3 days before prep

Run jar and it’s lid through the dishwasher on high heat to sterilize.

Make the shatta: Place 250g red or green chiles with their seeds, stems trimmed and very thinly sliced into your sterilized jar. Add 1 tbsp salt and mix well. Seal the jar and store in the fridge for 3 days.

The day before
5 minutes

Soak 675g dry chickpeas in twice their volume of water.

Mise en place
45 minutes

For the falafel: Finely chop 2 medium onions (about 300g). Crush 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chop 25g parsley and 25g cilantro and 15g mint.
For the kubbeh: Finely chop 3 onions for the filling and another 1 onion for the shell, roughly chop 5g parsley.
For the spicy olives: Remove the pith and seeds from 2 preserved lemons and finely slice. You should have about 25g. Seed and finely slice 1/2 green chile. You can put these in the same bowl. Finely slice 2 green onions.
For the lamb: Roughly chop 1 onion, and 4 cloves of garlic. Peel 1/2 inch of ginger (13g) and roughly chop it. Roughly chop 10g parsley.
For the soup: Finely chop 1 onion. Crush 3 garlic cloves. Remove the stalks from 250g swiss chard and finely chop. Roughly tear the leaves. Discard the seeds from one preserved lemon and finely chop the skin and flesh.
Lemon juice: juice 2-3 lemons and keep the lemon juice on hand for your prep.
Pomegranate seeds: You can get these pre-separated in a lot of grocery stores. If you’re buying a whole pomegranate, use this opportunity to separate the seeds for later in the week. Store them in the fridge.
For the crispy onions: Cut 2 onions (300g) in half, and then cut each half thinly.

Take out the following and place on your counter for easy access:
Tahini, Apple cider vinegar, rose water, orange blossom water, pomegranate molasses. Also take our your spices.

Start cooking
3.5 hours

Cook the chickpeas
You’re going to split the chickpeas up into a number of different preparations and this may seem like a waste of time, but it’s in service to the final product.

Drain the chickpeas and put 480g of cooked chickpeas in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add 1 tsp baking soda and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly (this will help break down the skins to make a creamy hummus). Add 6 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 30 minutes, skimming off any foam that appears. The chickpeas are ready when they collapse easily when pressed between your thumb and finger—almost but quite mushy.

Put another 240g of chickpeas in another saucepan. Cover with plenty of cold water and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, skim any foam from the surface, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer for 45-60 minutes, adding 1/2 tsp salt toward the end of the cooking time, until the chickpeas are very soft but still retain their shape. These ones don’t have the baking soda because we’re going to fry them and we want the skin intact. Cool the chickpeas and drain, holding back 100ml of liquid (aquafaba) in a separate container.

Make the falafel
Put the remaining drained chickpeas (480g) in a bowl with the garlic, parsley, cilantro, mint, and three-fourths of the chopped onions. Put half the mix into a food processor and blitz for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides a couple of times if you need to, until the paste is damp and slightly mushy. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with the remaining half of the mix. Add this to bowls as well along with 3/4 tsp Aleppo chile flakes (or 1/2 tsp regular chile flakes), 1 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/4 tsp coriander seeds, and 1 1/2 tsp of salt. Using your hands, mix well to combine. Add 3/4 tsp baking soda and give everything another mix.

Place the remaining onions in a bowl with 1 tbsp sumac and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix well and set aside.

When shaping the falafel, have a small bowl of water nearby so that you can keep your hands wet. This makes it easier to work with the mixture. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spoon 2 tbsp of the mixture (about 50g) into the palm of your hand and form a ball. Don’t press to hard, as this will make the falafel dense. Dip you finger in the bowl of water and then make a large hollow in the middle of each ball. Spoon 1 tsp of the sumac onion mixture into the hollow and shape it again so that most of the filling is covered. Flatten into a patty about 2 1/2 inches wide and 3/4 inches thick. Then, using our little finger, make a small indentation; this will ensure that the inside gets evenly cooked. Place on the baking sheet and continue with the remaining mixture. You should have enough to shape 16 falafel. Sprinkle the tops lightly with sesame seeds, pressing them in slightly so that they don’t fall off when the falafel are fried. Put the baking sheet in the freezer.

Make the green chile sauce
Mix together 1/2 green chile, seeded and finely chopped, 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, 3/4 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1/2 garlic clove, crushed, and a pinch of salt. Store in the fridge.

Make the kubbeh
To make the filling, put 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup pine nuts and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring continuously, until evenly golden. Drain in a sieve placed over a bowl, to collect the oil, then return the oil to the pan. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, along with the onions and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until soft and lightly golden. Add 200g beef, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp allspice and cook for another 2 minutes, using a spoon to break up the beef, until the meat is no longer pink. Remove from the heat and stir in the pine nuts, 4 tsp pomegranate molasses, parsley, 1 1/4 tsp of salt, and a good grind of black pepper. Set aside to cool.

To make the shell, put the onion into a food processor and pulse until very finely minced but not liquidized. Add 200g ground beef, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp allspice, 1 tbsp of salt, and a good grind of black pepper. Pulse a few times, about 15 seconds in total, to form a paste. Transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.

Put 270g fine bulgur into a sieve and place under running water for about 2 minutes, or until the water runs clear. Set aside to drain for a couple of minutes, then add to the raw beef mixture. Knead for about 3 minutes, or until you have a sticky mass that holds together well when pinched. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and have a bowl of water nearby.

Begin by rolling our Ping-Pong size balls of the kubbeh shell—they should weigh about 35g each. Working one at a time, hold a ball in your non-dominant hand and use the index finger of your dominant hand to make an indentation in the center of the ball. Gently swivel your finger around, while pushing upwards with your non-dominant hand to form a cavity with sides about 1/8 inch thick. Fill the cavity with 1 1/2 tsp of the filling and gently seal the shell around it, so no filling is exposed. Using both hands, form the kubbeh into an oval that is somewhat pointed at one end, making sure no cracks appear and that the kubbeh is completely sealed on all sides. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and continue with the remaining filling and shell mixture. Put them in the freezer on the sheet.

Make the hummus
Drain the chickpeas for the hummus and transfer to a food processor. Process to form a stiff paste and then, with the machine still running, add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Slowly drizzle in the ice water and continue to process for another 5 minutes. This will feel like a long time but it is what is needed to get a very smooth and creamy paste. Transfer to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge.

Blitz the shatta
Now that you have fermented the shatta, drain the chiles and transfer to a food processor. Blitz either to a fine paste or roughly so that texture remains. Add 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1 tbsp lemon juice, then return to the same jar. Pour enough olive oil on the top to cover and keep in the fridge for up to 6 months. Don’t bother to clean the food processor because we will use it for the spicy olives and they call for shatta.

Roast a pepper for the spicy olives and some beets for the galette
Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place one bell pepper on the prepared baking sheet. Toss with 1 tsp of oil and bake for 35-40 minutes until soft and charred.

Wrap 3 small beets individually in aluminium foil (the book uses a mix of purple and yellow). Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until completely soft. Remove from the oven and let cool and then use paper towel to gently rub away the skin. Store in the fridge.

Soak some lentils
Cover 175g green lentils with 750ml water and set aside for 1 hour to soak in a saucepan.

Tahini sauce!
Mix together 150g tahini, 120ml water, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, crushed, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Cook the bulgur
Put 100g bulgur, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of allspice, 1 tsp olive oil, 112ml boiling water and a pinch of salt into a medium sauté pan over medium heat, then cover the pan, remove from the heat, and set aside for 30 minutes.

Make the blood orange dressing
Combine 1 1/2tbsp blood orange juice, 1 tbsp lemon juice, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of allspice, 1 tsp pomegranate molasses, and 1/2 tsp sugar in a bowl with a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper. Whisk to combine, then combine to whisk as you slowly add 75ml olive oil. Store in the fridge.

Finish the spicy olives and roasted red pepper
One the red pepper is charred and soft, place it in a bowl and cover for about 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin, stem, and seeds and place the flesh in the food processor. Blitz until smooth, then transfer to a bowl with the shatta and the 1 tbsp of oil. Mix well to combine, then add the green olives, the preserved lemons, 10g finely shopped parsley, the green onions, the green chile, and 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice.

Finish the bulgur
Remove the lid from the bulgur, fluff with a fork, and set aside to cool. Once cool, store in the fridge.

Cook the lentils
Bring the pan of lentils to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes, until the lentils are soft but retain a bite. Drain the lentils straightaway under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again, then tip onto a plate and leave to dry a little before storing in the fridge.

Make the crispy onions
Put 400ml sunflower or other frying oil in a large frying pan. You want the oil to rise 3/4 inch up the side of the pan. Place over medium-high heat. Line a plate with paper towels. Mix the onions with 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch. When the oil is hot, add about 1/3 of the onions. Cook for 8-14 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onions are really golden and crispy. Transfer to the prepared plate—spread them out to not get soggy—and sprinkle lightly with salt. Continue with the remaining onions.

Make the chard soup
I’m calling for the full recipe here but it serves 4 so definitely freeze half if you don’t think you’ll get to it this week.

Rinse 200g green lentils in plenty of cold water and place them in a medium saucepan. Cover with 1L of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the lentils are just soft.

When the lentils are halfway done, put 2 tbsp olive oil into a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown. Add the garlic, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds and cook for 1 minute, then add the turmeric, chile flakes, chard stalks, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well to combine, then add the drained lentils and 750ml chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes before adding the chard leaves and preserved lemon. Cook for 4 minutes then remove from the heat. Transfer about half the soup to a counter-top blender and blitz until smooth. Return the blitzed soup to the un-blitzed soup and cool. Store half and freeze the other half.

Marinate the lamb
Put the chopped onion, ginger, and garlic into a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add the parsley, 3/4 tbsp ground cumin, 3/4 tbsp ground coriander, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and a pinch of ground cloves. Pulse for about 10 seconds, until just combined. Scrape down the sides, then add 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 30ml olive oil, 1 tsp salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Pulse to form a coarse paste, then transfer to a nonmetallic container large enough to hold the lamb. Pat the lamb dry and pierce liberally all over with a small, sharp knife. Add it to the spice paste and coat generously, so that all sides are covered. Cover with aluminum foil and let marinate, refrigerated.

Make some pie crust for the galette
Put 80g of all-purpose and 35g whole flour in a large bowl along with 1 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt and 1tbsp finely chopped oregano leaves and 1 1/2 tsp chopped thyme leaves. Add 115g fridge-cut, cubed unsalted butter and use your fingers to rub it into the flour. Don’t overwork the butter. You want chunks of it throughout the dough. add 60ml ice-cold water and use your hands to gather the dough together into a shaggy ball. Transfer to a well-floured surface and roll into a rectangle, about 11 x 7 inches. The dough here is fairly wet and sticky, so you’ll need to flour your hands, rolling pin, and work surface often. Fold the short ends in toward each other so that they meet at the center, then fold the dough in half, like a book. Roll out the dough once with a rolling pin and then just fold once in half again. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (make the galette the next day, or move the dough to the freezer).

Step 1: Put 2 tsp fast-acting dried yeast, 1 tbsp sugar and 200ml of lukewarm water into a small bowl or cup. Set aside for about 4 minutes, or until the mixture starts to bubble up. If the mix does not bubble up, your yeast could not be working, don’t proceed until it looks like it is alive a little! It might need more time or just some warmth or a new packet of yeast.

Step 2: Place 750g flour, 35g milk powder and 2 tsp salt in the bowl of a free-standing mixer with the dough hook attachment in place. Mix on a low speed for just a minute until the ingredients combine. Increase speed to medium, then slowly pour in the warm yeast mixture, followed by 2 tbsp oil. You can also mix and knead by hand. The mix will start as a shaggy mess. Add 220ml of warm water bit by bit with the machine running, it will soon come together as a dough ball. Continue kneading for up to 7 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic and not to stick to your fingers when pinched.

Step 3: Split your dough in two halves. Transfer the dough to two lightly oiled bowls, cover with a clean tea towel and place somewhere warm, ideally close to the oven or stove. Put one bowl in the refrigerator after 30 minutes. Let the other rise for about 1 hour until the dough had risen by a third.

Step 4: Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured work surface, cut into 6 pieces and shape into round balls. Each weighing about 100gm. Cover with a clean, slightly damp tea towel and rest for 10 minutes. You will not see much change in size or shape after 10 minutes but it’s still important for the dough to have this ‘rest’.

Step 5: After 10 minutes, flatten the balls of dough one at a time, first with your fingers, then using a rolling pin to shape them into 15-18cm wide circles: use more four to dust the work surface, if you need to, to prevent them sticking as you roll. Take care not to have any tears in the dough, as this will allow steam to escape in the oven and prevent the pitas puffing up. Continue until all the balls of dough are rolled out, covering them with a damp tea towel once rolled, to prevent them from drying out. Set aside to prove for a final 20 minutes.

Step 6: While the dough is proving, preheat the oven to 250˚C or 482˚F. Basically, the highest temperature your oven can go. Place the oven trays you are going to bake the bread on into the oven to heat up. Fit in as many as you can fit noting that you will only fit 2-3 pitas on each tray and you will need to do them in batches.

Step 7: When ready to bake, slide out each tray, place half the pita rounds on each with no dough touching. Place them top side down as this allows better puff. Bake 4-5 minutes or until they puff up and their tops are slightly golden. I flip them over and give them another minute or so on the other side. You don’t want them to take on too much colour, as this will lead to the bread being hard.

Step 8: Arrange the remaining pitas in a tray and cover them with a clean tea towel while you continue baking the batches of dough. Covering them is important for keeping them moist and pillowy so you can split and fill them.

Spicy olives and roasted red pepper

Hummus

Red or Green Shatta

Warm chickpeas with green chile sauce and toasted pita

With the chickpeas you prepped you should be able to make this twice.

Preheat the broiler.

To toast the pitas, pull open one pita and tear each half in two. Brush the insides of the pitas lightly with 1/2 tbsp olive oil and place under the broiler for about 2 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Keep a close eye on them while they are under the broiler so that they don’t burn. Remove from the oven and, once cool enough to handle, break the pitas apart into roughly 1 1/2-inch/4com pieces. Set aside until ready to use.

Finish the green chile sauce by adding 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley.

Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Add 2 garlic cloves, crushed and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic is starting to colour. Add 1/2 green chile, finely chopped, cook for another 1 minute, then add 200g chickpeas, 50ml reserved chickpea liquid (aquafaba), 1/2 tbsp cumin, 50g tahini, 50g Greek yogurt, 1tbsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring from time to time. Transfer the warm chickpeas to a large serving platter with a lip or to a wide shallow bowl. Spoon on the green chile sauce and drizzle with 30g tahini. Sprinkle with the a pinch of paprika and finish with the remaining 3/4 tbsp olive oil. Serve with toasted pita.

Falafel

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Line a colander with paper towel.

Fill a deep, heavy bottomed medium saucepan with about 3 inches of sunflower or other neutral frying oil. Bring up to 355˚F over a medium heat. Carefully lower the frozen falafel, only what you need for lunch, into the oil and cook for 5-6 minutes or until well browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to the prepared colander and allow it drain. When you have fried all the falafel you need, transfer them to a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes.

Kubbeh

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Line a colander with paper towel.

Fill a deep, heavy bottomed medium saucepan with about 3 inches of sunflower or other neutral frying oil. Bring up to 355˚F over a medium heat. Carefully lower the frozen falafel, only what you need for lunch, into the oil and cook for 4 minutes or until deeply browned and crispy on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to the prepared colander and allow it drain. When you have fried all the falafel you need, transfer them to a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with sumac, and serve warm with tahini sauce to dip into or pour over.

Chopped salad
Salata Arabieh

You’ll be able to make this recipe twice with the ingredients you purchased. Each time you make it, you’ll use the proportions here.

Quarter 2 Persian cucumbers length-ways, remove the seeds, and cut into a 1/4-inch dice. Cut 3 small plum tomatoes into a 1/4-inch dice. Dice half a bell pepper to the same size. Seed and mince 1 green chile. Finely slice 3 green onions, finely chop 15g parsley. Shred 7g mint leaves. Crush one clove of garlic. Zest 1 lemon.

Place all the above ingredients in a large bowl along with 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, 3/4 tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper.

Winter tabbouleh with blood orange dressing
Tabbouleh shatwieh

De-stem a bunch of lacinato kale, and roughly shred the leaves. Core and thinly slice 1/4 head of cabbage (on a mandoline if you have it). Chop 1 cup of parsley leaves. Tear 12g mint. Finely slice 4 green onion. Peel and slice 2 blood oranges into rounds.

Put the kale in a bowl with 1/2 tsp oil and a tiny pinch of salt. using your hands, mix well and gently massage the kale leaves.

Tip the bulgur you prepped into a large bowl and add the cabbage, parsley, mint, green onions, oranged, 1/4 tsp salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Mix to combine, add the kale, and pour in the blood orange dressing. Mix just to combine, then transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with pomegranates seeds and serve.

This makes enough for a couple meals and works as leftovers.

Lentils with tahini and crispy onions
Adass bil tahineh w al basal

Toast 30g sliced almonds. Roughly chop 10g parsley.

Bring the lentils to room temperature. In a mixing bowl, add the lentils, 30g tahini, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 large chopped green chiles, 30ml lemon juice, 1 1/4 tsp cumin, and 3/4 tsp salt. Mix to combine, then set aside for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, put half the crispy onions, most of the toasted almonds, and 1/3 of the chopped parsley into a wide serving bowl. Mix to combine, then add the lentils, give everything a gentle stir, and top with the remaining onions, almonds, and the rest of the parsley. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a sprinkle of paprika.