Mediterranean Recipes

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Hearty Tabbouleh (with Giant Couscous)

This fresh salad is a hearty take on the traditional Middle Eastern Tabbouleh. Bulgur is replaced by giant couscous, which is mixed with fresh herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers and pomegranate seeds. It is then dressed with dried mint, sumac, lemon juice, and olive oil. A great winter salad.

A Variation on a Theme

Traditionally tabbouleh is a salad made with finely chopped fresh parsley, mint, sumac, fine bulgur wheat, tomatoes, onion and is dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. It is a Levantine salad and is commonly served as part of a mezze in the Middle East. 

This recipe is a variation of the traditional recipe. It swaps bulgur for giant couscous and also adds cucumber, fresh coriander and pomegranate arils to the salad. This is a great winter salad as it is hearty due to the giant couscous. Also, pomegranates are in abundance during the winter months in the UK.

I love this salad with the pomegranate arils looking like little jewels in the salad. If you can’t find pomegranates or you want to make this in the summer, this salad is still gorgeous without them.

What is Giant Couscous?

The tiny couscous grains you are probably the most familiar with are a yellow-hued grain. They are traditionally made from the hard part of the durum wheat kernel (semolina). The semolina is mixed with water to form the small grains. It is steamed and dried, with a fluffy texture. Couscous originates in North Africa, and can be used in place of rice and pasta. Giant couscous are small balls of pasta. It is made by repeating the couscous-making process but gradually adds water to the semolina, rolling it to create larger grains. Giant couscous has a bouncy texture.

Serve this Dish With…

An incredibly versatile salad that complements many meals as a side salad. Also a great replacement for rice as the carb offering in a meal! Serve this salad alongside other mezze-style dishes. Pairs well with chicken kebabs like Persian saffron chicken kebabs (Jujeh Kabab). Also great with grilled salmon as pictured below.

Storing Leftovers

Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. 

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Hearty Tabbouleh (with Giant Couscous)

Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Salad
Cuisine: Middle-Eastern
Servings: 6
Author: Mersedeh Prewer

Ingredients

  • 150 g giant couscous (also known as Israeli or pearl couscous)
  • 5 spring onions
  • 200 g cherry tomatoes
  • 1 medium cucumber
  • 40 g fresh parsley
  • 40 g fresh coriander
  • 1 medium pomegranate
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • 1 tsp dried mint
  • 1 lemon
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

  • Cook the Giant Couscous:
    Place a medium saucepan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and toast giant couscous for a few minutes. Pour water over to cover with 2 inches clear and bring to a boil. Cook couscous until soft circa 10 mins. Drain and leave to one side to cool down and until ready to use.
  • Prepare the other Salad Ingredients:
    Finely dice cucumber and cherry tomatoes. Finely slice spring onions. Finely chop fresh coriander and parsley. Remove arils from pomegranate. Add all ingredients plus couscous to a serving bowl.
  • Dress and Serve the Hearty Tabbouleh:
    Add dried mint, sumac, salt and pepper to the salad. Drizzle generously with olive oil and add juice from 1 lemon. Toss, taste and adjust seasoning or dressing to taste. Serve the salad.
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Ful Medames (Egyptian Fava Bean Stew)

This breakfast dish common to North Africa and the Middle East is made with fava beans and warming spices then topped with a citrus-dressed chopped salad. Perfect for scooping up with warm fluffy flatbread.

What is Ful Medames?

This ancient breakfast dish, originating in Egypt and then migrating to other countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sudan and Morocco, is traditionally made by mashing fava beans cooked with cumin and then serving with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and chopped fresh parsley.

The recipe below has some some swaps, variations and extra additions to the traditional recipe and is very much loved by my family. My version of this recipe starts by frying onions with garlic and cumin, Pul Biber and oregano. I add chopped tomatoes and then the fava beans before mashing to coarse dip consistency. The final dish is served with a topper – a medley of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, fresh parsley and coriander dressed in olive oil and lime juice.

Ingredients in Ful Medames

  • Fava Beans  – use tinned fava beans to make the dish super-quick to prepare and cook because you won’t need to soak and cook dried fava beans. You can find tinned fava beans in most supermarkets. I use this variety.
  • Water – a little cooking liquid for the fava beans.
  • Cumin – ground cumin to give the Ful a warm and nutty flavour.
  • Pul Biber or Aleppo Pepper – dried dark red pepper flakes with a mild smoky flavour and moderate heat. Alternatively use a little chilli or leave it out completely.
  • Oregano – my addition to the classic recipe for an earthy and peppery profile.
  • Garlic – used to enhance the aromatics in the dish.
  • Onion – one brown onion to cook the fava beans with; and one red onion for the topping.
  • Olive Oil – good quality extra virgin olive oil, used both during the cooking process and for serving the dish.
  • Lime Juice – used during cooking to flavour the fava beans.
  • Lemon Juice – used for the topper dressing.
  • Tomatoes – I cook my fava beans with tomatoes as it gives a further depth to the flavour. Tomatoes are also required for the topper.
  • Cucumber – for the topper.
  • Fresh herbs – I use a combination of fresh parsley and coriander for my Ful Medames topper. Feel free to use only parsley or coriander if you prefer.
  • Salt and Pepper – seasoning for the dish.

How to Serve Ful Medames

Serve Ful Medames with either boiled or fried eggs with a side of fluffy pitta bread or Sesame and Nigella Seed Flatbread (as pictured above) and tahini to drizzle over as well. Alternatively top further with crumbled feta to add another delicious layer to this dish.

Ful Medames is a vegan dish so a perfect addition to your recipes for vegan friends or family; or for the yearly commitment to ‘Veganuary.’ Just serve the Ful as the recipe sets out below with vegan bread.

Leftovers

Once the Ful has cooled down, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for no more than 3 days. It can either be reheated gently in a saucepan or a microwave.

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Ful Medames

Egyptian fava bean stew
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Egyptian
Keyword: vegetarian, vegan
Servings: 4 to 6 people
Author: Mersedeh Prewer

Ingredients

For the Ful Medames

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tins (400g each) fava beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 onion (finely diced)
  • 4 cloves garlic (crushed or minced)
  • 150 g tomatoes (finely chopped)
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp Pul Biber
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Ful Medames Topping

  • 150 g tomatoes (finely diced)
  • 1 medium red onion (finely diced)
  • 1/4 cucumber (finely diced)
  • 1 small bunch parsley and coriander (finely chopped)
  • 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra to drizzle over the final dish)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Instructions

  • Make the Ful Medames:
    Take a large frying pan and place over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Once it glistens, add onion. Fry until golden.
  • Add garlic and stir until aromatics released. Add cumin, oregano, Pul Biber and stir into the onion mixture. Add chopped tomatoes to pan and cook until they have broken down and thickened. 
  • Add fava beans to tomato mixture with 1 cup water. Season generously, add lime juice and, using a masher or the back of a fork, press down on the beans and mash until they roughly breakdown. Turn heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture thickens (it should look like a coarse dip). Make the toppings while the Ful simmers.
  • Make the Toppings:
    Finely dice cherry tomatoes, cucumber and onions. Add fresh finely chopped parsley and coriander. Dress with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and leave to one side until ready to use.
  • Serve the Ful Medames:
    Spoon the Ful into a serving dish and heap the toppings on top. Drizzle with more olive oil and serve with fluffy, warm flatbread.

Other Breakfast Inspiration

 

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Beetroot Hummus with Feta and Anything-Green Topper

A beautifully vibrant hummus made with beetroot and topped with a contrasting medley of green vegetables, herbs, feta and nigella seeds. 

This gorgeous hummus with a contrasting and complementary green topper came about by chance one weekend. I love both beetroot and hummus – the combination of the two brings about a delicious hummus with a slightly sweet yet earthy flavour profile. The colour, as you can see, is a vibrant pink and will look incredible at any dinner party as an appetiser for your guests.

What’s in the Topper?

After making a batch, my eyes kept being drawn to green items in my fridge which I felt would look incredible as a topper for the hummus.  Luckily, the green items I had in my fridge all complemented a beetroot hummus perfectly including cucumber, olives, spring onions and dill. With the addition of feta (also a great friend of beetroot) and a few extra sprinkles (nigella seeds) and spice (cumin), a dash of olive oil and lemon juice, this hummus was complete.

Serve this Dish Alongside…

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Beetroot Hummus with Feta and Anything-Green Topper

Prep Time30 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dip, Appetiser, Accompaniment
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern, Inspired by....
Keyword: vegetarian, vegan option, hummus
Servings: 6 (to 8)
Author: Mersedeh Prewer

Ingredients

Beetroot Hummus

  • 1 jar chickpeas (660g / drained weight 425g) (drained and rinsed)
  • 125 g cooked beetroot
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced or crushed)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (60 ml)
  • 1/4 cup tahini (60 ml)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup water (60 ml)
  • Salt & pepper (to taste)

Topper

  • 2 baby cucumbers
  • 2 spring onions
  • 5 green olives
  • 50 g feta cheese (non-dairy alternative if vegan or preferred)
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp nigella seeds
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
  • Drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice

Instructions

Beetroot Hummus

  • In order to get a smoother hummus (and if you can be bothered), after draining the chickpeas and rinsing, place the chickpeas on one half of a tea towel and rub gently with the other half of the tea towel to agitate the skins off. Then pick out the chickpea skins before blitzing.
  • Add all hummus ingredients, except water, salt and pepper to a food processor / nutribullet. Blend until smooth. Then add water and blend further until you have a creamy texture. Season to taste. Adjust seasoning and / or lemon juice to taste. I leave my hummus in the fridge while I prepare the topper to firm up the consistency a little.

Topper

  • Finely dice cucumbers, spring onions and olives. Crumble in feta and add cumin, nigella seeds and dill. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice and stir gently to mix all the topper ingredients.

To Serve

  • Spoon the hummus onto a serving dish and arrange the topper in the shape of a crescent as pictured above. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve alongside flatbread, crisps / crackers or vegetables to dip into the hummus.
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Havuç Tarator (Turkish Carrot, Walnut & Yoghurt Dip)

This delicious dip hearlding from Türkiye is made using a handful of ingredients. Grated carrots are sautéed gently and then added to Greek yoghurt with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and pul biber to make a divine addition to a Mezze-style spread.

Turkish Cuisine

Turkish cuisine is close to my heart almost as much as Persian cusine! I have travelled to Türkiye more times than i have to Iran, mostly because of the food but also the kindess of the people, the weather, the history and the sights!

The culture surrounding food in this beautiful country is very like that in Iran. It is the essence of family, coming together, sharing and eating with your loved ones. Turkish patisseries are incredible, filled with cakes, breads and other baked goods. Around the streets of Istanbul you can pick up freshly baked simit (the Turkish equivalent of a bagel) and eat it while soaking up the sights and washing it down with Turkish tea of coffee! The kebabs and other main dishes are outstanding as are the arrays of appetisers and starters pre the main event.

 

One of the dishes I fell in love with while visiting Istanbul was Havuç Tarator.

What is Havuç Tarator?

Havuç Tarator is a simple yoghurt-based dip made with sautéed grated carrot, crushed walnuts. lemon juice, pul biber, olive oil and a hint of garlic.  It is absolutely delicious and easy to knock up.

For those of you who may not be familiar with pul biber, it is a dried, coarsely ground dark red pepper is grown in Syria and Turkey. It is used as a condiment and has a mildly smoky flavor with moderate heat. If you are unable to find it, you can substitute with dried red chilli flakes.

Serve Havuç Tarator alongside a mezze-style meal with lots of other dishes; as an accompaniment to kebabs or other BBQ dishes; or just with crackers or crisps.

Other Turkish Recipes

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Havuç Tarator

Turkish Carrot & Yoghurt Dip
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Turkish
Keyword: vegetarian, dip
Servings: 6
Author: Mersedeh Prewer

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 medium carrots (grated on the coarse side of a box grater)
  • 1 large garlic clove (crushed)
  • 500 g Greek yoghurt
  • 30 grams walnuts (coarsley crushed)
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Pul Biber or Aleppo Pepper (red pepper flakes)
  • Squeeze or 2 of fresh lemon juice

To garnish

  • Pul Biber or Aleppo Pepper
  • Olive oil (to drizzle on top)
  • Walnuts halves

Instructions

  • Place a frying pan on a medium-high heat and add olive oil. Once the oil starts to glisten, add grated carrot. Then add crushed garlic and stir until the carrot wilts and the garlic is evenly distributed - this should only take a few minutes. Turn off the heat and let the carrot mixture cool.
  • Take a bowl, add yoghurt, grated carrot, crushed walnuts, lemon juice, salt, Pul Biber and stir. Taste and adjust seasoning or other flavours as desired.
  • Cover the bowl and leave in the fridge for the flavours to intensify and mix well through the yoghurt (no less than 1 hour).
  • When you are ready to serve the dip, drizzle some olive oil on top and decorate with walnuts and a sprinkle of Pul Biber. Serve as part of a mezze-style spread of dishes, or as an appetiser.

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Sesame and Nigella Seed Flatbread

Follow the recipe below for fluffy, pillowy yet perfectly chewy flatbread. Great served as part of a Mezze to scoop up dips with or wrapped round a kebabs!

Hands down, this is the best flatbread recipe I have developed. After a a year of testing various quantities (with milk, without milk, with yoghurt, without yoghurt, yeast or no yeast – and the list of variations goes on), I am so happy with this fluffy, pillowy yet perfectly chewy flatbread.

What is Flatbread?

In general, flatbread is bread made with flour; a liquid such as water, milk or yogurt, and salt. Some are leavened (made with yeast) others are unleavened. They range from below one millimetre to a few centimetres thick. Flatbread can be baked in an oven, fried in hot oil, grilled over hot coals, cooked on a hot pan, or metal griddle, and eaten fresh or packaged and frozen for later use.

They are commonly eaten in Middle-Eastern and South Asian cuisine.

What are the Ingredients for this Recipe?

This flatbread recipe is a leavened one so will need proving time for the bread dough rise.

You will need the following ingredients to make these flatbreads.

  • Strong White Bread Flour. I always use strong bread flour for my bread as I love the texture. The main difference between strong bread flour and other types of flour is its high protein content. This creates more rise and structural support in the dough, allowing the final product to lift and hold shape. It also creates a chewier texture and more browning in the crust.
  • Stone Ground Wholemeal Bread Flour. The use of wholemeal flour brings about a lovely nuttiness to this flatbread.
  • Water, Caster Sugar and Fast Action Yeast. These ingredients are mixed together to activate the yeast, then added to the flour to create the rise in the flatbread.
  • Greek Yoghurt. Provides a lovely tanginess to the bread and helps to create the lovely soft and doughy texture.
  • Salt. Needed to season the bread otherwise it would be very bland.
  • Olive Oil. Added to the bread dough to help with the structure and texture of the bread. Also needed to oil the bowl for proving and to brush on the flatbreads before cooking.
  • Sesame Seeds. Provides a a crunchy texture to the flatbread and a lovely nutty flavour.
  • Nigella Seeds. Provides a lovely crunch and a slightly onion flavour to the bread. Also known as Kalonji or black Cumin Seeds.

What to Serve with Sesame and Nigella Seed Flatbread?

See below for a number of my recipes you can dip this flatbread into – dals, dips and curry!

From top left: Persian-Style Dal; Mirza Ghasemi; Borani Laboo; Maast O’Moosir; Kashke Bademjan; Rose Harissa Aubergines and Hummus; Borani Esfenaj; Coconut and Herb Chickpea curry; Maast O’Khiar.

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Sesame and Nigella Seed Flatbread

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Proving2 hours
Total Time3 hours
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Middle-Eastern
Servings: 6 flatbreads
Author: Mersedeh Prewer

Ingredients

  • 425 g strong white bread flour (plus extra for dusting surface if kneading by hand)
  • 75 g stone ground strong wholemeal bread
  • 250 ml tepid water
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 7 g sachet of dried yeast
  • 100 g Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (plus extra to oil proving bowl and to brush on flatbreads before cooking)
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp Nigella seeds

Instructions

  • Pour water into a jug, add sugar and yeast and stir to dissolve. Leave loosely covered for 10 minutes until it activates and has a bubbly surface.
  • Sift the white and wholemeal flours into a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir in salt, sesame seeds and Nigella seeds. Pour in yoghurt and olive oil.
  • Gently pour in the activated yeast and bring the mixture together (either by hand or slow speed on the stand mixer). Then increase speed and / or knead by hand until smooth-ish and elastic for about 8 to 10 minutes (the wholemeal flour and seeds will not result in a typically smooth dough). If kneading by hand you may need to add a little extra flour for dusting your surface as the mixture is quite wet.
  • Tuck the dough under to form a ball and place in a bowl oiled with a drizzle of olive oil, cover with cling film and then a tea towel and leave in a warm part of your home to prove until it has doubled in size (usually between 1 to 2 hrs).
  • Once the dough has proved, knock back gently and remove from the bowl. Divide into 6 pieces, dust with a little flour, and using the palm of your hand roll into balls. Leave the balls of dough covered with a tea towel on your work surface for about 15 mins to prove further.
  • Roll the dough pieces one by one, using a rolling pin, into a circle shape approx 20 cm in diameter.
  • Heat a medium sized frying pan or flat skillet on medium heat (allow for about 1 minute).
  • Brush one side of the uncooked flatbread with olive oil and place that side down into the frying pan and cook until bubbles start to form on top of the flatbread (approx 1 to 2 minutes). Brush the topside of the flatbread with a little olive oil and then flip and cook on that side for about 30 second to 1 minute. The aim is to get the flatbreads golden and bubbly.
  • Remove from the heat and place the flatbread in a tea towel to keep soft and warm, while you cook the others.
  • Serve warm and straight after cooking, or reheat later on either by toasting in a toaster on a low heat or wrapping in foil and warming up in a medium / low oven circa (160°C (fan oven) / 180°C (conventional) / gas mark 4) for about 10 mins.

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