Category: Intermediate
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Shawarma
Shawarma is made with sirloin steak that’s been marinated for several hours in spices. The most important spice in this dish is cardamon and lots of it! The orange juice is the tenderizer. Shawarma is topped with taratour, shredded lettuce, and stewed tomatoes, then wrapped in pita bread. Invite friends over for a shawarma party and…
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Cheese Zaatar and Red Pepper Paste Appetizer
Cheese zaatar and pepper paste appetizer is a delicious alternative to the common cheese buerek. If you are entertaining and want to serve something a little “off the tangent” serve this appetizer. The zaatar combined with red pepper paste, cheese, onions and cumin is amazing. These cheese zaatar and pepper paste appetizer can be cut…
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Ourfa Kebab
Ourfa kebab is made with chunks of ground beef and Japanese eggplants sandwiched alternately together on a skewer. You can cook it in the oven or grill it. Whichever way you go, these kebabs will turn out delicious! As the eggplants roast, they release their juices, become tender and help keep the pieces of ground beef moist. Although…
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Pickled Eggplant
Pickled eggplants are a delicacy made in many of the Mediterranean countries. Although there are variations, the recipe posted here is the typical Lebanese version. These pickled eggplants are stuffed with garlic walnut mixture and preserved in pure olive oil. If you like condiments, you will love these! They are the perfect alternative to the more…
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Mloukhiyeh
Mloukhiyeh, is also known as Egyptian spinach or Jew’s mallow. Widely used in Egyptian and ancient Jewish cuisine, mloukhiyeh has many nutritional benefits. It is rich with many types of vitamins including iron, potassium, vitamins B1 and B2 and dietary fiber. In fact, fiber content is so high it’s used to make burlap sacks. Mloukhiyeh…
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Shaabiyat
Shaabiyat is phyllo dough layered with butter, filled with a soft semolina cream, wrapped in a bundle like “samosas” and baked till golden brown. It’s served warm with a light drizzle of orange blossom infused syrup, and sprinkled with ground pistachios. If you like your warm food and desserts, then this one is definitely for you. You will…
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Red Bell Peppers Stuffed with Bulgur
Red bell peppers stuffed with bulgur, is a vegetarian dish I make during lent. The aroma of the roasted red bell peppers combined with the onions, and bulgur stuffing is amazing. Pomegranate paste or molasses (available at specialty and Middle Eastern stores) is used very often in Mediterranean cooking and renders a sour yet sweet…
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Foul Moudammas
Foul moudammas, rich in fiber and vitamins, is a popular breakfast menu item you’ll find at local diners or restaurants when visiting Lebanon. It’s as common as ordering pancakes or waffles here in the United States. Fava beans are cooked till they are soft and creamy. Garbanzo beans, cumin, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil are…
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Kataifi with Ashtah Cream
Kataifi with ashtah cream is a popular Mediterranean dessert you’ll find at buffets or on fancy restaurant menus. There are recipes that use shortening instead of butter to soften the kataif, but shortening leaves an aftertaste that doesn’t go well with this dessert. Kataifi with ashtah cream is a delicacy traditionally made by using the cream that develops…
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Pepper Paste
Pepper paste is widely used in Armenian cooking. This homemade version is so much more flavorful and pure than the ones sold in jars. Whenever my mom would give me a recipe that contained tomato paste, I would ask her if I should add pepper paste. She’d say “Yes … of course” because she assumed I would…