It’s 25 years since James Walters first set up a trestle table in Borough Market selling falafel, a small selection of fresh meze, and spices, and more than 10 years since he went one better and opened Arabica Bar & Kitchen at the market in 2014. To mark the occasion, both Walters’ Borough Market restaurant and his one in King’s Cross, which opened five years after the first, are serving a menu of dishes from over the past two decades, including hummus with zhug, shatta, confit garlic and pickled chilli; labneh with preserved lemon and pumpkin dukkah; halloumi with black honey; roasted cod with tahini; and chicken and pistachio shish with charred lemon.
The recipes for these dishes can be found in Walters’ new cookbook, also published to mark the quarter century milestone of his brand’s existence. Arabica, Small Plates, Big Connections - with the subhead A Journey Through the Flavours of the eastern Mediterranean to afford it its full title - promises to take its readers on a culinary journey through the coastal towns and cities of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Turkey, with the self-taught chef picking his favourite dishes from his extensive travels through the region.
Featuring around 100 recipes in total, Arabica runs through the usual Eastern Mediterranean categories, with chapters dedicated to dips, hot meze, fish and seafood, meat and poultry, vegetables and grains, breads, sweets, sauces seasonings and pickles. There is an argument that in a world where we have Ottolenghi there is little need for a book like Arabica to be added to the Eastern Mediterranean cookbook canon but that would be to do it a disservice. As a collection of things that you want to cook, especially as the sun shines and the days grow longer, it is a useful and engaging resource that provides inspiration for numerous meal occasions and brings to life the unique flavours of this part of the world.
Every dish is also accompanied by a brief intro from Walters, which further puts his stamp on the cuisine, as do the book’s stories, one of which is devoted to arak and wine in Lebanon, and another that details the four flight, 17-hour journey taken in order to understand fully the world of pistachios and baklava as well as the cuisine of eastern Turkey. Most engaging, however, is the story of 24 hours in Damascus, where Walters discusses savouring Aleppo-style kofte with sour cherry sauce and chilled tamarind sharbat served from a young man carrying a giant urn on his back (a recipe for the drink features in the book).
The food of Arabica is food for sharing. Grab some friends or family and put it to the test.
Arabica, Small Plates, Big Connections
James Walters
Number of pages: 304
Standout dish: Chargrilled sweet and sour quail.
Publisher and price: Carnival, £28