The Iranian Flatbread Sandwich

I'm sure there are plenty of things people put into a flatbread sandwich, but to me this is the one, the ultimate and the best. I first had it when a friend who is from Iran bought the ingredients and made it for me. I was puzzled over the paper thin bread and the huge bundle of mint. I could not imagine how this would make a sandwich. 

He assembled the bread in a few layers crumbled bits of Feta all over, added a few slices of red onion and finally a whole handful of mint leaves. Then he rolled it all up like a big cigar and voila the Iranian Sandwich was made. 

The mint and feta work together like a dream and the crunchy ping of the red onion completes the dish. And yes you do want all that mint. 

This sandwich I made today resembles the same method but I chose the freshest Flatbread I could find  instead of the Village Sheet Bread, which can be bought in Middle Eastern supermarkets. I also added a few bits of Radish and Bell Peeper for some more volume and crunch. A drizzle of Olive Oil made it perfect. Served with some pickled Peppers and Olives on the side this made a great summer Lunch.

I seriously urge everyone to give it a try. I know you will love it!

Mussles in Tom Yum Broth

You may have figured by now, I love a good Tom Yum. With Prawn, with Fish, with all manner of Seafood, but also with Oxtails or even with Pork Knuckle. I don't even mind a simple Vegetarian Mushroom version. 

Just a few days ago I had the pleasure to revisit all my favorite Thai Restaurants In Male in the Maldives.

Still undefeated is of course Sala Thai Restaurant with its crisp clean and perfectly balaced flavour as well as the biggest Prawns, freshest Crab and prettiest Squid Curls. 

Today however I found myself wanting both a bowl full of fresh Mussels with chunky Bread to dip in or a Tom Yum of sorts. So I fused the two and made a Bowl of Mussels in a Tom Yum Broth with Chunky Bread to dip in!

I started by pounding 3 stalks of chopped Lemongrass (tender part only) with an inch of chopped Galangal and 3 hot chopped Chillies in my new Pestle and Mortar. The very talented and quite opinionated SheSimmers convinced me in a recent article on her blog, that pounding releases the Essential oils in parts of the plant, that the blades of a food processor will never reach. If it doesn't pound smooth enough, one can always finish the paste off in a food processor... and everyone is happy.

Now the paste goes into a large pan with 300ml of water a good splosh of Thai Fish Sauce, Some sliced Spring Onion, a couple of sliced Mushrooms, a couple of halved baby Plum Tomatoes and a few Kaffir Lime Leafes. Bring Everything to a simmer then add a bagful of Cleaned Mussels. 

Remember if they don't close after tapping them, when fresh, throw them away. And if they don't open after cooking, throw them out as well. 

Cover with a lid and cook just as long as it takes for the Mussels to open up. About 3-4 minutes.

Pour everything into a large serving Bowl and squeeze over the juice of 1Lime and sprinkle with Coriander.

As I already mentioned a nice chunk of Crusty bread will soak up the juices beautifully. But a spoon for the broth also comes in handy. The mussels can of course only be eaten by hand!