We are so excited to present to you: our curated New York Shuk Thanksgiving Menu! At our house, we do thanksgiving a little differently—think your traditional meal but with some Middle Eastern flair. This year, we invite you to swirl in some Harissa to that mashed potato recipe, maybe rub some Shawarma on your classic turkey, perhaps add Kafe Hawaij or Ras el Hanout to that marshmallow-sweet potato casserole (and definitely to your pies), even some Sumac to your cranberries (don’t knock it till you try it), or adopt a new recipe to be a staple on your family thanksgiving table!
Happy Thanksgiving from us at New York Shuk!
COCKTAIL HOUR
Make The Dancer your signature drink for the evening. Warm and festive flavors come together in this truly unique cocktail. Make the Ras el Hanout syrup in advance so you can whip up this cocktail for your guests with minimum effort and the utmost flavor.
Another drink option for the evening is our Golden Delicious Cider Cocktail. Garnished with star anise, cinnamon sticks, and apple slices—a cocktail can't get much more Thanksgiving-festive than that.
APPETIZERS
(aka. distract your guests while you put the finishing touches on your meal)
Roasted Red Pepper Salad, Burrata and Za’atar Chips. This ‘antipasti’ (with a middle eastern twist) if you will is the easiest platter to prep, and will automatically get the host job rolling as your guests start arriving and you need to be in the kitchen finishing up the big meal!
Bourekas, Meat & Harissa Stuffed Puff Pastry. These make for the perfect finger food! Remind your guests this is just the appetizer course, don’t fill up on the bourekas!
PHOTO BY ROCKY LUTEN
Our mouths were watering when we found this recipe for Baked Brie in Puff Pastry with Cranberries, Pistachios and Sumac by Emily Connor for Food52. As we said, don’t knock Sumac + cranberries till you try it. This appetizer is also put together so easily and will certainly WOW your guests.
Who decided the food needs to come out perfectly hot AND all at once? Encourage pacing and savoring the meal this Thanksgiving by starting out with this deeply satisfying ‘Marak Katom’ or ‘Orange Soup’ by Leah Koenig. The soup is typically made up of carrots, sweet potatoes, and a variety of squash, along with warming flavors of cinnamon and Hawaij—so basically: it’s Thanksgiving in a bowl. (For a nice kick, add harissa for serving).
STUFFING!
PHOTO BY DIANA YEN
The addition of Baharat to stuffing in Heather Lawless’ Canadian-Syrian inspired recipe from The Kitchn is genius! Baharat is a warm mixture of cinnamon, cumin, allspice (and in ours, rose petal to give it a lovely floral note) meeting with a kick of black pepper—it sounds like the perfect ingredient to tie together the often savory-sweet Thanksgiving staple that is stuffing.
THE STAR OF THE SHOW
—but not if you prefer chicken—
TURKEY!!!!!!!!!
***Something to note, any of our spices can be added to your usual turkey rub to deepen the flavor of your meat: Shawarma, Baharat, Za’atar, Hawaij, Fiery Harissa, Herby Harissa, and Rosey Harissa are all great options.
Adeena Sussman’s Za’atar Chicken over Sumac Potatoes is on our list for three reasons: 1-It’s delicious. 2-This is here for the turkey haters (we know you’re out there). 3-If you’re having a smaller Thanksgiving this year, this dish is a great option that feels really special!
***btw…you can definitely use this za’atar method on a turkey, just saying…
PHOTO BY PAUL COSTELLO
This Moroccan-Spiced Turkey Recipe by Marcus Samuelsson for Food&Wine features Ras El Hanout as the star ingredient along with some lovely citrus notes. This sounds like a refreshing recipe for Thanksgiving turkey that we are dying to try!
SIDES SIDES, oh and more sides!
Step aside green bean casserole! Our Matbucha Braised Green Beans are a great alternative to the often heavy, preservative filled, gloopy green bean dish we see time and time again on Thanksgiving tables. The matbucha addition to the green beans will provide a balanced and bright taste to a table full of heavy dishes.
Our Crispy Za’atar Potatoes are a great option for Thanksgiving with or without the tzatziki. And although we much prefer textural and crispy foods…if you’re making mashed potatoes we highly recommend adding some za’atar to liven them up!
Hetti Mckinnon’s Cumin-Maple Roasted Delicata Squash with Harissa Chickpeas and Lime Yoghurt
is a side dish that should take up a generous amount of real-estate on your plate. Displaying as a modern take on a Thanksgiving dish—it will truly impress your guests.
It’s a potato dish, it’s a salad, it’s everything you want in a side. Our Moroccan Potato Salad is herby, tangy, it’s got some heat to it, you can make it ahead—and boy is it satisfying with every bite.
It’s no secret that Hetty Mckinnon is a vegetable genius, so it was a no brainer to add her Roasted Carrot Salad with Hawaij, Mung Beans and Preserved Lemon Yogurt to our list. The Preserved Lemon Paste yogurt will brighten your palettes while the Hawaij will anchor you in the warm flavors you crave at Thanksgiving.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL GRAYDON
This gorgeous recipe for Sweet Potatoes with Harissa by Molly Baz for Bon Appetit will not only make your Thanksgiving table look even more beautiful, it will excite your taste buds with its spicy-sweet notes. Harissa over marshmallows any day!
and if you have enough room…DESSERT!!!
If you are a New York City local and you don’t have time (or straight up don’t want to, we feel that) to make pie this year? We taste tested pies from several local Brooklyn bakeries and have found THE BEST APPLE PIE! We HIGHLY recommend picking up your favorite vanilla ice cream with that and sprinkling some Kafe Hawaij spice on top for that extra va va voom.
—it is h e a v e n l y.
Photo credit to Molly Yeh
Molly Yeh’s Hawaij Apple Pie with Cardamom Whipped Cream is an absolute must. I mean, that picture kind of says it all.
Our Kafe Hawaij Apple Muffins with Pecan Crumble Recipe can be easily altered into a cake (just by using a cake tin instead of a muffin tin). These flavors taste like a caramel apple in cake form and would be the perfect Thanksgiving dessert for a “cake-over-pie” person.
Everybody loves LEFTOVERS
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH CECIL