Greece & the Middle East
The best pistachios in town - sprinkled with rock salt and roasted in lemon juice - are so hard to resist. But nibble a couple while you consider a different kind of feta for your next horiatiki salad. Or decide which flatbread to roll around those grilled lamb sausages you'll sprinkle with dried mountain herbs and smother in thick tzadziki. Don't forget the Egyptian community's recipe for mango mousse with pillowy Persian almond macaroons. Kali orexi! Bil haná wal shifá! Good eating!
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Yasaman Persian Bakery - one of my favorites - 1 Jan 2012
Depending on who's behind the counter, it can be a little daunting shopping at Yasaman. Most of the women who serve are distant and seldom smile. Get over it. You're there for the best walnut macaroons you've ever eaten. read more...
Mini Greek Burgers - 15 Jun 2011
Here's a fresh take on the summer burger. The Greek element is in the mix of ground lamb with the classic beef. And the feta mousse that tops it would work well dolloped on a beet salad. read more...
Greek Easter - 14 Apr 2011
In Greece, Easter is a more important festival than Christmas. Look out for celebrations, with home-cooked food, at Washington's Greek churches and cathedral. Zaytinya is also pushing the boat out. read more...
Let's hear it for the fava bean - 25 Mar 2011
You know them as fava beans. I know them as broad beans. They're my favorite vegetable. So I want to persuade you to give them another chance. You can treat them so many ways one just has to be the one for you... read more...
Starters: Stuffed grape leaves and artichoke hearts - 25 Mar 2011
When the weather warms and it's open season on open parties, look to the Middle East for dishes that can be prepared in advance and eaten with fingers. Here are two stuffed appetizers from Turkish Armenia. read more...
Falafel - DC's best - 2 Mar 2011
Ground and fried chickpeas molded with spices into a mini Zeppelin and fried may not sound like much to celebrate. But pushed into a warmed pitta along with shredded lettuce, fine slices of tomato, onion and maybe some turnip pickle then drizzled with tahini or a garlic-yogurt sauce, it becomes heaven. DC boasts a number of good places to find it. read more...
Greek & Middle East markets - 2 Mar 2011
There are probably more specifically Greece-focused markets in Baltimore than in Washington. But Middle East groceries generally stock a wide range of Greek products. read more...
Halah butchers - 17 Feb 2011
You won't have to travel too far to find a good Halal butcher in the area. Some chefs reckon that a Halal chicken will produce a much more tender roast than a regular chicken. read more...
Lentil Soup with Loomi - 30 Dec 2010
Black eyed peas are lucky in the US at New Year. In France and the Middle East, it's lentils. Here's a soup with an unusual ingredient that gives them a different twist.
Loomis are boiled and dried limes that are a key ingredient in many Middle East dishes. Find them at Middle East and Persian markets and use them in this deeply flavored slow-cooked soup. It should tide you over until Shemali's deli and lunch counter, famous for its lentil soup, gets back into the Giant complex on Wisconsin Ave. read more...
Festive celebrations - something different & where to buy it - 15 Dec 2010
Want to spice up your New Year festivities? Try one of the traditions from another part of the world. read more...
Amphora Bakery - one of my favorites - 11 Nov 2010
For sweeth-tooth treats, it's hard to beat Amphora Bakery for whimsically decorated cakes, cupcakes and cookies. And for delicious European patisseries, baked goods and breads of all sorts. read more...
Loomi - what is it? - 11 Aug 2010
A loomi is a key ingredient in Persian and Middle East cooking. Some soups or stews - particularly Lebanese and Egyptian lentil soup - would be diminished without it. It's the loomi that gives them their sour flavor. read more...
Figs Fine Foods - 11 Aug 2010
Figs Fine Foods is more a cafe than a market but you can buy most of what you need for your own Lebanese feast right here, from the cheeses, dips and cookies to a full take out meal of home-cooked tagines, eggplant ratatouille, and a mix of salads from the buffet.
Reem Azoury is the owner of this half-basement space that's just below the sidewalk on MacArthur Boulevard in the Palisades. read more...
Yogurt - the good stuff - 15 Jul 2010
I'm in despair over American yogurt. It seems that any old fat-free white dairy solution can be called yogurt. Do its eaters know what they're missing? read more...
A salty tale - salt explained - 19 May 2010
The salt debate is hotting up again with doctors concerned about its responsibility for any number of diseases from hyper-tension to obesity calling for salt consumption to be lowered. The FDA is planning legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in processed food.
But salt is probably the single ingredient to emphasize flavor inherent in meat, fish and vegetables. Where would chefs be without it? They throw fistfuls into boiling water before cooking.
Salt is like any other 'evil' ingredient such as butter: use it in moderation. It falls loosely into two categories, the salt you can cook with and the salt you 'finish' with, sprinkling it over the cooked food. For the finishing, buy the best you can afford. If you can't try before you buy, this list might help you define what will appeal to your palate. Because no two salts are the same. read more...
'Violettes' Artichokes - 8 Apr 2010
Baby artichokes are relished across Europe and the Middle East, in countries from France where the most popular type are called 'Violettes' after the purple streaking on their leaves, to Egypt. They're pretty much ignored in the US. But you can find them in Latino, Asian and especially Middle East markets at this time of year. Cook them Middle East style, with the fresh fava beans that come into the stores at the same time... read more...
Fagri - 25 Mar 2010
At Kellari, Chef Antony Acinapura treats this Mediterranean pink snapper to a simple grilling, serving the fish with an oil and lemon emulsion. read more...
Dried fruits & nuts - 25 Mar 2010
In this fruitless mid-season before local strawberries and raspberries show up, when all that's on offer are bananas, oranges with the texture of Kleenex and apples you just don't want another bite out of, think about dried fruits. Soak them overnight in anything from weak tea to diluted fresh orange juice, and buy a mix of whatever catches your interest from figs and apricots to golden raisins, cranberries and dried apple slices. A bowlful makes a delicious breakfast. And sprinkled with a liquor, and a crunch of toasted walnuts, and served with creme fraiche or thick Greek yogurt, you have an easy dinner party dessert. read more...
Cerkez Salad - 2 Mar 2010
This chicken and walnut salad, from Mike Isabella, chef of Zaytinya, is not unlike Chicken Satsivi, a dish of cold chicken with walnut sauce from the Republic of Georgia. But then, take a look at the map and see how close Turkey lies to Georgia. read more...
Shiraz Grocery - 2 Mar 2010
The owner of this modest market in Rockville City Center presents himself as Marlboro Man of the Middle East. He's behind the till in a stetson, with flourishing face hair. He's got the sullen attitude of Clint Eastwood in 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' days down pat. Barely engaging in dialogue, he wants to know if you appreciate that the can of Sahadi Coffee you want to buy is of the powdered kind to brew in a tiny brass pot, not to be dumped in a cafetiere. If you're feeling at one with the cosmos, you might opt to construe this as considerate, not obstructive. read more...
The lunch shift is over and chef Peter Smith, owner of PS 7’s restaurant is surrounded by gin. No, he’s not relaxing over a drink. The gin is in bowls in an pre-formed state. It’s the mash, a mix of herbs and berries and peels and roots that Smith has worked out how to use in his food as flavorings.
Chew On This: Your first 'Duh' of the year...
Eggplant
Baked beans - the musical fruit
Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge?
Yasaman Persian Bakery - one of my favorites
Breads - a good chew
Duck & goose
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel
Festive presents weird and wacky at World Market
Walnut oil
The perfect Yorkshire pudding
Chew On This: The acai berry diet can only thin your wallet...
The Queen Mum's favorite cake
West Indian Black Cake
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