4-6 servings

1 liter thick goat milk yogurt

6 medium cucumbers, unpeeled (2 of them pickled in salt for 24 hours, if possible)

6 fresh dill stems, lower third removed, leaves chopped

Leaves from 6 mint sprigs, finely chopped

1 level tsp minced garlic

2 tbsp good quality red wine vinegar

1 level tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

Coarsely ground black pepper

Put the yogurt in a colander layered with cheesecloth and let drip for 2-3 hours.

Halve the cucumbers lengthwise, deseed them and grate on a coarse grinder. Squeeze the grated cucumbers between your palms to exude liquids and transfer into a bowl.

Add the dill, mint, garlic, vinegar and salt, stir and chill well.

Before serving, check the seasoning. Pour the olive oil over the salad, sprinkle with some black pepper and serve.

4-6 servings

500g fresh young okra

Oil for deep-frying

2 lemons

1 large red tomato, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 tbsp chopped coriander

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt

Cut off the tips of the okra without injuring the pod itself. Rinse well, spread over a tray and dry in the sun.

Heat oil for deep frying in a pan and fry the okra for 2 minutes, until it becomes a deep and shiny green. Transfer to a colander and set aside.

Fillet the lemons  Cut the top and bottom off the lemons. Stand a lemon on your cutting board. Set a small sharp knife where the pith (white part) meets the flesh and start cutting downward in a curved motion following the shape of the lemon. Turn the lemon a bit and repeat. Cut and turn until the lemon is completely stripped off the peel and the white pith. Holding the lemon in one hand and the knife in the other, remove the segments one after the other, separating them from their skin. Repeat with the other lemon. Cut each segment in two.

Transfer the okra and the lemon fillets into a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, season with salt and set aside for half

6 servings

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cardamom pods

1 bay leaf

1 level tbsp coarse salt

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

400g fillet of salmon, cleaned of small bones, skin and the grey strip between the skin and the pink meat

About 1 1/2 cups olive oil

For the salad2 bunches fresh parsley

1 bunch fresh coriander

2 spring onions (white part only)

30g toasted peanuts

30g toasted almonds

30g toasted pumpkin seeds

30g toasted sunflower seeds

To serveFresh lemon juice

Salt

Spread the bottom of a large pan with half the thyme, garlic and spices. Lay the fish fillet on the spices. Pour enough olive oil to completely cover the fish and spread the rest of the thyme and spices above it.

Put the pan on the stove and cook over the lowest flame for about half an hour. The salmon is ready when its color becomes light pink, and the flesh is still slightly rare inside. Transfer the fish and the spices into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. (The fish will keep refrigerated for 4-5 days).

The salad: remove the lower third of the parsley and coriander stems and coarsely chop the leaves. Slice the spring onions. Transfer to a bowl. Coarsely chop the peanuts, almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and add to the bowl.

Remove the fish from the oil, crumble it and add to the salad. Season with about 4 tbsp of the oil in which you cooked the fish, lemon juice and salt to taste. Lightly mix the salad and serve immediately. (The oil can be strained and used for frying or seasoning other fish dishes).

Serves 10

5 medium to large eggplants

About 1/2 liter corn oil

Juice of 1 lemon (or more, to taste)

5 cloves garlic, minced

Salt

Grill the eggplants, preferably on an open flame, to add a smoky aroma and a delicate flavor. When they are completely blackened and burnt, peel them, transfer to a deep bowl and mash with a hand-held blender. Add the oil gradually, with the blender still working, and then the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Push through a fine mesh sieve into a serving dish.

4-6 servings

This ceviche is seasoned with sumac – a purple powder with a tangy flavor which gives it a beautiful color and a fresh taste. Sumac can be bought in spice shops.

4 medium grey mullets (cultivated Buri), filleted

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp crushed chili

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp coarse salt

2 red onions, halved and thinly sliced

Olive oil

2 tbsp sumac (see above)

Feel the fillets of the fish with your fingers, and pull out small bones, if you find them, with a pincer.

Using a sharp long knife, slice the fish fillets on the diagonal into 1 cm slices.

In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, chili, garlic and salt. Add the fish slices and marinate for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Mix the onions with some olive oil and the sumac in a bowl. Take the fish slices out of the marinade and add them to the bowl. Cover and refrigerate for two hours before serving.

SHRIMPS WITH BULGUR AND SPINACH LEAVES, IN LEMON VINAIGRETTE SAUCE

4 services

1 cup coarse bulgur

12 fresh or frozen shrimps, peeled

30g butter

250g spinach leaves, washed and dried

1 mango, peeled and cut into cubes (when mango is out of season, use fresh pineapple or filleted orange segments)

For the sauce

1/2 cup concentrated (sweet) lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

Chopped leaves from 2 fresh mint sprigs

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Put the bulgur in a colander and wash under running water until the water is clear. Let dry in the colander for about half an hour.

Cut the shrimps lengthwise into halves.

Heat the butter in a sauté pan. When bubbling, add the shrimps and sauté for 1 minute on each side, until they turn pink-orange.

Whisk the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Mix together (preferably with your hands) the shrimps (with their pan liquids), the bulgur, the spinach leaves, the mango (or other fruit) cubes and the sauce. At this stage, the mixture should be quite wet, as the bulgur will continue absorbing liquids. Let rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours, preferably in the refrigerator, before serving.

 For 4 as an appetizer

 Ingredients

1 cup buckwheat

12 fresh or frozen shrimp peeled

30 grams butter (~1 ounce)

1/4 kilo spinach leaves rinsed and dried

1 peeled and diced mango

The sauce

1/2 cup sweet concentrated lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

2 chopped mint leaves

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

*we recommend pineapple and orange if mango is off season.

Rinse the buckwheat till the water is clear and drain for 30 minutes.

Cut the shrimp lengthwise.

Heat the butter in a pan, when the butter starts sizzling add the shrimp and steam 1 for minute for each side of the shrimp till their color changes to pink-orange.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and stir.

Pour the shrimp (with the pans liquids) and mix with buckwheat, spinach, mango and sauce. We recommend you use your hands to mix it all together.

The dish should be full of liquids, for the buckwheat will keep on absorbing the liquids.

Let it rest for at least 15 minutes, serve 2 hours after refrigerating.

For 10 as an appetizer

 5 medium-large eggplants

1/2 liter corn oil (34 fl oz)

1 squeezed lemon

3 cloves garlic minced

Salt

Roast the eggplants, recommended on open flame, adds a smoky scent and delicate taste.

Peel the eggplants, and put in a deep dish and blend with a stick hand blender.

Add the oil gradually while blending then add lemon juice, garlic and salt.

Drain into a dig bowl while smashing the mixture on the drainer with a wooden spoon.