The allure of spices to bring summer ease (+ a giveaway!)

Recipes from Liberia, Afghanistan, and Lebanon from the new book, Setting a Place for Us

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Good morning, and welcome to today’s Stories from Catbird Cottage! Today’s feature includes *three* recipes from an excellent new release for all subscribers, and a giveaway for paying subscribers. There will be more giveaways in the coming weeks as more new and exciting cookbook releases make their debut - these will only be open to paid subscribers. As I reviewed the spring season cookbook lineup, I took pause coming across Setting a Place for Us: Recipes and Stories of Displacement, Resilience, and Community from Eight Countries Impacted by War, by the James Beard award-winning author and founder of Basbaas foods, Hawa Hassan. In this book, the often asked question arises: who gets to tell people’s stories?

Hassan herself is a victim of war, and whose family fled her home in Mogadishu, Somalia when she was four years old. In this book, she highlights the cultural bonds expressed through food in regions that have endured colonization and extensive violence. Each chapter is devoted to a country: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, El Salvador, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, and Yemen. She pairs her own experiences traveling throughout each country with historical context, sharing the layers of conflict that mar these countries, sometimes to current day.

This journey through the countries’ histories tells the lived stories of displaced people, while also sharing personal essays that preserve their food culture. Throughout, Hassan meets a variety of individuals - families, street vendors, small business owners, and activists who offer recipes such as Pupusas con curtido (Salvadorian filled masa flatbreads with cabbage slaw), Bamia (Iraqi lamb and okra stew), Sahawiq (a Yemeni spicy cilantro condiment), and much more.

The author in Lebanon, taken by Riley Dengler

If you’re connected to world events it is clear we are living through a time like no other. Witnessing on our phones and via other media the rampant, needless destruction of neighborhoods, entire regions, lives, and cultures bears a grave heaviness to the state of humanity and our collective future - whether Sudan, Palestine, Ukraine, DRC, Lebanon, and others. It is astounding to witness people’s steadfastness to hold on to joy while being surrounded by violence, celebrating the foods that give their cultures meaning.

For a chance to win one of two copies of this book, keep scrolling!

The recipes I’m sharing from Hassan’s book appear simple - a bonus as we enter warm days and a shared desire for carefree, throwing-bright-ingredients-together feasts. Each also features spices that, in fact, deliver a deeper overall experience for the palate. Elemental, and yet transformative. Anyone who has made tadka, zhoug, berbere, or any spice-forward recipe knows that spices can take us on journeys to far away lands, in an instant. That is one of the revelations of the world of food.

I’ve selected this trio to mix + match for a bright, satisfying meal served together, or for you to select from, as you like. I can already tell the juice is going to be part of my summer lineup (perhaps with a little mezcal, for entertaining)….

Liberia

Pineapple ginger juice
Makes about 8 cups

From the pages of Setting a Place for Us…
This is my simple, homemade version of a delicious and refreshing drink available all over Liberia. Use the freshest ginger you can find to extract the most juice and flavor. You can add cold seltzer in place of the water to make an at-home version of ginger beer.

12 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cored, and cut into chunks
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup sugar, plus more if needed
6 cups water
Ice cubes for serving

Line a large fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. In a second large bowl, combine the ginger, pineapple, lemon juice, allspice, and cloves. Sprinkle the sugar over everything and toss to mix well.

Depending on the size of your blender, you can blend the ginger-pineapple mixture in two or three batches. Transfer a batch to the blender, add 2 cups of the water if blending one-third and 3 cups of the water if blending half, and blend the mixture until very smooth. Pour into the cheesecloth-lined sieve and press against the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Repeat with the remaining mixture and water in one or two batches, straining each batch as directed. Discard the solids.

Taste the juice. It should have a nice balance of sweet, spicy, and acidic. Add sugar to taste if needed. The juice should have the consistency of orange juice. If it is too thick, add a bit more water.

Transfer to a pitcher, cover, and refrigerate until well chilled. Serve over lots of ice.

Afghanistan

Salata
Serves 2-4

This tart and refreshing salad is an everyday addition to Afghan tables and goes with just about anything. It can be served as a side dish to accompany kebabs, rice dishes, or other mains, or it can be paired with bread for a light meal.

4 tomatoes, finely chopped
4 Persian cucumbers, finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 small bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 to 2 lemons)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon dried mint

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and mint and toss well. Taste and adjust with more salt if needed.

Serve right away.

Iraq

Arayes
Makes 12 stuffed pita halves

These meat-stuffed pitas, which are typically enjoyed as a quick lunch, a snack, or on-the-go street food, can be filled with beef or lamb. Whatever meat you choose, make sure you use a lean cut so the fat doesn’t seep out and make the bread soggy. If you like, you can slice each stuffed pita in half after cooking for a snack-or appetizer-size serving.

1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
½ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1½ pounds lean ground beef or lamb
1 tablespoon Baharat | 7 Spice Mix (page 203)
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
6 pita breads with pockets, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil for cooking
Tahini for serving
Lemon wedges for serving

In a mini food processor, combine the onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, and pine nuts and pulse until a chunky paste forms. Transfer the paste to a large bowl, add the meat, spice mix, and salt, and mix with your hands until well blended.

Place a sheet pan in the oven and preheat the oven to its lowest setting. Divide the meat mixture into twelve equal portions and stuff a portion into each pita half, pressing to flatten slightly.

Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat and brush liberally with oil. Add as many pita halves as will fit in a single layer without crowding and cook until crisp and golden on the underside, about 4 minutes. Flip and repeat on the second side, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer to the sheet pan and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining pita halves.

Serve hot with tahini for dipping and lemon wedges on the side.

So, who wants a copy of Setting a Place for Us? I’m giving away two copies to double your chances.