When Nina Mustacchi tagged me on Instagram with her Fool Medemas recipe, I was intrigued to know more about her, and the exact details involving this Allepian flavor infused side dish.
Of course, an authentic dish always tastes so much better when you get the background the the food and the real chef behind it, so Nina happily shared her story with me for all of my Jewish Hostesses to enjoy.
Born in Aleppo, Syria in 1970, 15 year old Nina Maleh knew that Syria was not a welcoming place for her her and the Syrian Jewish community that had lived there for 3,000 years. Travel restrictions, business limitations, jail time, and Nazi-type beatings inflicted by the Syrian government were commonplace among all innocent fellow community members. One by one, the Syrian Jewish community began to escape the country. Most of them trudged perilously by foot to Israel, Turkey, and Lebanon. Nina’s parents had decided to escape Syria the year before so that they could set up a home in Brooklyn for when Nina and her two brothers would be able to escape to Brooklyn. In 1985, Nina and her two young brothers fled the country by walking 12 hours through mountainous roads to get to freedom in Turkey. Soon after, they finally reunited with their parents in Brooklyn, N.Y. The day that 17 year old Nina stepped into her new Brooklyn home, she met her future husband, who coincidentally happened to be visiting her parents. Nina told me that the minute that he set eyes upon her, he proposed on the spot! (phew-what a trip!!)
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