Moroccan carrot salad with lime yogurt
Carrot is not so tasty and I tire of it quickly. But the Moroccan food culture knows how to handle it. And then carrots are suddenly horribly tasty. Also in this salad that you prepare warm and then let it cool down. Definitely the better way to make a salad as far as I’m concerned.
Pearl couscous (maftoul) with pickled lemon, pistachio and spinach
Maftoul or pearl couscous has such a delicious structure. It is soft and yet has a bite. Those little balls absorb flavor and blend in great with the rest of the ingredients. I am in favor of cooking first and then baking. Then they are at their best. So that’s the tip of the day.
Lima bean red pepper dip
Lima beans, what would I do without them. And here together with sweet fried paprika, cumin and garlic. Delicious.
Cucumber salad with tahina and sesame
Such a delicious salad. Fresh. Creamy. Tasty. Cucumber at z’n best.
Deep fried cauliflower in tahina smoked paprika sauce
I couldn’t have enough cauliflower in the restaurant when it was on the menu. The guests kept ordering it. Simply fantastic. I don’t think I need to say more about it.
Date tahina cookies
I’m not into baking, but sometimes I let myself be tempted. I got this from the cookbook ‘tahini’ and everything with tahini is better. Moreover, this is so easy to make that even I wanted to try it, in terms of baking that is. Because sometimes cooking can’t be too complicated enough for me. I serve these cookies with a savory dip, such as baba ganoush. Delicious combination.
Beetroot on a lemon cream with pine nuts and mint
Beetroot always has its earthy taste. And this cream with lemon zest and lemon juice lights it up completely. The pine nuts bring it together. And the mint amplifies everything a little bit more. Delicious appetizer. Can’t say otherwise.
Kadaifi pie with Lebanese eggplant and tomato filling
Kadaifi is a miracle. Crisp. Easy to use. It is normally used for baklava, for example, but I really like it in savory dishes. It turns a pie into a feast. A feast for the eyes too. And of course you can make any filling you like.
Leek from the oven that melts on your tongue with leek cream and dukkah
With a lot of patience, leeks can become the highlight of the evening. The same is true with this dish. You let it simmer for a long time in the oven in oil. It becomes as tender as you’ve never tasted leeks before. And then with a delicious almost sweet leek cream. And crispy dukkah on top. Man, it couldn’t get better. And you never make enough.
Moroccan spicy pumpkin coconut soup
Creamy because of the coconut milk and coconut cream, spicy because of the fenugreek and cinnamon. Pumpkin makes it wonderfully soft. And the lemon and orange zest give it that kick that makes it addictively delicious.
Celeriac with hazelnut, mint on a bed of fresh lentil puree.
I like layering, putting things together. And this is typical such a dish. The delicious lentil puree and then the celeriac with those crunchy hazelnuts and that tasty mint.
Sweet-spicy tomatoes, borlotti bean soup for cold days
This is a very satisfying soup. I think it’s really a soup for cold days. Leek, tomato, borlotti beans, harissa and agave syrup. Simply fantastic. Nice thickness, not too liquid, not too thick. Add a large piece of bread and you have your meal ready.
Salad of chard, marinated currants and pine nuts
It is a salad that surprises you so pleasantly that you are completely amazed. So I like salads of cooked vegetables. My son often laughs at me about it. Mom, you call this a salad? The answer is: yes. This is also a salad. And a fantastic one.
Spicy zucchini cooked ‘to the bone’ in garlic puree
Zucchini, it’s a great vegetable but can be so boring. Just average. Close to nothing. And in this dish you turn weakness into strength. You let it boil down for so long until it is so incredibly tasty that you will never say zucchini is ‘mwa’ again. The creamy garlic puree makes it a whole. The pul biber slightly spicy. And the substance of the zucchini is close to perfection.
Sweet potato and sun-dried tomato kibbeh
Kibbeh is so versatile. This is a great variation. With sweet potato and sun-dried tomato. It’s a smooth dish. Together with a salad you have a delicious meal that has everything in it. And it also looks spectacular.
Bed of miso yogurt, eggplant and crispy and spicy panko
I like to layer. That always makes a dish more interesting. And you can be a little more daring with pronounced flavors because it is balanced by another layer. It’s the same with this dish. Exciting.
Crispy za’alouk (eggplant) with za’atar and lima bean puree
Crispy eggplant. You can hardly imagine that. But it’s possible. And then it’s so delicious. Patience. Trust. Patience. Trust. That’s what you need. But then a great reward awaits.
Salad boat with fresh herbs, sumac and tahini dressing
Fresh herbs that are the salad itself. It’s so delicious, so full of flavour. And so is this salad. The flat parsley, the mint are beautifully complementary. The leaves of the little gem act as a boat. The sumac finishes it off. And you will always use the tahini dressing for your salads from now on.
Spicy green soup with mushrooms in soy
A green soup. A creamy soep. Soft. Spicy. Deep taste. Interesting taste. New taste sensations. You need to do some cutting chores. You need to stir a bit. But my goodness, the goodness that comes upon you after a while.
Slightly spicy potato-tomato salad with fried sage
I had leftover tomatoes. I had leftover potatoes. And thought, yes let’s put them in the oven. And then thought, go make a salad. Very simple salad, but simple often also means delicious. Soft, spicy with the harissa and crunchy with the sage leaf. A salad with delicious layers of flavour.
Moroccan leek soup with chickpea croutons
Slightly spicy, nice and crunchy and a delicious substance because of the potato that also goes through it. Throw in some Moroccan spices to make a very interesting and warm soup.
Artichoke lemon labneh
A delicious snack to start the evening with. The full taste of artichoke, mixed with the present but subtle taste of pickled lemon and the spiciness of red pepper. All in all super tasty and surprising. And not a difficult taste.
Spinach in yogurt sauce with walnut and almond
This spinach dish is as delicious as it looks. Soft through the yogurt, but also best seasoned with the coriander seed and plenty of black pepper. And crunchy because of the walnuts and almonds. Super tasty with a rice dish, such as the one from Iraq that you can find elsewhere on the site.
Lentils with dates in a very spicy yellow cream
I once wrote a blog about it: lentils have an image problem. For all the wrong reasons, I say. Because lentils are delicious. And very delicious and versatile to prepare. This is one of them. Sweet and spicy.
Heavenly rice from Iraq
This is one of the most important cooking discoveries of the year for me. You cook this rice the Iraqi way and believe me, that is very different from what you are used to. And with a result that you are not used to either. Rarely eaten such delicious rice. And also so beautiful. I found it in the Iraqi cookbook ‘Noomi’. And kudos kudos kudos for sharing because this is an ultimate prize winner.
Glazed baked potato from the oven in sweet soy sauce-harissa-tahina
I feel like a guest from our restaurant when I hear myself say: “I don’t really like potatoes, but so….” Use delicious large jacket potatoes for this dish. The really sturdy ones. Delicious. The combination of the sweet soy sauce, the spicy harissa and the earthy tahina is magical. People are licking their fingers. And quite rightfully so.
Creamy mushroom soup with tahina and Ouzo or Arak
I like creamy soups the best. No clear soups for me. Just creamy soup. Not too thick, not too liquid. The perfect mouth feel. Great for the taste. It turns soup into comfort food. And of course with an interesting taste. And of course this soup has that too. Ouzo, fennel and mushrooms. Yummy.
Lentils in sweet and spicy golden cream
Lentils, you can vary endlessly with them. This is a very nice variant. Sweet thanks to the dates. Very spicy because of the spicy cream, which gives the dish a spectacular color. All in all really worth a try. Even people who make a face at lentils will be pleasantly surprised.
Leek from the oven in saffron vinaigrette and spicy crumb
This takes leeks to an incredibly high level. So wonderfully soft, tasty, crispy and with up to 20 different flavor layers. It’s a party for the senses. And in any case, you have never eaten leeks this delicious. That’s for sure.
Pimientos de Padron with tahini sauce
The happy faces and the smiles and the ‘ohhh and yes’ are all over the place when I put a bowl of Pimientos de Padron on the table at home. We all love it so much. Daughter Lalaine lives in Spain, we once rented a house in Galicia for a whole summer and ate Pimientos de Padron every day. As a snack. Als a starter. You can also get them here. And it’s a party right away. This tahina sauce also brings me right back home to the Middle East.