Known as Macaroni bil Tarator in Syria, this recipe from Arto der Haroutunian’s cookbook, Vegetarian Dishes of the Middle East is a simple but satisfying one, and can be ready in minutes if you make the tarator (garlic-tahini sauce) in advance. It can also be enjoyed hot or cold. We’ve adjusted quantities given for the ... Read more »
This delicious recipe for meat and bulgur balls in yoghurt (kibbeh labaniyya) is a real change from the tomato-based European (Italian) and South Asian (Indian and Burmese) meatball recipes we have made before, and has a pleasingly tangy flavour profile from the natural yoghurt. The recipe is from Ghillie Başan’s The Lebanese Cookbook and is ... Read more »
The Levant is a region long known for the largesse of its hospitality. In The Lebanese Cookbook, Ghillie Başan explores the foods and traditions of a swathe of the Fertile Crescent that takes in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Başan spent many years living and working in the Middle East (as well as Europe, North ... Read more »
This delicious Date Cake with Caramel Sauce is the invention of cookbook author Anas Atassi’s mother, and is one of the recipes in his book, Sumac. Soft, sticky dried dates provide both body and sweetness in the cake and reduce the volume of refined sugar needed. The result is a cake that is light and ... Read more »
Today’s recipe is Syrian Fish with Sumac Tahini Sauce (Tajen samak), another delicious treat from Sumac by Anas Atassi. It’s the first time I’ve tasted tahini with white fish but now I’ve tried it, I love it. That sumac pairs so well is less of a surprise, its citrusy notes amplify the lemon used in the ... Read more »
This Syrian Lamb Koftas in Tahini Sauce is the first recipe we made from Sumac by Anas Atassi and it was a real winner. Straightforward to make, it’s a deliciously different way to use minced lamb and the results are wonderful. The meat mixture – herby with parsley and fragrant with all spice, ground coriander, ... Read more »
“With this book, I hope to build a bridge between Syrian culture and the rest of the world with food as common denominator. But even more, I hope that Sumac will present a positive image of my country, in spite of all of the unfortunate events now taking place in Syria.” So says author Anas ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]