A Couple of Bento

I have a couple of bento to share with you, the first one I'm entering into the British Themed Bento Event at Bento Box Blog. I made a ploughman's bento ages ago, I took it to the British Library with me when I was studying, but what is more quintessentially English than the ploughman's lunch?!

So I had: two slices of bread, an apple, cheddar cheese, salami, pickle, coleslaw, cherry tomatoes and little gem lettuce.

The second is probably Lebanese or at least from somewhere round there! I had hummus with falafel, couscous with mint, green pepper, pine nuts and cherry tomatoes and cucumber halves on top for a bit of decoration.

Lentil, Bulgar Wheat and Spinach Soup

I did manage to make one meal from scratch last week, Lentil, Bulgar Wheat and Spinach Soup from my Lebanese Cookbook. I have had a real hankering for Lebanese/Middle Eastern food recently and I found small taster packets of bulgar week in the supermarket. I have only had bulgar wheat once before and really didn't like it, but I thought I'd try it again and in this soup it was really tasty.



The original recipe called for water rather than veg stock, and didn't have any spice in it, but I added some cumin, and it really was delicious. I'm going to try making falafel with some bulgar wheat in them and also some tabbouleh, with the rest of the bulgar wheat.

Lentil, Bulgar Wheat and Spinach Soup (adapted from Australian Women's Weekly Lebanese Cooking)
(Serves 4)

2 litres vegetable stock
200g brown lentils
160g bulgar wheat
60ml olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
350g spinach, shredded finely

Bring the vegetable stock to a boil in a large saucepan and cook the lentils, uncovered, until tender. Add the bulgar wheat, cover and simmer the mixture for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a frying pan, cook the onion and garlic, stirring until lightly browned, add the cumin and stir. Add the spinach, cover and remove from the heat.

Just before serving, add spinach and onion mixture; stir over a low heat until heated through. Serve topped with yoghurt, if desired.

Coriander Potatoes with Chickpeas and Tomatoes

I have been eating loads of vegetarian meals recently including lots of beans and pulses. I used to really dislike, lentils and chickpeas. I'm not a big fan of crunchy with soft, so nuts in salad, chocolate and ice cream is a no-no, and similarly I always found the texture of chickpeas too hard, but I have discovered that if I cook them for long enough and they go softer without being mushy I actually love the taste of them.

This Coriander Potatoes with Chickpeas and Tomatoes dish was definitely one of the tastiest chickpea recipes I've tried. The egg wasn't in the original recipe, but I added it in for a bit more protein and it went really well with the flavours of the dish.

Coriander Potatoes with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and an Egg on top (adapted from Australian Women's Weekly Lebanese Cooking)

(Serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 medium potatoes, sliced thickly
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 cups/310ml water
300g tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

Heat oil in a large frying pan, cook onion and garlic, stirring until onion is soft.

Add spices and cook stirring until fragrant. Add the potato and cook until lightly browned.

Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute, stir in undrained crushed tomatoes, chickpeas, sugar and water, simmer covered for about 25 mins or until the potatoes are tender.

With about 5-8 mins of cooking time left crack an egg onto the top of the mixture and re-cover with the lid, leave for 5-8 mins (depending on how you like your egg), and serve with the chopped coriander sprinkled over.

Baked Fish Cutlets with Tahini

I love Lebanese cooking but very rarely eat it, let alone cook it. There just don't seem to be that many Lebanese restaurants around, that, or I'm looking in the wrong places. I love these little women's weekly cookbooks, they have really good but simple recipes in them and the instructions are always very clear. This recipe called for cutlets, but I only had a fillet in the freezer so I used them instead.



I served this with Turkish rice, which I thought I'd ruined but was actually yummy, and salad. I have to say the fish wasn't a success, I have discovered that I actually don't like the taste of tahini by itself. I don't mind it in hummus, but not on its own, so I ended up eating this with a huge dollop of sour cream to take away some of the tahini taste. The onions, however were lovely and sweet and complemented the fish really well. I am off to see Phedre tonight at the National Theatre, which I have been told is very good, so I am looking forward to that.

Baked Fish Cutlets with Tahini (from The Australian Women's Weekly Lebanese Cooking)
(Serves 4)

60ml olive oil
2 large brown onion, sliced finely
4 firm white fish cutlets
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
125 ml tahini
2tbsp lemon juice
lemon wedges
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil in a large frying pan; cook onion, covered, stirring occasionally, about 15mins or until very soft and lightly browned.

Place the fish cutlets in a single layer in a shallow ovenproof dish; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine tahini with lemon juice in a small bowl; beat with a fork until smooth.

Drizzle tahini mixture over the fish and top with the onion mixture. Bake uncovered in a hot oven for about 15 mins or until the fish is just cooked.

Serve with lemon wedges, sprinkled with parsley.