It’s a new year! To paraphrase Dorothy Parker — out of indolence, not because she needs editing — another one? How? 2024 feels too far into the future for my taste, we all know too much but we’ve learned nothing and Google doesn’t work anymore and the date of my birth is shrinking in the distance to the point where it’s improbable that I existed both now and then. But, here we are, now, and based upon experience I approach the early days of January 2024 cautiously — like I’m throwing a steak to distract and appease a pugnacious neighbourhood dog — but not without hope.

On that somewhat discordant note, I’m beginning the year with Banadora Wa Sumac, an ebullient salad from Palestine on a Plate by Joudie Kalla that echoes the nation’s flag colours and cools the brain while delighting the palate.

This summer has been all but washed away in near-constant rain, but it’s still managing to provide debilitating humidity throughout with occasional taunting bursts of sunshine. Banadora Wa Sumac, a salad of tomato, pomegranate and mint is just the ticket, being un-taxing of method and beguilingly refreshing.

The pomegranate’s sour jewel-crunch mirrors the sour dusting of sumac, both suggesting citrus without any actually being present. The double-mint presence offers a cool, icy breeze of flavour, the culinary equivalent of standing next to an air-conditioning unit, and all auxiliary flavours, tied together with a glossy layer of olive oil and scattering of salt, bring out the floral, almost-bitter juiciness of the tomatoes.

And as it only uses half a pomegranate, you’ve already got the makings of a repeat underway in your fridge. May 2024 bring freedom and peace for Palestine — a country I continue to salute through ongoing recipes — and reasons for us all to have hope and gratitude.

If you’re after more heat-friendly recipes that feel like a dampened cloth to the forehead, I recommend my Chilled Cannellini Bean Soup with Basil Spinach Oil, my Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Cherry Tomato Dressing, and this M’tabbal Qarae — and the first recipe of this year would also be symbiotically splendid with the final recipe of 2023, my Feta with Chilli Oil Pine Nuts.

Banadora Wa Sumac — Tomato, Mint and Sumac Salad

Dried mint is probably a little harder to get hold of than sumac, depending on your supermarket, so if you can only get the fresh kind don’t let it stop you. This is a cool, crisp, and jewel-bright salad that’s just the thing you want on a long summer evening. Recipe from Palestine on a Plate by Joudie Kalla.

• 3 hearty, ripe tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried mint
• 2 teaspoons dried sumac
• Seeds from half a pomegranate
• A handful of fresh mint leaves
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, for drizzling
• Salt, to taste

1: Realistically this actually starts with winkling the seeds out of half a pomegranate, since I’m assuming you probably don’t have a container of them sitting around. But with that out of the way, should it be required, slice your tomatoes any which way you want — I went for narrow half-moons, as you can see — and arrange on a serving plate. Sprinkle them with the teaspoon of dried mint and the two teaspoons of sumac.

2: Scatter over the aforementioned pomegranate seeds. Slice or tear the fresh mint leaves and distribute them on top. Pour over some olive oil, as much as you want, really, and sprinkle with salt. That’s it. It’s fantastic at room temperature but — despite my strong feeling that tomatoes shouldn’t be refrigerated — also fantastic with the ice cold chill of the fridge still on it, which is good to know should you want to make this ahead of time.

Serves 3—4 as part of a loaded table, or probably two people as a singular salad on the side of something, or one person as a lazy late dinner with some bread on the side, or the promise of a little something sweet to follow.

music lately:

Send in the Clowns, by the now-late Glynis Johns. I’ve known this day would come but despite her going out at 100 years old, it still feels too soon. She pulled off the odd trick of being known for two iconic songs — Sondheim’s most famous track, which he wrote specifically for her limited range, and the ever-stirring Sister Suffragette from Mary Poppins — without being known as a singer or recording artist, much to my regret, as I could listen to entire albums full of her crunchy, bodaciously aggrieved voice that’s somehow all vibrato and flatly hollow at the same time. This song is one of my least-favourites of Sondheim’s — which still means I hold it in high regard — but from the mouth of the gorgeous original, it’s perfect and holds new meaning with each repeat listen. Bring back people who write songs for voices with character!

Angel by That Dog, you can feel the imminent rumblings of lead singer Anna Waronker’s contributions to the Yellowjackets score waiting in the 27-years-hence distance in this one especially, but even if that means nothing to you this song is delicious, ominously looming like a swarm of grinning wasps.

Daydreaming by Massive Attack, with a silky contained energy and stunning vocals from Shara Nelson. There are several soundtracks I’m manifesting or hoping for or whatever in 2024 and obviously Gregg Araki’s Nowhere is high on the list.