Kofta, potato & tomato casserole
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Long before ovens were in every home, there was the neighbourhood bakery, where women in the city (back then, they were the ones in charge of cooking) would take their trays of food to be baked for lunch. The bakery was a social hub – a place for women to gather, make flatbreads and share a few stories (perhaps about the neighbour they had some good gossip about, or to boast about their children’s, husbands’ or relatives’ achievements) while they waited for their lunch to be baked.
It gave rise to the phrase ‘neswen el forn’ (the ladies of the bakery), typically used to describe someone who could not keep a secret. Men would gather in coffee shops or barber shops and complain about how women gossiped and couldn’t keep secrets, while they themselves talked about everyone else. At least the time at the bakery ended with a delicious casserole on top of a couple of new stories to share!
This casserole is rich and comforting, and easy to prepare. Just cut and layer your ingredients and let the oven do all the work for you, while you have a video call with your family or friends to get all the latest gossip.
This recipe is an extract from Bayrūt: recipes from the heart of a Lebanese city kitchen cookbook (Smith Street Books)
