Month: Aug 2025

Quick lahmacun

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Super-tasty, super-quick. The perfect weeknight supper.

  • ½ red pepper, roughly chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • Handful parsley stalks, roughly chopped
  • 400g lamb mince
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp pul biber
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 lavash (or other plain, thin) flatbreads
  1. Puree the red pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic and parsley stalks and pour into a bowl
  2. Add the lamb mince and spices and mix well until completely combined
  3. Divide the lamb mixture into 4 and press firmly onto the surface of each flatbread with your fingertips, pushing the mixture into a thin layer that covers the surface of the bread, leaving a thin ‘crust’ ring around the outside – like a pizza
  4. Heat a large frying pan over medium/high and add a touch of oil, spreading it across the surface of the pan with a paper towel
  5. Fry the flatbreads face down until crisp and golden, then flip out onto a plate
  6. Serve topped with sliced tomato, parsley salad (parsley leaves, thin-sliced red onion, salt, sumac, lemon juice and olive oil) and plain yoghurt – roll up and eat with your hands

Gochujang smoked tofu stir fry

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Spicy, savoury, tangy, complex and a deeply satisfying rust red in colour.

  • 1 block smoked tofu, cut into mouth-sized pieces
  • 2 tsp cornflour
  • Pinch of Chinese five spice powder
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 red pepper, finely sliced
  • Handful of fine green beans, cut into short pieces
  • 5 spring onions, sliced
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp gochujang chilli paste
  • 2 tbsp black vinegar
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
  1. In a bowl, mix together the tofu pieces, cornflour, five spice, black pepper and salt
  2. In a separate small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, gochujang, black vinegar, brown sugar and sesame oil
  3. In a wok or deep pan, heat the veg oil and, shaking off the excess cornflour as you pick them up, fry the tofu on both sides until golden. Then remove from the pan and set on one side
  4. Wipe the pan out with a paper towel and heat the remaining 1 tbsp of oil over medium/high. Add the spring onion, garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant
  5. Add the red pepper and green beans and stir fry for a couple of mins
  6. Give the sauce a stir and pour it into the pan, stir together and heat through until bubbling
  7. [If you want the sauce to be thicker, mix the cornflour left in the tofu bowl with a small amount of water and add to the pan, stir and cook until glossy and thickened]
  8. Add the cripsy tofu back into the pan, give it a stir together and serve immediately

Serve with coconut rice or thick noodles, sprinkled with fresh coriander leaves and toasted sesame seeds