I had picked up some beautiful baby eggplants at a South Asian market in Queens over the weekend. I really wanted to make maqdous, Levantine baby eggplants stuffed with walnuts, garlic and pomegranate arrils preserved in olive oil. But man I was feeling lazy. The kids haven’t been letting me sleep. My dishwasher is broken Read more
Rose and cardamom tres leches cake topped with ashta, a lightly-sweetened floral-scented clotted cream. Middle Eastern desserts are some of the best in the world, with their floral syrups, nutty textures and warm spices. But when it comes to cake, my absolute favourite is tres leches, a Latin sponge cake soaked in three milks giving Read more
For Egyptians this is salata baladi. The most basic, most common, and, in my opinion, most perfect of salads. To others it’s known as salata Arabiya, salad-e Shirazi, shepherd’s salad, and it probably has many, many more names. But salata baladi by other name would be just as bright, crisp and refreshing. This is my Read more
Kofta is one of those comforting dishes that I grew up eating and just love to eat and make for my family. It can take a lot of forms. A popular way to make kofta at home in the Levant is kofta bil saniyah – kofta baked in a tray with potatoes and tomatoes. Another Read more
Hummus as its meant to be. Smooth, creamy, warm, tahina-y, lemony, actually made of chickpeas. Topped with spiced lamb and it’s drippings and scooped up with warm pita: heaven.
This “mahashi” is my favourite way to eat squash and eggplant–stuffed with spiced, herby meat and rice, then simmered in tomato sauce. Here I used the traditional koosa squash, also known as grey or Mexican squash, gorgeous golden zucchini, and some eggplant for good measure. You can use whatever small squash are available. These beauties Read more
We eat a lot of Latin food around here. We live in a predominantly Latin neighbourhood in Upper Manhattan, and my husband is Puerto Rican, and therefore so are my kids. I cook them a ton of Egyptian food to connect them to the culture my parents passed to me, in large part through food Read more
My version of fattet betingan has eggplant cooked with ground lamb (or beef) in a tangy tomato and pomegranate sauce, served on a bed of crispy pita and topped with garlic tahini yogurt. This was the very first dish I snapped for my Instagram account. It’s my four year old’s absolute favourite dish (depending on Read more
This Palestinian dish is sooo flavourful. Msakhan means “heated” in Arabic and this dish gets it’s name from the fact that you make it’s various components then assemble them and heat it all up together. Msakhan, Palestinian sumac chicken and onions, is the perfect make ahead meal! To make this glorious dish, cook sliced onions Read more
I. Love. This. Flan. This recipe is one of the first that I developed and posted to Instgram this past July. The recipe was a great success. Like the name says, this flan is tart and sweet, but when I think back on the post, bittersweet is more like it. You see, the week I Read more
