By Christine Salins.
One thing food blogger and culinary tour guide, Hisham Assaad, learnt from his mother was to cook with heart and soul. In Arabic, it is called nafas – a breath – and it means to put your essence into cooking.
“We believe that people who cook with nafas don’t have to know the rules, yet will always make delicious food,” he says in the introduction to Bayrut: Recipes from the Heart of a Lebanese City Kitchen (Smith Street Books, $55).
It’s the first book from Assaad, who writes a blog, cookin5m2, in which he shares recipes from his compact Beirut kitchen.
The city is famous for its incredible food, positioned as it is between the Middle East and the Mediterranean, connecting the European, Asian and African continents. Assaad writes about its hugely popular street food, its thriving restaurant and café scene, and traditional family favourites handed down through the generations.
He brings both the city’s heritage and its food to life in this glorious book, with recipes ranging from lavish breakfast spreads and traditional Sunday feasts to easy, nutritious dinners and afternoon tea with perfumed sweets and delicacies.
Over the centuries, Lebanon has had its share of war, tragedy and disaster, most recently the massive explosion that rocked its port in August 2020. As well as the pandemic, it continues to suffer from a severe economic crisis, with meat off-limits to most people and produce and grains not readily available.
Assaad sees a speck of light with residents taking to foraging, actively supporting small producers and farmers directly, and becoming more self-sufficient, growing herbs and vegetables on balconies and any empty plot of land.
Simple comfort food with accessible ingredients, as in the chicken dish here, is more relevant to the people of Lebanon than ever before.
Most of the recipes in Bayrut are quick and easy to prepare. Assaad suggests that while some dishes are better if you use the exact spices listed, most can easily be adjusted to suit what you have on hand. Playing around with recipes, after all, is all about the nafas.
Chicken & Potato Traybake With Lemon & Garlic Dressing
2 kg chicken (whole, breast, thighs or a mix), cut into pieces if using whole
1 lemon, halved
1 teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
250 ml (1 cup) olive oil
2 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
100 g garlic
bunch of (about 50 g) coriander, finely chopped
250 ml (1 cup) lemon juice
Salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas 4). Rub the chicken pieces with the halved lemon, white pepper, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of salt and half of the olive oil. Place the chicken pieces in a roasting pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the potato wedges in a large pan of salted water for about 15 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain and add to the chicken tray.
Pound the garlic together with about 1 teaspoon of salt in a pestle and mortar until creamy, then transfer to a bowl and mix with the coriander, lemon juice and the remaining olive oil.
Drizzle the dressing over the chicken and potatoes, ensuring everything is well coated, and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, or until the potatoes start to brown and crisp around the edges.
Serve with pita bread for scooping.
Recipe and image from Bayrut: Recipes from the Heart of a Lebanese City Kitchen, by Hisham Assaad, published by Smith Street Books, $55.
