Lior Lev Sercarz grew up on an Israeli kibbutz, where he spent much of his childhood roaming fields and orchards and foraging for pine nuts and berries. That agrarian upbringing planted the seeds for a career in the food industry — first as a chef in world-class kitchens and now as the owner of the famed New York City biscuit and spice shop, La Boîte.
Since 2007, he has channeled his deep knowledge and passion for spices into hand-crafted blends and baked goods that have led him to produce three definitive guides to seasoning: “Mastering Spice,” “The Spice Companion,” and “The Art of Blending.”
In writing his fourth, he widens his focus beyond the spice rack to explore the other shelf-stable items used throughout the vast, flavor-rich region of his upbringing. “A Middle Eastern Pantry: Essential Ingredients for Classic and Contemporary Recipes” (Potter, $35) aims to glorify the bottles, cans, and boxes that can give us peace of mind and make us better, faster, more creative cooks on any given night. Chapters are organized around staples such as spices, condiments, olives, nuts, honey and grains. He begins each with some historical background and agricultural details, followed by tips for sourcing and storing them, and ideas and recipes for incorporating them into daily cooking.
Some of the recipes are for meal accessories or recipe components that will keep for weeks or months in the refrigerator: Eggplant Pickles, DIY Cured Cracked Olives, Pistachio Marzipan, Oil-Cured Labne Balls made of whole-milk yogurt.
Most, however, are for main dishes, soups, sides and desserts that incorporate ready-made items that have become increasingly available online and in mainstream markets. Siniya, a casserole of spiced fish and aromatics topped with tahini sauce and pine nuts, made a terrific entree one recent weeknight. Baharat Lamb Keftas (meatballs) will be coming up soon. And when I’m craving something simple, sweet, and cooling, I’ll give the four-ingredient rose water-scented pudding called Malabi a try.
By focusing on flavor before technique, Sercarz shows the many ways “having fantastic ingredients on hand to create an exceptionally tasty meal becomes many times easier.”
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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