Polvorosas

By Diana

One of my favourite biscuits are a Venezuelan delight called Polvorosas. If you go to any 'kiosko' - equivalent to British 'off licences'- you will be able to find 101 versions of these sweet cookies. But like any traditional dish, everyone has their own style when it comes to recipes. However, believe it or not, it was my Syrian grandma the only one that for me made the best Venezuelan Polvorosas. Her version was a biscuit as hard as a rock, almost a threat to your teeth but so delicious that I could have just skipped lunch and jump straight to dessert, everytime she spoiled me with my preferred treat.

The following recipe is not more than just another attempt to bring back childhood memories. Although they are not quite the same I used to steal from her cupboard, these ones are equally good. This is a super easy recipe, you can add orange peel, almond essence, vanilla from the pod or any other tiny little pinch of spice that you consider convenient. If in doubt just leave a comment!  I hope you like them!

© Diana Chaccour

“French” pizza

By Julie

I am a closet vegetarian. “And what is that?” I hear you say. I am a closet vegetarian because I like meals without meat without actually disliking meat. My husband works 15 minutes from home, so we have the luxury of being able to share lunch whenever he can escape from the tough clinic environment. But on the days he does not come home, I normally pull out my complete arsenal of celery, shallots, sweet potatoes and egg plants. Some of you might moan but vegetarian cuisine can be incredibly versatile and complex in flavour.

Last summer in France, we went on a date in a tiny family-run pizzeria that I haven’t forgotten ever since. One pizza on the menu sounded so unusual that I had to try it - rucola, goat cheese and honey. My judgement is certainly not inflated when I claim: Best. Pizza. Ever. Here comes a modified and quick version for you.

© Diana Chaccour

Anchovy and Chickpea Crostinis

By Diana

I know is been a while since our last post, but I am going to skip all the explanations and essay excuses and jump straight into a new recipe that I hope can be used as a public apology. 

After the success of the Pear and Roquefort Bruschettas, we wanted to suggest another easy and tasty entrance, appropriate for the freshness of upcoming spring/summer. For those of you who are tired of buying the same £1 packed hummus from the supermarket like we are, I suggest you try this one out: Chickpeas and Anchovy Crostinis. Although the fact that the paste is made with chickpeas, lemon and spices does not make it exactly a hummus, it has that Middle-Eastern essence that you will immediately associate with something else more Mediterranean once you discover the flavour of the anchovies. Plus the bite-size does make it a great aperitive, perfect for almost every occasion.

We hope it works for you, Enjoy!


(Recipe versioned from Polpo Restaurant, London, UK)

© Diana Chaccour

Spaghetti Bianchi

By Julie

Malaria No More UK is challenging all of us to live below the line of poverty. The experience of how it feels to have only £1 to spend in a day can indeed be daunting but it is feasible. 1400 million people are doing it today. Every day.

Diana and I are supporting you and Malaria No More UK with a recipe - a traditional Neapolitan poor people’s dish called Spaghetti Bianchi, which has been a staple with my mom and me ever since we discovered it.

P.S.: When I lived in London, I had about £120 left after paying the rent, of which I paid transport, food and everything else. Sounds little in London but I ended up walking a lot and cooking myself through the vegetarian Indian cookbook of Julie Sahni. I still could eat spiced red lentil soup every day. Maybe that could be on your menu tomorrow?

© Diana Chaccour

Sweet Potato Pancakes

By Julie

     The weekend is almost here and it deserves a long breakfast with something special - like pancakes. I prefer the French version, the crêpe (sprinkled with sugar and Grand Marnier), whereas my husband indulges his sweet tooth with the thicker American type. And our daughters, well, as long as it has a chocolate covering, they don’t really care about the base. Last week, our eldest daughter and I decided to make sweet potato pancakes to vary a little and here we would like to share this treat with you.

© Diana Chaccour

Turkey and Couscous Burgers with Tzatziki

by Diana

One of my dearest Venezuelan friends comes from a Syrian origin family as I do. When we were at high school one of our hobbies was to make arabic food together, not only to celebrate our family's common culture, which brought us closer of course, but also to exchange recipes from my grandmother's notebook and  from her mum's memory, and sometimes, one of our main motivations, to  try to sell them to her neighbours so we could gather some money to go out! 

The following recipe is one of those that I learnt from her and her mother. It is what I consider a modern version of kibbe or kibbeh -an arabic dish- but in shape of burgers. I had to modify it for many reasons: the original recipe uses wheat instead of couscous, but I only had couscous and it works just fine for this one. I also prefered to use turkey mince because is less greasy than meat mince -in this country-. And I added some extras like mint leaves and sesame seeds, just because I had the creative mood on and couldn't stop. However, it is the same principle that I learnt years ago with my friend, and most importantly, equally delicious! 

I hope you try it at home!

Enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour

Pear and Roquefort Bruschettas

by Diana

Last week, as part of the weekly French class I attend, we watched a video about the process of making Roquefort cheese -or blue cheese, as you Anglo-Saxon people call it-. It is expected of course, that after watching that video at eight in the evening I would end up in the supermarket across the street, buying a good piece of "value" Roquefort -shame on me-. I shared my intentions with one of my classmates, a lovely trustworthy vegetarian young woman, who suggested to prepare my cheese with pears and bake it in the oven. Her expression seemed so pleasurable and gratifying whilst she described me that combination of flavours that I just had to do what she said. So I obeyed her blindly and tried at home this bruschettas that I am now posting here. And if you accompany them with a glass of good red wine -not the "value" one please- you'll have a fully delicious -and almost French- experience. I hope you like it! 

Bon appétit!

© Diana Chaccour

Baked Mascarpone Cheesecake with Passion fruit Syrup

By Diana

From many days now, the idea of making a cheesecake has been settling down in the back of my head. However, I was reluctant to make an ordinary cheesecake covered with the typical raspberry and strawberry coulis, so often found attached to the packages of the ingredients and on those free magazines forgotten in the seats of the underground. I was trying to find a flavour that would surprise my husband -and you guys of course-. So I remembered a few months ago I bought some mascarpone cheese to prepare a recipe, but even though it was strategically hidden in the fridge, a couple of days later I found out that half of it was gone. When I asked my other half about the other half of the cheese he guiltily enough confessed that he enjoyed it one afternoon for snack, accompanied with crackers -strangely adorable-. So I thought, since he loved it so much, why not trying out this cheesecake with mascarpone instead of conventional cream cheese and then cover it with something fantastic.. like.. lets say.. passion fruit! 

Very rustic yet delicious outcome!

Here it is:

© Diana Chaccour

Coriander, Potato and Thyme Soup

By Diana

Yes, I am aware that it has been over a month or so since our last post here at The Teaspoon. The truth is -and my excuse- that December was a very busy period, full of non-cooking-related work and lack of hours for recipe writing, food photography and just general absence of sunlight. We cooked delicious turkeys for Christmas day though, both in London and Pamplona respectively, and we promise to give away those recipes in advance for next Christmas. I know Julie made a 8 kg pork leg for the 1st of January and I shamelessly copied a Nigel Slater Salmon Wellington that left everyone with enough energy to start the new year.  

So here we are back, trying to warm up again with no less than a soup, which hopefully will keep you entertained now that it became too cold to stop leaning at the heater. It is a rewarding coriander, potato and thyme creamy soup, with a touch of lime flavours and garnished with pieces of feta cheese, olive oil and lots of fresh ground pepper.

Hope you enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour

Apple Streusel

by Diana

During many years Venezuela welcomed a significant number of immigrants that contributed to the extensive variety of colours and flavours that can be found today in our country, enhancing its beauty. In the late XIX century a colony of German immigrants, founded a small town in the mountains, called La Colonia Tovar. Nowadays its traditions are still preserved and if you go there, you could find not only the typical German houses but also -and even more important- traditional German food. There are many cafes and restaurants that serve from sausages, spaetzle and pork hock to exquisite cakes and puddings. Furthermore, its location in the mountains favours this tropical German town with a weather cold enough that allows the visitors to enjoy the smell of the smoke in the fireplaces, enriching even more the experience of traveling abroad inside the same country. My husband's favourite form of entertainment while visiting La Colonia Tovar was to go to Cafe Muhstall and to order Apple Streusel. In my ignorance I always thought that apple streusel was the equivalent to apple crumble, which I have made and he has accepted through the years -with inquisitive appraisals-. Only recently I have found out that although similar, the streusel is a different dish, which I adventured myself to make this week. This time he loved it!


I am risking everything here, trying out a german recipe without asking Julie's permision -my very German sister-in-law- I hope she'll be proud! 

© Diana Chaccour

Pan de Jamon

by Diana

One does not realise how important traditions are until the end of the year gets close.  Now that Christmas is looming, I must confess how hard and extremely weird for me it is to witness British getting exited about mince pies, mulled wine and fruity puddings, and it is equally surprising to go to a bakery and find anything but sausage rolls and everyday pastries, and nothing similar to what I traditionally enjoyed buying back home during the festive season. This is why I wanted to share with you today one of our most beloved Venezuelans Christmas dishes: Pan de Jamon. 

Pan de jamon or ham bread, is a soft bread dough stuffed with ham, olives, raisins and sometimes -the best times- bacon and cream cheese. The only thing is that the process of making the dough is a long and exhaustive one and somehow it clashes with the fast rhythm of life of the big city -and by big city I am definitely not referring to Caracas but to agitated London-. Therefore I chose to make Pan de Jamon with puff pastry instead -the most expensive option in Venezuela's market and contrastingly, the cheapest one in London-. It takes about an hour to make and bake and just seconds to enjoy! 

I would like to add here a recent anecdote: I gave a portion of Pan de Jamon to a Scottish young lady I know and although she didn't question its deliciousness, she just couldn't understand the reason for the raisins and she confessed -to my regret- that she left them on the side! Feel free not to include them in your recipe, but please just be adventurous -and a little bit exotic- and give it a try!  

© Diana Chaccour

Peach and Pomegranate Couscous

By Diana

Last week I came back home with a pomegranate in my bag and I started wondering what will be the best way to use it, since I do not have much experience with that fruit, except for my childhood memories. 

My granny used to have a pomegranate tree in her back yard (or probably an overhanging branch from the neighbour's tree with all the fruit). My mum and aunty used to call me excitedly whenever ripe pomegranates were ready to be eaten: "Diaaaaanaaaa, come running". I used to respond quickly to their calls with stunning enthusiasm for many reasons. Firstly, the garden was my adventure playground, my fantasyland and the perfect place to explore and hide. I would often be found riding my tricycle around the patio while pretending to be in one of my adventures. Hearing their calls instantly represented an invitation to include the adults in my playing fantasy. Secondly, for me it was almost a miracle that all those bright blood coloured pearls could be found inside that fruit globe that was hanging unreachably high above my head. This gave me a big sense of achievement!. Back then we didn't make any recipes with the fruits, we just shared the seeds in the garden, being careful of course, not to stain our skirts!

This time I chose to make a couscous with the pomegranate, incorporating peach and some herbs. A very easy and tasteful recipe that I am sure you will enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour