Gluten-Free

The ‘bulgur vs. quinoa’ debate is one that Sami and Tara had many times during the making of Falastin. ‘Please! Quinoa is just not an ingredient used in Palestine,’ Sami would point out, entirely reasonably, when discussing a dish such as the baked fish kubbeh. ‘But I don’t eat bulgur wheat,’ Tara would respond, entirely selfishly, ‘and it does work here!’ For all the tussles over traditional vs. non-traditional ingredients and twists, the line was very firmly drawn, by Sami, at quinoa! While noting, therefore, that quinoa is absolutely not used in traditional Palestinian kitchens, Tara would like to whisper that the bulgur is often very happy to be replaced with the gluten-free alternative, if you are looking for one. Use the same amount of white quinoa as bulgur, throw it into boiling water for 9 minutes, then refresh under cold running water. In the case of that kubbeh, when mixing the cooked quinoa with the fish, add a couple of tablespoons of gram flour to the mix, to help everything bind together.