The Gulf is home to over 700 species of fish, but there are a couple of breeds which are very popular,- zubaidi (silver pomfret) and hammour (grouper). The fish is usually grilled and eaten with rice or bread and Arabic salad. Aromatic fish stew, king prawns, and baked fish with savory fillings, like cumin, tomato, currant, and chilies.

In other parts of the Arab world seafood is also popular. In North Africa fish tajin is a common slow cooked dish with carrots, potatoes, prunes and couscous. In the Levant part of the Mediterranean fish is prepared with paprika, lemon, parsley, coriander, onions, and garlic. Though there aren’t as many fish in the eastern Mediterranean, fishing is still a way of life for many along the coast.

The following is a recipe for Iraqi fish, called masgouf, apparently once served along the waterfront in Baghdad. One day in Iraq, my colleagues invited me for a traditional experience. They set up an open fire pit in the back yard, and placed whole spiced fish on netted spits around the fire. It was an unforgettable experience.

Masgouf: Iraqi Grilled Fish

2 pounds of fresh whole white fish (trout, blue fish, catfish, etc.)
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
oil for the pan
salt and pepper
2 dried limes (optional)
tamarind (optional)

Preparation:
Split the fish open along its spine, lengthwise, to spread the fish flat open on a tray. Do not remove the skin or scales, but you can remove the head. Wash the fish with water and rub salt and lemon along the inside.

Sauce: Heat oil on medium heat in a frying pan. Add the thinly sliced onions to the pan and stir until they are clear. Add salt and black pepper, to taste. Add garlic and stir for a couple of minutes. Split the dried limes open and remove the black pulp. Add it to the pan, and combine with the tomato paste with fresh lemon juice, oil, and curry. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Can optionally include tamarind in the tomato sauce.

Traditional grilling: start a fire and skewer the fish on two wooden or metal stakes (see picture). Place it facing the flames. When the fish is well cooked, place it on a tray and pour the sauce on the inside.

Conventional grilling:
Heat the oven at 500 degrees. Oil the baking pan and place the fish flat on it. Cover the inside of the fish with half of the tomato mixture. Bake for about 20 minutes. Can broil the fish for another 10 minutes so the topping gets blackened.

When fish is cooked top it with the remaining sauce and with the sliced tomatoes, remaining sauce, and chopped parsley.

Serve with plain basmati, saffron rice, or vermicelli rice. Serve with bread, Arabic salads, and pickles. Eat with fingers for the real deal.

Having just returned from my latest trip to the Middle East, I’m pointedly avoiding standing on the scale and am indulging still in the few pastries I’ve brought back—maamul, baklawa, and kaak bread. Arabic bakeries sell many kinds of flat/pita breads, dry, crunchy breads, and sweet pastries which are all fun to try.

Breakfast is heaven in Arabia. Everyone can agree there is nothing better than waking up to the smell of freshly baking dough in the oven. In the Levant, the spread of choice is called ZAATAR, a blend of thyme, sesame seeds, sumac, and other spices. It is mixed with olive oil and spread onto flat discs of bread. When it is baked onto dough, it is called Mana’eesh.

A true Arabic breakfast will have many variations of these cheeses- Halloumi, Akawi, Qashqawan, Roomy, etc. Often they come seeded with black sesame or with zaatar.

To complement the cheeses a couple types of olives could be laid out. In my uncle’s house, slightly under-ripe green Jordanian olives are soaked with lemon wedges and green peppers.

Another popular breakfast food is called Fool Medames, which is a traditional Egyptian dish of fava beans cooked with garlic, onion, spices and served in a long spread of tomato, parsley, olives, lemon juice and bread.

Jordan is known for its high quality zaatar. In fact, in one store I saw 9 varieties, and still other people mix and make their own varieties. Mana’eesh is a staple in Arabic homes and a delight to treat the house with. It can be made with cheese, and ground meat, as well as zaatar. The trickiest part is getting the dough just right.

Mana’eesh, or Zaatar Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 tspn active dry yeast
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tspn salt
• 3 tbpn vegetable oil
• 2 cups warm water
• 4 tbspn olive oil
• ½ cup zaatar mixture
• 2 tbsn sumac (optional)

Directions:

• Dissolve yeast in little warm water.
• Mix the flour, salt and the water dissolved yeast; then add vegetable oil and kneed until a dough forms on a floured surface. Shape dough into a ball and transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with a clean, damp cloth and set aside for 1-2 hours until dough has doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a baking sheet with some vegetable oil.
• Divide the dough into smaller parts and shape into balls. Roll each part on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin. Using fingertips or a pastry cutter, shape into a roughly 8” round. Transfer to greased sheet pan.
• In a small bowl mix zaatar, and olive oil together. Optionally, add sumac which makes a more tart flavor.
• Top each circle with 1 tablespoon of zaatar mixture and spread with fingers. Bake discs about 7 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Be careful not to burn.
• May serve warm or at room temperature.

I adore this land. With all the complexities of a modern nation, Jordan stands out in the Levant as a center of history and a haven for many fleeing political uncertainty. But for me it holds the memories of family and summers, and most certainly of food!

Jordan is a country rich in beauty. Petra is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World—add it to your bucket list if it’s not already. In the summer, the Dead and Red Seas are worth a trip. And nothing is like the simplicity of the dessert and the views of the Jordan Valley. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent and before fifty years ago did not have as many serious water challenges of cultivating its land. It still has some of the best olives, citruses, figs and grapes in the region.

Jordanian food is very similar to Lebanese food and that of neighboring countries. I personally think that there is no better falafel than the Palestinian shops of Amman, where you can get a sandwich for a dollar. There is also some of the best baklawa in Amman at the well-known establishment Zalatimo. I will definitely be packing a few tins to take back with me.

My favorite dessert is called Kanafeh. Pastry shops are typically lined with platters of the stuff, along with other Arabic treats. Kanafeh is layered sweet cheese in between flakey shredded pastry and soaked in syrup. Yum!

Possibly the most uniquely Jordanian food is Mansaf, which is a lamb dish cooked in fermented yoghurt and served over rice topped with slivered almonds and pine nuts. The Bedouins traditionally eat Mansaf from a communal large platter with the right hand, and it is still done so today. Different variations of Mansaf exist, I personally like roast chicken.

The center of activity in our homes is the kitchen. The daily routine revolves around food. Eating it, planning for it, shopping for it, preparing it, eating it, and packing it up for the next meal. But it’s more than just food – its interaction, gastronomy, and even artistic discretion that makes it all worth the time.

There are so many dishes I can’t wait to eat again, and at some point this trip I’m sure we’ll have Mahshi. The word Mahshi means “stuffed’ and it is very common to prepare stuffed peppers, zuchinni’s, grape and cabbage leaves, fillo dough, etc. with a rice mixture and topped with a tomato or yoghurt sauce.

Mahshi Filfil or Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
6 green peppers (medium sized)
½ cup flat-leaf parsley
½ cup mint (fresh or dried)
¾ cup toasted pine nuts
2 large onions
2 cups long-grain rice
1 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp all-spice
½ tbsp cinnamon
1 tspn salt
1 tspn pepper
¼ cup currants (optional)
¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup browned, ground beef (optional)
1 cup boiled brown lentils (optional)
4 roma tomatoes
½ cup tomato paste
2 cloves garlic

Directions:

Wash the green peppers and cut out the stems. An apple corer or paring knife is handy for this. Save the top of the pepper.

For the stuffing wash long grain/Basmati rice and cook it in boiled water for 5 minutes until it is al dente; almost cooked but not completely. Drain the water from the rice and in a large bowl add the currants, spices and half of the toasted pine nuts. The choice of adding meat or lentils is entirely up to preference. Brown both together with the chopped onions and add to the rice mixture.

Add parsley, mint and lemon juice to the rice mixture. This step is optional: in a food processor pulse five times the parsley, mint and walnuts together, and be careful not to get a paste. Add this mixture to the rice.

For the sauce, boil the tomatoes and then crush them in a food processor together with the garlic. Stir the tomato sauce with the tomato paste and 1 cup of water in a large pot.

Once the rice is cooled, stuff each pepper with the rice mixture. Leave room at least a centimeter at the top as the rice will expand.

Cover the peppers with their top “hats”. Drizzle olive oil and some water over them and let simmer slowly until the peppers become tender and the rice is fully cooked.

Garnish the peppers with the rest of the pine nuts. When plating, pour the tomato sauce beneath and on top of the peppers.

Everyone seems to be a food expert these days. Not a day goes past when I don’t hear someone talking about a vegetarian – gluten-free – dairy-free – sugar-free – Paleolithic – vegan – omega-rich – Atkins – elimination – wheat-free – detox – juice – halal – macrobiotic – carb-free – caffeine-free – liquid – organic – diabetic – or local diet,… and that doesn’t even cover it.

What a burden it is, to be an educated consumer! We all want healthy bodies, yes, but is it possible to become overly obsessed with what we eat? I observe an epidemic of extreme paranoia about trivial food items. With millions of helpful health resources available, some conflicting, I find myself wondering if I’m not overcomplicating my life.

Platitudes like “keep it simple” and “moderation in all things” somehow get thrown out the window when I’m hurriedly forced to choose between a quick high calorie muffin or waking up early to make breakfast. Or at the market wondering why I should fork out $3.99 for a local cucumber or double the price for local grain fed chicken, versus the supermarket variety next door. Decisions, decisions, … thank you industrialization and advertising moguls for helping me loose my appetite.

But it’s a not a total loss—my parents are inspirations of modern-traditional eaters. My mom makes savory Middle Eastern meals with a fraction of the requisite oil. For lunch my dad has a chunk of lettuce, a tomato, an apple, a slab of cheese, and a slice of toast. They eat fish once a week, meat  <3 times a week, and salad every evening. There is a drawer of sweets in the house but they rarely snack, and soft drinks come out only for guests. They eat mostly at home and are non-fussy and selectively organic. They don’t sacrifice flavor or gusto, and rarely turn down a decadent dessert. Knock on wood, these are healthy people who exercise minimally and live life maximumally.

When I was 15 I stopped eating meat, which didn’t go over very well at first. But kudos to my mother, very old staples of Arabic and Persian cooking suddenly became veg. In fact, much of Middle Eastern cooking is very easily adaptable to a vegetarian diet because of the high vegetable and legume content, and contrary to popular belief, is not replete with red meat and rice. More and more, the nutritional recipes I seek lay cradled in my own heritage.

The Arabic salad Fattoush is my testament to the fact that a fat toush is not a tradeoff I’m willing to make for delicious food. In Arabic, fatt means to crumble—referring to the broken flat bread in this simple salad. When I’m crushing those pita chips I am not fearful of the impending doom of a fat toush. Live large, live healthy, form your own balance. Fat-toush.

Fattoush Salad,
Makes approximately 6 servings.

1 head romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
1 bunch arugula or purslane, chopped
2 small Persian/Lebanese cucumbers, chopped
3 medium red radishes, thinly sliced
3 firm tomatoes, diced, or a bunch of cherry tomatoes

1 green pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
½-1 cup chopped mint
½-1 cup chopped Italian parsley
3 green spring onions, chopped, or 1/4 cup sliced red or yellow onion
1 large pita loaf
1/2 cup black olives (optional)

Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed with a dash salt
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
1 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon ground sumac
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (optional, to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Thoroughly wash, drain and chop vegetables.
2. Drizzle the pita bread with olive oil. Cut the bread into little squares. Place pita pieces
on a baking sheet and bake in oven at 350 F, until crisp and golden. Sprinkle with some
sumac.
3. Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
4. Wisk all the dressing ingredients together and drizzle on the salad.
5. Garnish with the pita chips, pomegranate seeds, mint leaves, or zaatar.

Note: There are many variations of fattoush. Find your own style!

Crushed mint and lemon with slushed ice are the perfect thing on a humid day on the Mediterranean coastline, where the smoggy air bounces off concrete buildings and you are eager for some shade. The city of Haifa, Israel is one such place. Noted in the Levant for its neighborhoods of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Bahá’ís living side by side in relative harmony, Haifa has developed its restaurant business at the foot of Mount Carmel considerably in the last ten years. Served in any of the Palestinian or Israeli establishments, limonana is the perfect drink to have on a sidewalk café, perhaps with a bit of Arabic mezza and sheesha.

Limon-nana (meaning lemon and mint in Arabic and Hebrew) is an oasis of serenity in a heated climate, something everyone can enjoy. If you’re not in Israel, Palestine or neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, or near the Israeli coffee chain Aroma in major North American cities, then follow this easy recipe and share!

Limonana
Makes approximately 3 cups.

1 cup lemon juice, or about 4 medium size lemons
½ cup fresh mint leaves
4 tablespoons sugar
3 cups of ice cubes
½ cup of water

1. Boil ½ cup of water with sugar and a pinch of mint, then pour cooled liquid into blender.
2. Add remaining items and blend for 1-2 minutes.
3. Pour into glasses and garnish with fresh mint sprigs

Note: I use agave syrup in place of sugar. Sweeten to your own taste.

Source: dubaivirtualguide.org

Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is an extremely diverse place. Schools reflect this diversity – there are Asian schools, Arab schools, Western-expat schools, and each school has a different food culture and needs. Accuro has partnered with eight schools (14,000 students) to encourage healthier school lunches, incorporating more fresh fruits and vegetable and reducing packaged sweets. It tailors the menu according to the food tastes of the school An interesting way for a large private corporation to push for broader change.

These mezza or appetizers hail from Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and Syria. You might be wondering, who was Baba Ghanouj? No one. Ghanouj means to corrupt so I suppose dads everywhere should beware. The term Muhammara means to redden which is no surprise given its crimson hue. Hummus is the kicker- it is around 7,000 years old dating to ancient Egypt, seen again in ancient Greece and Persia, and then in modern Arabia. Hummus simply means chickpea or garbanzo bean and is used in dips, falafel and sauces.

You may want to dive, not dip, into these recipes. They are great party snacks, served with pita bread, crackers and olives, or as spreads on sandwiches, and make a meal onto themselves. The essential ingredients are garlic, lemon, olive oil and tahini, the bedrock of Levantine cooking. To garnish and make it pretty, use parsley, mint, paprika, olives, toasted pine nuts and pomegranate seeds. Artistic license is encouraged!

Baba Ghanouj بابا غنوج
Also called Mutabbal  متبل بتنجان

1 large eggplant
3 tablespoons sesame tahini
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 pinch ground cumin
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped and cleaned
salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut eggplant length-wise and prick all over with a fork. Place eggplant cut-side down on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until skin blisters and the flesh feels soft, about 40 minutes.

Cool eggplant slightly then scoop out the eggplant pulp and discard the skin. In a food processor, combine the eggplant with the tahini, garlic, lemon, cumin, salt and half the parsley. Pulse until everything is well incorporated but maintain a chunky texture. By hand, mix in the olive oil, yoghurt and remaining parsley.

Garnish with parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with veggies, pita bread or crackers.

Muhammara محمرة‎

3 red bell peppers
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
1/2 tablespoon chili powder or chili flakes, to taste
1 garlic glove, minced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut each pepper into quarters, clean and seed them. Place on lined baking sheet and roast for about 12 minutes, turning halfway. Remove peppers from oven and peel off skin. (In place of roasting the peppers yourself you may use 1 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers).

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until almost completely smooth, or desired texture. Place in a serving dish, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with pomegranate seeds or as desired.

Note: The addition of pomegranate is optional molasses, but it adds a tart flavor.

Hummus حمّص‎

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
2 tablespoons liquid from can of chickpeas
4 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Blend all ingredients in a food processor and sprinkle with paprika, pine nuts, and olive oil. Garnish with parsley.

Note: The authentic way, though more time intensive, is to cook the chickpeas in a pot or pressure cooker which releases a savory liquid to include in the hummus.

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But just below the surface California is a hodgepodge of “minority” immigrants, including Indians, Africans, Asians, Europeans, and Middle Easterners. I grew up in predominantly Latino areas, speak Spanish, salsa dance, and have travelled to a generous number of Latin American countries. But it was a fluke that my family settled 10 minutes from the Tijuana border crossing. Settling there in the 80’s, speaking a foreign language (Arabic), no wonder people thought we were weird!

What I love about immigrants is that we find kindred souls everywhere. It was our Mexican neighbors who opened their doors to us with open arms, and kitchens! To this day our closest family friends still invite us for barbeques, weddings, Christmas dinners and Quinceañeras. And one important thing in common between our cultures—we show affection through food.

Imagine a typical spread: freshly made salsa and guacamole, blackened peppers and carne asada on the grill, black beans slowly cooking in a large pot, tortillas being patted down on a griddle, a roasted chicken being shredded, charred corn and my favorite SoCal dish, fish tacos.

Actually the commonalities between Arab and Latin cultures go back centuries to the Moorish influence on Southern Spain. Did you know that saffron, the signature ingredient for paella, is an Arabic spice? Zaafron is a derivative of the Arabic word for yellow. Alcohol, also an Arabic name, was brought by Moors via winemaking. The Moors occupied Iberia for 700 years and introduced rice cultivation, figs, citrus, cinnamon, nutmeg, almonds, sausages, empanadas, and plenty of other spices and sauces. These foods were brought over to Mexico as well, like albóndigas (a meat ball recipe), estofado (a meat stew), nogada (a nut sauce), and mole (a spicy reddish-brown sauce). Some say even the popular Spanish churros came from the Arabic zelabia or from Sephardic Jews’ bimuelos.

When I was 16 my father took our family to Spain so we could see the Arab influence in Europe, and it is really spectacular to see old mosques and churches side-by-side; flamenco music and dance; and delicious tapas, all which are mixes of east and west. To this day I have a love affair with Andalusia.

So that’s how I enjoy my blast to the past dinner of chile rellenos and churros with chocolate for dessert. The first is a Mexican dish of a roasted poblano pepper stuffed with cheese in a tomato sauce. Churros y chocolate is a favorite Spanish fried pastry dessert or breakfast snack which is dipped in hot chocolate. Delicioso!

Chile Rellenos

12 poblano, pasilla or Anaheim chiles
1 pound queso fresco cheese (or Monterey Jack)
Toothpicks
6 eggs
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cup oil

Tomato sauce:
8 medium Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, thinly chopped
1 ½ cup water
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 chicken bullion cube
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

1. To peel the skin from the pepper, blacken them by holding them over the burner of a gas stove, broiler, or grill them on a baking sheet in the oven. Once one side of the pepper chars and blisters, turn it so to evenly cook each pepper.
2. Once blackened put peppers in a closed plastic bag to sweat out the moisture. After 20 minutes remove from bag and begin peeling the skin.
3. Slit them down the middle with a paring knife and cut out the main seed pod, being careful to not rip the pepper. Rinse with cold water to remove any remaining seeds.
4. Cut the cheese in thin strips as long as each pepper and stuff with the queso fresco. Don’t stuff too tightly as it expands when it melts. Use toothpicks to hold them together. Roll the chiles in white flour and set aside.
5. Separate the egg yolks from the whites and beat whites in a large bowl with an electric beater until fluffy. Fold in the egg yolks and flour and completely mix.
6. Heat oil in a big frying pan 1” deep to medium heat or about 370º F. Holding the stuffed pepper by the stem dip it into the batter and fry until golden brown on both sides.
7. Remove from the oil and place it carefully in the tomato sauce so that the sauce covers the pepper. Keep sauce on low heat long enough to melt the cheese.

Tomato sauce:

1. In a medium size saucepan fry chopped onions in oil with garlic and spices until translucent. Then add tomatoes, water, and bullion. Cook until tomatoes are mashed.
2. Put mixture in a food processor, but be careful the sauce does not become too watery. Pour the tomato sauce over the cooked chile rellenos on the serving platter and serve.

Churros con Chocolate

Churros:
3 cups canola oil (for frying)
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Piping bag with large star tip

Hot Chocolate:
6 ounces dark chocolate
2 2/3 cups milk
2 tablespoon cornstarch
6 tablespoons sugar

1. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan to 350 degrees F, 1 inch.
2. To make the churro dough, heat the water, butter, and salt to a rolling boil in a medium size saucepan until melted.
3. Add the flour and stir vigorously over low heat with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball, approximately 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat and transfer to large bowl to cool for 3 minutes. Beat eggs into the mixture until smooth and sticky (easier with electric mixer). Optionally add half a teaspoon of sugar and cinnamon into batter for flavor.
5. Spoon the batter into a pastry bag with a large star tip. Pipe 3 to 4-inch strips of dough into the hot oil, and use a knife to cut batter from tip. Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown and cooked in the center, turning once with tongs, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towels.
6. While cooling for 3 minutes, mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl then toss the churros in sugar and cinnamon.

Serve warm to dunk in Hot Chocolate:

1. Place the chocolate and half the milk in a saucepan over very low heat and simmer, stirring, until the chocolate has melted. (For a spicy flavor add nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, cloves, vanilla or orange peel, to your taste.)
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk and whisk into the chocolate with the sugar. Cook on low heat, whisking continuously until the chocolate thickens, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove and whisk until smooth. If it doesn’t thicken, whisk in more cornstarch and let sit for 5 more minutes.
4. Pour the chocolate into small cups for dipping the churros after every bite. Serve warm.

Sources:
—World Atlas of Food, Jane Grigson editor [Mitchell Beaszley:London] 1974 (p. 170)
—Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 741)
—Arab Influences in the Culinary Art of Mexico, Habeeb Salloum, 2005 http://www.infohub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7483
—The Mexican Kitchen’s Islamic Connection, Rachel Laudman [Saudi Aramco World] 2004 (p. 32) http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200403/the.mexican.kitchen.s.islamic.connection.htm
—An Air of Buenos Aires Draws Argentines to Manolo, Linda Bladholm [The Miami Herald] June 24, 2004 (p. 9E) http://churrosmanolo.com/herald.html

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One of my clearest memories of Tehran is walking around the corner from our house with my hand in Baba’s to a little store that sold little cups of crème caramel, a custard dessert with a caramel sauce on the bottom. I did not care for the sauce but absolutely adored the firm, creamy, velvety custard. Never one to savor anything slowly, I could dispatch the entire cup in about three or four bites.

Source: Cafe Glace taken by Peter Alfred Hess

Back then—it must have been the early 1970s—my grandparents lived in a glitzy Tehran neighborhood called Meydan-e Vanak. I do not remember much about their house aside from the beautiful garden with rows of glorious rose bushes. What I do recall in great detail is the nearby bistro where my aunt Lily and I would sit by a large window to watch passers-by and share a café glacé, basically a tall fountain glass of several scoops of very creamy vanilla ice cream with shots of espresso on top. Don’t tell me children cannot appreciate good espresso. I absolutely loved it and I could not have been older than six or seven.

At large family parties, the trays of napoleons would inevitably make an appearance: layers of puff pastry interspersed with pastry cream and iced with fondant and chocolate or powdered sugar. And no one dared come back from a holiday in England without a large tin of Quality Street sweets with their sparkling bright jewel-colored wrappers. Thirty years later and I can tell you which ones I liked the best: the round gold-wrapped toffees and the long purple-wrapped milk chocolate-covered caramels.

Source: lifeinapeanutshell.blogspot.com

In Holland I discovered drop (rhymes more with rope than with mop), which non-Dutch people often refer to as licorice. I remember holding the tiny hand of my three-year-old cousin and making our way across the bridge over a canal to the sweet shop where I would buy bags of drop. In my opinion, comparing drop with licorice is blasphemous. Licorice tastes vaguely plastic whereas an authentic drop is complex and exquisite. Drop comes sweet, light salty, medium salty and very salty. I cherished them all and for years had to pay exorbitant prices to get them here in the States. They’re easier to find now but a word of warning: drop is an acquired taste and the earlier in life you try it, the better.

When I think of Germany, I think of gummy candies. If I ever had a slice of German chocolate cake or black forest cake in Germany, I have absolutely no recollection of it but I do remember the varieties of Haribo’s Gummi Bears and Cola Bottles. They were all fantastic and I don’t care what anyone says: American gummies do not taste the same as European ones.

This is all I have to say about the trifle I had in Scotland: one layer of custard, one layer of sponge cake, one layer of berries, topped with fresh whipped cream. Good Lord!

Source: Foster's Market

France has always been all about Paris for me—one of my favorite cities in the world—mostly because of the crepes you buy from street vendors. Some folks like their crepes with all manners of embellishment. To me, there is nothing in the world like a simple crepe with just butter and sugar—and not too much sugar either. (I just closed my eyes and strolled down Rue de Rivoli near Chatelet, stopping to buy a crêpe avec sucre et beurre. Anyone want a bite?)

While I had had biscuits throughout the world, I did not lay into my first true cookie until I arrived in the US—and once I did, I could not quite believe that I had missed out on the chewy, chocolate chippy goodness for all those years. I’ve lived in many of the largest cities in America—Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Chicago, New York and San Francisco—and I have searched high and low for the best cookie in all of them. I promise I am not biased (because I now live in the Bay Area) when I declare Hot Cookie in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood the hands-down winner. I’m glad I didn’t spot the penis-shaped macaroons before I discovered the oatmeal chocolate chip walnut and the milk chocolate toffee cookies. I would have been turned off and walked out. And what a shame that would have been.

Source: Smitten Kitchen

If cookies do not excite you, can we discuss bread pudding for just a minute? In my opinion, the top non-cookie dessert in America is from Blue Ribbon Bakery on Downing Street in the West Village. I could never decide between the banana walnut bread pudding with banana caramel sauce or the chocolate chip bread pudding with hot fudge. And each time the server would offer to bring me a half of each, I wanted to declare my eternal love for him. And if you go, always ask for a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Want to hear the bummer? The day I was diagnosed with a serious illness was the day my life-long sugar addiction came to a hasty halt. I don’t miss all the sugar as much as you would think I would. I still indulge every once in a while—sparingly, moderately, consciously. Also, my palate has changed so much these past couple of years that I now can’t even imagine consuming the volumes of sweets I once did.

And perhaps it’s also true that sometimes you savor the sweet memories even more than the real thing.

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The pomegranate. What fruit is more tart, sweet, ruby red, fragrant, and dribble-down-your-chin juicy? Not to mention high in antioxidants and other health benefits. It has stood as a symbol of eternal life in Persia since 600 BC, and has seeped into the artwork, cuisine, horticulture, music and literature of Iran. The great poet Rumi spoke of pomegranates in the following quatrain:

This week I’m thinking of pomegranates while eagerly awaiting the spring equinox on March 21st, otherwise known as the Persian, and Baha’i, new year, Nowruz. What more fitting dish to prepare at this time than Khoresh-e fesenjoon, a pomegranate-walnut chicken stew. Fesenjoon is
sweet and sour to taste, and traditionally made with poultry (duck, chicken, or turkey).

The last of the pomegranates are still in season. As I learnt from my mother, the best way to crack open a pomegranate is with a pairing knife and your bare hands, hunched over the kitchen sink. Not classy. But very effective, since the wine colored nectar inevitably stains anything of value. If I don’t bite right into the fruit like a vampire, I pull out the seeds and set them aside to garnish a salad, dessert, or stew. In Persian cooking, pomegranate syrup it is used in certain soups, rice dishes, and stuffed grape leaves.

As one of mixed heritage I haven’t witnessed even a fraction of Nowruz customs of Zoroastrian origin, beginning early March with the sprouting of lentil seeds (sabzeh) and spring cleaning, followed by Chahârshanbe Sûrî, a day to symbolically and literally “jump” over fire and into the new year. The traditional Nowruz table setting, Haft Sîn, is set with seven items beginning with the letter “S” that are elements of Life: Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Plants, Animals, and Human.

One Nowruz in Iraqi Kurdistan, I witnessed large festival-like family picnics in green pastures with music and dancing. Like the Persians, the Kurds make elaborate picnics of green herbs, kabobs, dill rice and fish, cutlets, watermelon, breads, cheeses, and of course, fragrant tea served from a hot samovar.

With a little online research, I found that many major faiths and cultures praise the pomegranate, as well as the ancients in the Hebrew Bible, Babylonian Talmud and Egyptian mythology. To Chinese- a symbol of fertility. To Greeks- a symbol of abundance and the underworld. To Muslims- a fruit of paradise. To Christians- a symbol of Jesus’ suffering. To Vietnamese- the blossom is the symbol of summer. To Mexicans- seeds brought from southern Spain became an essential ingredient of the national dish, chiles en nogada. And last, but not least, to Persian Zoroastrians- pomegranates were associated with everlasting life and the abundance of nature.

Unraveling these mysteries of the pomegranate can only make my fesenjoon sweeter to the palate. To all, a happy Nowruz!

Fesenjoon (pomegranate- walnut chicken stew)

Fesenjoon (pomegranate- walnut chicken stew)

1 yellow onion, finely diced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pound skinless chicken, cut into thin pieces
2 cups walnuts
3/4 cup pomegranate molasses
2 cups water
2 tspn salt
½ tspn pepper
½ tspn cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar, optional
½ tspn cardamom, optional
pomegranate seeds to garnish

1. Finely grind walnuts in food processor, then toast in a pan 3 minutes until lightly browned.
2. Heat oil in pot to medium heat then add diced onion and sauté until translucent.
3. Add the chicken pieces to the onions and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the toasted walnuts to chicken and onion and cook for 5-10 minutes to allow walnut oils to release and darken.
5. Add pomegranate molasses, water, salt, pepper and cinnamon to pot and let simmer, covered, on low heat for at least 1 hour, stirring frequently.
6. Add sugar if flavor is too tart for your taste. Can let simmer on low for up to 2 hours.
7. Serve with Persian basmati rice with saffron, and garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Optional: as a sugar substitute, mash one yam and blend it into the sauce. It will both sweeten and thicken the sauce.

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