Recipe

We also know this sauce from the Arnabeet Mekleh, the Lebanese cauliflower dish. One of the absolute favorites in this house when having a mezze. With this cavolo nero recipe, the tahina / lemon / garlic sauce also works great. And the crunchy nigella seeds are the eye-catcher. And add some crunch and flavor. Delicious.

I found a bag with frozen artisjok bottoms in the freezer the other day. That’s often how it starts in this kitchen of mine. I find ingredients in the fridge, cupboard, kitchen, freezer… en ask myself what to make of it. This. And it is a true show stopper. The artisjok bottoms are filled with spinach, red bell pepper, feta cheese, olives and garlic of course. And for the sauce I chose a lemon sauce with capres. I love lemon, I use it whenever I can. It all came down perfectly. Serve it with some rice or nice loaf of bread to dip in the sauce.

Once you have eaten cavolo nero (palm cabbage), you want to make more of it. At least, that’s what happened to me. It’s such a great flavorful leafy vegetable. Who behaves like a good boy in the pan, in a dish. Always adding exactly what is necessary to make it delicious. Just keeping the balance between all the ingredients. And it has exactly the right bite. I’m very sensitive to that.

Anything that tends to taste bitter will get my loving attention. I can sometimes long for that taste so badly. Fresh broad beans cannot be compared to anything else. They are widely used in the Middle East. Delicious. Here in the pilav with some fresh dill, onion and garlic it is a fantastic soft delicate combination. And to counter that, sometimes we take shatta with it. The green version in this case. The colour maches the dish and the sharpeness is completely appropriate.