Feasts From the Middle East

3–4 tsp za’atar

2 tbsp olive oil

Place the feta on a plate. Mix together the za’atar and olive oil, and spoon over the top of the cheese.

FETA WITH PISTACHIOS & DATE SYRUP (#ulink_44b582a3-3ad7-592b-af7d-0860f958a84f)

250g block of feta

2 tbsp date syrup

25g shelled pistachio nuts, toasted and chopped

Place the feta on a plate. Spoon the date syrup over the top of the cheese, then scatter over the pistachio nuts.

FETA WITH SESAME SEEDS & HONEY (#ulink_695810d4-714a-5096-9c3d-2108fbd5df01)

250g block of feta

1–2 tbsp runny honey

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Place the feta on a plate. Spoon the honey over the top of the cheese, then scatter over the sesame seeds.

My pitstop snack as a little boy when I ran in from playing with my friends was to wolf down a scrambled-egg sandwich – so quick and very filling. Then, later, as a teenager I loved merguez sausages – the spicier, the better – stuffed into a sandwich with frites (skinny, and sometimes not so skinny, hand-cut chips) and harissa. This recipe, inspired by my friend Aziz, who made it for me in Beirut, combines the two and uses Middle Eastern sujuk. It’s thinner and longer than merguez, usually made from beef and flavoured with garlic, cumin and sumac. First make a big pan of scrambled eggs, then take it to another level by topping it with chunks of the sausage, just fried with some cherry tomatoes. A little pomegranate molasses and a sprinkling of parsley cuts through the richness. Use chorizo or merguez if you can’t track down sujuk sausages.

SUJUK SCRAMBLED EGGS (#ulink_1315f900-9952-547f-8b07-eb6ea5c391dd)

BEYD BIL SUJUK

SERVES 6

8 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp salt

a good grinding of black pepper

25g butter

2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tsp olive oil

60g sujuk sausage, sliced into 1cm chunks

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Season the eggs with the salt and pepper and stir together. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a low-to-medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the eggs. Start stirring the eggs to scramble them, watching them carefully. When they’re half cooked, stir in half the parsley.

Keeping one eye on the eggs, cook the topping. Put a separate, smaller frying pan on a medium heat, add and heat the olive oil. Cook the sujuk chunks until golden and crisp, tossing regularly. Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and cook until they’ve just blistered and turned golden on the flat side. Drizzle the pomegranate molasses over the top and toss everything again.

Check the eggs and stir them again – you want them to be cooked, but still a little soft. Spoon them into a bowl, then spoon the sujuk mixture on top. Drizzle over the juices and scatter over the remaining parsley, then serve.

I love tartines, French open sandwiches, because I can see exactly what the filling is or, in this case, the topping. I’ve made this recipe a big, sharing crowd-pleasing affair, with cheese, honey, candied figs, nuts and fruit. For a slightly more decadent topping, swap the pomegranate seeds for dried rose petals and add just a drop of rose water to the syrup or honey before drizzling. If you prefer the feta uncooked to enjoy more of the salty flavour, sprinkle it on with the seeds and rose water just before eating. If you can’t get hold of figs in syrup, poach dried figs in a little water to soften, then keep them in a jar with honey.

FIG & FETA TARTINE (#ulink_8fca21c7-193d-50b6-85f1-218a127644a9)

SERVES 6

200g block of feta

1 large flatbread

2–3 tbsp fig syrup, or use honey if using dried figs

9 whole figs in syrup – or use dried figs – chopped into chunks

20g slivered or roughly chopped pistachio nuts

large handful of pomegranate seeds

1 tsp sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7 and put a baking sheet in the oven to warm.

Put the feta into a bowl and mash it with a fork until it crumbles into small pieces.

Put the flatbread on a board and drizzle half the syrup over the top. Spoon the feta over the bread, covering it evenly. Then arrange the figs and pistachios over the top, again so they’re evenly spaced on the bread.

Slide the flatbread on to the preheated baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 5 minutes – just long enough to warm the bread through and allow the feta to become very slightly golden. The bread shouldn’t be too crisp.

Drizzle the remaining syrup over the top, followed by the pomegranate and sesame seeds. Cut into wedges and serve.

If you’re as greedy as me and like to pick at lots of bits, you’ll love this. It’s a true feast in every sense of the word and features lots of different dishes laid out in one big spread. This breakfast varies from family to family, village to village. For starters, you’ll always find a selection of homemade cheese, eggs and flatbreads with different toppings. There’ll also be jars of homemade jams such as quince, fig or rose petal. Olives and pickles, tomatoes, bunches of mint, baby cucumbers and radishes will be arranged in separate bowls. There’ll always be space for labneh, of course – whether the topping is sweet or savoury depends on preference. And finally there’ll be fresh fruit, whatever’s in season. Here’s a round-up of some of my favourites (photos on see here (#ulink_6c57a927-027a-551d-b94d-d52aa8a8bd5e)).

LEBANESE VILLAGE BREAKFAST (#ulink_059f2537-7e57-5cb4-9022-3bf64158dd10)

FOTOOR ARABY

LABNEH

Serve it plain or dressed as in the recipe on see here (#litres_trial_promo). Or top it with something sweet – rose petal or quince jam are two of my favourites – or choose whatever you have to hand. It’s also delicious with poached quinces and dried fruits (see here (#u05b97937-d304-5125-878c-3995986347f5)).

Labneh balls: serve as many different flavours as you like. There are plain labneh balls (dressed in a little olive oil), za’atar labneh balls, sumac labneh balls, labneh balls with flaked chilli, dried-mint labneh balls and labneh balls with nigella seeds.