Weeknight Meals

This can be served as a first course or a main dish. It has a deliciously fresh tomato flavor with a touch of cinnamon.

In Egypt we called it poisson à la grecque. All kinds of fish can be cooked in this way—small ones whole, and large ones cut into steaks. Serve hot or cold with good bread and a salad.

A North African—particularly Libyan—specialty. Algerians call the piquant sauce chetitha. The dish is not for everybody, and it is not for a delicate fish.

Preserved lemon and olives are a favorite combination for fish dishes in Morocco and other North African countries.

Algerians serve deep-fried Dover sole over a bed of shakshouka, but other flat fish, such as lemon or gray sole or flounder, are excellent with the sautéed Mediterranean vegetables— and they can be broiled.

For this delightful and simple Moroccan dish, use fish fillets—monkfish or any firm-fleshed fish such as bream, turbot, haddock, cod—and have them skinned.

Tarator is the name used in different countries for sauces made with a variety of nuts. This sharp, garlicky one with pine nuts belongs to Syria and Lebanon. In Egypt it was served at grand buffet parties, where whole fish were entirely covered with it. For this simpler version you may use any white fish—fillets or steaks.

This Turkish specialty, popular throughout most of the Middle East, makes a good first course or cold buffet dish. Sliced swordfish is generally used, but most fish available in America are also suitable.

Small skate, tender enough to fry quickly, should be used for this Tunisian dish. The wings are bought already dressed from the fishmonger.

Although Turkey is surrounded on three sides by sea, it is not very strong on fish dishes. Seafood has not been part of the old Anatolian cooking traditions. Even in the coastal resorts, where seafood restaurants have mushroomed with the tourist trade, locals are not interested. The exceptions are Izmir and Istanbul, both famous for their fish markets and fish restaurants. The usual fare, like everywhere in the Middle East, is grilled or deep-fried fish. Swordfish kebab is a Turkish specialty, but other countries use other firm-fleshed fish, such as monkfish and tuna.

Tuna is usually overcooked in the Middle East. But the best way of eating it is seared on the outside and raw on the inside, which makes it deliciously, meltingly tender. Otherwise it quickly dries out. It can be brushed with oil and cooked on the barbecue or under the broiler, but an easy and perfect way is to pan-grill it. The dressing is a glamorized version of the ubiquitous oil-and-lemon one. It is good with all kinds of fish.

This is one of my favorite soups from Egypt.

Ask the fishmonger to clean and scale the fish, and remove the fins and gills, but ask him to leave the heads on. The rice, which is cooked with olive oil instead of the usual butter, is the traditional rice to accompany fish in Lebanon. Turmeric is sometimes used instead of saffron. Start cooking the rice first.

A pasta like tagliatelle called erişte is a traditional Turkish food that is still made by hand in rural areas. This recipe, with feta cheese, eggs, and milk is easy-to-make comfort food. It can be served as a first or main course and can be made in advance and heated through before serving.

Meats grilled on skewers over the dying embers of a fire are a symbol of Turkish cuisine. They are said to be a legacy of nomadic times, perfected in the conquering era of the Ottomans, when soldiers camping out in tents skewered their meats on swords and cooked them on the campfire. Years ago, I went on a tour of kebab houses in Istanbul. It was a grand eating marathon. At the fifth establishment they opened the refrigeration room and showed me all the prize cuts, which were later presented to me straight from the fire on a huge platter. As well as lamb kebabs and ground meat kebabs on skewers, there were small lamb chops, kidneys, slices of calf ’s liver, beef steaks, sucuk (spicy beef sausages), and pieces of chicken. It was a gourmand’s dream, but for me at the time, afraid to give offence by not eating everything, it was a nightmare. Serve the kebabs with pita bread or with other bread from a Middle Eastern store, such as Turkish flat bread like an Italian focaccia or a sesame bread, and with one or more of the garnishes below.

These individual pies are tasty, elegant, and very easy to prepare. They make a perfect light meal, accompanied by a salad.

Sautéed chicken kebabs are more tender and juicy than the grilled ones on skewers, which are served in kebab houses. Accompany these with tomato pilaf and a Cucumber and Yogurt Salad (see page 156). The dark, wine-red spice called sumac (see page 7) lends a sharp lemony taste to the chicken

This is a dish of Georgian origin. Georgia, which borders on northwest Turkey, is famous for its plum trees and plum sauces. Our slightly sour, dark red plums will do well.

Olive oil and lemon with parsley or dill is the standard dressing in Turkey for all grilled and fried fish. The best way to eat tuna is rare—simply seared, with the flesh inside still pink, and almost raw. Serve it with a salad or Mashed Potatoes with Olive Oil, Scallions, and Parsley (see page 168).

Raki, the Turkish national spirit, gives the grilled sea bass a faint anise aroma. Arak, ouzo, and even Pernod can be used instead. Other fish such as bream, turbot, and red mullet can be prepared in the same way.