I love the Middle East and have been lucky enough to visit a few of the countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Jordon and the U.A.E.
Arak means 'sweat' in Arabic, and it is the perfect Mediterranean after-dinner drink, in my opinion.
Traditionally baklava is made by using honey - but I'm making it extra sweet and extra sticky by using golden syrup.
I really like Halal food.
Anytime I've travelled to the Middle East, I've always experience the very best in hospitality. They are some of the most kind and wonderful people I've had the chance to meet, and I feel that Saudi Arabia shares those same qualities.
You know where the best McDonald's is? Dubai. Because they have regulation on the meat, so it's really, really good.
Serve as a sweet brunch treat or with tea in the afternoon. No one would turn it down as dessert after a big holiday meal, either. You'll find there's no bad time for babkallah.
When I was a kid, there was always food to be had on the street in Jerusalem, but anything above a falafel stand was mediocre or worse.
The cornerstone of every Persian meal is rice, or polo.
The only thing chicken about Israel is their soup.
The combination of lentils with rice or bulgur is the absolute height of Levantine comfort food. I could eat it every day.
When I was a lone soldier I didn't have a penny with me. Everybody was eating hummus with tehina and ate falafel, and I couldn't buy it. I was a little hungry, but I managed.
The emotive power of hummus all over the Middle East cannot be overstated, being the focus of some serious tribal rivalries.
I toured the Middle Eastern countries with the ballet.
They're completely American. When I served my son falafel in a pita the other day, he said, 'Daddy, this taco is very good.'
Middle Eastern cuisine has the same depth of ingredients and processes as other cuisines. They just haven't had as much exposure.
Rice and vermicelli is a common combination in Arab and Turkish cooking - it has a lighter texture than rice on its own.
I will never turn down a good plate of hummus or falafel or shawarma. I just never will. You know, what I really loved in Israel was that at the time, at least, I could buy so many fruits and vegetables there for very inexpensive prices.
Hummus has been my saviour. I've used it in every form: on sandwiches, rotis, with veggies and meat.
Having grown up in the Middle East, eating beans for breakfast always seemed like a bizarre British eccentricity.
Now, I love Israeli food, love 'Jerusalem: A Cookbook', love the homey exoticism, the fusion forged in the crucible of an eternally contested crossroads.
Tahini is fantastically versatile, its deep, nutty flavour a harmonious match with roasted vegetables, grilled oily fish or barbecued meat.
Pomegranate molasses is ubiquitous in Arabic cooking: it's sweet, sour and adds depth.
Kibbeh comes in all forms, but most feature bulgur and meat.
Growing up in eastern Turkey, I was not really involved with the family business - sheep and cow farming, yogurt and cheese making. But I think I learned from my father the unspoken business language or instincts that go back thousands of years.
