Chef Heifa Odeh’s savoury Palestinian pastry wins hearts at SCRF

The blogger behind Fufu’s Kitchen and the author of cookbook Dine in Palestine, Heifa set about making the simple pastry which she said was a great choice for children’s lunchboxes. She began by mixing the wet ingredients – two cups warm milk and one cup olive oil, suggesting that the oil could be half substituted with half cup neutral tasting oil if the flavour of olive oil did not appeal to her audience. She then broke in two eggs and beat it well into the mixture. Next went in the dry ingredients – three cups of all-purpose flour, which made the batter quite thick.

To this, she added one cup of fresh zaatar leaves -- or zaatar seasoning if the former is not available – baking powder, salt, oregano, sumac and chilli flakes, the last being an optional ingredient when making for children. Into the creamy batter, she added cubed halloumi cheese – or any white cheese though not mozzarella – and diced, pitted black olives.

The batter was transferred into a 9-inch bake pan and a quarter cup of sesame seeds was sprinkled on top before it went into the oven preheated at 190 degree Celsius. In 20 minutes, the savoury pastry was ready. After allowing it to cool, it was sliced and distributed to the waiting crowd.

With an infectious enthusiasm and cheer, she engaged the audience throwing glow balls to children who answered her questions; one lucky kid got the grand prize – an apron adorned with Palestinian cross-stitch that she had brought all the way from the U.S.

Heifa, who takes cooking classes to honour her identity and roots, was helped by her young son Yasin as she demonstrated the recipe. The 33-year-old said that her tryst with cooking began at the age of 15 when she joined an Italian bakery and she had continued there for the next 15 years.

Taking place from April 23 to May 4 at Expo Centre Sharjah, the 16th edition of SCRF promises an immersive experience under the theme “Dive into Books”. Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), this year’s agenda features 133 guests from 70 countries, and 122 Arab and international publishing houses from 22 nations.