Middle Eastern

A measure of the importance of soups (ash) in Iran is that a cook is called an ash-paz, which means “maker of soup.” This substantial soup with a great mix of beans makes a good winter meal. In Iran it is served with bread and bunches of fresh herbs such as cress, mint, cilantro, and also scallions, radishes, and pickles. It is the type of soup you will find in the bazaar at the earliest hours of the morning, dished out for breakfast from huge cauldrons in which a sheep’s head and feet have given their special richness, and where all the vegetables in season find their place.

You find the egg-and-lemon finish, also called bel tarbeyah, in all Middle Eastern countries. In Greece it is the famous avgolemono. Use skinned fish fillets—white fish such as cod or haddock—or have a mixture of seafood including peeled shrimp and, if you like, a handful of mussels (to clean and steam mussels, see page 198).

A specialty of the city of Shiraz. The herb fenugreek, called shanbalileh, gives the soup a very pleasant, slightly bitter flavor. It is not easy to find fresh. Chopped walnuts add texture.

A simple and delightful Armenian peasant soup.

A refreshing summer soup from Iran.

Use dry white navy or haricot beans.

In this lovely Turkish soup, the egg yolk and the flour prevent the yogurt from curdling. The rice is best cooked separately and added in before serving, as it gets bloated and mushy if left in the soup too long.

The butter-and-flour thickening gives this Turkish soup a creamy texture, and the traditional egg-and-lemon finish gives a delicate tartness.

This is a very famous and very tasty Lebanese soup made with large brown lentils.

It is a bread dough made with olive oil.

This wonderful creamy Turkish pie is something between a savory flan and a cheese lasagna. The fillo turns into a soft, thin pasta, so don’t expect it to be crisp and papery. It sounds complicated but it is quite easy, and you will be delighted by the lightness and the variety of flavors and textures.

Lebanese restaurants serve these cut in wedges as appetizers. A whole bread accompanied by a salad makes a good snack meal. Use a thin type of Arab or pita bread with a pouch.

These famous “Arab pizzas” are traditionally made with bread dough rolled out extremely thin. Make them with the dough on page 137 and use one and a half times the amount of filling given here. Or use store-bought frozen pastry, as described below. It is not the same, but the result is equally delicious. Serve the tarts as an appetizer, or as a snack meal accompanied by thick strained yogurt and salad.

A Syrian and Lebanese specialty.

These little triangular-shaped pies are a famous Lenten specialty of the Orthodox Christian communities of Syria and Lebanon. You can serve them hot or cold. They are meant to be tart and lemony. The filling must not be wet or the dough will get soft and will stick to the baking sheet and tear when it is baked. For this reason it is best to use frozen spinach, squeezed dry.

The filling is a traditional one for the famous Greek pie. A milder-tasting alternative was adopted in Britain by my contemporaries from Egypt. Both make a lovely teatime savory as well as a snack meal accompanied by salad.

This rich Tunisian pie makes an interesting main dish.