Maya Ammous, The Kitchen Editor
Maya Ammous, a 37-year-old who has been living in Dubai for the last 13 years with her 5-year-old son, is the creative force behind the Instagram and TikTok accounts, @thekitcheneditor, where she shares food and lifestyle-related videos and content.
With a background in marketing and a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Lebanese American University in Beirut (LAU), Maya made the bold decision to transition her more than 10-year career in traditional media into the realm of digital content and gastronomy. However, it was only after becoming a mother that she finally mustered the courage to leave her job and fully throw herself into this new endeavor.
“I love cooking and creating new and unusual recipes, without, of course, compromising the integrity of traditional recipes,” explains Maya. “Cooking has always been a passion for me. I wanted to create a page that offers my followers easy, clear, and accessible recipes. I chose this name as a nod to both my former job in publishing and my love for cooking. I felt that it represented me perfectly.”
Maya shares her original recipes, with her 280,000 followers, on an almost daily basis “because,” she elaborates, “I believe that our Mediterranean cuisine, with its richness and nutritional value, should be showcased to the world.”
“Sharing content means a lot to me, but I don’t want to share just any old thing, it is important that I create something that truly stands out… Essentially, food and sharing recipes are my way of communicating and expressing the love I have for family, friends, and my ‘virtual family’ who continually inspire me to improve every day in what I do.”
Maya, The Kitchen Editor’s Pesto Fatteh:
Category: Starter or main course
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 3 people
Difficulty level: Easy
Ingredients:
For the pesto
1 handful of basil
1 clove of garlic
Salt to taste
1-2 tablespoons of pine nuts (you can swap them out for almonds or cashews if you wish)
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
For the dish
1 can of cooked chickpeas, rinsed and heated in water over low heat for a few minutes
1 piece of Lebanese bread cut into squares
2 cups of yogurt (laban)
Salt
1 crushed garlic clove
For the garnish
1 handful of pine nuts fried in olive oil
1 handful of pomegranate seeds
Method:
Step 1- Using an electric whisk or a mortar and pestle, mix all the pesto ingredients until they form a puree.
Step 2- Fry or grill the bread.
Step 3- Put the yogurt in a bowl and add the crushed garlic, salt, 1-2 tablespoons of the previously prepared pesto and 2-3 tablespoons of chickpea cooking water. Mix everything together.
Step 4- Assemble the fatteh layer by layer. Start with a layer of bread, then a layer of chickpeas, then yogurt, then pesto and then repeat.
Step 5- Decorate with a few basil leaves and cover everything with the fried pine nuts as well as the frying oil
Step 6- Enjoy immediately while the bread is still crispy.
Maya Ammous' Pesto Fatteh
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
