Lobhia Masala (Black-Eyed Peas in Curry)

The flavour of cumin complements black-eyed peas perfectly, so this curry has plenty of cumin — both as seeds and as ground spice. This is a quite a spicy version of this simple Indian dish, so feel free to omit the cayenne and/or reduce the spices and chillies a little if it looks a little too potent for your taste. Even with less spicing, it's still delicious.

Lobhia masala

1 cup dried black-eyed peas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced or crushed
¾" piece fresh ginger, minced
handful green chillies, seeded and chopped
1½ teaspoons ground coriander
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

Soak the black-eyed peas overnight in water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice. After soaking, drain and rinse, then put in a medium or large saucepan with enough water to cover about 1 inch above the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover, letting simmer for about 40 minutes or until the beans are tender but not falling apart.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the cumin seeds and let them splutter for 30 seconds. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies and fry for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Toss in the spices and stir-fry for another 3 or 4 minutes, making sure to coat the vegetables with the spices and stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Add the tomato and cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour the fried vegetable and spice mixture into the pan of beans. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes or longer to let the flavours mingle, but not so long that the black-eyed peas dissolve. Stir in the salt before serving.

Serve hot over a bed of rice. Serves 4 - 6.

Tomato Egg Bake

Eggs baked in a tomato cup is an incredibly simple and delicious idea for breakfast or a light lunch, and if you've got a garden full of tomatoes ripening on the vine, it's also a great way to use some of them up. One medium to large tomato is usually a serving for most people, and it only takes about five minutes or less preparation for each tomato.

Cut off the top of each tomato, run a knife carefully down the insides and spoon out the seeds and pith. Sprinkle the insides with grated parmesan cheese (about a small teaspoon for each tomato) and some fresh ground black pepper. Toss the cheese and pepper about to coat the insides.

Crack one egg for each tomato in a bowl. Add one teaspoon of yogurt or milk for each egg, and any sort of spice and herb seasoning you like, and beat lightly.

Pour the egg mixture into each hollowed out tomato. Sprinkle on more parmesan cheese and ground pepper on the top.

Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the tomato, until the eggs are set and the cheese is brown.

Harira (Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Stew)

Harira is the traditional Moroccan and Algerian soup that's used to break the fast during the holy month of Ramadan as well as served after special celebrations like weddings. But there's no reason to confine yourself to making harira for special occasions — it's a delicious and hearty dish at any time. Usually served with lamb, or occasionally beef or chicken, harira is considered to a be a meal all by itself, but vegetarians will find it satisfying alongside buttered rice or a few hard-boiled eggs, with some dates or figs on the side.

There are many regional variations on this dish, but I find this version to be particularly nice and spicy, especially with the addition of harissa as a condiment for the soup. For those of you not familiar with this classic and North African hot sauce made from dried hot chili peppers, garlic and roasted cumin seeds, I've given the recipe for harissa here.

Harira

1/2 cup dried chickpeas
dash celery seed
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large hot peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
3/4 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced or grated
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2/3 cup green lentils, washed
1 medium tomato, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
fresh ground black pepper
juice from one lemon
harissa for serving

Soak the chickpeas overnight in 4 cups of water and a little bit of yogurt whey or lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover, letting cook for one hour or until the chickpeas are tender but still firm. Drain the chickpeas and reserve 3 cups of the cooking liquid. Add a dash of celery seed to the liquid and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. When hot, add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the hot peppers, garlic, ginger and spices and stir fry for 2 more minutes, coating the onions with the spices and scraping the bottom of the pan periodically to prevent sticking.

Stir in the chickpeas' cooking liquid and add the lentils, tomato and tomato paste. Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil. As soon as the pot is boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover, letting simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

Stir in the chickpeas and parsley and let the soup simmer for 5 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in the salt, pepper and lemon juice.

To serve, pour some olive oil into a small bowl and spoon some harissa into another. Ladle the soup into bowls and place the olive oil and harissa on the table for people to serve themselves by adding to the soup.

Serves 4.

Anooshavoor: Turkish Barley and Apricot Porridge

Although whole grain porridges are a staple breakfast food in my kitchen, I'd never considered barley a morning grain until I came across this recipe in my treasured copy of Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Café for anooshoavoor, an apparently traditional Turkish barley porridge that's flavoured with apples, apricots, honey and cardamom. It's one of the most delicious and satisfying porridges I've ever had.

Cooked in a risotto style with liquid slowly added to very low heat, the result is a creamy, sweet porridge surrounding the still chewy grains of barley. But although the preparation and instructions are so extraordinarily simple, it takes about two hours to cook so it's not a breakfast for a weekday unless you make it the night before and reheat the next morning.

Mollie's recipe calls for cooking the barley in apple juice, but using apple cider instead gives the porridge an especially full, rich apple taste.

Anooshavoor

½ cup pearl barley
1 ¼ cups water
1 ½ cups apple cider, room temperature
6 green cardamom pods
¼ teaspoon sea salt
5 or more dried apricots, to taste, sliced or chopped
1 tablespoon honey

Rinse the barley and soak overnight in a small saucepan in the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to its lowest setting and cover. Simmer, stirring every 10 minutes or so, for 45 minutes while checking the water level (if the porridge dries, add a little more water).

Stir in ½ cup of the apple cider. Put the cardamom pods in a tea ball and add to the saucepan along with the salt. Cover, and continue to simmer, stirring every 10 minutes as before.

After 20 and 40 minutes, stir in another ½ cup portion of the apple cider, while continuing to stir every 10 minutes. When the last portion of the apple cider has cooked in the barley for 20 minutes, you should end up with a thick, but not too thick porridge. If it's too thick for your taste, thin it with a little more apple cider. Remove the tea ball and stir in the honey and apricots, letting them settle for a few minutes to that the apricots soften.

Serve hot or at room temperature, topped with milk, cream or yogurt. Serves 2 - 3.

Studio Moving Sale

Okay, so this post is totally unrelated to food, except in so far as food too can be considered an art form. In addition to cooking, I also work with internationally renowned artist Chris Wright. I'm pleased to announce a studio moving art sale. Over the next few months, we will be offering some original Chris Wright paintings on ebay at bargain prices, in addition to the wide range of limited edition prints that we continue to feature. And, for the next two weeks, we will offer you a steady collection of prints, paintings and drawings with a starting bid of only $1.00! I invite you to check out our auctions.

"End-of-Summer" Pasta Sauce

I came across Valli's Summer Spaghetti back in August when the tomatoes were just bursting off the vine and thought it would be a perfect and fresh way to enjoy them in an uncooked pasta sauce. Well, I didn't get around to making it then, but since the tomatoes are still coming up on the vine and the summer is ending in glorious, hot clear weather, it still seemed like a fresh idea… so I'm calling my version "end-of-summer" spaghetti instead.

In addition to fresh tomatoes, there's plenty of peppers ready for harvest too so I've added some hot peppers and a little cayenne too to spice my sauce up. But apart from that, and a few extra olives, the recipe below is pretty much exactly like Valli's original, which you can see here.

"End-of-summer" pasta sauce

1 lb. firm, ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 banana pepper, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seed and diced
8 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons capers
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, finely shredded
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup goat or feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the vegetables, herbs and spices in a medium bowl and toss well. Drizzle the vinegar over mixture and then pour over the oil. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate covered to marinate the vegetables for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Before serving, cook spaghetti or fettucini in a large kettle of salted water going at a roiling boil just until al dente, about 8 - 10 minutes. Drain well.

Immediately toss the hot pasta with the cold marinated tomato sauce and cheese. Serve at once.

I've submitted this recipe to Ruth, who hosts Presto Pasta Night every Friday. If you are looking for pasta recipes, be sure to check out the roundup.

Grape Tomato and Goat Cheese Clafouti

A clafouti [pronounced klah-foo-TEE] is a traditional French baked fruit dessert with a pudding-like custard topping that originated in the northwest central province of Limousin. But in this beautiful savoury version, the custard is infused with fresh basil and coats vegetables instead of fruit. It will make you dream you're sitting on the French Mediterranean coast instead of the chilly northwest, which makes it perfect for those cold autumn days when the vegetables are all still in season. The grape tomatoes burst with fresh sweetness in every bite.

A proper dessert clafouti is baked until it has a pudding-cake consistency, which means that a knife inserted in the centre should come out clean, but if you're serving it right away the basil is best favoured by letting the pudding run like a thick gravy through the vegetables.

Grape tomato and goat cheese clafouti

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups grape tomatoes
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 banana pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped, or ¾ teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
4 large eggs
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ cups milk
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the olive oil, wait a few seconds, then swirl around the pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes or until the onion starts to turn golden. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and thyme and cook for another 5 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to soften. Toss in the parsley and season with ½ teaspoon of the salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. If you'd like a little added piquancy, add a dash of cayenne pepper as well or, as I did, substitute for the salt fresh ground Spicy Sea Salt from the Spice Depot. Stir in, and cook for 1 more minute. Remove to a lightly buttered casserole dish, at least 2½ quarts in capacity.

Whisk together the eggs and flour in a bowl until smooth. Pour in the milk and add the basil. Season with the rest of the salt as well as more black pepper to taste and whisk again until combined. Gently pour the mixture over the vegetables.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the topping turns golden and just begins to burn at the edges. If you would like a more solid cake-like clafouti, bake until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack, sprinkle with the goat cheese, and let stand for 5 minutes to let the cheese melt slightly before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.