Green Maftoul

by Diana

I learnt to make risotto at the age of 10. My mum and I had a private tutorial from the hand of my dad’s colleague, Ana, an Italian descendent obstetrician and amazing cook. I remember she had a couple of daughters, one of them my age, but I was more interested in learning the secrets of Italian cuisine rather than playing dolls with the other children. My mum wanted me to learn as at the time, I was a swimmer and a gymnast so I had strong arms and the very much needed endurance to sustain the art of clockwise involving movements demanded from good quality risotto, so I could be handed over the task. I still have strong arms but as much as love cooking I don’t think I have the patience of stirring the wooden spoon for 1 hour anymore, so I had to carefully think of alternative dishes that could equally bring a gratifying reward to the dining table. 

I discovered maftoul -giant couscous- a few years ago but I felt I haven’t been experimental enough with it even though it has featured in a few posts in the blog. This is another of those little kitchen pilot projects motivated by effort resistance. 

There is nothing about this dish that resembles risotto, it’s low calorie, lacking cream and wine, it doesn’t even have Parmesan cheese, perhaps the only common ingredients are the humble salt and pepper and the olive oil of course.. and you may wonder whether you missed the analogy or began questioning my reasoning. The point is that at least to my view, risotto is as comforting as this much healthier maftoul approach so, why not give it a go?

© The Teaspoon

Classic Madeira Cake

by Diana 

I believe the happiest people are the ones who find pleasure in simple yet comforting things. I admire those who find beauty in the everyday, in the normal, in the humble little, unobserved things and events that those like me who over complicate themselves perhaps underestimate. The art of appreciation. It reminds me of mindfulness. It reminds me of Buddhism. The act of letting go from all we think we need. 

Everyone that knows my husband would agree that he is the happiest man alive. As much as I would like to, I can’t take the credit for such statement though. From him I’ve patiently learnt to be patient and to choose simply, when I remember to do so. The kitchen is the perfect example. I would spend hours researching appealing recipes and new ingredients to surprise him with after a long weekend of A&E night shifts but whenever I decide to ask him if he has any cravings he would always reply a ‘tortica’ -a little cake- ‘but not too sweet’. I would still ignore him and make what I consider something ‘more special’ and he would always love it (he would never say otherwise but I could tell whether he would as per the rapidness in which the dish disappears over the course of the week). This time I just want to please him with the simplest yet incredibly comforting Madeira cake that I know he adores. I hope you like it too.

© The Teaspoon

Sweet Potato Hummus

by Diana 

The word magic and hummus don’t often go in hand, especially as its accessibility and readyness has made the once exotic hummus almost ordinary. It’s so common nowadays that there are numerous versions already available in the supermarket shelves, hence the challenge to make it interesting again. But why? you may wonder, I’ll go with the magic again. Earlier last year, an excessively healthy approach to diet (combined with a lack of food writing!) had me professionally prescribed by a nutritionist with a daily dose of nuts, avocado and above all, hummus. I had to ‘take it’ everyday in order to recover but in just a matter of months I was back on my feet again. Therefore I am forever grateful to hummus. But no matter the various available options, you have to be creative to tolerate a hummus routine. As ever, my beloved gluttonous husband doesn’t seem to mind but I do get bored of flavours quite quickly. 

My Syrian grandma, of course, had the best hummus recipe, which I treasure solemnly and will only reveal when I publish her kitchen memories book, sometime later in life.

Meanwhile, this is one of those versions I played with over those months last year. The essence of the recipe is maintained (otherwise I would be cursed from the afterlife) and remains ‘medicinal’ but just slightly more spiced up to make it exciting. I haven’t seen this one out there yet so hurry up and make it before it’s easier to just buy it. 

© The Teaspoon

Baked 'Tortilla'

by Diana 

If going vegan/gluten-free/processed-sugar-free/lactose-free, and so on and so forth, is among your New Year’s resolutions then this will set you up to failure straight away so look away, otherwise you may be still on time to edit up that list of yours.

I spent the first few days of January in Pamplona, visiting my family. As it's often the case, we don’t do that many spanish-related things, much less we cook traditional dishes, even though they live in the cradle of Navarra's culinary delights. Instead we improvised with the Venezuelan traditional dish one day and then with other latinamerican nibbles here and then, combined with fresh delivered German stollen from Leipzig that we ate whilst flipping through ‘The Aleppo Cookbook’ I gave my brother and his wife for Christmas. I think you already have a picture of what type of family we are, don’t you? 

On my last day, I often pay a visit to the local supermarket and stock up my hand luggage with Spanish products, with an intention of extending the ‘holiday’ at home in London and make it up for not embracing the Iberian culture. This recipe represents my craving for tortilla española, which by the way I learnt to make with my brother many years ago. I adapted it (Spanish people please don’t be offended) with a baked version and adding vegetables, spices and herbs. It’s not healthier in anyway, in case your hopes were still up for those new year resolutions. Happy New Year! 

© The Teaspoon

Almond Spice Cookies

by Diana 

As much as my colleagues consider me a Gringe because I refuse to play Secret Santa or to wear a thematic-appropriate jumper every year, I truly love Christmas. My childhood memories of this season include the arrangement of the manger under the stairs of the house; wearing new stinging skirts which my mother had bought during the summer holidays;  crisp white sheets for the bedroom changed on Christmas Eve; an irrational fear of Santa Claus (linked to the idea of someone breaking and entry!), Barbies and pertinent accessories all over the living room and delicious, family-heritage-specific kitchen aromas, of course. Although as a child I valued receiving presents, I also developed a sense of giving from a young age. As soon as I got some autonomy around the kitchen and, with the acknowledgement that as a child I did not have any income and couldn’t rely on pocket money to buy presents (as it came from my dad rather than have genuinely earn it myself), I discovered a true sense of reward in taking the time to think and handmade something for the enjoyment and pleasure of others. That was translated mostly in the shape of cookies and, later on, stollen (my German sister-in-law’s recipe of course) as well as homemade Venezuelan Christmas bread. 

I have carried on the tradition of cooking to give for the last 25 years (!). This year I have made various cookies recipes to give away and to be grateful to people that have worked with me over the last 12 months. I am leaving you with the latest batch I did this week, hoping that in the making, you too could reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. 

© The Teaspoon

Spice & Coconut Tray

by Diana

Having a multicultural heritage comes with mixed and confusing cravings of dishes and ingredients. If it wasn't for my profession requirements of constantly ensuring my degree of consciousness is relatively healthy then I could easily question my degree  of sanity or wonder anxiously about hormonal imbalance. 

There are weeks during which I’ll fully embrace Latinamerican flavours. That often comes with vibrant music, colourful table props and a handful of chilli flakes and cornmeal. Other weeks I’ll be Middle East inspired, playing Aleppo instrumental sounds and flipping through the same old late 1940’s black and white photographs of my grandparents. Those days I’ll be topping up my dishes with za’atar, tahini and experimenting with harissa paste. I should say that the latter tends to dominate in accordance with my uneven genetic distribution. 

The recipe I leave you with today represents somehow a fusion of this combined heritage. The coconut brings all the warm tropical textures but the spice mix and pistachio nuts can simultaneously take you on a journey to exotic regions. I hope you enjoy the ride!

© The Teaspoon

Peppered Smoked Mackerel Pâté

by Diana 

One of my New Year resolutions was to avoid any food wastage in the household. Although this may sound like an apparent environmentally mindful driven behaviour, the determination is actually triggered by the food access restraint my family faces in Caracas -alongside the rest of the country, apart from the government officials, of course.  It’s sad to listen to my dad telling me that he is forced to change the ever traditional turkey based Christmas dinner as the price of the festive bird is the equivalent to 10 minimum wages –in relation to the currency rate in the black market. 

On reflection I realise that reducing food waste is nothing but my pain driven behaviour.

Strong emotions tend to activate change though and I feel I am constantly challenged to develop creative skills in the kitchen that would help me fulfil this goal and avoid unnecessary guilt. The recipe today is the result of the meticulous check I now carry out of 'the best before dates' in the products in my fridge, in a conveniently flavourful concoction. 

© The Teaspoon

Bircher Muesli

by Diana 

For a long time now, passports have joined the long list of basic good shortages Venezuelans are brutally faced with. My husband has been waiting since April for his new documentation and we have now reached the point of travel band due to the looming expiration date. As we refuse the government-led black market sale of $1,000 a passport (a bargain considering official employees are shamelessly charging five times that amount), I am going to take us on a comforting food journey across less corrupt countries around the world. We’ll be starting with Switzerland at the top 5 with its 118 year old Bircher Muesli recipe which ingredients I am sure Swiss would never struggle to source. 

© The Teaspoon

Coconut Scones with Coconut Custard

by Diana

I was forever convinced that all my grandma’s cooking was 100% Syrian. Looking back and analysing the brief compilation of recipes we inherited, I can clearly see that she not only had to make pertinent adaptations to match the local available ingredients but would also make her very own versions of traditional Venezuelan dishes which as a child I trusted were of Middle East origin. I find quite moving to go through the pages of her old notebook and encounter recipes of one culture or another, arbitrarily. To me that’s the perfect exemplification of cultural integration and the best model to follow when it comes to writing (or posting) my very own history of migration.

This is Mary Berry's buttermilk scones recipe but adapted with dry toasted coconut and demerara sugar and served with an also versioned custard, enhanced with the humble flavours of this classic tropical fruit. 

© The Teaspoon

Beetroot Maftoul

by Diana


I am not sure if it’s just me (over)coming to the age or actually paying more attention but I seem to be surrounded by new mums, each of them with their very unique approach and conviction about postnatal nutrition. Last week I learnt that sugar and salt was not recommended during the first year of the newborn, and later on, I discovered that any form of lactose does not marry well with breastfeeding. My mother works with neonates and it took her years to develop the miraculous ‘new mum’s diet’ which comprises a long list of unappealing restrictions. Nevertheless, results are surprisingly positive if obediently followed. I am confident dieting alone is not the only risk factor for postnatal depression but a bland meal can certainly contribute to a saddened heart. Therefore, my challenge this week is to offer that lactose-free-devoted new mum of mine a flavourful and colourful recipe that would hopefully make her meal times more attractive so her tummy can be satisfyingly ‘refilled’.

© The Teaspoon