Enjoy: New veg with dash

I have a fond nostalgia for these simple, bready pancakes, and badgered my mother, friends and family for the recipe for years (‘It’s nothing, darling,’ my mother would say, ‘just a simple bread dough . . .’). The Mimouna is a singularly Jewish Moroccan tradition to celebrate the last day of Passover, where the dietary restrictions of the previous 8 days (no leaven of any kind) are lifted. It’s a child’s idea of heaven – only sweet things are served. There were fancier things by far than mofleta but I always adored these, served oozing with butter and honey. Now, as a seasoned tradition breaker, I suggest serving them for breakfast.

MAKES 10

1 teaspoon dried yeast

a pinch of sugar

about 125ml warm water

250g strong white bread flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra for frying

butter and honey, to serve

Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in about half the water and set aside for about 10 minutes, until it froths. Put the flour, salt and a tablespoon of the olive oil in a large bowl and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and enough of the remaining water for the dough to form a soft ball.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Return it to the bowl and pour the remaining tablespoon of oil over it, rolling it in the bowl till it is oiled and glossy all over. Cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave in a warm place for about 1½ hours, until doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll them out as thinly as possible on an oiled work surface. Then pull and stretch them to make them even thinner. Carefully lower one of the dough rounds into a lightly oiled frying pan set over a medium heat and cook for about 2 minutes, until lightly coloured underneath. Turn over and cook the other side for about a minute, then remove from the pan. Repeat with the remaining dough. To keep the mofleta soft and pliable, cover them with a cloth, placing each new one under the previous one. They quickly go hard as they cool, so precautions are necessary. You can reheat them in the oven, if necessary, as long as you wrap them in foil first, but eat them warm you must, copiously buttered and honeyed.

Medjool Dates with Toasted Almonds, Feta and Rose Petals

My childhood accompaniment to this was fresh walnuts rather than almonds, the flesh tender, sweet and white, the skin fine and easy to peel. Toasted almonds make a lovely alternative, and toasted pecans would be gorgeous, too. You can glaze them with a little of the orange blossom syrup, if you like, poured hot over the hot nuts.

As for the feta, all you need is a good, fat chunk of it – I neaten it up with a very sharp knife but you could do the opposite and break it up roughly. The scattering of a few dried rose petals on top and a drizzle of the orange blossom syrup confirms it in its Middle Eastern place, despite using the milder, Danish feta.

SERVES 6–8

60g blanced almonds, slivered

18–24 Medjool dates

150g–180g Danish feta cheese

1 tablespoon Orange Blossom Syrup

a few dried rose petals, if available

Toast the almonds in a large, dry, frying pan over a gentle heat for about 8 minutes, until pale gold. Arrange the dates on a plate, pyramid like, with the toasted almonds scattered over them. Put the chunk of feta on a separate plate and drizzle the orange blossom syrup over it, then add a scattering of dried rose petals, if using.

Serve with the shortbread (#litres_trial_promo) biscuits on, replacing the lemon myrtle with the finely grated zest of 1 orange and a few drops of orange oil, if available.

Mascarpone-stuffed Figs in Orange Blossom Syrup

This is one of my dream breakfasts. I’ve even converted my blokey man (for which read Antipodean Neanderthal – his words!) to it. Drier figs will need longer cooking to soften them up. You can cut corners by using the glossy, semi-dried ones that come in vacuum-packed foil-lined bags.

SERVES 6–8

20–24 dried Turkish figs

250g mascarpone cheese

1 tablespoon icing sugar

1 tablespoon orange blossom water

For the orange blossom syrup:

225ml orange juice

225ml water

225g caster sugar

4 cardamom pods, crushed

3–4 black peppercorns

¼ teaspoon orange blossom water

a sprig of coriander

a dash of lemon juice

Put the orange juice and water in a pan and add the figs. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3–4 minutes, then remove the figs from the pan and set aside. Add the sugar, cardamom pods and black peppercorns to the pan and stir over a low heat to dissolve the sugar. Return to the boil and simmer, without stirring, until syrupy. Then return the figs to the pan for a couple of minutes with the orange blossom water, coriander sprig and lemon juice.

Lift the figs out and allow them to cool completely. Mix together the mascarpone, icing sugar and orange blossom water and put them in a piping bag fitted with a nozzle pointy enough to pierce the figs easily. Fill each fig so it balloons out, almost fit to burst – a little of the filling gently oozing out will tempt all the more. Transfer to a large bowl or cake stand and pour the cooled syrup over. Serve in long-stemmed cocktail glasses with a little of the syrup drizzled over.

Black Rice Pudding with Coconut Cream and Mango

A favourite breakfast at home, this recipe was given to me by my friend Lesley, who co-owns Red Ginger, a gorgeous Asian food and homewares emporium in Byron Bay. Lesley is one of the most effortlessly elegant women I know and this rice pudding, traditional though it is, bears her hallmark.

SERVES 4–6

200g black rice

100g palm sugar

about 1 litre water

a pinch of salt

seeds from 4 cardamom pods, or 4 pandanus leaves

grated zest of 1 lemon or lime