My upbringing was fundamental in my love of cooking. Growing up food was always the main subject of family gatherings. Listening to stories of how dishes were made, changed, and made unique by each of my aunties was what excited me the most. You can see the taste buds of each person coming through in their dishes. Family, food, culture and history are a huge part of my life and continue to be through the food that I cook today.
Although we are inundated with Lebanese restaurants, most people simply don’t realise that each country in the Middle East has its own twist on food including different spices, methods and styles to cooking the same dish. The fact that Palestinian food is having its moment in the spotlight is extremely exciting because it’s important for people to be able to differentiate between countries when eating and not put the whole Levant under one umbrella.
I have a huge list of favourite ingredients, but if I had to choose just a few they would be Palestinian za’atar (a traditional spice blend) from Zaytoun, Palestinian olive oil and tahini. Za’atar is used in many dishes and can be incorporated into breads, salads and dressings or scattered onto fish and meat. Olive oil from Palestine is simply my favourite. We are known for the olive tree and the flavour is unrivalled. Tahini is my all time go-to ingredient. I use it in desserts for ice cream, halaweh (a type of fudge), sauces and also in baking.
It would have to be halawet el-jibn, which is a sweet sticky cheese roll drizzled with sugar syrup and stuffed with ashta (cream). Sometimes I eat it straight from the pot before it is even assembled.
