Harissa Carrots and Garlic with Tahini Drizzle

Sticky & Sweet whole baby carrots and garlic cloves are smothered in a shalloty harissa oil; Glazed with pomegranate molasses & maple syrup concoction and finished with a spattering of lemony tahini sauce. The easiest seasonal side you will get hooked on to! You can find a quick video demo here

Ingredients (serves 4)
35ml Neutral Oil
1 lb Baby Rainbow Carrots - peeled & whole
8 garlic cloves, peeled & whole
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp Harissa (1.5 tbsp if using mild variety)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
1.5 tbsp Maple Syrup + 1 tsp Pomegranate Molasses + 1/2 tbsp water - whisked well

Tahini Drizzle
3 tbsp Tahini
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Water
Pinch of Salt

Garnish
1 tbsp of very finely chopped cilantro or chives
1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Directions
🥕 Pre-heat oven to 415F. Bring a large pot of water to boil. When vigorously boiling, add whole baby carrots into that. Boil for 8-10 mins or until fork tender. Drain & keep it aside. Whisk all Tahini Drizzle ingredients

🥕 In a medium baking tin (we want everything to fit snugly) - add oil, shallots, garlic, Harissa, tomato paste & spices. Give everything a very good mix. Bake for 7 mins. Then add tender carrots, mix carefully so that carrots are well coated with spices. Now bake for 10 mins

🥕 Now add maple syrup & pomegranate mixture. Mix & broil for 4-5 mins. Until it looks & feels sticky

🥕 Transfer everything onto a lipped platter. Drizzle tahini mixture; garnish with chopped herbs & seeds

Sweet Potato Feta Mini Galettes with Harissa Honey

The delectable trio of Sweet, Salty & Spicy. These are like my pantry staples but surprisingly I never thought about combining in one dish!!! Right off the bat, I thought about taking this opportunity to showcase my love for making savory galettes from scratch. I started exploring these rustic freeform tarts back in early 2020 and have been hooked - I realized that even though I make these often my Insta feed has been remiss of them!

So here I’m sharing my all-time favorite Spelt & Crème Fraîche pastry wrapped around a herby ricotta feta filling topped with fanned out Sweet Potato discs. Finished with a generous drizzle of sticky and vibrant Rose Harissa infused Honey and Orange Juice caramel sauce.

*Note: I have successfully tested the vegan pastry dough with Super Cold Earth Balance brand Vegan Butter sticks and Tofutti Brand Sour Cream with 1:1 substitution for Salted Butter and Crème Fraîche. And for egg wash whisk 2 tbsp Oat Milk with 2 tsp Maple Syrup.

Ingredients (makes 8 mini galettes)
Spelt Pastry Dough
170g Plain Flour or All Purpose Flour (I have successfully used 320g King Arthur GF Measure to Measure flour for 100% GF crust)
150g Spelt Flour or Whole Wheat flour (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill Spelt Flour)
20g Polenta or Coarse Cornmeal (I use Quaker Oats brand)
12g Granulated Sugar
2g Fine Sea Salt
3g Crushed Black Pepper
125g Super Cold Salted Butter cut into small cubes (for best results freeze for 30 mins)
2 large ice cubes
4-6 tbsp Super Cold Créme Fraîche (substitute with cold sour cream)

Filling
120g Ricotta (I prefer whole milk but part skim works fine)
55g Crumbled Feta
Oregano leaves from 3 sprigs
Sweet Basil leaves from 2-3 sprigs
1 tsp Chile Flakes
1/2 tbsp dehydrated Harissa Powder (totally optional, or else a hot spice blend of your choice)
1 large egg beaten (plus leftover egg wash if using beaten egg to glaze the pastry)
1 tsp Olive Oil
Pinch of salt and sugar

245-250g Sweet Potato, sliced into 1/8” thick discs (I used Mandoline but knife is fine too. If you end up with thicker slices then just fry them in a skillet for 10 mins with a bit of oil and covering every now and then so that they are par-cooked)

Drizzle
1/2 tbsp Rose Harissa (regular harissa is fine too)
1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
4 tbsp Orange Juice(OJ)
Pinch of Fine Sea Salt
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Runny Honey (sub Maple Syrup)

1 Egg, Beaten or 4 tbsp Milk for glazing

Chopped scallion greens or Picked Oregano leaves for garnish

Directions
🥧 Dump first 6 dough ingredients in a food processor, give it a whiz for 30 seconds so that all dry ingredients are well mixed. Then add remaining dough ingredients (start with 4tbsp créme fraîche & increase to get the dough to come together) and whiz until a playdoh like mass is formed


🥧 Make a rough ball of dough (don’t worry if it’s breaking too much, a bit of patchwork goes a long way in Pastry crusts). Roll it out into a rough rectangle of 1/2” thickness. Now fold it into half, another fold in clockwise direction and one more fold in that direction to get a rough square piece. Now pat into a disc (doesn’t have to be perfectly shaped). Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 mins to 3 days. Can be frozen at this stage for upto months

🥧 If making these galettes then, bring the dough out and let it come to a state where it can be easily manipulated. Divide equally into eight pieces & form into balls. On a clean work surface, roll each ball into a 4-5” disc, transfer onto a silicone baking mat or parchment (I prefer using bench scrapers to pick up & transfer)

🥧 Dump all filling ingredients into blender and pulse until smooth & creamy. Whisk All drizzle ingredients with 3 tbsp OJ & 1 tbsp Honey, microwave for 2 mins

🥧 Pre-heat oven to 420F. Spread 2 tbsp of filling in the center of each rolled out pastry disc. Top with 10-12 pieces of sweet potato discs overlapping each other, fold the pastry edges so that it’s encased properly. Brush the sweet potatoes with drizzle and exposed pastry with either beaten egg or milk. Bake for 25-35 mins or until golden brown

🥧 Meanwhile, add 1 tbsp OJ and 1 tsp Honey to the leftover drizzle and microwave for 2-3 mins or until it’s slightly sticky & red colored caramel like. Once baked, top the galettes with this sticky drizzle and garnish with greens. Enjoy!

White Shakshuka with Garlicky Herb Topping

Loosely inspired by the Turkish Çilbir , here I have my white Shakshouka with a flavorful herby topping - eggs cooked on a bed of thick Greek-yoghurt & Feta sauce then finished with a fried garlic, spices & soft herbs concoction. This one has been voted by several friends and family as the “Breakfast of Champions”

Ingredients(serves 3-4)
Base
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
530g (2 cups), full-fat thick Greek Yoghurt
165g crumbled Feta
4-5 large eggs

Topping
1-1.5 tbsp Olive Oil
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp Coriander Seeds, lightly crushed
1 tsp Cumin Seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 tsp Red Pepper flakes
Pinch of salt
50g (1/2cup) Green Peas
3g Basil Leaves, shredded
2g Mint Leaves, shredded

Garnish
3g Sweet Basil, shredded (adjust to taste)
2g Mint, shredded (adjust to taste)
1 tsp Rose Harissa (optional)

Directions
🍳 Heat up 2 tbsp oil in a skillet, add onions sauté for 5 mins then add salt & sauté for one more minute. Add yoghurt, using a silicone whisk give it a good mix and reduce the flame to low. Let it cook for 5 mins

🍳 Now sprinkle feta on top (don’t mix) and let it cook on low flame for 18 minutes. Make 4-5 indentations in that yoghurt-feta base, crack eggs into those. Using a fork or spatula generously mix the whites into the base.

🍳 While the eggs are cooking, combine all topping ingredients in a small pan. Fry everything on low heat for 5 mins

🍳 The eggs should be done in 9-10 mins, add the topping & garnish with fresh herbs (dot it with some Rose Harissa, if using) and serve with a side of crusty bread.