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BREAKING BREAD


Left: Eman’s veal kofte with tomatoes and white onion


Veal kofte Eman’s veal kofte is best served as a side dish alongside maqluba, roast potatoes and a fresh green salad. SERVES: 4, AS A SIDE TAKES: 45 MINS


INGREDIENTS 500g finely minced veal 1 medium white onion, finely chopped


a dining table in the courtyard. It’s a shady, breezy, peaceful refuge of rug-draped sofas, pots of succulents and that never-ending view of verdant wooded hills and valleys. We’re joined by Eisa’s cousin, Laith, a


local policeman, and Ra’ed, my guide, who’s been showing me around Jordan for the past week. One by one, everyone takes their seat — everyone, that is, except Yara, who’s busy studying for school exams. The next few minutes consist of arms crisscrossing over the table, knives and forks clattering on plates and chatter pinballing between Arabic and English. The conversation takes in such topics as the boggling variety of accents found across the Middle East, what the kids want to do when they grow up and how I should move to Ajloun and settle down with a Jordanian boy. By now, it’s early evening, and the valley


backdrop reminds me of a Monet painting — the sky a canvas of cerulean blue, the foreground stippled with oak trees and olive groves in earthy shades. The table, meanwhile, is a riot of colour. Eman serves me three gargantuan spoonfuls of maqluba, two musakhan rolls, jarjeer salad and taboon bread. The maqluba, a golden mix of chicken and warm spices, is offset perfectly by the tangy, sumac-heavy jarjeer salad. I tuck in, and whenever there’s an inch of empty space on my plate, Eman looks me dead in the eye and asks: “More?” And I oblige, every time.


96 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL “Farida, the kofte!” Eman squeals suddenly,


her eyes widening. As the children run to grab the forgotten veal kofte from the oven, Eisa tells me more about his job. “In our culture, we don’t do hiking, camping


— stuff like this,” he says. “This is still new for our country. It wasn’t easy to start, and people kept asking me why I wanted to walk.” But Eisa was passionate about showcasing the north of Jordan to the rest of the world and has now been a hiking guide for the past 23 years. After dinner, we move to a courtyard sofa


for some Turkish coffee and a plate of fresh fruit — a typical post-prandial Arab-style gathering, I’m told. Just before 8pm, trills of the day’s last call to prayer echo across the dark valley. It’s almost hypnotic, interwoven with the rising chirrup of crickets and howling of wolves in the distance. That’s when I take a final sip of my coffee


and thank Eisa for making me feel so welcome in his home. “You will always be welcome here,” he says


with a smile. Then he hands me the very last fig on the plate. “You see, you’re part of our family now.”


HOW TO DO IT: A night at Eisa Dweekat Guest House costs 30JD (£33) per person, B&B. Dinner is an additional 10JD (£11). Royal Jordanian flies direct from Heathrow to Queen Alia International Airport in Amman. rj.com hike-jordan.com


1 tsp fresh parsley 1 ½ tsp ground coriander 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom 1 ½ tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp ground nutmeg 2 large tomatoes, sliced olive oil, for drizzling 1 tsp tahini


METHOD Heat oven to 180C, 160C fan,


gas 4. Combine the onion, parsley,


spices and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the meat and a dash of olive oil and use your hands to mix well. Divide the meat mixture into


12 equal portions. Shape each portion into a small disc about an inch thick, using your fingers to flatten them slightly. Arrange the discs on a


baking tray, then top each one with 4 or 5 slices of tomato. Drizzle with olive oil. Put the tray in the oven for 30 mins. Remove the kofte from the


oven, sprinkle with the tahini and put back in the oven for a further 3 minutes.


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