sicak houmus

OK, here finally comes the dip for the bread I told you about a few weeks ago.

it's called sicak houmus and very simple to make.

2 cans of chickpeas, well-drained (or take dried chickpeas and go through the whole soaking, cooking and draining process. i'm just way too lazy for that.)
150ml olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons cumin
2 tablespoons tahini
400g thick yoghurt
salt and pepper

for the topping:
2 tablespoons pine nuts
40g butter
1 teaspoon chili flakes


drain the chickpeas very well (with pulses from a can, the secret to avoiding unwanted air in and out of your body lies in rinsing-rinsing-rinsing), then throw them in a food processor together with the other ingredients, whiz everything into a mush - season well and put into an oven-proof dish.

roast the pine nuts until they're brown. add the butter and melt, then stir in the red pepper. spoon this on top of the houmus, then bake it in the oven for 25 minutes.
soooo delicious!

Eimear's flat bread

this is my flatmate's favourite bread, taken from her river cottage bread book. simple, yet incredibly delicious and quite impressive when put on the table, letting out puffs of hot air when you poke its belly.

500g plain white flour

500g strong white bread flour

10g dry yeast

20g salt

325ml warm water

325ml yoghurt (also warm)

2 tbsp olive oil

combine ingredients to a smooth dough, knead and knead and knead some more. leave to rise (covered so it doesn't get too dry), knead again, let rise again and repeat as often as you like (the dough will only get more and more beautiful while you get more and more hungry).

use a piece the size of a plum to roll out into a disc (about 3mm thick), let it rest a few minutes while you heat up a pan on highest heat and switch on the grill (also maximum heat). When the pan is hot, put the bread in it. Soon the bread will start to rise and turn brown underneath. put the pan under the grill (careful if you're using one with a plastic handle...) and watch it proudly swell its chest. take out when it looks too yummy for words.

repeat with next piece, and the next, and the next...

you can also spice up the bread with funky fillings like feta cheese with heaps of parsley and fresh mint leaves or whatever else you come up with.

now you just need to dip into something adorable (coming soon)

pane vino e zucchero

Not sure whether you have noticed already, but i like things pure.

Let's face it, lots of food is better with just a bit of salt and fresh pepper rather than overpowering sauces or even, god forbid, something coming out of a maggi satchet...

I was in Florence recently with my friend Isabelle, and Isa's coffeine addiction led us to call upon a place called "camera con vista" (named after E.M. Forster's Room with a view which is to a large part set in Florence). While we were happily sipping our coffees, enjoying the magnificent view on the ponte vecchio, a dish called "pane, vino e zucchero" caught my eyes on the menu. I asked the waiter what this was and he looked at me as if i had just asked him whether Michelangelo was Italian - "pane, vino e zucchero" was his somewhat laconic reply. Intrigued, I ordered a portion. and discovered the most simple, pure and yummy dessert i had all week. it is literally just bread, wine and sugar, but while your over-consumption of this dish might pay for your dentist's second Bentley, there are two truly striking features to this symphony in pink: first of all, the flavour of good red wine and fresh bread plus the addition of loads of sugar turns this into a wonderfully fresh yet sweet dessert that tingles your tastebuds. And secondly, it gets one tipsy... :)