Galette of butter squash, orange and sage
It’s beautiful. It’s delicious. It’s crispy. It is savoury. It is sweet. It is shiny. It’s delicious. Oh, I’ve already mentioned this. Well, let me know if you agree.
Batata in tomato sauce with Lebanese seven spices
You can always use original and appealing potato dishes on a vegan table. This is one of them. Tasty, not spicy. Baked potatoes yet comfort food. And just really something different for a change.
Stewed leek in white wine with crispy strips
If you read and make my recipes regularly, you know that I often mention using one secret ingredient to create an unforgettable dish. Or a special ingredient. In any case, an unexpected one. In this dish, these are the crispy strips I made from the dark green leek leaf. Try it. So nice to find a good use for the green leaves.
Beetroot in orange syrup
Caramelized beets are not to be missed. And if you use homemade orange syrup for this, it will make you even happier. At least, that’s how it works for me. It’s a nice sweet addition and it shows the extremely delicious side of red onions.
Spicy plantain, apple and coconut salad
Baking plantain is a discovery of the last 2 years. Normally at breakfast, but here in a salad. Very nice discovery. The interplay with the herbs actually gives the sweet plantain something savory. The coconut adds bite. The apple the freshness. And the ginger some spicyness. This salad is a wonderful surprise. Make it on a beautiful summer day. You will not regret it.
Eggplant tomato dip with turmeric and garlic
Soft and crunchy. Garlic and smooth tomato puree. Nuts and eggplant. With or without bread. Tasteful, for sure. The aubergine is there but it blends seamlessly into the other flavors. The tomato is there but it blends seamlessly into the other flavors. The garlic is there but doesn’t take over all the other flavors. That kind of dip. Delicious.
Lima beans in spicy and fresh oil
Lima beans are the discovery of 2021 for me. So deliciously crunchy, so great at absorbing flavors without losing its authenticity. This is a great surprising dish with a fantastic layering of flavors. Delicious to dip with bread.
Grilled fig salad with Japanese influences
We associate figs with sweet, balsamic vinegar, for example. With this salad we take a completely different direction, a salty and savory direction. Surprisingly tasty, figs grilled in the oven. I really like figs anyway: from very pure to processed. From fresh from the tree to dried. This salad shows figs from a completely different surprising side.
Lima bean puree with garlic aioli
Many people do not have positive thoughts when it comes to white beans. This even goes voor Lima beans. We do not, can not and will not understand that in this house. Lima beans are very tasty and very easy to prepare. Give them another chance. We beg of you. Just try to get rid of your memories in the past. In any case, this dish settles that in one go. It is a taste bomb, comfort food and surpising.
Grilled peach salad with string beans
A typical and surprising combination for a summer day. Peaches that you give a tasty boost in the grill pan. And you do the same with the string beans. The roasted almond pieces give the salad a perfect bite. And the mint leaves add some spice. This dish scored a 10/10 this afternoon. Nothing less…
Pasta bil laban
Warm yogurt, this is always almost too good to be true. Always so good. So gentle and soft. Bringing everything together in the ultimate comfort food dish. In this recipe, it contrasts perfectly with the deliciously crunchy breadcrumbs and the spicy pine nuts. Even though it is a pasta dish, the Palestinians have made a Middle Eastern version with the warm yogurt, crispy breadcrumbs and the spicy pine nuts. And the combination of herbs and spices.
Pasta with chard and cream sauce
Chard does not appear on our table on a daily base. But, if one gets a lot of chard in the house, one becomes creative. This turned out to be a very creative culinary recipe. Soft, creamy, tasteful.
Swiss chard with lentils, mushrooms and potato
I have not been preparing Swiss chard often until now. But through the restaurant Bommels Bakhuys and their fantastic kitchen paradise garden Bommels Buiten, I sometimes get kilo’s of Swiss chard delivered at my kitchen doorstep. And then many things start to happen in my kitchen. This is one of the best recipes with Swiss chard. Warm in every sense of the word. Comfort food. Nutricious. Tasteful. Full of flavour. Tiny bit Arabic due to the spices. Keeping close to my roots, always. In any case, you will enjoy it very much.
Salad with aubergine dressing and parsley oil and shatta
This salad should be made with romaine salad and without tomatoes. But hey, I did not have any salad in my fridge but I did have tomatoes… so I decided to make this version. It turns a regular plaine salad into a stunning one.
Cauliflower roasted in spicy yogurt
Cooking in yogurt is like cooking with a magical stick. Even when it is plant based yogurt. Your dish will turn immediately in a comfor food, just like that. In the northern part of Lebanon it is very common to cook in yogurt. There is a lot of yogurt around and they know exactly what to do with it. Really worth the try. And this dish is such a nice balance between its taste, texture, colour.. and simply delicious.
Muhammara
Made it once, you’ll keep on making it. This is one of the tastiest dips that you will always be making over and over again. Soft and crispy at the same time. Red bell pepper and walnut, oh and is this a hint of tomato? Do you also taste some cumin? That kind of dip. To go with your drinks. Part of a mezze. On your bread at lunch. Or just a spoonful. Do whatever suits you, but just make this muhammara.
Molokhieh soup with broad beans
You probably often read about ingredients at à la Damaris that you had not heard before. This one is most certainly one of them: molokhieh. You’ll find it in the freezer at your Morrocan or Arabic store. It is slightly similar to spinach, but softer. Very nice. And in this soup it’s a great combination with the tougher broad beans, fresh herbs and red chili pepper. I love to have it for lunch. But like all soups, you can actually have it all the time.
Courgette/zucchini and chick peas in warm yogurt sauce
Cooking a dish in yogurt. In the northern part of Lebanon this is a very normal routine in the kitchen. It probably has to do with all the sheep and goats that roam there. Warm (plant based) yogurt gives such a creaminess to a dish, it’s really unbelievable. You can also cook rice in it – see recipe ‘paradise on earth’ here on the site. In any case, this dish is a delightful find. You can serve it with a mezze, but certainly also as a full (side) dish. One thing is for sure, you won’t make enough anyway. It’s that good.
Sauteed kale with tahina lemon sauce
We also know this sauce from the Arnabeet Mekleh, the Lebanese cauliflower dish. One of the absolute favorites in this house when having a mezze. With this cavolo nero recipe, the tahina / lemon / garlic sauce also works great. And the crunchy nigella seeds are the eye-catcher. And add some crunch and flavor. Delicious.
The greatest filled artichoke bottoms
I found a bag with frozen artisjok bottoms in the freezer the other day. That’s often how it starts in this kitchen of mine. I find ingredients in the fridge, cupboard, kitchen, freezer… en ask myself what to make of it. This. And it is a true show stopper. The artisjok bottoms are filled with spinach, red bell pepper, feta cheese, olives and garlic of course. And for the sauce I chose a lemon sauce with capres. I love lemon, I use it whenever I can. It all came down perfectly. Serve it with some rice or nice loaf of bread to dip in the sauce.
Cavolo nero with sumac yogurt and almonds
Once you have eaten cavolo nero (palm cabbage), you want to make more of it. At least, that’s what happened to me. It’s such a great flavorful leafy vegetable. Who behaves like a good boy in the pan, in a dish. Always adding exactly what is necessary to make it delicious. Just keeping the balance between all the ingredients. And it has exactly the right bite. I’m very sensitive to that.
Delicate broad beans pilav
Anything that tends to taste bitter will get my loving attention. I can sometimes long for that taste so badly. Fresh broad beans cannot be compared to anything else. They are widely used in the Middle East. Delicious. Here in the pilav with some fresh dill, onion and garlic it is a fantastic soft delicate combination. And to counter that, sometimes we take shatta with it. The green version in this case. The colour maches the dish and the sharpeness is completely appropriate.
Fried cavolo nero in garlic-lemon butter and toasted almonds
Cavolo nero is often compared to kale or wild spinach. But actually, that doesn’t do him justice. Cavolo nero is cavolo nero. Lovely structure, soft taste, great to combine. Whatever you combine it with, cavolo nero (or palm cabbage) absorbs it all with love. And then we eat it with love. While releasing some cries of delight at this Arabic version.
Warm, yes really, warm hummus with baked bread
Hummus, I eat it almost every day. I eat it all the time. Combine it with just about anything. I’m never tired of it. And I always had it at room temperature until now. Until one day it was served as a hot dish. And then … I experienced hummus in another dimension. I could have it it as a main, but I am not sure about other people… ‘:-) This hummus is softened by the yogurt. And the baked bread from the oven that you find on and under and half in it fits perfectly. Well, I’d say. Once served like this and there is no way back.
Palestinian cavolo nero salad from Ramsey
It starts with the crunchy cavolo nero (palm cabbage). Washing, cutting it, the shimmering leaves. It’s a party right away. And then the sundried tomatoes, the smoked paprika, cumin, pepper, chickpeas… you don’t even have to take a bite to know that it will appear regularly on your table. And then if you take a bite, you know it for sure.
Pumpkin risotto
Risotto and I are very close friends. Unconditional love. For life. It never disappoints me. My kitchen always has everything in stock you need to make a risotto. Sometimes I don’t know which one to prepare, but then the risotto ‘finds me’. With good suggestions. Like the other day with pumpkin. Love at first sight again. What’s new.
Shatta
Sambal, Madame Jeanette’s, Harissa – the hotther the better as far as I’m concerned. Well, of course, it shouldn’t be too dominant. But some harissa with your hummus. On a piece of cucumber. Or shatta with your falafel. This type of seasoning can make all the difference. It brings the variety you sometimes long for, right? All these spice makers are also not all the same. This shatta is spicy, but also fresh. Thanks to the lemon juice and vinegar. And with that, it puts its own flavor tone in your refrigerator.
Delicious roasted eggplant in tamarind sauce
Eggplants and I have come a long way. Apart from baba ganoush, I found it a difficult vegetable to prepare. But I’ll get back to you on that. I’ve come to love eggplant more and more. They have slowly but surely convinced me how delicious eggplants actually are. I think one day eating an overly raw eggplant has stayed with me a little too long as a bad experience. But this purple miracle deserves many new chances. This dish also shows how wonderfully delicious you can prepare them.
Eggplant walnut topping for hummus
If I were sent to a deserted island and I could only choose three things to take with me to eat, hummus would be at the top of my list. I N-E-V-E-R ever have enough of it. Especially if you vary a bit with toppings. This topping with fried eggplant, walnut, mint, parsley and some lemon is super tasty. Super smooth. And even more tasteful of course.
Pumpkin seeds à la grandma Billy
It was Grandma Billy who inspired me to do this. And that’s why this recipe is dedicated to her. She’s been following à la Damaris for a while. Has her favourite dishes – bulgurpilav with cauliflower is one of them – and she regularly pops up on the chat with an enthusiastic reaction or a question. One day, she asked me if I knew how to roast pumpkin seeds that you have left over from your pumpkin. I did not have the answer for her, but sent her a few suggestions/links. And soon she told me it was exactly what she had looked for. And it worked out great. Now yesterday I had pumpkin seeds left over from no less than 8 squash. So I made my version of it today. And the result? Joris started to love me a little more today. All thanks to grandma Billy. But that’s what grandma’s are for, right?