Fusion Flat Breads

in #steempress4 years ago (edited)


I loathe coleslaw. It's a long and irrelevant story, summed up in two words: institutional food. In my case, that was boarding school, followed by university. By the time I reached university, I just simply didn't eat what I didn't like. At school, that was less possible. However, more than forty years later, coleslaw remains a least favourite dish. I have probably made it, but the memory is permanently erased from my brain.

It's not just coleslaw. I have a distinct aversion to white, cooked cabbage which I blame on my mother and boarding school. At school, the cabbage was boiled to death and its presence in the day's meal was announced by the "aroma" that hung around for hours. When I was very little - like four or five - my mother's preferred way of preparing cabbage was also the death boil. She served it covered with a deluge of celery salt. Actually, she used celery salt on a lot of things including jacket potatoes. As a consequence, celery is culinary ingredient that I've only come to appreciate in the last few years.


Photo: Selma

Back to cabbage: somewhere between the death boil of my toddlerhood and my tweens, red (or purple) cabbage became available and my mother remembered a recipe for braising cabbage with onion and apple; no water. Suddenly cabbage became imminently edible and that recipe, with a minor addition, is a favourite not just of ours, but of some of our guests, too.


Photo: Selma

However, as usual, I digress.

A few weeks ago, the temperature went from freezing cold to scorching the trees, so the idea of cooking a hot meal was less than appealing. Back to my mother: occasionally she'd make a cabbage salad - not with mayonnaise and grated carrot - but rather with a French dressing or vinaigrette; with white cabbage. At the time, for reasons unimportant, I had a rather large red cabbage and carrots in the fridge. I love the combination of bright purple and orange, so an idea began to form. I rejected a French dressing and opted for Asian flavours. Again, because of what I had on hand - dhanya (coriander/cilantro) and mint from the garden.

An Asian style salad is born


After weaving my way around the Interweb for a while and finding no recipe for which I had all the ingredients, I came up with my own Asian style salad and accompanying dressing of vegetable oil, lime or lemon juice and chilli jam.


It was delicious.

A good thing, too, because there was a vast quantity which, I discovered, keeps well in the fridge. In addition, this salad also has the versatility I like for creating meals for vegetarians (and vegans) as well as carnivores.


The salad was great on its own, but also made a great base for two other dishes: as a bed for slices of rare sirloin and sautéed brinjal and hummus. One could also add seeds and nuts for protein, or even whole chickpeas (garbanzo beans) instead of hummus.

Download a printable recipe here.

Wot, no bread?


After the brinjal and hummus meal, as is occasionally my wont, I shared a photograph on social media. I mused that a flat or pita bread would have worked well with that meal.

Next thing, one of my pals comments that she has this "really easy" recipe and voila, the recipe's there.

But.

It uses self-raising flour which, I gather is a British and South African product, but which I no longer keep in the pantry. Anyhow, after another wander around the Interweb, I discovered the ingredient(s) essential for the rise and adjusted the recipe accordingly.


Quick and really easy they are and, if you're using self-raising flour, you need only two other ingredients: full (or double cream) yoghurt and a little salt. Probably the most time-consuming part is the resting and rolling. The resting can happen while you prepare the other bits of the meal, and because they're cooked in a hot dry pan on the hob, the cooking is relatively quick.

What I learned


The mixture makes quite a large quantity - as many as eight breads, roughly 20cm in diameter.


I discovered that although one can keep the dough, it does deteriorate. A far better option is to make all the breads, allow them to cool and freeze them.

Download a printable version of the recipe here.

A Mediterranean and Asian Fusion


I now know that this combination of ingredients is also the base for yeast-free Naan (Indian) bread, which makes these breads the perfect bridge between the flavours of east and the west. Of course, they can also be made to any shape you choose and round, can be cut and split into pockets. Then, I popped in a dollop of hummus and a goodly quantity of the salad, in a fusion of Asian with Mediterranean flavours.


The result was delicious and on reflection, this is one of those meals when the components can be prepared in advance and don't spoil. A great option for those meals when it's going to be impossible to cook. For whatever reason.

About Mary


I got to know Mary when she was sharing a home with her sister who was one of my favourite teachers. When I did my teacher training, Ursula took me under her wing and in the subsequent years, remained a good friend and mentor. Ursula is no longer with us, but I'm delighted that my connection with her continues through my friendship with Mary - albeit largely on Facebook.

What Mary didn't say when she shared the recipe is that it these breads are as delicious and versatile as they are easy to make.

Thank you, Mary.

Until next time
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa




Photo: Selma

Post Script


I didn't realise when writing this post, that I did so on the 7th anniversary of Ursula's death. She is much missed.

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://www.fionasfavourites.net/2019/10/27/fusion-flat-breads/

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You have made a great combinations of east and west. They look delicious, I agree too that hummus is very filling and I love it!

Thank you so much! I agree - hummus is filling and full of protein.

Coleslaw... More like colesl-ewwww. I was never big on coleslaw, just the texture, lingering flavour and all round mess it would make.

However, your Asian take on it could woo me back round... Maybe...

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Well, you and I agree on that - colesl-ewwww. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I'm also thinking it would make a great option for a food market. That combination. Anyhow, we'll see. That really is a very easy meal....

This looks just delicious, I think I just fell in love hahaha.

Thank you @fmbs25, hahaha!

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I love red cabbage and that bread looks fabulous, thank you for sharing this yummy post @fionasfavourites 💕

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Thanks for stopping by @wonderwop!

Congratulations on being the member suggestion on Halloween 🕷️

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Thank you and happy Halloween to you!

I have always liked your presentation and there is no doubt about how its must have felt in taste after

This post has been appreciated and featured in daily quality content rewards. Keep up the good work.

Thanks you so much @appreciator and also for your ongoing support and the feature in your post.

I hated cole slaw, and like you, most of my hatred of it came from my elementary school cafeteria. Today, I will eat cole slaw with only one meal - if I decide to eat at a barbecue restaurant.

My mom made 2 dishes with cabbage. One was halupki (sp?) or cabbage rolls as they're sometimes called, and another dish that had cabbage and noodles, but I can't remember the name of the dish.

You're very creative with foods!

Seems I am not alone in this! Your mom's dishes sound interesting. I am sure that those cabbage rolls are traditional in east European cooking? I know that Asian cooking often includes cabbage, but not cooked to death.

Yes, you're correct. My dad's side of the family came from Ukraine and my dad was born in NYC. My mother's side of the family is Irish. My mom cooked the stuff my dad liked, which was eastern European. Cabbage rolls have the same filling as stuffed peppers, with ground beef, rice, onion and maybe a couple other ingredients.

You carefully get the cabbage leaves off whole, blanch them in boiling water for a minute or so, (just so you can manipulate the leaves without breaking them), and you add filling, pull over the ends and roll the filling up in the leaf.

When you have them all in a roasting pan, add some tomato sauce onto and around the cabbage rolls and then bake. Not sure of the temp or cooking time, but probably 325 -350.

Ah! our Ukranian guest about whom I wrote a few weeks ago, told me about that dish. She was away from her family on Ukraine's national day and had prepared it before she left. So interesting how our heritage influences our likes and dislikes. My mother, too, cooked what my father liked. He was Scottish and she, English.

I think I must try to make cabbage rolls - not a lot of cabbage there - and really nice flavours.

I don't care for pre-made store bought cole slaw, but I absolutely LOVE my own homemade versions.

I'd happily have a taste of that!

What a great idea! I’m going on have to copy you and make this soon.

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Let me know how it goes?

Amazing how childhood memories can turn one off a particular food.
To this day I don't touch peanut butter and syrup sandwiches.
A Lebanese friend used to make us rolled cabbage leaves with a spicy mince, potato and other stuff inside and it was delicious.
Your breads also look great my friend.
Blessings!

Oh, peanut butter! Another on my not-so-favourite list! And yes - childhood memories are indellible. So interesting the different uses of cabbage leaves.

Thanks for stopping by @papilloncharity

My pleasure stop by Lady Fiona.
Blessings!

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