Saffron roasted peppers and tomatoes, with crispy chickpeas and labneh

“Labneh – or strained yoghurt – is a beloved accompaniment in the Middle East and luckily it’s easy enough to make at home,” explain Lucy Carr-Ellison and Jemima Jones of bespoke catering company, Tart London.

“This really is one of our favourite dishes to feed a crowd. It plays on complementary textures and flavours: smooth with crunch, sweet with tart, and spice with soothing labneh.”

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Nutrition Facts

Saffron roasted peppers and tomatoes, crispy chickpeas and labneh

Amount Per Serving

Calories 294 Calories from Fat 180

% Daily Value*

Fat 20g31%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 16mg5%

Sodium 384mg17%

Potassium 440mg13%

Carbohydrates 22g7%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 12g13%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 2080IU42%

Vitamin C 77mg93%

Calcium 179mg18%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Saffron roasted peppers and tomatoes, crispy chickpeas and labneh

A great dish of complementary textures and flavours

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time55 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Snack, starter

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Servings: 8

Calories: 294kcal

Author: Tart London

Equipment

• Deep bowl
• Sieve
• 2 bowls
• Baking tray
• Large frying pan
• Slotted spoons
• Mortar and pestle

Ingredients

• 4 red peppers halved and deseeded
• Large handful of small mixed tomatoes (approx 20)
• few sprigs of thyme
• 1 tbsp harissa
• large pinch of saffron threads
• 2 cloves garlic sliced into thin chips
• 4 tbsp olive oil plus a glug for frying
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 200 g tin chickpeas drained and rinsed (120g drained weight)
• 2 tbsp buckwheat
• small bunch of coriander finely chopped
• sea salt
• pepper

For the labneh

• 1 kg natural yoghurt
• 1 tsp sea salt

For the spicy nuts

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp nigella seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds crushed
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp roughly chopped pine nuts
• 2 tsp chopped hazelnuts
• 1 tsp chilli flakes

Method

• First make the labneh. Line a deep bowl with a double layer of cheesecloth (or a clean dishcloth). Stir the yoghurt and salt together and place in the centre of the cloth. Pull the corners of the cloth up to make a ball and tie closed tightly with string. Suspend over a bowl to collect the liquid (a cupboard handle works well) or set in a sieve over a bowl. If the weather is hot, do this in the fridge. Let this hang while you get on with the rest of the recipe (or overnight if you have time).
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the peppers and tomatoes on the lined tray and scatter with the thyme sprigs. In a small bowl, mix together the harissa, saffron, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season well. Drizzle this over the peppers and tomatoes, mixing in with your hands. Finally, sprinkle the sugar over the top and roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
• Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the drained chickpeas and buckwheat with a good sprinkle of sea salt and fry for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
• Now for the spicy nuts. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat and add all the spices, chopped nuts and chilli flakes. Sizzle for three to five minutes until the spices have crisped. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• When the peppers and tomatoes are out of the oven and cool enough to handle, peel the skins off the peppers and place the flesh in a mortar and pestle with the juices collected in the tray. Pound together to form a coarse, loose paste.
• Serve by dolloping the labneh onto a large plate. Spoon the peppers over, then dot the tomatoes about sporadically, followed by the crisped chickpeas and buckwheat, then the spicy nuts (with all the delicious oil). Finish with a scattering of chopped coriander.

Nutrition

Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 384mg | Potassium: 440mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 2080IU | Vitamin C: 77mg | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 2mg

A Love Of Eating: Recipes From Tart London by Lucy Carr-Ellison and Jemima Jones, photography by Laura Edwards, is published by Square Peg.

Try Tart London’s white chocolate, cardamom and raspberry tart.

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