I recently called my father in search of a ma'amoul recipe. A bit perplexed he proclaimed in Arabic: "Why do you want to trouble yourself with making ma'amoul. It's so much work and anyway I don't like ma'amoul. Really it's too much effort for nothing. Shou baddeek bi ha shaghle" See my father is not a baker. A fantastic cook but definitely not a baker. Also, the majority of people in Lebanon don't make ma'amoul anymore given the...
Couscous is probably one of the easiest, simplest and quickest dishes to put together. Done right and it can be the most satisfying. That's why I love it. It's also a great blank canvas; you can really get creative and add whatever ingredients you want, resulting in your own personal masterpiece of flavors. That's why it just seems ludicrous to include a recipe for couscous. As long as you know how to cook (I wouldn't even call it...
I love dates... The fruit, of course! And, what I love more are easy to make cakes. As date season has come to a start, I've met up with Bishnu, chef spectaculaire, to get his signature date cake recipe. We sat at the kitchen table and started de-seeding the dried dates which he brought back with him from Dubai. Bishnu says: It's important to use dried dates in this recipe because fresh dates will yield mushy results. Removing the seeds......