Molokhia

Corète potagère

What it is

The Fatimid caliph al-Hakim banned it around 1005, for reasons the chroniclers cannot agree on: an aphrodisiac, or simply a dish loved by a rival dynasty. His successor lifted the ban, but the Druze, who revere al-Hakim, have kept it for a thousand years and eat no molokhia at all.

In the kitchen

Chop it to a near-paste with a two-bladed makhrata and add it to the broth off the boil: a rolling boil breaks the mucilage and the soup separates into water and green flecks. Once it has separated it will not come back.

Goes with

Chicken Garlic Cilantro / Coriander Coriander seed Lemon Rice

Also used with

Egusi

In season alongside

Broccoli Broad bean Red amaranth leaf Spinach Swiss chard Warabi (bracken shoot)

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