Barbara Abdeni Massaad launched her book “Mouneh: Preserving Food for the Lebanese Pantry” at Library Antoine on November 20th with a book signing session. Many attended the book launch in support of Massaad and to purchase the book.
The book is a comprehensive study of the ways Lebanese preserve food which is an important aspect of Lebanese heritage.
It’s a photo report along with stories for different recipes from around Lebanon.
I was very touched by this article today in the newspaper. For those who can read French!
L'orient le Jour par Carla Henoud 20/11/2010
Vient de paraître Après le succès de « Manou'shé », paru en 2005, réédité en 2009, et qui avait obtenu le Gourmand Cooking Award, Barbara Abdeni Massaad signera son nouvel ouvrage « Mouneh, preserving foods for the Lebanese Pantry »* aujourd'hui, à la Librairie Antoine ABC, de 17h00 à 20h00. Un régal.
Elle l'a préparé durant cinq ans comme on concocte un plat, lentement et avec amour. Comme on fait ses réserves de souvenirs et d'émotions pour la vie, en les partageant. Tous les ingrédients sont naturels, beaux à voir, bons à déguster. Ce livre, baptisé Mouneh, preserving foods for the Lebanese pantry, Barbara Abdeni Massaad l'a conçu avec patience et passion. Un peu comme une maternité, dans la préparation de chaque détail. Ce n'est pas un livre de plus sur le thème, « il n'y en a eu qu'un seul sur le sujet, précise-t-elle, et qui était plus une approche anthropologique de la Mouneh ». Ce n'est pas un livre de plus sur le Liban ou la cuisine locale. Ce livre est un ouvrage à la fois charmant et complet, minutieusement préparé pour que tout y figure. Les produits, les personnes, les villages, les histoires, les parfums et les émotions. Avec des recettes claires, des textes pleins de poésie et des photos imbibées de couleur et de vie.
La Mouneh de Barbara Abdeni Massaad, ce sont des centaines de rencontres emmagasinées dans sa mémoire visuelle et émotionnelle durant des années, des mois, des journées entières à sillonner le pays. Et autant d'ingrédients découverts et redécouverts, de villages et de visages souriants. Ce sont les produits naturels d'un Liban méconnu, des saveurs, des coutumes de manière agréable jalousement préservées par une poignée d'individus qui ne savent pas vivre autrement qu'attachés à la tradition, à la terre, et évoluent au gré de la nature et de ses humeurs. C'est également une nostalgie, le besoin de retenir un patrimoine, de le transmettre aux jeunes générations, presque une mission. « Pour que nos enfants, dit-elle, puissent continuer à sauvegarder notre passé. »
Ce livre ressemble à son auteure. Rousse, comme les épis de blé au soleil, la caméra au cou, le stylo au bout du doigt, les lunettes rivées sur un monde extérieur qu'elle perçoit dans ses moindres recoins. Il rassemble ses convictions et ses contemplations.
Hymne à la nature
La couverture de Mouneh, preserving foods for the Lebanese pantry est une belle entrée en matière, des mains orientales usées par le temps, et des tomates séchées heureuses de s'offrir. Le reste de l'ouvrage est dans ce même esprit joyeux. « J'ai lu toute la documentation qui existait sur le sujet, confie-t-elle, j'ai été partout, souvent accompagnée de mes enfants, pour qu'ils apprennent aussi. Nous avons rencontré des gens dans tous les villages libanais qui nous ont acceptés, parlé, montré la manière. J'ai rempli une vingtaine de classeurs et puis j'ai tout recomposé comme un puzzle et d'une manière artisanale. Je voulais que tout soit parfait. » Les chapitres sont divisés en saisons, ponctués de rencontres. À chaque saison ses réserves à faire, réparties par catégories, fruits, légumes, produits animaliers. Barbara a choisi de commencer par le printemps ! Le lecteur saura ainsi que mars est le mois des réserves de cornichons, de chou, d'amandes vertes, de thym. Qu'avril est consacré à celles du miel, du fromage de chèvre, des fleurs d'orangers. Que mai préfère les artichauts et l'ail. Juin les fruits secs, les abricots, la menthe, les fleurs et le thym sauvages. Que juillet est idéal pour les concombres, maïs, tomates cerises, melon. Août pour la basilique, les pêches, les tomates séchées. Et septembre, pour les pommes, les figues, les olives vertes et la viande. Il saura également comment profiter d'octobre pour sa réserve d'olives noires, de dattes, de poires et de tomates. Des betteraves, raisins, coings et citrouilles de novembre. Et qu'enfin décembre est bon pour les carottes, les pamplemousses, janvier pour les mandarines et février pour les oranges amères et le citron. Il apprendra comment faire les cornichons, l'arak, le miel, les sirops et autres confitures, et partagera les histoires de toutes ces personnes derrière ce savoir-faire.
Et puis il y a les photos. Belles. Saisies au naturel, en extérieur, sans retouches. Un des aspects le plus important du livre, selon Massaad, photographe d'abord. Une photographe gourmande, qui aime autant la cuisine et perçoit de nombreux points communs entre ses deux passions. « Et surtout cette sensibilité pour quelque chose de vivant. »
Il faudrait également saluer la mise en page du livre qui baigne dans une douce harmonie, le choix du papier et une qualité d'impression qui donnent au travail l'éclat qu'il mérite.
(*) Une première signature de « Mouneh, preserving foods for the Lebanese Pantry », accompagnée d'une exposition des photos de Barbara Abdeni Massaad a eu lieu jeudi 18 novembre à Tawlet Souk el-Tayeb. L'exposition se poursuivra jusqu'au 2 décembre.
L'auteure signera à nouveau son ouvrage aujourd'hui à la Librairie Antoine, ABC Achrafieh, de 17h00 à 20h00.
My friend Annia Ciezadlo , a talented American journalist / food writer, married to a Lebanese man has a new exciting book due in February called "A Day of Honey". She took me to a quaint little hommos joint in Hamra. So much fun! The recipe for making hommos is really simple yet a few master it. Here is the thing, if a restaurant or a snack masters the art of making the perfect hommos, then this place has great potential for many other culinary endeavors (I always say) . Here is a simple recipe that is very nourishing and delicious made daily in the hommos joints all around the country, it's called balila. It's a peasant food by excellence, but isn't that what real food is all aobut?
He grinds garlic to a fine paste with a pestle
Squeezes a lemon
He adds lemon juice to the garlic paste
A pinch of salt
A cup of hommos
Another cup of foul
His skilled hands mixes all together
Voila!
Annia enjoying her meal in her favorite snack nearby
My daughter and I attended Terra Madre / Salon del Gusto 2010 in Torino, Italy this year with the same gusto and motivation. A delegation of about 15 persons coming from Lebanon joined, mostly made up of farmers and producers from all around the country. A very nice reporter named Assi Saji (who comes from Lebanese ancestry from his mother's side) send me a link with an interview I conducted with him on Italian TV - RaiNews 24. Take a minute to view the ambiance we lived through. The Lebanese stand was very popular and people from all over the world came to discuss our food. Makes you proud!
This is what I said during the interview (in Italian) — I wish I was fluent!!!!!!!!!!
O la cucina libanese, culla della gastronomia mediorientale, con la sua ricchissima e golosa tradizione casearia, come ci raccontala astronoma Barbara Abdeni Massad: “C’è molta similarità tra la nostra cultura culinaria e quella italiana, e per questo agli italiani piacciono i nostri piatti, basati soprattutto su verdura e cereali. Presentiamo anche la nostra specialità: “Formaggio senza latte di grano fermentato”.
The Google translation:
Or the Lebanese cuisine, the cradle of Middle Eastern cuisine, with its rich and tasty cheese tradition, tells us how the astronomer (weird) Barbara Abdeni Massad: "There is much similarity between our culinary culture and Italian, and Italians like this Our dishes are based mainly on vegetables and grains. We also present our specialty "cheese without milk made with fermented wheat."
I was cleaning out my e-mails the other day and found this interview conducted by New York reporter, Indrani Sen. She came to discover Lebanon and it's rich culinary roots. She came to my house —we had a man'oushé-making session and of course we ate the product of our labor. I looked over the interview and thought it would be suitable to post on my blog.
Indrani Sen's interview with me:
1. When did you become interested in food and what sparked your interest?
My interest in food started early in my life. I can remember my father writing me a postcard from Paris, while on a business trip "YOUR SAUCE BOLOGNAISE WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS". I was so touched by this compliment. I must have been about 8 or 9 years old. I was brought up in an atmosphere where food was not only to feed oneself but an art in itself. Later in my life, my father opened a restaurant when I was fifteen years old and I worked there after school for three years. So I guess you can say, my interest in food has always existed.
2. How did you get the idea to write about man'oushé?
The idea to dedicate a whole book on man'oushé came about from a romantic dream I used to have. The dream was to make a thorough research on the pizza and the people behind this legendary pie. After having my three children, making dough became a passion. One day, after finishing a training in a restaurant, I woke up with the idea of doing a research on the man'oushé and disregarding the idea that the grass is always greener on the other side. What was available here in Lebanon was pretty magnificent— I just had to go and search for it—and that's what I did...
3. And mouneh?
The mouneh is the traditional Lebanese pantry. Being a fervent believer in everything that comes from the pantry. It was obvious that this was indeed my next step. The mouneh research is harder because there are so many subjects in so many different areas: dairy, pickling, jams, preserves, dried fruits and vegetables, etc...As the motto says, "SUCESS IS NOT THE DESTINATION, IT'S THE JOURNEY". I am learning a lot and having a great time doing it.
4. Why did you choose those two subjects, instead of other aspects of Lebanese cooking?
The journey is not over, I hope it's only the beginning. I will devote myself entirely to all aspects.
5. What is different about the relationship the Lebanese have with food, compared with other countries?
Food for Lebanese is everything. It's a way to be hospitable, it's a way to be sociable, it's a way to be creative, it's a way to be focused. Food is a celebration for the Lebanese— it can become their reason of being.
6. What role does food have in your household?
Food plays a very important role in our household. My son is very much interested in the culinary arena and not only does he love to help me cook, but he loves to EAT! My husband always says" If my wife is happy, the food is great; if she is sad, the food is not so great". It makes you think of that special ingredient that makes homemade food so special....My two daughters have a replica of our real kitchen in their playroom and play hours serving all kinds of delicious make-believe food to their dolls.I guess food definitely plays an important role in our family life.
In the kitchen of our summer home, baking our Sunday breakfast— man'oushé!
Come to Tawlet on November 18 from 6 p.m to 10 p.m and at Librairie Antoine in ABC Ashrafieh on November 20 from 5 p.m to 8 p.m.for the launching of Mouneh: Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry.
I always say the best gifts are "food-related". Yesterday my husband Serge came home with a big bag in his hands. He was struggling to get in with his lunch bag, the bag full of "God knows what!" and his briefcase. Everyone jumped to kiss him, even the dog Belle pleaded for her daily caress. Then everyone went away leaving him with all his "stuff", ignoring his distress. He got angry that nobody rescued him, put the bag on the kitchen counter and stated, "This is fresh fish from Syria from the a lake in Homs fished by Sleiman yesterday." Sleiman works with my husband at the family factory. I ran back to the kitchen immediately and we all started laughing!
So today, I was very inspired with this gift. I crushed garlic (lots), chopped an onion, squeezed some lemon juice, brought out my magical ingredient (olive oil from Beino, Akkar) and started on my masterpiece... all modesty apart, of course... It just adds flavor to the story... So, I thoroughly washed the fish with lemon juice and water. Drained the pieces well. Mixed garlic, lemon juice, added a teaspoon of paprika and poured the whole mixture on the appetizing fish. I added the chopped onions, and chopped lots of fresh cilantro (coriander) to finish the work. A sprinkle of salt and the fish was ready to be cooked in the hot oven. It is very important to preheat the oven when baking, I always say... Now I'm going to sit down with my family and relish the savor of this delicious gift from Syria, Thanks Sleiman!
The fish before / after it was cooked! Can you smell the coriander???? OK, I'm definitely hungry!
I invite you to watch this slide show with my photos taken of my friend Chef Joe Barza's delicious Lebanese recipes. We are dreaming of doing a book together someday, maybe when I finish Mouneh and he finds time for me! :) He has become a famous chef who is sought out in all continents of the world. He spends his time traveling and cooking for many who are really impressed by his craft. Bravo Joe!
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