Suzanne Husseini on Arab food for the soul

Gulf News

Suzanne Husseini on Arab food for the soul. UAE-based Middle Eastern TV Chef and cook book author, Suzanne Husseini, talks about the essence of Arabic cooking and shares her kitchen tips with tabiod! on Saturday. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

Transcript

00:00I think Arabic cooking is about fresh ingredients, herbs, a variety of vegetables, it uses all

00:13of these.

00:14It's almost like an orchard of ingredients.

00:19It's all about cooking and using ingredients to show off the ingredients.

00:27That's what Arabic food is.

00:28It's not a highly spicy food, necessarily.

00:31There are certain dishes that have their spices, but generally speaking, it's not overly spiced

00:37food.

00:40It has a lot of interesting techniques.

00:43Arabic food is well known for its stuffed things.

00:47We stuff meats, we stuff vegetables, we stuff carrots, imagine, we stuff carrots.

00:54It's not easy, but it can be done, and it's good.

00:58In Arabic cuisine, we have the uniqueness of having ingredients that are so diverse,

01:05just because the nature of the Arab world sits at the crossroads of the spice trade.

01:12Naturally, the history that came through this part of the world, whether it's the Turkish

01:18empire, the Persian empire, Indian, all this passed through this area.

01:26By passing through, all these wonderful cultures and civilizations left things behind, nice

01:32things.

01:33We, in turn, the Arabs, went and visited them, and left our little mark as well.

01:38I look at Arabic cuisine as almost a combination of all the different flavors of various civilizations

01:46that pass through here, so it makes this cuisine that much more interesting.

01:51My most important tip would be what the French call mise en place, and mise en place basically

01:59means that you have everything in its place.

02:04When you are about to embark on a dish to cook, it's easier when things are ready.

02:09When you have your vegetables chopped, when you have your vegetables cleaned, your spices

02:14are all within an easy distance from you, all your ingredients are around you.

02:18When you have it, you are just mainly a conductor, and you just put it all together.

02:23It makes the job a lot easier, and you don't look at it as a chore.

02:28It's putting lovely things together.

02:31If you ask me about another very important tip in the kitchen, or a very important tool,

02:36is a knife.

02:37I think the best knife, the most sharp knife of all tools in the kitchen, that is the best

02:41thing, to have a good sharp knife, and your hands, and soul, and love, and cook.

02:47Are you all hungry?

02:48Very hungry.

02:49It's fresh.

02:50It's sweet.

02:51It's tart.

02:52It's peppery.

02:53It's everything.

02:54All in one.

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