Cooking with "Olives, Lemons & Za'atar: The Best Middle Eastern Home Cooking," from Chef Rawia of Tanoreen restaurant in NYC

[FlyingChopstik]

Hey guys,

 

So I've been wondering if any of you have had the chance to cook any recipes from this amazing cookbook, Olives, Lemons, and Zataar by Rawia Bishara. She is the head chef and founder of my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant in Brooklyn called, Tanoreen. Rawia is Palestinian from Nazareth. The food is some of the best that you will taste outside of the Middle East. I've cooked many of the recipes since purchasing the book in February and they are really scrumptious--wish I had photos but will try to post some.

 

 

My favorites are the pickles and sauce section. The tahini sauce and basil pesto are winners with friends and family and many of the recipes are my go to's.

 

Other favorites:

 

Chicken fetti--stewed chicken topped with tahini yogurt sauce, toasted nuts and pita chips! YUM!

Muhammara--red pepper/walnut dip

lamb with freekeh--really delicious and unique flavor if you've ever had this smoky green wheat

harrissa--coconut/semolina cake--one of my favorite cake recipes and a huge hit with my co-workers

arabic bread aka pita bread---I've been getting better at getting the "puff"

fattoush--I always make my salad this way

baked eggplant casserole--this is really really good especially the next day. I suggest you bake this in a clay pot.

shakshuka---deliciousness---I included a photo below of the one I made for brunch. Ever since I got a cazuela, I cook it in that now.

Brussel sprouts--this is one of my favorite dishes from the restaurant and trust me you will like it!

Eggplant napolean--really creative--fried eggplant rounds layered with pesto and baba ganoush with tomato salad--HEAVENLY!

 

 

Ok thats enough of my faves--what are yours?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Has anyone else cooked any recipes from this book? Please share!!!!

 

 

http://www.eater.com/2014/2/18/6277561/first-look-rawia-bisharas-olives-lemons-zaatar-book

 

 

 

[SylviaLovegren]

Sounds delicious.  Don't have the book but am willing to drool along while you cook from it!

[Darienne]

Love Middle Eastern cooking but have cooked only from two cookbooks: Claudia Roden's A Book of Middle Eastern Food and Habeeb Salloum, Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa.  I could spend the rest of my cooking life just trying the dishes in these two books.  No Middle Eastern restaurants in our area, alas.

 

I look forward to following this thread as you cook from this cookbook.