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A more common version of the tomato pilaf which spread throughout the old Ottoman lands is made exclusively with tomato paste, but this one has a marvelous fresh flavor and delicate salmon color.

Rice dishes feature in a big way in miniatures depicting the feasts and banquets of the Turkish Ottoman Sultans, and one researcher found mentions of 100 in the archives of Topkapi in Istanbul. Yogurt makes a good accompaniment to this simple and delightful one.

The success of this Turkish pilaf depends on the flavor of the orange-fleshed pumpkin, which varies. (It should be sweet-tasting.) I prefer the dish without the raisins.

In Egypt this is prepared in the spring, when fava beans are very young and tender. It is served hot as an accompaniment to meat, or cold with yogurt and a salad. Egyptians do not remove the skins of the beans.

The traditional Arab rice for fish is pale yellow with saffron and garnished with pine nuts. Turmeric, the “Oriental saffron,” sometimes replaces the expensive spice. Here the grains become softer and less separate with more water than in other rice dishes, and olive oil is often used.

Many dishes standardized in the courtly kitchens of Constantinople during Ottoman rule spread throughout the Empire. This is one of the classics that you find in all the cities that were once outposts of the Empire. It is good to serve with meat or chicken.

This is the most popular everyday Arab rice dish. It is eaten on the second night of the Muslim New Year “so that one’s employment may be prolonged and multiplied” like the vermicelli broken into little bits; or, as some say, “so that one may be prolific and beget many children.” Serve with a yogurt-and-cucumber salad, such as the one on page 70.

Yellow rice is a festive, celebratory dish, prepared for its delicate flavor and decorative quality, and in the hope that its color will bring joy and happiness. This spiced version is particularly delicious.

A good partner to omelets, little spicy sausages, and fried or broiled eggplant.

A lentil-and-spinach dish was prepared in medieval Persia to heal the sick. For the cure to be effective, the ingredients had to be bought with money begged in the streets. Here is a modern version.

Beans cooked in olive oil and eaten at room temperature are a Turkish staple. The mottled pink borlotti beans (they are called barbunya, which is also the name for red mullets) are a special treat. The Turkish ones obtainable here need to be picked over for foreign matter. There are also good-quality canned varieties which you can use.

This is good hot or cold, with plenty of raw olive oil.

This version with tamarind is from Aleppo. Serve hot or cold, as a first course or part of a buffet meal.

This version of the Tunisian meshweya (page 85) can be served hot or cold. I prefer it cold.

You can serve these hot or cold.

Serve cold as a first course.

Turlu is a Turkish dish of mixed seasonal vegetables cooked in olive oil. The winter turlu consists of root vegetables and beans.

A Tunisian way of cooking winter vegetables. It can be eaten hot or cold.

We made this in Egypt.