Broccoli and za’atar pasta
I’m good friends with a girl on my course whose name is Altaf and she’s from Kuwait. Before we broke up for the Easter holidays, she gave me a gift - a Quran (as I had mentioned that I had always wanted to read it our of curiosity for the Muslim religion) that her Father bought over from Kuwait on his last visit and a bag of Palestinian za’atar. I was touched that she was so keen to share her religion and her food with me. This recipe is inspired by one I saw online here, however I’ve adapted it a little to my preference, as you can to yours!
Song Suggestions:
Shakle Habetek - Hamada Nashawaty
(ردي شعراتك (فرقة العكسي - Autostrad
These are the only two songs sung in Arabic that I know, but I love them. I don’t speak the language though so if you do and it’s rude, sorry! I learnt how to dance the dabke with the Jordanian Society at University to the second song - core memory!
Ingredients:
6 large broccoli florets
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tahini
1 small garlic clove
1.5 tbsp za’atar spice
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2
4 tbsp pasta water (or broccoli water with a pinch of salt)
90g dried pasta of choice
1 tin cannellini beans
Fresh parsley to garnish
Recipe:
Set the broccoli and pasta to boil in separate pans. Cook the broccoli for about 3/4 minutes, or until moderately soft.
Drain the beans and rinse them clean.
Drain the broccoli and split into 4 and 2 florets.
In a blender cup, add the 4 florets, olive oil, tahini, garlic clove, za’atar, nutritional yeast, lemon zest and juice, pasta water and the cannellini beans. Blend until smooth.
Chop the remaining two broccoli florets.
Mix everything together in a bowl (or just the pan the pasta cooked in) until well combined. Season with more salt or lemon to taste and garnish with fresh parsley!
Two best ways to eat za’atar, from Altaf:
Mix with olive oil and dip fresh bread in it (like the Mediterraneans do with balsamic vinegar and olive oil)
Mix with olive oil, brush on the inside of two slices of bread, add cheese and make a toastie!
A Bite Out of Life
Ramadan 2022 - I had the privilege of being invited by my friend Altaf to share iftar with her in the nights leading up to Eid 2022. She showed me round her spice cupboard (her mum had sent her packing from Kuwait with homemade spice mixes and everything had been perfectly packaged and labelled), we sat around talking for a little and then it was time for iftar. We broke her fast with labneh and dates and then it was time to eat the mains! She had made a delicious oat and potato soup (with dried Persian limes) and an okra vegetable stew; according to Altaf, she had been on the phone all afternoon with her mum trying to learn the recipes but it’s always a struggle as Altaf would ask ‘how much of x spice do I need’ and her mum would just say ‘your eyes will tell you, they are your measurements, you will just know’! I felt like I was in a restaurant, everything was utterly delicious. I know very little about Arabic culture but this was the most beautiful experience to it. After the stews, we had darabeel with Arabic coffee (it’s the colour of caramel!) and tea with picky sweet treats; my favourite was these mini dates that had been wrapped in puff pastry and baked, dipped in chocolate at one end and dusted with a little icing sugar… quite frankly divine. I felt connected to Altaf, I felt grateful that she was so willing to show me her culture and so generously share everything with me. Another memory that will forever sit with me!
