by Guy Stricklin
It was my father who encouraged me to cook. I was nine years old when I first made him m’juderah (page 208), a dish of lentils cooked with rice and covered in fried onions. He said, “My darling, that’s delicious, you are such a lovely cook!” I am not sure how truthful he was being but I believed him at the time and there began my love of cooking.
Salma Hage’s father was certainly correct. The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook is overflowing with beautiful photographs of delicious and absolutely approachable recipes perfect for the new initiate into global flavors and a vegetarian diet. Hage’s book offers a easy and healthy way to explore new territories of taste through classic (and vegetarian) middle eastern dishes.
Most ingredients can be found at any grocery if not already in your pantry and anything else is certainly available at the nearest mediterranean grocery (Aladdin Grocery if you’re in the Jackson area). The real magic comes from her beautiful combinations of flavors. Even familiar staples are elevated to staggering and mouth-watering heights (e.g. cardamom oatmeal and rosewater pancakes with pistachio and honey).
My wife and I have been cooking through some of Salma Hage’s recipes, and I want to tempt you with a couple of our favorites so far:
A deceptively simple and delicious combination of roasted carrots, cilantro, and sesame seeds.
A rich grain-salad containing freekeh (a delicious nutty grain new to us and available at Aladdin), olive oil, eggplant, garlic, parsley, mint, chickpeas and sun-dried tomatoes.
A few weeks ago my wife snapped this photo of a memorable dinner that included roasted beets with lebneh and mint, spinach fattoush, and baba ganoush from Hage’s cookbook.
I’ll leave you with a few recipes I can’t wait to try:
- Blood orange juice with pomegranate and rosewater
- Almond Hummus
- Fava bean and mint falafel
- Stuffed zucchini in yogurt
- Pistachio meringues with rose cream
- Anise and sesame cookies
- Cardamom banana cake
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