by Anissa Helou
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt
1. Put the chilies, shallots, and palm sugar in a food processor and process until you have a fine paste.
2. Put the vegetable oil, chili/shallot paste, bay leaves, lemongrass, and galangal in a medium skillet and place over medium heat. Sauté, stirring all the time, until the mixture has darkened somewhat. Add the diluted tamarind paste, nutmeg, and salt to taste and simmer for another minute or so. Let cool, then discard the bay leaves and lemongrass before serving. This sambal will keep for a few days, either in the refrigerator or in another cool place, stored in an airtight container.
Fresh Chili and Tomato Sambal
SAMBAL DABU-DABU
INDONESIA
This sambal is commonly served with grilled fish and it can be made fresh, a little like a salsa, or the ingredients can be quickly sautéed for a slightly more intense flavor. If you can’t find lime basil, use regular Mediterranean basil.
MAKES 2 CUPS (400 G)
3 mild red chilies, seeded and sliced into rings
1 or 2 bird’s eye chilies (depending on how spicy you want your sambal), seeded and sliced into rings
3 medium tomatoes (10½ ounces/300 g total), peeled, seeded, and cut into small cubes
3 small shallots (2 ounces/60 g total), finely chopped
2 sprigs lime basil, leaves only, coarsely chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Sea salt
Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt to taste and mix well before serving. Serve immediately, or within 24 hours.
Fresh Produce
The early Muslims couldn’t have had much access to fresh produce. They lived in a very harsh climate in an oasis in the desert with very little rainfall, extremely hot summers, and not much fertile land. Their early diet must have consisted primarily of meat and dairy, dates (of course), and wheat, as well as some local seasonal produce such as the desert truffle.
As they spread their religion beyond the Arabian Gulf and started conquering new, more fertile lands such as Syria and Iraq, they ruled over lush countries that not only had an abundance of fresh produce, but also culinary traditions on how to cook that produce, much of it new to them; and just as important, they also learned how to preserve the produce for the fallow winter months when there was less growing in the fields. And with the conquest of Iran, they also acquired great chefs. The Abbasids, whose seat of power was in Baghdad, favored Persian chefs, and as they conquered yet more countries they took those chefs along, expanding the influence of Persian cooking all the way to North Africa and beyond. With the advent of the Ottoman Empire, with its magnificent court and spectacular kitchens at the Topkapi Palace, the Muslim culinary repertoire expanded even farther, both with new dishes and novel interpretations of old ones.
One example of Persian dishes being adopted by the Ottomans is stuffed vegetables, possibly the most glorious group of dishes from that part of the world. Stuffed vegetables are said to have originated in Iran, but the modern Iranian repertoire concentrates mainly on grape leaves. These are cooked in different sauces. However, in Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria (not to mention Jordan and Palestine), almost everything can be stuffed, from the common zucchini to the seasonal quince, taking in melons, eggplants, cabbage, and carrots to name but a few. Many of those vegetables are dried at the end of summer so that they can be used in winter. I could have devoted the whole chapter to stuffed vegetables alone given the variety, but I include a limited but typical selection here, together with a selection of other dishes making use of typical seasonal produce.
Ali Farboud
Far right: Ali Farboud
Tabbouleh
LEBANON | SYRIA | JORDAN | PALESTINE
Now that tabbouleh has gone global, it has become one of the most commonly misinterpreted salads. The most typical mistake is adding too much bulgur. Then there are those who add cucumber, or worse, cilantro, both absolute no-nos. Of course there are variations from region to region or even family to family, but a few golden rules apply. One, it is an herbs and tomato salad, not a grain salad, so the proportion of bulgur to the herbs and tomatoes is minimal. Second, all the herbs should be cut by hand. Don’t even entertain the idea of chopping the herbs in a food processor. You will end up with a mushy salad that will oxidize more quickly than if you cut your herbs into thin slivers using a very sharp knife. And lastly, use firm but ripe tomatoes. In Lebanon, most people like their tabbouleh very juicy, but I like mine rather dry and crisp, and I drain off the juice before adding the tomatoes to the herbs. I also use less lemon juice, but this is a question of taste. Also important is the quality of the bulgur. Use a fine granulation, which means that you don’t need to soak it. Just rinse and drain it and let it sit to fluff up before using.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Scant ¼ cup (30 g) fine bulgur
6 firm-ripe medium tomatoes (1 pound 5 ounces/600 g total), cut into small cubes
1 bunch scallions (2 ounces/50 g)
2 bunches flat-leaf parsley (14 ounces/400 g total), most of the bottom stems discarded
⅓ bunch mint (2½ ounces/75 g), leaves stripped off the stems
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice or Lebanese 7-Spice Mixture
¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Sea salt
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
⅓ cup (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
4 Little Gem lettuces, washed and quartered
1. Rinse the bulgur in several changes of cold water. Drain well and let sit in a medium bowl. Stir every now and then with a fork to help it fluff up.
2. Put the diced tomatoes in a small bowl and set aside while you prepare the scallions and herbs. Finely slice the scallions and place over the tomatoes. Use a razor-sharp knife to chop the herbs and gather as much as you can handle in a bunch, then slice the herbs very thinly to end up with nice, crisp, thin slivers.
3. Drain the tomatoes of their juice and transfer the tomatoes and scallions to a large bowl. Add the herbs. Sprinkle the bulgur all over, then season with the cinnamon, allspice or 7-spice mixture, and pepper. Add salt to taste. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
4. Serve immediately with the quartered lettuce on the side. In the Levant, diners use the lettuce leaves to scoop the tabbouleh instead of a spoon or fork and eat them both together.
White Tabbouleh
TABBOULEH BAIDAH
LEBANON
I am not sure where this version of tabbouleh comes from. Initially, I assumed it was a winter version from days long past, but tomatoes are summer vegetables, so my guess was wrong. Then I thought it was possibly a regional variation, but I have yet to find another reference to it outside the recipe I initially found in Ibrahim Mouzannar’s Lebanese Cuisine. I have adapted his recipe to make it lighter on the bulgur as well as the olive oil. And, unlike him, I use fine bulgur and have replaced the paprika he suggests using with Aleppo pepper to give the salad a nice kick.
SERVES 4 TO 6
½ cup (100 g) fine bulgur
1 conehead (pointed) cabbage (1 pound 2 ounces/500 g), outer damaged leaves discarded, very finely shredded
2 bunches scallions (3½ ounces/100 g total), thinly sliced
1 bunch mint (7 ounces/200 g), leaves stripped off the stems, chopped medium fine
14 ounces (400 g) cherry tomatoes, quartered
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
⅓ cup (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or to taste
Sea salt
1. Rinse the bulgur under cold water. Drain and set aside to fluff up—let sit for about 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Stir with a fork every now and then to separate the grains.
2. Put the cabbage, scallions, mint, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Add the bulgur, lemon juice, and oil. Season with the Aleppo pepper and salt to taste.
Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.
Turkish Bulgur Salad
KISSIR
TURKEY
Kissir is the Turkish version of tabbouleh, except that in kissir, bulgur is the main ingredient and in tabbouleh, it is the herbs and tomatoes that are. You can also dress kissir with pomegranate molasses for an intriguing sweet and sour flavor (see Note).
SERVES 4 TO 6
1 cup (200 g) fine bulgur
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (200 ml) boiling water
2 small Spanish onions (7 ounces/200 g total), very finely chopped
5 firm-ripe medium tomatoes (1 pound 2 ounces/500 g), seeded and cut into ½-inch (1 cm) cubes
½ small green bell pepper, diced into small cubes
A few sprigs flat-leaf parsley, most of the bottom stems discarded, finely chopped
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons mild Turkish red pepper paste, or spicy to taste
Sea salt
1. Put the bulgur in a large bowl and add the water a few spoonfuls at a time, stirring it in. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Add the onions to the bulgur and mix well. Stir in the tomatoes, bell pepper, parsley, olive oil, Aleppo pepper, lemon juice, pepper paste, and salt to taste. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.
NOTE: To make this with pomegranate molasses, omit both the lemon juice and pepper paste and replace with 1½ tablespoons pomegranate molasses.
Mixed Herb and Toasted Bread Salad
FATTOUSH
LEBANON | SYRIA | JORDAN | PALESTINE
There are endless variations of fattoush, both in how it is seasoned and in the way it is prepared. Some families, like my mother’s, make fattoush without lettuce, with only the herbs (leaving the leaves whole); and the salad is dressed with just sumac and olive oil. Others chop the herbs, add shredded lettuce, and use lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic in the dressing. Some let the bread soak in the dressing before mixing the salad, while others are keen on keeping the bread crisp as long as possible. In Syria, the bread is fried instead of toasted, which has the advantage of keeping the bread crisp and the disadvantage of making the salad heavier. Regardless of all the variations, fattoush remains an essential salad for breaking the fast during the month of Ramadan in both Lebanon and Syria.
SERVES 6
1 medium pita bread, split horizontally into 2 disks, toasted in a hot oven until golden brown, broken into bite-size pieces
3 tablespoons ground sumac
⅓ cup (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 Little Gem lettuces (14 ounces/400 g total), outer damaged leaves discarded, cut across into ½-inch (1 cm) strips
2 bunches scallions (3½ ounces/100 g total), thinly sliced
6 mini cucumbers (10½ ounces/300 g total), halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into medium-thin half-moons
10½ ounces (300 g) cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley (7 ounces/200 g), most of the bottom stems discarded, coarsely chopped
½ bunch mint (3½ ounces/100 g), leaves stripped off the stems, coarsely chopped
½ bunch purslane (3½ ounces/100 g), leaves only
Sea salt
1. Put the pieces of toasted bread in a medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle the sumac over the bread. Add the oil and mix well. This will stop the bread from sogging up quickly after it is mixed with the salad. Taste the bread to see if it is salty. Some sumac has a little salt mixed in.
2. Put the lettuces, scallions, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and purslane in a large salad bowl. Add the seasoned toasted bread and mix well. Add salt to taste. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.
Indonesian Vegetable and Egg Salad
GADO GADO
INDONESIA
When I visited Indonesia, half of my time there happened to be during Ramadan when street vendors seem to multiply, selling all kinds of snacks and dishes to those fasting and not having the time to cook at home. In Banda Aceh, I went to one street where most of the vendors specialized in the sweet snacks (takjil) and drinks that people break their fast with, but one cart had gado gado (gado means “mix” and gado gado means “mixes,” because this salad is made of so many different ingredients). The vendor had his ingredients piled in different mounds inside the cart with a wide mortar to one side, which he used to grind batch after batch of the seasoning ingredients for the salad, which is eaten as a snack or as a meal. The version I give here is served with a peanut-based dressing, whereas on some islands, the dressing has a coconut cream base.
SERVES 2 TO 4
FOR THE DRESSING
1½ cups (225 g) raw peanuts
6 mild red chilies, trimmed
1 bird’s eye chili, trimmed
¼ teaspoon shrimp paste (terasi)
1 tablespoon seedless tamarind paste, diluted with 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons palm sugar, grated
Sea salt
FOR THE SALAD
2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, and cut into medium-thin rounds
2 hard-boiled organic eggs, peeled and cut into wedges
5 ounces (150 g) cauliflower florets, cooked until crisp-tender
5 ounces (150 g) cabbage, finely shredded and blanched
5 ounces (150 g) asparagus beans, cut into medium pieces, cooked until crisp-tender
1 small cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
5 ounces (150 g) tempeh, sliced into 4 portions, shallow-fried in vegetable oil
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (220°C).
2. To make the dressing: Spread the peanuts on a nonstick baking sheet. Toast in the hot oven for 7 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool, then process in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl.
3. Put the chilies and shrimp paste in the food processor and process until you have a fine paste. Add to the peanuts. Strain the tamarind paste into a small bowl and add to the peanuts and chili paste. Add the palm sugar and ⅔ cup (160 ml) water and season with salt to taste. Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
4. To assemble the salad: Arrange the ingredients on a serving platter, making a separate mound of each ingredient, and add a few crackers. Serve with the dressing on the side.
Scrambled Egg and Eggplant Dip
MIRZA GHASSEMI
IRAN
There are many versions of mirza ghassemi. I don’t think I had it tasting the same from one home or restaurant to another. A Gilaki specialty (meaning from the northern province of Gilan in Iran), mirza ghassemi is a delightful half dip, half spread that is ideal for those who do not eat meat, as it combines eggs for protein with eggplants and tomatoes for freshness. It is found throughout the country both in homes and restaurants. Iranian cooks normally use vegetable oil, but I prefer to use olive oil.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Pinch of saffron threads
3 large eggplants (2 pounds/900 g total)
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced to a fine paste
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
4 medium tomatoes (14 ounces/400 g total), peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
Sea salt and finely ground black pepper
3 organic eggs, lightly beaten
Barbari or lavash bread, for serving
1. Put the saffron to soak in 1 tablespoon water.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
3. Prick the eggplants in several places and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very soft, turning them halfway through. Cut the eggplants in half and scoop the flesh out. Place in a sieve to let the excess liquid drain away. Mash the eggplant with a potato masher—you do not want to do this in a food processor as the mashed eggplant needs to retain some, albeit soft, texture.
4. Heat the
oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or so, until the garlic starts sizzling and is fragrant. Add the turmeric and mix well. Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes have softened and reduced to a thick sauce, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Add the mashed eggplant and sauté for a few minutes, or until all the excess liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Stir the beaten eggs into the eggplant/tomato mixture. Continue stirring until the eggs have set to your liking. It is important not to have any liquid left in the pan. Add the saffron water and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover the pan loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Let cool. Transfer to a serving dish. Serve warm or at room temperature with bread.
Onion and Parsley Salad
LEBANON | SYRIA | JORDAN | PALESTINE | TURKEY
This salad is used as a bed for grilled meat and poultry throughout the Levant. The dressing varies slightly from country to country. In Turkey, cooks use only sumac, while in Egypt they favor lemon juice. In Syria and Lebanon, the seasoning combines both. I learned to soak the onion in boiling water from Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi’s partner, to slightly soften it and, more important, to take away some of the sharpness. You can chop the parsley or you can leave the leaves whole, that is if the parsley is not overgrown. I normally chop mine unless I buy parsley imported from Lebanon, Syria, or Jordan where they pick it quite young, in which case I leave it whole.
Serve this with your choice of grilled meat by spreading the salad on a pita or any other flatbread, then laying the grilled meat on top.
SERVES 4
2 medium onions (10½ ounces/300 g total), halved lengthwise and cut into thin wedges
¼ bunch flat-leaf parsley (2 ounces/50 g), most of the bottom stems discarded, coarsely chopped