Tunisian kesra bread

I believe that everyone should be able to make homemade bread. Not necessarily difficult artisan bakery style bread; just a simple recipe will do. Baking bread, in my opinion, is an essential life skill or at least something that can come in very handy.

Today I'm sharing my kesra recipe. Kesra is a Tunisian bread that's made on the hob and very delicious. It's also known by other names in some countries, such as tachnift or batbout in Morocco. 

I learned how to make it many years ago from my mother in law and my sister in law, and tweaked it a little bit to suit our taste, but other than that it's the same as theirs. And my mother in law, on her turn, also learned it from her mother- so I'm proudly sharing a real family recipe here! 

For 6 medium sized round breads, you'll need: 

9 cups of fine semolina flour 

2 heaped spoons of instant yeast 

2 teaspoons of salt, or more depending on your quality of salt 

5 cups of warm water (could be more depending on the quality of the flour) 

Oil to grease your bowl 

Some seeds, such as sesame or nigella seeds (optional) 

Start by mixing the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Add the water until you're able to make a dough that isn't sticky. 

Knead for 10 minutes. Ideally more, but I've found 10 minutes of kneading to be sufficient. 

It should look like this: 

Then devide it into 6 equal pieces. I don't have a dough scraper or other special equipment, so I just use a good old knife. 

Then I formed nice round balls from the dough, rubbed it with a bit of oil and devided it in two bowls: 

I covered both bowls with big round trays, as I try to avoid disposable plastic as much as possible, but you could also use plastic wrap. Or don't grease it and cover with a clean dish towel. Now let it sit and rise until it's at least doubled in size. The bigger the better, so don't do this when you're in a rush! Since my kitchen is very warm during the summer, it didn't take long. 

It's good when it looks like this: 

(Now compare it to the picture with the two small balls of dough in it...) 

Get the dough out, punch the air out and make two balls again. Now heat your pan on the hob. I have two cast iron pans that are purposely used for baking breads, but you can use a "regular" cast iron pan or just a regular frying pan. Just whatever you have will probably work, although I would recommend cast iron (some people here even bake their kesra in clay pans, especially in the villages)

Make sure there's enough room on your counter and that it's clean. 

I always thoroughly clean my counter after making dough 🙂

If your pan is ready (it shouldn't be really really hot!), you can start to form your bread. Just gently push it down in a rotating way so you end up with a nice round bread. Prick a few times in the dough with a fork.

Now you can transfer it into the pan. I usually fold my bread and then when it's the pan immediately turn back the piece of dough that was folded over, to make picking up the dough a bit easier. 

When it's starting to bubble, it's probably time to turn around the bread. I used a spatula for this.

Then bake the other side as well. 

Then, and this is optional, when the other side has browned enough, it's time to bake the sides. Some people prefer the sides to be more on the dough side but we like them a bit more cooked. 

It's a bit of a blurry picture lol. This was the best picture I could take with using just one hand. Just turn the bread little by little until the whole side has a nice golden brown colour too. 

Now bake all your breads like this. I use two pans at the same time so it's a bit faster, but one pan definitely works fine too. Pile them up on a tray/plate with some towels (I use old t-shirts) and try to let them cool off completely...which is probably the most difficult part! 

Very easy pancakes recipe

I like pancakes for breakfast, all kinds. American style pancakes, poffertjes (tiny Dutch style pancakes), baghrir (north African style pancakes also known as a thousand hole pancakes), crêpes, etc. It's just that some are so nice, I tend to overeat them. I want to be able to portion and freeze pancakes to avoid over indulgence. Unfortunately, not all pancakes are freezable, especially crêpes. It's also nice to have a go to breakfast waiting to be thawed in case there isn't anything else to eat. So I prefer freezable pancakes. 

Also, since I'm trying to lose weight, I'm always looking to decrease my calories without making too much sacrifices (if that makes sense, lol). Typically pancakes contain milk, eggs and fat - in addition to be cooked in yet more fat. Substituting white flour for whole wheat (and/or oat flour) is something I've been doing for a long time already, but I was looking for a solution for the eggs and milk. Don't get me wrong, I'll still consume eggs and milk, but I just prefer them as is, not as an ingredient just adding more calories. So after some googling and trial and error myself, I came up with partially whole wheat pancakes that don't contain any milk or eggs- and STILL taste amazing. 

For a large batch (around 16-19 pancakes), you'll need: 

2 cups of whole wheat flour 

2 cups of fine semolina (can be substituted for white or whole wheat flour)

1.5 tablespoons of instant yeast 

Half a teaspoons of salt, or a bit less or more to taste 

A tablespoon of vanilla sugar/vanilla flavour/extract (I don't use extract because of the alcohol it contains, but apparently alcohol free extract does exist) 

As much warm water as needed to create a pancake batter- I used around 5 cups 

Oil or butter to cook your pancakes in 

Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well using a whisk. Then add the water, not adding all the water at once to avoid a batter that's on the runny side. If you find it too thick just add a bit more gradually and mix well using the whisk. Mix until there are no more lumps visible and it's a smooth batter. Then cover your bowl, I use a bowl with a lid to avoid using unnecessary disposable plastic. 

Let it sit for around 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on your room temperature. If you've got enough time it should even be possible to let it rise in the fridge. 

If the batter has doubled in volume and is bubbly it's done and ready to bake. Heat up your skillet, and use about one ladle or a bit less (depending on your preferred size of pancakes) of batter per pancake. Cook them as you would regular pancakes and let them cool. 

These pancakes might seem a bit flavourless, but trust me, they're so yummy! The semolina gives them that rich flavour and so does the yeast. There's absolutely no need for eggs or another ingredient for binding, which makes these pancakes not only easy, eggs allergy-friendly, vegan and lower in calories, but also WAY more affordable in this economy 😉 

Some notes: 

I made this the night before breakfast and kept the ones I was planning to eat in a container, the others went into the freezer right after cooling down.  

Keep in mind- both semolina and whole wheat flour absorb more water than white flour does, so keep in mind you'll need more liquid than when making regular pancakes. You can make this batter with whichever flour you like, making it 100% whole wheat or 100% white. 

Lots of tomatoes! + recipes

It's all about tomatoes lately at our house! Theyre in season now, and very cheap. We bought a lot at the souk, and then we were gifted even more by our neighbour, whose aunt lives on a farm and apparently had a very good harvest this year. So I've been making lots of tomato/marinara sauce. I'm also planning to make slata mechouia, which is a Tunisian condiment quite similar to salsa. 

I've used the tomato sauce as is in a pasta dish, and also made a scrumptious tomato soup. My husband and children aren't the biggest fans of soup (tell me you're north African without telling youre north African 😆), but they all gobbledit up, it was that good! Best thing is, the soup was beyond easy to make - that is, if you don't include making the huge pot of sauce. There was still a lot of sauce left, so I used that sauce to can. It's a bit work, but it's so convenient to have some jars of canned food at home. I love that it doesn't take up precious freezer space - while we do have a relatively freezer, there seems to be never enough space somehow. So if I can save space by canning instead of freezing, I'm happy to do so. 

I want to share the recipes, but as always, just take the amounts as a guide- just add less or more seasoning, oil, onions etc. 

For the sauce, I used about 2/3 bucket full of tomatoes, diced into pieces. This was all chopped before starting. Then I chopped 4 large onions. I sautéed the onions in a generous amount of olive oil, then added two heaped teaspoons of garlic paste and the seasonings: black pepper, paprika, parsley, basil, oregano, sage, and rosemary. I also added salt. Then I added about half of the chopped tomatoes, stirred well so the tomatoes would be mixed with the seasonings, and then added the remaining tomatoes, and stirred again. I then added some bay leaves. Then just let it simmer until enough water has evaporated (this depends on your personal preference, some people prefer thick sauce whereas others prefer the sauce to be runnier). Towards the end, I blended it shortly (on the lowest setting, my immersion blender has 5 settings), then let it cook a bit more. Keep an eye on it and stirr regularly! I made two of these pots of sauce. Perhaps I will even make more if we find/get more cheap or free tomatoes. As I mentioned, you can use whatever seasonings you like, even keeping it as basic as possible with just salt and pepper, so it's more versatile without a distinct flavour profile. 

As for the soup, I used about 2 cups of sauce, diluted with water and blended (in a regular blender which you use for making smoothies) until very smooth. I then made a simple white sauce, and added the tomato "juice" to that. The remaining sauce in the blender was diluted with more water - to make cleaning up more easy. I poured this in a small saucepan, added two vegetable bullion cubes (could have use real brothbut I guess I was lazy!) and about 2/3 cup of vermicelli. I let this boil until soft and then added it to the soup. Easy but delicious! I served the soup with homemade dinner rolls and egg salad. These kind of meals are among our favourite; simple yet delicious. 

Easy and delicious pasta recipe

The other day I made a scrumptious pasta dish with boneless lamb and vegetables. It was quite an easy "recipe" (I find it hard to call a bunch ingredients thrown together a recipe though), but it was delicious! Since we had a lot of tomatoes that I wanted to use, I thought pasta would hit the spot. 

Lamb meat, cut into small pieces, about one kg 

Around 8 large tomatoes and 3 large onions

Some carrots and bell peppers, depending on how vegetable-y you want the meal. You can use other veges but this is what I had on hand and what I thought would suit this meal best

Seasonings used: sage, parsley, basil, oregano (all dried), black pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt, olive oil 

2 heaped spoons of tomato paste 

About half a cup of water 

Chop the onions in whatever size you wish, I diced them. Then saute and in the meantime chop your tomatoes. Now add the seasonings to your onions, saute for some minute or so and then add the meat, keep sauteeing for a few minutes. Now add the tomato past tomatoes and water, stirr well, then let it simmer on a low flame. Now peel and dice your carrots and slice the bell peppers. Stirr every so often. When the sauce is simmering for about half an hour, add the carrots. Then after half an hour or so, add the bell peppers. My sauce simmered for almost an hour and a half. It depends on how young the lamb is, so it might need more or less cooking time. By the end my sauce had the perfect consistency, not too thick but not runny either. If you like olive oil as much ad I do, you can add some more olive oil a few minutes before turning off the heat. 

Now cook your pasta - I used fussili/rotini. I used 1.5 package (750 grams) because I was cooking for our neighbours too. It was exactly the right amount, with some leftover sauce, so I could have used one kg exactly to use up all that sauce (but that didn't fit in the pan I was using... 😆🫣) When the pasta is done, drain and mix with the sauce and serve. 

I have no idea what this is called because it's really some ingredients that I had on hand and that I threw together. But apparently it comes close to what some people would call goulash. My husband liked it that much that he was happy to have some leftover sauce and he's already planning how to have the leftovers, and my children asked if I could make this again! I love it when I try something new and everyone loved the dish. 

Makarouna bel salsa - Tunisian pasta recipe

Tunisians LOVE pasta. It's their main staple food (along with bread), even more so than couscous. According to the statistics, Tunisia is the second largest pasta consuming country in the world, right after Italy. It's the Sicilians that originally brought pasta here and people have been eating it in large amounts ever since.

It's interesting that people don't associate pasta with north African cuisine when it's consumed that much (Libyans also love their pasta). Perhaps that's the interesting thing about north African cuisine anyway- it's not always what you'd expect, being an interesting mix of indigenous (Amazigh), Turkish/middle eastern, Italian and, due to the colonization, French foods. The pasta that people usually eat here does have a different flavour profile when compared to its Italian counterpart. It really does have that typical "north African taste" (a bit of a vague explanation, I really don't know how else to put it!). There are various pasta dishes that people eat here, but makarouna bel salsa ("pasta with sauce", translated) is the one that's eaten most.

What I also like about the pasta here is that 1) it's of good quality- legally, only 100% semolina based pasta is allowed to be sold, unless it's wholegrain pasta so no plain white flour pasta can be found here. And 2), it's about the cheapest food imaginable, being heavily subsidized to make it affordable for everyone (just to compare, rice is six times as expensive as pasta here). And since pasta is so versatile, you don't get bored quickly. It's for sure a staple in our house.

To make this typical Tunisian pasta dish, you'll need: 

Meat or fish of your choice (I mainly use chicken), tomato paste, Tunisian spice mixture, turmeric, salt, harissa or any other hot pepper condiment or even ground hot peppers, an onion (or just an onion peel), garlic, oil, some bay leaves, a few potatoes and hot peppers (optional). 

First off, mix the tomato paste with the seasonings, salt, and water. I use about 400 grams of tomato paste and 3-4 cups of water (you may want to add more water if using red meat). Then add some oil - this dish is usually a bit heavy on oil, as it really  enhances the flavours. I try to be a bit careful but still use some oil, usually a mixture of olive oil and a more neutral tasting oil. Also add the meat and some onion - the onion is for extra flavour so you don't have to add a lot. This is why I mentioned using a peel, since that is usually discarded, but works really good in recipes like these. Let it heat up until it reaches a boiling point and let simmer until the meat is tender. Some people also add in potatoes and green peppers. This seems like an odd combination but it's really delicious! My MIL also added chickpeas to her pasta. It's just a matter of preference. When the sauce isn't thick enough (it shouldn't be as thick as regular pasta sauce but not very runny either), you can let it simmer a bit more. Then boil the pasta of your choice, drain and add the hot sauce to your pasta, letting it sit for a few minutes covered with a lid. This way the pasta absorbes the sauce. Most people here prefer using spaghetti or ditali shapes, but you can use any pasta shape of your choice. When using spaghetti, keep in mind that it's OK for the sauce to be a bit runnier. 

Since there are no vegetables cooked in the sauce, you can add a salad or any other vegetable based side - some people, however, don't (and yes, they're still alive 🤭). I usually serve this with a simple tomato/cucumber/onion salad during the summer. I also like a yogurt based cucumber salad with this dish. And if you want to serve it even more traditional, make sure there's also some crunchy baguette to scoop up the pasta! Yes, carbs with carbs with carbs.

Sa7a! 

Tunisian pasta is usually made with ditalini shape pasta 

 

Easy hummus recipe

Making hummus from scratch is beyond easy. It's a staple at our house and is ready in a few minutes! The hardest thing I always find is to wash up the food processor. 

All you need is chickpeas, aquafaba (chickpea brine), lemon juice, olive oil, tahini (sesame paste), and some salt/seasoning. I don't usually use measurements but I fill up the smaller bowl of the food processor untill it's almost full. I'd guess it's about three cups of chickpeas, and make sure they're a bit warm as this will ease the blending process. Then I use about a cup of aquafaba, also lukewarm, it can be a bit less if you like your hummus firmer (we like it a bit more on the runny side, as we scoop it out with bread), a generous drizzle of olive oil, half a cup of tahini*, some ground black pepper, ground cumin, and salt. Finally squeeze out half a lemon on top of all this. Just blend until it's smooth and that's it! Serve on a plate with additional olive oil, sprinkle some extra (unblended) chickpeas on top and devour! We serve this with homemade flatbread. It's such an easy, delicious meal. 

*Tahini is hard to find where we live, so I make my own mock "tahini" in the blender with olive oil and sesame seeds. This is a bit more runny than real tahini, but since I mainly use it for these kind of recipes it doesn't really matter. I've heard that others even substitute the tahini for peanut butter, and I don't see why that wouldn't work! In fact, I usually make hummus after I've made peanut butter- the food processor it quite a hassle to wash up so this way I'll "use twice, wash once". 

Other substitutes: since we've got our own lemon tree, we kind of refuse to buy lemons. So when they're off season we rather find a lemon substitute than to buy off season lemons for a high price. The best lemon substitute I have yet found is whey. I personally wouldn't recommend vinegar. 

This probably is not the most authentic recipe out there. We're not middle eastern, so that probably plays a role too, but I hope this comes at least a bit close to real authentic hummus. 

Easy no knead cinnamon roll recipe

 

I started baking my own bread years ago when we first got married. I just love baking bread and it's something I enjoy so much. To me it's very relaxing. I think baking bread is one of the essentials in living a more simple and frugal life. 

And I don't know about you, but I love cinnamon rolls. I, however, always found it such a hassle to start very early so we could enjoy this at breakfast time. I tried a fridge rise several times, so I could prep the rolls the night before. While it was worth trying, it wasn't our preference, as it changed the taste a bit. 

So, that was my struggle with cinnamon rolls 🙃 That is, until I discovered the 'miracle bread' recipe by Gina from Home Joys! (http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2011/01/miracle-bread.html?m=1) the original recipe is for a regular loaf, I really wanted to try if this works for cinnamon rolls. And it really does! We now actually prefer these rolls over the kneaded and more richer rolls I used to make. Literally everyone who tasted these rolls have asked a recipe. 

This dough still has to rise, so it isn't necessarily a very very quick bread recipe (although I do have a quick bread cinnamon rolls recipe-- please check my blog as I'll try to post that recipe soon!). But, you'll save a bit time as you skip the kneading part (maybe it's just inside my head as for the time consuming part! But I've found that with this recipe, our family enjoys a warm cinnamon roll more often than before I discovered this recipe). 

Anyway, this is how I make them. 

For the dough:

6 cups of white flour (750 grams) 

1,5 cups of water (375 milliliter) 

2 tablespoons dry yeast 

2 tablespoons of sugar 

2 tablespoons of salt 

3 tablespoons of oil 

For the cinnamon filling: 

2 tablespoons of cinnamon 

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup of sugar (100 to 132 grams)

2/3 cup of butter or margarine 

For the icing: 

Powdered sugar and water

Warm the water until very warm, not hot. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add the oil and water. If dough is too sticky add some more flour; if dough is too dry add some water. Mix the dough until it's an uniform dough but don't knead it. Grease a bowl with some oil, cover and let it rest 30 to 90 minutes (depending on the house's inside temperature). Meanwhile prepare the cinnamon filling by mixing the sugar and cinnamon. Then in a bigger bowl, cream the butter and slowly add the sugar mixture, one tablespoon at a time to make mixing easier. 

Once the filling is ready and the dough has risen, take it out, press the air out and put it on a slightly oiled surface. Take your rolling pin and roll the dough out in the desired measure. (I'm sorry, I'm very bad at measurements, especially in inches!). Devide the cinnamon filling over the dough, make sure that the edges aren't covered by the cinnamon filling. 

Now carefully roll the dough and cut the dough in 12-13 even pieces. Grease a baking pan (you can either use a round or square pan) and put the rolls in the pan. Cover the rolls and preheat your oven at 200° C/329°F. Once the rolls have doubled in size put them in the oven and bake for half an hour. 

We prefer the rolls without icing, but if you'd like you can easily make an icing using powdered sugar and a few drops of water. 

Enjoy!