From our kitchen
Recipes we love and keep coming back to
The Bitter Olive is where I share the food I grew up with, the recipes my family loves, and whatever else I’m excited to cook.
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Family favorite
The Perfect Cheese Sambousek
Crisp, golden pastries filled with cheese, parsley, and generations of family know-how. It’s the recipe guests ask for and the first plate to disappear.
Make the sambousekIngredients with a story
Build your Arab pantry
Get to know the ingredients behind the recipes, from Aleppo Pepper to Zaatar.
Explore the pantryWelcome to our table
Food, memory, and a family tradition
I’m Ayah. I started The Bitter Olive to keep the recipes I grew up with in one place and to share the food I’m cooking now.
Read our story