The Rural Taste of Lebanon

"We went to Lebanon last May and discovered this book. It is very beautiful, with amazing pictures of the country’s women. It has a lot of vegetables, yoghurt, yoghurt-cheese and salad. It is very light and relies on amazing ingredients, especially vegetables. So it is extremely fresh, which we were bowled over by. This book has a lot of very quirky, original recipes. We keep it within seasons. Even if we repeat something, there will be a little change to keep it interesting. One of our classics is the crab brik, which we make from pastry in the authentic way. That is something we learnt in Morocco, in the camper van. We stuff the pastry with crab, chilli, coriander and cumin. People also like the grilled aubergine, and the pepper salad with yoghurt and caramelised butter. Of course we adore baklava, but we do not make them. Our puddings seldom change but they are much loved: Chocolate and apricot tart, yoghurt cake with pistachios and pomegranates, and ice creams such as Malaga raisin ice cream with Pedro Ximenez sherry, or rosewater and cardamom ice cream."