HUmmus & Co.

A cookbook by Michael Rantissi & Kristy Frawley. Recipes from our restaurant Kepos & Co located at Shop 5, Casba, 18 Danks St. Waterloo, NSW 2017 Australia.

6 RECIPES FROM HUMMUS & CO.

Asparagus, pea and feta tart

Asparagus, pea and feta tart

Serves 6-8

350 g frozen green peas, thawed overnight

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 sheet store bought puff pastry, approx. 20cm x 30cm

12-14 asparagus spears, peeled and trimmed

150 g feta

3 soft boiled eggs

Micro herbs for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
2. Put the peas in a bowl and crush them. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and zest and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Put the pastry on a prepared tray and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown, puffed up and very firm. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature. 
4. Heat a chargrill pan or a barbecue grill plate to high. Drizzle the asparagus with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until grill marks appear.
5. To assemble the tart, put the pastry on a serving or chopping board (as this will be easier to cut the tart) and top with the crushed pea mixture. Crumble the feta evenly over the tart. Tear the eggs into half and arrange them on the tart. Top with the grilled asparagus, sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Drizzle additional olive oil and micro herbs if using.

Baked rainbow trout with tahini & pine nuts

Baked rainbow trout with tahini & pine nuts

Serves 4

2 rainbow trout, about 450-500 g each, scaled and gutted

4 tablespoons olive oil

270 g tahini

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

1 large red chilli, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Put the rainbow trout on the tray.  Drizzle with the oil and season with salat and pepper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until done to your liking.
3. Put the tahini in a bowl with the garlic and 250 ml water. Season with salt and whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture over the cooked fish and bake for 1 minute, just until the tahini is lukewarm (overheating the tahini will cause it to curdle). 
4. Serve the fish garnished with the pine nuts, parsley and chilli.

Pumpkin kibbeh with mozzarella

Pumpkin kibbeh with mozzarella

Serves 6 to 8 as a main or 8 to 10 as a side dish

800 g to 1kg chopped, peeled kent pumpkin

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing

1 tablespoon table salt

2 garlic cloves, peeled

200 g coarse burghul

1.5 litres boiling water

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cumin

400 g mozzarella cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a flat baking tray with baking paper.
2. Toss the pumpkin with the olive oil, salt and garlic cloves and put on the baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven until the pumpkin is soft, approximately 20 minutes. If the pumpkin is colouring too quickly reduce the temperature.
3. Whilst the pumpkin is cooking put the burghul in a large bowl and top with boiling water. Let the burghul sit for about 6 minutes. During this time the burghul will soak up a lot of the water. Drain and once cool enough to handle squeeze out any excess water. 
4. Mash the pumpkin with either a potato masher or a fork then mix in with the burghul. Add the cinnamon and cumin then season with the salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
5. Use a long rectangular baking or roasting dish that you will also use as the serving dish. Spray with non-stick oil then line the dish with baking paper, so it covers the base of the dish but does not overhang.  Spread half the pumpkin mixture over the base of the dish. Add the grated mozzarella cheese then top with the remaining pumpkin. Smooth out the mixture so the top is even. Using a sharp knife score diamonds into the mixture. Set aside until ready to cook.
6. Cook in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. You can cook it longer if you prefer a very crisp topping.

Sourdough fattoush salad

Sourdough fattoush salad

Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish

¼ loaf sourdough bread, cut into large cubes

100 ml olive oil

2 small Lebanese cucumbers, peeled and chopped

2 truss tomatoes, coarsely chopped

½ small Spanish onion

¼ cup oregano leaves

½ cup coriander leaves

¼ cup pomegranate seeds

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon sumac

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
2. Put the bread cubes on a baking tray and then drizzle over the olive oil and mix to combine. Bake for 7 to 8  minutes until the bread is toasted and golden in colour. Set aside to cool.
3. To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the bread, cucumber, tomatoes, onions, herbs and pomegranate seed and mix to combine. Pour over the dressing and toss lightly using your hands. Drizzle over the pomegranate molasses.

Banana kataifi tarte tatin

Banana kataifi tarte tatin  

Serves 8 to 10

220 g caster sugar

50 g butter

150 g kataifi pastry

60 g butter, melted

6-8 bananas, cut into 3cm pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
2. Heat a 24c ovenproof frying pan over medium to low heat. Add the sugar and 50 ml water and cook, swirling the pan without stirring, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the caramel turns a nut brown colour. Add the butter and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
3. Put the kataifi pastry in a large bowl and gently separate it with your hands. Pour in the melted butter and gently mix through.
4. Carefully arrange the banana pieces in the pan with the caramel. Spread the kataifi pastry over the top of the banana in an even layer. Press down and flatten to give an even colour.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
6. To serve carefully turn the tarte tatin onto a large plate. 

Layered Turkish delight pavlova

Layered Turkish delight pavlova

Serves 8

7 egg whites, at room temperature

375 g caster sugar

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon rosewater

250 g mascarpone

250 ml pouring cream

50 g icing sugar

4-5 ruby grapefruit, peeled and segmented

300 g good quality Turkish delight, finely chopped

3 tablespoons pistachios, lightly toasted and crushed

Edible dried rose petals to garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Spray a 20cm x 30cm rectangular baking dish with non-stick oil and line with baking paper.
2. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites for 2 to 3 minutes until soft peaks form.   With the machine running, slowly add the caster sugar and then whisk for a further 8 to 10 minutes, until glossy and firm.  Use a metal spoon to fold in the vinegar and rosewater.
3. Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin and make the top smooth.  Bake for exactly 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Don’t worry if the meringue looks a bit rustic when you take it out of the oven.    
4. Put the mascarpone, cream and icing sugar in a large bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.
5. To assemble, cut the meringue in half so there are two 20 x 15 cm pieces.  Put one piece on a serving plate and top with half the mascarpone mixture, half the grapefruit segments and half the Turkish delight. Top with the remaining meringue, then the remaining mascarpone mixture, grapefruit and Turkish delight.  Scatter over the pistachios and rose petals.