Turkish-style Pizza (Lahmacun, Lahmajoon, Lahm bi'ajin)

It's amazing what one can make with very few ingredients to choose from. One day recently I was thinking of ways to use up the last vegetables in the pantry, when I suddenly remembered lahmacun, an unusual pizza-like snack I hadn't eaten in over ten years. I've only known it as the Turkish pizza (lahmacun is the Turkish spelling, pronounced lah-ma-joon), but I've come to know this is actually a very popular dish throughout the Middle East. The name comes from the Arabic lahm bi'ajin which means meat with dough. Lahmacun is basically a thin, crispy, round flatbread topped with a spicy mixture of minced meat, finely chopped vegetables (usually onion, bell pepper, tomato) and fresh herbs (parsley, mint), drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, garnished with fresh parsley and rolled up like a sandwich.

Chocolate Mousse (no added sugar)

One of my recent kitchen adventures turned simplicity into pure decadence. If you're not new to my blog, you already know how much I love the combination of chocolate and coconut. With this new experiment I wanted to replace sugar/agave nectar and make a healthier chocolate ice cream without compromising on taste.

I had successfully used homemade date paste before in several recipes, so I knew this would work great in this dessert, but I could not anticipate just how light and creamy it would turn out. Instead of the soft serve ice cream I had in mind, I created a luscious chocolate mousse. It was in fact so good that I didn't want to risk spoiling the texture and taste by freezing it. While sugar and agave nectar only add sweetness, dates also add a delicate fruity flavour that makes this chocolate mousse even more delicious.

Raw Blackberry Banana Ice Cream

Not long ago I thought I had found the most delicious and easiest to make ice cream (see my post on No-Churn Coconut Chocolate Ice Cream). Recently, however, I wanted to see what all the hype was about the magical one-ingredient ice cream and that was a fantastic surprise. Frozen then puréed ripe bananas make the creamiest, lightest alternative to custard-based ice cream. It is rich yet feels light, it's naturally sweet and creamy and, when frozen, doesn't form all those nasty ice crystals. With no ice cream maker needed, this dessert is a breeze to make and the result spectacular.

Moroccan-style Lentil and Chickpea Soup

Lentils and chickpeas are widely used in the Moroccan cuisine in dishes infused with traditional spices and herbs that give them their distinctive taste. I often cook with either lentils or chickpeas, but it wasn't until I found Holly S. Warah's recipe on her Arabic Zeal blog that I actually thought of combining the two. Holly's Moroccan-style Lentil Soup with Chickpeas is the very definition of comfort food. It is wonderfully aromatic, soothing, rich, deeply satisfying and nourishing.