Lebanese Feasting: Home Made Cumin Flat Bread and Coriander Houmous

Today, I'm sharing the starter recipe that forms part of Monday's 'Lebanese Feasting' Menu.

I chose this for a starter as a light option, given the main is lamb and the pudding is sticky buns! I also wanted to try to make flatbreads, something I usually buy.

I like that the flatbreads take minimal kneading and only need 15 minutes to rest, so they are pretty quick to do. Taste wise, the cumin adds something extra than the normal wholemeal variety.

I think it's best to make the houmous first and then you can chill it while you get busy with your flatbreads. The recipe makes 6 large flatbreads and ample houmous to go round! You'll need to get hold of tahini to make your houmous. Tahini is a creamy sesame paste, available from delis and large supermarkets. I found mine near the pulses in Sainsbury’s if it helps!

Hope you enjoy making, next up....Spicy Lamb Tart!

Coriander Houmous

Ingredients

• 400g tin chickpeas (drained)
• 3 tbsp tahini
• bunch coriander (rough chopped)
• 1 lemon (grated and juiced)
• 100ml olive oil
• salt (to taste)

Step 1: Add all ingredients, excluding oil, to a food processor and blend until combined to a rough puree

Step 2: Leaving the food processor on and slowly poor oil into your mix to combine

Step 3: Add water and blend to loosen if required (I needed about 15ml)

Step 4: Add salt and additional lemon to taste

Step 5: Remove from processor and chill


Cumin Flatbread

Ingredients

• 125g wholemeal flour
• 125g white bread flour (+additional for dusting)
• 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds

Step 1: Combine all ingredients, excluding oil, and combine with sufficient water to make a dough (likely to be 200-300ml)

Step 2: Knead your dough, either with a mixer and dough hook or by hand, until smooth

Step 3: Knead in 2 tbsp olive oil and leave to rest for 15 minutes

Step 4: Divide into 6 balls and roll out onto a floured surface to a thickness of about 2mm

Step 5: Heat a pan to a high heat and a rolled flatbread. After 2-3 minutes it will start to bubble. Flip over and toast for another 2-3 minutes. Remove, set aside to cool and repeat with the remaining 5 flatbreads

Step 6: Serve with heapings of houmous!

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Sweet Potato Bread...

I know that bread is one of things that can seem like too much effort and mess to make when there are perfectly good, instant options at the supermarket. 95% of the time I will go along with this and just buy those options too. Maybe trying part-baked in some warped attempt to apply domesticity to the pre-produced product and create the smell of warm, bready-comfort throughout the house.

So, I'm not going to argue that you should make this rather than buy bread because it tastes better. It's nice, but with this as an argument, shop-made will often win.

Instead, I think you should make this because the experience of making bread is equally as fulfilling as eating it. Taking the time to mix all your ingredients, 10 minutes of slow kneading, 14 hours of proving and 30 minutes of baking. That's patience. It's a calming, soothing process that focuses on quality and rushing around. It makes me think about that line from a Rudyard Kipling poem "If you can keep your head while all around you are losing theirs".

Take some time for yourself, pummel out your frustrations on the dough and sleep off any stresses whilst it proves. In the morning, wake calm and relaxed and in 25 minutes your home will be filled with the scent of freshly baked bread. You can't get that from a Hovis loaf now can you?????

Sweet Potato Bread

Ingredients (makes 1 large loaf)

• 500g strong bread flour
• 150g sweet potato
• 25g fresh yeast (see Top Tips)
• 2 tsp salt
• 250ml warm water

Step 1: Boil the sweet potato in its skin for about 30 minutes. Leave to cool, remove skin and set-aside

Step 2: Place the flour and potato in a large bowl and mix with hands, squeezing the potato into the mix as you go

Step 3: Crumble in the yeast

Step 4: Dissolve the salt in the warm water and add 2/3 to the flour mix. Combine with our hands adding more water as required until you have a firm but not sticky dough

Step 5: Flour your surface and begin kneading. Start by pummeling down the dough with your fist and then folding the dough in half. Repeat this pummel and fold process for about 10 minutes until your dough turns almost elastic

Step 6: Shape into a round loaf, place on a baking sheet and leave to prove for 14 hours

Step 7: Cook in the oven at 220c/GM 7 for about 25 minutes and leave to cool

Step 8: Slice or tear into generous pieces and serve

Top Tips

• You can get fresh yeast free from your supermarket!!! Just pop your head behind the bakery section and ask for some and they'll get it for you. Who said nothing comes for free?!
• I think this would benefit enormously from a little garlic oil and chopped rosemary. I'll be adding this to the dough next time I make it. You could always to this first time...

Enjoy!
Helen x

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