Haute Cuisine:Eating in the Middle East

September 2002

Don’t eat the vegetables without washing them in Clorox water first. Never eat from street vendors. You will get sick and die!” This is what we heard many times when coming to the Middle East. We were told by family, friends and doctors that there were mysterious bugs that would get into our system and we would never be well again. Even the doctor at the embassy here warned us to beware. Well, there are three methods for handling the information. One is to fear for your health the entire time you are abroad which means never accepting a dinner invite or going out to eat. We dismissed idea at once. The second method is a midpoint. You Clorox vegetables and are cautious about where you eat. The third method, also called the Peace Corps method is you eat everything and are maybe sick for a couple weeks until your body adjusts to the new bugs. Call me crazy, but this is the path we have chosen and it has made all the difference, but we are cautious where we eat.

Food is an integral part of any culture and we came here to experience the culture. The day after arriving in Jordan, we went to a small sidewalk café near our house that sells shewarma. In the States we call them gyros, but there is a difference here. There are two types of shewarma, chicken and lamb/goat. My son and I prefer the lamb/goat while my wife likes the chicken. We haven’t won her over to the dark side yet. They are sort of the Middle Eastern burrito. The meat is stacked in alternating layers of meat and fat and cooked on a skewer that stands vertically in front of a heat source, usually a propane radiant heater type device. There is a pan under the skewer and the cook rotates the skewer and shaves off a very thin layer of the meat that has been cooked by the heat. He then wraps it in fresh pita type bread that has been rubbed on the meat stack to warm it and put some juice on it. Depending on where you buy the shewarma there is usually a pickle and some secret sauce that are put in as well. They are delicious and cost about 20-30 cents. A family of three can gorge themselves for under 3 dollars.

Another delight of mine that is only found in the Middle East is Mansaf. This dish is made on special feasts and to honor people when they come to dinner. Imagine yourself in a home where the furniture is large cushions along the wall with pillow like cushions to lean on in repose. As dinner is brought you see a steaming mound of rice seasoned with saffron and almond slivers. On top of the rice is a baby goat. This is all on a large tray. If it is done in true Bedouin style it still has the head on and you can swear it is looking at you. Luckily I never was offered the eye, which is supposed to be an honor. Mostly here in Jordan the meat in the Mansaf is already cut into pieces. The tray is set down in front of you on the floor or a low table and everyone gathers around to eat. You use your right hand and reach in to pull of chunks of hot meat from the goat and mix it with the rice then pop it into your mouth. Normally there is a butter/milk mixture that is poured onto the section of rice you are eating from to help it stick together. The real trick it to learn how to ball up the rice so it comes off your hands clean. Occasionally the host may reach over, tear off a piece of choice meat and place it in front of you. This is his way of honoring you as the guest. After eating, and you never eat everything since the children eat after the grownups, you are taken to a place where you can wash your hand. Afterward you return and are offered tea or coffee and fruits and pistachio nuts as you sit and chat with your host.

Baklava is a word that makes many young Arab children squeal with delight. This is a pastry that tastes so good many nations argue over where it was first made, but regardless of where it was made it is a favorite. It is made of a few sheets flaky thin filo dough placed in a pan and brushed with butter then chopped nuts then another layer of dough followed but more butter and nuts. This is continued until about a depth of an inch is achieved. Then it is cut into diamond shapes and baked. When it comes out it is covered with honey or sweet syrup and allowed to set till it soaks up most of the syrup. Delicious. It is sold in shops where all sorts of epicurean delights wait to surprise both tastebuds and waistlines. And in some towns, like Dera’a in Syria, there seems to be one shop for every 10 people. A dentist’s nightmare.

All the food is prepared in large portions. If an Arab invites you to his home to eat, be prepared for a feast. Hospitality dictates that they must have more food than you can eat and they must be sure you are full. We ate dinner at the home of some Iraqi Kurds in Syria and there were four meat dishes, five types of vegetables, two rice dishes (one with meat) and after dinner there were nuts, fruit and sweets. When you thought the gluttony was over, another dish would be brought which looked more delicious than the previous. We sat around afterward groaning, but secure in the knowledge we had partaken of some of the best hospitality the Middle East could offer. So, if you ever have a chance to come to the Middle East, feast away. I’ll even save you an eyeball.