Chicken Breasts with Ladies’ Fingers

Between the ages of seven and ten I lived in the dusty city of Damascus, in a large, cool house with fountains, palm trees and white fan-tailed pigeons in the garden. When I was not making mud houses in the dust with the gardener s children, or being grilled by my strict Scots governess, I spent my time in the kitchen. I loved nibbling the freshly made flat bread and tasting the sharp-flavoured apricots which dried in the sun on the flat roof outside. I liked seeing the basket of unusual fr