I was watching a television program the other day when one of the characters mentioned koshari, and suddenly it was the only thing I wanted to eat for the rest of the week. Koshari is an Egyptian dish, and I liken it to a much more elaborate version of mujadarrah. All of the ingredients are…
Last year I spent some time in Morocco and had the pleasure of sampling a variety of different Moroccan dishes. Since then, I’ve been trying to incorporate more Moroccan recipes into our lives, and autumn is usually a great time to pull out recipes for the various cooked vegetable dishes that are so common in…
My husband and I attended a chili cook-off this past weekend, and there were twenty-two different chilis! Since most contained pork I was only able to sample a handful, but I brought along cornbread so I had other things to eat as well. We’re a fan of savoury cornbread in our house rather than the…
Tahini sauce (or what we call tahina in our house) goes with nearly everything, in my opinion. It’s perfect for roasted vegetables, for grilled meats, for sandwiches, spread on bread and topped with za’atar, as a base for hummus or mutabbal, or over a fresh salad. I’m going to show you how to make tahini…
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I could not get enough of citrus, sour, or pickled things. This is when I finally decided to make my own pickles – because the good ones are typically kind of expensive, and even if they’re not – there’s nothing quite like your own homemade ones. I can…
Ful (pronounced much like ‘fool’) is one of my favourite ‘lazy day’ breakfasts. It’s a very filling, heavy meal and so I don’t recommend it on a day when you have a lot of tasks to accomplish – it’s better for a lazy Sunday morning when your only plans are to stay home and relax…
Today (September 23rd) is actually Za’atar Day! Za’atar is a spice used throughout the Levant – made from a type of wild thyme, or hyssop. Its official name is ‘origanum syriacum’ and it’s classified as part of the oregano / marjoram family of plants. It grows wild in many places and in late summer and…
Fatteh, meaning ‘crumbs’ in Arabic – is a bread salad. Most people are familiar with fattoush, which is ubiquitous in most Middle Eastern restaurants; fewer people are familiar with fatteh – which is more of a home dish, an end of the week meal to use up any leftover bits and pieces and stale bread….
This dish came about because I have been craving mujadarrah, but it is still 100°F (38°C) outside, despite the fact that it’s technically autumn. This salad is a bit of a summery approximation, adding some fresh herbs and onion instead of caramelised ones, and adding plenty of fresh parsley and toasted pine nuts. It’s a…
I am, admittedly, a former vegan. I was vegan for seven years and I attribute my abilities in the kitchen to my time spent as a vegan – mostly because I became a vegetarian in the mid-90s in Yorkshire, where there were few vegetarian options and virtually no supermarket options. This meant I had to…
