Many foods from various different cultures have similarities and overlaps, as well as many distinguishing differences! Sometimes, food might be similar in appearance, but different in flavor, ingredients, etc. Here, we explore, compare and contrast Middle Eastern and Russian foods that we saw inn “Refugee Stories” to other foreign cuisines, including French, Romanian, and Greek.
Food Comparisons:
Here, we see lamb kabob from “Abu Rass” which was a Middle Eastern restaurant in Paterson, NJ
This reminded me of Romanian Mici, which are made of ground beef, pork, spices, and beef broth
This is a type of bread we saw in a Halal Palestinian market while in Paterson, NJ
This reminded me of Greek Kichi Kozani, a spiral-shaped cheese pie made from puff pastries
These are stuffed grape leaves filled with plain rice, which we had on our first day trying Mediterranean cuisine
This reminded me of a similar Romanian variation, being Grape leaves stuffed with beef, spices, veal, and rice! This is also served with sour cream
This was a sweet cake with vanilla and coconut that we bought from a Russian bakery in Brighton Beach, NY
This Russian cake reminded me of the French dessert, Napoleon Cake! They were similar in texture, being made of many layers, but the flavoring of the Russian cake was less sweet and tasted more like vanilla than the French version
These are stuffed peppers, filled with beef, that we saw in a market at Brighton Beach, NY
The stuffed peppers reminded me of Romanian “Sarmale,” which is stuffed CABBAGE leaves filled with beef, veal, rice, and spices
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