A lesson in Lebanese food

The other day I woke up on a glorious Monday morning to find that spring was finally in the air. I looked outside to see clear, blue sky, the first in what seemed like ages. But instead of feeling energised I felt completely and utterly exhausted. I can't remember a time when I had last felt quite so abjectly tired. And it's all because I spent the weekend with Greg Malouf, the brilliant Australian-Lebanese chef, and his wife Lucy, authors of the recipe book Saha.

I first saw Saha a year ago and was struck by its wonderful, authentic recipes. For me, it was simply the cookery book of the year. I was keen to do a workshop with Greg and we arranged a date for him to come to Petersham. The events we hold here are, for me, the most inspiring part of my work. It's a chance for me to learn new things and form new friendships. The day we did with Greg was no exception. I just didn't count on Greg himself.

On meeting him, he announced to me that he was known by some as Mount Difficult, it proved to be an apt nickname indeed. He made it clear from the start that he would not be attending the lunch (as most guest chefs do) after the workshop and that he would in fact be working with me in my kitchen, cooking the lunch I had put together for what I thought was a good, strong and balanced menu adapted from his book. He assured me that I hadn't, and proceeded to rewrite the whole menu.

He suggested a fish tagine of lobster, turbot and wild bass. "We must have basteeya," he exclaimed, a wonderful, sweet pigeon pie from Morocco. I frantically rang my friend Albert the grouse man, who organised 60 pigeon squab to be sent from France the following day. Right before my eyes the costs were mounting, as were the number of dishes. We now had 16 items on the menu; fatoyer, baclava, biscuits in the shape of little minarets, rose of Damascas ice-cream, Lebanese cheese and saj (a type of Lebanese mountain bread). This was excluding the food for the workshop which was to include four dishes for 45 people, and then there was the small fact that we had a restaurant to run.

Restaurant service is something that always gives me a sense of anticipation and a healthy bout of nerves, but for this event I began to feel terrified. We cooked well into Saturday night, and at 1.30am I found myself on Edgware Road with Petersham's forager, Wendy Fogarty, searching for more yoghurt with which to make labneh pies. We made a wonderful basteeya - 18 in all for 80 people - that took 14 hours to make. Six young chefs stayed into the night, unpaid, for the chance to work with a chef they sensed was worth putting in the extra hours for. We laughed and cooked and laughed some more.

Greg Malouf is an extraordinary man and my life feels just that little bit richer for having spent one very long, very exciting weekend with him.

Skye Gyngell is head chef at Petersham Nurseries, Church Lane, off Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey, tel: 020 8605 3627

Aleppo-style beef tartare with smoky chilli and parsley

Serves 4-6

3 long red chillies
1tbsp olive oil
100g/31/2oz fine burghul
80g/3oz flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp smoked paprika
1/4tsp chilli powder
90g/31/4oz white onion, roughly chopped
300g/10oz trimmed best end fillet of beef, diced
3 ice cubes

Heat the oven to 210C/110F/Gas1/2. Brush the chillis with a little olive oil and roast them for 5-10 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove, and when cool enough, peel away the charred skin. Split them open and scrape out the seeds. Put them into a mortar and pound to a smooth paste.

Soak the burghul for 5 minutes. Drain, then wrap in a tea towel and squeeze out as much water as you can. Tip it into a bowl with the chilli paste and mix in the spices. Put the onions through a mincer and mix in. Put the beef through a mincer, twice, and mix in along with the ice cubes. Mix well with your hands. As the ice dissolves, it will bind everything together into a smooth, sticky paste.

Tip on to a plate and spread up to the rim. Make little crescent-shaped indentations and drizzle with the oil. Serve with Arabic bread, fresh onions and mint leaves.

Aged feta, raw winter rhubarb and spinach leaves

This is a recipe of mine. It was the only one that Greg allowed me to put on the menu that day!

Serves 4

200g/7oz good-quality sheep's milk feta
2 sticks rhubarb, washed and finely sliced on the bias
1 handful of young spinach leaves, washed and dried
25ml/1fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
1tsp lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper

Slice the feta as finely as you can and arrange on a plate. Toss the rhubarb and spinach leaves together in a bowl, pour over half the olive oil, sprinkle over the lemon zest and season with pepper. Scatter over the top of the feta, drizzle over the remaining olive oil and serve immediately.

Braised Swiss chard with crisp fried onions and tahini sauce

Serves 4-6

For the crisp fried onions
21/2 onions, peeled and finely sliced
1/2tsp salt
125ml/4fl oz olive oil
For the braised Swiss chard
1 large bunch of Swiss Chard
50ml/2fl oz olive oil
1/2 an onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic
1tbsp coriander seeds, lightly roasted
The juice of one lemon
150ml/5fl oz white wine
100ml/5oz good-quality chicken stock or water
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
For the tahini sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed with 1/4tsp salt
125ml/4fl oz tahini, well stirred
80ml/3fl oz lemon juice
Cold water

Put the onions in a bowl and break them up with your hands. Add the salt and toss through. Leave for 15 minutes. Rinse well, then squeeze out as much moisture as you can before drying them very thoroughly on kitchen paper. It is important you get them as dry as possible. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. When it is nearly smoking add the onions and fry for 8-10 minutes. You'll need to move them around continuously, so they don't burn. When they are caramelised, drain and reserve.

Wash the Swiss chard in several changes of water then slice out the stems and reserve. Shred the leaves roughly. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until they start to soften. Use a mortar and pestle to crush the coriander seeds as finely as you can. Tip into a sieve to remove the husks. Add the coriander to the pan with the Swiss chard, lemon juice, wine and stock. Season, cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, remove the lid and raise the heat to allow some of the braising liquid to evaporate.

To make the tahini sauce, stir the garlic paste into the tahini, then gradually mix in the lemon and enough water to thin the sauce to the consistency of pouring cream. Serve the chard with plenty of tahini sauce and the onions. Sprinkle with paprika before bringing it to the table.

Halloumi and mint fatayer

For the dough

400g/13oz self-raising flour
80g/3oz cold butter, diced
1/2tsp salt
Enough warm water to make the dough
1 egg yolk
2tbsp water
For the filling
1 large bunch spinach
100g/31/2oz hallumi
100g/31/2oz feta cheese
1tsp dried mint
A small bunch of mint, leaves only, finely chopped
1tbsp lemon zest
25ml/1fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
A pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
1 egg
2tbsp water

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas6. To make the dough, put the flour, diced butter and salt into a food processor. Pulse a few times until it forms coarse crumbs, then add just enough water to bring it together to a dough. Leave to rest for around 30 minutes.

For the filling, wash the spinach and pat dry. Place in a pan over a low heat and sweat until the spinach is soft. Remove and strain in a colander. Allow to cool completely. Squeeze out all the excess water with your hands and finely chop. Crumble the halloumi and feta into the spinach, add the dried mint, fresh mint, olive oil, lemon zest and a small pinch of salt and pepper.

To assemble, divide the dough into 12 pieces, flour your work surface and your rolling pin, and roll each piece of pastry into a circle around 10cm (4in) in diameter. Put a tablespoon of filling in the centre and bring three sides of the pastry up and over the filling to form a traditional pyramid shape. Moisten the edges with water and pinch the sides together to seal.

Mix the egg yolk and water together to make an egg wash. Place the pastries on a lightly oiled baking sheet and brush with a little of the egg wash. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Walnut baclava

Makes 24 slices

200g/7oz walnuts, roughly chopped
1tbsp caster sugar
1/2tsp ground cinamon
200g/7oz fresh filo pastry
75g/3oz unsalted butter, melted
A little cold water
For the syrup
200g/7oz caster sugar
200ml/7fl oz water
1 cinnamon stick
1tbsp lemon juice
2tbsp honey

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas4. Mix the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Butter a 30cm by 18cm (12in by 7in) roasting tray. Cover it with 5 sheets of pastry, buttering each layer before lifting from the stack. Allow the excess pastry to hang over the edge. Spread on half of the walnut filling. Cover with 3 more layers of buttered pastry and spread over the rest of the filling. Fold over the edges, enclosing the filling, and cover with the remaining pastry. Cut away the excess pastry so that it fits the dish.

Cut the baclava into little squares without cutting all the way to the base. Sprinkle on a little cold water with the tips of your fingers to prevent the edges from curling up, and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the heat up to 190/375F/Gas5 and cook for 10 more minutes until lightly golden. Take it out of the oven and leave to cool slightly.

For the syrup, boil all the ingredients except for the honey for 5 minutes. Add the honey and simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring constantly until lightly thickened. Discard the cinnamon stick and pour the syrup slowly over the balcava. Leave to stand for 10 minutes so the baclava can absorb the syrup and become moist. Cut and lift the pieces out one by one and eat within a couple of days.

Q&A: Skye answers your culinary queries

I have a group of people coming round for dinner and would like to make something the day before so I'm not tied to the kitchen. Can you suggest anything?

T Carter

I think something slow-cooked is a good idea. My lamb with prunes, chilli, coriander and spice mix that's in my recipe book might be a good one.

It serves 6. You will need 1 boned, medium leg of lamb, sea salt and black pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil, a generous bunch of coriander, 3 red onions, peeled and finely sliced, a 2cm (1in) piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped, 1tbsp tamarind water, 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped, 2 red chillies, finely chopped (seeds retained), 2tbsp roasted spice mix, 1.5 litres (21/2pints) chicken stock, 2 cans chopped tomatoes, 3 bay leaves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 100ml (31/2fl oz tamari, 75ml (3fl oz) maple syrup, 200g (7oz) prunes, juice of 1-2 limes, to taste.

Cut the lamb into 5cm (2in) pieces, trimming away any fat. Season. Place a pan over a medium heat and add the oil. When it starts to smoke, brown the lamb in small batches. Next, wash the coriander and finely chop the root and stems. Once the meat is browned, put aside, pour off excess fat from the pan, lower the heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or so, until they have begun to soften. Add the ginger, tamarind water, garlic, chillies, spice mix and chopped coriander root and stems. Cook, stirring, for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Add the tomatoes, bay and cinnamon and bring back to the boil.

Put the meat back into the pan, cover and turn down the heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. The meat should be tender. Stir well, turn the heat up and cook for 30 minutes. Check the seasoning and scatter over some coriander leaves.

Please send your questions for Skye to s.gyngell@independent.co.uk