Eden Grinshpan Shares Middle Eastern-Inspired Dishes With Big Flavor

Eden Grinshpan, host of Top Chef Canada, serves up big flavors in her debut cookbook, Eating Out Loud.

“I’m half Israeli and grew up visiting Israel every summer. But the trip I took after finishing culinary school was completely different — it was like meeting the country for the first time. I had a better understanding of the food, how it was made and where the ingredients came from. And I asked a lot more questions. I wanted to know everything about this crazy mishmash of flavors that drew from places in North Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and about a million years of culinary history.

Ultimately, I learned how to take a small collection of simple and traditional ingredients, mix and match them in new, fresh ways and create dishes perfect for dunking, picking, dipping, dribbling, schmearing and getting all up in with your hands. When I changed the way I cooked, I suddenly started having much more fun in the kitchen. I didn’t dread the question, “What’s for dinner?” — a question that my husband, Ido (obviously an Israeli husband with a name like Ido… what can I say, I love the men as much as I love the food), and I start asking each other around 10 a.m. every single day. Best of all, I always had something easy to make and tasty to eat, whether it was for my husband and three-year-old daughter, Ayv, a hot date night (on the couch, obvi), a last-minute get-together with friends, a special gathering or holiday, or a stuff-it-all-in-my-mouth-one-handed situation while doing errands with the stroller or pumping. This is food for real life — feeding yourself, feeding your family and feeding the people whom you care about most; no big, annoying shopping lists, real pants or silverware required.”

Scroll down for Eden’s flavor-packed recipes you have to try tonight!