Marc Summers’ restaurant group Bubala doesn’t shout too loudly about its vegetable-only approach, choosing instead to focus on the fact that its dishes take inspiration from across the Middle East. For his restaurant’s cookbook, however, the vegetarian angle is more obvious - understandably so given that people will want to know what they are cooking - but if you were to pick it up and flick through it you still might assume that some meat has crept into the recipes.
That’s because alongside very overtly looking vegetarian dishes, such as smacked cucumbers; romano pepper with whipped feta; and potato latkes with toum, are some that are first glance could be something else (Bubala doesn’t serve vegetables disguised as meat but that doesn’t mean some don’t have a ‘meaty’ appeal). These include recipes for turnip skewers with ras el hanout and for oyster mushrooms, both of which could be something altogether more meaty if you didn’t know better, as well as a recipe for fritto misto - a take on the Italian of mixed fried food that features no fish but instead fennel, slices of orange, and gordal olives.
Herein lies the appeal of Bubala the restaurant, which is continued within the pages of Bubala the book: even devout meat eaters can find joy among the recipes which, while in no way mimicking meat, provide some of the hearty flavours and textures they expect and love. Take Summers’ recipe for Jerusalem artichokes with ras el hanout and miso, pictured as a big brown bowl of earthy, nutty flavours that looks just as appetising as a warming bowl of chilli. Served alongside his whole-roasted cauliflower with sunflower seed and sambal; a thick wedge of halloumi with black seed honey; and some burnt butter hummus and flatbreads and you’ve got yourself a meal that requires no meat to be fulfilling, interesting and downright delicious.
If you’re still not convinced, Summers has gone one further with his rather rude sounding ‘Bubies’ - conceived during lockdown to showcase the best of Bubala’s vegetables and sauces wrapped in warm laffa bread. In the book he demonstrates the many different options at one’s disposal in creating a number of different filled wraps, with suggestions for the base - hummus, baba ganoush, labneh for example - and then for two different layers - layer one options include beetroot fattoush, sumac onions and the aforementioned smacked cucumbers, while layer two possibilities include falafel, oyster mushrooms and lemon pepper cauliflower. Final touches include tahini, chilli crunch, harissa, and zhoug.
In total, Bubala contains 100 Middle Eastern-inspired vegetarian-friendly recipes, starting with pantry recipes for essentials such as black garlic tahini, burnt vegetable stock, and soy pickled cucumbers before moving into chapters for mezze, snacks, skewers, mains, sides and salads, and sweets. The sweet section, in particular, is one to savour thanks to dishes such as date and tahini ice cream; baklava semifredo; and a chocolate mousse with banana, tahini, salted caramel and sesame brittle that would make a great centrepiece for any dinner party dessert.
As with the restaurant group itself, Bubala is a cookbook for food lovers, not just vegetarians, with plenty to explore within its pages.
Bubala Middle Eastern-inspired vegetarian dishes to share
Marc Summers
Number of pages: 255
Standout dish: Chocolate mousse with banana, tahini, salted caramel and sesame brittle
Publisher and Price: Quadrille, £28