This ingredient is the eponymous hero of a staple meal in our household. Molokheya is a green herb, grown for its leaf in the Middle East, and for its stem in India. We have two or three frozen packs delivered every few months by Sofia's father, who gets them from a friend at his Coptic church, who buys them from an eastern delicatessen in Plymouth. We heat the defrosted herbs in water with lots of garlic and a few granules of a strange-smelling incense; after twenty minutes it takes on a glutinous texture, like okra. The thick green stew is poured over white rice and boiled chicken; any remainder is served hot with pieces of bread in a bowl the next day. It has a rich, wholesome flavour unlike anything else we eat.

Molokheya evokes Sofia's memories of childhood meals in Alexandria, and it's a family favourite in Delly End. As we place the food on the table, Matilda likes to chant its exotic name in hushed, sing-song tones: "mo-lo-hee-ya".