Recipes

Hummus

0 · Jan 17, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Hummus is one of those great things to have in your fridge, perfect as a snack, served with Turkish bread, crackers, corn chips with celery and carrots too.

Do keep in mind your homemade hummus will taste slightly different to a mass-produced product. The beauty of this is you can make to your own taste.

I generally use dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water and then simmer for 45 minutes. You can use canned chickpeas, which are a very good product. I simply like the process with dried beans and legumes, plus they are value for money.

Hummus

Fabulous chickpea and tahini dip. Very simple to make, healthy and very delicious.

The first time you make hummus yourself it will no doubt taste slightly different from any store bought dip. The great thing about hummus is it is very easy to alter the recipe slightly to suit your taste. This is a fairly basic recipe and a great base.

Author: robynsseasonalkitchen
Prep Time: 15 mins + prep of chick peas if using dried
Cook Time: N/A
Total Time: N/A
Yield: 1.5 cups 1x
Category: Dips
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and simmered for about 45 minutes OR
1 can of chickpeas drained of juice (440g)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (more or less to taste)
50 ml water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tahini paste (sesame seed paste)
100 ml olive oil
2–3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blitz!

You may need to add a little more liquid, water is fine or chicken stock.

It will take some time of blending to get a smooth paste.

Serve with a dash of olive oil, finely chopped coriander, or ground paprika.

Once I have blended everything well, taste.

From the texture, you may find it is too thick or taste is not quite right.

Notes

Personally, I keep a small amount of tahini paste, 1 tbls of lemon juice, 10 mls water and about 10 mls of oil aside.

The last time I made hummus my jar of tahini had been in my fridge for some time and was quite thick and strong in taste, I used slightly less then I have in the paste. I like a strong citrus taste and may add more lemon.

When blending I quite like a bit of texture. My hummus generally will not be as smooth as store bought. This may be off-putting if you and your family are used to a smoother blend. This is something you can control

Remember there are no preservatives so your homemade hummus will only keep a few days in the refrigerator

Suitable to freeze also.

Keywords: hummus, chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, dips, cumin, olive oil

Borough Market – London

2 · Sep 16, 2018 · Leave a Comment

I’ve had great intentions to visit the Borough Market, unsuccessfully until my last trip to London. An added bonus was to catch up with 2 London based friends who adore food as much as I do. My first failed attempt 14 years ago I was staying in Windsor experiencing horrendous weather including snow and felt I would rather sit by the log fire in the local pub then venture out.

At last, I have remedied my previous oversights and I was not disappointed, by either the destination or the company.

Dutifully doing some research I was intrigued to find that there has been a market on the site of today’s Borough Market for over 1000 years. There has been ups and downs along the way, but a solid performance since the 1990’s with the rise of artisan producers.

The markets area is smaller than anticipated, but a great use of space, no matter where you turn there is something to catch your eye, great satisfaction for all of us who love food and fresh produce.

Some stalls carry only one or two products such as the Mont d’Or and Comte stall. All my Mont d’Or dreams had come true.

Who knew Porcini mushrooms could be found fresh and at such a reasonable price? Porcini are not native to Australia, supply is limited and generally rather expensive.

You can purchase your more regular favourites of fruit and vegetables, there is definitely a flair for displaying produce by all stall holders making everything incredibly inviting.

Whether you’re looking for specialist truffle, quail, fish, sea urchins perhaps, you are sure to find it at the Borough Markets.

Take your time and wander around, there are plenty of places to rest and enjoy a cup of tea, coffee or a spot of lunch. I do recommend you allow 2-3 hours just to meander and enjoy.

There are a number of speciality stores in the precinct well-established favourites, such as Neal’s Yard. If the weather is on your side why not take a stroll along the banks of the Thames to round out a fabulous day.

For additional information, details on the best way to get there, rather interesting history along with a list of stall holders.

Visit https://boroughmarket.org.uk

Just a hint, if arriving by train or tube, London Bridge station is well signposted but there are a great many exits. I made the error of suggesting to my friends ‘let’s meet at the tube exit’ I was quite dismayed as to the number of exits I discovered on arrival.

Borough Market, 8 Southwark St, London, SE1 1TL

Open Days: Mon, Tues (Limited Market)

Wed-Sat (Full market)

Sun (Closed)

I highly recommend a visit, personally, I will not let a little thing such as a snowstorm get in my way again.

Chestnuts

0 · Jun 13, 2018 · 4 Comments

As it’s been a while since I’ve posted, I’ve been battling and still am with technology. Hopefully, we will be running smoothly soon. We have come around to chestnut season again, I thought I would repost this article. It is exactly 2 years since it first appeared on Robyns Seasonal Kitchen.

As I delight in the months of March to July being the chestnut season, I recall it has only been relatively recent that chestnuts have been generally available in Australia. I certainly didn’t grow up with them being on our family menu.

Vegout Farmers markets, locally grown chestnuts

My first encounter was when I was living in London, our office had been invited to the local Barclays Bank in High Street Kensington for Christmas drinks. The whole evening had a rather Dickensian feel to it, a dark foggy, misty evening, the servers were dressed in period costume as we consumed mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. I’m sure there were other delights but they don’t fit this story, so will stay in my memories for now.

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Nigella’s Chocolate Fudge Cake

136 · Apr 5, 2018 · 1 Comment

Whilst I find cooking very relaxing, I’m not quite as confident when it comes to baking. I blame my oven, although it may be as I’m a little impatient with the exactness required that tends to lead to failures from time to time, then I give up.

I do however have my go-to fail proof (so far) recipe that I have been making with success for 14 years. It is Nigella’s Chocolate Fudge Cake, from ‘Nigella Bites’ cookbook. Not surprisingly once you taste this cake you will understand why it is listed under ‘comfort food’.

This is most definitely one of the richest cakes I’ve tasted, be warned only a small piece required. As it is so moist it keeps really well for a few days. It is a little more complicated than your basic chocolate cake, but I believe definitely worth the effort for those special occassions.