A Taste of Nablus

This month, we visit the Qarqash family where Suzan Masri shows us how to prepare Nabulsi white cheese, along with Nabulsi cheese-inspired recipes she picked up from her mother-in-law Rehab Akkad. Every year, Masri prepares around 80 kilos of white cheese to last her family all year long. Let’s join her and her children: Thuraya, Tamara and Zaid.

Brined White Cheese

Ingredients

6 kg unboiled cheese

5L water

12 kg salt

Mastic and mahlab

Gauze and thread

100g Nigella seeds (black seeds)

Directions

1. Wash the cheese well with water and cut in half . Then sprinkle both sides with salt

2. Place the cheese on a tray and leave it for two days to drain excess water.

3. Prepare four gauze pouches with 10 pieces of mastic and five pieces of mahlab in each

4. Add the half kilo salt to five litres of boiling water and stir. To ensure that the brine is salty enough, place an egg in the water-if it floats, the brine is salty enough

5. Leave the brine to boil and drop in the mastic and mahlab cheesecloth pouches, and then add the cheese to boil for seven minutes. When the cheese floats it means that it is ready to be taken out

6. Press nigella seeds (black seeds) onto the cheese while warm

7. Leave the cheese to cool

8. Leave the boiled wated to cool separately

Rocket and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

2 handfuls washed rocket, cut in half

10 fresh mushrooms, sliced

10 cherry tomatoes

5 strawberries, sliced

Sprinkle of nigella seeds (black seeds)

For the dressing

Pinch of salt

¼ cup honey

¼ cup vinegar

¼ cup cup olive oil

Bunch of walnuts, sliced

Directions

1. Mix the vegetables, strawberry and seeds in a bowl

2. For the dressing dressing, mix honey, vinegar and olive oil and then add a pinch of salt

  1. Pour the dressing over the sald and mix well before serving

Cheese Samosas

Ingredients

Ready samosa dough

For the samosa filling

Ingredients

White cheese (soaked overnight to remove the salt)

Feta cheese (optional)

Sprinkle of parsley

Sprinkle of fresh basil

Directions

1. Mix white cheese and parsley in a bowl. In another bowl, mix white cheese with fresh basil leaves

2. Spread the ready dough square sheets with samosa, fill with the cheese and fresh herbs, close and shape as desired

3. Fry the samosas in a deep pan filled with hot oil until browned

  1. Place in a serving dish and enjoy!

Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients

1 kg frozen strawberry

1 litres water

3 tbsp sugar or honey

Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

Mix all ingredients well in a blender and serve