Home-made Hoummus.

[Flying_Monkey]

Isn't there something known as poor man's caviar which is made from Aubergine? You slow roast them and after a couple of hours scoop out the middles.

yep, that's the stuff. Lovely.

On harissa - That's amazing stuff. I followed the recipe in The Cranks Bible which called for something silly like 200g of dried chilli to make a tiny pot of paste. I have several mates who all fancy themselves as being able to handle some serious chilli, but this stuff redefines hot.

Indeed. And you really do have to max out on the chillis - you can have fun trying different combinations of chillis too... of course the harissa itself is only the basis for any humber of sauces and soups - but I also like it on toast with peanut butter and bananas!!!

 

[Pete]

nearest Asian or Afro-Asian grocer...

That's probably in Bradford!

None in York? I'm astonished, you're definitely missing out on lots there!

As it happens, when I (a younger and fitter self, admittedly) lived in Bradford I used to do the run to York and back quite frequently, it was quite a nice ride and not too hilly. Used to go the Otley/Pool/Harewood/Wetherby route. Why not try it in reverse? Of course there's probably more traffic now than then.

 

[Fnaar]

I'm afraid I'm fairly unlikely to get round to any recipe that starts "soak chickpeas for 24 hours..."

I tried to follow such a recipe once...got really bored waiting for them to finish soaking! Coulda done loads of other stuff in that time!

 

[Arch]

None in York? I'm astonished, you're definitely missing out on lots there!

As it happens, when I (a younger and fitter self, admittedly) lived in Bradford I used to do the run to York and back quite frequently, it was quite a nice ride and not too hilly. Used to go the Otley/Pool/Harewood/Wetherby route. Why not try it in reverse? Of course there's probably more traffic now than then.

I think the clue is in the phrase "younger, fitter self". I might make it to Wetherby and back (starting from this end, the Wetherby end), but I think Bradford would be beyond me...

To be fair, there might be Asian grocers in York, just that I don't happen to know of any. But York isn't all that multicultural (unless you count Vikings) really, and I don't know of any Asian areas, like I would back home in Leicester for example.

My local Sainsburys does have a Polish section now. No, not Mr Sheen, Eastern European..

 

[johnr]

My favourite topping (as well as the paprika) on hoummous is toasted pine nuts. Add a pickled chilli on the side.

Rick Stein's book on Med food is great for anyone wanting to branch out

 

[Arch]

I finished off a butternut squash yesterday, and remembered to keep the seeds, wash them, dry them and sprinkle with olive oil and soy sauce and into my Remoska for 15 minutes, and I have some lovely toasted seeds (they'll do in an oven for longer, the heat in the remoska is quite harsh.

Mmm, tasty. And being home made, good for me, no matter how much oil or salt is on them...