How to begin a cookbook

"an ode to the food of my childhood, a mash up of food from Bahrain and the surrounding countries, with a slightly Westernised take, thanks to my English roots." Noor Murad

Yesterday I dealt with a first recipe, which was completely unillustrated, which meant that however delicious that recipe might have been - and it probably was/is - if you had picked up the book in a bookshop you most probably would not have bought it - unless you were a fan of Beverley Sutherland Smith.

Today I'm writing about a book which has been sitting on my desk waiting for its moment in the sun - Lugma - by Noor Murad - most well-known to fans of Ottolenghi as the head of his Test Kitchen and co-author of his OTK books, as well as having contributed in a less acknowledged way to others of his books.

When you open the book - the photo above left is the first thing that you see. How could you resist? It's a recipe for Tomato, potato and saffron rice/The Gloss Magazine which perfectly illustrates her statement that "The classical Arabic word for rice is actually 'aruz', but in Bahrain it's called 'aish', which means 'living'. In Bahrain there is no table setting without rice because, well, rice is living."

Turn the page again, and once more before you get to any recipes at all you see this Bahraini dal - also extremely tempting looking - and I'm not a dal fan. The recipe sadly is not online, but then I urge you go out and buy the book if you are interested in the exotic food of the Middle-East and/or know of Noor Murad. I suspect the photograph was included as a taster for the book itself, because of Noor Murad's statement on Instagram about this dish:

"Dal and rice. My big feelings and little feelings dish and the meal I always turn to when I’m not sure where to turn at all."

Which is also apposite because this book is not just a cookbook with delicious recipes. It's also a very personal reflection on the lady herself, where she finds herself at this moment in her life and how she got there, what family means as well as an ode to the food of Bahrain, about which most of us probably know very little and consign it to one of those countries in the Persian Gulf that we don't really care about, indeed are somewhat suspicious of. In times gone by when planes had to stop to refuel several times between Europe and Australia, we would often refuel in Bahrain. I remember one trip was London, Rome, Beirut, Bahrain, Delhi, Hong Kong (or maybe Singapore) and Melbourne. Like many other such refuelling stops Bahrain must have suffered somewhat from the fact that planes can now fly all the way from Australia to London without stopping.

So here is the book cover - Lugma is its name - Arabic for bites - "multiple bites - a great many delicious mouthfuls - of all that I know", says Murad in her very personal introduction - and the lady herself.

Noor has an English mother and an Arab father and lived in Bahrain until her late teens, from where, having decided that food was her passion, she went to America to study and then work, before returning home after some five or six years. She then worked in restaurants and hotels in Bahrain, and because of an unhappy marriage that quickly ended in divorce, she applied for a job in one of Ottolenghi's delis in London, was accepted and so left for the town which she now calls home. From the deli she moved to the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen which she ran for some time until a period of internal questioning and loss of enthusiasm:

"At the time it seemed nothing really excited me any more. No foods surprised me. No books inspired me. Social media felt like this big, dreadful overwhelming vacuum and I was in free fall."

But somehow she has come out of that and we have the gift of this wonderful book, which is full of, not only wonderful recipes but also personal reflections on her life, and life in Bahrain, meditations on various aspects of the food that she grew up with and the food of Bahrain, which, as she points out, has never had a cookbook of its own before, because the foods of Bahrain are found in the homes, and on the streets with everyone having their own version of favourite dishes. It's a cookbook, a travel book - thee are many evocative photographs of Bahrain life as well, an autobiography almost, all in one.

So back to the recipes. And indeed what was the actual first recipe? Well it was this - Baith oo Tamat: Eggs and tomatoes (not online) - her take on a classic Middle-Eastern dish described thus in her introduction - just to give you a taste of how she writes:

"In Bahrain we literally call this breakfast dish what it is 'baith' (egg) and 'tamat' (tomato). But even within this very simple scope there isn't one actual way to make it: some people add spices, others simply refuse, some like more egg than tomato or vice versa, some are saucier, some drier. Pretty much everyone will agree that the eggs should be scrambled into the tomatoes at some point. I hope I'll be forgiven for not adhering to any of these rules. I'm reintroducing my favourite turmeric fried eggs, and this easy, buttery tomato sauce for them to to sit on."

And just to prove her point here is her mentor, Yotam Ottolenghi's take on the concept - Turmeric fried eggs with tamarind dressing - more onions and greens than tomatoes, but still - in the same space.

When I actually started reading my way through the book I started book-marking recipes I thought I might try, but pretty soon realised I was bookmarking almost every recipe, so I gave up. I do hope this doesn't mean that once the book is back on the shelf it will never be opened again.

Anyway here is a small selection of what you might find in its pages. There are so many more that I could have chosen.

Arabic baked beans - House and Garden - one of those early recipes that I bookmarked; Machboos - The Happy Foodie - which she describes as the national dish of Bahrain - a spiced rice dish - here topped with eggs, but which can be topped with almost anything else; Pan-fried tomatoes with za'atar, pine nuts and halloumi - Homes and Gardens; Grilled green beans with lemon and feta - Homes and Gardens - I'm always looking for new things to do with green beans and Loomi lemon chicken - The Gloss Magazine - which uses loomi - dried limes - an ingredient which is in many recipes in this book - so much so that she feels you may have to buy a bag of them. But where - is the only problem.

To end - what she describes as a non recipe Dates with tahini, chilli, salt and indeed the recipe itself is not online but the link is to a very short Instagram speeded up video of her making it - split your dates, stuff them with pistachios, sprinkle them with tahini, then date molasses, then sesame seeds, chilli and salt - and there's your wow of a starter for your next party. Maybe I should take some along to my granddaughter's 18th birthday party on Sunday. Although where can I get date molasses?

Such a lovely book - I urge you to buy it - or borrow it from the library. Another Ottolenghi star Ixta Belfrage has a new book out now - Fusão - but it's not here yet. A potential Christmas present perhaps.

I will try very hard not to ignore Lugma. Perhaps I should just work my way through it a recipe every couple of weeks perhaps. But then there are also all those other wonderful books and recipes. I shall be dead before I can tackle them all.

YEARS GONE BY

August 13

2024 - Greenland - so little and so much

2023 - Small beer

2022 - Nothing

2021 - Marshmallows

2020 - Missing

2019 - Nothing

2018 - Nothing

2017 - Lucky dip - figs

2016 - The commercialisation of water