Palestinian Food Recommendations
September 9, 2022 12:26 PM Subscribe
Please share with me your favorite Palestinian recipes, cookbooks, and online ingredient sources (available in US). Thanks!
Sami Tamimi's Falastin is well reviewed.
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:33 PM on September 9, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:33 PM on September 9, 2022 [4 favorites]
My children gave me Zaitoun for my birthday a couple of years ago, and it is almost always on the table. Many good recipes and lovely stories.
Here is an article in The Guardian about it.
posted by mumimor at 1:41 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
Here is an article in The Guardian about it.
posted by mumimor at 1:41 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
I order our Middle Eastern food stuffs from Green Land Food if I can't find it locally. They have good spice mixes, olive oils, etc and dried molokhia leaves aka jute leaves (sometimes you can find this in Asian stores in the freezer aisle).
I will second the Reem Kassis cookbooks, she also has one called Palestinian Table that I often use.
Reem Kassis also has a spice blend collection at Burlap & Barrel. I have been using it for chicken and other things; it's delicious.
posted by toastyk at 1:42 PM on September 9, 2022
I will second the Reem Kassis cookbooks, she also has one called Palestinian Table that I often use.
Reem Kassis also has a spice blend collection at Burlap & Barrel. I have been using it for chicken and other things; it's delicious.
posted by toastyk at 1:42 PM on September 9, 2022
I make labneh a lot, which is a super creamy yogurt cheese. It's part of a traditional breakfast and served with warm pita bread, olives, and a fried egg. It's super easy to make if you use store bought yogurt, and not much harder if you like to make your own.
Line a bowl with 3 to 4 layers of cheesecloth, then take 32 oz of plain whole milk yogurt (goat milk yogurt is best, but don't use Greek style yogurt), add a tsp of salt, and pour it into the lined bowl. Gather the corners of the cloth together and tie with twine, then hang over the kitchen faucet to drain for 24 to 48 hours. You can also set the bag in a sieve over a large bowl and drain it in the fridge. It's fine to leave it out tho, that's what I always do.
To serve, I turn it out into a bowl and whip it so it's fluffy, then I top it with good olive oil and za'atar. It's so good! You can also blend it with fruit preserves for a sweet version.
posted by ananci at 1:44 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
Line a bowl with 3 to 4 layers of cheesecloth, then take 32 oz of plain whole milk yogurt (goat milk yogurt is best, but don't use Greek style yogurt), add a tsp of salt, and pour it into the lined bowl. Gather the corners of the cloth together and tie with twine, then hang over the kitchen faucet to drain for 24 to 48 hours. You can also set the bag in a sieve over a large bowl and drain it in the fridge. It's fine to leave it out tho, that's what I always do.
To serve, I turn it out into a bowl and whip it so it's fluffy, then I top it with good olive oil and za'atar. It's so good! You can also blend it with fruit preserves for a sweet version.
posted by ananci at 1:44 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
Not Palestinian specifically, but covering a lot of the Middle East is the YouTube channel MiddleEats.
posted by toastyk at 1:54 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by toastyk at 1:54 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Reem Kassis, author of The Palestinian Table
posted by O9scar at 1:56 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by O9scar at 1:56 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Freekeh is one of my favorite staples, and has a delicious nutty flavor to it. It's a great grain to have on hand to mix things up in other recipes too. Here's a Palestinian recipe using it. Although it is extremely cheap in Palestine and the region, it has become a trendy health food in the US and can be really expensive sadly :( If you live near a Middle Eastern grocery store, they might have a cheaper selection.
Maqluba is one of the queens of Levantine cuisine, and has a heart-stopping (but difficult to pull off) flip at the end before it is served. It can be made both vegetarian and with meat.
posted by Corduroy at 3:20 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Maqluba is one of the queens of Levantine cuisine, and has a heart-stopping (but difficult to pull off) flip at the end before it is served. It can be made both vegetarian and with meat.
posted by Corduroy at 3:20 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt put together this treasury of recipes from Gaza, The Gaza Kitchen (Amazon link), and every one of them was a taste sensation.
In terms of ingredient use, sumac is pretty widely available, and it does a neat trick of adding sour tang to things. Having it on hand to sprinkle on your sliced onions or atop the labneh gives a very Palestinian feel to things. I have found it in my local grocery. FWIW, it should definitely be part of your za'atar blend.
Palestinian food is wonderful. Blessings on the hands and palates of all those who make it.
posted by Shunra at 6:55 PM on September 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
In terms of ingredient use, sumac is pretty widely available, and it does a neat trick of adding sour tang to things. Having it on hand to sprinkle on your sliced onions or atop the labneh gives a very Palestinian feel to things. I have found it in my local grocery. FWIW, it should definitely be part of your za'atar blend.
Palestinian food is wonderful. Blessings on the hands and palates of all those who make it.
posted by Shunra at 6:55 PM on September 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
Sami Tamimi also cowrote Jerusalem, together with Yottam Ottolenghi, who's Israeli. The book is explicitly about the intersection of Palestinian and Israeli food, so may or may not meet your criteria.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 8:51 PM on September 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 8:51 PM on September 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
Third vote for Sami and second for Falastin, it's significantly more straightforward than ottolenghi recipes and everything I've cooked from it has been a banger.
posted by ominous_paws at 9:49 AM on September 10, 2022
posted by ominous_paws at 9:49 AM on September 10, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kdar at 12:56 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]