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My Passion for Middle Eastern Cooking

Middle Eastern fare isn’t the cuisine I grew up eating. Actually, until about six years ago, the only Middle Eastern foods I had ever eaten were hummus, falafel, shish kebab, and baklava...and looking back, I can tell you that everything I ate up until that point was in no way authentic. So, how did I end up with such a passion for Middle Eastern cuisine?

My husband, Mike, is Middle Eastern; actually, his father is Palestinian and his mother is Syrian; he was born in Kuwait, raised in Syria, and went to college in Jordan. Suffice to say he was raised on Middle Eastern fare and, being the picky eater he is, he doesn't care for foods unless his mom makes it. This, of course, meant that when Mike and I first got married I had to learn how to cook authentic Middle Eastern food.

Mike and I were married in the Middle East, and we lived there for the first six months of our marriage. During this time I had the opportunity to experience firsthand the magic of Middle Eastern cuisine. I saw how a spectacular dish can start with just an ordinary ingredient... that is, if you add the right combination of spices, and give it the time and effort to cook it properly with the passion and attention it deserves, or as they say in Arabic, nefus ala el ekel (literally meaning to “have breath that is good for food”).

I discovered even more exotic and wonderful foods the longer I stayed in Syria and I even started to enjoy Middle Eastern foods that I didn't care for originally, like slimy green soup (Molokhia) and super tangy yogurt cheese (Labneh). As I was experiencing all these new foods, I was also learning how to cook them from my mother-in-law, Sahar, a fantastic cook, who, in true Syrian tradition, knew her way around the kitchen before the age of ten. The only way to learn how to cook from authentic old world cooks is to watch them in action. Nothing is written down, there are no cooking times, very few enumerated steps, and certainly no measurements. I remember one night Mike requested I make him rice pudding, so he asked his mom for the recipe. This is the translation of what she told him: “Cook some rice and warm some milk. Add cornstarch and sugar and boil. Make sure to add rosewater.” When I asked how much milk, the answer was “as much as you want to make.” And what about the rice? “A small coffee cup of rice.” Keep in mind that Middle Eastern coffee, like espresso, is served in tiny demitasse cups... luckily I knew this before I made the pudding! Those were only the start of my questions though. From then on, I realized that if I wanted to learn how to cook Middle Eastern food I would have to watch Sahar. But even this wasn't as easy as it sounds.

There was a language barrier between Sahar and I: she spoke only a little English and I spoke even less Arabic. In the beginning, much of our time together in the kitchen was spent pointing to ingredients and both excitedly exclaiming what they were. Then I would watch her cook and, as she was working, I took the time to intricately write down ingredients, measurements, methods, steps, and cooking times. Finally, it got to the point where I had mastered a few recipes and I was the one making family meals... and with a family of about ten this was no small feat! As I fell in love with Middle Eastern cuisine and culture, learning the art of Middle Eastern cooking became a passion for me. When Mike and I left the Middle East after spending six months there, I left with a knowledge of and a great appreciation for Middle Eastern fare; more than that though, I truly felt like I had been accepted into his family.

Since then I've had the opportunity to travel to the Middle East four other times. After mastering a number of basic recipes and techniques, I've been able to delve even deeper into the cuisine and culture of the region, which has given me an even deeper passion for Middle Eastern fare.

When Mike and I arrived in the U. S., I felt prepared to make him his favorite Middle Eastern foods; actually, by then my passion for cooking had grown immensely and I began to take every opportunity to learn about new dishes, techniques, and regional cuisines. As my love for cooking grew, so did my talent. I began planning special occasion menus for my family, which evolved into family and friends asking me to cater events for them. After making a Mother's Day meal for my mom in 2009, I decided to start a food blog (www.AnEdibleMosaic.com) to share the meal that I had made for her. In initiating my blog, I hoped to be an inspiration to home cooks who were looking for a little bit of encouragement to experiment in the kitchen (because after all, I'm a home cook myself... and if I can do it, so can they!). My other reason for starting An Edible Mosaic was to have a venue to share the wealth of information I had learned about Middle Eastern cuisine. Authentic old world recipes are typically shared orally and aren't put into writing, but since I had the good fortune of being able to watch a master Middle Eastern cook in the kitchen, I knew this information had to be memorialized and shared with the world.

Through this book, I'm sharing the recipes that I've lovingly learned to make in hopes that they become new favorites and the basis of new traditions for other families. I'm hoping to show home cooks that Middle Eastern food is not only delicious but also attainable, and goes well beyond the commonly known Middle Eastern favorites. Another of my aspirations for this book is that it serves as a written collection of authentic Middle Eastern fare for those who are looking for traditional recipes. I think it will be indispensible to people who have traveled to the Middle East or have married into a Middle Eastern family and want to be able to replicate authentic Middle Eastern recipes at home. My final goal is that this book teaches a bit of Middle Eastern culture along with cuisine, as the two are so closely intertwined.

May you always have a healthy appetite. Saha (to your health)!

Faith Gorsky

author of An Edible Mosaic