Arab Cooking on a Saskatchewan Homestead: Recipes and Recollections

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Farm kitchens have launched many a great Canadian cookbook, but this is
possibly the first recipe collection from a little Arab house on the
prairie. In the late 1920s, Habeeb Salloum and his family emigrated from
Syria to homestead a raw section of wilderness near Swift Current,
Saskatchewan. In many ways, their story is no different from those of
the countless other immigrant families who attempted to make a living by
farming in Canada’s West. Salloum’s recollections include familiar
themes of back-breaking work, drought, sickness, isolation, and
privations caused by the Depression. Their struggle was made that much
worse, however, by the prevailing anti-Arab attitudes of that era. In
his introduction, Salloum wryly repeats the words of the Canadian social
scientist Dr. Allan McLaughlin, who calls all Syrians “parasites”
and claims that “they do not compare favourably even with the
Chinese.”

Ironically, it was their Arab heritage that enabled the Salloums and a
few other Syrian families in the area to successfully survive on their
Saskatchewan homesteads while their European neighbours often failed.
Arab cuisine is built around drought-resistant staples like lentils,
chickpeas, and broad beans, as well as hardy herbs like mint and
coriander. This book features more than 200 recipes. They are grouped in
chapters, each exploring theme ingredients such as burghul, yogurt,
potatoes, and even Saskatoon berries. Each chapter also includes an
essay that eloquently combines nutritional facts, culinary history, and
one or two tales about how the Salloum family prepared and ate foods
using the featured ingredient.

The recipes are clearly written, and anyone with a basic knowledge of
cooking should be able to achieve fine results. Full-colour photos show
the finished dishes, and the spiral binding allows the book to lie flat
for easy usage. Dishes include Chicken with Burghul Stuffing, Lentil and
Chickpea Soup, Hummus, Egyptian Falafel, Spinach Pie, Baked Zucchini and
Tomatoes, Lamb Tajine, and Stuffed Grape Leaves. Middle Eastern cooking
is one of the most delicious and healthy cuisines in the world. This
book is a fine introduction to Arab fare with a unique Canadian
perspective.