14

ARTS

Weekend Witness

December 20, 2014

FlavoursfromRiyadh
CookinginSaudiArabiaopenedadoortomanynewrecipesandflavours
JACKIE CAMERON
SAUDI Arabia, Riyadh.
Iwasfortunatetohavebeeninvited
byS.PellegrinoandAcquaPannatorep
resentSouthAfricaattheAudiChefs
CupSudtirol2014inAltaBadia,Italy,
earlier this year.
Theeventwasafantasticdisplayof
culinaryexcellence,attractingthelead
ingpersonalitiesofnationalandinter
nationalcuisine.ThereImetClemens
Mair,thedirectoroffoodandbeverage
attheAlFaisaliahHotel,ARosewood
HotelRiyadh,SaudiArabia,andwegot
chatting.
Themeetingresultedinmebeingin
vitedtocookforaweekattheprestig
iousGlobeSummitSeries,andwhatan
occasionthatwas.Iwasawarethatthe
triptoSaudiArabiawasgoingtobea
learning curve on many levels and it
was,evenmorethanIcouldhaveimag
ined. Every day I presented a private
cookingclassaswellasaneightcourse
lunchmenuanddinnermenuavailable
to the public. It was a busy time.
Chef Ilias Doulamis and his team,
however,offeredmefantasticsupport
which allowed us to pull this off.
Thecookingcoursesgavemetheop
portunitytomeetprinces,localwomen
andinternationalpeoplebasedinSau
di,andbyaskingquestionsIlearnta
greatdealabouttheplaceanditspeo
ple. I was intrigued by the differing
views on what living in Saudi Arabia
meant to them.
Oneofthecookingclassesinvolved
manyyoungSaudigirlswhospokevery
passionately about their home town.
They were relaxed and happy, which
meantbytheendofthesessionwewere
exchangingrecipes.Theywrotedown
afewnamesformebut,havingbeen
unabletofindthemontheInternet,I
gathertheyhavebeenlostintransla
tion.Thetwodishestheywaxedlyrical
aboutwereharissaandkabsa.Iregret
thattimedidnotallowmetheprivilege
toeatlocallysoalltherecipesherewere
researchedandhavebeengivenmyown
take.Shouldyouknowbetterorunusual
combinationspleasesharethemwith
me via email.
I couldnt leave Saudi without its
unique flavours tucked safely in my
memory bank. The ones I have high
lightedherepromisetotantaliseyour
taste buds as they did mine.
Harissa is a Maghrebian hot chili
pepperpaste.Themainingredientsare
roasted red peppers, serrano peppers
andotherhotchilipeppers,spicesand
herbs such as garlic paste, coriander
seed,orcaraway,aswellassomevegeta
bleoroliveoilthatactsasapreservative.
Harissapastecanalsobeusedasarub
formeatoreggplants.TheSaudigirls
mentionedharissaandmeatsoIsug
gest you give it a try.
Kabsaisafamilyofmixedricedishes
thatareservedmostlyinJordanandin
SaudiArabia,whereitiscommonlyre
gardedasanationaldish.Asarule,the
mealsaremadefromamixtureofspi
ces,rice(usuallylonggrain,mostlybas
mati),meatandvegetables.Thereare
manyvariationsofkabsaandeachhas
itsownuniquequality.MySaudipupils
commented on how their respective
familieshadtheirownparticulartake
on this dish. They also boasted how
theirrespectivemotherswerethebest
at making kabsa.
The spices used in kabsa include
black pepper, cloves, cardamom, saf
fron,cinnamon,blacklime,bayleaves
andnutmeg.Igottheimpressionthat
thequantitiesofspicesusedwheretop
secretinfamilies.Themainingredient
thataccompaniesthespicesismeat
chicken, goat, lamb or camel, some
timesbeef,fishorshrimp.Thespices,
riceandmeatmaybeservedwithal

SAUDI ARABIA: HARISSA PASTE

(Yields: 250 ml)
10 gr dried red chillies
4 (600 gr) red peppers
3 cloves (15 gr) fresh garlic
2,5 ml fine Oryz salt
45 ml olive oil
5 ml ground coriander
5 ml ground caraway seeds
2,5 ml cumin
Soakthedriedchilliesinhotwaterfor30minutes.
Drain, then remove the stems and seeds.
Chargrillthepeppersbyplacingthemonanopen
gas flame or fire, keep turning them so they burn
evenly. (This can be done within an oven on a tray
drizzled with a little oil.) Place these in a container,
tightly wrap the top with cling wrap and allow to
cool for 10 minutes. Remove the black parts on the
outside of the peppers, the stems and seeds.
Inafoodprocessor,blendalltheingredientstogeth
er, to form a smooth paste.
The paste can be stored in an airtight container
in the fridge.

SAUDI ARABIA: KABSA

(Yields 68 portions):
Kabsa spice mix:
2,5 ml saffron
1,25 ml ground cardamon
2,5 ml ground cinnamon
2,5 ml ground all spice
1,25 ml ground black pepper
2 lemons zest
Mix all the ingredients together and set aside.
60 gr salted butter
30 ml sunflower oil
1 (200 gr) onion, chopped
6 cloves (30 gr) fresh garlic, crushed
1 whole (1 kg) chicken, portioned into 8 pieces
62,5 ml tomato puree
1 can tomato pieces in juice
3 (320 gr) carrots, peeled and grated
2 whole cloves
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch ground coriander
1 pinch ground cumin
Fine Oryz salt
Freshly ground black pepper
800 mlchickenstock(refertojarishrecipeforrecipe)

PHOTOS: KAREN EDWARDS

PHOTOGRAPHY

SAUDI ARABIA: JARISH

Chicken stock
1 whole (1 kg) chicken
2 (400 gr) onion, roughly chopped
1 (100 g) leek, roughly chopped
2 (200 gr) carrots, roughly chopped
1 stalk (50 g) celery, roughly chopped
2 cloves (10 gr) fresh garlic, skin removed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
5 whole black peppercorns
5 ml fine salt
Water, enough to cover all the ingredients
Place all the ingredients in a large pot, bring to
the boil, then turn down to a simmer, allow to
simmer for two hours.
Remove the chicken, remove the bones and skin,

shred finely and keep aside.

Straintheliquid,keeptheliquid(thechickenstock)
aside and discard the vegetables and seasoning.
500 ml pearl barley, washed once, drained and
keep aside.
30 gr salted butter
30 ml sunflower oil
1 (200 gr) onion, chopped
250 gr shortgrain brown rice
1 litre fullcream milk
15 ml cumin seeds
Oryz salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 gr butter
10 ml sunflower oil
1 (200 gr) onion, chopped
In a pot, melt the butter and heat the oil, add
the onions and fry until golden.
Add the pearl barley, rice and salt, cover with
about one litre of chicken stock. Place the lid on
the pot and allow to cook for one hour on a low
heat.
Add the milk, cumin and pepper, place the lid
on and cook for another two hours, on a very low
heat.
Addtheshreddedchickenpieces,seasonwell,mix
well and serve.
When serving, melt the butter and heat the sun
floweroilinafryingpan.Frytheonion,untilcooked
andgolden,serveontopofthericewiththechicken.

SAUDI ARABIA: DATE CAKES

(Makes 12)
250 ml dried dates, chopped
250 ml semolina
62,5 ml desiccated coconut
125 ml sunflower oil
45 ml cake flour
30 ml milk powder
2 eggs
5 ml baking powder
15 ml hubba soda (a sugar stock made with equal
parts sugar and water that is cooked until syrupy)

15 ml white sesame seeds

Mix all the ingredients together, except for the
hubba soda and the sesame seeds.
Place the mixture into greased moulds but only
fill them full.
Mixthehubbasodaandthesesameseedstogether
well and then spread a little bit on top of each
mould.
Cook in a preheated oven at 180C for about
15 minutes.
Whencooked,removefromthemouldsandallow
to cool before serving.

monds,pinenuts,onionsandsultanas.
Thedishcanbegarnishedwithashand
servedhotwithdaqqus.Ihaveincluded
these recipes too.
Hash isameatstuffingwithrice.It
canbeservedasis,orcanbeaddedto
otherdishesasmeatballs.Soakedrice
ismixedwithmeatandspices.Itcan
alsobestuffedintoalmostanyvegeta
ble, which is called mehshi (pro
nouncedmecheshe).Soundsscrump
tiousbutthenIamasuckerforstuffed
vegetables,evenifitisaveryoldfash
ioned dish.
Dakkous, or daqqus, is a Middle
Easterntomatosaucethatiseatenwith
rice.IamnottoofondofriceandIwas
amused to see how this revelation
shocked the Saudi girls. I wonder
whetherthesaucewillchangemymind.
Jreesh, which is ground wheat, is

commonly used in Saudi Arabia and

whenincludinginadishiscalledjarish.
This recipe involves a whole chicken
withwould you believe rice. Its
servedwithchopped,friedonionsand
is certainly worth a try.
Myfirstlessonwasforaprince.What
alovelyman.Hegiftedmewithafew
treasured books and DVDs on Saudi
Arabia.Thetruetreat,however,wasan
elegantlypackagedboxfilledwithbat
eel,gourmetArabiandates,eachfilled
withinterestingcombinationssuchas
dates,pecannutsandcandiedorange,
eachasdeliciousastheother.Onre
turning home I was aware that I had
boughtnogiftsfortheteamatwork.
StupidlysobecauseIasyetdonthave
ateam!However,Isharedsomeworld
class dates with the labourers on site
atJackieCameronSchoolofFoodand

SAUDI ARABIA: HASHU

(Meat stuffing with rice and spices)
550 g of mince meat:
450 gr beef mince
1/3 cup rice, soaked for 30 minutes
30 ml olive oil
5 ml all spice
5 ml cinnamon powder
5 ml fine Oryz salt
1,25 ml freshly ground black pepper
1/2 onion, grated
Mix all the ingredients together.
Thisstuffingcanbestuffedinalmostanyvegeta
blesuchaspotatoes,brinjal,squash,onion,cab
bage and so many more. Then it is cooked in
theovenuntiltheminceiscookedandthevegeta
bles are soft.

Wine and enjoyed their appreciative

comments.Itwasanewexperiencefor
meandforthem.Ithoughtitappropri
atetoaddadeliciousdatecakerecipe
for you to enjoy.
ThereisnoalcoholinSaudiArabia.
Noteveninthehotelroomsminibar.
Saudichampagne,whichwasonoffer,
wasenjoyablebuthadnokick.Idrank
many freshly squeezed juices, some
withunusualcombinations,andIcame
home feeling revitalised and healthy.
Just goes to show.
Herestoyourgoodhealth.Havea
happytimeoverthisfestiveseasonand
pleasecastathoughtmywayIllbe
hard at work getting Jackie Cameron
SchoolofFoodandWinereadyforits
firstintake2015isgoingtobeafabu
lousyearandanhistoricaloneforme.
Visit www.jackiecameron.co.za to

550 ml basmati rice, unrinsed

62,5 ml seedless raisins
62,5 ml whole almonds, skin removed, roasted and
roughly chopped
Inalargepotmeltthebutterandheatthesunflower
oil over a medium heat.
Add the onions and garlic, cook and stir until the
onionsaresoftandtranslucent,aboutfiveminutes.
Add the chicken pieces and brown them over a
medium to high heat, for about 10 minutes.
Mix in the tomato puree.
Stirinthetinofcannedtomatoes,withtheirjuice,
carrots,cloves,nutmeg,coriander,cumin,salt,pepper
andthekabsaspicemix.Cookforaboutthreemin
utes, then add the stock, stir well.
Bring this to the boil, then turn down the heat
to a simmer and cover the pot with the lid. Allow
to cook for about 30 minutes or until the chicken
is almost cooked.
Gently stir in the rice. Put the lid on and allow
tosimmeruntilthericeissoftandalmostdry,about
25 minutes.
Addtheraisinsandabitmorehotwaterifneeded.
Placethericeonalargeservingplatterandarrange
thechickenpiecesontop.Sprinklethealmondsover.

SAUDI ARABIA: DAKKOUS

(Tomato sauce, 250 ml)
15 ml sunflower oil
2 cloves (10 gr) fresh garlic, crushed
250 grripetomatoes,skinremovedandchopped
2,5 ml cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
15 ml tomato paste
1 fresh chilli, seeds removed and chopped
Juice of one lemon, freshly squeezed
Fine salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a pan, then add the garlic and
cook for a few seconds.
Add the tomatoes.
Cover and allow to simmer on a low heat for
about30minutes,oruntilthetomatoesaresoft.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook with
the lid off for about two minutes, then remove
from the heat.
The sauce can be stored in a sterilised glass
bottle in the fridge then heated as needed.
find out more about my womens
chef range, with a mens range to
come shortly. Remember Jackie
Cameron Cooks at Home and all
my foodie adventures. I always look
forward to hearing from you. See
jackie@jackiecameron.co.za
Jackie Cameron is soon to be the
owner of Jackie Cameron School of
Food and Wine in Hilton, KZN.
Send email for inquiries.
For the latest on local foodie news,
add me as a friend on facebook.
Find me on Twitter@jackie_cam
eron and Instagram: jackiecameron
incolour.
Food styling and recipe develop
ment, Elaine Boshoff.
All photos by Karen Edwards Pho
tography 0824417429 or ka
rene@bundunet.com