Lentils and bulgur wheat with caramelized onions is a delicious Middle Eastern dish. A great source of protein and fiber, it is also a tasty Vegetarian entree. If I had to eat one type of food every day for the rest of my life, it would be Middle Eastern food.
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Made with ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt and pepper, this fragrant all-purpose Lebanese spice blend is the secret to enhancing your grilled meats, soups, roasts and other Middle Eastern specialties. [feast_advanced_jump_to] As a busy mother of two young boys under the age of 10, I have become a bit of a master in turning my...Read More
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The absolute BEST homemade hummus recipe! Garlic is roasted until sweet and caramelized then pureed into hummus with chickpeas, tahini, and lemon. As we head back into a normal routine with the start of a fresh school year, I love whipping up easy, delicious dips that my boys can help themselves to throughout the week....
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In this Traditional Lebanese dish, kousa is stuffed with a savory meat and rice mixture and simmered in a flavorful tomato broth until tender. Lebanese Stuffed Kousa Squash is a true family favorite! Recently I learned that the average bag of carrots found in your local grocery store has been in storage for up to...
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My son Nick was turning thirty; (I think I was more shaken by the news than he was). I was told by his wife Chelsea that he really liked red velvet cake. Well, here is what I came-up with. Its relatively easy and fast but best to make over a couple of days in stages. One day to make the raspberry coulis, and chop the pistachios, one day to make the cake and filling. Assembly takes 30 minutes, and voilà! He really liked it.
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A plate of olives is a must on a Lebanese table to start any meal. Olives are called “poor man’s meat” (al-zeytoon lahem al-fakeer). Olives are consumed with bread for breakfast, olives are nibbled on at lunch before the main dish and at dinner with a slice of cheese for a light dinner. I love love olives, but my favorite are the green ones, brined with some sliced lemons and chili peppers. This dish was served in a restaurant in Barouk in the Chouf Mountains as part of the mezze and I loved the idea of scooping-up the olives with a bit of the juicy sauce.
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A popular Middle Eastern street food, kafta kebabs are made with ground meat, onion and parsley. Served over rice or wrapped in pita bread, you’ll want to drizzle each bite with tahini sauce. It’s hard to pick a favorite Lebanese dish but if you asked my husband and kids, it would be a tie between...
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Apricot Upside Down Cake is made with a brown-butter, brown-sugar topping and soft sponge cake. A hint of orange blossom is perfect here. I’ve never been good at favorites. As in, what’s your favorite cake? What’s your favorite color? What your favorite anything. I love them all. Same with this apricot upside-down cake. I would [...]
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Once you realize how easy it is to make homemade labneh, you’ll be making it again and again. Labneh yogurt dip is thick, creamy, and delicious spread on anything. Growing up in a Middle Eastern household, we have been enjoying labneh my entire life.
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This is a recipe from one of my favorite Lebanese chefs, Chef Marlene Matar. I had tried it several years ago, and this time tried it again, albeit with some minor modifications. The semolina cooks in the milk, and provides a sturdy support for the cheese. This cheesecake is made without eggs.
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A fast and easy side dish recipe, asparagus is coated with lemon and za’atar and grilled until slightly charred. Syrian salad is my specialty. It has won contests (thank you Cooking Channel!
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This is my version of the Armenian meat pies I used to get in Burj Hammoud (the Armenian neighborhood) in Beirut. A quick and easy version; I used refrigerated biscuits for the dough instead of making my own (laziness) and it worked great. The most time-consuming part is getting the meat mixture ready. These bake in no more than 7 minutes or so in a hot oven.
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Green Beans and red onions are gently sweetened with pomegranate molasses (find it here). This dish is at home at summer cookouts as it is on the holiday buffet. For how tiny the country of Lebanon is (a little smaller than Connecticut), the diaspora of the Lebanese outside of Lebanon seems to be absolutely ginormous. [...]
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An easy one-pan meal, Hushwee Rice is a beef and rice mixture and is a Lebanese staple made with cinnamon, toasted pine nuts and rice pilaf cooked in clarified butter. Naturally gluten-free, this is the ultimate comfort food! This easy, 30-minute dinner recipe is a standard in Middle Eastern households.
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A staple in Middle Eastern cuisine, hashweh (or hushwee) is a humble, flavor-packed dish made of ground meat cooked in clarified butter, browned rice then seasoned with cinnamon and toasted pine nuts. It is naturally gluten-free and paleo. You know how certain people have their specialties in every family?
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An easy and quick dessert (ashtaliyyeh in Lebanese) for a busy day; once made, the little cups can sit for a few days in the fridge and be grabbed at will. I used a pistachio cream sold in a Middle-Eastern market made with Turkish pistachios, but am including a recipe for a homemade pistachio paste which will not be salty like that product I bought.
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Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and scallions are tossed with parsley, za’atar, lemon and olive oil in this fresh and healthy Lebanese Chopped Salad recipe. As much as I love a good Syrian or traditional Greek salad, I don’t always have fresh lettuce on hand which is when I love experimenting with different chopped salads. What is...
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I love this kibbeh, which hails from Aleppo but is also very popular in Iraq. It distinguishes itself by its rice shell, which gets crunchy after frying, but soft inside. It is a traditional dish; I veered away from tradition slightly by sprinkling the kibbeh with toasted sesame seeds, and playing around with the stuffing by adding raisins.
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These Lebanese-spiced baked chicken thighs are perfect for enjoying over rice, slicing and serving in a pita wrap or tossing over a salad. Recently I had a massive craving for chicken shawarma when it dawned on me I don’t ever make it at home! For whatever reason, when I crave Lebanese chicken I tend to...
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I had a lot of semolina in my pantry and was looking for savory ways to use it; I had remembered that Moroccans had a lot of bread recipes using semolina and stumbled on this one. It is WONDERFUL~ You can shape the dough in a few minutes, by hand, let it rise and then shape the batbout (isn’t it a cute name?) swiftly, cut them with a glass, let them rise again, then bake on top of the stove without a drop of oil. It’s a thrill to see them puff up and delightful to serve hot off the pan.
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