Updated 30 December while prepping for New Year’s Eve 2024: This time, I am using split red lentils which I had overcooked (very easy to do). I actually think it works better since you do not have the skins of the chickpeas to contend with.

Updated 16 January with this tip: For hummus, the best result is obtained when the “skin” is removed from the chickpeas. This is quite bothersome and time consuming and have hardly ever done that now. However, I have discovered that you can now buy dried chickpeas with the skins removed in bio supermarkets, at least in Berlin, of the brand Vivaterra. Also, to make sure that the chickpeas get nice and mushy fo the purpose, add a heaped teaspoon baking soda (natron) to the water in which you soak the chickpeas for 8-10 hours. Rinse before boiling in new water.

400 g cooked chickpeas (if you must use tinned, then rinse thoroughly)

Salt

3-4 cloves garlic

3-5 tblsp (up to 150 g) tahini

2 tblsp olive oil

Juice of 1,5 lemon

1,5 tsp roasted cumin seeds

If you are not using skinless chickpeas as mentioned in italics above, try to rinse and remove as many skins as possible. Then process all ingredients, tasting along the way, and add more of everything as needed.

Obvously, the creamier you want your hummus, the longer you have to process – up to ten minutes, which means the processor can run warm, and thus warm up the hummus. To counter that, instead of adding the cold water all at once, add an ice cube at intervals.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours to settle.

These are easy and quick to make, and also a healthy grab-and-go lunch if you are going to be out and about and with no even remotely healthy food within reach but only those train-station-sandwiches made with refined wheat and filled with highly processed meat/cheese/whatever, not to mention E-numbers, that are being peddled wherever you look when on the move in and around Berlin.

The quantities below can of course be doubled or trippled and the pancakes then frozen.

Mix 150 g chickpea flour with approx. 4 dl oat milk (or any other plant milk or animal milk, or even water). Start with less and add until you have the desired texture which depends how thin or thick you want your pancakes. Let rest while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Then add 1 tblsp baking soda (natron), 2 tblsp psyllium husk, and 1 tsp salt, and mix well.

Then add whatever you want as a filling. If you want sweet pancakes, add for example any kind of berry, and some maple syrup.

In this case, I added half a pack of broccoli, from the freezer, chopped; a red onion, finely chopped; two garlic cloves, finely chopped; half a tsp turmeric; a tsp moringa powder; a tsp dried methi leaves; a tsp ajwain seeds, a healthy dose of black pepper, and a pinch of chili flakes, and a tblsp nutritional yeast.

Other ingredients can be chopped red bell pepper, aged black garlic, curry leaves, nori strips, fresh herbs, shredded beetroot, chopped olives, crumpled feta cheese, a tsp amla powder, ……

Then bake as you would any other pancake.

If you do not need to eat them right away or within a day or two, freeze them in order to be able to grab them and put them in your rucksack for a lunchbreak when out walking.

First published 9 December 2012

Contains a minimum of white flour and no refined white sugar (except the icing sugar which is optional).

Here is my customised take on panforte (which is usually based on dried figs and too much flour):

Note: instead of all the chopping and grating, I blitz everything briefly, in batches, in a small food processor, but making sure the nuts remain just that – chopped – and not pulverised.

Mix

400 g mixed nuts, can be hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, pistacios, and even some pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds, lightly dry-roasted (optional) and coarsely chopped

with

400 g mixed dried  fruit, can be dates, apricots – figs if you insist but I prefer dates and dried apricots with a little bit of candied orange peel and some ginger in some form or other (stem ginger in a syrup, or candied, optional but to me, ginger in this recipe is essential). I would imagine dried cherries would also work

and

3 tblsp cocoa powder

1,5 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp roasted, ground cloves

1 tsp roasted ground coriander seeds

Ground seeds from ten cardamom pods

1 tsp ground black pepper

Heat 400 g of a mixture of honey, brown sugar and syrup – maple, or ginger syrup – must not boil – and add 150 g dark chocolate and two tblsp butter or oil (I am an olive oil freak so that is what I always use).

Pour over the fruit/nuts/spice mixture, mix well (most easily done with your hands but be aware of the heat). Press the mixture into a well-greased oven-proof plate or a round baking tin with baking paper covering the bottom. You may have to use a bit of brute force as the mixture settles. Make sure there are no air pockets at the bottom, sides or corners. Make the surface as smooth as possible.

This portion fits into a baking plate measuring 25×25 cm and will then be a couple of cm tall.

Bake at 150 degrees C in 35-50 minutes depending on the thickness of the layer. The cake should still feel slightly soft and wobbly in the middle, since it does not set completely until it cools off.

Dust with icing sugar. Keep well wrapped in clling-film in the fridge and it will keep for weeks.

First published here 1 December 2012.

For 8-10 persons:

• 2 bottles of redwine
• 1 bottle of port
• ¼ bottle brandy or rum
• 250 g dried currants (normally raisins but I prefer (Danish): korender, (German): Korinthen (MUST be organic, otherwise they are waxed and the wax melts when heated and it is disgusting)
• 1 vanilla pod
• 2 cinnamon sticks (Sri Lanka or Ceylon – NOT Kassia)
• 10 cloves
• 8 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
• If you like your glögg extra spicy, add 10 black peppercorns
• If you like a slight licorice note, add 4 star anise as well
• 1 knob of fresh ginger,  sliced
• The peel of 1 lemon
• The peel of two oranges
• 150 g chopped almonds
• Sugar to taste, but remember that the port and the raisins/currants are sweet

Please note that at least all fruit must be organic. Otherwise it is treated with some kind of wax (among many other toxins) which really does not work when heated, or at all.

Mix the brandy/rum with the raisins/currants and leave for at least 24 hours.

Mix some of the port with vanilla, peels and spices, bring to just under boiling point, remove from heat and leave to infuse for at least 24 hours. Will keep longer in a well-sealed container in the fridge. For convenience, place the peels and spices (which need to be discarded before serving) in a gauze bag or a tea filter bag, or just pour it through a fine-meshed sieve before heating and serving.

To serve:

Heat all ingredients gently in a heavy-bottomed pot, making sure it does not boil. Serve piping hot in mugs or glasses, with a spoon for the raisins and almonds.

 

For two people, or for one, preserving half the portion for the next day, to reheat, perhaps panfried into a small, thick pancake, the day after, topped with the rest of the compote, cold or reheated.

For the porridge:

3 dl coconut drink (the kind that comes in 1 l cartons, which you would use instead of milk, for example in your coffee – not the thick stuff that comes in tins)

125 g millet (could also be oats, amaranth, or quinoa, or a mixture). Here I have used a mixture of amaranth, millet and oats

1 tsp vanilla paste

1 small tsp cinnamon powder

1 heaped tsp cocoa powder (optional)

A tiny pinch of salt

For the compote:

200 g fruit and/or berries, fresh or frozen, here a mixure of blueberries and blackberries

Sugar, e.g. coconut flower sugar, to taste

To be stirred into the porridge just before serving:

2 tblsp desiccated coconut or coconut flakes

Heat up coconut drink, millet/all grains, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt (and cocoa powder if using), and let simmer, stirring frequently, for 15 to 20 minutes.

Gently heat the fruit/berries and sugar to a compote.

Stir the desiccated or flaked coconut into the millet and serve topped by the compote.

I also like to top with a dollop of goat yoghurt, but that’s perhaps just me.

• 600 g cooked chickpeas, with some of the cooking liquid preserved
• 1 tin tomatoes
• 125 g dates (after stones removed), chopped
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 3 red onions, peeled and sliced
• 1 whole head of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tblsp ginger, finely grated
• 2 tblsp tomato concentrate
• 1 bunch coriander, separated into stalks and leaves
• 1 tblsp cumin, roasted and ground
• 1 tblsp coriander, roasted and ground
• 1 heaped tsp ground turmeric
• Chili in whichever way, shape or form you have available.
• 1 cinnamon stick
• grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, organic or at least unwaxed
• 5ü g flaked almonds, toasted

Heat the oil and sauté onions, garlic, and ginger.

Add ground coriander and cumin. Sauté.

Add tomato concentrate. Sauté.

Add chickpeas, tomatoes, dates, coriander stalks, spices and lemon zest and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for about half an hour or more, adding water if the sauce becomes too thick.

Add lemon juice and almonds, stir, check for seasoning, and garnish with coriander leaves to serve.

Sautée the sliced onion in the oil or ghee.

Add the garlic, mustard seeds and cumin seeds, and sauté till the seeds start to pop.

Add the chili and the spinach, stirring to mix well.

Mix dal and spinach and add tamarind paste, cooking for another couple of minutes.

Optional: drizzle with melted ghee and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

300 g split dal, one kind or a mixture, washed and drained

2 tblsp oil or ghee

2 red onions, chopped

1 large knob of fresh ginger, chopped

1 whole head of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 heaped tsp turmeric

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground

1 heaped tsp coriander seeds, roasted and ground

1 tin tomato

1 tin coconut milk

2 large bayleaves

2 green chilies, halved lengthwise and sliced

2 tsp garam masala

1 tblsp tamarind paste

1 packet green beans from the freezer

Sauté the onions in the oil till they start to soften.

Add ginger and garlic. Stir.

Add spices and sauté a minute or two.

Add the split dal and stir to coat it all with oil and spices.

Add tomato, coconut milk, chilies, garam masala and bay leaves.

Add water if necessary. The liquid should amply cover the dal.

Bring to a simmer and cook till the dal is done, about half an hour.

Add the green beans and cook for another couple of minutes.

Craving Thai flavours but out of Thai curry paste? Fret not. If you have most of the below ingredients, you can improvise.

400 g (I like to have leftovers for the day after) fish fillets – for example cod or heilbutt or both, in bite-sized pieces

2 tblsp oil

2 tblsp tomato paste

3 stalks lemon grass, trimmed and chopped

1 knob galangal, chopped

1 whole head of garlic, peeled, trimmed and chopped

5 medium red onions, peeled and quartered

7 small aubergines – the round ones approx 5 cm diam. (could also have been green beans or sugar snap peas), or a mixture of all three.

10 lime leaves

2 tblsp fish sauce

Chili, in whichever form is available. I used a dollop of this: https://www.hellemoller.eu/2020/10/13/chili-sauce-a-made-with-red-and-orange-chilis-from-the-freezer/

1 tin coconut milk

2 tblsp fish sauce

Sautée tomato paste, lemon grass, galangal and garlic in the oil.

Add red onions and aubergines. Stir and mix well.

Add chili, coconut milk and lime leaves

Bring to a simmer and cook till the aubergines are done, 10-15 minutes.

Season with fish sauce, black pepper, perhaps some lime or lemon juice, and half a tablsp sugar.

Add the fish, largest pieces first, and simmer till the fish is done – this does not take long at all.