Category: Picnic Dishes

Eating outside in the parks and the country side is a popular past time.
Allowing families and friend to gather and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

  • Persian Eggplant Dip – Borani Bademjan

    Persian Eggplant Dip – Borani Bademjan

    Roasted Eggplant is the perfect base for a vegan dip. Mashed with garlic, and the added tang of pomegranate syrup, this version has different twist of various flavours.

    Eggplant or Bademjan is very popular in our house. It can be cooked in many ways, fried, roasted and even boiled. Eggplant used to be very bitter, and I remember the first time we had eggplant as a child it was extremely bitter, it seems that the eggplant we purchase now has the bitterness bred out of it.

    Tips to make Borani Bademjan

    Roasting eggplant is one of the easiest way to cook eggplant, and makes this recipe easy to make. Simply place the whole eggplant on a baking try, and bake for around 1 hour at about 160 deg. You can cook the eggplant in the oven while you are cooking a casserole.

    When cooked, the roasted eggplant will completely collapse. Place it in a bowl to slightly cool before peeling the eggplant. Gently slice through the skin and drizzle with lemon juice. The lemon juice will keep the eggplant from turning brown.

    peeled roasted eggplant

    When mashing the ingredients together, be sure to just gently combine the ingredients. Don’t be tempted to add everything to a food processor, as this will release the liquid and make the borani watery.

    mash roasted eggplant

    After the roasted eggplant has been mashed, stir through the remaining ingredients into the eggplant mixture to ensure that everything is well mixed. Garnish with dried mint, pomegranate syrup and olive oil and serve with Pita Bread.

    roasted eggplant dip

    Garnish with dried mint, pomegranate syrup and olive oil and serve with Pita Bread.

    roasted eggplant dip

    Persian Eggplant Dip – Borani Bademjan

    A delicious version of baba ganoush made with roasted eggplant, tahini, pomegranate molasses and loads of garlic.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour
    Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
    Course Appetizer, Side Dish
    Cuisine Persian
    Servings 10 servings
    Calories 31 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Instructions
     

    • Place whole eggplant on a baking tray and roast for about an hour
    • Remove form the oven and place in a bowl to cool
    • Slice across to eggplant to split open, and drench in lemon juice
    • Gently peel off the skin, and roll in lemon juice
    • In a large bowl, add peeled roasted eggplant,finely chopped onion and garlic, tahini, pomegranate molasses salt and pepper.
    • Gently mash all ingredients with a potato masher, until just combined
    • Stir through the finely chopped mint
    • Serve drizzled with olive oil and pomegranate molasses, sprinkled with chipped mint

    Notes

    This delicious dip is an essential addition to a Persian Mezze.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 31kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 3mgPotassium: 239mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 70IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword eggplant
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  • Zucchini and Beetroot Fritters

    Zucchini and Beetroot Fritters

    Zucchini and Beetroot Fritters make a nutritious light breakfast or an addition to a picnic.

    It must be the season for beetroot with a lovely supply at the markets this week.  This recipe uses beetroot with the wonderfully fresh organic zucchini from the local farmers market. A simple weekend breakfast or a picnic snack. I love to experiment with the color and taste of beetroot, and mixed with the turmeric, these fritters develop a lovely color. Serve with yogurt and cucumber.

    Zucchini and Beetroot Fritters

    Beetroot is a wonderful nutritious vegetable, and adds an interesting color and taste to food. Ingredients
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 15 minutes
    Total Time 39 minutes
    Course Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine Persian
    Servings 24 pieces
    Calories 48 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 1/2 cups plain flour
    • 4 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp turmeric
    • 2 eggs
    • 350 ml milk
    • 1 zucchini grated
    • 1 med beetroot grated
    • 2 shallots

    Instructions
     

    • In an electric mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, eggs, salt and milk.
    • Slowly stir through the grated zucchini and beetroot.
    • Heat an electric frypan.
    • Lay 12 egg rings in the bottom of the electric frying pan.
    • Spray with egg rings and pan with oil spray
    • When the egg rings are hot, spoon mixture to half fill the egg rings
    • Cook for about 10 minutes till bubble form in the top of the fritters
    • Use tongs to remove egg rings, and flip over to finish cooking

    Nutrition

    Calories: 48kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 2gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 182mgPotassium: 78mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 62IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword beetroot
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  • Brown Rice Zucchini Cakes

    Brown Rice Zucchini Cakes

    Try brown rice zucchini cakes as a healthy and nutritious snack for picnics or a light lunch.

    Turmeric adds that Persian touch. I often makes these delicious rice cakes as a lunch box filler for my hungry boys. This recipes uses the absorption method for cooking the rice. This is referred to in Farsi as “ketteh”.

    We also love Brown Rice Salad and I always cook double the brown rice to use the rice in the salad recipe.

    Brown Rice and Zucchini Cakes

    A delicious and nutritious snack for picnics or a light lunch. Serve with a light tomato sauce.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 30 minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour
    Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine Persian
    Servings 6
    Calories 174 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup brown rice uncooked
    • 2 cups vegetable stock
    • 2 zucchini
    • 4 shallots
    • 3 eggs
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp turmeric

    Instructions
     

    • Cook brown rice using the absorption method with vegetable stock
    • Set aside to cool
    • Grate zucchini
    • Finely chop shallots
    • Combine all ingredients and stir through until well combined
    • Heat frying pan and brush with vegetable oil
    • Cook rice cakes in batches until golden brown

    Notes

    The trick with this recipe is to ensure that the rices is well cooked. The rice is cooked using the absorption method “ketteh” where all the starches and nutrition are retained in the rice. Be sure to use enough vegetable stock, and don’t be afraid to add more liquid if required.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 174kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 6gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 741mgPotassium: 350mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 417IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 2mg
    Keyword brown rice, zuchini
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  • Salad Olivieh

    Salad Olivieh

    One of the most well known Persian chicken salad, the salad is very similar to Russian salad. There is many variations of Persian Salad Olivieh. Some versions have shredded chicken or you can have a vegetarian Salad Olivieh with boiled eggs.

    Otherwise known as Persian Potato Salad, you can serve salad olivieh with sliced dill pickle and cooked frozen peas as decoration.

    When making salad olivieh, it is important to have the right balance between the potato, salad cream, chicken and dill pickles. Not enough salad cream or mayonnaise will make this dish heavy, and dry, whereas not enough chicken will make it just like a normal potato salad.

    The cooked chicken must be completely cold before adding to the salad olivieh. Shredding the chicken will enable the chicken to be perfectly distributed through the salad olivieh.

    You can use either chicken thigh fillet or chicken breast fillet, but I find the chicken thigh fillet is less stringy in the chicken salad.

    Use a mixing bowl to combine all the ingredients, and there is nothing better than using your hands to mix it all through.

    Salad Olivier

    Salad Olivieh

    A simple appetiser or delicious sandwich filling, this Persian chicken and potato salad is a must for any picnic. Served with Nun Barbari or on a French baguette
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 1 hour
    Total Time 1 hour
    Course Appetizer, Side Dish
    Cuisine Persian
    Servings 6 serving
    Calories 699 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 500 g Chicken Thigh Fillet
    • 1 kg potatoes
    • 1 cup cooked frozen green peas
    • 6 dill cucumbers Kheeyar Shoor
    • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
    • salt and pepper
    • Extra mayonnaise and dill cucumber to decorate

    Instructions
     

    • Steam chicken in enough water to just cover for about 20 minutes until well cooked, drain and leave to cool.
    • Peel potatoes and cut into quarters and place in a large saucepan
    • Boil with about 1 tsp salt in enough water to just cover until tender, then mash and leave to cool.
    • Place cooled chicken and dill cucumber in the bowl of a food processor and process till roughly chopped.
    • Tip into a large bowl and stir in the mashed potatoes.
    • Stir the mayonnaise through and add salt and pepper to taste.
    • Gently stir through the green peas.
    • To serve, tip into a flat dish similar to a lasagna dish, and smooth the surface. Spread with extra mayonnaise and decorate with the dill cucumbers, sliced lengthwise.

    Notes

    If desired you can replace the chicken fillet with a cold cooked BBQ chicken, removing and discarding the bones and skin.
    Persian Salad Olivieh sandwiches are great for picnics or a quick and easy lunch

    Nutrition

    Calories: 699kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 19gFat: 54gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 27gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 937mgPotassium: 1015mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 407IUVitamin C: 44mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 2mg
    Keyword Chicken
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