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.