Bastani with Zoolbia Bameih is a cultural dish from Iran containing Persian saffron ice cream and pistachios. NYU student Sara Arabzadeh used to eat this dish all the time at family gatherings and in particular, Persian New Years. If you have a favorite dish, spice or tradition that’d you’d like to share use #MagicalMeltingPotChallenge on TikTok or Instagram.

Source: Food.com

This wonderful recipe is from Judy Hallet’s beautiful cookbook, Discovering Tunisian Cuisine.  Judy is an Emmy Award-winning documentarian and the book is exquisitely photographed. 
This recipe is amazing and is sure to become a staple in your repertoire because the ingredients are simple and it’s fun to make and eat.  The special, flaky Tunisian dough called malsouka, is available from Middle Eastern shops or Amazon.  You can also use phyllo dough, but malsouka is a revelation if you’ve never used it.  There are 10 sheets in a pack.  The recipe below makes 5 turnovers, so you can double the recipe, or freeze the remaining 5 sheets to use another time.  This dish is commonly eaten during the month of Ramadan, every night after sundown.  It’s eaten with your hands, carefully, because the egg in the center is runny.  

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Israeli cuisine is a fusion of different cultures from around the world. Made up of people immigrating to the country after World War II, it’s influenced by European food, Persian food, Moroccan food, etc. This dish is taken from the Moroccan kitchen and adapted slightly by my family. We ate it on special occasions and Shabbat dinners. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do. - Jonathan Poor

A savory/sweet curried meatloaf topped with a custard of egg and milk and served with yellow rice and raisins. South African cuisine, like the country, is a product of its multicultural history. Along with its indigenous peoples, Portuguese maritime explorers, Dutch and English colonists and French and German settlers have called it home. The Dutch East India Company introduced slaves from Madagascar and Indonesia and India, along with spices from South East Asia. This dish was a creation of Cape Malay slaves that has Indian influences, but is quintessentially South African.

This is a simple dish that reflects the Italian influence of Croatia’s neighbor to the west, Italy.  It’s made often in Croatian homes for a light lunch or dinner, particularly in the summer and fall, when ripe tomatoes are at their peak.  

Making Tunisian treats involves a great deal of craft. After all, it only took a couple of centuries and a lot of cultural influences in order to reach this level of deliciousness. These treats are extremely sophisticated thanks to Tunisia’s vibrant multicultural history. The stuffing techniques were inherited from the moors of Spain. The use of almond was influenced
by the Berbers of North Africa, while the use of pistachio came from the Middle East. The refinement in making these delicacies came from the French and the Italians who lived among Tunisians in the last century. Every bite is a marriage of the best of what the Mediterranean has to offer. Visit their website at: www.laylasdelicacies.com.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls are a delicious, light, healthy, affordable, every day, an interactive dish eaten with friends and family. People assemble their own and customize them to their taste. They can experiment with different combinations of ingredients. You can use any protein in place of the cooked pork, including shrimp and cooked chicken or duck. Vary the quantity of ingredients based on the number of people who are eating.

Fall is my favorite season. Some of my happiest memories growing up are associated with pumpkins and pumpkin pie. I lived in the northern suburbs of New York City and every fall my family would go to a farm to pick apples off the trees, go for a hayride, select pumpkins from the pumpkin patch and then have hot apple cider and fresh donuts. On other fall weekends we’d make fresh pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. It’s such an easy recipe and it is always so delicious!

Source: Magical Melting Pot

The Biancomangiare is a Sicilian dessert that takes inspiration from the Moors (Arabs) who introduced almonds (and eventually almond milk) to the Island. The use of dairy milk version takes inspiration from the French Blancmange. My version is topped with American raspberries, Canadian Maple Syrup, and Sicilian Honey. A melting pot of cultures into a very simple, satisfying dessert - one that my grandma would make once a week.

Source: Insta @ninoasaroil #cookingninostyle

The Brocculu Arriminatu is a Sicilian dish that thanks the Arab introduction of Almonds and raisins. One of the most important poor dishes of Sicily, the Broccoli Arriminatu fills up the stomach and doesn't hurt the wallet. My version shows continuity in the evolution of Italian cuisine. The pureeing of the cauliflower speaks a Sicilian that is easily understood by the younger generations. I would often eat this dish at home. A poor dish that sings of a welcoming Sicily and culture that dances in sync.

Source: Insta @ninoasaroil #cookingninostyle

This is an easy Chinese recipe. NYU student Catherine Xue often would eat this as an after school snack. It is super simple. It is a dish not often found in the United States, but it is often served as an appetizer in China. This snack is easy, delicious, and just a little unhealthy.

Ingredients
- 1 Tomato
- 1 Table Spoon of Sugar

Recipe
All you need to do is cut up a tomato and sprinkle some sugar on it.

This dish is an ode to my childhood summers spent visiting my grandparents in Casamance.  They had a huge mango tree whose fruits were always ripe come summer. It was also the time when I would get to enjoy grandma’s cooking.  This refreshing, sweet and herbaceous grain salad brings together flavors and memories from those days.

This is one of Maria and Paulina Hatziioannidis’s favorite dishes.  Their mom, Georgia, would make it for dinner when the weather got colder.  It’s the ultimate Greek comfort food. Makes 4 Servings.

There is nothing better than a homemade Shrimp Ceviche (Ceviche de Camarón in Spanish).  It’s one of the most popular dishes along the coast in Ecuador, Peru and the Caribbean.  Roy Mateus grew up in Guayaquil, Ecuador.   He’s a passionate home cook who has started giving wonderful cooking classes online.  Check them out at glfspice.wordpess.com, #glf_spice.  Here’s his favorite recipe with memories from summers by the beach in Ecuador.  It can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish.  To make it more filling as a main dish you can add cubed mangoes, cucumbers and/or avocados.  It can be served right away at room temperature, or made earlier in the day and kept in the refrigerator.  

Theodora Osei, chef owner of the popular African Bar & Grill restaurants in Lakewood and Denver, Colorado shared one of her favorite dishes from Ghana, called red red.  It’s served at roadside stands, restaurants and in homes throughout the country.  Red red is made of black-eyed beans cooked in red palm oil that gives the dish its red color and name, as well as onions, tomatoes and ginger.  Red palm oil is considered a superfood because it has the highest levels of vitamins A and E of any cooking oil.  You can order it from Amazon or Walmart.com.

Bastani with Zoolbia Bameih is a cultural dish from Iran containing Persian saffron ice cream and pistachios. NYU student Sara Arabzadeh used to eat this dish all the time at family gatherings and in particular, Persian New Years. If you have a favorite dish, spice or tradition that’d you’d like to share use #MagicalMeltingPotChallenge on TikTok or Instagram.
Source: Food.com

Source: Food.com

The Tortilla was always a quick and easy to make dinner.  With 4 simple ingredients you got a delicious meal and it makes great leftovers the next day for breakfast or a filling for sandwiches.  It's versatile because you can eat it hot or cold and since it can be prepared in advance, we would always eat it at celebrations and  picnics.  The recipe is passed down from one generation to the next, and everyone has a different opinion: with or without onion?  For me, definitely, with onion! @silviascooking