Toasted Hummus

Well, toasted is taking it a bit far, but several of the components have been toasted so I think the name is justified!  Also, there is a little more texture than regular hummus.  It is simply hummus made the usual way (which for me is a tin of well-rinsed and drained East End chickpeas, 2 tablespoons of tahini paste, a peeled garlic clove, a teaspoon of ground cumin, the juice of half a lemon, about 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of boiling water, blitzed in a processor).  After blending, I stir in 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil, a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds and 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped.  Add salt and pepper to taste, spoon into a bowl, drizzle over more olive oil, sprinkle over some more sesame seeds and pine nuts and some paprika, and tuck in with toasted pitta breads.  We'll have the remainder in a sandwich tomorrow with grated carrot and lots of salad.  Yum!

Baked Red Mullet with Pine Kernel Stuffing [#170]

"The fishmonger has Red Mullet!" came the cry from Hubby. In land-locked Oxford, this is a rare thing indeed, so all hands on deck to get this lined up for tonight. Hayman's in the Covered Market in Oxford (I've mentioned them before) did a marvellous job with a handsome big mullet, deboning it, yet leaving it whole and ready for the rich, Sicilian-inspired stuffing of garlic, shallot, sultanas, rosemary, capers, black olives, lemon zest, breadcrumbs and parsley - I know, sounds too much, but it was delicious, almost sweet and sour, and complemented the flaking flesh of the fish beautifully. Another surprise this, as I would not normally have gone for this recipe, but the flavours really worked. If the mullet cry goes up again, we would repeat this recipe, definitely.

Carrot Salad [#142]

No online recipe for this, and it hardly needs one. The idea is to grate some lovely juicy new season's carrots, dress with lots of lemon juice, walnut oil, and seasoning, and pile onto watercress. I added mint leaves too, and toasted pine kernels rather than the peanuts Nigel suggested, as they were more in keeping with the overall Middle-Eastern vibe of the meal. Lovely, healthy and refreshing.