Couscous looks like a grain, but it is actually more like a pasta: granules of crushed semolina flour, bound together with water. It is mostly made in factories these days: making it from scratch involved rubbing and rolling crushed semolina grains of varying sizes, and spritzing them with sea water so that the particles would…
Arabic Food
Falafel
Falafel is made from made from cooked, ground, seasoned beans. The ground beans are rolled into small balls or formed into patties which are then either pan-fried or deep-fried. When shaped into balls, the balls are usually 1 to 2 inches wide (2.5 to 5 cm.) The cooked bean balls can be served on a…
Harissa
Harissa is a thick, smooth red chile paste about the consistency of mayonnaise. It has a hot, spicy taste that isn’t apparent at first but which builds in the mouth. It is made from dried, hot red chiles, garlic, paprika, caraway, coriander seed, cumin seed, and fennel seed. Some versions have rose petals in them…
Merguez Sausage
Merguez Sausage (fresh) © Denzil Green Merguez Sausage is made in Tunisia and Algeria. There are fresh and dried, homemade and commercial versions available. It is made from ground lamb or beef, and seasonings such as cumin, pepper, garlic, hot red peppers. Some versions add some pomegranate juice. Commercial ones are packed into casings, but…
Nigella
Nigella seeds are used as a spice. The plant is a member of the buttercup family. It grows about 2 feet (60 cm) tall, with wispy, greyish-green leaves. It blossoms with white flowers about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide. The flowers produce a seed capsule with 5 sections to it. When the capsule is dried,…
Olives
Olives © Denzil GreenMost Olive trees are man-made cultivars, rather than true botanical varieties, and won’t reproduce true to seed; they are propagated by grafting. Seeds are planted, though, being cracked before planting to help them germinate. When seedlings grow up from them, they are either used as rootstock to which cuttings from other trees…
Pita
When we think of Pita varieties, our choices are usually white or whole wheat. Truth is, there’s a few more varieties than that of this Eastern Mediterranean flat bread which started becoming popular in West in the 1980s: there’s Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, Egyptian, Israeli, Syrian, Indian… and more. The Pita we that we associate with…
Ras el hanout
Ras el hanout is a North African spice mix used in Algeria, Tunisia and particularly Morocco by both Arabs and Sephardic jews. It is designed to season couscous, rice dishes, and meat dishes, particularly lamb. It can also be used in some sweet dishes. The spice mix used in Ras el hanout varies by who…
Sangak Bread
Sangak is an oblong Iranian flat bread made to be about 2 feet (60 cm) long. About 45% of the flour used in Iran goes into making Sangak. It is made from wheat flour – 3 parts whole wheat to 1 part white flour. The dough is a mild sourdough. A portion of dough saved…
Shatta
Shatta is a hot and spicy herb and chile pepper relish with the consistency of pesto. It is the red version of Zhoug. In place of Zhoug’s green chile peppers, though Shatta calls for red ones, and whereas in Zhoug everything is puréed together all at once, in order to preserve a red colour Shatta…
Taaftun Bread
Taaftun is a Persian sour dough flat bread popular in Iraq. It is 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 inches) wide, about 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick and looks like a flat, puffy pizza crust. The bread is baked in a “tanoor”, a round oven, for just under 2 minutes. When buying taaftun in…
Tagines
Tagines are clay cooking vessels designed for low and slow cooking of food. Their shape concentrates flavours while allowing water vapour to escape.
Tunisian Five Spices
Tunisian Five Spices is a Tunisian spice mixture made from five spaces, all ground to a powder, and mixed. The spices used are: black peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, grains of paradise, and nutmeg. The mixture has a peppery, sweet taste combined with a rich aroma. Tunisian Five Spices is used in tagines and stews, particularly those…
Za’atar
Za’atar © Denzil Green Za’atar in Arabic can mean the herb “thyme.” It is also used to refer to a spice-mixture based on thyme. Though thyme will be the dominant herb in the mixture, the other spices used in the mixture vary though always seems to include sumac and sesame seed. Wild Oregano appears quite…
Za’atar Bread
This is pita bread baked with Za’atar spice paste on it. Variations can be sprinkled with lemon juice. It can be eaten as is, or rolled up into a sandwich with fillings such as tomatoes, cheese, olives and mint. It is very popular in Lebanon, where it is called “manaeesh.”
Zhoug
Zhoug is a very fragrant, hot and spicy herb and chile pepper relish that is like Pesto in consistency. Though it probably originated in Yemen, Zhoug is now also very popular in Israel. Most recipes use fresh coriander leaves, green chile, garlic and either caraway seed, cumin or a combination of both. Most use olive…