A truly Arabian feast!

STARTER

Mezze

This simple starter is quick to make and a great familiar introduction to Arabic cuisine.

Serves 6

Cost of ingredients: approx. £4

Ingredients

1 pot of hummus

2 large carrots cut into sticks

1 cucumber cut into sticks

3 pitta breads cut into strips*

1 pot of olives

*You could also choose another bread if you’re not a fan of pitta (see picture).

Method

Toast the pitta bread just before the guests arrive and present on a platter with the vegetable sticks, olives and a dish of hummus.

MAIN

Tagine

This wholesome dish is easy to make and delicious to eat.

Serves 6

Cost of ingredients: approx. £15

Ingredients

1 kg of chicken breast*, cut into large cubes (or 1 kg of butternut squash for a vegetarian alternative)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed or 1 tbs of garlic paste

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp ground ginger

1 ½ tsp ground turmeric

1 ½ tsp chilli flakes

650ml chicken stock (1 ½ chicken stock cubes in 650ml of hot water)

100g dried apricots, quartered

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

2 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed, drained

3 large carrots, cut into sticks

salt and black pepper

2 tbs of cornflour

*For a lamb tagine, swap in lamb for the chicken and use lamb stock cubes.

To serve

440g Mediterranean Style couscous, cooked according to packet instructions

200g Greek-style yoghurt

Method

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Fry the onion for five minutes, or until soft. Stir in the garlic and spices.
Put the meat and onion spice mix into a large saucepan, along with the stock, apricots, carrots, chickpeas and tomatoes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper*. Bring to the boil, cover with the lid and simmer for one hour.
Before serving, you may want to thicken the sauce slightly. To do this add 2 tbsp of cornflour to a small amount of cold water and create a paste. Then stir this into the mixture and heat for an additional 10 minutes.
Serve alongside couscous and Greek-style yoghurt.

*(If you have a slow cooker, after you’ve fried the chicken and onion spice mix, put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and heat on medium for 6 hours).

DESSERT

Om Ali

This Arabic take on bread and butter pudding is a delicious way to finish off your meal.

Serves 6

Cost of ingredients: approx. £8

Ingredients

1 pack (220g/about 12 sheets) of ready rolled filo pastry

1 bag (200g) chocolate covered raisins

100g chopped walnuts

1 pint milk

600 ml double cream

90g sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 150°C.
Spread the filo sheets loosely on an oven tray and bake for 15 minutes or until light brown. Remove from the oven and increase oven temperature to 200 °C.
Crumple 4 sheets of filo pastry into a baking dish, sprinkle half the raisins and nuts on top. Cover this with another 4 sheets of crumpled filo pastry and sprinkle the other half of the raisins and nuts on top. Then crumple the last four sheets of filo pastry on top.
In a saucepan on the top of the stove bring the milk, cream and sugar to the boil. Pour over the pastry. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Place dish in oven for 20 minutes or until the top is browned. Serve hot.

Top tip – Do steps 1-4 before your guests arrive, then half way through the meal put it in the oven for the final bake so it can be served piping hot, and you can have minimal kitchen time once your guests have arrived.