I remember meeting Arabella at your house in Shoreditch, Anissa--such a lovely person. And you're so right about tabbouleh--my introduction to it came in New York delis where it was mostly burghul and quite soggy burghul at that. Later, I found the recipe in Claudia's first book, which also featured lots and lots of grain. I happily went off to Beirut with my recipe (after many years) and presented it on a buffet table to Lebanese friends. "WHAT," they all asked, "is THAT???" And then they laughed. I think Claudia revised the recipe in later editions of her otherwise wonderful first book.
it's true that Claudia amended her recipe but it took years before people started viewing tabbouleh as a herb and tomato salad rather than a grain one. And Arabella's book wasw published in 1981! So, she was way ahead of the curve given the western perception of tabbouleh in those days. Also, it wasn't a global salad in those days like it is now.
funnily enough, no one does that in Lebanon and I am not sure it is a great idea because if the tomatoes are not both ripe and firm they may go mushy without the skin. In any case, Arabella's recipe was way ahead of the times for England, and possibly the rest of the western world 😊
Interesting. I grew up with a mother who had an aversion to tomato skin. To this day I peel the tomatoes for gazpacho even though it all gets blitzed into oblivion.
I loved the newsletter. I did not know Arabella but I'm buying her Mediterranean book right now :)
I come from a lebanese family and the tabouleh at home is mainly parsley and tomato. But we see every type of bizarre recipe in Brazil
What a great article and congrats on the Substack feature!
I remember meeting Arabella at your house in Shoreditch, Anissa--such a lovely person. And you're so right about tabbouleh--my introduction to it came in New York delis where it was mostly burghul and quite soggy burghul at that. Later, I found the recipe in Claudia's first book, which also featured lots and lots of grain. I happily went off to Beirut with my recipe (after many years) and presented it on a buffet table to Lebanese friends. "WHAT," they all asked, "is THAT???" And then they laughed. I think Claudia revised the recipe in later editions of her otherwise wonderful first book.
it's true that Claudia amended her recipe but it took years before people started viewing tabbouleh as a herb and tomato salad rather than a grain one. And Arabella's book wasw published in 1981! So, she was way ahead of the curve given the western perception of tabbouleh in those days. Also, it wasn't a global salad in those days like it is now.
Another reason her tabbouleh is good is because the recipe calls for peeling the tomatoes. I find that many people skip that step.
funnily enough, no one does that in Lebanon and I am not sure it is a great idea because if the tomatoes are not both ripe and firm they may go mushy without the skin. In any case, Arabella's recipe was way ahead of the times for England, and possibly the rest of the western world 😊
Interesting. I grew up with a mother who had an aversion to tomato skin. To this day I peel the tomatoes for gazpacho even though it all gets blitzed into oblivion.