Sami Tamimi: ‘When you’re homesick, you want comfort; the recipes came from that need’

Portrait by Amit Lennon

In the spring of 2020, Sami Tamimi and his partner packed up their house in London, loaded their two dogs into the car, and drove to Umbria, in Italy. At the time, they planned to stay only a few weeks, but the Covid lockdown soon put paid to that. Weeks turned into months, and eventually into a year, during which Tamimi, the Palestinian-British chef who’s probably best known as one of the co-founders of the Ottolenghi restaurants, had what he describes now as “a mini-meltdown”.

A lot of soothing home cooking was done in this period – foraging in the hills was his meditation – and when the moment finally came to go home, he knew two things. First, that his life had to change. Second, that he was going to write a new cookbook. It would be called Boustany, and it would celebrate the vegetable dishes he knew in his childhood both in Jerusalem, where he grew up, and in Wadi Al Tufah in Hebron, where his maternal grandparents kept a large garden, or boustan.

What brought on his meltdown? Tamimi, one of the smiliest people you’ll ever meet, flashes me a grin. “Well, [at Ottolenghi] I used to be in charge of six kitchens,” he tells me. “The pressure was on all the time, and even after I had to have heart surgery, I was determined to go back to it. In Italy, though, it hit me. ‘What am I doing?’ I thought. I’d worked really hard for 20 years setting up the business. I’d co-written three cookbooks. I was proud of what I’d done. But now I had to take things easier, to focus on doing only what I loved.”

Five years later, life is very different. While he remains a partner in Ottolenghi, his day to day involvement is over. “I don’t have to wake up at five o’clock in the morning to be in the kitchen at seven. I do my collaborations and consultancies, and I have the life I always wanted. I can socialise. Friends can come over. I can enjoy the weekend.”

Boustany was born out of the homesickness he felt in lockdown: “When you’re homesick, you want comfort; the recipes in the book came from that need.” For Palestinians, foraging has long been a source of both food and extra income – greens such as mallow (khobiza), mulberries, cactus fruit – and in Umbria, with time on his hands, Tamimi often found himself gathering plants to add flavour to supper. “My partner, Jeremy, thought I was absolutely mad. ‘How do you know that’s not poisonous?’ he would ask. But he enjoyed eating them, and so I began drafting recipes. My first idea had been for a cookbook about Palestinian street food, but the simple things I was making in Italy seemed more right [in the circumstances].” The result, Boustany, includes recipes that are recognisably traditional, but also updated for the 21st century.

“I’m loyal to traditional food, and I love eating it when I go back home,” says Tamimi. “But the situation in Palestine means food has not evolved as it might otherwise have done. It is only about resilience and preserving culture and passing that down from one generation to the next.” He allowed himself to experiment: “I’m someone who gets bored after a while. I always want to add things. Also, a lot of Palestinian dishes are complicated. Nowadays, people don’t always have the time for them.”

The book is huge. It must contain 100 recipes; you’ve never seen so many ways with aubergine, a vegetable with which Tamini says the British are obsessed. What are his favourites? “The peppers stuffed with freekeh,” he says, barely missing a beat. “Peppers are available all year round, and if you can’t find any, tomatoes will do.” But he’s also a huge fan of something I would guess most of his readers will never have tried: fermented turnips tops, or huwairna. “This is a ritual in Palestine. You wash them and chop them, you salt them and squeeze them, and then they’re packed in a jar with lots of yoghurt. The longer you keep them, the better the flavour – and it’s a unique flavour, so sharp and bitter.” To serve: just add shatta (a fermented chilli sauce), a little sumac and olive oil, and don’t forget the warm bread for dipping.

Writing Boustany gave him a lot of pleasure, and he hopes that in turn it will bring the reader just as much. “It comes with a few messages,” he says, before our call ends (he’s in Madrid, working on a secret project). “First of all, this is back to basics. It’s about simple, delicious, home-cooked meals. But it was also important to me to publish a Palestinian cookbook. Away from everything that’s happening, I want to remind everyone that we’re just a bunch of really lovely people who want to live our lives with dignity; who want to eat and celebrate and feed those around us.”

Tamimi hopes Boustany is full of soul, as well as flavour; that on kitchen counters, it will seem auspicious as well as useful. “I know it’s hard to feel hopeful, but I am optimistic.”

This is a staple Middle Eastern dish often served alongside rice-based dishes to cut through the richness of these and to provide a refreshing and cooling effect.

There is nothing better than a plate of two-lentil mejadra (see ) with a generous spoonful of this salad.

I tend to use the small Middle Eastern cucumbers, when possible, because they have so much more flavour and are less watery.

Serves 6 as a side dish

cucumber 4 small or 1 large
labneh or thick Greek yoghurt 500g
feta 120g, crumbled
garlic 1 fat clove, crushed
lemon juice 2 tbsp
olive oil 1 tbsp, plus more for drizzling
salt
fresh coriander, dill and mint 1 tbsp each, roughly chopped, plus extra mint to garnish
dried mint ½ tsp, plus extra for serving
green chilli 1 large, deseeded and finely chopped
lime 1, peeled, segmented and roughly chopped
almonds 20g, toasted and roughly chopped
dill fronds 2 tbsp
nigella seeds ½ tsp
dried rose petals 1 tsp

Peel the cucumber and cut into 2cm dice. (If you are using a large cucumber, cut it in half lengthways and scoop out the middle.)

Place the cucumber in a large mixing bowl, then add the labneh or yoghurt, feta, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, ½ teaspoon of salt, the herbs, chilli and lime and mix well.

Spread the mixture on a serving plate and garnish with the almonds, dill, extra mint, nigella seeds and rose petals. Finish with a good drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Here’s a slightly easier version of the beloved Palestinian dish mejadra, a cherished favourite from my childhood. This one brings back memories of fragrant spices mingling with the sweet aroma of fried onions. I fondly recall my dad packing a big pot of mejadra to go on a picnic, escaping the heat of Jerusalem for a cooler spot in the countryside.

Whether eaten hot or at room temperature, the combination of flavours is as comforting as can be. The roasted onion, turned into a salsa to top the dish, is key and shouldn’t be skipped. Serve with some freshly made chopped salad.

Serves 6

Egyptian or short-grain rice 200g
green lentils 150g, rinsed
red lentils 100g, rinsed
cumin seeds 2 tsp
coriander seeds 1½ tbsp
olive oil 2 tbsp
tomato paste 2 tsp
ground turmeric ½ tsp
ground allspice 1½ tsp
ground cinnamon 1½ tsp
cold water 375ml

For the salsa
onions 2-3 large (530g)
olive oil 2 tbsp
salt and black pepper
fresh parsley 7g, finely chopped
fresh mint 5g, finely shredded
spring onions 4 (50g), finely sliced
sumac 2 tsp
lemon juice 2 tsp

To serve
fresh parsley leaves 3g
sumac 1 tsp
Greek yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 170C fan/gas mark 5. Line a large oven tray with baking parchment.

To make the salsa, peel the onions and cut them into 2cm wedges. Place in a large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and a grind of black pepper. Place in a single layer on the oven tray and roast for 45 minutes, until soft, golden and starting to caramelise. Take out of the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, rinse the rice well and place in a small bowl. Cover with cold water and soak for 10 minutes.

Put all the lentils in a small lidded saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, or until the green lentils have softened but still have a little bite (the red lentils will cook quicker and collapse at this point). Drain in a colander.

Place a 24cm sauté pan over a medium heat and toast the cumin and coriander seeds for a minute or two, until fragrant.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil, the tomato paste and the spices, stir for a minute or two, then add the drained rice, the lentils, the water, 1½ teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir well to combine, then bring to the boil. Cover, turn the heat down to very low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, lift off the lid and cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 15 minutes.

Put the cooked onion wedges into a medium bowl, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the rest of the salsa ingredients and mix well.

When ready to serve, remove the lid and tea towel from the mejadra and place a large flat plate over the open pan. Carefully but quickly invert the pan, holding both sides firmly. Leave the pot on the plate for 2 minutes, then slowly lift it off. Top with the salsa, scatter over the parsley leaves and sprinkle with the sumac. Serve with yoghurt on the side.

This refreshing soup captures the flavours of tabbouleh, but saves you the meticulous fine chopping required for the salad version.

As the name suggests, this dish was born out of inspiration (or, shall we say, leftovers) from a tabbouleh salad I had made a day before as part of a dinner for friends.

Serves 4

fine bulgur wheat 120g
boiling water 300ml
tomatoes 500g, peeled and roughly chopped
garlic 1 clove, crushed
fresh parsley 10g, roughly chopped
fresh mint leaves 5g, roughly chopped
red pepper paste 3 tbsp
onion 1 small (80g), peeled and roughly chopped
lemon juice 15ml
olive oil 4 tbsp, plus more for finishing
Aleppo chilli flakes ½ tsp (or regular chilli flakes)
ground allspice ⅛ tsp
ground cinnamon ⅛ tsp
salt

To serve

cucumber 30g, chopped into ½cm dice
red pepper 30g, chopped into ½cm dice
fresh parsley 5g, finely chopped
fresh mint 5g, finely shredded

Put 90g of the bulgur into a medium bowl with the boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside for about 10 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Put the rest of the soup ingredients into a blender with 1 teaspoon of salt and blitz for 1-2 minutes, until completely smooth.

Pour into a bowl, add the soaked bulgur and taste the dish to adjust the seasoning.

Cover and refrigerate for an hour (or until ready to serve).

Meanwhile, put 2 teaspoons of olive oil into a small frying pan. Add the remaining 30g of bulgur and fry over a medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, until the bulgur is toasty and golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat, tip the bulgur on to a plate and set aside to cool down.

When ready to serve, ladle the soup into shallow bowls and garnish with the chopped cucumber and pepper, the toasted bulgur, the herbs and a final drizzle of olive oil.

Some of my fondest childhood memories revolve around the simplest of meals, and one that stands out vividly is “maqali day”, which was every Friday lunchtime. Maqali, which translates as “fry-ups”, consisted of a plate of mixed fried vegetables – aubergines, cauliflower, potatoes and tomatoes – all tucked snugly inside khubz bread while they were still piping hot. A dollop of tahini sauce and a generous squeeze of lemon made it just the best lunch.

While maqali sandwiches hold a special place in my heart, fried aubergine m’tabbal offers a twist on this beloved dish, presenting it as a salad. It’s a quick and easy midweek lunch or supper, and it also makes a great addition to any meal, adding a burst of flavour and texture to the table.

Serves 4

aubergines 3 medium (850g)
salt and black pepper
tahini paste 60g
Greek yoghurt 150g
lemon juice 4 tbsp
garlic 2 large cloves, crushed
sunflower oil 500ml
plum tomatoes 2 large (230g), coarsely grated
olive oil 3 tbsp
fresh coriander 10g, chopped

Top and tail the aubergines and cut them into 1½cm cubes. Place them in a large colander in your sink or over a bowl, and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of salt. Give them a good mix and leave for 1 hour.

In the meantime, put the tahini, yoghurt, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and the garlic into a large mixing bowl. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt and whisk well to combine. Cover the bowl and set aside.

When the aubergines are ready, spread them on a large clean tea towel and pat them dry. Heat the sunflower oil in a deep pan, about 28cm wide, and fry the aubergines in three batches for about 5 minutes, until they are golden brown. Lift the aubergine pieces from the oil, using a slotted spoon, and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Repeat with the other two batches.

Add three-quarters of the fried aubergine to the tahini yoghurt, along with ⅛ teaspoon of salt, and mix well, pressing with the back of the spoon to break down some of the large pieces. In a separate bowl, place the rest of the aubergine, the grated tomato, remaining lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, ⅛ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well and set aside.

When ready to serve, spoon the aubergine salad on to a serving plate, and top with the tomato salsa, then scatter over the coriander. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil on top.

Antebikh or ainabia is a typical Hebron cooked grape preserve, made with the grape’s seeds and anise seeds, which gives it a distinctive taste.

Rice pudding is a popular dish in the Arab world and often gets treated as a dish to snack on, rather than a pudding, as it’s filling, comforting and inexpensive to make. Adding tahini to a sweet rice pudding is not typical in the renowned dessert, but it works perfectly in this recipe, making it soft and creamy. The pudding is light and fragrant with the flavours of anise seed and rose water.

Serves 6

For the pudding

Egyptian, risotto or pudding rice 175g
water 1 litre
salt
ground turmeric ⅓ tsp
light brown sugar 80g
tahini paste 90g
rose water 2 tsp

For the grape compote

black or red seedless grapes 500g
ground anise seeds ¼ tsp
olive oil 2 tbsp

For the garnish

butter 1 tbsp
toasted pine nuts 2 tbsp

Rinse the rice and soak in plenty of cold water for 1 hour.

Make the grape compote: place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil, then cook over a medium-low heat until the grapes are starting to soften and collapse – about 15 minutes. Lightly crush some of the grapes with the back of a spoon and set aside to cool down.

Put the butter and pine nuts in a small pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring for 3-4 minutes, or until the pine nuts are golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside.

Put the drained rice into a large saucepan, along with 600ml of the water, ⅓ teaspoon of salt and the turmeric. Bring to the boil, then cook on a medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 7 minutes. Lower the heat and add the sugar, tahini, rose water and the remaining 400ml of water, and cook for about 7 minutes until thickened – the rice should still retain a bite.

Remove from the heat and pour the rice into individual bowls. Cool slightly before serving.

When ready to serve, spoon some of the grape compote on top of each pudding and garnish with the toasted pine nuts. OFM

Boustany by Sami Tamimi (Penguin, £30) is published on 19 June 2025. Order a copy at observershop.co.uk to receive a special 20% launch offer

Food photography by Ola O Smit