love, miro

Food is travel. As more of   us move, to new lives in a new city or a new continent, out of choice, or because all other choices are gone, we leave our homes and start again in different places among different cultures. We try to fit in and adapt. But we also share our memories of where we came from. At the heart of this blend of old and new is food. More than just nourishment, food is about history and place, family and friends. Food is a key to who we are and how we feel. 

Born in Syria, brought up in Lebanon and the US, and now living in London with my Palestinian husband, I’m a lifelong migrant. My cooking is a combination of everything I’ve learned along the way, anchored by the eclectic, sensuous kitchens of the Middle East. Through this collection of recipes I hope to demystify Arab cooking, to illustrate how simple and adaptable it can be. And how healthy. These are accessible, uncomplicated dishes made with readily sourced, natural ingredients, whose provenance is testament to how food has blended cultures over the centuries. Fatayer quiche, a mixing of East and West in fragrant symphony, is both traditional and contemporary. Muhammara paste, made from deep red peppers and walnuts, is packed with antioxidants – and vegan. The humble falafel, staple of every Middle Eastern street corner, is given a new global twist with quinoa. I want to set traditional Arab dishes in their historical context but reimagine them to fit our modern world. 

Growing up in Lebanon, the kitchen was the soul of our house. Everything was fresh, picked straight from the tree. There were burlap sacks brimming with raw olives my mother would cure herself, jars full of her delicious marmalade and great tins of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. My mother cooked according to the seasons. 

In Summer we’d pickle the grape leaves and cucumbers. Spring was for fruit picking and preserving, then storing what we had in our pantry – free from preservatives – to last the winter. This was how I learned about food. Today my mantra is healthy simplicity, wholesome food cooked with love. I want people to follow my recipes and feel inspired. I celebrate a pure, healthy way of eating and try, wherever possible to use natural, unrefined ingredients. I advocate a return to the raw, unprocessed foods that once made up the bulk of traditional Middle Eastern and Mediterranean diets. Simple, traditional methods of storing and cooking – fermenting vegetables in brine or clarifying butter– are revived and revered here for their non-chemical, nutritious benefits. 

Cooking came to me fairly late in life. When I left home, I didn’t ask my mother for any recipes. They weren’t in any book but in her head, handed down by her mother and the generations before them. Four thousand miles away from home, without a clue how to cook my favourite dishes, I had to get creative. I researched. I recreated dishes from memory, adapting and changing them to suit my needs and what was available. I relied on instinct. If it felt good, looked good – and tasted divine – it had to be right.

There is great beauty in the everyday. For this collection I haven’t chosen dishes reserved for feasts but those that can be eaten at any time, at home in the kitchen or served to guests. I offer shortcuts – we’re all looking for a quick and easy solution – whilst trying to maintain authenticity.The important word for me is ‘home’. I’m not a restaurant chef and I don’t cook ‘haute’. In the Middle East, home cooking is very different to restaurant food. Hospitality reigns supreme. Bringing together family and friends at the table is every cook’s aim, not just for festivals or celebrations, but for every weekday dinner. 

For Arabs, as for so many cultures, food is love. I try to emphasise joy in cooking, the pleasure in feeding others and the unexpected wonder of new flavours. Arabic food has never been more exciting. Fresh, fun, borrowing from different cultures while never losing sight of the past, it somehow creates new taste memories even for those who have never tried it. My mother’s old pantry – those raw, unprocessed ingredients that created so many wonderful meals – is never far from my thoughts. All that love. These recipes will show you how to make stunning Middle Eastern food easily, quickly and healthily – and find new love in one of our most ancient cuisines.