Daring Cooks - February - Mezze

The 2010 February Daring COOKs challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

A few weeks ago, the fondest memories of last January came back: Mezze in Kuwait. For whatever reason, last year I found myself in the middle of the desert with a scarf in my hair, looking to explore. Exploring isn't easy for a woman alone in the Middle East. I was miserable. Our hotel was in the middle of nowhere and the internet connection was ridiculously slow. There was one thing that had me excited: having dinner in one of these private tents.


The food was fantastic. I have no idea what it was but it was great. Warm weather (for someone who lives in Germany), bright sun, a couple of camels & mezze. The only thing that made me really want to leave was a glass of wine and a slice of Spanish ham (neither of which are allowed in Kuwait).


When Michelle posted her challenge, I knew this would be a chance to taste those middle eastern memories. I planned to make the hummus with a roasted red pepper. I started to knead the dough for pita bread. Something came up, I had to put the dough in the fridge overnight. I took it out the next day, rolled it out & placed it in a hot oven. At this point, I should note that I've never been able to make bread. Bread never really rises in the oven when I make it. One of my pitas puffed up, but not really. I left them in a little longer, hoping they just needed more time. The result: pita chips. Oh well, not bad.

The hummus was divine, the olives I had just bought from the market were great, and I have this supermarket around the corner that sells fresh pita bread. As wonderful as the smell of freshly baked bread is, as long as I live close to good bakeries, I'm going to outsource the task of baking.

The Little Garbanzo Bean That Could

Saturday evening, I had a few people over for some snacks and, yes, I confess, to clear out the liquor cabinet. Discovering the opulence of 19th century country clubs, we finished off the bottle of Pimms that mysteriously appeared eons ago.

Instead of my regular opulent buffets, I made minimal snacks. I thought my crowning achievement of the evening was the tzatziki. Made from regular yogurt, strained to achieve the right consistency with hand grated cucumber, this was a sauce that made me proud. This would have been a sauce that would have received more attention had I remembered to buy bread. Dipped in meatballs, tzatziki is not much to write home about. The secret star was the chickpea salad. This salad was more of an apology to the vegetarians but the omnivores were asking me about the recipe afterwards. Sadly, it's not much of a recipe, but, as an added bonus, there's a free recipe for Tzatziki available today.

Chickpea Salad
1 can of chick peas, drained & rinsed
1 red onion, chopped
100g cherry tomatoes, quartered
juice of 1 lemon
3 drops of white balsamic vinegar
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
pinch chili powder
salt to taste

Mix chick peas, onions and tomatoes.
Add all other ingredients to a small jam jar. Close lid & shake jam jar. Pour contents of jar over chick peas & allow to sit in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.

Tzatziki
2 containers of plain yogurt (150g each)
1/2 cucumber
1/4 tsp chopped garlic
salt to taste

Line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels. Fill with yogurt and allow to drip until the yogurt has achieved a cream cheese-like consistency (at least 2 hours). In the meantime, grate the cucumber finely & allow place the shreds in another sieve, allowing the water to drip out.

When the cucumber is moist but not dripping and when the yogurt is thick, add the two together, along with garlic & salt. Allow the mixture to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Ensure you have bread to serve with it.


I was really proud of myself for making a tzatziki. Now I'm proud of the little Garbanzo beans that won over so many fans.

Eating Out - Qube

Last Saturday, I happened to be passing by the Qube hotel, which opened 5 weeks ago in Heidelberg. Someone I know who works there said they were trying to create a restaurant that is not a "hotel" restaurant. That is, they are trying to create a restaurant where locals would eat. I qualify as a local, and I would eat there.

When we walked in, we were invited to have a tour of the hotel. On the grounds that once held a little cottage in the middle of the town now stands a 6 story hotel, with a focus on sustainability. As was explained to me by our tour guide, this is not because they want to be an eco-hotel, but simply because this is a long-term business model. This is a long-term business model that I agree with.

After having enjoyed the view from the rooftop patio, we went back downstairs for dinner. I ordered the "Kleine Apperetif" - the small snack - as an appetizer to share. I quickly realized that I had to grab my cell phone to blog about this place. The photos could use some improvement but the snack couldn't have been better. Grissini, presented with a trio of tapenade, aioli & foie gras. My only complaint is that there was not enough grissini. We were, however, given a basket of bread from a baker who has been recognized as one of the best in Germany.

As a part of the effort to encourage locals to eat there, the chef has been imported from Schumann's in Munich, apparently a legendary hotel. I'm not a fan of titles, I'm not blown away by a resume. I am blown away by a snow-white aioli.


After our small snack, the mains arrived. For me, the shrimp and summer vegetable tempura. For my companion, the tuna in sesame crust. The shrimp was drizzled in a mildly spicy chili sauce, and the summer vegetables were reduced to carrots and yellow & green zucchini. There are no local sweet potatoes but there are currently local green beans and eggplant. I would have greatly enjoyed this seasonal addition.


The tuna, on the other hand, was great. Half in a sesame crust, pink in the middle with large strips of daikon on the side. The better choice.

In the past week, I have recommended the place to 2 more people and discovered, while walking past, that they also have a 3 course lunch menu. Maybe I'll try it when I'm working from home one of these days. Or I'll just head out there for drinks with small snacks. It's nice to have a good hotel restaurant so close to home.

Tapas - Now with Extra Mojo!

Last weekend was the first fireworks of the season in Heidelberg. Every year, they "light" the castle 3 times symbolizing the 3 times the French tried to burn it down. I've been out in the crowds to watch the fireworks a few times - a highly social event for people who live here; an excuse to meet friends, go outside & enjoy the weather.

This year, I thought it would be great to have people over, feed them, watch the fireworks & drink wine. Good idea, but what do I feed them? My failsafe crowd-pleaser - Tapas! Everyone loves fingerfood, it's not more work that a sit-down meal, it goes on for hours & can be interrupted to go outside.

It just so happens that there is a tapas contest going on this month. It is hosted by Tony Tahhan at Olive Juice. Every month, he picks a Mediterranean country to focus on & has a contest based on a dish from that nation. This month happens to be Tapas month. I took my cue from Núria at Spanish Recipes & made a few treats. Here's what I could prepare before guests came:
Clockwise from the top left: Tortilla Espanola, Aioli, Oeufs de Caille avec Tapenade & Câpre, Mojo Verde.

Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelet)
Sautee 1 chopped onion, slice 4 small potatoes & parboil them. Mix 4 eggs (use an extra white, if you have one), add onion, potatoes, salt & cook in frying pan, flipping it over when it looks solid-ish.

Aioli (Garlicy-lemony-Mayonaise)
In a boil, beat 1 egg yolk with 1 tsp dijon mustard. Slowly add 1 c olive oil. Add 2 minced garlic cloves & 2 Tbsp lemon juice.

Oeufs de Caille avec Tapenade & Câpre (Quail eggs with olive paste & capers)
Boil quail eggs (this takes 5 minutes in boiling water). Allow to cool. Shell eggs (easiest if you crack them & then peel them under water). Slice, top with a bit of tapenade (olive paste), and 1 little caper on top. Note: I don't actually speak Spanish, so I have no idea what this would be called in Spanish :-(

Mojo Verde
Take 2 green peppers (seeded & chopped), 1/2 bunch parsley, 2 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, dash of cumin, salt & pepper & mix in a blender. Squeeze out excess water. Also good on grilled meats. Also good for entertaining people who have also seen Austin Powers. We all giggled at the name of this sauce from the Canary Islands.

People started to show up & I had to get out the warm tapas. I already had all of the cold stuff on the table, plus the following:

• olives
• Jamon Iberico (my leg)
• cured pork sausage
• 3 different kinds of cheese (Manchego, a Spanish ewe milk cheese with rosemary & P'tit Basque)
• bread
• cherry tomatoes
• Plantain fritters a friend had brought over

I made the following warm tapas, (clockwise from top left): Gambas a la Plancha, Patatas Bravas & Albóndiga con Tomate. The whole time, we were all in my kitchen talking, eating & drinking wine.

Gambas a la Plancha (Beach Shrimp)
Do not shell shrimp. Sautee in olive oil. Add garlic near the end. Add parsley. Grind sea salt over top & serve.

Patatas Bravas (Spicy Potatoes)
Parboil 500g of potatoes, cut into cubes. Fry them in olive oil (sautee, if you are afraid of oil excess, like me).
In a saucepan, sautee 1 chopped onion & 1 clove of garlic. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes. Add 1/4 tsp paprika, dash ground chilies, dash cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, turn heat down & allow to simmer until it looks kinda solid-ish (25 minutes). Add 1 Tbsp aoili & serve over fried potatoes

Albóndigas con Tomate (Meatballs with Tomato)
Take 250g of ground beef, add 1/4 c breadcrumbs, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 chopped onion (very fine!), 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1 egg, 2 Tbsp grated cheese (Manchego, or I used pecorino). Form into balls, brown in a frying pan. Add 1 can diced tomatoes, salt, sprig of rosemary & 2 bay leaves (both chopped), 1/4 c red wine & allow to simmer until sauce is thick enough to your liking.

We heard the first fireworks as I was getting the Gambas ready, so we went outside. This is what we saw:
A spectacular view - I was so happy that the weather was nice (it rained all morning). We could see (from left) the castle, the people on the bridge watching, the fireworks in the valley, and, well, I could see my friends! :-)

We went inside & another friend brought a desert: Strawberry flan! A simple biscuit topped with a bit of custard, fresh strawberries, sliced bananas & then a glaze. As the night progressed, one friend got creative. I told him about the blog contest & as he made himself little canapes, he wrote them down, judged them himself & took photos. At the bottom of the picture is Creation #2.

Creation #2 is: bread, manchego, jamon iberico, 1 tomato, salt & pepper, aioli & 1/2 an olive. At 3am, it was pretty good, I have to say. I thought I was making all the good food that night, but I got a lot of help from my friends, keeping me company, helping to inspire me & being just generally fantastic. I guess that's why I keep them around!