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Lebanese Lenten Feasting

During Lent in Lebanon many people give up meat and some choose a vegan diet. If you'd like to explore recipes using more legumes, pulses and vegetables, as Professor Tim Spector recommends in his new book Food For Life , can we suggest two Lebanese dishes from Barbara Abdeni Massaad's cook book Mezze?

They are shorkk family favourites, because they're easy, the ingredients are kitchen staples, they're delicious and nutritious. One is lentil based and the other made with chickpeas. Not very "photogenic" dishes perhaps, but once you've made them and tasted them with lashings of Zejd's extra virgin olive oil, you'll soon see that looks aren't everything!

As it's Real Bread Week, could this be the moment to try your hand at Arabic bread? If you don't have Lebanese bread available locally, these flat breads aren't as hard to make as you might think. There's a lovely recipe in Barbara's cook book Mezze. The results are the perfect compliment to a real Lebanese feast!

Lebanon helping Syria

trucks going to Aleppo
A photo of trucks on their way to Aleppo, shared by Ahla Fawda, the NGO we mentioned in our last newsletter. We've added their story to our website, which you can read here.

Ahla Fawda's immediate response to the earthquake disaster is all the more impressive in the context of all that's going on in Lebanon. The value of the local currency has hit an all time low, banks, six of which were set on fire in Beirut last week, are on strike, prices in shops will now be in dollars and frequent earth tremors as a result of the powerful earthquake in Turkey, are creating an atmosphere of fear.

Without a President since October 2022, two Lebanese MPs, Najat Saliba and Melhem Khalaf are protesting at the inability of parliamentarians to elect a president. Since January 19th they've been sleeing in the parliament building until a new one is elected. Hopefully they'll be sleeping in their own beds soon.

shorkk markets

We're at a new market this month, Saxon Barn in Leonard Stanley ...if you know anyone in the area, do let them know.

Saturday 25th February 9am - 1.30pm
Bath Farmers Market,
Green Park Station

Sunday 26th February 11am - 3pm
Saxon Barn Market, Leonard Stanley

Saturday 11th March 8.30am - 1pm
Whiteladies Road Market, Bristol

recipes this month

pasta alla Norma
Our version of an easy recipe for the weekend pasta alla Norma. As Jamie Oliver says, "it's a great big hug in a bowl".
For a zingy treat using Zejd's sumac and pomegranate molasses, have a go at sumac biscuits. Happy cooking!
sumac biscuits
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