The insides that are scooped out can be added to soups, made into dips, or omelets like the Zucchini Fritters on page 65.
Making Middle Eastern Salads: Salads are a huge part of Middle Eastern cuisine, as some form of raw vegetable is typically present at every meal. For the smaller meals (breakfast and dinner), maza platters usually contain large pieces of vegetables that are picked up and eaten with your hands: whole leaves of crisp Romaine lettuce along with sliced or chunked cucumber and tomato, whole green onion, and quartered white onion. For lunch (the largest and most formal meal of the day), vegetables are usually chopped neatly into salads and eaten as is or spooned on top of rice (if rice is present in the meal). The signature of a Middle Eastern salad in general and a Syrian salad in particular is the precision with which the vegetables are cut. Before being chopped, vegetables are cleaned by soaking them in a large bowl of cold water with a splash of Apple Vinegar (page 26); after this they are rinsed and patted dry. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and white onions are cut into a perfect dice. Green onions (scallions) are thinly sliced and fresh parsley and/or mint are minced with razor-sharp paring knives. Lettuce and/or cabbage are finely shredded into little ribbons. A tart, refreshing dressing, such as the Lemony Mint Salad Dressing on page 28, is mixed and the salad is dressed at the last minute right before eating so the vegetables stay fresh and crisp. As you can imagine, this process can take a while, especially if you’re cooking for a crowd; this is why many women use large utility boards, often taking the board to the parlor or guest room with a group of women so she can talk with visiting ladies (neighbors, friends, and family are frequent daytime guests) as she works. Also, most salads can be made ahead; just chop all the veggies and toss them together as normal, but wait to add the dressing until right before you’re ready to serve the salad.
Making the Perfect Pot of Rice: I remember when making rice was the bane of my existence. After watching my mother-in-law make rice effortlessly, I picked up a few helpful tricks that ensure perfect rice every time. Before you start preparing the rice, get out a saucepan or pot, preferably with a thick bottom (or use a heat diffuser) for cooking the rice. Rinse the rice under running water to remove any talc or excess starch; this will result in fluffier rice. After rinsing, soak the rice for 10 minutes; this makes the rice less brittle so it’s less likely to break while cooking, shortens the cooking time, and lets the rice—particularly basmati—expand to its full length. While the rice is soaking, put half a kettle of water on to boil. Drain the rice well after soaking, and then it’s ready to be toasted. Toast the rice in a little oil or clarified butter in the pot that you’re going to cook it in; it will start to smell amazingly nutty at this point. Add water. The exact amount of water you’ll need depends on a few different factors, including how old the rice is, the starch content (including how long the rice was rinsed for), how the rice was harvested and processed, the type of cooking vessel you’re cooking it in, the lid you’re using, temperature, humidity, etc.; generally though, I start with a little more water than the amount of rice i’m using. Then bring the rice up to a boil, cover the pot, and turn it down to very low. Let the rice cook until it’s tender but not mushy and all the water is absorbed (this takes about 10 minutes) without opening the lid; at this point turn off the heat and let the rice sit for 15 minutes. Uncover the rice, fluff it with a fork, and revel in its perfection.
Preparing Chicken: Most chicken recipes in this book require use of a whole chicken; this is generally the best bargain, and what is most commonly used in the Middle East. For most recipes, the chicken must first be butchered. To do so, remove the innards, giblets, head, and neck (most chickens can be purchased this way from the grocery store). Cut out the chicken’s backbone by first cutting down one side of it and then down the other; quarter the chicken so you have 2 breasts and 2 thigh/leg pieces, and then cut each breast into 2 pieces, leaving the wing attached. You will end up with 6 pieces total; if you prefer, you can also separate the leg and thigh so you end up with 8 pieces total. Cut away the wing tips and excess fat, leaving the skin on; rinse the chicken and pat it dry. The next step—soaking or brining—is optional but highly recommend. Brining chicken yields juicier, tenderer, and more flavorful result, and it also helps to refresh the meat, removing any “fishy” smells. To brine a whole chicken, butcher the chicken as described above, then put it into a large, non-reactive bowl. Add 1 tablespoon non-iodized salt, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and 4 cups (1 liter) of lukewarm water to a large measuring cup with a pour spout; stir to dissolve, then cool to room temperature. Pour the liquid over the chicken, and then add enough cold water to cover, transfer to the fridge and soak 4 hours (or up to 2 days). Once it’s done soaking, rinse the chicken thoroughly under cold running water, pat dry, and proceed with the recipe. Now for cooking the chicken…typically in Middle Eastern cooking, when chicken is served with a meal containing a sauce and/or rice dish, like Roast Chicken with Rice and Vegetable Soup on page 90 or Baked Chicken with Red Rice Pilaf on page 96, the chicken is first boiled until fully cooked, and then deep-fried to crisp the skin. The one benefit I can see of this method is that you end up with homemade chicken stock as a by-product of boiling the chicken; however, since good quality stock or even stock cubes are commonly available at grocery stores, I prefer a simpler, one-step method that I think results in juicier, more flavorful chicken: roasting! to roast, preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C) and arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Rub the top with a little olive oil, yogurt, and/or spices (each recipe will specify the quantities) and roast until the juices run clear when poked with a sharp knife, about 50 to 60 minutes. Once roasted, if you want the chicken to have more color, you can broil it for a couple of minutes. (My mother-in-law has recently started using a slightly different method: boiling the chicken as normal, but then placing the chicken in a shallow dish, rubbing the top with a little yogurt, and broiling it until it gets a little color. I think this method is pretty ingenious, but I still prefer the flavor and texture of chicken that has been roasted.) in the end, you can cook the chicken whatever way is easiest for you.
Putting Together Maza Platters: Maza can have several different meanings, but in this book i’m referring to a variety of different dishes on small plates, served together on one large platter. Usually food served this way is rustically eaten off the tray either with your hands or with flatbread for scooping. This style of eating is common for smaller meals (i.e., breakfast and dinner), and is also used to serve appetizers before lunch (which is the largest meal of the day) or as a snack. So, what goes on a maza platter? it can be anything you like! Breakfast platters may contain eggs (cooked any way), fresh herbs, sliced tomato and/or cucumber, Yogurt Cheese (page 73), Sesame Fudge (page 119), a variety of olives, olive oil, thyme Spice Mix (page 29), flatbread, and tea. For maza platters served at other times of the day, leftovers are perfect and vegetable dishes are abundant; i’ve seen many a maza with fried eggplant, like the eggplant made in Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Parsley Dressing on page 53 or a small dish of Okra with tomatoes in a Fragrant Sauce on page 55 or Spiced Green Beans with tomatoes on page 59. In general, maza platters don’t include meat, unless it’s leftovers that had meat, or occasionally a can of tuna, a tin of sardines, or a bit of sliced luncheon meat, such as mortadella or basterma.
Clockwise From twelve O’clock: Olive Oil, Fresh Mint Leaves, Flatbread, Yogurt Cheese (page 73), Assorted Olives, Chopped tomato, and Fresh Green Onion (Scallion); thyme Spice Mix (page 29) and Sliced Cucumber in the center
Clockwise From two O’clock: Romaine Lettuce, Baby tomatoes, Flatbread, tuna Fish, and Lemon wedges (center)
Using a Pressure Cooker: these days most of us are so busy that kitchen shortcuts have become indispensible; even my mother-in-law in Syria (a traditionalist
