Tag Archives: serge oryan

Home Made Pesto

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Photography Serge Oryan

Making your own pesto might sound extravagant, but in fact it’s super easy and will sure make you win your friends impression. It can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge, just make sure that it has a decent layer of olive oil on the surface to make it last for longer period of time. Pesto is not only tasty with spaghetti, but is brilliantly combined to Turkey Panini or grilled Chicken and many other dishes.

I enjoy more making the pesto myself when I know that the basil leaves have been freshly picked from my garden, the pine nuts are sourced from my mother-in-law –they have 20,000sqm of pine nuts trees around their house in Baskinta– the olive oil is from the south of Lebanon –39% of the regional distribution of olive groves in Lebanon comes from the South- The outcome is fabulous!

Original Easy Pesto Sauce

-50g Fresh Basil (or 2 big handfuls of fresh basil), chopped
-1tbsp pine nuts
-6tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-Sea Salt and Pepper
-25g Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Directions: To make the pesto, in a food processor blend basil, pine nuts and Parmesan around 30 seconds or until you have a smooth paste (Though, if you like it coarse, using your food processor click the pulse button very quickly maybe once or twice). Add the olive oil to the mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper. If you don’t have a food processor you can use a mortar and a pestle.

Don’t forget to follow me on instagram @mayasingredients for daily ideas.

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Lemon Curd

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Lemon Curd-HR

Lemon curd tops my lemon tart to make it epic, and layers my blueberry cake to make it a star dish and spreads over my coconut scone to make it morish. This is how I make it!

Ingredients

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 85g /6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and diced

Preparation

This is best done in a double boiler or in “Bain Marie”. Fill a small saucepan with water (about 4 inches) and bring it to boil, reduce the heat to keep the water at a simmer and place a clear Pyrex bowl inside. Make sure the size of the heatproof bowl (i.e. the Pyrex) is not too smaller than the saucepan so the steam is concentrated underneath it.

Place egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into the Pyrex bowl and whisk until completely blended. As the curd cooks, whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thick, around 10 minutes.

Off the heat, add the butter dices and whisk until completely melted. Pour curd into a jar. Leave it open until completely cooled. Store in refrigerator up to 10-14 days.

 

 

Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

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MayaOryan-QuinoaSalad

My first encounter with QUINOA was only few years ago. Before that, I never heard of it.

My Peruvian friend told me that it has been around for centuries, and I thought of myself, what a goose!

When I googled QUINOA, I found out that it is a whole protein and is packed with dietary fiber, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. This grain is gluten-free and has seen an increase in popularity in gluten-free diets. So gifted!

-Quinoa and I can sure be pals.

And all of a sudden, every restaurant I know has a quinoa recipe on his menu, and every Lebanese recipe has been exposed to the Quinoa factor; Tabouleh with quinoa, Falafel Quinoa, Zucchini stuffed with quinoa, Halloumi quinoa salad and many more.

Ever since, I geared up and Quinoa became a staple in my pantry.

One of my favorite Quinoa recipes that I’d like to share today, as it’s also going on my Christmas menu this year, is Quinoa and Chickpea Salad. And here how I make it!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked as per packet directions
  • 400g chickpeas aka garbanzo beans, cooked and peeled (or canned in brine)
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 medium red pepper, diced

For the vinaigrette:

  • 4 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 1tsp Dijon Mustard
  • Salt, to taste

Directions:

Basically, 1 cup of quinoa is cooked in 2 cups of water. Boil until all water is absorbed.

In a salad bowl, mix all 4 ingredients.

Whisk together the sauce’s ingredients until thickened and drizzle over the quinoa-chickpeas mix. Combine well and serve.