Sabrina Ghayour - Feasts: Middle Eastern Food to Savor & Share

__________

MENU

Accompaniment:
Greek yogurt with harissa and lime juice

MAKES APPROXIMATELY 24

500600g ready-cooked free-range chicken

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lime

50g rose harissa

75ml clear honey, plus extra to taste

2 long banana shallots, very finely chopped

1 small packet (about 30g) of fresh coriander, leaves and stems finely chopped

1 large pineapple

sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

TO GARNISH

nigella seeds

24 coriander leaves or 2 handfuls of coriander cress

Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan), Gas Mark 7.

Discard any skin, fat and bones from the chicken. Shred all the meat as finely as possible.

Combine the shredded chicken in a mixing bowl with the ground coriander, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, lime zest and juice, harissa, honey, shallots and fresh coriander and mix well for a couple of minutes. (Mixing it for this length of time will pulverize the flavours into the chicken and really bring it to life.) Season with salt and pepper to taste and, if desired, add a little more honey to balance the chilli heat.

Peel the pineapple and cut it into 3cm squares, about 1cm thick. Carefully pile a generous amount of the chicken mixture on to each pineapple square, then garnish with some nigella seeds and a coriander leaf or some coriander cress. Serve as they are or speared on cocktail sticks for easy pick-up.

TIP

Try using a whole chicken and double the quantities of the remaining ingredients to make a filling for tacos or wraps or to go inside a puff pastry case, or even to serve with salad as a main meal.

MAKES APPROXIMATELY 12

1 large cucumber (about 30cm long), trimmed

250g cooked turkey breast, finely chopped

2 heaped tablespoons mayonnaise

zest of 1 lime

juice of lime

10g tarragon leaves, very finely chopped

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons sumac

2 teaspoons nigella seeds

sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

handful of pomegranate seeds, to garnish

Cut the trimmed cucumber into 6 sections, then cut through the centre of each of these sections to halve them, leaving you with 12 equal sections, each about 2.5cm long. Lay the slices on a board or platter and, using a teaspoon, gently scoop out a few of the seeds on each piece to make a small, gentle curve (not a hole) on which to lay the turkey filling.

Put the turkey into a mixing bowl and add the mayonnaise, lime zest and juice, tarragon, cayenne pepper, sumac and nigella seeds and season generously with salt and pepper. Using your hands, pummel the mixture to a smooth, paste-like consistency.

Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions, then roll each portion neatly into a ball. Place each ball on top of a cucumber slice, sitting it neatly in the depression you made in the cucumber, and garnish with a single pomegranate seed.

MAKES 1620

2 fresh corn cobs

vegetable oil, for frying

6 spring onions, thinly sliced from root to tip

2 fat garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 heaped tablespoon sumac

1 heaped tablespoon pul biber chilli flakes

finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lime

1 egg

4 tablespoons plain flour

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Cook the corn cobs in boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and, when cool enough to handle, hold the cob upright on a chopping board and use a knife to cut the kernels off the cobs.

Pour enough oil into a large, deep frying saucepan to fill it to a depth of 5cm. Heat the oil over a medium heat. Line a plate with a double layer of kitchen paper.

Put the corn kernels into a large mixing bowl. Add the spring onion (reserving a handful for a garnish), garlic, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, sumac, pul biber, lime zest, egg, flour and baking powder. Season generously with salt and pepper and mix well. The mixture should just be wet enough for you to scoop up heaped teaspoonfuls without it falling off the spoon.

Take a pinch of the mixture and drop it into the oil to test how hot it is if the mixture sizzles immediately, your oil is hot enough. Carefully add teaspoonfuls of the mixture into the oil and fry for 2 minutes on each side, until deep golden brown. Using a metal slotted spoon, transfer to the paper-lined plate to drain excess oil. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with the reserved spring onion and serve hot with sweet chilli sauce.

MAKES 24

1.25kg butternut squash, quartered and deseeded