Cherry gazpacho - a perfect summer treat! (vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher)

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Cherries bring an unexpected twist to tapas classic gazpacho. Cherry gazpacho is a quick, easy and refreshing treat - perfect for lazy summer days!

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Cherries have arrived at the shops and I. Can't. Get. Enough. Of.  Them. 

Another thing I can't help is my thoughts drifting back to last summer and to the day, when I'd just schlepped back home. Armed with the first cherries of the summer I started to put together a photo which quickly became one of my all time favourites. 

And boy, am I glad it did, as that very photo turned out to be the first photo of first my book (yes, still only available in Finnish...) 

Full of excitement (and nerves) I sat down and tapped away a blog post in which I shared my big news with you all. 

Luckily there was more excitement than there were nerves as in case I had at this point had any idea just how much work would lie ahead, I would have probably paralyzed on the floor, stuffing my panic-stricken face with every single one of those cherries. 

Good job I didn't, as that day resulted in two cherry recipes for the book: this cherry gazpacho and a cherry and red wine compote I served with my no-churn, no-fuss cream cheese ice cream.

It was no mean feat for the test audience either. Their ungrateful job was to decide, which of my gazpachos would end up in the book: watermelon gazpacho or this cherry gazpacho.

In the end Cat Blogger's vote turned out to be the winning one.

"Cherry gazpacho - without a doubt. They're both delish, but this is just the right amount of... well, weird!"

My cherry gazpacho is inspired by the tapas bar streets of Malaga, where Dani Garcia's, one of the region's most renowed chefs' version has garnered a veritable cult following. 

So, in case you find yourself lost and hungry in Malaga, make sure to head over to his restaurant KGB!

As a tapas this serves 4, as a shot up to 12

Gazpacho de cerezas – cherry gazpacho:

500 g pitted cherries (appr. 700 g unpitted ones)

1 tomato

½ red bell pepper

½ red onion

½ jalapeño

1 dl olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar)

1 tsp salt

To serve: crispy, roasted Serrano ham crisps and/or crumbled Feta cheese

Halve the tomato and remove the hard core.Do the same with the pepper. 

Measure the ingredients into a blender/ food processor and whizz until smooth. For the silkiest, smoothest finish, run the gazpacho through a sieve.

Chill for at least a couple of hours before serving (as this will also let the flavours develop).

Check the taste, add more salt and/ or vinegar if needed and serve. Ahhhhh.

And now over to you! What are your favourite gazpachos? 

The traditional take? Ajo Blanco; the white gazpacho? Cooling cucumber version? My fruity watermelon variety? 

Or hey - would you like to share your own recipe (please do!)

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Sfiha - Arabic mini pizzas ( kosher, gluten-free)

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Sfiha, Arabic mini pizza is a perfect choice for meze table... or picnic. You can even make these on BBQ! 

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Hebron, located on West Bank, is sweating in the sweltering August heat. It's far too hot to be outside: temperatures are well and truly above 40ºc . The air stands still and the dry, hot wind, occasionally making an appearance to lazily blow sand around offers absoutely no relief.

The kitchen in the home of the Palestinian family that's adopted me offers a welcome shade. The mother of the family is clapping her hands excitedly: her own daughters can't stand cooking so she's grateful to finally have landed a daughter who shares her passion. 

There's someone she loves more than me, though: Nigella Lawson. Proudly she displays a technique for chopping up spring onions she picked up from Nigella Lawson herself; using a pair of scissors from Nigella Lawson-collection. 

Huddled around the kitchen table we drink tea and exchange recipes and stories behind them. Laughter echoes in the room and the cigarette smoke slowly slithers its way towards the ceiling. 

Mama Tarawa has invited me over, her only wish being that I teach her to "cook like Nigella". She on the other hand can't contain her confusion upon learning that her new prodigée, born and bred halfway across the world at the Arctic Circle, has never made sfihas. 

"You don't know how to make sfihas"? she repeats, incredulously. "What do you eat back there, then?"

Yeah, well. If I had anything to do with it, that'd be sfiha. 

Sfiha, Arabic mini pizza, is part of pizza family's Levantine branch. As fas as the consistency and flavour go, it's closely related to its Turkish cousins; lahmacun and pide.

Over in the Palestinian territories I've encountered two versions of sfiha: in the other one the the base is topped with a yogurt-based meat mixture but this, I think, is infinitely the superior one. 

Traditionally the meat used for these is lamb, but in case you're having difficulties getting your hands on some, you can just use beef.

In addition to Middle East these treats have found a passionalte following inn Brazil of all the places, too. 

And now, habibi, it's your kitchen's turn!

Makes 15

Sfiha - Arabic mini pizzas:

The base:

7 ½ dl all-purpose-flour (gluten-free if needed)

1 tbsp of dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

5 ½ tbsp oil

2‒2 ½ dl warm water

Topping:

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 onions, finely chopped

500 g ground lamb (or beef)

1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

2 tomatos, finely chopped

2 tbsp quatre epices- spice blend or bokharat-mix

1 tsp salt

2 handfuls of finely chopped parsley

1 dl pine nuts, lightly toasted

a couple of tbsp oil for frying

To serve:

lemon wedges

For the base combine the dry ingredients. Then add 4 tbsp of oil and and finally water, continuously mixing until you're left with a smooth, elastic dough that won't stick. Slather rest of the oil on top of the dough, place in a clean bowl, cover and leave in a warm, draft-free place to rise.

In the meanwhile prep the topping. Heat oil in a pan. Sauté garlic and onion over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent. Then add meat, bring the heat up and continue cooking until the meat is properly browned. Add the spices and continue cooking for a couple of more minutes. 

Add the pomegranate molasses and tomatos into the mix. Lower the heat and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes. 

Fold in parsley and pine nuts. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. 

Pre-heat the oven to 225ºc. Leave the tray in the oven and, once the dough has doubled in size, prepare the bases.

Divide the dough in 15 portions and roll into circles of about 15 cm in diameter. Transfer on parchmens (4-5 on each) and leave to rise, covered with a tea towel, for half an hour. 

Top the bases with the topping, leaving about 1 cm edge uncovered. Press the topping onto the base either using your hands or the back of a spoon. 

Transfer the parchments onto the hot tray and bake, until the sfihas are golden brown - depending on the oven 8-10 minutes. 

Drizzle with lemon juice and serve.

Equally delicious served hot or at room temperature, which makes these perfect make-ahead delicacies for picnics or get-togethers with friends!

Any of you familiar with sfihas, Arabic mini pizzas? Or have you already fallen in love with lahmacun or pide?

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Lahmacun - Turkish pizza (kosher, gluten-free)

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Lahmacun is Turkish pizza and transports taste buds instantly to Istanbul. Ahhhh!

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Let's say it out loud: Turkey is quite a shit country. No, no point arguing: it is. 

Just think about it: no-one other than Erdogan could possibly think that persecution of the Kurds, rampant violence towards women and honour killings somehow make up for the obvious deficiencies in the society such as lack of viable democracy and absence of human rights. Though, genocide-deniers such as him rarely make the merriest of the bunch. 

Incredible Istanbul, however, has for long been one of my favourite cities in the world. 

But the warmest memories I have of my Tour of Turkey some years back are, without a doubt, food-related (hardly surprising, eh?). One of my biggest favourites were lahmacuns, bought from a stall for a mere euro on one of the narrow alleyways surrounding The Grand Bazaar

No wonder I fell for it- it is, after all, member of the pizza family; the corner stone of my diet.

The dish combines meat (lahm) and dough (ajin) and is, depending on the region, also known as either Turkish or Armenian pizza. And unlike Turkish policies, this one is an easy one to fall in love with. 

Since discovering it, I've never missed a chance to get re-acquainted. If a trip to Turkey doesn't tempt you, you'll find good ones in London as well.

Both the base and the topping layer are thin - the crust does not need to be puffy as in a pizza and the toppings should not overflow either. 

Instead of lamb you could also use minced beef and, if in a hurry, you could substitute the base with soft wheat tortillas or flat breads, too. 

You could also bake the dough into mini-sized lahmacuns - perfect for parties and picnics. In that case the recipe yields 24-28 lahmacuns. 

Traditionally lahmacun is served with lemon wedges, fresh herbs and simple tomato and cucumber salad (such as my Israeli salad!).

Makes six

Lahmacun - Turkish pizza:

Base:

3 3/4 tsp dry yeast

2 1/4 tsp sugar

2 1/4 dl warm water

2 1/4 tbsp oil

5-6 dl flour (00- grade if possible, gluten-free if needed)

3/4 tsp salt

Topping:

400 g ground lamb (or beef) 
1 (large)onion
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large (beefsteak) tomato or 2 smaller ones
1 large green pepper
1 1/2 dl finely chopped parsley
3/4 dl finely chopped mint
2 tbsp tomato concentrate
3/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper

also: red chilli flakes

to serve: remaining herbs, lemon wedges

Combine dry yeast, water and sugar and leave aside, covered for 5 minutes while the yeast activates. 

Then add oil, flour (and along with the last dl of flour) salt. Knead into a smooth dough. Brush with a little oil, cover with cling film and leave to double in size in a warm place for an hour. In the meanwhile prep the topping.

Pre-heat the oven to 250ºc  at this point, too, (in a fan assisted oven 230 should do). If you have a pizza stone, leave in in the oven. If not, then do the same with the tray.

Finely chop/ frate the onion. You can do this in a food processor, too, but in that case drain most of the liquid.

Cut the tomato in half, remove the hard core and chop very finely. Do the same with pepper, too. 

Combine all the ingredients (except for the chilli flakes) and work into a smooth mixture. Chill in the fridge until the dough is ready. 

Turn the dough out onto work surface, knead and divide into 6 (there shouldn't be any need for more flour) and roll into thin discs. It's easiest to do this on a parchment, which in turn makes it easy to flip them over onto the hot tray. 

Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the topping onto the base and pat into a smooth, even layer. Sprinkle chilli flakes on top and bake for 7-8 minutes until the meat is done and the edges start to get soe colour. 

In case you want your lahmacuns to stay soft, cover them with parchment and then top with a tea towel.

Serve with the remaining herbs and drizzle with lemon juice. 

PS. in case lahmacun is up your alley, you shouldn't forget another Turkish take on pizza: pide!

Onko teillä ollut jo mahdollisuus maistaa lahmacunia? Veikö se teidänkin sydämenne?

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Mediterranean chicken soup with roasted peppers and chick peas (gluten-free, kosher, vegan)

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This Mediterranean chicken soup with roasted peppers and chick peas is comforting, yet healthy and bursting with Mediterranean flavours!

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All the snow and wind makes you crave for something comforting and warming?

The spring being just around the corner you feel the  need to at least try and eat healthier?

All you really want is to escape under Mediterranean sun but the holiday's still such a long way off you can't even bear to think about it?

You have a crowd to feed which invariably follows either gluten-free, vegan and/or kosher diet and you should come up with something that they can all eat?

Take a deep breath and relax as I've got just the recipe for you!

This Mediterranean chicken soup with roasted peppers and chickpeas is rich and comforting, yet healthy. The secret to it's creamy texture? Puréed chick peas. 

Soup itself is kosher and gluten-free, but for a vegan version you could substitute chicken with soy strips (dry weight 125 g) or, if soy , too is out of the question, with giant white beans.

Serves 3-4

Mediterranean chicken soup with roasted pepper and chick peas:

3 large red peppers
1 tin chick peas, drained 

7,5 dl chicken (or vegetable) stock

2 large garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 ½ tsp pimentón (smoked paprika) or regular paprika

1 ½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp black pepper

400 g chicken (or soy strips or white beans) 

1 tbsp tomato concentrate

1 tsp sugar

200 g cherry tomatos, halved 

½ dl red wine vinegar

½ bunch of parsley (or basil), chopped

for sautéeing: oil

to serve: rest of the herbs

Start by roasting the peppers under a broiler until the ski n is black and bubbles. Let cool, covered, until cool enough to handle. Pull off the skin.

Measure 2 peppers into a food processor along with the drained chick peas and stock (leave a couple of chick peas for serving). Blizz until smooth. 

Slice the remaining pepper for serving. For a short cut you can use shop-bought roasted peppers in a jar - if possible use ones stored in oil as their taste is more mellow. 

Heat a couple of tbsp of oil in a coated pot. Sauté onion and garlic over medium heat until they're soft. Add pimentón and continue cooking for a couple of more minutes. 

Cut chicken to about 2-cm cubes and add into the pot. Season and sear.

Add tomato concentrate and sugar along with chickpea-chicken stock mixture. Stir and bring to boil. Add cherry tomatos and pepper strips and simmer for about 10 more minutes. 

Season with red wine vinegar and herbs. heck the taste and season as needed. Divide into serving bowls, sprinkle remaining herbs on top and serve.

Any of you dying for a Mediterranean getaway? What would be your dream destination?

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Lyutenitsa - Bulgarian pepper, eggplant and tomato relish (gluten-free, vegan, kosher)

Lyutenitsa is Bulgaria's favourite treat. Not only is this pepper, eggplant and tomato relish versatile, it's also gluten-free, kosher and vegan!

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In addition to local specialties such as patatnik, Bulgaria is home to traditional dishes equally lovedall over the country, such as Bob Chorba, Bulgarian bean soup. The ultimate, hands down,all round-winner of this race would, however, have to be luytenitsa, a bulgarian spread/ relish made of roasted peppers, tomatos and eggplant.  You'll find it served as a starter, spooned over a splice of bread for a snack and accompanying meat or chicken. 

Towards the end of each summer Bulgarian homes still witness massive operations during which endless and endless jars of this are being prepared to see people through the winter.

While not technically demanding, it does take a bit of time, which is why people tend to make luytenitsa in bigger batches. I swear I kid you not when I tell you I've seen recipes that start with 15 kilos of peppers. Kid you not. True story.

In my tiny kitchen that would have turned out to be the end of not just all the storage space, also yours truly's psychological well-being, so here's a smaller recipe that yields about 6 dl of lyutenitsa. 

Lyut means spicy in Bulgarian,but that it really isn't. There are, of course, as many variations as there are cooks. Traditionally lyutenitsa contains (roasted) bell peppers, eggplant, tomato, onion and garlic, but the Macedonian version even has some carrots in it.

As the industrial manufacturing of lyutenitsa started in the 1950's, it was only allowed to contain pepper and tomato paste, onion, salt, sugar and oil. But, let's face it- that recipe is hardly the only thing that Bulgaria of the time got wrong. Eggplant for one lends the relish such sweet richness you'd be fool to forgo that. 

Luytenitsa has relatives all over the Balkans: you too might have heard of ajvar? Readers of this blog are, of course,  also familiar with some of its more distant cousins: Syrian muhammara and Spanish romesco. 

Lyutenitsa - Bulgarian pepper, eggplant and tomato relish:

1 large eggplant(450 gr)
4 large peppers (I used 2 red ones and 2 yellow ones), total weight 1 kg
1/2 kg tomatos
2 cloves ofgarlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 - 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
1/2 dl oil
3/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Prick the eggplant with a tooth pick. Place on a tray lined with tin foil and roast under the broiler for half an hour or so. Then add halved peppers and continue roasting for another 20 minutes or so, until the peppers' skins start to blacken and bubble. Remove from the oven, cover and leave to cool until cool enough to handle. 

Pull the peppers' skin off. Half the eggplant and spoon the insides into a food processor with the peppers. Blizz into a puré (doesn't have to be entirely smooth).

Blanch the tomatos by cutting a cross-like incision into the hard stem and then dropping them into a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. Lift out of the water using a slotted spoon and leave to cool. Pull the skin off, halve, remove the hard bit and chope finely (with seeds and all).

Measure pepper and eggplant pure, chilli, onion, garlic and chopped-up tomatos into a pot and let simmer over medium heat, until liquid has almost entirely evaporated and the mixture has thickened (40-50 minutes).

Add oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Check the taste and season as needed (by adding either more salt, pepper and/ or sugar).

Let cool and place in jars. Lyutenitsa keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can also be frozen. 

If you're making bigger batch, you could also preserve it by sterilizing the jars. This way it keeps for upto a year.

Sterilizing the lyutenitsa:

Spoon the lyutenitsa into small jars all the way to the top (oxygen is the enemy of any storing processs, remember!) and screw on the tops. Place the jars into a big pot and cover with water so it covers them by about 5 cms. 

Boil the jars (start counting from the moment water reaches boiling point) for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the water and make sure the centre of the top has snapped down on each one of the jars.

You ever heard of lyutenitsa? Of have you managed to try some of the other local delicacies such as patatnik or Bob Chorba?

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