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Our cookbook of the week is The Arabesque Table by Reem Kassis. Tomorrow, we’ll feature an interview with the author.
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Try refreshing your browser. Cook this: Halaweh from the Arabesque Table Back to video
“Living abroad, it’s hard to find halaweh (halva) that’s really, really good,” says Palestinian writer Reem Kassis, who was born and raised in Jerusalem, and lives in Philadelphia. “A lot of what you find is too sugary, too sweet, too chewy. And if you want to make it the traditional way, it’s very difficult.”
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Our cookbook of the week is The Arabesque Table by Reem Kassis. Over the next three days, we’ll feature more recipes from the book and an interview with the author.
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Try refreshing your browser.
Reem Kassis found the inspiration for this dish in a 10th-century Arabic cookbook,
Kitab al-Tabikh. Narjissiyeh means “like narcissus,” she explains, and refers to a class of dishes featuring fried eggs. Its resemblance to the flower white, yellow and green is thought to have given the medieval dish its name.
There are many variations of narjissiyeh, she adds, and this version can be made either vegetarian or non-vegetarian. For both, the vibrant fava beans and sunny fried eggs are key.