A JOURNEY WITH MEDITERRANEAN’S FLAVOR

HISTORY WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO Authentic The Story Food With Mediterranean Behind The Flavor Of Food Restaurant Love

328 Speedvale Ave E #31A Guelph, ON, | (519) 265-9579 | / shawarmagualph What is Mediterranean Food?

Mediterranean cuisine

When we say Mediterranean countries, fish roe, bottarga, found across we are thinking about , , , the region. Spirits based on Greece, , Syria, Lebanon Palestine, anise are drunk in many countries Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, around the Mediterranean. meaning there’s a huge variety of foods to try here.

Now, we all know the Mediterranean is known for wine and bread and seafood. So this is brief history of :

The historical connections of the region, as well as the impact of the on the region’s climate and economy, mean that these cuisines share dishes beyond the core trio of oil, bread, and wine, such as roast lamb or mutton, meat with and .

For example, Spanish androids, stews (Provençal , Spanish , Italian ), and the salted cured ShawarmaG back in Syria, wanted to know about Located in the Speedvale Plaza, is jobs. When Allaf found out his co-owned by Allaf and fellow Syrian background, the idea for Shawarma.G refugee Bassam Alkhaledi. All nine em- was formed. ployees of the business are also Syrian That was six months ago, and it refugees. became reality this week, serving juicy traditional Middle “Some, like me, have Eastern shawarma, as been here a few years. well as other tasty treats Others not so long. such as manaesh, One of our cooks has a pastry topped with only been here for 32 , ground meat, days,” Allaf says. sesame and cheese, and fatayer, a pastry He says sometimes ref- stuffed with spinach ugees struggle to find and cheese. work.

“They want to work, but found it difficult Allaf chose the location because finding jobs,” he says. “Our goal was to there was no shawarma restaurant give refugees a place to work.” around and because the plaza, which includes a Tim Horton’s, liquor store Allaf, has produced YouTube videos and Freshco supermarket, was busy. aimed at helping Arabic-speaking refugees adjust to their new lives, said “Now we just need the local support.” he got the idea for the restaurant when he was contacted by a man in Saxon T 2018 / Guelphtoday.com Syria who saw one of his videos.

The man, Ahmed Hdia, was coming to Canada as a refugee and had 30 years experience making shawarma

The Story Behind The Restaurant What We Have At ShawarmaG

Shawarma: The authentic Syrian way of serving shawarma is to shave slices of beef Known as döner in Turkish and gyros or chicken onto a thin bread called in Greek, is an Arabic rendering of Saj along with a creamy the Turkish word çevirme sauce and pickles, but no salad. It’s [che-vir-meh], meaning ‘turning’ then wrapped and pressed on the referring to the turning rotisserie. The griddle. However, it tastes just as Turks were the first people to grill a good served with any personal vertical spit of stacked meat, choice of salad. cutting it off as it cooked, so the meat would keep its flavor. Today, Shawarma is one of the most popular foods in the world, Shawarma spread throughout the especially the Middle East. Middle East when the Turkish introduced it to the countries of the

Levant (modern day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine) while making a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Islam.

Shawarma differs slightly from the Turkish döner, while the basic ingredients are the same: it can be made of lamb, chicken, or beef. The difference is in the special blend of spices added to the meat before cooking as well as how it’s served. Shawarma is served slightly differently from country to country and even from city to city. What We Have At ShawarmaG

Falafel: in Egypt about 1000 years ago by Coptic Christians who ate it as a Falafel, pronounced Fa-La-Fel, replacement for meat during Lent. is also called Taamiyya in Egypt, From Egypt, it spread throughout meaning ‘small tasty thing’. It’s the Middle East, and along the a deep-fried patty made from way, each country changed the ground chickpeas, fava beans, or recipe slightly. In some countries, both, along with a blend of special Falafel are ball shaped, others spices. doughnut, or disc shaped. Falafel is a traditional Middle Syrian Falafel are made of Eastern food whose origin is chickpeas and are lighter coloured shrouded in mystery. A widely held than Egyptian Falafel. Syrian Falafel theory is that the dish was invented is ring shaped whereas Egyptian Falafel is ball shaped.

In Syria, Falafel is commonly served wrapped in a flatbread with hummus, tomato, pickles, fresh mint, and a tahini-based sauce. Some people also like to include slices of lemon. Falafel can also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze (assortment of appetizers).

Today, Falafel is popular throughout the world as a tasty, healthy, vegetarian food.

What We Have At ShawarmaG

Hummus: Mutabbal: “Hummus” comes from the Arabic is a Levantine appetizer of word meaning “chickpeas”. mashedcooked mixed Hummus is an incredibly popular with tahini (made from sesame Middle Eastern dip and spread. It is seeds), oil, possibly lemon typically made by blending juice, and various seasonings. chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tahini (ground sesame seeds), , lemon juice and garlic in a food processor. Hummus is an appetizer and dip, diners scoop hummus with

Traditionally, it is the condiment Mutabbal or is more like a salad dip appetizer as Hummus. flatbread, such as pita. It is also served as part of a meze or as an accompaniment to falafel.

In addition to many of the appetizers and side salads that are essential in Mediterranean cuisine, such as: spices cooked rice fattoush, tabouleh, traditional salads and sweets.

The Real Shawarma Is Here

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