Palestinian chef Sami Tamini celebrates garden produce in new cookbook

Sami Tamini highlights garden produce in cookbook, Boustany. Images / Ola O. Smit

What better way to welcome the weekend than with the smell and sound of frying herb-loaded ijeh?

This is a thick, delicious frittata-like mixture of courgettes, leeks, peas, herbs and eggs. In Palestine, it’s often made with finely chopped herbs and onions. I like the addition of fresh mint, dried
mint and dill or fennel seeds. Good with chopped salad, shatta (red or green chilli sauce) and warm bread.

Courgette and Leek Ijah (Arabic Frittata). Photo / Ola O. SmitCourgette & leek ijeh (Arabic frittata)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 250g frozen peas, defrosted

• 2 courgettes (300g)

• 1 small onion (150g)

• 1 large leek, finely chopped (175g)

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• 50g plain flour

• 15g fresh parsley, finely chopped

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• 10g fresh mint leaves, thinly shredded

• 1¼ tsp dried mint

• 1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (or regular chilli flakes)

• ½ tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp dill or fennel seeds, slightly crushed

• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

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• salt and black pepper

• 3 tbsp olive oil

To serve

• lemon wedges

• sour cream

Method

Put the peas into a food processor and blitz for a few seconds – you want them to be slightly crushed but not mushy. Place in a mixing bowl and leave aside.

Trim the courgettes and peel the onion, then, using the coarse side of a box grater, grate them on to a clean tea-towel or muslin. Gather the ends of the tea-towel and twist hard over a bowl to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add the grated courgette and onion to the peas, along with the leek, flour, herbs, spices, eggs, 1¾ teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well to form a uniform batter.

Place a large (28cm) shallow non-stick pan (with a lid) on a medium heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the ijeh mixture, smoothing it down to make an even patty. Partly cover the pan and cook for about 17 minutes on a low heat, shaking the pan a few times to make sure it doesn’t stick at the bottom, and running a rubber spatula around the sides, until the edges start to get golden brown. Get a large flat plate and place it over the pan.

Carefully invert the pan, plate and all, so that the ijeh ends up on the plate. Slide it back into the pan to cook uncovered for 15 minutes, until it is firm and cooked through. When ready to serve, slide the ijeh on to a serving plate, squeeze over a little lemon juice and serve with lemon wedges and sour cream on the side.

Vibrant: Fridge-raid FattoushFridge-raid fattoush

This version of fattoush is close to the classic salad we all know and love, but differs slightly from the one my mother used to make. Na’ama’s Fattoush, published in Jerusalem and Falastin, is still made by my family today and it brings me much comfort knowing her legacy lives on.

In this version, the salad uses toasted bread and is dressed with lemon and pomegranate molasses, whereas my mother’s version includes a homemade buttermilk dressing and uses untoasted bread. Both are equally vibrant, crunchy, tangy and packed with fresh herbs.

Who could resist such a salad, especially when summer-ripe tomatoes, cool cucumbers and chunks of bread are brought together on one big plate?

Play around with the ingredients based on what’s available in season or in your fridge. Thinly sliced red or white cabbage, kale, raw courgette and asparagus all make great additions to this versatile dish.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2-3 stale wholemeal pita breads

• 350g mixed-colour tomatoes

• 1 large cucumber (300g)

• 1 red pepper (150g)

• 1 large garlic clove, crushed

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 1½ tbsp white wine vinegar

• 1½ tbsp pomegranate molasses

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• ½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and coarsely crushed

• ¾ tsp coriander seeds, toasted and coarsely crushed

• 1 tbsp sumac, plus more for sprinkling

• salt

• 120g radishes, thinly sliced

• 1 large banana shallot, thinly sliced (70g)

• 3-4 spring onions, thinly sliced

• 20g fresh parsley, roughly chopped

• 15g fresh mint, finely shredded

• 10g fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.

Split open the pita and arrange them on an oven tray, making sure they are not overlapping. Toast for 10-12 minutes, or until they are golden. Set aside to cool, then break into bite-size pieces.

Cut the large tomatoes into 1cm wedges and the small ones in half, and put them into a large mixing bowl. Deseed the cucumber and cut into 1cm cubes, then do the same with the red pepper.

Add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the bread, along with ¾ teaspoon salt, and give everything a good mix, making sure all the vegetables are coated with the dressing.

Before serving the fattoush, add the toasted bread and give the salad another good mix. Sprinkle with sumac and serve at once.

Sumac Roast Plums with Cardamom Cream and Pistachio: Serve with a generous scatter of the candied pistachios. Photo / Ola O. SmitSumac roast plums with cardamom cream & pistachio

I have often roasted plums and other stone fruit over the years. It’s a simple dessert, yet nothing beats the scent of warm, spice-spiked fruit filling the space around the table after dinner. Double the number of plums and have some of the leftovers for breakfast with yoghurt, or on warm toast spread with labneh or cream cheese.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 8 plums (366g)

• 3 cardamom pods

• 1 tsp sumac

• 3 tbsp runny honey

• zest of ½ orange

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp water

• 300ml double cream

• 3 tsp honey

• ¼ tsp ground cardamom

For the candied pistachios

• 45g caster sugar

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• 3 tbsp water

• salt

• 70g pistachios

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.

Halve and stone the plums, then place cut side up in a roasting tin or ovenproof dish in which they can lie snugly in a single layer.

Crack the cardamom pods, then tip the seeds into a pestle and mortar and grind them to a fine powder. Mix with the sumac, honey, orange zest, lemon juice and water, then drizzle this mixture over the fruit. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the plums are almost collapsing.

Meanwhile, make the candied pistachios. Line a tray with baking parchment, and have it ready next to the stove. Put the sugar, cinnamon, water and ⅛ teaspoon of salt into a large sauté pan, on a medium heat. Cook until the sugar has almost dissolved, stirring occasionally. Add the pistachios and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally (to avoid the nuts browning too much), until all the liquid has evaporated and you can see crystallisation forming on the nuts. Tip them onto the lined tray, and quickly spread them out to separate them. Leave to cool completely.

Place the cream, honey and ground cardamom in the bowl of a free-standing mixer, with a whisk attachment in place, and whip the cream on a medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until soft peaks form.

When ready to serve, divide the fruit and whipped cream between four plates and add a generous scattering of the candied pistachios.

An edited extract from Boustany by Sami Tamimi (Ebury Press, RRP $65).

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