Caught yourself a summer cold? Make this organic tea to control the cough. The Middle East is experiencing a strange transition from winter to summer. One day it’s hot, with a dry chamsin wind that sweeps in with a cloud of fine red dust. Bad news for asthmatics. The next day is cool, with a […]
Do you love artichokes? We do. Here’s a healthy recipe perfect for the Middle East. It’s springtime, and the markets of the Middle East display piles of these artichoke thistles with the succulent hearts. The hot climates of North Africa and the Middle East produce a fantastic variety of vegetables that are easy to stuff […]
Hungry? Run on down to your local shuk and get yourself a butternut squash. Butternut squash is still in season. Try stuffing it with quinoa, the seed that the pre-Columbian Native Americans called “mother of the grains.” With its nutty taste and high nutritional protein levels (not to mention amino acids and minerals), quinoa’s a […]
You won’t be able to keep these halvah-like cookies around for long. And they couldn’t be simpler to make. We never thought to use tehina (or tehini as you might know it) in baking, but this recipe produces the most meltingly delicious cookies you can imagine. If you’re looking for ways to use up your […]
Poissins are baby chickens. This recipe calls for pine nuts stuffing.
Fresh za’atar at Ramla Open-Air Market Chef Moshe Basson created this pungent, chunky pesto in just a few minutes, right under our eyes. Za’atar (Arabic: زعتر, also romanized as zaatar, za’tar, zatar, zatr, zahatar or satar) is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera oregano, calamintha, thyme, and […]
Ma’moul means “filled” or “stuffed” in Arabic, and these tender, crumbly pastries are stuffed with dates or nuts. Traditionally, they’re made in special wooden molds that imprint the pastry with individual designs – so you know if your ma’amoul is stuffed with walnuts, dates, or pistachios, without having to take a bite. People all over […]
A culinary heritage centuries old is preserved in this cookbook. This is a Jewish collector’s cookbook. It contains 100 old-fashioned recipes that evolved out of the centennial Jewish presence in Iraq, plus a synopsis of Jewish history there. Through the book run parallel threads, the main one being the recipes. Around the recipes are comments […]
White Almond Blossoms Make A Unique Liqueur All over the Mediterranean and Middle East, wild almond trees in fields and along highways are becoming clouds of pink and white blossom. They’re the first to bloom at winter’s end. Although rain and dark skies may return a few more times, tentative sunshine warms our faces, and […]
Will chicory become chic? Chicory, or olesh in Arabic and Hebrew, is a tasty wild edible related to endive. Generations of Middle Eastern peoples hand-gathered the lance-like, serrated leaves to cook, but you can buy it cultivated now. Unfortunately, this nutritious, inexpensive wild vegetable hasn’t acquired the prestige of, say, artichokes – which are really […]
Winter salads are as colorful and appetizing as warm-weather ones. Miriam shares two recipes here. The word “salad” evokes a warm afternoon, sunshine streaming in through the kitchen window and a big ceramic bowl filled with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. At least, it does to me. But it’s the wrong season for that picture right […]
Got a yen for the food of strong men? Miriam shows how to make the Middle-Eastern working man’s lunch. It’s so easy to just bop down to the corner falafel stand and pick up a pita full of the Middle Easts’ favorite fast food. But get to know – and make, another meal, the kind […]
Latkehs! What is it with latkehs? They're brown, they're fried, they're potatoey and oniony and when you fry them, you have to open all the windows.
Lots of lemons in stock? Why not preserve them for the winter? Miriam offers 2 creative ways. Now is when lemons are plentiful and cheap, so take advantage and put some up. That was Hamutal’s advice earlier this year when she gave us a recipe for fresh lemon curd. A jarful of preserved lemon quarters […]
In every Middle Eastern country, people eat Majadra, the working man’s dish of lentils and rice topped with fried onions. The basic recipe is the same in Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Israel, with variations evolving from the local tradition or the taste of the cook. Some might cook the grains in stock instead of water. […]