mycollectionofcookerybookslastyear,yours
wasoneofthefewthatIkept.Itscoversare
fallingoff;it is dog-earedanddishevelled.The
onethingit isn’t– andneverwillbe– is dated.It
is a workofamazingscholarshipandkitchen
instruction,a recordofyouryouthandyour
compatriots’lives.It speaksoffamily, friendship,
warmthandcommunitywithoutsentimentality.
It musthaveseemedanincrediblewrenchto
leaveyournativeCairobehindwhenyouwere
just 15 yearsold.SchoolinPariswasyourfirst
stoponthejourneythatultimatelyledyou to
northLondon.WhenPresidentNasserexpelled
the Jewishcommunityafterthe SuezCrisis,your
parents’roadtojoinyouinGoldersGreenmust
havebeeneventougher.Outofthis tragedycame
yourmissiontocollectthe recipesthatconnected
MiddleEasternexilesbacktotheirhomelands.
Youdescribe your“compilationofrecipes”as
“thefruitofnostalgiclongingfor,anddelighted
savouringofafoodthatwasthe constantjoyof
life ina worldsodifferentfromthe Westernone”.
YourrecipessentmeofftocornersofLondon
wheresmallgrocerystorescateredtolocal
Arabcommunities.IvisitedWestbourneGrove
andNewingtonGreeninsearchofsumac,
pomegranatemolassesandpreservedlemons.
WhenIfirstvisitedTelAviv,I tastedauthentic
crispfalafelhotfromthe oilanddiscovered
amardine,apricotleather,inthe markets.
Iknewwhattolookforbecauseyouhad
describedthemsoeloquently.
Youledmetowards myfavouriteMoroccan
tagineofchickenwithpreservedlemons
andolives– althoughrifflingagain
through thepages, I seethatyou actually
listtwoseparatetagines,onewitholives,
theotherwithpreservedlemons.Allof
this youdidwithoutrecoursetothe
internet,a youngémigréeina country
withnexttonoideaofthebreadthand
richnessofMiddle Easterncooking.
Whenyoubegantocollectthe
vastcompendiumofrecipes
thatpopulateyourMiddle
Easternfoodbook, youlaid
thefoundationsfor
In mysloping,shadowy kitchen
underthe eaves,I glimpsed into
theworldyoucamefrom
atrendthathastakendecadestoflourish.
YotamOttolenghi, SabrinaGhayour,
Honey&Coandalltheothernow-fashionable,
bestsellingauthorsstandfirmly onyour
shoulders.Like them, I owe you an enormousdebt.people.
Turn the page for Sophie’s recipe→