Syrian Night - Tues 16th Nov [FULLY BOOKED]

Post date: 29-Oct-2010 13:36:49

on Tuesday the 16th November it will by Syrian Night at the Parkholme Supper Club, 2 days after I return from Syria with a suitcase full of delectable comestibles and hard-to-get spices.

As I am now in Syria, I can update you a bit further on what you are likely to be served after my extensive, waistline-expanding research covering really the length and breadth of Syria (yes, I have been almost everywhere, currently hanging out with Bedouin). Selon le marche (ingredients permitting), we will be sampling a very distinctive Aleppine speciality of kibbeh cooked with quinces and pomegranate juice. There will be a wealth of mezze including a very delicate dish cooked with only the insides of courgettes, and a selection of stuffed vegetables with both veggie and non-veggie filling. A fabulous Syrian salad called Fattoush and a dish made with spinach, spices and crispy fried onions that I really enjoyed. I also found a traditional dish called Fetteh made with chickpeas, which we ate at a restaurant which was particularly recommended for this dish, and they gave me their recipe... And yes, my suitcase is already full of spices and nuts...

Home to two of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, Aleppo and Damascus, with thousands of years of very multicultural cuisine, with Christians, Jews and Muslims living side by side, Syria is certainly an interesting place to visit. The Prophet Muhammad famously refused to enter Damascus, saying that a man should only enter Paradise once, and he preferred to wait till the afterlife.

As usual, cost will be £25 of which £20 goes to Medecins Sans Frontieres so you will also be gaining brownie points to get you to that Paradisical afterlife since you have not been to Damascus ... :-)

We still have a very few places left. Please e-mail back to me on parkholmesupperclub@hotmail.co.uk with bookings. Excuse me if there is any delay in replying as my blackberry doesn't work here.

Hope to see you then