Egyptian Cooking 101

The Galileo School was invited to spend the day with Aunt Rosalie and Aunt Susan to learn about Egyptian cuisine.  As many of you know, Rosalie is a seasoned chef who trained at the renowned Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute in Rhode Island.  Unlike her classmate, Emeril Lagasse,  Rosalie is extremely precise in the kitchen, never yells ‘bam’, and always finishes making the entire meal without the help of television magic.  Susan is her plucky sidekick who is always the first one to volunteer to run to the store for a missing ingredient!  In this case it was rice and Aunt Susan was happy to oblige. The two of them make a great team in life and in the kitchen.  Rosalie created a menu of sweet and savory Egyptian dishes that would give the children a good idea of how traditional Egyptians dishes, just like Egyptian art and culture, have been influenced from many different parts of the world.  The Galileo School students were treated to a brief lesson on Egyptian food before the cooking began.

The children were given various tasks such as washing vegetables, squeezing lemons, slicing carrots, chopping onions, mixing sauces , searing the meat in a clay tagine, stirring, stuffing grape leaves and garnishing.  It was a lot of work!  Thank goodness Aunt Susan was around to supervise all dancing breaks.  Working together  was a lot of fun.  Soon, things started smelling really good…Cumin and allspice, tahini , yogurt, dried apricots and warm pita bread.  Dinner was going to be a veritable feast!  We started thinking of who we could call to come over and help us eat all of this food!

Dinner time!  We feasted on Warah Enab, grape leaves stuffed with rice, lemon, onion and parsley.  a delicious grilled eggplant dish served over a yogurt sauce with lemon, mint and pomegranate seeds.  The National dish of Egypt, Kosheri, which is  rice, lentils, and macaroni smothered in tomato and carmelized onions.  Fool Medemmas, fava beans commonly prepared as a breakfast food in Egypt. Lamb baked in a clay tagine with prunes and apricots served with warm flat bread.

We finished the delicious meal off with sweet baklava from an Armenian bakery.  What a delightful way to learn about foods from another place and time.  We can’t wait to visit Egypt, especially now that we know how good the food is.  Thank you so much to Rosalie and Susan for planning, organizing and hosting The Galileo Schools first Cooking Class for our Ancient Civilizations Studies.  We hope this inspires the rest of our friends and family.  We need volunteers to teach Foods of Ancient Israel for December, Foods of Ancient Greece for January and Foods of Ancient China for February.  We will supply the groceries and ingredients -you supply yourself! There is not a more delicious way to learn.