There is a saying in the Eastern Arab world, “A hungry man would be willing to sell his soul for a dish of mujadara. This recipe is inspired by a beautiful, yet humble, Middle Eastern dish combining rice, lentils, and deeply caramelized and crispy onions.  Like many cultural dishes, you will find variations of mujadara from family to family throughout the Middle East, and likewise, just as many variations at Middle Eastern restaurants throughout the United States. Sometimes referred to as mujaddara or m’jaddaret-burghul (served with bulgar), the first recorded recipe dates back to 1226 in Iraq; often containing meat and served as a celebratory meal.  Though the medieval Arab…

During this time of quarantine, in the height of a global pandemic, we can make good meals with what we have on hand: canned tuna, pasta, chicken, potatoes, butter, jarred olives, spices. As a food blogger and a cookbook author, my job is recipes.  I spend a good number of my days writing lists of ingredients, measurements, and instructions. As a home cook though, I am led by desire, taste and the seasons.  I rarely follow recipes, preferring instead to cook with abandon.  I hardly ever make the same thing, in quite the same way, twice.  Though, if it’s a dish that I think you’d like, or a family favorite…