Spicy Tomato Soup with Vermacelli

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic doves, crushed
1 carrot, diced
6 tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, halved, seeded, and diced
1/2 Scotch bonnet red chili, seeded and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 rosemary sprig
3 cups vegetable stock
2 oz vermicelli
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes until the carrot starts to soften. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, and chile and cook for a few minutes. Add the bay leaf and rosemary, pour in the stock, increase the heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Remove the bay leaf and rosemary sprig and ladle the soup into a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth, then pour the soup back into the pan and bring back to a boil. Add the vermicelli, breaking it up as you work, and cook for 10 minutes. Season with a pinch of sugar and salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Hummus

Ingredients

28 oz canned chickpeas
3 garlic cloves, peeled
4 tablespoons tahini
juice of 2 lemons
2 teaspoons sea salt
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions

Drain the chickpeas, reserving 1/4 cup of the can juices, and rinse. Put the chickpeas into a food processor add the garlic cloves and tahini, and process for a few minutes. Add the reserved can juices, followed by half the lemon juice and the sea salt, and process until smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice, if you like. Scrape the hummus into a dish, drizzle generously with olive oil, sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts, and serve.

Semolina and Almond Cake

Ingredients

tahini, for brushing
1/2 cup (2 oz) blanched almonds
2 cups (350 g) semolina
1/2 cup superfine (caster) or granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
7 tablespoons butter, melted

For the syrup

2/3 cup (4 oz/120 g) superfine (caster) or granulated sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lemon leaf
1 teaspoon rose water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush an 8 inch loose-bottom round cake pan with tahini and arrange the almonds in concentric circles on the bottom of the pan. Put the semolina, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda into the bowl of an electric mixer and stir to combine. Add the milk, melted butter, and 1/2 cup water and beat until a creamy batter forms.

Carefully pour the batter into the prepared cake pan without disturbing the almonds. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick or cocktail stick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Meanwhile, make the syrup. Put the sugar, lemon juice and leaf, and rose water into a saucepan, pour in 1/2 cup water, and stir over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Increase the heat, bring to a boil, and boil, without stirring, until syrupy. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Remove the cake from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack with a tray underneath. Make holes all over the top of the cake with a skewer and pour over the syrup. Spoon up any syrup in the tray and pour it back over the cake. Serve warm or cold.