Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 18

This week began with a somewhat unusual recipe, from none other than Ottolenghi of course, but it was also the highlight of the week. From Jerusalem I chose to make Open Kibbeh, which can only be described as a sort of meat cheesecake – though it should be noted that this was for appearance only, texture and taste wise it was thankfully very different. It starts with a bulgar wheat and flour base, and is topped with a mixture of onions, lamb, pine nuts, herbs, and spices which is then baked in the oven before being topped with a layer of tahini paste, more pine nuts and some parsley. What can I say about this really, it was just awesome – can you tell that I liked it?! I fell in love with the dish before it was even finished, the smell of the lamb cooking in all the spices was just heavenly and for days afterwards I could still smell the lingering hint of aromatics. I was intrigued by the bulgar wheat base having never cooked it in this way before but it was really lovely. We even had the leftovers for dinner on Monday as it was just as good when reheated carefully in the oven. A definite winner, but I would expect nothing less from my favourite chef!

After all the excitement of the previous days efforts I knew I was never to going live up to that so with that in mind I opted for a very simple Rosemary Chicken with Ratatouille from BBC Good Food. All I had to do was chop up the vegetables and pop them in the oven, adding the chicken a while later – a very satisfying Sunday dinner served with a green salad. The lovely hints of rosemary that came from the chicken were super and the ratatouille had really cooked down nicely.

For some reason I decided to completely decimate my rosemary bush in the garden by also cooking Nigella’s Rosemary Remembrance Cake from Feast. It was a cake that had been made for me previously by my cousin so I wanted to give it a go too – now I don’t know how much of the herb she put in but mine just didn’t seem to have the same resonance as hers (see Clare mine don’t always work – and you were worried about your efforts!). Ah well, I suppose I’ll just have to try again – more cake it is!

 For a simple week night dinner I chose Lemony Salmon with Couscous from Forever Summer, and I was not disappointed. Despite the number of bowls involved in the preparation this was a very simple dish to create, the salmon was lovely and delicate and the zingy couscous complimented it really well – a fresh, healthy, and delicious start to the working week. 

Having rummaged around the contents of the fridge I discovered I had most of the ingredients for Risotto with Courgette Flowers from the Two Greedy Italians, so I figured that even without the flowers (there’s little to no chance that I’d be getting hold of those around here) it sounded like a nice dish. And I was right, packed full of vegetables it was a lovely and colourful risotto – I don’t think the absence of the flowers mattered too much either!

Recipe Count: 60
New Target: 104