Middle-Eastern Dinner

一時期は度々作っていた中近東料理、最近は頻度が減りましたが、食べるとやっぱり美味しい、と思います。

I used to cook Middle-Eastern meals very often but haven’t done so as often in the last few years. I still enjoy it very much when I do cook it.

今日は、ビーフのコフタ（ケバブ？）、フムス、モロッコ風サラダ、茄子のチュニジア風。わたしはターキッシュブレッドに詰めながら、サンドイッチのようにしていただきます。

Today, I made Beef Kofta (kebab??), Hummus, Moroccan Salad, and Tunisian Aubergine. I like eating them stuffed into Turkish bread.

ビーフのコフタはミンチのビーフに数種類のスパイスを加えてソーセージ型にして焼きますが、いつも適当なのでその時によって結構味つけに差が出ます。一応、スパイスを混ぜてから少しだけレンジでチンして味を見るのですが、それでも出来上がるとあれ？と思うこともあったり。今日は美味しくできました。

The dishes are all quite simple. Beef Kofta is just minced beef mixed with a few spices, made into sausage shapes and cooked in a frying pan. I never measure anything and I just sort of chuck things in, so the flavour is different each time. I do take a tiny bit, microwave it and check the seasonings, but the end result sometimes surprise me. It was good today, though.

フムスはごくごくシンプルに、にんにく、タヒニ、ひよこ豆、レモン汁、塩胡椒、オリーブオイルだけで作ります。

Hummus is also very simply flavoured. Just garlic, tahini paste, chick pea, lemon juice, salt, pepper & olive oil.

モロッコ風サラダには、玉ねぎ、トマト、きゅうり、パプリカ、シャンツァイ、レモン汁、塩胡椒。こちらも、シンプル。

Moroccan salad has onion, tomato, cucumber, red/yellow pepper, coriander leaves, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Again very simple.

茄子のチュニジア風は他に比べると少し手間がかかります。元はディリアスミスのレシピですが、適当にアレンジして作っていて、茄子を切ってオーブンで焼いて玉ねぎとニンニクを炒めたところに加え、缶詰のトマトとスパイス類を加えてすっかり柔らかくなって水分がほとんどなくなるくらいまで煮ています。イメージは、ずいぶん前、夫と結婚した頃によく神戸で行っていた、モロッコレストランで出て来た辛い茄子。オールスパイスというスパイスを入れているのでちょっと癖があるかもしれませんが、ビーフのコフタとよく合うと思います。

Tunisian Aubergine takes a little more time to cook compared to the others. The basic recipe was Delia Smith’s “Tunisan Aubergine Salad With Coriander & Yohgurt”, but I made a few changes, What I do is cut the aubergine in small chunks and roast it in the oven. In the meantime I sautee onion and garlic and a fresh red chilli (chopped) in a frying pan, then add the half-cooked aubergine, some tomato from a tin of Italian tomatoes, some spices (I used cumin and all-spice) and then cook it on a low heat until the aubergine is very soft and the sauce thickens. We used to go to a Moroccan restaurant for dinner in Kobe when we were first married and they used to have this spicy aubergine that I loved, and that is what I sort of try to achieve. As all-spice has quite a strong flavour maybe it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I think it goes very well with the Beef Kofta.

ピリ辛でクミンの香りがっぷりのエキゾチックソースも。

I also made exotic flavoured red sauce.