"Eating breakfast of warm flatbread and honey in the open air". A lucky dip

I guess this was a lucky dip but I also did have Persian food as a future post on my long list. Except, of course, Persian food is really too big a topic to cover in one post. So when I picked out the lovely Saraban book by Greg and Lucy Malouf I thought, well, serendipity really.

Except that the page I opened was from the one of the travelogue parts of the book and not from a recipe section. So I dithered a bit - should I just go to the nearest recipe page? But no that would be sort of cheating. As I read further I came across the quote which is the title of this post. It's the only reference to food on the page and continues:

"The sun is warm on my shoulders and I can smell orange blossom."

Which is just to give you a flavour of the writing by Lucy Malouf - the writing part of the Malouf team. Anyway it gave me the idea for the post.

They are in the oasis town of Kashan in the west of Iran. An undiscovered gem if you read the travel blogs on the net - and this book too. My page was illustrated with some shots of the private holiday houses in the town - though they look more like mansions to me.

The town was damaged badly in an earthquake back in the 19th century but many of the beautiful houses remain and are now tourist attractions. There is also a most beautiful mosque, some highly decorated baths and a bazaar which is truly authentic, so they say. So you more intrepid travellers - add it to your list. Even I who am a nervous traveller is tempted by the beauty I have to say. It seems so like the Alhambra in Spain, but I am sure there would not be as many tourists. It's very sad how we steer clear of such places in today's world is it not? There is a lovely bit in this chapter in which they encounter a group of schoolgirls, all dressed in black chadors, but they are happy, and excited and tell them to "Go back to your country and tell them we are not terrorists."

But I digress from the food - breakfast in Iran and a particular kind of flatbread called barberi.

According to Greg Malouf in his introduction to his recipe for barberi bread - shown above:

"These huge flaps of golden bread are enjoyed for breakfast around Iran with clotted cream and honey, fruit conserves, eggs or a warming soup, all equally wonderful."

In Iran the bread is large - with a kind of scored pattern on them, but Greg Malouf recommends making smaller loaves as shown above. You can find the recipe here.

The picture above shows the authentic version. They are huge!

I love flatbreads of all kinds but did not come across them until I started eating Indian food in the 60s. Nowadays the supermarket aisles have massive sections filled with different kinds of flatbreads, including some made with quinoa or spelt. So there is no need to make your own. And indeed, it seems that in Iran people don't generally make their own either. Each baker specialises in one particular type and does several bakings a day, for Iranians require fresh baked bread for each meal. It's a bit like the French and their baguettes. I mean who makes their own baguettes? It's a skilled and specialist task making bread. I occasionally make some kind of chapati to go with tandoori chicken but I have to say they are not that wonderful - a bit chewy and they often don't puff up. My daughter-in-law makes a mean pitta bread though. So do give it a try. But without your own tandoori oven you won't be able to make naan. So like the Iranians leave it to the baker.

I really ought to be more committed and research the subject of flatbreads more thoroughly. A quick look at Wikipedia had a list which I had to scroll through for some time. It's obviously ancient - you just need some flour and water and a hot rock for the most basic kind. It was some time before leavening was discovered.

And really isn't it amazing how many variations there are on just flour, water, salt and maybe a bit of yeast?