Malouf - Arabesque

Modern Middle Eastern Food

arabesque

GREG AND LUCY MALOUF
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM MEPPEM

This edition printed in 2010
First published in 1999 by
Hardie Grant Books
85 High Street
Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia
www.hardiegrant.com.au

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders.

The moral right of the authors has been asserted.

Copyright text Greg and Lucy Malouf
Copyright photography William Meppem

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Malouf, Greg.
Arabesque / Greg and Lucy Malouf.
2nd ed.
9781740667678 (pbk.)
Cookery, Middle Eastern.
641.5956

Cover and text design by Gayna Murphy, Greendot Design
Photography by William Meppem
Food styling by Caroline Veliik
Typeset by Pauline Haas, bluerinse setting
Printed and bound in China by C&C Offset Printing

In loving memory of our fathers, Kevin Malouf and John Rushbrooke

contents

Firstly, Lucy and I wish to express our heartfelt thanks to the Hardie Grant team for suggesting this revitalised version of our very first book. Weve been bowled over by the input of the talented creative team who have helped breathe new life into our words and recipes for this new edition.

Arabesque is the result of a lifetimes journey in, through and around food. It has been fuelled by my travels and the people Ive met along the way, by the books I have read, and by the countless meals I have cooked and eaten.

My deepest gratitude must go to my family: to my mother, May, and my grand-mothers, Adele and Madeleine. This formidable trio taught me to love cooking and to understand that feeding others was a gift, not a chore. They influenced my childhood years and were the first to nurture my interest in the classic flavours of the Middle East. I also especially thank my sister-in-law Amal Malouf and her mother, Victoria Baroud, for their constant support and advice. Their breadth of knowledge and expertise in the cooking of Lebanon and Syria is unrivalled.

On a personal note, my appreciation goes to Pat McDonald, who was one of the first to encourage my decision to become a chef. I thank too Michelle Garnaut, my partner in Hong Kong during the 1980s, who believed in my passion for the flavours of the Middle East long before they became fashionable. Throughout my career I have been fortunate to work with many extraordinary and inspirational chefs. In particular, I owe a debt to Abla Amad, the undisputed queen of Lebanese home-cooking here in Melbourne, who has been a source of inspiration and support over the years, and to Stephanie Alexander, Andrew Blake and Fred Chalupa.

The first edition of this book was published in 1999 while I was cooking at Melbournes OConnells Hotel. During my years there the owners, David Blackley, Geoff Burrows, Kent Lovell and Bill Regan, gave me the freedom to develop my modern Middle Eastern food style within a framework of unwavering support and I remain eternally grateful to them for that opportunity.

Many of the dishes in Arabesque evolved during that time at OConnells, and all of them benefitted from the input of the talented chefs who passed through my kitchen there. In particular, Kurt Sampson, Harry Hajisava and Miranda Epstein gave up hours of their time to help refine and test my ideas to turn them into the dishes that I dreamed of.

While the recipes and words that follow remain the same as in the first edition, Arabesque now has a gorgeous new look. For this we thank William Meppem for his beautiful photography, Gayna Murphy for her stunning design and Caroline Velik for her inspired styling and infinite patience.

Brooke Payne and Simone Watts were tireless workers on the photoshoot and helped ensure that things ran like clockwork. Thanks too to Dean and Geremy Lucas and the entire MoMo team for allowing me time away from the kitchen (yet again!).

Many generous people lent us equipment and beautiful props for the photo-graphy, for which we are very grateful. Wed like to thank Manon, Bliink Interiors, Colours of Provence, Mud Australia and Minimax. And we especially thank Lyn Gardener for opening up her lovely light-filled house to us; it proved to be a stunning location for the photographs.

And finally, our grateful thanks to the A1 Middle Eastern Bakery, Eurofruit, Largo Butchers and Ocean Made for making sure we were supplied with such outstanding produce. As every chef knows, it is the quality of the produce that is really at the heart of good cooking.

Greg Malouf

This book is for anyone who is interested in discovering more about the culinary influence of the Middle East and how to use these foods and flavours in their own kitchens at home.

Many people have some understanding of cooking from the Arab world, but it is usually based on their experience of limp pita bread and greasy kebabs from a grubby Lebanese takeaway. In more recent years there has also been a fashion for Moroccan food, with every other trendy bistro serving couscous and chermoula. But any deeper interest in Arab-influenced foods seems to have stopped here, which scarcely does them justice. The cuisines of the region we call the Middle East are as refined and complex as many other great cuisines of the world.

My own interest in food and cooking began in the family home in suburban Melbourne. My culinary instincts are rooted in the flavours and traditions of Lebanon, as cooked by my grandmothers and mother. When my classmates were munching on their lunchtime sandwiches of Strasbourg and tomato sauce, I was tucking into a garlic-laden falafel. Using ingredients such as chickpeas, allspice, vine leaves and rosewater has always been as natural to me as breathing.

When I embarked on my cooking career I followed the traditional route for a young Australian apprentice cook. I studied at trade school here in Melbourne while working in the kitchens of several outstanding local restaurants. The formal part of my training over, I then spent a number of years overseas, cooking in France, Italy, Austria and Hong Kong, honing my skills, extending my repertoire, and scarcely giving a thought to childhood dishes like stuffed vine leaves and kibbeh nayeh.

Over the last 18 years or so, since heading up my own kitchen, I have been able to synthesise the various influences of my culinary life and to produce the sort of food that I have always wanted to cook: not traditional Lebanese dishes, but rather food which, for me, captures the essence of the Middle East and expresses it in the best western tradition.