Beirut Fridge Raiders Vol. 1: Joumana Accad

This article is the first in a series of articles spotlighting Lebanese chefs and accomplished food bloggers. In it, we’ll be peeking inside their fridges for an intimate look at what they’re hoarding and cooking up.

Joumana Accad is a native Lebanese who was born and raised in Beirut, attended secondary school in Paris in the mid-70s and completed her college education in the US before settling in Dallas, Texas. Her culinary ambitions led her to enroll in the Pastry Arts program at El Centro College, after which she became a pastry chef at a German restaurant as well as a professional caterer. Big on fresh, locally-grown seasonal foods, Accad spells out the benefits of Mediterranean cuisine as she weaves narrative and recipe into one on her blog TasteofBeirut.com. She has also published an acclaimed cookbook by the same name wherein she shares her heritage and captures the healthy flavors of the Middle East.

Three years ago, Accad moved back to Lebanon to research local cuisine and work on her cookbook. Her stay, originally temporary, has evolved into a more long-lasting immersion, and I had the chance to learn more about her, her eating habits, and in particular, what’s sitting in her fridge right this instant. Here’s what she had to say.

Beirut.com: How often do you cook and eat at home?
Accad: Every day, except on weekends when I am in Deir el Kamar.

Beirut.com: What are your fridge essentials?
Accad: Eggs (free-range from our hen house), butter, cheese on occasion, meats, veggies, and lots of fruit.

Beirut.com: As a chef, do you ever find yourself torn as to whether you should make something from scratch or buy it ready-made at the store?
Accad: No. I either make simple things or order take-out!

Beirut.com: Could you potentially whip up a meal from your fridge’s contents for 8-10 unexpected guests?
Accad: Sure, I always keep boxed pasta and Pomi handy!

Beirut.com: What’s your policy regarding expiry dates?
Accad: I try to avoid ancient foods

Beirut.com: Is there anything that’s never allowed in your fridge?
Accad: I stay away from offal (except chicken liver), raw meat, and processed meat.

“The fridge in my place is mainly a storage room for my blogging projects. Everything else we eat goes quickly. For instance, I have a couple of containers of candied bitter orange peels from when I tested the recipe 2 or 3 times. There’s also a tray with rosebuds for the cake I baked on Mother’s Day (which we celebrated May 11th, together with the Americans). I’ve got a container full of rose petals plucked from our garden from which to experiment making rose water, without the use of a distiller. You’ll spot a container of fresh fava beans picked over the weekend to make salad and stew with yogurt.

There’s some Egyptian cheese mash gifted to me from Salah, the Egyptian farmer I work with in the Chouf. He brought it back with him from his own farm in Egypt. It is an aged cheese, similar to parmesan, but a lot saltier and more pungent—they must age it 2,500 years at least!

What else? Oh, I have a bag of pistachios for a creative Karabeej project I have been testing and need to retry. I have a bowl with strawberries and orange juice for a quick salad to be eaten within the day. There’s a bowl with carob pods to make a carob drink for Ramadan, still a work in progress.

Basically my fridge is where I store my experiments. The foods we eat daily are not stored, simply consumed!”

Accad’s recipes are streamlined to shave time and labor-intensive steps all while preserving flavor. The Lebanese-American chef aims to perpetuate what her grandmother taught her, paying homage to fresh seasonal ingredients and sustainable cooking. Check her out at TasteofBeirut.com.

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