It's been a while since I shared a cookbook review, but this week I have another wonderful cookbook review to share with you- Modern Flavours of Arabia by Suzanne Husseini.
In Modern Flavours of Arabia, Suzanne shares her story of her family moving to Canada when she was young and adapting to a new culture while keeping the beautifully flavored and spiced food of their heritage and sharing it with their new friends.
"I learned at age seven that we all share one thing, and that is a love of food" says Suzanne, as she recounts the initial schoolyard teasing she received over her "exotic lunches" which were soon followed by requests for her to bring falafel from home to share.
This beautiful book is broken down into chapters, starting with Breakfast, followed by Mezze, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert.
Each chapter includes lovable favorites that most people will be familiar with, such as as Baba Ghanoush, Kofta, Felefel, Tabbouleh, and Sambousek, but this book introduces a beautiful array of new dishes that you will be just dying to try!
I should point out that not all recipes in this book are vegetarian, there are quite a number of meat centric dishes, however most of them could be adapted to be made vegetarian.
Having said that, there are quite a number of vegetarian dishes, with some vegan recipes too.
We all know we eat with our eyes first, and the beautiful photography in Modern Flavours of Arabia certainly ensures that is the case.
It captures the beautiful richness and exotic nature of the food, with all of the photographs in this book taken by talented Sydney photographer Petrina Tinsley.
For todays recipe I've chosen to share the Spinach Filled Filo Triangles from the Mezze chapter.
I'm a sucker for a good pastry dish (see my vegan puff pastry for evidence), and the mere mention of spinach, lemon and pine nuts was enough for me to be immediately attracted to this dish.
This recipe is also beautifully simple, with the only fiddly work being folding the triangles.
The filo triangles are delicious, and perfectly flaky and crumbly. They can be served as part of a mezze, a light lunch with a side salad, or for dinner, with a couple of salads on the side, as we did.
It would pair perfectly with my quinoa tabbouleh salad or as an appetizer before a big dish of vegan moussaka!
If you'd like to grab a copy of the cookbook for yourself, click here to find it on Amazon.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups of spinach leaves washed and drained, stalks removed & cut into thin slices
- 4 tbs of olive oil
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 2 spring onions finely chopped, whites only
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbs of sumac
- 1 tsp of ground nutmeg
- ½ cup of toasted pine nuts
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 sheets of filo pastry
- ½ cup of melted butter and ¼ cup of olive oil extra mixed for brushing the pastry
Instructions
- Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Saute the onions until soft before removing from the heat and adding the spinach, spring onions, lemon juice, sumac, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Once the spinach has wilted place into a colander to drain and cool slightly. Once cooled remove from the colander and add the pine nuts and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius (375 Fahrenheit) and cut the 12 filo sheets in half. Take one sheet from the stack and cover the remaining sheets with a clean tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
- Brush the filo sheet with the butter and oil mixture and fold in half lengthways. Brush again and place a heaped spoonful of the mixture close to the corner of one of the short sides of the pastry. Fold the corner over to encase the filling, alternating left or right. Follow with a final brush of the butter and oil mixture and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper while you continue with the remaining pastry and mixture.
- Bake the triangles for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I absolutely love spinach-filo triangles; yours are beautifully golden!
Linda says
My favourite arabic food is a simple felafal. I like mine in homemade pita bread with grated cheese, lettuce and bbq sauce!
Amanda newell says
I love stuffed zucchini as part of the arab cuisine - so delicious!! Makes my mouth water.
lindamaree@mygardenfeast says
My family is going to love these! Anything with pastry goes down well in my household too!
Marina@Picnic at Marina says
What a lovely meal! I am from outside, so I am not commenting to win anything. 🙂
Baker Street says
Can't wait to see the other recipes you share from the book. I love arabic food! These filo triangles look phenomenal. 🙂
Jen @ giftboxology says
These look delicious am going to cook for dinner later in the week. I love spinach...still haven't made the rhubarb & apple things yet! So slack I am
Sara (Belly Rumbles) says
Spinach filo triangles always go down well in my house. Is a lovely recipe, thanks or sharing.
Rosa says
Those triangles look amazing! The filling is so mouthwatering. My kind of cuisine.Cheers,Rosa
Jen @ giftboxology says
I forgot to say that I tried Govinda's Kofta balls on Friday, first time ever, they were amazing. I noticed this book has them in it, would love to try
muppy says
what a great recipe, love the variation, will have to try it.
Erin@TheFoodMentalist says
What a gorgeous cookbook and a wonderful story. Love your pics too x
delicieux says
Thanks Erin 😀
Dawn Taylor says
I really don't know very much about Arabic food at all, but if baklava or Turkish delight are Arabic foods they unfortunately for me, are a definite favourite.
thelittleloaf says
When I was vegetarian my Mum used to make me the most incredible filo pastries very similar to this. Now that I eat meat I probably eat them less often, but still find them every bit as delicious. Your version looks beautiful - so light and flaky and full of flavour.
Jacqui says
I love the look of this book, it looks fabulous! Im really loving middle eastern food atm so would love to get into it more with this book! Your photos of the triangles are gorgeous, Im hungry!!
Katie @Epicurean Mom says
Phyllo is one of my favorite pastries to work with! Especially when it's a savory dish. These look incredible!! Cannot wait to give this recipe a try!! 🙂
Aunt Clara says
Goodness precious, that looks absolutely scrumptious. I love the props you used, they fit the recipe so perfectly. The glasses are perfect.
Asmita says
These spinach filled triangles look mouth watering. Beautifully done!
[email protected] says
I saw the cookbook recently in a bookstore and loved the sound of the recipes!The triangles look perfect. One of my very favourite Arabic dishes.
kankana says
I can eat these non stop!! how crispy it is and the filling sounds delcious. These days I am hooked on middle eastern cuisine ... both cooking and reading. This books sounds nice.. hope I find it in the library!
Nic@diningwithastud says
What a great recipe!! I adore middle eastern food. Sumac is one of my favourite spices 🙂
K-bobo @ Gormandize with A-dizzle & K-bobo says
I couldn't possibly pick a favourite Arabic food! I love pomegranate, rose water, orange blossom water, pistachios and all things almond meal - all of which appear a lot in Arabic sweets!
Michelle says
Wow! These look awesome! I love how much veg you packed into these!
Kaitlin says
I'm not in Australia so I can't enter the contest. But I just wanted to let you know that this cookbook sounds fantastic. Your Spinach Filled Filo Triangles turned out great!
Patty says
Sounds like a wonderful cookbook, love the spinach triangles!