Mediterranean food is popular for many reasons. We love the bold flavors, the textures ranging from creamy yogurt to crisp falafel and the focus on whole grains, fresh herbs and colorful vegetables and fruit. It doesn’t hurt that a Mediterranean diet is widely considered to be one of the healthiest.
And in summer’s heat, food from this sunny part of the world is exactly what many of us are craving.
Alpharetta resident Suzy Karadsheh’s forthcoming cookbook “The Mediterranean Dish” (Clarkson Potter, $32.50) is a collection of more than 120 recipes that reflect the cuisine of her Egyptian homeland as well as other countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.
The book, to be released Sept. 13, is full of stories of growing up in Port Said, Egypt, tagging along with her father to the marketplace for the ingredients her mother would turn into dinner, and how she adapted those family recipes when she and her husband moved to the United States.
In 2014, she started a blog where she posted recipes for the Egyptian and Levantine dishes she grew up with, and recipes from her travels to places like Turkey, Greece and France. Her goal was to document these recipes for her two daughters, both born in Michigan.
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
When the family moved to the Atlanta area in 2016, the blog grew into a larger website, and Karadsheh began hearing from more people who connected with her story and loved her recipes. Publication of her first cookbook became another channel to share her heritage, recipes and tips.
Recently, we talked about cooking with her family and how she navigated the sometimes difficult task of finding the ingredients she needs.
“My daughters have always been good eaters. I think that’s because we fed them hummus the minute they were able to eat real food,” she said with a laugh. “Dara, my oldest, has become more interested in cooking now that she’s in college and having to feed herself. She goes on the website and looks for recipes.
“Hannah, the little one, has always been really interested in cooking. She is often in the kitchen with me. I think she’s the one who inherited the cooking gene. And she loves sumac. We’ll make a salad and she will get up and get the bottle to add some.”
As popular as Mediterranean cooking is, Karadsheh has sometimes had trouble sourcing the ingredients she needed.
“People would ask me, ‘Where do I get the best olive oil?’ ‘Where can I find Aleppo pepper?’ Many of these ingredients can be found at markets like Whole Foods and the larger international farmers markets in the Atlanta area, but I, too, was looking online for many things. As I began sourcing the spices and other hard-to-find ingredients, I created a one-stop shop on my website, The Mediterranean Dish, to make it easy to create these dishes at home.”
She also adapted some of her recipes to include ingredients that might be in her readers’ pantries. For example, while baklava might traditionally use orange blossom water, her recipe calls for orange extract. “I find it gives a little more orange flavor and it’s something you can find on the shelf at your grocery.”
But for some things, she says there’s no substitute for using the traditional ingredients. Take, for example, Aleppo pepper, available on her website and in markets that specialize in Mediterranean groceries. “These pepper flakes have a little bit of heat, but a sweet overtone akin to sun-dried tomatoes. I use Aleppo pepper often in anything from marinades to dry rubs. And it’s great with fish. The spice is named for Aleppo, Syria, where the peppers were once grown in abundance. Because of the war in Syria, what we can find now is mostly grown in Turkey using seeds from the original peppers.”
RECIPES
Enjoy this late summer menu from “The Mediterranean Dish” by Suzy Karadsheh (Clarkson Potter, $32.50). Dessert, salad and basil vinaigrette can be made ahead, leaving only the swordfish to be seasoned and grilled before dinner.
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
Grilled Swordfish Skewers with Basil Vinaigrette
Karadsheh recommends swordfish for this recipe because it’s sturdy enough to be skewered and grilled. We also tried this recipe with tuna and with chicken. All delicious. In the photo, the skewers are served over rice.
— Adapted from a recipe in “The Mediterranean Dish” by Suzy Karadsheh (Clarkson Potter, $32.50).
Basil Vinaigrette
You’ll use 1/2 cup of this vinaigrette for your swordfish skewers. We suggest saving the remainder to dress a plate of sliced tomatoes.
Karadsheh adds the optional step of blanching the basil to preserve its bright green color.
— Adapted from a recipe in “The Mediterranean Dish” by Suzy Karadsheh (Clarkson Potter, $32.50).
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
Two Peas and a Potato Salad
This is Karadsheh’s go-to potato salad, an unusual combination of potatoes, chickpeas and green peas, seasoned with a garlicky mustard dressing and mixed with lots of fresh herbs and capers. She suggests using a combination of Yukon gold and red-skinned potatoes.
— Adapted from a recipe in “The Mediterranean Dish” by Suzy Karadsheh (Clarkson Potter, $32.50).
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
Triple Nutty Baklava
There is nothing austere about this baklava. It’s sweetened with a rich honey syrup, spiced with cloves and brightened with lemon juice and orange extract. Be sure you like the flavor of the honey you’re using as it will be a very predominant flavor.
Karadsheh suggests storing the baklava in the pan, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature for the first night or two. Then transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen baked baklava in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
— Adapted from a recipe in “The Mediterranean Dish” by Suzy Karadsheh (Clarkson Potter, $32.50).
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