Another Dinner Hit by Jad Fadl

There is no better day than Sunday to spend some time in the kitchen and get creative. Last Sunday however, I had the pleasure of being invited for dinner, for a change! It’s nice to actually have the chance to sit back, be served a glass of chilled white wine and watch while someone else prepares a meal for you. I really enjoy eating at Jad’s house because he never prepares the same meal twice. And this time I was in for a great surprise: an avocado humus for starters served with garlic bread and pan-fried sea bream with a sumac and toasted cumin-seed crust! His inspiration came from Silvena Rowe's Purple Citrus & Sweet Perfumes cook book - a must have for all Mediterranean food lovers with a twist.

Simply delicious - Thanks for dinner Jad, round two next Sunday?

Avocado Humus (serves 3-4 people)

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

the juice of 1 lemon

3 x tablespoons of olive oil

4 x tablespoons of tahini

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground sumac

3 garlic cloves

1 fresh chili

Salt & Pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender until smooth and serve with garlic bread - It doesn't get much easier than that!

Pan Fried, Spice-Crusted Sea Bream (serves 3-4 people)

Ingredients

4 x sea bream fillets, bones removed, skin on

2 x tablespoons olive oil

3 x tablespoons crushed cumin seeds

1 x teaspoon ground sumac

3 x shallots, chopped

100ml dry white wine

50g fresh chives

50g fresh parsley

Salt & pepper to season

1) Toast the cumin seeds on a pan until slightly darkened, crush with a mortar and pestle and set aside.

2) Chop the shallots, chives and parsley and set aside.

3) Rub the sumac, cumin seeds and salt & pepper on both sides of the sea breams. In a pan, heat the olive oil and sear for a couple of minutes on each side.

4) Once the fish is cooked, using the same pan, add the chopped shallots, chives and parsley in 100ml of dry white wine. Let it reduce to half and serve on top of the fish. Add the juice of a few lemon wedges and serve with a glass of white wine – Bon Apetit!