Pomegranates & Pine Nuts: A Stunning Collection of Lebanese, Moroccan and Persian Recipes

Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
2 cups Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons dried mint (optional)
1¼ cups cold sparkling (optional) water
ice (optional)
1 Put the yogurt, salt and mint, if using, in a large jug with 1¼ cups cold water (use sparkling if you want a fizzy shake) and whisk vigorously for about 1 minute. Pour into four individual glasses over ice, if you like.

WHITE CABBAGE SALAD
This salad is a wonderful accompaniment to mujadarah— a comforting Mess of Pottage (see page 169), among other dishes. You can substitute the lemon juice with apple cider vinegar for an equally delightful dressing.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
1¼ pounds white cabbage, cut into long thin slivers
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Toss all the ingredients together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cooking time: 45 minutes
3 to 6 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 recipe quantity Parboiled Rice (see left)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until the oil is sizzling. Using a spoon, sprinkle 4 or 5 tablespoons of the parboiled rice across the bottom of the pan. Continue sprinkling the remaining rice, building it up into a dome shape. (Tipping it all in at once will compress the rice, and the end result will not be a light and fluffy dish.)
2 Use the handle of a wooden spoon to make three holes in the rice to the bottom of the pan. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then pour over the rice.
3 Wrap the saucepan lid in a clean dish towel and tie it into a tight knot at the handle, then cover the saucepan with the lid as tightly as you can so any steam does not escape. (The dish towel prevents the moisture from dripping into the rice and making it soggy.)
4 Reduce the heat to low and cook the rice, covered, 20 to 40 minutes longer. If you cook for just 20 minutes, the rice will be light and fluffy and the tahdeeg will be golden, although very loose; if you cook for the full 40 minutes, the rice will remain tender and fluffy, but the tahdeeg will be firmer and darker, which is how it would be eaten in the Middle East. The choice is yours.
5 When the rice is cooked, place the saucepan in 2 inches cold water in the kitchen sink and leave 1 to 2 minutes. This helps to “shock” the rice and loosen the tahdeeg.
6 Gently spoon the rice out (making sure not to disturb the tahdeeg) and sprinkle it lightly onto a dish, shaping it into a dome. Alternatively, gently tip the pan out onto the dish, allowing the rice to spill out into a mound.
7 Remove the tahdeeg by inverting the saucepan onto a plate, using a spatula to loosen it, if necessary. Serve the tahdeeg separately on a plate or on top of the rice.

PARBOILED RICE (STAGE 1)
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes, plus soaking the rice
Cooking time: 5 minutes
2 cups basmati rice
3 tablespoons sea salt
1 Pick over the rice to remove any dirt or discolored grains. Wash the rice thoroughly in five or six changes of water, until it runs clear, which signals all the loose starch has been removed.
2 Pour 4 cups warm water into a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Add the rice and leave to soak no more than 30 minutes, running your fingers through it every so often to help loosen the grains. Drain the rice and rinse under warm water.
3 Pour 5½ cups water into a large saucepan and add the remaining salt. Bring to a boil and stir in the well-strained rice, then bring back to a boil and cook, uncovered, 3 minutes over high heat until the grains are soft on the outside but still firm in the middle. Do not stir the rice again, because this can break the grains.
4 Drain the parboiled rice in a strainer and rinse with lukewarm water, tossing the rice gently to remove the excess moisture and to separate the grains. At this point you can set the rice aside until you are ready to cook your chosen recipe, if you like. This means you can parboil the rice the day before you want it, then continue with the recipe the following day. (Once the rice is cool, it needs to be stored in the refrigerator, where it can be kept safely up to 3 days. Return to room temperature before using.)

PANEER CHEESE
Paneer is a fresh cheese with a creamy taste and texture that is set with acid rather than rennet, making it completely vegetarian. It’s somewhat similar to ricotta cheese, and salt is not traditionally added. Because it’s a nonmelting cheese, it can be fried. Note, however, you do need to allow two days for the yogurt to sour.
Makes about 1 cup
Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus up to 2 days souring, 1 hour resting and up to 2½ hours straining
Cooking time: 10 to 15 minutes
1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
8¾ cups whole milk
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 Put the yogurt in a bowl and cover with a dish towel. Leave at room temperature 24 to 48 hours until a sample tastes sour.
2 Once the yogurt is sour, pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, watching it carefully to make sure the milk does not boil over or catch on the bottom of the pan, in which case it will have to be discarded.
3 Whisk the sour yogurt well and pour it into the milk, then stir at least 5 to 10 minutes until the milk solids curdle and separate from the whey. Remove the pan from the heat and