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‘Eat, habibi, eat!’: Chef Shahir Massoud evokes the flavours of his childhood with a familiar refrain

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  1. Life
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In Eat, Habibi, Eat! Chef Shahir Massoud interweaves Egyptian dwelling cooking together with his many culinary influences

Creator of the article:

Laura Brehaut

Publication date:

07/09/2021 • 58 minutes in the past • 4 minutes learn • Be a part of the dialog Eat, Habibi, eat! by Shahir Massoud Chef Shahir Massoud bestows Egyptian dwelling cooking in his debut cookbook Eat, Habibi, Eat! Photograph by Kyla Zanardi

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Our cookbook of the week is known as Eat, Habibi, Eat! by Shahir Massoud. To strive a recipe from the e book, try: Gido Habib’s Full Breakfast; pink-gold turnip dip with pine nuts; and koshary with pink lentil rag.

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“Eat, Habibi, eat!” Was an essential chorus within the soundtrack to Shahir Massoud’s childhood. Habibi is a flexible Arabic phrase; its which means shifts relying on the context. However on this phrase, repeated many occasions by the chef’s Egyptian mom rising up in Toronto, it means “my darling”.

The acquainted exclamation turned the identify of his debut cookbook, Eat, Habibi, Eat! (Urge for food by Random Home, 2021) by which Massoud reinterprets the Egyptian dishes of his childhood. Now, the daddy of two, he begs his youngsters to eat extra and idiot round much less.

“You grew up with it. Each mom, each aunt, each grandmother would yell at you: “Eat, Habibi, eat! Sit down.’ … Truly the e book might have been referred to as Sit Down: Eat, Habibi, Eat! We simply disregarded the ‘seat’ ”, says Massoud and laughs.

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A graduate of the Schulich College of Enterprise at York College in Toronto, Massoud modified course 5 months earlier than graduating as a chartered accountant. He moved to New York Metropolis, the place he graduated from the French Culinary Institute (now Worldwide Culinary Middle), minimize his tooth on the Italian restaurant Lupa, and gained expertise at manufacturers just like the Mark by Jean-Georges and the now-closed Pulino’s.

When he began fascinated about cookbook concepts in 2018, then again in Toronto, he was drawn to the acquainted: a long time of expertise in Italian and French delicacies. Amid the record of recipes similar to Bucatini all’amatriciana and Croque Madame – the “best hits” of his cooking profession – he hesitated. “I believed, ‘What sort of e book might I write?’ After which it hit me, ”recollects Massoud.

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Eat, Habibi, eat! by Shahir Massoud Eat, Habibi, eat! is the primary cookbook by Chef Shahir Massoud from Toronto. Photograph of Urge for food from Random Home

In his skilled kitchen, Egyptian meals hadn’t been on his radar, however he was conscious that Center Japanese flavors had been extra in style within the West than ever earlier than. As he was rising up, he was hardly ever requested about Egyptian meals, however that regularly modified. Massoud’s thoughts turned to the dishes his mom had cooked as a toddler as he contemplated tips on how to put his personal stamp on them.

“All of the issues that I longed for as a child and mentioned, ‘That is scrumptious, however man, I would like some texture right here’ or ‘I would like her to prepare dinner it rather less.’ And that is when the concept got here to me “Says Massoud.” I might have a traditional French schooling, some expertise in Italian eating places, expertise as a Canadian individual rising up in Canada, expertise in schooling and dwelling in New York Metropolis, and mix all of this stuff to create these Egyptian dishes to offer a brand new face. “

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He labored on many recipes together with his mom, who answered his questions and emphasised the significance of the household custom. Whereas styling the meals for the e book, Massoud searched via her textile assortment. Carpets and even intricate pillow instances set the stage for the meal. The result’s distinctive to him: parts from his mother and father’ home give texture, shade and a way of area; and his “fashionable Egyptian” recipes are interwoven with the methods and flavors he picked up alongside the way in which.

Early on within the writing course of, I attempted to be artistic and be wild, ”says Massoud. Seeing how far he might go dishes with out disguising their origins, he advised his mom that he was contemplating growing a model of Full Mudammas with white beans as a substitute of the normal favas. “And he or she mentioned, ‘No! I’ve to achieve a foothold right here. ”After additional thought, Massoud realized that she was proper.

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“There was no purpose to alter it,” he says. “The fava bean is what it must be and it is scrumptious. So I do not change issues simply to alter issues. It was good to have this dialog with my mom in the beginning of the method to see that. “

  1. Gido Habib's extensive breakfast from Eat, Habibi, Eat!

    Prepare dinner this: Gido Habib’s full breakfast from Eat, Habibi, Eat!

  2. Pink and gold beet dip with pine nuts from Eat, Habibi, Eat!

    Prepare dinner this: pink-gold beet dip with pine nuts from Eat, Habibi, Eat!

  3. Koshary with red lentil ragout from Eat, Habibi, Eat!

    Prepare dinner this: Koshary with pink lentil ragout from Eat, Habibi, Eat!

When his mother and father obtained the completed e book within the mail, he was curious what his mom considered it, particularly a few of the extra fashionable phrases. She liked it – however offended his tarragon Baba Ghanoush. “I do not know if she thought we had been actually remembering these books: ‘Uh, sorry, proof. The creator’s mom thinks tarragon is silly in Baba Ghanoush. ‘”

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He stands by the tweak; The addition of the refined herbs with aniseed taste offers the traditional Levantine eggplant dip a French word.

By creating one thing new and thrilling however nonetheless staying rooted within the meals of his youth, he hopes to attraction to the subsequent era of Egyptians rising up in Canada. “I believed our era would assume that was actually cool. It was the primary time they noticed the meals they grew up with in an interesting approach. In order that you possibly can even think about being served in a hip, stylish restaurant. Previously, that was by no means, by no means, by no means the case, ”says Massoud.

He mentions the favored Toronto restaurant Maha’s Egyptian Brunch and their overflowing kebab sandwich on a toasted egg bun. “That is not likely what you see when searching for a road meals snack in downtown Cairo. However the flavors are there and it is enjoyable and it is cool, ”provides Massoud. “It’s extremely very like this (e book) the place you are taking these concepts, take some new concepts, and put them collectively. And also you try this with out dropping your self. “

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