cooking with gaul

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Category: Classic Arab Cuisine

December 22, 2019

a syrian citrus mocktail & cool floral mishmish

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October 21, 2019October 21, 2019

translating hummus

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September 29, 2018

salted lemon hummus, for tastes medieval and modern

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February 25, 2018March 31, 2019

seven centuries of bstila

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I study culinary history and literature in North Africa and the Arabic speaking world; this blog is a record of what happens when I put my research and passions into play at my own stove. I focus on flavors & dishes from across the Middle East and North Africa––with a few large dashes of historical research & cultural commentary.

While most of the recipes featured here hail from the Middle East & North Africa or elsewhere in the Mediterranean, I also love to cook anything that happens to be in season. A recipe index lists all recipes alphabetically; you can also browse by category or search for keywords below.

For less cooking and more history & literature, check out my research blog. You can read more about my work and other writing here.

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Wondering what you might do with those gorgeous sour cherries at the farmer’s market? Pit them, juice them, & use them in cocktails in lieu of lemon juice or sour mix. Pictured here: a sidecar with 1.5 oz cognac, 1 oz Cointreau, 3/4 oz sour cherry juice. Shake over ice & strain. Extra thanks to @antoniotahhan for inspiring me to juice delicious sour things today!

Scenes from Yorkshire: strong penguin window display game / picnic in the wood / views of the Dales / RHS Garden Harlow Carr / post-afternoon tea carnage

Latest from the blog: a recap of my interview with @anasatassi organized by @warscapes last December, with some snapshots of a handful of my favorite recipes, techniques, & serving suggestions from & inspired by Atassi’s wonderful cookbook Sumac: Recipes & Stories from Syria. A cookbook that embodies nafas as something that exists between the realm of written recipes and social worlds—something you can’t see but can certainly taste—and celebrates cuisine as the product of collective authorship, creativity, and care. Links to the post and the interview in bio.

Next up in #CookingWithTona🥕: a recipe so extremely loosely inspired by Molly O’Neill’s A Well-Seasoned Appetite that it became something else entirely, stemming mostly from the contents of my fridge. These included not enough leftover homemade tomato sauce to make pasta with, one piece of bacon, kale, an orange. Mixed in with some beans from the pantry…

Next up in #CookingWithTona🥕: a kale & sausage stew from Molly O’Neill’s A Well-Seasoned Appetite (1995). The genius element of this particular recipe that I’d never have come up with on my own: using balsamic vinegar to season the stew, which layered a totally different kind of acidity and flavor than my usual squeeze of lemon; perfect for a dark cozy winter day. Also pictured: the gorgeous fruit & vegetable themed floor mat my brilliant artist mother @lishnc created for my kitchen!

When my godmother Tona died two and a half years ago, she left me a staggering cookbook and recipe collection — which I’ve slowly been cataloging and thumbing through ever since. In 2022, I’m paying homage to Tona by cooking my way through her collection & sharing the results here using the hashtag #CookingWithTona🥕. If you are looking to use up some extra fennel or zhuzh up your risotto, read on!

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