INGREDIENTS
500g chicken thighs
200g rice
400g canned peeled tomatoes
200 ml of coconut milk
1 sweet bell pepper
½ red chili pepper
2 garlic cloves (peel)
1 bulb (peel)
30 g fresh ginger (peel)
4 curry leaves
½ lime juice
1/3 bunch of coriander
50 g cashews

For curry paste:
1 tbsp. zira
1 tbsp. coriander
1 tbsp. turmeric
1 tsp dried chili pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. fish sauce

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1.
Cook the rice. Pour it into a small pot, pour cold water in a 1:2 ratio and season with salt. Then put it on the heat and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, put the lid on and cook rice until tender. Leave the rice on the stove without stirring throughout cooking. Put aside the cooked rice.

STEP 2.
Prepare the curry paste. If the spices are grains, place them in a pan and lightly dry over a high heat. Pour into a mortar and grind. In a bowl add cilantro, coriander, chili pepper, turmeric, salt, sugar, oil, fish sauce and stir to the consistency of a paste. Set aside.

STEP 3.
Peel chicken thigh: remove bone, sinews, fat and skin. Cut into small pieces about 4 cm. Finely chop chili, onion, garlic and ginger. Cut bell peppers into 2-3 cm cubes. Finely chop cashews. Chop cilantro finely and divide into 2 parts. Set the other half aside.

STEP 4
In a deep frying pan, place on low heat, pour oil, add garlic, chili and ginger. Saute for a minute or so so that the garlic does not change color. Add onion and fry until translucent. Increase heat to medium, add chicken, stir-fry on all sides until soft. Add the bell peppers, salt and curry paste, stir and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, stir together, stir in curry leaves and stew for 2-3 minutes. Add coconut milk, stir in the curry, reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes until the curry thickens slightly. At the end, add the lime juice and the first part of the cilantro, stir and remove from the heat. Place rice and curry on a plate, garnish with cashews and the other half of the cilantro.

My tips and tricks:
Curry can be “dry” or “wet.” “Dry” curry contains less liquid; it is allowed to evaporate during the cooking process. The less liquid, the spicier the curry. If you want to soften the spiciness, add more coconut milk. If you like your curry to have a lot of sauce to cover the rice, make it “moist” and steam it for just a few minutes.

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INGREDIENTS
200g chickpeas
1 onion (peel)
100 ml of tahini paste
2-3 cloves garlic (peel)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ lemon
½ tsp. zira
salt

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1
Add the chickpeas to a pot, pour cold water over them, so there is twice as much water as chickpeas. Leave to swell overnight.

STEP 2
In a pot with chickpeas add an onion, add water and place on medium heat. Cook the chickpeas until tender, about 1 hour. The ready chickpeas should knead easily when pressed. Remove the pot from the heat and let the chickpeas cool in the water.

STEP 3
Remove the chickpeas from the pot. Strain the chickpeas. Do not pour out the liquid in which the chickpeas were boiled, set aside. Add the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, 1 tbsp. chickpea water and garlic to the bowl of a blender. Blitz all the ingredients. Select 4 tbsp of chickpeas to serve and set aside. Add the rest of the chickpeas and beat the mixture until smooth. If hummus is too thick, add water from chickpeas a little at a time to bring to desired consistency. Add the cumin and salt and mix well. Put the hummus out of the blender and into a bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film so that the film touches the hummus: that way no “crust” will form on the hummus. Put the hummus in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

My tips and tricks:
No proper hummus thickness is a matter of taste. You can make hummus thicker or fatter by maneuvering the water from the chickpeas, which you and I don’t pour out after cooking. How you serve hummus also depends on your personal preference. Leave some whole cooked chickpeas for decoration, lightly drizzle olive oil over the hummus, and sprinkle with smoked paprika, sumac, or za’atar. To make the chickpeas cook faster, you can do as my friend Nastya did: before boiling the soaked chickpeas, pour them into a pan, add ½ tsp of baking soda and lightly fry on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, and then add water and cook. This way you will automatically clean the chickpeas from the skins, and they will boil twice as fast, but they will become a little darker.

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INGREDIENTS
80g couscous
1 cucumber
100 g tomatoes
½ chili pepper
½ lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch of coriander
1 bunch of mint
1 tsp. zira
salt

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1.
Pour couscous in a bowl, add salt, stir and pour boiling water over it (boiling water should cover grits by half a centimeter). Cover with cling film or lid and leave for 5 minutes.

STEP 2
Wash the greens, dry well with paper towels. Finely chop the cilantro along with the top of the stem. If the parsley is not young, separate the leaves from the stems and finely chop. Mint leaves also separate from the stems and finely chop. Transfer the herbs to a bowl. Cut the tomatoes and cucumbers into small cubes. Add to the bowl with the greens. Finely chop chili peppers and add to vegetables and greens. Toast the zirah in a dry pan. Pour into a mortar and pulverize.

STEP 3
Stir the cooked couscous together well. Mix couscous, vegetables and herbs in a bowl. Season with lemon juice and olive oil. Stir in the cumin and salt. Leave the tabbouleh to marinate for about 10-15 minutes, then serve.

My tips and tricks:
The main ingredients in tabbouleh are a variety of greens and couscous, or grits. Don’t be surprised, you’ll see in the recipe that cilantro should be cut along with the stem: the cilantro stems contain even more flavor than the leaves. You can experiment with the vegetables in the salad, and it’s better to add seasonal vegetables. It can even be radishes or celery stalks, for example. I like to put whole pomegranate seeds in the tabbouleh. If you don’t have couscous, you can just replace it with bulgur, quinoa or cooked millet. Most importantly, always dress the salad with lemon juice and the best olive oil you have in your kitchen.

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INGREDIENTS
5 eggs
250 g spinach
250 g frozen peas
2 shallots (chop finely)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
salt

COOKING METHOD
STEP 1.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Pour 2tbsp of olive oil into a pan and fry the onion and garlic until the onion is soft. Add spinach and peas. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until spinach and peas are cooked through.

STEP 2.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, add hot pea and spinach mixture. Mix well and add salt and pepper. Wipe the skillet dry, put it on the fire and add 2 tbsp of olive oil. When the pan is hot, pour in the egg mixture. When the mixture begins to set around the edges, reduce the heat to low. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes until the edges and bottom are browned and the middle is a little runny.

STEP 3.
Place the skillet with the tortilla ready on the bottom in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes until the top is completely browned. Cover the tortilla pan with a plate or kitchen board and flip gently. Serve tortilla hot.

My tips and tricks:
The most surprising thing about a tortilla is that, unlike many egg dishes, you don’t have to eat it right away. It will still be delicious the next day if you reheat it. If you really like cheese, you can sprinkle it lightly with your favorite cheese or just add grated cheese to the egg mixture before you put it in the oven – “you can’t spoil your porridge with butter”.

If you don’t have a pan that you can put in the oven, you can cook the tortilla on the stove. When it’s ready on one side, cover the tortilla with a kitchen board and gently flip it over. Slowly slide the tortilla off the board, return it to the skillet and cook for another 3-4 minutes over medium heat.

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INGREDIENTS
500 gr spaghetti
50 g butter
2 garlic cloves (peel)
1 lemon
200 ml of cream
50g parmesan cheese (grate)
1 sprig of basil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

COOKING METHOD
STEP 1
Peel the zest off the lemon. Divide the lemon into slices, peeling and removing the white membranes. Finely chop the lemon slices. Finely chop the garlic. Set aside.

STEP 2
Boil the pasta. For every 100g of pasta you need 1 liter of water and 10g of salt. Bring a pan of water to a high heat, add salt and bring to a rapid boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving some of the water from the pasta in a separate container.

STEP 3
In a small bowl, mix together the cream, zest and lemon pulp. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes until golden. Add the cream to the pan and stir to combine. Grate Parmesan into the cream mixture, add salt and pepper and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the spaghetti and 3-4 tbsp of the pasta water. Stir well, return to a low heat and, stirring constantly, cook for another 2 minutes. Serve the pasta at once, sprinkling it with parmesan and garnishing with basil.

My tips and tricks:
We need lemon pulp for the recipe. But how do we get it? You know, just like that? If you have a sharp knife around the house, the rest is no problem. Cut the top and bottom of the lemon down to the pulp, so that you can put it on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, remove the rind along with the membranes, cutting a narrow strip of rind from top to bottom each time. Then carefully cut out each slice with a knife, without grabbing the film that separates them. This will be much quicker than splitting the lemon into slices and peeling each one separately.

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