As you may be aware, there has sadly been a great deal of unrest and violence in Syria of late. It makes me doubly sad, as a few years ago, I spent a wonderfully fascinating 7 weeks travelling around the country, when my partner was stationed in the historic city of Aleppo for work.
Aleppo in the north and Damascus in the south are considered to be some of the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth, with estimates of habitation for around 5,000 years. And I must say as an Australian who grew up in white suburbia, with a house that was not even as old as me, I had never encountered such ancient and beautiful structures before, and it was/is quite staggering and difficult for me to comprehend that kind of time frame.
When we were there, the people were generous and friendly, and wherever we went, we were always invited for tea, or to share a meal in people’s houses.
My heart goes out to these warm, bighearted people, and especially to my lovely Syrian friend Clara, who shared this very quick, very simple, but completely delicious recipe with me a few years back.
Clara’s Northern Syrian Olive Salad
1 cup of kalamata olives, rinsed and drained
1 tspn chilli paste
1tspn ground cumin
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon (more or less to taste)
chopped parsley to finish
Mix all the ingredients together, reserving the parsley to sprinkle on top. Let it sit for an hour or so to let the flavours meld, and serve with bread.