Palestinian Essentials

This is a pretty comprehensive list of things I always always have in my kitchen and that I use weekly and a lot of the time daily. If you have these things in you will more or less be able to make most of my recipes. If I was just able to take a handful of items with me to a desert island, I would probably take: tahini, za’atar, olive oil, pita bread, almonds, garlic, tomatoes, aubergines, Ful beans, fresh mint, yoghurt and bulghar wheat. so maybe start there…

My Store Cupboard

Tahini

Sumac

za’atar

Extra virgin olive oil

Pomegranate molasses

Date molasses

Dried mint

Dried green za’atar

Dried parsley

Mixed Spice

Paprika

Bay leaves

Rice- basmati and egyptian/ arborio

freekah

bulghar wheat

lentils- brown and red

vermicelli

apple cider vinegar

blanched almonds

vermicelli

walnuts

cashews

pine nuts

pistachio nuts

Ful beans (Canned)

Dried chickpeas

Flour

Good quality salt (I used Maldon Sea salt)

Rose water & Orange blossom water

Yeast

milk powder

maftool

nigella seeds

corn flour

semolina

sesame seeds

fenugreek

bizr

My Fridge

fresh mint

fresh parsley

baby cucumbers

Aubergines

natural yoghurt

courgettes

olives- black and green

pickles- our favourite are pickled turnips, cauliflower and pickled gherkins

okra

green beans

halloumi

shatta and shatta sauce

labaneh

(any opened nuts)

My Counter Top

plump on-vine tomatoes

limes

lemons

fresh pomegranate

onions

garlic

My Freezer

vine leaves

pita bread

molokhia

coffee

I always keep in good quality beef, lamb, chicken and cod for easy non-planned supers.