Category Archives: lamb, beef, other red meat

red meats

Eggplant and ground meat sauce (Batersh)

  I first got wind of this dish on Kano’s blog and was immediately interested; the idea to top eggplant dip with a thick ground meat and tomato sauce sounded delicious; it is apparently a specialty of the city of Hama in Syria. I’d like in passing to send many prayers to the innocent people [...]
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Ground meat kebab

I was thinking about my friend Phoebe and how fun it was to cook together. She taught me a few of her kitchen secrets and we would exchange stories about her native Egypt and my native Lebanon; Phoebe loves Lebanese food; she remarked to me once “you know, your food is very healthy you have [...]
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Eggplant in yogurt sauce (Batenjane be-laban)

The recipe for this dish was generously shared with me by a lady chef who told me that it comes from Tripoli, Lebanon’s Northern coastal city. It is simpler to make than other eggplant and yogurt dishes and just delicious; the eggplant is silky and the cooked yogurt sauce light; the ensemble is divine. Recipe courtesy [...]
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Shawarma on hummus

One of the biggest advantages of living in Beirut is this: I can order this at my favorite deli. It comes with all the trimmings. The flavor is superb and I did not spend a second in the kitchen.  If you are looking for a classic hummus recipe, click here.  A beef shawarma recipe, click [...]
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Herbs stew (Khoresh-e qormeh sabzi)

I was in Erbil, Kurdistan (Iraq) for a few days recently; I visited the Bazaar in front of the old Citadel, of course, and neighborhood markets;  I noticed that  the vast majority of dry goods were imported from Turkey; in addition, there were a few items from Iran and I brought back Iranian saffron and [...]
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