Oriental Fennel Chicken

By Julie

I am a big fan of fennel. To my dismay, the Spanish are not. I cannot find it anywhere here.   But this week, I had enough. I ordered it from my Ukrainian grocers of choice who normally are my ginger dealers as ginger turns out be also on the list of the less popular foods in Northern Spain. Anyway, there it was, immaculately white and green, simply appetizing and waiting for me to turn it into something delicious. You don’t even need much turning, as fennel is incredibly versatile - a friend of mine cuts it up and eats it raw from a bowl, a bit like crisps but healthy. My baby daughter has had it steamed in combination with apple and chicken or a mashed banana, she loves it and on top, it has huge calming benefits for her little tummy.

One fennel classic is a salad with orange slices and black olives, which inspired me to the following recipe. I like the quirk of the Kashmiri cuisine to add dried fruit to rice and meat dishes, so I incorporated it here to give it an Oriental flair. However, if you don’t believe in mixing savoury food with sweet flavours, you can replace the dried fruit by black olives. Now go on, off to the kitchen!

© Diana Chaccour

Chocolate Cherry Muffins

By Diana

There are certain days when I only need to cook. It doesn't matter if I have a deadline or if I have to run to work in the following hour, the only thing that I am sure about is that cooking will just make my day better. Stepping into the kitchen and following -creatively- a recipe, generates a satisfaction comparable to the one artists feel when a piece is completed. The difference is that the culinary work of art doesn't remain in a mere contemplative state but it goes back inside, to feed the hungry spirit, and better yet, the lucky spirits of the  ones whose kitchen coincides with the culinary artist's studio.

The following recipe is the result of one of those days. It happens to integrate seasonal cherries and chocolate, a combination which I am sure most of you will love as much as I do.  At the end you will have six satisfactory muffins resting in your kitchen, so you can carry on with your routine with the tranquillity that at least a good work was done today. 

© Diana Chaccour

Strawberry Gazpacho

By Diana

One of my first holiday memories is the trip to the World Expo Sevilla in the summer of 1992 with my family. I remember it was so hot that there were fountains of water coming out of the side walks, just to offer tourists a refreshment in the maniac collective perspiration. Besides remembering my brother and I running, and splashing the water desperately, one of the details recorded in my mind is the sales of gazpacho in the street. By that time I had no idea what gazpacho meant and I am sure I didn't like tomatoes either, but trying out the first traditional cold soup of my life certainly had its consequences.

What I am presenting here is a seasonal version of Gazpacho, product of a few  afternoons researching at the book shop in Wimbledon and of course, my endless -and helpless- trials with strawberries in the kitchen. This is certainly not one of the failed ones. Try it out. I promise you that it will be a unique, pleasurable and refreshing experience!

© Diana Chaccour

Watermelon Citric Granita

By Diana

Appreciating seasons is something I have learnt to do since I came to the UK. My home is a tropical country which weather is divided only in rainy and dry season, and frequently - and weirdly enough- we end up having both at the same time, making everything even more chaotic than how it is already. However we Venezuelans don't talk about it as much as British do talk about their own weather, maybe because it doesn't ruin our crops -or our budgets that are ruined enough. The continuity of the temperature -yes, about 27C all year long- allow us Venezuelans to access fruits like passion fruit and watermelon from January to December. And because it is very hot, we enjoy ourselves and our thirsty appetites with these so called exotic produce -and at reasonable and continuous prices-. What I mean is that the prices do not depend on the season but what is worst, they depend on our politics...

Anyway.. in Britain I had to wait months before buying a £1 watermelon, and I was so exited to have it in my fridge last week -in my new spacious fridge that can actually fit a watermelon without sacrificing the bread- that I decided to celebrate it by posting a summery watermelon granita that I hope you all enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour

Asparagus and Dried Cherry Tomatoes Couscous

by Diana

I have never been a couscous kind of person. Instead, I grew up watching my beloved Syrian grandma using wheat of different sizes for cooking delicious Middle Eastern dishes -still pending for a book- that we all enjoyed on Sundays. Whenever I saw someone eating couscous I just felt pity, thinking it was a poor version of wheat in its smallest form. Yes, I was young and ignorant I must say!

It is until I discovered large grain couscous when I realized what I was missing. I started experimenting with this structured and substantial grain in our everyday menu, in exchange for rice, pasta or any other common carbohydrate. The results and flavours were so rich that I finally decided to adapt the lovely grain to my kitchen shelves, right behind the wheat of course, so my grandma won't be offended. 

So for this post I decided to show you -if you don't know already- how versatile couscous can be and I combined it with asparagus and cherry tomatoes, lots of olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. The result.. just a delight! 

© Diana Chaccour

Cold Spiced Apple Soup

By Julie 

A little late but finally, the picnic season has opened! The weather until now has not always been so permitting, so we had our first relaxed picnic last weekend and did not have to put our sweaters on and off depending on whether the sun came out behind the clouds or not. To celebrate this occasion, we wrapped up a range of wonderful international delicacies, and my favourite of them is actually an English essential. The English cuisine unfortunately has a bad image around the world, however it can be quite seductive and savoury as this dish proves in my opinion.

If you serve this to a guest, try not to tell them what kind of soup this is and have them guess the main ingredients - you might be surprised!

© Diana Chaccour

Strawberry Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

    By Diana

   I've always been jealous of other people's brownies! It seems that everyone has a little secret fabulous brownie recipe that they just don’t give away, or even worst, they write it down with an innocent slight twist, leaving out that essential ingredient without which the recipe does not work at all!

     So, in order to end with my resentfulness, I did a little bit of homework and researched a few "famous" British recipes for brownies. Although Jamie Oliver's recipe turned out to be a favourite among the brownie eaters, Nigel Slater offered a fudgy brownie recipe that I just needed to try out, but I do admit that I modified it slightly! The strawberries were my idea though -just to please myself with the word seasonal- and I added a touch of Venezuelan flavour: a tablespoon of rum to spice it up! They lasted less than 24 hours in the kitchen and we are only 2 people in the house... I hope they won't last long in your kitchen either!

© Diana Chaccour

Creamy Chicken Crumble

By Diana

I am moving houses this week and besides all the packing, cello tape, boxes, suitcases and fragile props that constitute the madness of my life at the moment I can't stop thinking about what to do with the content of the old fridge. Since I don't want to waste a bus journey carrying frozen chicken, flour and celery, I decided to make a little bit of a fusion dish, combining South American flavours with the traditional idea of the British crumble.

In our side of the globe we have a traditional soup called chupe, which is basically a stew with meat, vegetables and milk. My favourite of these chupes is the chicken one, with corn and little squares of white handmade cheese, which original recipe I promise to post here some other time. In this opportunity I thought of making a thick creamy chicken chupe/stew topped with Parmesan cheese crumble, an easy-to-eat meal, full of comfort for the moving stress. I hope you enjoy trying this one out!

© Diana Chaccour

Poppy Seeds Muffins with Orange Blossom Icing

By Diana

Originally I was planning to make a seasonal recipe with lots of rhubarb and pink colours everywhere... As I didn't listen to a few of my friends with strong opinions against rhubarb, I began experimenting for the first time with the reddish celery-shape fruit/veg and went back to old times when I didn't follow any recipes -or advice- and just trusted my cooking senses... Not a good idea... The results, as expected were beyond awfulness... My husband trying to cheer me up has been eating the pitiful rhubarb muffins every afternoon between his study breaks since I am still in the denial stage and refuse to proudly throw them to the bin.

To make up my post for the blog this week I started again, this time with no rhubarb and tried poppy seeds instead and orange blossom which I absolutely adore. Georgette, my Syrian grandma, used to make a floating type dessert using this aromatic water and its smell brings back just good Sunday memories, perfect to recover from the rhubarb experience. So here you go, soft poppy seeds muffins with orange blossom icing, to enjoy in the rainy day while watching the Queen floating on the Thames. Happy Jubilee!

© Diana Chaccour

Tarator Ice-Cream

By Julie

Guten Tag! This week I am relaxing at my parents‘  in Germany, enjoying the sunny weather after having spent some very cold and rainy days in Pamplona the week before. Browsing the Feinschmecker magazine, I came across a fantastic recipe for cucumber ice-cream by a North German top chef, Sebastian Zier, and fell in love with it at first sight.  I was reminded of my honeymoon in the Venezuelan Andes, where my husband and I sampled a meagre 8 flavours of a whopping 800 in the Heladeria Coromoto, which made it into the Guiness Book of Records . Surprisingly, the best flavours in my opinion were the vegetable ones – corn or avocado, for example, were fantastic!

 You have to know that both Diana and I love the Bulgarian soup Tarator, a wonderfully light concoction of yogurt, cucumber and walnuts, which is perfect for the hot summery days we are experiencing. However, I am almost certain that Tarator ice-cream was missing on the menu of the Coromoto ice-cream parlour in Merida. Hence, this week’s contribution to the blog will be a refreshing blend of Balkan heat and North German coolness.  Sounds weird? You will love it!

© Diana Chaccour

White Chocolate Mousse with Caramel Sauce

By Diana

Most chocolate mousses I know of are made with dark chocolate and, of course, dark chocolate is healthier, it´s recommended by doctors and it is the only one you are suppose to eat if you are on a diet, and we all know how boring is that! This is why we would like to invite you to leave the guilt on the side -just for today- and try out a dessert that will transport you to the land of indulgence and caloric pleasure! We also thought white chocolate was not enough for this sugared extravaganza and decided to add a caramel sauce on top! To balance our recipe a little bit –and delay our potential diabetes- we complemented it with a few almond slices and lime peel. If you didn´t have a very good week this recipe will definitely cheer you up!

© Diana Chaccour

Mediterranean Bread with Iberian Flavours

By Diana

     I went to Pamplona last week to visit my brother, Julie and the girls. We were supposed to cook together and make at least a couple of posts for the blog, have a picnic, take our picture, and so on… but 4 days was not enough to do any of the things we planned. We had a great time in the 31 degrees and certainly enjoyed walking in Pamplona´s old town, visiting the farmer´s market and then the supermarket in repeated occasions. I simply love Spanish supermarkets I have to say.  They are full of hanging prosciutto -Jamón Serrano- olives of all kinds, chorizo and an impressive variety of olive oil in presentations that you never imagined. It is extraordinary! So every time I go there I come back to London with my suitcase full of Iberian treats to enjoy in the sadness of a12 degrees Spring in the UK!

        For this post we decided to honor our time together last week by making bread with some of those unique flavours. This is a type of bread from the Italian region of Tuscany and it is originally called a schiacciata. The bread is made in two layers and it has mushrooms, prosciutto, salami, olives, blue cheese and lots of olive oil everywhere. The recipe is inspired by The Great British Picnic Guide, by Mark Price. Check the note at the end for a vegetarian alternative. We hope you enjoy it!

© Diana Chaccour