Recipes
All of the recipes are well tested recipes. This is the food eaten in this household during the week. Most are adapted recipes from classic dishes and from a range of cook books including The Cork Cook Book, The Silver Spoon, a Airport Society Jeddah Cookbook from 1990, a Middle Eastern Cookbook bought in Dubai Airport in 1999 as well as recipes created and cooked at home, with experimentation from my sisters, my wife and other family members.
Inspiration has been gained from two years living in the Middle East where we were exposed to food from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Philippines, five star hotels, Hilton, Marriott, Movenpick, Intercontinental and many more. Favourite dishes from this time was Afghani Roast Chicken marinated in tomato juice with boiled rice and fried chopped carrot, onion and sultanas served with warmed Afghani Bread. Fillet steak in a fruity sauce served in a restaurant in the Filipino Souk where you were locked in during prayer call. They served the cutlery in a glass with boiling water which was hygienic and comforting when temperatures outside were 34c at night. Other delights were the perfect Felafels cooked in boiling vats of oil in the same souk served with warmed flat bread and a garlic sauce. The chicken shwarma served on Makarounah Street was the best we ever ate. Other highlights were dinner parties hosted by expats from the USA, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, India, Pakistan and other parts of the globe. Many dips were tasted as well as experimental alcoholic drinks, Jeddah Gin and the famous 90 proof golden Siddiqii honed by an Australian/Philippino consortium. Invites by parents to the various 5 star hotels for their theme nights were appreciated, eat as many prawns and fillet steaks as you wanted was an eye opener from a couple from the depressed middle and late eighties Ireland. The highlight though was the famous whole roasted large lamb in the Pakistani restaurant served outside around a large table with a group of ten or so.
During holidays in Thailand and Malaysia we enjoyed street food and particulary enjoyed Chinese New Year celebrations in Kuala Lumpar. Other visits to Europe gave us Moule Marniere with pommes frites in France, Argentinian Steaks in Estepona, Spain, tapas in Sotogrande.
Afterwards inspiration was Italy. They revere food. After a Granny gently slapped our boy's hand for handling fruit without the required plastic glove, we realised that in Italy, food was very very important. The arguments you would hear regarding the choice at the fish or butcher's counter, the quality of the produce in all shops. Food is always cooked to perfection. The Steak Florentine we ate in San Gimignano, the twenty tapas type dishes we ate in Turin, the porcetta sandwich in Castel Gandolfo, the wafer thin pizza in Turin, the 1988 chianti classico with grilled steaks in Greve in Tuscany, the squid and octopus in Lucca and many other memorable dishes.
Taste in food develops and taste changes. When we first fried eggs in extra virgin olive oil we found it too strong, now it tastes normal. The Vindaloo we ate in London before we went to Saudi burned the mouth off us, now we eat raw chilis.
We eat and learn and live.
