Recipe

I love classic recipes. I really love them. They are A-L-W-A-Y-S exactly right. Always very, very tasty. Always great. And, of course, so is this maftoul. There are variations. Every family has one. Every Palestinian grandmother is renowned for it. And this is a delicious vegan version. And if you don’t know pearl couscous yet, this is your best first introduction.

You look at the ingredients and think … simple. And maybe you think … not special enough… well, then you’re wrong… Because this soup is extremely delicious. You hope there will be something left for later or for the next day… and that nobody will beat you to it… Because that would be … annoying… This is the soup Zaynab once made for us on a Sunday afternoon. We always remembered it and often long for it…

A casserole dish is simply fantastic. Especially this one. All tastes come together. You take care of all the preparations and the result never disappoints you. In fact, it’s even more delicious than you expected. Comfort food. And the whole idea that you pit everything nicely in a bowl, knowing that the job is done from your side and the oven takes it further. So fancy. And the oven knows exactly what to do. Kitchen hero. We all know the Greek version of musaka, but this Palestinian is, as far as I am concerned, about ten times better. What am I saying? A hundred times better.

Sauerkraut prepared in this way is pure comfort food. The sweetness of the red pepper is a wonderful counterpart to the sauerkraut. The vegan cheese sauce is deliciously creamy and the oven actually does the rest. Casseroles are of course also great slow food material. And the delicious crust on top is of course ‘priceless’.