Refugees flee their homelands “looking for a better life,” say Manal Kahi and her brother, Wissam, in their new cookbook, “The Kitchen Without Borders: Recipes and Stories from Refugee and Immigrant Chefs” (Workman Publishing, $24.95).
The co-founders of New York City’s Eat Offbeat catering company say refugees leave “everything behind except for their beautiful memories immortalized in the recipes they brought along with them. These tasty dishes represent cultures in which cooking is valued as an act of love for family, not just an elevated art that professionals practice in restaurants.”
When the Kahis created their business in 2015, they were determined to hire as chefs refugees matched with them through the International Rescue Committee. This, they write in their book, transformed traditional catering into “something truly experiential that challenged preconceived notions and stigmas.”
In their own case, the Kahis were able to introduce friends and eventually clients to their family’s ancestral homeland, Syria, through its food.
Missing relatives back in Lebanon, where they were raised, Ms. Kahi started making her grandmother’s hummus in her new home in New York City. People loved it and, especially, the story behind it.
They only knew of “a country ravaged by fighting,” the Kahis write, not one with a “rich, generational food culture.” But this hummus “was the same one that families in Aleppo shared around their kitchen tables centuries ago ... on sunny terraces in the shadows of grapevines.”
Mental images of Syria soon began evolving from those of violence and war to ones of joy and happiness.
So, through food — and now this cookbook — Eat Offbeat has been able to share the histories and legacies of such diverse countries as Nepal, Iraq, Venezuela, Algeria, Iran, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Guinea, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Senegal,
Héctor, originally from Venezuela, says that it can be hard to see the United States’ bounty while family members are starving back home. Shanthini misses the specific curry powder mix from her homeland of Sri Lanka, which doesn’t contain turmeric as Indian varieties do.
Rose fled the 2002 attempted coup in Bangui, the Central African Republic’s capital, with her surviving daughter who is now hoping to attend medical school. Another survivor of the rebellion, Larissa, misses family members back home. But she affirms that “Eat Offbeat is my family now.”
This kitchen without borders offers employment, financial security and a sense of community to newcomers who’ve arrived in the United States seeking an opportunity to live in peace, safety and freedom.
In a statement on 2019’s International Refugee Day, Nasrin of Iran wrote that “people who once left their homes, memories, joys, fathers, mothers, loved ones on the streets ... went somewhere else in the world to make life a little easier.” These trips are “not always safe,” she continued. And often, they are trips “from which there is no return.”
But Eat Offbeat provides them with a meaningful way to keep memories and love alive despite displacement and a chance to start building new homes and new lives.
Cachapas (Venezuelan Corn Cakes)
“Cachapas are a popular street food in Venezuela,” say Manal and Wissam Kahi, co-founders of the Eat Offbeat catering company. Chef Héctor, who shared his recipe, serves these for breakfast or lunch.
3 cups uncooked corn kernels, scraped from their cobs, or frozen and defrosted
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces crème fraîche or other cheese, such as crumbled queso fresco or grated mozzarella
Cooked corn kernels, for garnish (optional)
1 serrano pepper, sliced, for garnish (optional)
Place uncooked corn kernels in a food processor and pulse to form a somewhat coarse purée, about 1 minute. Strain out the juice and place the purée in a medium mixing bowl.
Add flour, egg, salt and sugar to the corn purée, and whisk until well combine to make the cachapa batter. Add up to ½ cup water, if needed, to make a thick pancake-like batter.
Melt 1 teaspoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, spoon a scant cup of cachapa batter into the pan to form a pancake. Cook until the bottom is golden, 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side, 4-5 minutes more.
Set aside the finished cachapa and repeat with the rest of the batter, adding teaspoons of butter to the pan as needed.
Serve stacked or folded in half with the remaining butter and the crème fraîche. Add cooked corn and sliced serrano, if desired.
Makes 4 cachapas
— adapted from “The Kitchen Without Borders” (Workman Publishing, March 2021)
Ma’areena Soup
“You might associate spaghetti and similar noodles with Italy, but the Middle East also has a history of using thin wheat noodles in its cuisine,” write Manal and Wissam Kahi of New York City’s Eat Offbeat catering company. Chef Diaa’s soup “tastes distinctly Syrian with the seven spices blend,” which is available at Middle Eastern markets.
½ pound dried spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef (80% lean)
1⅓ cups finely chopped yellow onions
2 plum tomatoes, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon seven spices (see note)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced
Flat-leaf parsley sprigs, for garnish
Break spaghetti into 2½- to 3-inch lengths. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the ground beef and onions.
Stir beef and onions together and cook until the onions are tender and the meat is starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
Stir tomatoes and tomato paste into the beef and onions. Cook, stirring frequently, 5 minutes more.
Slowly stir in white and black peppers, salt and seven spices. Add 4 cups of water and allow everything to come to a slow boil, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the spaghetti and cook until it’s al dente, 5-7 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
Stir in shredded cheese, letting it melt in with the spaghetti. Add minced parsley, stir to distribute it slightly and serve immediately, garnished with parsley sprigs.
Serves 4-6 as a main dish
— adapted from “The Kitchen Without Borders”
Senegalese Chicken Cilantro
“This Senegalese entrée is perfect for an easy weeknight dinner,” say Manal and Wissam Kahi, of New York City’s Eat Offbeat catering company. Chef Mariama serves this with rice and a salad of tomato, lettuce, and cucumber.
⅓ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 chicken bouillon cubes, divided
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 teaspoons paprika
2½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups sliced yellow onions
2 cups sliced red bell peppers
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon juice, 3 teaspoons of garlic, the cilantro, 1 bouillon cube, the mustard, 2 teaspoons of black pepper, the paprika and 1½ teaspoons of salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Whisk everything together, breaking down the bouillon cube, until fully incorporated. Add chicken to the bowl and stir to coat thoroughly.
Spread out chicken on prepared sheet pan and bake until chicken is golden and has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
Place remaining ⅓ cup of olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add onions, bell peppers, the remaining 2 teaspoons of garlic, the remaining 1 teaspoon of black pepper and the remaining bouillon cube. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and peppers are tender, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the vinegar and the 1 teaspoon of remaining salt. Cook until vegetables are extremely tender, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the chicken and ⅓ cup of water. Reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve.
Serves 4 as a main dish
— “The Kitchen Without Borders”
Mary Bilyeu: mbilyeu@theblade.com.
First Published: July 1, 2021, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: July 1, 2021, 2:32 p.m.
