oil, and blend again. Season to taste.
If you want to make the hummus thiner, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
Serve with Arabic bread, pita, crackers or your favourite bread.

Baked Halloumi

Ingredients

200g halloumi cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp liquid honey

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp black sesame seeds

Cut halloumi into slices. Place onto baking tray lined with baking paper or foil.
Mix all other ingredients. Pour over cheese.
Bake in preheated 200C oven for 10 minutes or under the grill until just begin to brown.

Olive Oil and Rosemary Crackers

I’ve been on a homemade everything kick for a quite long time.. 😀 Homemade crackers is not an exception. I’ve tried lots of crackers recipes and usually crackers turned out like cookies, not very crunchy, tasted like shortbread cookies, or I was unable to roll out dough thinly. Finally, after tasting and comparing different recipes, I created my own recipe of salty crackers. You need only few ingredients to prepare these amazingly tasty, crunchy and aromatic crackers! The dough contains extra virgin olive oil and rosemary, natural bitterness and pepperyness of the oil and piney aroma of the herb give incredible taste and smell to the dough and crackers. You can make sticks, twists or roll out the dough very thinly and cut out any shape you like. I enjoy these crackers as is, it’s a nice midday snack; you can also make a sauce and dip crackers into it.

This edible bouquet for all beautiful and wonderful ladies, who has brought many tasty dishes to Fiesta Friday party today! A feast for the eyes and the stomach! 😉

Olive Oil and Rosemary Crackers

Time: 40-30mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

160g strong/bread flour

130g wholemeal flour + more if needed

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black or white pepper

1.5-2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

150ml water

90ml extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder, salt, pepper, rozemary. Add water and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add olive oil and mix again. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead with hands. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky.
Cut the dough into equal 6-8 pieces. Roll each piece into circle as thinly as you like, cut into squares, diamond shape. You can also cut into strips (1.5-2cm width, 15cm length) and then twist each strip.
Place crackers on a baking sheet and bake in preheated 220-230C (450F) oven for 10-11 minutes or until golden color.

I keep crackers in airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days.

Enjoy!

#6 Olive oil and rosemary crackers

Mini Appetizer: Goat Cheese Balls

Goat cheese must be the most controversial cheese. One does like it, another hate. What about you, dear reader? Do you like goat cheese or its odour is too pungent for you?

Whatever you goat cheese stance, I suggest you to try it! May be you will find you earthreal cheese! 🙂

I couldn’t find a good goat cheese, when I lived in Russia, there was no any variety even in supermarkets. You could find the goat milk, which was sold by farmers in the countryside, but usually only milk, they didn’t produce any goat cheese. There were plenty of soft and hard farmer cheeses but made from cow milk. Thus many people haven’t try goat cheese. Of course the situation has changed now.

I was amazed how many goat cheeses are sold in Dubai: fresh, soft and creamy, aged, etc, which are brought here from Europe (usually from France).

Once I watch a food-show and chef made a salad with mini cheese balls, covered with parsley. I liked the idea.. After several days I created my own appetizer to impress my guests.

It looks like a gourmet appetizer, and it’s certainly good if you don’t want to hang around the kitchen for hours. 😉

Mini Appetizer: Goat Cheese Balls

Servings: 5-6
Difficulty: easy
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If you want to make it ahead of time, you can roll the balls and roast beetroots 1 to 2 days beforehand.

Ingredients:

150g soft goat cheese (I used honey-flavoured)

1 Tbsp cream cheese

a pinch of sea salt

1/3 tsp white or pink pepper, freshly ground

1-3 Tbsp walnuts, finely chopped

1-3 Tbsp fresh thyme, sage, flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1-2 small beetroots

1-2 small tomatoes

Dressing:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard

1/2 tsp liquid honey

Method:

Wash and clean beets, cover with a foil and bake in preheated oven 200C/400F for 30-45 minutes, depends on the beets’ size.
Cut the beets and tomatoes into equal circles, and arrange them on a serving plate.
In a bowl combine goat and cream cheeses along with salt, pepper and walnuts. Spoon cheese mixture and form into balls (you can use table or teaspoon, depends on a size of your choice).
Gentle roll the balls in herb mixture, coating well. Place onto vegetables.
Serve immediately (with fresh arugula or young chard leaves, if desired), or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Optionally, you can make a dressing and pour over cheese balls and salad.

TIP: You can add 1-2 fresh or dried finely chopped figs into the cheese mixture.

I’m bringing this dish over to FF tonight! Hopefully, someone has brought a good bottle of wine.. 😉 And don’t forget to bring the good mood to the party!

ENJOY!