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Feasts From the Middle East
Tony Kitous
Comptoir Libanais
- Fast, fresh, affordable and delicious Middle Eastern food for the mass market from one of the fastest-growing, most exciting Lebanese restaurant brands in the UK.- With Feasts from the Middle East, we want to recreate the excitement and buzz of the Waga






COPYRIGHT (#ulink_594dfc5c-1d31-56c0-8fbd-4116e6acc446)
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Text Copyright © Tony Kitous 2018
Tony Kitous asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Hardback ISBN 978-0-00-824834-5
eBook ISBN: 9780008248352
Photography: Philippa Langley
Food styling: Rosie Ramsden
Prop styling: Olivia Wardle
Design & Art Direction: Anita Mangan
Senior Commissioning Editor: Rachel Kenny
Project Editor: Sarah Hammond
Head of Design: Louise McGrory
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
CONTENTS
COVER (#u1ad4f5b9-66aa-5adf-a5d3-b5254bbcdde8)
TITLE PAGE (#ue9103c3c-740c-5510-9894-349c097f7224)
COPYRIGHT (#ulink_112f6d72-9b3b-5605-936d-9383027b5db2)
INTRODUCTION (#ulink_891d404b-3fe3-5566-ad4d-e056efc171c0)
MIDDLE EASTERN STORE CUPBOARD (#ulink_52ead0b1-d1ab-5a62-827f-a343981aa61a)
BREAKFAST & BREADS
AUBERGINE SHAKSHUKA
AUBERGINE & HALLOUMI OMELETTE
FETA WITH TOMATOES & SPRING ONIONS
FETA WITH OLIVE OIL & ZA’ATAR
FETA WITH PISTACHIOS & DATE SYRUP
FETA WITH SESAME SEEDS & HONEY
SUJUK SCRAMBLED EGGS
FIG & FETA TARTINE
LEBANESE VILLAGE BREAKFAST
BROAD BEANS IN A TOMATO SAUCE
SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH LAMB & COURGETTES
LABNEH & CARAMELISED BANANA WRAP
LABNEH WITH CARAMELISED POACHED QUINCES AND SPICED DRIED FRUIT
DATE BRIOCHE
SPICED TOMATO FLATBREADS
FETA & SPINACH FLATBREADS
SESAME SEED BREAD
ARABIC BREAD
MEZZE & DIPS
CLASSIC HOMMOS
LABNEH DIP
AUBERGINE & WALNUT DIP
COURGETTE & TAHINA DIP
BROAD BEAN & TAHINA DIP
ARTICHOKE HEART & TAHINA DIP
FRIED VEGETABLES WITH YOGHURT & TAHINA SAUCE
ALEPPO ROAST PEPPERS & MIXED NUT DIP
SPICED POTATOES
MARINATED CHICKEN WINGS
SPICED FRIED SQUID WITH HARISSA SAUCE
CHICKEN LIVERS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES & POMEGRANATE MOLASSES
SPICED LAMB PASTRIES
PASTRIES STUFFED WITH FETA & HALLOUMI OR OLIVES
FETA & NIGELLA SEED FALAFEL
ZA’ATAR-CRUSTED HALLOUMI
ROASTED CHICKEN & COUSCOUS SALAD
SALADS & VEGETABLES
GRILLED CHOPPED AUBERGINE SALAD
AUBERGINE & POMEGRANATE SALAD
ROASTED PEPPER SALAD
BUTTER BEAN SALAD
NEW POTATOES & GREEN TAHINA SALAD
VILLAGE TOMATO SALAD
GRILLED HALLOUMI WITH ROASTED VINE TOMATOES
BEETROOT, FIG & FETA SALAD
FRENCH BEANS IN A TOMATO & OLIVE OIL SAUCE
BRAISED BROAD BEANS WITH OLIVE OIL
BRAISED GREENS IN OLIVE OIL
FUL SALAD WITH RADISH & MINT
ROASTED PEPPER & FETA SALAD
BRAISED OKRA WITH TOMATO SAUCE
SYRIAN AUBERGINE SALAD
CAULIFLOWER & TAHINA
ROASTS & GRILLS
SLOW-COOKED SHOULDER OF LAMB
SPICED ROAST CHICKEN
BABY CHICKEN WITH LEMON JUICE & POTATOES
PALESTINIAN BRAISED SPICED CHICKEN PIE
SPICED MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE
AUBERGINE & SPICED MINCED-LAMB KEBABS
FISH & SEAFOOD
BAKED BREAM WITH TAHINA SAUCE
SEAFOOD STEW
FRIED RED MULLET WITH CRISP BREAD & TAHINA
MY MUM ZOHRA’S FRIED SARDINES
CUTTLEFISH WITH GARLIC, LEMON & CORIANDER
SEA BASS WITH SPICED RICE
SAUTÉED PRAWNS WITH SPICED BRAISED FENNEL
MONKFISH & ROASTED PEPPER KEBAB
SOUPS & STEWS
LENTIL SOUP WITH LEMON
ARTICHOKE & TAHINA SOUP
PUMPKIN & SAFFRON SOUP
TOMATO & MINT SOUP
LEBANESE CHICKEN SOUP
LAMB & ARTICHOKE STEW
SPICED LAMB KOFTAS WITH POTATOES & TOMATOES
BABY AUBERGINES WITH SPICED MINCED LAMB & TAHINA
STUFFED COURGETTES IN A YOGHURT SAUCE
CHICKPEAS WITH YOGHURT & TAHINA SAUCE
CHICKEN & CHICKPEA STEW
POTATO & SPICED MINCED LAMB PIE
GRAINS & PULSES
STUFFED PEPPERS WITH SPICED RICE & LAMB
PALESTINIAN SPICED RICE WITH CHICKEN
GREEN LENTIL & RICE SALAD
BULGAR WHEAT WITH CHICKEN
BULGAR WHEAT & SPICED MINCED LAMB PIE
STUFFED SWISS CHARD WITH SPICED RICE & VEGETABLES
FREEKEH WITH CHICKEN
BULGAR WHEAT & TOMATO SALAD
STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES WITH SPICED MINCED LAMB & RICE
GIANT COUSCOUS WITH CHICKEN
DESSERTS & DRINKS
SHREDDED FILO & CHEESE PUDDING WITH A ROSE–HONEY SYRUP
TAHINA, CHOCOLATE & PISTACHIO CHEESECAKE
POMEGRANATE & PISTACHIO CHEESECAKE
ROSE MOUHALABIAH WITH SUMMER FRUIT COMPOTE
SWEET POTATO & TAHINA PUDDING
SEMOLINA, ALMOND & ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY CAKE
CRISP FILO PARCELS WITH CREAM & ROSE WATER
ZALLABIA
FIG, HALLOUMI & PISTACHIO TART
WALNUT & CINNAMON HONEY CIGARS
GLUTEN-FREE ORANGE & ALMOND CAKE
MY ROASTED AUBERGINE, ROSE, HONEY & LABNEH TART
FRESH MINT & ORANGE BLOSSOM TEA
CAFÉ BLANC
SAHLAB
COMPTOIR SPICED HOT CHOCOLATE WITH TAHINA & HALVA
DATE, ALMOND, ORANGE BLOSSOM & LABNEH SMOOTHIE
WATERMELON LEMONADE
FROZEN MINT LEMONADE
VANILLA CITRONNADE
LEBANESE LEMONADE
FEAST MENUS
LIST OF SEARCHABLE TERMS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

(#ulink_13da285a-6b37-581d-84ba-8e777f42edf0)
I like food – in fact, I love food. I love absolutely everything about food: the smells, the tastes, the colours, the way it makes people happy. A simple smell can take me back to the markets I used to go to with my dad and grandad to buy ingredients for my mum. Or it can transport me back to walking home from school, smelling the food in the air when I was close to home. I remember men walking the streets with their carts of sardines shouting, ‘Yalla sardine!’ and everybody going out to buy them. Every family cooked and flavoured them differently. We’d eat at home and then take the leftovers outside to swap with our friends. I can recall the aroma of fruit ripening on the trees, too. To this day, no matter where I am, a new-season fig will make me close my eyes to savour that first bite, longing to be six years old again, back in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria.
Since I was little it has always been the same. I ate so much so that my mum used to hide food because otherwise it would be gone! Always, always eating. I learned about the joys of food from my mum, Zohra. She is my inspiration, my motivation in everything I do and my biggest influence. She taught me the joy of eating, of feeding people and of learning about new foods. My mother was the heart of the home, cooking for hours every day. She was very creative when meat or fish were scarce or there were lots of people to feed (I’m the oldest of seven). I also came to realise that no matter how simple, food can always be delicious when it’s made with love and with fresh, seasonal ingredients.
As food was such a big part of everyday life when I was growing up, it wasn’t long before I started to think, dream and talk about food. I was brought up in both a Berber and Arab culture and have embraced both my whole life. The Middle East and North Africa are lands of generous hospitality, and people often don’t see the inclusive nature of Arab culture, with eating at the heart of it. Food is an integral part of my roots; food is everything because you give it and share it and you make it with love. Eating it offers a chance to be with friends and family, to talk and laugh and celebrate and share the latest news. Food brings us together.
As a child I was spoilt by my grandma, who would cook all the things I liked. My grandparents kept chickens, and sometimes I’d go there in my lunch break and run down the garden to see if there were any eggs. I would collect the eggs and take them to the kitchen where grandma would cook them simply by frying them in some extra-virgin olive oil, with a little garlic and some coriander – there might be some aubergines or potatoes, too. I’d pick plums, pomegranates and figs straight from the tree, plump and juicy and ripened by the hot sun.
I started earning my own money at a young age. We lived across the street from the big football ground. I would get up early to buy tickets for a match and sell them later to visitors from out of town – at a slightly inflated price! My mum would help me make lemonade or merguez sandwiches, which I’d sell on the street. My father never knew as he wouldn’t have approved of his son selling things on the street. This was my street life and a big part of my education. Working on the streets of Tizi Ouzou taught me that you could make opportunities for yourself.
By the time I was nine I was hitch-hiking up to the coast, about half an hour away, during the summer holidays, where I helped the fishermen with their catches – emptying the nets, cleaning the fish – not for money, but because I liked to do it. My parents thought I was staying with friends, but really I was exploring and looking for the next adventure.
As I grew older, my desire to see and experience more took me further afield. At 15 I used my savings to visit Tunisia, at 16 I ventured to Spain and at 17, it was France. Every year I worked a little harder, saved a little more and travelled a little further. I had just turned 18 when my friend Nasser and I decided that we would travel to London. I arrived with £70 in my pocket (£50 of which was borrowed from my uncle). We spent our first night in Victoria Station, unsure where to go and needing to make our little money last. I fell in love with the city over that summer and ended up living in a squat in Manor House, working wherever I could.
I returned home the day before I was due to start university. I made it through half an hour of my first engineering lecture before I walked out, knowing it wasn’t for me. I’d had a taste of something else and I wanted more. My parents didn’t want me to go – it was unusual for the first-born son to leave the family like this. They roped in uncles, cousins and family friends to talk me out of it, although this just made me more determined to go. But I couldn’t leave without a letter from my father stamped by the police, as I was only 18. And, most importantly, I wanted to go with their blessings.
In the end, he gave me that letter, despite the reservations he must still have had about his eldest son leaving to live in London, with no job or home and only basic English. This was an incredibly difficult decision for him and I thank him for it every day, even though he is no longer with us.
I left as soon as I could. But I hadn’t expected the huge weight of responsibility that I felt the minute I passed through the doors of Heathrow. I realised that I had to make this choice count. I had to make my family proud and make something of myself if I wasn’t going to university. Within four years I needed to have a restaurant. I had to start working hard – and quickly!
For the next few years I worked two full-time jobs every day in pubs, bars and restaurants from 6 a.m. until late. I returned to the squat to live initially but then I was offered a live-in job at a small hotel. Hot running water, my own bed and breakfast every day! I stayed focused on my goal of having my own restaurant for the next four years.
I was working in a restaurant on Wigmore Street when one day I turned up to find it closed. The rent hadn’t been paid and the landlord had taken back the property. This was my chance. I had enough money in the bank for a deposit and a few months’ rent. I set up a meeting and bought myself a suit and tie, ready to impress.
It went well, and it was agreed that I could take on the restaurant, but one clause in the lease worried my lawyer and so he advised against it. I called a friend of my uncle, who had lived in England for some time, to ask his advice. After listening to all that I had to say he asked how old I was and what I had to lose. When I answered ‘Twenty-two’, and ‘Nothing’, he said, ‘Then you have your answer.’
I signed that contract and today, some 25 years later, I still have that restaurant on Wigmore Street.
I want you to fall in love with the Middle East and its bold flavours and welcoming, generous traditions. Maybe it will once again become the place to travel to, but in the meantime, these flavours are becoming an integral part of the food landscape. I want to share them with you. The food of the Middle East is the best in the world.
As Middle Eastern food grows in popularity, ingredients that were once hard to source are now readily available. I’ve always wanted everyone to be able to cook these amazing recipes at home, which is why I set up the souk shops within our restaurants, so you can buy orange blossom water or za’atar.
The recipes in this book allow you to put together your own feasts, whether you are two, ten or twenty people; whether you want breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or anything in between. For example, I love a selection of dishes for breakfast, but if I’m in a hurry I make the Aubergine & Halloumi Omelette (see here (#u071aaa94-501d-5f9d-9879-fdd569c2e436)), a delicious start to any day.
Mezze is how we welcome guests into our homes – the more the better! I can’t choose a favourite as I love everything about the way mezze encourages everyone to join in and share. You will never walk away from an Arabic table hungry! In addition, there is always a salad of some kind, and as a lover of aubergines, Grilled Chopped Aubergine Salad (see here (#u160bd048-fab1-53a4-8bd1-e0811f1df778)) has a huge place in my heart.
One of my favourite recipes is the Slow-cooked Shoulder of Lamb (see here (#u85f865d4-7495-58bc-8415-a3d105f923a3)), cooked with herbs and spices, rice and dried fruits. It’s something you can build a feast around. And My Mum Zohra’s Fried Sardines (see here (#udb9f5236-3fd4-5c07-aac2-7aff1a7983e6)) is still my favourite fish dish and never fails to make me feel nostalgic.
Soups and stews are a huge part of the Middle Eastern diet. My mum made sure there was soup on the table every day in winter; my favourite today is Artichoke & Tahina Soup (see here (#ud3d78c7b-0d93-5c68-8f1f-4f78e1a1d40f)). Soups can be eaten on their own or enjoyed alongside recipes such as Giant Couscous with Chicken (see here (#u511cc1c9-c146-5630-bc75-83b55c3bc50a)) and some roast vegetables.
No feast is complete without something sweet to finish! I like to play with flavours and experiment with ways of using ingredients. My Roasted Aubergine, Rose Honey & Labneh Tart (see here (#u19baf98a-d865-57de-833f-46f7e1cc80c8)) is one of those special recipes that is truly unique. Dipping pastries into café crème, or refreshing yourself with a lemonade or mint tea, is also part of Arabic culture, as the days can be very hot and the evenings cool.
I feel fortunate to be able to do this wonderful job for a living. It is a job I love, and it doesn’t feel like work when you love what you do and when you are making a home from home – an extended family. These recipes and restaurants are more than a reflection of me; they are manifestations of my experiences – from the flavours on the menus to the designs on the walls. Comptoir Libanais is everything to me: my memories, my life, my culture, my family, my children. The people who dine with us aren’t customers, but guests in our home – and you are all very welcome.
Sahtein! (simply, ‘Enjoy your food!’)
Tony



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