Which countries are part of the Middle East varies depending on who you ask. From a food perspective, the flavours of Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine (the Levant), Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, The UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar (the countries of the Arabian Gulf), Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt (North Africa) all have a lot in common. The influences crosses borders to neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Xinjjiang in China, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Sudan, Somalia, Zanzibar and Greece too; as well as the Middle Eastern/Arabic influence on Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines.
Persian Halva Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! Halva, meaning ‘sweet’ in Arabic, is popular throughout the Middle East and Indian subcontinent. Unlike the tahini version often seen, Persian halva is made from a flour and butter dough, flavoured with two of Persia’s most popular ingredients: saffron and rose water. It’s […]
Savoury Künefe Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Turkish cooking class inspired by Somer Sivrioglu! I love the flavours in Turkish paçanga börek – the pastirma, kasar cheese, tomato and chilli sing together. I’m also impressed by how deliciously easy sweet kunefe is to make using kadayifi pastry. So I wondered what would happen […]
Turkish Coffee Like Turkish coffee? You’ll love my online Turkish cooking class inspired by Somer Sivrioglu! For a short time during my travels around Turkey I helped out in a friend’s cay evi (tea house) and became quite a dab hand at making Turkish coffee, called kahvesi. The trick to getting that prized thick foam […]
Turkish Breakfast Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Turkish cooking class inspired by Somer Sivrioglu! I loved every meal in Turkey – but I think breakfast, kahvaltısı, was my favourite. Turkish breakfast is so different from what I grew up with and I never tired of it. Each morning, my travelling companions and I […]
Turkish Eggplant Salad Like Turkish Eggplant Salad? You’ll love my online Turkish cooking class inspired by Somer Sivrioglu! Eggplant appears in so many dishes in Turkey that it should be named the country’s national vegetable! And why not – it’s a wonderfully versatile and delicious ingredient, especially when it’s exposed to a bit of intense […]
Fruit Leather Walnut Rolls Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Turkish cooking class inspired by Somer Sivrioglu! Fruit leather – qamar al deen in Arabic, pestil or bastik in Turkish, lavashak in Farsi, pastel in Armenian and pastilos in Greek – is popular all over the wider Middle East and Eastern Europe. It’s fruit […]
Date & Almond Ladies Fingers Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Middle Eastern cooking class inspired by Michael Rantissi! The inspiration for these delicious date & almond ladies fingers comes from my friend Janni Kyritsis, who uses the same technique to make simple savoury snacks filled with anchovy, feta or olives. I don’t have […]
Hamin Eggs with Cumin Salt Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Middle Eastern cooking class inspired by Michael Rantissi! I first tasted this dish in the mid ‘90s at Middle Eastern restaurant Fez in Darlinghurst, and it became my go-to breakfast dish. Years later I discovered that it’s the long slow cooking that gives […]
Lebanese Pink Pickled Turnips Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Pickled vegetables are always on a Lebanese table. Olives, chillies and turnips are most common, and small stuffed eggplants (makdous), cucumbers and cauliflower are also popular. The most distinctive are the pink pickled turnips, traditionally stained bright pink with beetroot. These […]
Orange & Date Salad Like this orange and date salad? You’ll love my online Middle Eastern cooking class inspired by Michael Rantissi! Once you discover how easy it is to segment an orange, you’ll be making this simple salad all the time. I like the crunch of toasted almonds or vivid Persian pistachio slivers, but […]