Anissa Helou and her mother Loris’ zucchini in tomato sauce

1. Trim the ends off the zucchini and remove the small brown skin at the base. Rinse under cold water and slice in half lengthwise.
2. Put the olive oil and sliced onion in a saucepan. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are golden, then add the garlic.
3. Continue sautéing for 1 to 2 minutes more before adding the zucchini.
4. Stir everything together for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, until the zucchini is almost cooked through.
5. Remove the lid from the pan and add the mint. Cook for 5 more minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
6. Taste and add more salt if needed.
7. Serve warm or completely cooled.

More with zucchini

Walid Mouzannar, Alia and Nicolas Mogabgab's zucchini and fennel fritters

A women’s story

Surrounded by a group of women — her mother Loris Chaya, 90, "refined, elegant," her grandmother and her aunt — Anissa discovered and came to love cooking, especially home cooking. She describes her home as a "genuine Lebanese bourgeois house" where young girls were taught "sewing, cooking and how to be kind and skillful with their hands." Married at 16, Loris, a "capable woman," raised her five children on good taste. An education that was warm, family-oriented and comforting always centered around the kitchen — both the place and the activity.

Settled in London in the 1990s and moving in art circles, Anissa was suddenly called upon to improvise a Lebanese dinner for 30 guests. "My first dish was loubyeh bzeit, and I must admit, it was a success! That’s when I realized I had learned, without knowing it, without realizing it, the art of cooking."

It was during that period, while preparing a book on art collectors, that she noticed there were no easy books about the Lebanese home cooking of our mothers and grandmothers — books that also highlighted the sociological and historical significance of Lebanese dishes. "There was Rayess’ book, but in my eyes, it was outdated. So I decided to collect my mother’s recipes in a book, to share them, but most importantly, to preserve them."

Loris wrote down the 200 recipes — but with approximate measurements, because that’s how she works! A Turkish friend later adapted them with more precise measurements. "We argued a lot, but it was an amazing adventure."

The book, born of this respectful complicity and titled "Lebanese Cuisine," was nominated for the prestigious André Simon Award and named one of the best cookbooks of 1998 by the Los Angeles Times.

"I learned everything about Lebanese cooking from my mother, beside her and by osmosis," says Anissa.

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