“My grandfather Kehdy Farhoud Kehdy lived to be 96 and we attribute his longevity to his healthy diet – specifically his consumption of yogurt (laban), which he enjoyed with each meal. Yogurt featured regularly in our family’s everyday cooking in Lebanon, in dishes such as my grandmother’s stews. On our Beirut kitchen table in winter, we’d have warm, creamy dishes such as kebbeh b’ laban (meat and dumplings in warm yogurt) or shish barak (lamb-stuffed tortellini in warm spiced yogurt sauce). Summertime in the breezy mountains outside the city saw us tossing cucumbers and mint into yogurt, then slathering it over macaroni for a refreshingly cool lunch. Like my grandfather, I’ve developed an appetite for this wonderful ingredient, and the recipe I’ve chosen to share here is very much inspired by his love and appreciation of yogurt as a savoury and filling part of a balanced meal. This soup is a taste of home for me, yet it makes use of wonderful seasonal British ingredients, too.”
FAMILY AFFAIR Bethany with her grandfather Kehdy