Skip to content

cooking with gaul

{imik simik}

Category: Words

shrimp stew with tomato, dill, pinenutes

December 20, 2021December 21, 2021

making levantine cuisine: a new book (with recipes)

Continue reading →

February 24, 2016February 25, 2016

Sharkasiyya: Circassian Chicken with Walnut Sauce

Continue reading →

borrowed words & the unchanging sea

August 6, 2014August 6, 2014

borrowed words & the unchanging sea

Continue reading →

everything’s better in alexandria: morning edition

everything’s better in alexandria: morning edition

Continue reading →

March 14, 2014March 14, 2014

on print & postcards, word & image {and teasers}

Continue reading →

February 7, 2014February 15, 2014

boycott politics (there is no boycotting politics)

Continue reading →

lavender, basil, & rosewater cream scones (bread & roses from the revolutionary counter)

January 25, 2014February 14, 2014

lavender, basil, & rosewater cream scones (bread & roses from the revolutionary counter)

Continue reading →

a literary chicken: dracula

January 14, 2014January 14, 2014

a literary chicken: dracula

Continue reading →

December 24, 2013December 24, 2013

life choices & dashing scarves: a christmas story

Continue reading →

Posts navigation

← Older posts

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.

Follow this blog

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Join 3,651 other subscribers

Pages

(more) about the blog
food & foodways in the middle east & north africa: a bibliography
ful, koshari, macarona bechamel
recipe index
resources for thinking about food

Blog Stats

167,883 hits

looking for something?

Search for:

categories

categories

The archives: previous posts

The archives: previous posts

Instagram

A little backyard foraging for a spring dinner

The persistent prestige of French cuisine in today’s food cultures is hard to ignore: it’s everywhere, including in modern Egyptian food history — from khedival banquets to Abla Nazira’s cookbook. But instead of applying French aesthetics or principles to other world cuisines, what if we did the reverse? My latest post, a recipe for what i’m calling Tasbikassoulet, flips a common script by asking: how can an Egyptian culinary technique (#tasbika) produce a satisfying vegetarian version of a French classic (#cassoulet)?

Can an Egyptian culinary technique lend enough oomph and umami to make a vegetarian cassoulet truly richly satisfying? Watch this space. Pictured: roasted butternut squash and garlic to mix in the final stew as sweet-savory bites in lieu of meat & chopped celery and leek and onion ready to make some magic. Inspiration from veg cassoulets at @themoorcock and @doublelocks.

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.

Tweets

faceplace

faceplace

Follow Following
- cooking with gaul
- Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.

Loading Comments...

Write a Comment...

Email (Required)

Name (Required)

Website