Culinary duo Sharon and Carol Salloum returned to SSI Community Kitchen last week to cook a Syrian-inspired barbecue lunch. The sisters, who run Sydney restaurant Almond Bar, are no strangers to the Community Kitchen, having previously used their professional culinary skills to cook for refugees and people seeking asylum at the fortnightly lunch event.
Inspired by their parents’ experience migrating to Australia from Syria more than 40 years ago, the Salloum sisters have also been working with SSI to use their well-established networks in the hospitality industry to identify ways to connect refugees with training and jobs in Australia.
For the final Community Kitchen of 2016, head chef Sharon led a team of volunteers in serving up a barbecue feast with a Syrian twist.
On the menu was grilled chicken, flatbread, corn marinated in pomegranate butter, potato salad, kafta – barbecued meatballs – and fattoush – a green salad served with mixed vegetables and fried bread.
Fattoush
Ingredients:
4 leaves iceberg lettuce
2 medium tomatoes
1 Lebanese cucumber
½ green capsicum
½ red capsicum
½ Spanish onion
½ cup flat leaf parsley chopped
1 packet toasted pita bread or loaf of Middle Eastern bread (khobz)
½ cup ba’li leaves (or cress)
2 tbsp sumac
1 tsp sweet paprika
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves crushed
Method:
- Roughly pull apart lettuce.
- Cut tomatoes into eighths.
- Quarter the whole cucumber then cut into 1cm pieces.
- Cut the red and green capsicum into 2cm squares.
- Slice the onion.
- Place all vegetables in a bowl.
- To make the dressing, mix the sumac, paprika, lemon juice, salt, olive oil & garlic in a small bowl.
- Pour the dressing evenly over the vegetables and toss until mixed through. Add more sumac and/or lemon, if desired.