Mulukhiya

Several years ago, I got into Middle Eastern recipes and acquired several cookbooks. Though I was able to make a number of the dishes very successfully, including preserved lemons, baklava, and falafel from scratch, I remember feeling thwarted when I read about a vegetable called mulukhiya. The cookbook's Egyptian author remembered it fondly but noted that it was difficult to find outside of the Middle East, and that there was really no substitute. So I resigned myself to ignorance, and forgot about it.

But this week, mulukhiya came back into my life quite unexpectedly, included in my box of organic vegetables from Kawakami Farms. Of course, I was thrilled to have the chance to try a Middle Eastern vegetable that's difficult to find in the west, but I had no idea how to cook it. I don't have my old cookbooks with me, so I had to look up a recipe online. Most of them called for it to be finely chopped or shredded and then boiled in a chicken soup for about 5 minutes. I didn't want to make chicken soup, so I decided to sautee the chopped leaves and stems in olive oil with some of the baby garlic in my Kawakami Farms box and with a not-very-hot red pepper. I also cooked some chick peas, for a Mediterranean protein, and cut up some of the Kawakami Farms tomato and cucumber I received as well. Rice, though good old koshihikari rather than basmati, was a nice accompaniment.

And the mulukhiya? To my astonishment, the rather coarse, rose-like leaves turned soft and gummy as they cooked, exuding a mucous almost like that of okra, though not nearly as copious. They had a pleasantly bitter, assertive taste, similar to collard greens. If I ever get to try them again, maybe I'll try making soup - their viscosity would probably give them a thickening effect. But meanwhile, I've packed the leftovers in individual servings for my lunchbox, so I'll be eating like an Egyptian all week long.