Coming Home is a series that explores the relationship between food and home. This week we spoke with Fatema, who hails from both the UK and Lebanon.
Lebanon
“You know when you go to places and you want to try all their food? But then you go back home and you just want the simple dishes? That’s what happens to me.
“I remember going to Turkey and trying tawwouk there. Even though it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t the one I was used to. It didn’t have any garlic [aioli] but they added tomatoes and I found that really weird.
“So when I landed in Beirut, I went directly to get a tawwouk sandwich with garlic and pickles and potatoes and the whole thing…
London
“When I go back to London, I have an Iraqi chef there – which is my stepmom – who makes really good, traditional Iraqi food that takes hours to prepare. I would never force myself to do that unless I had the whole day free.
“She would make dolma – which is stuffed vegetables – or even Iranian food like jeweled rice – which is a really colorful mixture of dried fruits and veggies with rice. It’s just beautiful, the aroma is just amazing.
“She spent years and years perfecting her meals. She’s the kind of person that people call up when they want to throw a dinner party for recipes, to help them prepare stuff, or even cater the whole meal.
“Me and my sister make excuses to go out and try things because we do like to try new things. But at the end of the day I just tell her, ‘let’s go home and eat whatever your mom’s cooking.’ She’s a really good chef and she can cook anything.”
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