Q&A with Nadia and Merijn
You probably know Nadia and Merijn from their TV programmes and all the delicious food featured on them. Their latest cookbook, Souq, tables full of mezze, contains all the recipes you need to put a true feast on the table. With classics from the Middle East, but also original twists and new dishes of their own.
Which food trend should we stop immediately?
Nadia: Eating avocados by the truckload; our excessive Western avocado consumption is causing severe water crises elsewhere in the world.
Merijn: The hysterical veganism, including fears of gluten and lactose. And of course I’m not talking about people who genuinely can’t tolerate those things. But the hysteria really is getting out of hand and is creating a very strange and one-sided diet that certainly isn’t healthy. Eating plant-based food regularly is a good idea. Less meat, dairy and cheese rather than more.
Most memorable food experience?
Nadia: I’m not usually one for fine dining, but more than 12 years ago I ate at El Bulli and it was truly, wow. It was the first time I had eaten at a Michelin-starred restaurant; it was incredibly special that I had managed to make it happen.
We were thoroughly pampered upon arrival, given a tour of the kitchen and a beautiful cookbook. The meal consisted of around 26 courses with flavours and textures I had genuinely never tasted before. I had looked forward to it so much that you’d think it could only be disappointing, and yet it absolutely wasn’t.
Merijn: So difficult, because there are so many. Many moments in Lebanon, in the kitchens of farmer women at home. Eating the most heavenly mujardara (rice with lentils and fried onions) you’ve ever tasted. Long mezze tables filled with the most delicious dishes, and then loosening your trousers afterwards.
Restaurant Tawlet in Beirut, where regional women cook incredibly well. And then you also want to try all the divine desserts (with pistachio, orange blossom water and rose water). Silky smooth hummus in Jerusalem and Beirut.
But also last night, at Toscanini, my absolute favourite restaurant in Amsterdam, a restaurant worth returning to. Delicious squid with hazelnut, pasta with saffron butter and oxtail, burrata with morels, broad beans and asparagus. And so on. And on. The list is endless.
Favourite drink?
Nadia: My guilty pleasure is Moroccan tea with lots of sugar.
Merijn: It depends on the moment. Right now, sour cherry juice with rose water and orange juice with pomegranate molasses. But also arak cocktails. And Bobby’s gin with tonic and orange blossom.
Essential kitchen gadget?
Nadia: A Microplane for lemon zest
Merijn: The mortar and pestle and the Microplane. And good knives, of course.
What would you never eat again?
Nadia: Blood sausage. I was raised Muslim, and blood, pork and alcohol are genuine no-go areas. I don’t eat pork or drink alcohol, but not out of principle. I simply don’t like them; they’re not worth it.
But when I ate blood sausage once, I became physically unwell. I ate it in a restaurant with a set menu and did want to try it once, but I took one bite and immediately became extremely nauseous and dizzy. So I really never want to eat that again.
Merijn: Food made without love.
Which country is your favourite when it comes to food?
Nadia: I can’t choose between Lebanon, Morocco and Vietnam. I really love Vietnamese food, and every now and then it’s also nice to eat something that has nothing to do with your work. Some time ago I went to Vietnam with my son, and we occasionally ate other things too. I couldn’t eat only Vietnamese food for a month, after all.
On the other hand, I could eat Italian, Lebanese or Moroccan food every day. I actually feel like a disloyal Moroccan when I say that I like Lebanese food best. I’m now used to the delicious acidity in that cuisine, and I miss it in Moroccan cuisine.
Merijn: Difficult to choose. Lebanon, Italy and Morocco share first place. But also the entire Arab world. And Peru and Mexico too. And Japan.
What should everyone try at least once?
Nadia: Classic steamed couscous with a glass of buttermilk. And eat it at someone’s home, where you share a meal with a family and the couscous is piled high on the table.
Merijn: The one and only silky smooth, creamy hummus, as it should be. Then we can finally do away with the hummus sandwich with grilled vegetables. Hummus should be swiped up with flatbread.
What is the best supermarket product?
Nadia: A tin of peeled tomatoes.
Merijn: Difficult, because supermarkets sell a lot these days, but not always the best quality. Especially when it comes to real classics. Such as Tabasco or Greek olive oil. Organic vegetables from the Netherlands, fresh juices or toilet paper.
What is still on your food wish list?
Nadia: Going to Iran to go all out on the food, and to Armenia for the pomegranates.
Merijn: Oh, that wish list is endless and changes every day. There is so much to discover throughout your life. The Arab world, South America, Asia. And also discovering how closely cuisines and dishes are connected. Eating the most delicious koshari (street food) on the streets of Cairo, or ramen at the best ramen shop in Tokyo. That sort of thing.
Which cookbook should everyone have on their shelves?
Nadia: Claudia Roden’s cookbooks. I always wanted to become a chef when I was younger, and she is truly the reason I developed a love—or fetish—for cookbooks. As an Egyptian Jew in London, she seeks connection through food and drink, which I can really relate to as a Moroccan from WInterwijk. She genuinely tells a story from the perspective of the people she cooks with.
Merijn: If you really want to understand Mediterranean and Arab cuisines, then definitely Claudia Roden’s books. They are standard reference works containing so much knowledge, a wealth of stories and wonderful recipes. And of course other classics such as Larousse Gastronomique. And Jamie too (everyone has him). His creativity and inspiration are incredible, and he is much more talented than everyone thinks.
What do you like to make at home when you want to eat quickly and well?
Nadia: A quick tagine with vegetables and sometimes an egg.
Merijn: Quick pasta dishes. Today, for example, with puntarelle, anchovies, garlic and bottarga (which you also find a lot in the Arab world). But also delicious quick soups with our couscous berkouks or pearl couscous moghrabieh. And I see what I have in the fridge and make something with it. No waste. It also leads to amazing dishes.
Which dish do you have no self-control around?
Nadia: Labneh. I’m actually lactose intolerant, but I can’t resist it.
Merijn: If I really like something, I simply eat as much of it as I feel like. But afterwards I can also abstain very well for a while. Good balance. Steamed couscous and real hummus are particularly hard to stop eating, though. I find it difficult to stop with those.
Souq, tables full of mezze
Nadia Zerouali and Merijn Tol
€ 29,95
Fontaine Uitgevers B.V.
