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asian

Za’atar and Feta Pizza

August 23, 2009

Za'atar +Feta Thin Crust Pizza

 

A few weeks ago I discovered a new local restaurant with a wood fired oven. With the quality of ingredients on the pizza and the smoky flavour from the oven, I was sold. Since then, I’ve been having sporadic bouts of pizza craving. 

When I’m low on supplies, I just stand in front of my refrigerator and stare at it, hoping something materialises. This time around I gaped until my mind paired the tub of feta with the za’atar. Perfect! I’d mix the za’atar with some extra virgin olive oil until it is spreadable then brush it on some pizza dough (oh, the craving!) top it off with some crumbled feta. Why didn’t I so this sooner?! I used the whole wheat pizza dough recipe I got off Oprah’s website and made two thin crust pizzas. After taking a bite from the first one, I realised it needed a kick, so I added some chopped jalapenos to the next one I made and finally achieved the flavour I was looking for.

 

Making Za'atar + Feta Pizza

Za’atar and Feta Pizza
Yield: 2 thin crust pizzas

Pizza dough (your favoruite recipe)
Cornmeal for sprinkling
4 tbsp za’atar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8-10 pickled jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like your pizza)
200g/ about 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

  1. Roll out the pizza dough thinner than you’d like your pizza crust, because the bread’s going to rise.
  2. Transfer the dough to the baking stone or a thick baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and za’atar. Add enough olive oil until you get a spreadable mixture (since sometimes the za’atar contain roasted wheat which tends to absorb the oil).
  4. Generously brush the rolled out pizza dough with the za’atar mixture.
  5. Dot the pizza with crumbled feta.
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes in a preheated oven set at 250°C/500°F or as high as your oven can go (if it’s higher make sure to watch the pizza closely because it’ll be done in no time!)
  7. Slice it and serve.

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Lemongrass

September 23, 2007

The fragrance of lemongrass never ceases to refresh me. Lemongrass has a distinct taste of its own. A little woody but not quite lemony. You’ll know it’s taste if you’ve had Thai food. I’m not too fond of Thai food, but I love using lemongrass in my cooking.

It comes in a stalk. Much like a leek, there is a white end part trailing off to tough green leaves that tends to prick at times. Usually the white part is used in cooking, but you can use the leaves for flavouring broths. It also adds an excellent flavour to tea.

I enjoy things that are versatile and that can add character to a dish and in my opinion, lemongrass is exactly that. By simply bruising the fleshy part of the leave the oils are released. Adding this to steamed rice, gives it an incredibly zesty flavour.

Lemongrass is extremely fibrous, so some people chop it finely and grind in a mortar and pestle. I prefer slicing it and then pounding it lightly before cooking. This way the flavour gets infused and they can be discarded before eating.

A chef of a South East Asian restaurant once told me that while making satay, I could use a trimmed stalk of lemongrass instead of the regular wooden skewers to add flavour to the meat.

There are so many ways in which lemongrass can be used. You could add it a part of bouquet garni or you could give grilled foods an aromatic smokiness by scattering sliced lemongrass over hot coals or on top of the gas burners before putting food on the grill.

Another thing I discovered is that you can also take a stalk of lemongrass and place it in water and then root it and grow it.

Here is a recipe for a refreshing lemongrass drink that’s awfully simple to make!

Lemongrass Soda Recipe

2 stalks of lemongrass
500ml Soda (Sprite, 7Up)
Mint leaves to garnish

Make a paste of the lemongrass (use the entire thing, along with leaves) with water. Strain it. Add it to the soda. Garnish with mint leaves. Make sure to use the paste as soon as it is ready, else the colour will change to a dull green very quickly.

Update 16 April 2010!

I wrote a small post today on how you can grow your own lemongrass in the comfort of your own home with barely any effort or space constraints.

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