Vegetarian recipes from Syria

Syria shares olive oil, wheat and chickpeas with its neighbours, but departs from them in its taste for dried chilli and in the weight it gives to nuts. Aleppo pepper, dried and ground, gives its colour and gentle heat to muhammara, where ground walnut replaces sesame as the binder and pomegranate molasses supplies the acidity in place of lemon. Pomegranate, walnut and chilli form a recognisable seasoning triangle, darker and more sweet-sour than the one used on the Lebanese coast. Fresh herbs are more discreet here, replaced by cumin, ground coriander and a steady use of dry spices.

The other marked trait is preservation. Summer vegetables are not only cooked, they are jarred under oil for winter: small aubergines stuffed with walnut and garlic in makdous, oil-cured artichokes in ankinar bil zeit, both served cold with bread. Hot dishes stay plain, a single long simmer in tomato, as with okra in tomato. The dried fermented dairy of shanklish does the protein work in salads. Flatbread remains the support, but bulgur and rice also go with these preparations, which are readily eaten cold or lukewarm.