Tabbouleh - parsley salad
Probably the most famous of Lebanese foods - and the national dish.
- 1 cup of fine bourghoul (ground wheat)
- 3 bunches of parsley
- 1 bunch of fresh mint
- 4 tomatoes
- 4 green onions or 1 white onion
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Wash the bourghoul and then leave to soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, finely dice the tomatoes and onion, and chop the parsley and mint. Mix up the oil, salt, and lemon juice.
- Strain the borghoul and then squeeze out the excess water and it in with all the ingredients.
- Note: try eating tabbouleh in fresh vine leaves rolled up into a cone.
Fattoush - salad with pita chips
A lovely salad with the combination of crunchy bread and tangy dressing to offset the vegetables.
- 2 cups shredded lettuce (romaine and/or iceberg)
- 1 large or 2 small cucumbers, small dice
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley, leaves only, no stems
- 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves, no stems
- 1/2 to 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 bunch green onions, finely sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sumac (available in Middle Eastern stores)
- 2 pieces of pita bread toasted until golden brown, broken into pieces the size of a quarter
Dressing
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 to 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of pepper
- In a small bowl mix all dressing ingredients well.
- Put all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with 1/2 to 1 cup dressing. Serve immediately
Baba Ghannouj - eggplant dip
One of my favourite foods - together with hoummus and lebni, this makes up a staple part of my daily diet!
- 1 large eggplant
- 3 medium cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- extra salt and water
- Make 2 inch long lengthwise slits in the eggplant - all over and deep enough to cut the flesh - and rub with the extra salt. Place in a bowl of tepid water and leave 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly - this draws out some of the bitterness.
- Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and place on a greased, foil-lined pan, Brush inner flesh with olive oil and then grill until the outside skin is charred black and the pulp inside is soft (15 to 30 minutes). (If you can, grilling on a BBQ with wood adds a wonderful flavour. Try adding the garlic, still in its skin, to get that roasted garlic flavour).
- Scoop out the flesh and leave to cool in the refrigerator for several hours. Drain off the extra liquid before using.
- Mince garlic in a food processor, add eggplant, salt, and 1/4 cup tahini. Pulse the food processor to mix - it's fine if it stays a little lumpy. Slowly add lemon juice. Taste. Adjust salt and lemon or tahini.
- Voila - Baba Ghannouj. Serve with Lebanese bread (the tougher, more chewy version of pita bread that has a hollow pocket in the centre.
Hoummus - chickpea dip
- 34 oz cooked chick peas, drained, reserve some of the liquid
- 4 large cloves of garlic - either raw or baked
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 3/4 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- Mince the garlic in a food processor, then add the chick peas and mince, scraping down the sides. Add salt, tahini and lemon juice and blend. Taste and adjust lemon juice if necessary. Add some of the reserved chick pea liquid and stir until it reaches a thick creamy consistency. Check the taste again for additional lemon or salt.
Tahini - sesame seed sauce
This sauce is very easy - use it in hoummus, or add a little lemon juice and crushed garlic to make a runny sauce to drizzle over fresh labneh, or bread, or meat dishes.
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup tepid water
- Blend sesame seeds in a blender and grind until smooth. Add sesame oil, salt, and then slowly add 1/4 cup of water while blending. Blend until completely smooth.
Laban - curdled milk
Laban is a common drink. Often it is salted - this is definitely an aquired taste, but well worth it. It goes well with the various dishes.
- 1 liter of milk
- 1 tablespoon of rennet (or active yogurt)
- Warm the milk to blood temperature. Dilute the rennet or yogurt in a bit of milk and pour into the lukewarm milk. Stir with a spoon then cover with a thick cloth and leave to sit for 4 hours. Chill before serving.
Labneh - yoghurt
Rich, tart yoghurt - spreadable like cream cheese.
- 1 liter of milk
- 1 tablespoon of rennet (or active yogurt)
- Make up a batch of laban, and then add 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir gently and then pour into a cheesecloth bag and suspend overnight to drain. The whey will drain out leaving a thick cheese-spread like substance. Use a fork to beat it, and then cover and place in the fridge. Serve spread out over a dish with a hollow in the centre. Drizzle olive oil into the hollow, and sprinkle with dried mint leaves.
Black olives
Make your own olives - scented and spiced as you like them.
- 4 & 1/2 lbs raw black olives
- 6 tablespoons salt
- Olive oil
- Rinse the lives in hot and then cold water, then roll in the salt until covered. Leave, covered, for 5 days. Stir occasionally. Drain off the juice that has collected and place olives in jars, covered in salt water and 1/2 inch of olive oil. Ready in a week, and as long as there is oil covering the water, they will last for up to a year.
Note: Add some lemon, chilli, or thyme to the salt water to flavour the olives.
Kafta Mishweh - parsleyed meat on a skewer
Lamb is a staple in many Middle Eastern dishes. It is a very different taste to beef, and is well suited to the other flavours in the mezza.
- 1 & 1/2 lbs minced mutton or lamb (from the leg)
- 2 onions
- 1 bunch of parsley
- Salt and pepper
- Chop the onions and parsley very finely and mix with the meat, salt, and pepper. Knead thoroughly and divide into 8 balls. Skewer each ball individually. Squeeze and shape to make the ball into a flattish sausage along the skewer. It works best with skewers 1 inch or so wide.
- Barbecue until cooked (slightly pinkish inside) and serve hot on a bed of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped parsley, and onion slices sprinkled with sumac (available in Middle Eastern stores).
Note: You can grill the kafta as well. Try making smaller flattened circles (similar to hamburger patties) and baking with tomato paste, a little water, halved tomatos and quartered potatoes.
Extra side dishes
A large plate of fresh vegetables: tomato quarters, lettuce leaves, Lebanese cucumbers, and radishes. These are usually dipped in the various dips and labneh. Bowls of almonds and/or pistachios and dates, figs, and Turkish apricots will complete the table. Make sure there is a lot of Lebanese bread - similar to pita bread, it is chewy, with a pocket. Heat over a flame and place in a covered basket. Marouq, traditional bread, is a thin chewy bread found at Lebanese stores. Tear into smaller portions and serve.
2 non-mezza dishes that are good, none the less, are:
Daoud Bacha - meatballs and rice
- 1 & 1/2 lbs minced mutton or lamb
- 2 oz pine kernels
- 2 lbs fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced very finely - keep all the juice and seeds
- 2 onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
- Basmati rice - cooked
- Dice the onions and mix with the meat, salt, and pepper. Knead well and form into little balls the size of a nut. Hollow the balls and stuff with a few pine kernels and seal. Brown the meatballs in half the butter then place in a greased baking dish. Cover in tomatoes and reserved liquid. Cook for half an hour at medium high, turning the meatbalss halfway through.
- Serve hot on a bed of rice.
and
Mjaddara - lentils and rice
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Wash the lentils and then boil in 3 cups of water for about 40 minutes. Drain, mash them and add 2 fresh cups of boiling water. Bring to a boil again. Wash the rice and add.
- Brown the finely diced onion in the peanut oil and add to the lentils and rice. Stir and simmer for 1/2 an hour, stirring occasionally. Add the olive oil and let cool a bit. Serve lukewarm.
|