Canapé with cream cheese, curried arugula with raisins, and Manchego cheese on spinach sourdough

I bought this wonderful spinach sourdough bread from Zuci and immediately fell in love with the beautiful flavours and tartness. This recipe was created out of a need to showcase this bread and bring out its full flavour and potential.

The sourdough is balanced well with the cream cheese and the sautéed curried arugula adds a wonderful hint of bitterness and spice. The salty Manchego cheese rounds out the flavours. The final sprinkling of pul biber, a mild and smoked Turkish chilli pepper, adds that perfect hint of heat. These are above and beyond the regular canapés. The balance of bitter, spice and sour are in harmony and addictive. Zuci also makes some other sourdoughs, and artisanal bread, and is renowned for its chocolates and desserts, which I think are the best in Hyderabad.

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Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil

1/4 cup golden raisins 1 large bunch of arugula, tough stems removed and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Salt, to taste

Cream cheese

Manchego cheese, cut into thin slivers

Spinach sourdough from Zuci

Pul biber flakes

Heat the oil in a wide frying pan and add the raisins and sauté for 10 seconds. Add the arugula, garam masala and salt, and cook on low heat till the leaves are wilted but retain their bright green colour. Do not overcook, the leaves will turn a drab grey. Remove and cool. The mix should be very dry and the liquids evaporated.

Meanwhile, toast the spinach sourdough slices. Set aside to cool.

When ready to serve, spread with a layer of cream cheese and top with warmed (or room temperature), not hot, arugula mix followed by the Manchego cheese. Finish with a sprinkling of the Pul biber. Serve immediately before the canapé gets soft.